Gapers Block published from April 22, 2003 to Jan. 1, 2016. The site will remain up in archive form. Please visit Third Coast Review, a new site by several GB alumni. ✶ Thank you for your readership and contributions. ✶
The story: A socialite determined to be famous by any means necessary, despite her talent (or lack thereof)...
"The Paris Hilton Story," you ask?
Not quite--instead, it's Souvenir, "a touching and comic tribute" about socialite Florence Foster-Jenkins, a singer who would be, if she were alive today, ripped to shreds by "American Idol's" Simon Cowell. Not convinced? Here's a listen:
Even though Foster-Jenkins' voice was uh, "pitchy," this soprano somehow managed to endear audiences with her "deep love of music" that had them crying (figuratively speaking) for more.
Souvenir begins Thursday, Nov. 12 and runs through Sunday, Dec. 20 (show times vary) at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts (Northlight Theatre), 9501 Skokie Boulevard, in Skokie. For ticket information, visit the theatre's website or call 847.673.6300.
Perfect for Halloween: filmmaker EJ Park produced a documentary about Ari Lehman, who as a 13-year-old portrayed the young Jason Voorhees in the original Friday the 13th. "Now a struggling musician, he seeks to reclaim his momentary stardom -- transitioning from Jewish reggae to 'horror rock' as the lead singer of FirstJason."
After watching this interview with Sherri Shepherd (who grew up in Chicago and Hoffman Estates before moving to California), I really want to meet her. I'm not a fan of any of the shows she's been involved with, but she seems like a very vibrant person who's funny too. I wish I could make a living off my personality as she's been able to do.
Let's start by putting aside the ethical decision to release this film in the first place. I have less of a problem with Sony releasing this film so soon after Michael Jackson's death and more with the fact that the unpolished nature of the work being shown would never have seen the light of day if Jackson were still alive. The performer was a perfectionist to a fault, and having footage of him at anything less than his absolute best simply wouldn't have been allowed to be viewed by the public. But Michael Jackson is not in control of his image anymore, or even his own output.
This Is It is the first of what I'm sure will be many film and music releases that will now make their way to the public, and you know what? I thought it was pretty strong material. You have to remember that unpolished Michael Jackson is better than 95 percent of most other singers and performers in the world. The footage is taken from a series of rehearsals from March to June 2008, but the stuff I liked the most are the unguarded moments where Jackson issues forth orders to his band, his dancers, and his production director Kenny Ortega (who also assembled this film).
News broke this week that the Chicago Outdoor Film Festival may not return next summer. The popular film series is one of many events and services on the list to be cut in the City's 2010 budget; other cuts include Venetian Night and the Chicago Criterium bike races. The Mayor's Office of Special Events told Reel Chicago that the film festival was cut to help reduce a $512 million budgetary shortfall. The $300,000 event cost more than was covered by corporate sponsorships.
Fans of watching movies in the park will still have an option, though: the Chicago Park District's Movies in the Park series, which spokesperson Marta Juaniza confirmed was still on the schedule for next year. Since its budget comes from the Park District instead of Special Events, it wasn't under the same pressures as the Outdoor Film Festival.
Movies in the Parks screens mostly kids fare -- recent animated films, broad comedies and occasional blockbusters that will appeal to the families with young children who make up the bulk of the audience. Whether such movies will interest folks who came out to see classic films at the Outdoor Film Festival is anybody's guess.
"It's hard to say, because it's a downtown audience versus out in the neighborhoods, but we do still plan to support the program," Juaniza said. The 2010 schedule for Movies in the Parks hasn't been released yet.
For those interested in the African dance style but are unable to attend "Dance Africa 2009" when it hits Chicago on Friday, Oct. 30, here is the next best thing: Dance classes taught by renowned, professional African dancers.
On Saturday, Oct. 31, dancers from Lesole's Dance Project and the Pamodzi Dance Troupe from Zambia will teach classes in the art of South African/Zambian dance. The classes are from 10:30am until 12:30pm (check-in begins at 10am) and will be held at the Lou Conti Dance Studio, 1147 W. Jackson Blvd. The fee for the classes is $12 and must be paid in advance. For more information, call 773.947.0600.
I'll admit it, I know all the words to There Is Nothin' Like A Dame, and the ones that I don't know to Bali Ha'i I add lib as I go along. I grew up in a household where Rodgers & Hammerstein provided a near-constant soundtrack, becoming to me what sad violin music was to Frankenstein's monster - whenever I hear it I am compelled to find the source.
