Interview with Circuit Mom aka Matthew Harvat

Photo By Eric Magnussen

Is it possible for a building to have a soul? For a theater to be a muse? What if every precious brick, every carved cornice, and every hand painted decoration held the echoes of the craftsmen who lovingly held them? What if the building itself soaked in the laughter and joy of crowds, shouldering the weight of epic talents, spanning a myriad of musical genres, to become a grand golden inspirational spirit of music itself? Of course we’re talking about the Uptown Theatre, a building so steeped in entertainment history that Chicago aches for her return and the throwing open of shuttered doors. The Uptown Theatre is the incarnation of Euterpe, the muse of lyrical expression, bejeweled and clothed in a Spanish Baroque Revival gown, and while her glory is dimmed and in need of revival and loving care, she awaits us. The Uptown theater still glimmers in the dark behind boarded up windows like an undiscovered Klimt painting calling out to be unleashed. She is a century old, but her burnished

beauty is poised to uplift a new generation of artists and audiences. The King of Swing himself: Chicago’s own Benny Goodman, a pioneer in the racial integration of bands, blew the curtains off the

Uptown Theatre with sweat, strings, and cymbals crashing. Duke Ellington’s brass notes spilled like a

honeyed river down Broadway when jazz was king and ladies dressed to the nines shimmied in glittery clouds through the Uptown’s gilt halls. Rick James and Prince brought leather and lace and everything electric. Powercords ripped through the night skies of Chicago’s Northside. Tina Turner stomped those boards into oblivion. Springsteen brought his tight jeans and his rough hewn rasp begging for glory days. Robert Palmer had a bad case of loving you and The Grateful Dead threw their arms around Chicago audiences in a dreamy haze. But the Uptown Theater wasn't just a home to Billboard chart

toppers. This Golden Grande Dame of Chicago was also an inspiration to many up and coming local talents, and even a home to major queer events like the Hearts Party circuit event in 2000 to benefit people impacted by HIV and AIDS. In fact the Uptown neighborhood in the late nineties was a pivotal center of Chicago’s queer circuit scene, drawing crowds of locals and attendees from around the world.

And while the Uptown Theatre did “formally” close her doors in 1981, she was home for one last glorious hurrah in the year of the millennium for a celebration of life in the face of fear and oppression. On a shivery Valentine's night, thousands of queer celebrants filed into the lobby of the Uptown to dance and love each other, their hearts filled with pride and music. And the last performer, on that last night, was our own local Grand Dame - Circuit Mom. We caught up with Circuit Mom, aka Matthew Harvat, who is in fact a very real person, to chat about the legacy of the Uptown Theatre and how he and his team revisited the space for a special editorial for our current issue.

Tom Olah: We are living for these photos, you’re bringing all the Old Hollywood glam. You’re giving yearning by candlelight for a gothic romance in your tiara of pheasant feathers. And the lobby of the Uptown Theatre is so stunning. What a backdrop!

Circuit Mom: [Laughs] I am! It’s my 1920’s silent screen diva meets Sunset Boulevard moment. And yes the lobby of the Uptown Theatre is truly iconic.

TO: You are certainly painted to perfection. That gown is overflowing with snatch. It’s a

tumultuous storm of glittery, voluminous, thunderous clouds of gayness.

CM: You noticed? (Laughs) That would be the brilliance of my costume designer, wigmaker, makeup guru, and all around artistic collaborator du jour: Joshuan Aponte. The whole CircuitMOM team

is incredible and I just want to thank them for the outstanding work they did. Our

photographer, Erik Magnussen, my production partner in crime Edwin Martinez, decor diva Tyler Miller,

and the king of my social media chaos: Graham Hawley. Special shout out to Jerry Mickelson, Andy Pierce, Colette Smithburg and John Booher for making this dream come true.

TO: This is a bit of a full circuit (see what I did there) moment for you. We ask you for a cover image and you surprise us with this Cedric Gibbons MGM-style extravaganza of drama. How did this come to pass? What is your history with the Uptown Theatre and what was it like to be the last performer in that space?

CM: It was one of the defining moments of my career and life. I attended my first Hearts Party, which

was also my first circuit party ever, in February of 1992 (also held in the lobby of the Uptown Theatre) and was blown away by the grandeur and historic significance of the space, plus the energy of the crowd and the music. Little did I know that evening would change my life and take me to where I am today. There was the beginning of a dream inside me that night, I could feel the soul of the theater in my heart. Four years later, Circuit Mom was born.

TO: Wait. Tell us about that.

CM: I was at a major circuit festival weekend in Atlanta in 1996 and the venue ran out of bottled water for the guests, so they were just filling plastic pitchers of water and setting out cups for people to serve

themselves. I thought it would be funny to randomly show up in the middle of the dance floor with a

stack of cups and pitchers of water to my friends. As I made my way through the crowd, a guy stopped

me and said “It’s our circuit angel coming to save us?” But his friend corrected him and said, “No, it’s our circuit mom!” Two years later, I was performing as Circuit Mom for the first time at Crobar for Glee Club. I made my own mix of Ultra Nate’s “Found A Cure” on cassette and had two dancers! The

legendary Teri Bristol was the DJ.

TO: Two whole dancers! And now you produce events on a massive scale, hundreds of artists and dancers. Crowds of thousands. You’ve come very far.

CM: Yes, from very humble beginnings. But my successes now are really about the incredible

people I get to work with and my absolute love for the people who come to my events. I

treasure each and every person that walks through the door. And I know that I’m so lucky to

do this. My first major event as Circuit Mom was Mark Baker’s “Gay Disney” Colosseum party in Orlando in 1999. And the performance at the Uptown Theatre was shortly after. I ran with a fire theme

for the music using two newly released remixes of Funky Green Dog’s “Fired Up” and Cyndi

Lauper’s version of “Disco Inferno”. DJ Pete Crow created our show mix that featured 44 performers, with choreography by Todd Kiech and the night DJ’d by the incomparable Abel Aguilera, and I felt like I was home. Like I was connected to everyone there and we were all experiencing the same love and joy for the music and the space.

TO: Well, kudos to you and to the Uptown Theatre. Do you think she’s coming back someday?

CM: This city needs her. She’s a jewel in Chicago's crown and a potential beacon for a whole new era

of entertainment. The Uptown Theatre is a muse just waiting to inspire future artists the way her

neighbors, the Riviera Theater and the Aragon Ballroom have been doing for decades.

TO: And if you hear anything, you’ll let us know?

CM: Watch this space.

TO: Our Publisher Stacy has asked me to Thank You and your incredible Crew For all of your

hard work in creating This Fabulous Halloween cover (15th Halloween Cover featuring Circuit Mom). Have a safe and Happy Halloween.

Photo By Eric Magnussen