The unassuming red brick building on the edge of downtown Park Forest in between the sprawling Central Park and the village’s public library doesn’t grab a lot of attention. But it’s becoming the cultural heart of Park Forest, thanks to an evolving lineup of entertainment and arts activities at the performing arts venue.
Lifelong Park Forest resident Victor Blackful has worked to raise the profile of Nathan Manilow Theatre at Freedom Hall, 410 Lakewood Blvd. since November 2022, when he became assistant to Chuck Sabey, who was hired in 2008 as the village’s first cultural arts supervisor.
“Chuck is awesome, what he built over here at Freedom Hall. His passion for arts and music, we share that. When I got hired as his assistant, we were instantly best friends because we’re constantly sharing music knowledge,” said Blackful, who became cultural arts supervisor in 2023 after Sabey retired.
“I didn’t try to come in with a chainsaw and reinvent the wheel. I just tried to come into Freedom Hall and add my own flavor to things.”
Blackful follows up the first season he programmed for 2023-24, which sold out nine shows, with a 2024-25 series starting with a sold-out Oct. 12 show featuring Shining Star, a tribute to Earth, Wind & Fire.
Other returning performers include Masters of Soul, which drives up from Virginia to perform Motown tributes in shows Dec. 14 and 15, the first of which has already sold out. The Jo Ann Daugherty-led band Better Together will close the season April 19 by celebrating Stevie Wonder’s 75th birthday.
“My goal is always to be a leader out here in the south suburbs. Unfortunately, we get a lot of bad press whether it’s our taxes or crime or whatever else is happening here,” said Blackful, who has worked for the village since 2013. “There are still so many wonderful people. There are gems hidden all over the place. I’m somebody who wants to bring those things to light.”
Blackful’s strategies to promote Freedom Hall included rebranding to focus on the facility’s intimate Nathan Manilow Theatre, transferring the venue’s snail mail list to an email database he polled about which music genres people prefer, offering chances to win show tickets and recruiting senior volunteers.
He also moved ticket sales online; encouraged group sales to churches, senior centers and others, and worked with his assistant, Shelley Strasser of Homewood, to restart children’s programming with AlphaBet Soup Productions, which this season presents Elephant & Piggie’s “We Are in a Play!” Oct. 22 and 23.
“Those were some of the changes that I implemented here that really boosted notoriety here at Freedom Hall,” said Blackful, who also books entertainment for the annual outdoor summer concert series Main Street Nights, the music fest in conjunction with the annual Park Forest Art Fair, and Fall Fest.
Performers debuting at Freedom Hall this season include Billy Joel tribute Mulberry Street on Nov. 16, Slave on Nov. 23, Simone Green’s MLK Soulful Journey on Jan. 20, Al Hudson & One Way on March 15, LaTanya Hughes on March 29 and 512: The Selena Experience from Las Vegas on April 5.
The season also includes Lisa Rock’s A Carpenters Christmas on Dec. 17, Peter Jordan’s Candlelight Jazz tribute to Luther Vandross on Feb. 15, Steely Dan tribute Deacon Blues on March 1 and Maureen Christine’s 70s Sweetheart Tribute on April 8.
“I want to give top, five-star entertainment at a wonderful price. You don’t have to drive all the way to Chicago. Parking is free,” said Blackful, who previously was Park Forest Main Street Market manager and a meter reader for the village’s Water Department.
“Diversity is big for me as well. I like to have everything in (Freedom Hall), exposing people to new artists but at the same time giving them something that they can be familiar with and enjoy as well.”
Now into what he calls his second chapter, Blackful draws upon his experience dealing with people and promotions during his previous radio career, which started at WJPC and included doing WGCI’s “Bad Boy Radio” show as Mike Love’s partner, Dizz.
“It was a dream experience. It allowed me to meet about every celebrity I could think of,” said Blackful, whose radio gigs gave him the chance to converse with Oprah Winfrey, former President Barack Obama, Hugh Hefner and Jay-Z.
“It was a great experience, not only from a music standpoint or interview standpoint but just being somebody who got woven into the fabric of Chicago media,” he said.
Also a Chicago house music veteran, Blackful prided himself on introducing listeners to records such as Dennis Ferrer’s “Hey Hey” and Black Coffee’s “Superman” during “The Friday Night Dance Party” on WSRB.
“I took great pride in teaching the art of house music,” Blackful said.
Information about Freedom Hall, which also rents rooms, is at 708-747-0580 or freedomhall.org.
Jessi Virtusio is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