New York's Lincoln Center Theater has revived the 60 year-old musical, with its eerily current storyline of a country at war and the ever-relevant theme of race relations, and is bringing it to the Rosemont Theatre for one glorious week in November. I attended Tuesday's preview of the show at Gibson's Steakhouse, where a select audience was serenaded by bass-baritone David Pittsinger, who plays the part of Emile de Becque, and who previously appeared in Tosca at the Met playing the part of Angelotti. Oh yeah, he's got the pipes. As he sang Some Enchanted Evening we made eye contact, and it was like he was singing only to me. Later he broke into the heartbreaking This Nearly Was Mine, and I swear I saw real tears welling up in his eyes.
Bring your hankies, this one is going to be good.
South Pacific is playing at the Rosemont Theatre, 5400 N. River Road for a limited one-week engagement, November 24-29. Tickets are $39.50-$79.50 and can be purchased at the Rosemont Theatre Box Office and at Ticketmaster. For information and tickets call 877-447-7849, or visit Rosemont Theatre or South Pacific On Tour.
The new show at Home Gallery of the works of Casey Roberts and Deedee Davis I think will appeal to a wide audience. Casey's cyanotypes, and the layered glass works of Deedee, at first seem to contrast each other fairly harshly. This, for me, ended up being just an initial reaction, because upon a second look I saw that the playfulness and mystery between the two styles complimented each other quite well.
People shouldn't get too much plastic surgery. Actually, no one should get it, but since some segments of society are materialistically self-absorbed, plastic surgery is "inevitable." Just take a walk around the Gold Coast or the Viagra Triangle to test such a theory.
Last night I spotted plastic surgery overkill: Cindyana from "Million Dollar Listing." This photo does not capture the hideousness that appeared on camera for several moments at a time. In fact, I think the producers purposely did close-ups of her face to expose us to such horror. If you want to be creeped out, watch Season 3, Episode 3 -- they'll most likely rerun it multiple times.
These are the sounds that will permeate the Harold Washington Cultural Center, 4701 S. King Dr., this weekend during the Fifth Annual Chicago Tap Summit.
Put on by M.A.D.D. (Making A Difference Dancing) Rhythms, a Chicago-based dance company whose mission "is to spread the love and joy of tap worldwide," this summit will feature dance classes, workshops, and panel discussions on the art of tap dancing.
The summit will be highlighted by "Take 5," a ceremony honoring legendary tap dancers Prince Spencer, Harold Comer, Robert L. Reed, Chicago-born Jeni Le Gon, and the late Ernest 'Brownie' Brown, and their amazing contributions to the tap dance world.
This action-packed weekend (all events take place at the Harold Washington Cultural Center) begins Friday, Oct. 30 and runs through Sunday, Nov. 1. Individual tap dance classes range from $30-$50; packages are also available. Tickets to the "Take 5" ceremony are $20 (group rates are available). For more information, please call 773.604.1899.
Hip hop and James Brown aren't necessarily commonplace in the world of dance theatre, but thanks to choreographer Rennie Harris, "hip hop theatre" is here to stay.
Harris, the "ambassador of hip hop" and founder of the Rennie Harris Puremovement (RHPM) dance company, recently brought his unique style of dance theater from Philadelphia to Chicago.
Admittedly, I didn't quite know what to expect from Harris' "I Want You," part of the Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago's "Giordano: MOVE!" series that ran this past weekend at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance. When I learned the show would combine elements of "funk and street movement influenced by African dance and old school hip-hop," I was immediately intrigued.
As I approached the entrance to Three Perspectives and a Short Scenario, Liam Gillick's new survey at the MCA, I noticed a man in front of me amble up to it, pause at the edge of it, and stick his head in, quickly accessing the room to make sure there was nothing worth actually entering the room for, and abruptly turn and walk away.
If you have more patience for contemporary art than him, you will actually enter the room, spend a few minutes with the work, a few more minutes reading the wall text, and likely walk out confused and disappointed.
Looking forward to January? No? Maybe this will help-- the new year means new calendars. New calendars means a new Thought You Knew (TyK) calendar. What? You don't know about TyK calendars? Let me tell you.
The TyK calendar project was born last year, as a result of frustrated female cyclists in Chicago. Sick of being pegged as either mechanically savvy but asexual, or cute but inept with their bikes, they sought out a new way to represent themselves.
It's allegorically similar to Dr. Victor Frankenstein's monster itself. Creative director Sean Graney and the Hypocrites analyzed a gothic tale of assorted interpretations, dissected it, and spread it across the Museum of Contemporary Art stage to be pieced together -and there's not one nose-bleed seat in the house.
