Daily Inspiration Quote by Jeffrey Donovan

Donovan is selling Chicago without sounding like he’s selling Chicago, and that’s the trick. He frames the city as a place where theater still functions like a living art form instead of a lifestyle accessory. Calling Chicago a “big theater town” isn’t just praise; it’s a signal to serious audiences and serious actors that the work matters there, that the scene isn’t merely an off-Broadway waiting room.

The loaded pivot is “savvier and smarter than New York.” He’s not trying to start a coastal war so much as he’s positioning Chicago as a corrective to New York’s cultural self-consciousness. “Savvy” implies audiences who can smell inauthenticity. “Smarter” suggests a crowd interested in craft, not just buzz. It flatters Chicago, sure, but it also flatters the kind of viewer Donovan wants to play for: engaged, discerning, allergic to hype.

Then comes the quiet jab: “a little too chic to go to theater in New York.” Chic is the language of status, of being seen, of cultural consumption as wardrobe. Donovan’s subtext is that New York theatergoing can become performative - an audience that treats the show as an accessory to their night out. By contrast, Chicago becomes the imagined space where the performance is the event, not the social proof.

Contextually, this is an actor staking out credibility. Theater, especially in a city mythologized for ensembles and grit, offers legitimacy Hollywood can’t. Donovan isn’t just praising a town; he’s aligning himself with a version of acting that values sweat over sheen.