Ward 8: “Regal Promise”

Filmmaker: Ensemble Member Anthony Irons


The X-boys are just muddling through, till they encounter the abandoned Avalon Regal theater and uncover, through imagination, its extraordinary history, its importance to Black culture, and what promise lives inside their youth.

About the Artists

ANTHONY IRONS
 

The film, Regal Promise, features my sons Xavier and Xaiden, the X boys. The film is inspired by many works of art, including Alice in Wonderland, The Wiz, Xanadu, the The Gladiator, and The Legend of Zelda.

Anthony Irons

Ward 8

Chicago’s 8th Ward includes South Shore, Chatham, Calumet Heights, Pullman, Avalon Park, Burnside, and South Chicago.

Organizations in Ward 8 to Explore and Support

  • ArtShow Chicago, dedicated to uniting Chicago communities with local artwork while bringing light to social causes.

Restaurants to Check Out in Ward 8

Other Sites to Visit in Ward 8

  • Chinatown Square Plaza, a two-story outdoor mall, at the heart of which lie the Pan-Asian Cultural Center and 12 beautiful bronze zodiac figures.

Film Credits

Created By: Anthony Irons
Directed By: Anthony Irons
Cinematography By: Kasey Foster
Produced By: Phil Smith, Nikolaj Sorensen
Edited By: Anthony Irons
Sound Design and Mixing By: Andre Pluess
Original Composition By: Andre Pluess
Location Sound By: Charlie Otto
COVID Safety Officer: Harper Rothschild
Opening Animation By: Matthew C. Yee
Closing Credits: Matthew C. Yee
Additional Photography: brownsugar.80blogspot.com, 20th Century Fox
notednames.com, Getty Images, Hulton Archive, A. Schorr-ullstein bild,
Paul Popper-Popperfoto, Carl Van Vechten, bing.com/images, James J. Kreigsmann wikipedia.org, biography.com, Internet movie database
Pinterest/ My Fair Foodie, digital collections.lib.uh.edu, keepingthebluesalive.org facebook.com/iloveoldschoolmusic, telegraph.co.uk, Ted Russell/ NBC News, fam-stars.blogspot.com, John Barrett-PHOTOlink.net, weinelementary.org,
jazzineurope.mfmmedia.nl, entertainmentandsportstoday.com fanpop.com, hiphoplawblogspot.com, classic.motown.com, Nancy Campbell /Pinterest, splendid habitat.com, Pinterest/ Levi Luis, reddit/ r/OldSchoolCool, Richard E. Aaron/Redferns cinematreasures.org, Eric Allix Rogers, Eric Holubow, afterthefinalcurtain.net Magdalena76th Pins (Pinterest), Byron Rivers, R8teco, cinematreasures.org, Kirk McMahon, alextheatre.org/event/glendale-arts, viewing.nyc (radio city music hall)
Additional Film Footage: The Phantom of the Opera, Steamboat Bill Jr., The Passion of Joan of Arc, Metropolis, Killer Diller, Cyrano de Bergerac, Gulliver’s Travels, Night of the Living Dead
Special Thanks: J Nicole Brooks, Kareem Bandealy, Dionna Griffin-Irons, Diane Rivers Lunda, Nathaniel Irons, Ethel Irons

Originally produced by Lookingglass Theatre Company in Chicago, IL in August 2022

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