The Hypocrites' Frankenstein revision, based on Mary Shelley's 1818 novel and the 1931 film starring Boris Karloff, has a haunted house-like promenade setup resulting in the actors weaving through the audience, up and around asymmetrically placed furniture and benches. So, everyone is sitting front-row. The performance does come with aforementioned caveats however: "You will be pointed to if you are in the way," actress Jessie Fisher says beforehand, "And we're going to try so hard not to get blood on you."
Floating World Gallery had its inaugural show today, with a wonderful display of mezzotints by Yozo Hamaguchi. Yozo was an oil painter until meeting E.E. Cummings in France who mentioned that his drawings would look great as prints. The rest is history as they say, Hamaguchi returned to Japan and studied printmaking. The prints on display at Floating World are from many stages throughout Yozo Hamaguchi's career. With such wide variety of work it is easy to see the progression of skill Mr. Hamaguchi achieves within the process.
A Mezzotint is done in one of two ways, additive or subtractive. Hamaguchi utilized the former, although the later has historically been more popular. You can easily see that this is the case, because along side of the prints at Floating World are the plates, which is rare for a gallery to put on display. Only adding marks where he wants the ink to print, these plates are inscribed with millions of tiny dots and line to create vast areas of even tones and gradations. His ability to manipulate the tools in creating these prints are on display for all to see, and his mastery of this technique unquestionable.
The one thing that did overshadow the Hamaguchi exhibit though, was the opening of the Floating World Gallery itself. This huge space dedicated strictly to the art of printmaking was astonishing. As a sometimes printer myself it is a joy to know that Chicago, which has a deep history with printmaking, has another stellar venue, for not only showing and selling, but for educating people on prints and the printmaking processes. With an intimate showing space upstairs and the large open gallery down, this space it sure to attract, as well as create, print lovers of all sorts.
When it comes to performing, Chicago native Robert Townsend has certainly done it all; beginning with his 1987 directorial debut, "Hollywood Shuffle", (and before then with a bit part in the 70s cult classic "Cooley High")Townsend has gone on to produce, direct, write and act in several feature films and television series.
After a television hiatus, Townsend returns to the small screen, adding another entry to his repertoire: "Robert Townsend's Musical Theater of Hope." Airing this weekend on the Gospel Music Channel (GMC), "Hope" is a trilogy with a "theatre-like quality" that shows "characters dealing with the challenges of life." I have seen all of his projects, including "Meteor Man", (but don't hold that one against him) and he has consistently put out quality, entertaining, and family-friendly material that everyone can enjoy.
So, if you're all tuckered out from watching football, tune into "Robert Townsend's Musical Theater of Hope" on GMC this Sunday, Oct. 25 at 7pm. Encore performances are scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 27 at 11pm.
Though I'd like to commend CBS for posting full episodes of "The Good Wife" at their site (for those of us who can't record it on Tuesday nights), I've noticed an inconsistency: the Chicago police in Highland Park. Highland Park has its own police department, so realistically, the police who arrested the teenager in the clip below would be from Highland Park, not Chicago.
When it comes to biography films, the absolute worst thing you can be is pointless. But in so many ways, this look at the famous years of Amelia Earhart's life and career is exactly that. When a historical figure's accomplishments are so well documented and their demise so infamous, you don't need to spend as much time detailing the events that are in every history book. In fact, it's an excellent opportunity to get inside the head and heart of the subject. What's particularly frustrating about Amelia is that I know so little about Earhart as a child and her upbringing — all of the things that brought her to such notoriety — yet the film decides to introduce us to her after she's already fairly famous and well on her way to becoming the most famous woman in America.
Last night was my final West African Dance class of the current session, and we had a recital onstage at the Old Town School of Folk Music. The school is housed in a grand building on Lincoln Avenue that was once a library and retains traces of its bookish past; above the stage is a WPA mural underscored by the words "enjoy toys, the world we live in, making airplanes, boats, books tell us of King Arthur, costume and pioneer days, building skyscrapers, electricity." My fellow classmates and I - six of us in all, got on stage to the rhythm of live djembe drumming, and brought the house down. After spending eight weeks dancing in the studio classroom, it was gratifying to perform in front of an audience, and the group assembled at the Old Town School couldn't have been less judgmental - everyone in the auditorium had to get on stage at some point, making the atmosphere less American Idol and more like talent night at summer camp. We practiced our dance moves in the hallway as a group of musicians rehearsed Will The Circle Be Unbroken, it was a quintessential Old Town School moment.
