With presales of 1.4 million copies, “The Indwelling,” the seventh installment in the Christian end-of-the-world saga by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, published by Carol Stream-based Tyndale House, was a huge best seller, ranking No. 2 on the Amazon.com best-seller list. And that was before it was even in the bookstores.
When the religious thriller finally arrived Tuesday — some stores in the South and West opened at midnight to long lines of fans — it jumped to first place. Last year, according to Publishers Weekly, two titles in the “Left Behind” series were million sellers in hardcover and two others were million sellers in paperback.
The movie based on the first book in the series, “Left Behind,” starring Kirk Cameron of “Growing Pains” fame, will finish filming June 4 and is scheduled for a February release. LaHaye and Jenkins, who tripled Tyndale’s profits in 1999, will be in Chicago June 3 for an afternoon book-signing at Borders in the Woodfield Shopping Center in Schaumburg, and will speak at a $12-a-ticket musical event at Wheaton College that night.
Patrick T. Reardon
NATIONAL LANDMARKS
Four buildings in the small-town architectural mecca of Columbus, Ind., including one by the late Chicago architect Harry Weese, have been named national historic landmarks by the National Park Service.
The park service cited three Columbus buildings by the late architect Eero Saarinen–the Irwin Union Bank and Trust, the North Christian Church and the Miller House. The latter was built as the home of J. Irwin Miller, president of the Cummins Engine Co., who in 1943 began a program to pay architects’ fees for local public projects. Weese’s Columbus building, the First Baptist Church, was called the finest of his many works in Columbus.
In the city, the park service said, Weese “was the most prolific contributor to the body of modern architecture that made the city famous.” Designation as a national historic landmark may make a property eligible for federal historic preservation funds and tax credits. The landmarks also are recognized with bronze plaques.
Blair Kamin
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SECOND CITY DOES BARD
Selections from “Hamlet: The Musical,” The Second City’s new version of Shakespeare’s play, are on the bill for the League of Chicago Theatres’ June 5 “Showtime!” benefit honoring cultural philanthropist Lewis Manilow.
A highlight, according to Kelly Leonard, Second City producer, will be Alexandra Billings, as Queen Gertrude, belting out “Mamas Are a Son’s Best Friend.”
The evening, starting at 6 p.m. in the Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier, is aimed at helping the League make up a $200,000 shortfall. Ticket prices, which include supper and dessert, are $50 to $250. Phone 312-554-9800.
Richard Christiansen
TWO MOB DEBUTS
Early music specialist Paul Hillier and Hungarian operatic contralto Ewa Podles will make their Music of the Baroque debuts during 2000-2001 when the orchestra and chorus celebrate their 30th season. Major event of the season will be a Lenten presentation of J.S. Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion,” which the group has not performed since 1985. Music director Thomas Wikman will preside over concerts of Vivaldi, Telemann and Mozart works in addition to conducting the annual holiday brass and choral program. Concerts are at Symphony Center and various area churches, including a new venue, College Church in Wheaton, marking MOB’s first foray into the far western suburbs. For ticket information, phone 312-551-1414.
John von Rhein
SEASON OF SUCCESS
For the 12th consecutive year, Lyric Opera has surpassed 100 percent ticket sales. The company’s 1999-2000 season reached 103 percent of capacity for its 85 performances of eight operas in the 3,653-seat Civic Opera House. This translates to $23.6 million in ticket revenue, or 305,922 tickets sold, nearly 90 percent of them purchased by subscribers.
JVR