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Overseas, out: Kids stay close to home base
October 11, 2001
By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
After spending a couple of weeks on the East Coast, the cast members of ''The Real World'' are back at their Wicker Park apartment.
Originally, they were supposed to go overseas--probably to Prague--but after the tragic events of Sept. 11, MTV nixed that idea and kept the kids in the United States.
"I know they were really bummed about that," says a source close to the cast. "They were really looking forward to traveling and didn't want to be limited to staying in the country."
Not all the kids were disappointed about remaining on U.S. soil.
"One of the girls was scared to go to Prague," says Jim Kleckner, who has been detailing the Chicago cast's day-to-day lives on the Liquid Generation Web site (www.liquidgeneration.com).
"She was worried because of the climate of the world now and was telling her friends she didn't want to go."
Kleckner reports that the majority of the Real World cast members have jobs at the old Time/Life Building on Fairbanks in River North. He and his Liquid Generation colleagues have encountered them at neighborhood bars and hot dog stands.
But at least one of them has gone his own way. Theo, the hip African-American cast member and the only one not to get a job in Chicago (as MTV mandates of its cast), has gotten a gig. Check it out: he's working for the trendy nightclub the Dragon Room, 809 W. Evergreen.
Every Friday night--starting this week--Theo will be one of the resident hosts of the club. This week's theme: "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Room."
Cute.
"He has been hanging out at the club for a while," says owner Billy Dec. "He likes the parties and our staff and has gotten really close to some of the people who work here."
OK, but how'd he go from party boy to employee?
"He and my partner at the Dragon Room have become good friends, and they approached me with the idea for him to work here," Dec says.
"They had this idea to do visual stuff in the background with a martial-arts theme. We're all kind of winging it at this point, but he's excited to be a part of this, and we're happy to have him."
Dec says all of Theo's fellow cast members are expected to show up to support him.
Well, almost all. The club is 21-and-older, which means Kelly, 19, won't be able to come in and play.
"We're really strict at the door," Dec says. "If you're not 21, you can't get in no matter who you are or know. No exceptions."Got a scoop about "The Real World" in Wicker Park? E-mail me at realworld@suntimes.com
Read more Real World Confidential
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