The six of us stood across from each other on the stage, three on each side, and at the appropriate drumbeat - what our teacher calls "the break," we started moving towards each other in dance formation until we'd found our mark, faced the audience, and moved to the next step. Midway through the dance we formed a circle using dance steps and then moved back to our original spots, a maneuver that wowed the audience. I was standing up front at stage right, and could see the audience - mostly guitar students, with instruments in their laps or in cases sitting next to them. Our dance lasted all of three minutes, and we received a truly raucous round of applause and shouts for our efforts. It was fantastic. Three West African Dance classes performed in a row, ceaseless drumming spurring on one class after the next. After that came the Middle Eastern Belly Dancers in all their jangly, hip-centered self-confidence, the metal disks on their hip scarves bouncing in unison like a school of small, shiny fish.
Get your foot in the fashion industry door. Applications will be accepted until Nov. 16 for The Chicago Fashion Incubator at Macy's on State Street. Six designers will be selected to learn about the fashion business, including the marketing and merchandising, from industry experts. The icing on the cake is the sample production, showroom and office space at Macy's on State Street that the winning designers will get for one year starting March 2010. The incubator, sponsored by the city's Department of Cultural Affairs, will also offer space for workshops and seminars for the local fashion community.
Find the application at www.chicagofashionresource.com and email yours to chicagofashionincubator@gmail.com. Winners will be announced at the end of December 2009.
Forgive me if this is old news, but I've just discovered the goldmine of videos on CAN TV's website. This is especially exiting because I don't have cable, so I don't get CAN TV on my television, which seems ironic somehow, but whatever. Money doesn't grow on trees.
Anyway, check out the great videos they've got on there. The local events videos are super interesting, and they have a pretty awesome collection of art-related stuff. Like this video documentation of a recent Artists at Work forum about how to make money outside of the white cube.
Unbeknownst to this writer, my favorite theater in the city the Music Box also has a film distribution company called Music Box Films. Since 2007 Music Box Films has exposed American audiences to some of the premiere foreign cinema through television, DVD, and screenings at movie houses across the country. Most recently, they acquired the rights to distribute the film adaptation of the Steig Larrsson novel The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. The novel, which is a part of Larrsson's posthumous Millennium trilogy, was one of the best-selling novels across the globe, and the film itself has been greeted with great success overseas in Scandinavia. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is set to hit independent theaters in March of 2010, so if you're a fan of the novel or the story in general keep an eye out. Though the trailer is in Swedish it looks like it's going to be a great foreign release.
I find it hard to talk about Th!nkArt because it is kind of complex. Laurie has built Th!nkArt within a vision, and even though I can tell that vision has continuity, it is hard to pin it down to something short and sweet. One thing you can't escape is the French feel. Th!nkArt had a partnership with the Paris-based Friedland Rivault Gallery and works in conjunction with a number of other French Institutions both here in Chicago and abroad. For instance, at the event I attended, Laurie introduced a France Delegation of 10 emerging elected officials of color who were visiting Chicago. This alone was done in conjunction with Chicago United, United Congress, The Sister Cities International Program of Chicago, and Groupe Professionnal Francophone. So you see, reaching out and creating discourses is something that Laurie truly believes in, its not just another buzz word for her.
Laurie has a long history with art, artists, politics and France. This history has created a rich experience that she can't help but infuse into everything she does. Laurie's approach is quite simple; get your hands dirty and keep an open mind. Th!nkArt is not just a Gallery, and you will not understand what Laurie is trying to achieve by attending one event. I had to talk with Laurie, who is very approachable, in order to get an idea of what the underlining themes of the event were and how everything was tied in together. As I mentioned earlier nothing was any more significant that anything else throughout the evening. So Larry Roberts' paintings, as well as the music and the French delegation, aided the experiences by creating a launching point for discussion, as well as places to rest. Laurie has been laying the groundwork for Th!nkArt since 2006 and I am excited to see what the future of Th!nkArt is going to be.
Tonight's the night for documentaries about icons, apparently. You have two to choose from:
One Fast Move or I'm Gone: Kerouac's Big Sur documents Jack Karouac's life post-On the Road, as he recoiled from sudden fame and retreated to Lawrence Ferlinghetti's cabin in the Big Sur woods of northern California, chronicled in his semi-autobiographical novel Big Sur It screens tonight only, at 8pm at Webster Place, 1471 W. Webster St. Tickets are $10.
Hori Smoku Sailor Jerry is a film about Norman K. "Sailor Jerry" Collins, the legendary tattoo artist and pioneer of mid-century American tattoo culture. The Metro, 3730 N. Clark St., hosts a screening tonight, with a Q&A with director Erich Weiss and Sailor Jerry Rum drinks afterward. It's free with RSVP, but you have to be 21 or older.
After a long search, this is the only picture I could find. If you have a better picture, feel free to let me know. Nene's uncle is on the far left, and to the right of her is the co-author of her book (Denene Millner), and Nene's alleged real dad.
Several Chicago-based art institutions have banded up to form Studio Chicago, a year-long collaborative project, focusing on all aspects of the artist's studio. Through various exhibitions and events around the city, working artists and their sites of creative production will be celebrated and investigated from historical and contemporary perspectives.
Studio Chicago launches with an Artists at Work Forum at the Cultural Center on Oct. 29th, and will go on for a year, manifesting itself though various exhibitions, talks, publications, tours, and research.
Robot vs. Dinosaur, a writer-centric improv ensemble that originated in New York and was brought to Chicago in 2007, is enjoying a run of their show: Mrs. Gruber's Ding Dong School, at Gorilla Tango Theatre. A series of sketches loosely based around a preschool classroom, the show opens strong but loses focus. The premise of a school as a reference point seemed unnecessary, and even the best sketches ran too long, losing steam before they ended.
Some genuinely funny moments were had, but if this show were a national holiday it would be Canada Day, not the 4th of July - no fireworks but plenty of sparklers, and a few standout roman candles in the forms of Erin Morrill, Andrew Kraft, and Anthony Ellison, who came across like younger versions of Amy Poehler, Will Ferrell and Bill Murray.
Stop by a haunted fundraiser gala on Oct. 22 to support Split Pillow, a non-profit motion picture production and media literacy education company.
The ghoulish benefit takes place from 6-8 p.m. Oct. 22 at the home of Split Pillow's founder, Jason Stephens (400 E. Randolph #40A, Chicago) and will feature a meet and greet with cast members, a silent auction, cocktails, hors d'ouvres and maybe some special and otherworldly guests.
The evening also celebrates the upcoming release of Split Pillow's feature films, Eye of the Sandman and Life as Lincoln.
Tickets are $60. Reserve yours or find out more information at www.splitpillow.com.
Someone sent me info about CLTV (which according to some people is the Triple A/Farm Team for WGN): you can now watch it if you have RCN. Finally. It's obviously impractical that for years, people could only see it on Comcast, but what's odd is that not even all Comcast subscribers can see it either. I don't know what CLTV's plan is, but I hope they get more exposure because it's refreshing to see news presented in a regular way (instead of the fluffy presentations on other stations). And they have pleasant weekday morning anchor Tonya Francisco and earnest weekend anchor Judy Wang, two women on TV who don't act dumb.
If you're looking for cheap drinks and entertainment this weekend, check out the Chicago League of Lady Arm Wrestlers competition on Saturday evening at The Spot (4437 N. Broadway). For $20 you can get access to the match and a two-hour open bar, or if you'd rather not take advantage of the open bar, there is a $5 suggested donation at the door.
Bet on your favorite wrestler and earn a chance to win some amazing raffle prizes, including theatre tickets, t-shirts, food, gift certificates, and more. The proceeds from the evenings will benefit Sideshow Theatre Company and the animal help organization New Leash on Life.
Director and co-writer Spike Jonze and co-writer Dave Eggers (Away We Go) have given birth to a type of film that defies conventional film criticism. To say you loved, like, were neutral on, or hated their adaptation of Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are doesn't quite get the job done. No, this work demands a far purer emotional response and deep psychological self-examination to get to the heart of why this telling of this very simple story gets to the root of what we are as human beings. Jonze might be better at this than any director working today. He doesn't thrust cold, therapeutic analysis at us. With films like Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, he takes us by the hand and guides us into the often-scary world inside our collective mind and shared experiences as both children and adults.
With Where the Wild Things Are, Jonze and Eggers acknowledge the very real and often totally overlooked (at least in movies) fact that children's minds work in an awesomely different way than the minds of adults. So often in films, kids are written simply as tiny adults — smarter and more in control of their thoughts and feelings than any kid I've ever met. I'm not saying there aren't smart children; there are. But no matter how intelligent a child may be, you can't accelerate maturity. Even a kid with a high IQ can have a temper tantrum. In fact, the odds are pretty great that they will. In Wild Things, Max (played by the gifted Max Records) may or may not be smart, but he is highly creative and has an imagination that may be so highly refined it might be a hindrance rather than an asset. Dressed in his wolf costume for dinner, he climbs on a counter and demands that his mother (Catherine Keener) "Feed me, woman!" in his most booming voice, her reaction is a mixture of anger and humiliation (her new boyfriend — Mark Ruffalo — is in the next room).
This should be fun- the folks down at The Hideout are putting on their own, probably even more twisted, version of Little Shop Of Horrors, produced, directed by, and starring Hideout staff, friends, and family. I am particuarly exited to see local poet and incredible soul/funk/Americana singer Marvin Tate play Audrey II "The Plant."
There will be six showings, one every evening Oct. 22-25th, and 3pm showings on the 24th and 25th. Tickets are $15. The Hideout: 1354 W. Wabansia. 773-227-4433. 21+
Golden Age, an innovative and niche bookstore on west 18th Street, has and interesting show of works opening on Saturday Oct. 17th. The show consists only of works previously published by Medium Rare. Founded in 2008 by Milano Chow, Medium Rare works with young emerging artists to publish works in an affordable and accessible format.
Mike Bancroft is an interdisciplinary community artist from Chicago and the founder and executive director of Co-op Image, a Non-Profit youth arts organization.
Gapers Block interviewed Bancroft at the site of his newest art installation, Stolen, which re-creates the claustrophobic space of a pawnshop out of a 3 car garage, executing a caustic aesthetic with ill installed faux wood paneling, low dropped ceilings, and mismatched fluorescent lighting.
The signature event is an opportunity for the approximately 130 works crafted by Marwen students, alumni, staff and teaching artists of various media to display and sell their work and is quite literally an investment in the future of Chicago artists.
The suggested donation on opening night is $20 and will be hosted with not only food, cocktails and music but a reflection with artists who will be present to discuss their work. The Art Fair exhibition will continue until Nov. 13. Hours are Saturday, Nov. 7, 12- 6pm and Mon.-Fri., 9am-6pm. Prices of the art work range from $50 - $1000.
Every good play should have sex, drugs, and timeless moral lessons. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom has all three, plus good jokes and even better music.
August Wilson's 1984 play, part of his Pittsburgh cycle, describes the plight of the black musician in depression-era Chicago. The story is masterfully directed by Ron OJ Parson and equally well executed by a small team of talented actors. Wilson's story is a quintessential drama, simultaneously timeless and modern, drawing from traditions of storytelling that go back to biblical times, and building up to an explosive ending.
It's a shame that we're finding out about street photographer Vivian Maier after her death -- no doubt had her talent been known, she would have, if not celebrated alongside Robert Frank, been recognized like Gary Stochl for her keen eye and skill at capturing Chicago. Born in France, she lived in Chicago for more than 50 years, and documented the city with her camera throughout the 1950s, '60s and '70s.
To discover street photographers working here today, check out this pool on flickr.
From the local club scene to cable TV to feature films, Chicago comedian Deon Cole has been steadily climbing the ranks in stand-up comedy; now, he has a new feather in his cap: He is the latest addition to the writing staff of NBC's "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien."
Here is Cole at work:
Be sure to tune in to "The Tonight Show" to see one of Chicago's own in action!
Jackie Taylor is definitely a legend in the Chicago theater community; from writing to directing to producing to acting, this Windy City native and founder of the Black Ensemble Theater does it again with her latest production, The Message Is In the Music (God Is A Black Man Named Ricky).
The play tells the story of "the fight of good against evil and the struggle between love and hate" and features classic soul music including The Drifters,
Stevie Wonder and Curtis Mayfield.
Preview performances will be held on Oct. 16 and 17; the official opening is Sunday, Oct 18 at 3pm. Thereafter, the show will run indefinitely on Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 3pm. Tickets can be purchased ($40.00 for preview shows; $45.00 for regular shows) by calling the Black Ensemble Theater at 773.769.4451 or via Ticketmaster.
Let me honestly say that I've wanted to write about the Lettermansituation since the story broke, but I've refrained because it seems that everyone is writing about it. But here's something you haven't seen in the Chicago media: any mention that it happens here as well.
I got to see the opening night of Binary, a show curated by Lauren and Francesco Levato, over at The Near Northwest Arts Council. The art show was nothing to rave about and I won't be doing that here although you can check it out through November 7, 2009. On the other hand the "Wetware Render Machine" was a hit with everyone.
This project, if you want to call it that, was an effort to create collaboratively. It unfortunately included all this writing about CGI computers, sampling and on off binary gibberish. The thing that actually took place at St Paul's Cultural Center they called "Wetware Render Machine," this was a live model session with artists, writers, students, parents, and all sort of people drawing and interacting in an open creative and active environment.
Lauren Levato actively invited people to draw, and create their own work on paper that was provided, or contribute to a number of works that were already started or even considered finished. This particular evenings event was not about one person effectively seeing through an idea or vision, although some may have seen it that way, but it was about a collective vision. That's what all the computer sampling talk was about, and although it makes sense, it made understanding the process difficult, and these days I would rather see art simplified than made overly complex. The Wetware Render Machine was as simple as it sounds complex and if you didn't get a chance to experience it, you have until the 7th of November to see the remnants of a great night of active, interactive and expressive art making.
I would like to add that there may have been a pay off for all the CGI talk that I was not there for but regardless I had a great time and bravo to both Lauren and Francesco.
The Art Institute of Chicago is hosting the first comprehensive museum exhibition of artworks by the late, self-taught artist, James Castle. Deaf since birth, Castle never adopted speech, sign language, lip-reading, writing, or any of the usual modes of communicating with other people. Instead, he communicated through his art, which, as a result, is charming and enigmatic.
The retrospective opens on October 10th and will run through January 3rd.
Today marks the first full day of screenings for the Chicago International Film Festival, this year a rather subdued affair all taking place at the AMC River East theaters. There are slightly fewer offerings this year, but in most cases, there are more showings of each film, which is always a good thing. Forgiving the open-night selection Motherhood, an abysmal self-important treatise on hipster parents starring Uma Thuman (more on the film when it opens in a few weeks), the rest of the festival is a promising mixture of accessible art house fare, a solid selection of foreign films that have been gathering acclaim on the festival circuit, and even a couple of films that feature Oscar-hopeful performances. Here's a quick rundown of some of the films playing in the first week of CIFF that you might want to consider checking out.
Antichrist
In what was the most divisive film at the Cannes Film Festival, and may end up being the most divisive of the year, period, Lars Von Trier's Antichrist opens with what is the most beautiful prologue you will see in 2009. It ends with acts of sexual brutality (inflicted by a man and a woman against each other and themselves) that are difficult to describe even on the filterless internet. In between these unforgettable book ends is actually where the controversy occurs. There's a whole lot of psychobabble between a distraught wife (the wonderfully neurotic/psychotic Charlotte Rampling) and her therapist husband (the remarkable Willem Dafoe). I found the on-the-go, free-flowing analysis fascinating; others have found it mind-numbingly inane and insufferable. And I don't think I'd pick of fight with people who feel that way. The cabin-in-the-foggy-woods setting and the bizarre, excessive mutilations in the film's final minutes gave the entire experience a fairy tale quality to it, and I think it's possible that Antichrist actually hypnotized me. If less intriguing and talented actors were at the center of this movie, I don't think I would have liked it as much. But Dafoe and Rampling maneuver through this murky plot like masters. If you have the stomach for the violence, the rest of Antichrist will probably impress you. My first reaction after the film ended was that it was neither as bloody or shocking as I'd been led to believe. It was the emotional trauma of the entire work that stuck with me and not simply the shocking visuals. Give this one a try, if only to celebrate the fact that Von Trier is still making movies that people cannot stop talking about.
Free fun like the beach, parks and festivals are packing up and leaving town for the winter. Luckily, chilly frugal times can be just as fun as mild frugal times.
Free Night of Theater starts Oct. 15. It is your ticket to plenty of free performances in Chicago.
Here is how it works: Visit www.freenightoftheater.net, click on "Find a Show" and search for shows playing in and near Chicago. You reserve your free tickets and pick them up at the door.
Free Night of Theater is nationwide, so even if you go out of town, you can still enjoy an entertaining evening on the cheap.
Tony Wight Gallery is very quiet right now, like the stark silence after a tornado passes through, but the scene is much less cluttered. In the front room, Robyn O'Neil's giant graphite drawings hang on the walls, floating in clean, white frames, with plenty of breathing room between them. They depict post-apocalyptic scenes, which, without a familiarity with her previous work, might just look like textural investigations of hair and water. In the back room, her small drawings continue the same style and theme, but more intimately, and an upside-down ship and a cluster of pyramids are added to the mix.
Kathy Griffin (who grew up in Oak Park) is in town for some shows at the Chicago Theater, and today I saw her walking out of the Ritz Carlton to get in a car that drove her a couple of blocks to the Borders on Michigan Avenue (which will be closed early next year).
I walked over to the Borders to try to get a picture of her, but all I saw were hundreds of people lined up on the first and second floors to get their books signed. What's D-List about that? Staying at the Ritz, wearing beautiful clothes, surrounded by handlers, sold-out shows at the Chicago Theater, hundreds of people waiting for her to just sign their books...she's obviously a success!
Dean Richards said that he got a chance to talk to her, and she totally made him laugh. That interview will be on the WGN Morning News tomorrow (Thursday), and he said it will be funny. Hopefully they'll post the video online as well.
Kathleen Puls Andrade's one-woman show, currently running at the Greenhouse Theater Center, is a biographical account of her experience with infertility, but she stresses that its not just for couples who struggle with the issue. Kathleen, who can also be seen in Put The Nuns In Charge, the long-running sequel to Late Night Catechism, hopes that by exploring the issue of infertility onstage it will start to lose some of its stigma and begin to make its way into more discussions. "It's a comedy meant to entertain although it does have a message," she says, "and it's not just for women either. It has a universal appeal with universal themes of hope, frustration, regrouping and moving on."
The exhibit focuses on three American abstract artists from the 1940s through the 1980s.
Members of The Seldoms will accompany the pieces with three new dances that respond to the vibrant, abstract works.
The Oct. 9 reception starts at 6 p.m. and includes a post-show discussion and "Paint with a Dancer" that includes cocktails provided by the Violet Hour.
Tickets are $30 for the reception, which starts at 6 p.m. at the Loyola University Museum of Art at 820 N. Michigan Ave.
Mark your calendar for two other performances: Oct. 24 at 3 p.m. and Tuesday Nov. 3 at 6 p.m. Tickets for those are $6 and include museum admission and a post-show discussion. Visit www.theseldoms.org for more information.
Renee Prible Una talks with ChicagoArts about how Teaching and her meditation practice inform her art making and had become an integral part of her process.
On Monday October 12th Renee will be doing a followup interview on ChicagoArts Live you will be able to ask questions and participate on UStream.
You can find out more about Renee on her website, and don't miss her shows in November at The Noyes Cultural Arts Center in Evanston and at Perimeter Gallery in Chicago.
Here's the context: in the episode The Lazarus Experiment, the Doctor was playing an organ to try to destroy an evil creature and said, "I'll have to turn it up to eleven."
Yes, I'm a Spinal Tap fan which is why I caught that reference easily. I'm sure many people in Chicagoland were smiling and nodding their heads when they heard that. I just wanted to celebrate such a pop cross-cultural reference here. Thank you and have a good night :)
In life, we all go through various phases that affect us; if we're lucky, we even learn a thing or two along the way. In the play "The Cycle", a perspective on "why every individual acts, thinks and chooses different paths in life" is explored.
"The Cycle," written and produced by Chicago native Kenya Renee, is playing one day only, with two shows on Saturday, Oct. 10, at 3pm and 7pm, at the Museum of Science and Industry, 57th Street and Lake Shore Drive. Tickets are $25 for general admission (buy 3, get 1 free) and $10 for seniors. This is the show's final run in Chicago before it goes on tour.
For more information, please contact producer Kenya Renee at 773.406.7663 or by email, fambreaksthecycle@hotmail.com.
Let me begin by saying October is the beginning of Chicago Artists Month, so there will be no shortage of art events, or wine and cheese for the next thirty days. Having said that, this weekend you will want to check out the Ravenswood Art Walk or RAW. You may have seen the crow logo on red posters around town, but if not don't worry, I will fill you in on the haps right now. 180 artists converge on the Ravenswood Corridor Saturday and Sunday from 11am - 6pm. There is a mapped route, and if you are inclined, the starting location is 4256 N Ravenswood (west side of the Metra tracks). This is the Central Gallery, and here you will be able to see one piece frome every artists involved in RAW Throughout the event you will also be able to participate in the GREAT ART RAFFLE featuring over $3,000 worth of art by some of our talented and most generous artists. There will also be FREE trolley service.
Don't forget to come to 4147 N Ravenswood to see the special exhibit: The Blago Project which is housed in Blagojevich's former offices (Where the FBI wiretapped and eventually raided!!) This project was open to anyone involved in the Ravenswood Art Walk and consists of artwork made to the theme of Rod Blagojevich.
I had a membership with WTTW/Channel 11 but let it lapse, and eventually got a desperate-sounding letter from them, with several paragraphs that started out with the phrase "We took the chance..." followed by "There's only one problem with 'the honor system,' and running a public service on faith--everyone has to keep doing their fair share or it falls down." They said that they're worried, which made me wonder how bad TV would be without them around.
So I sent my membership check in, and I'd like to suggest that other people do the same. They're one of the few TV stations that doesn't require trash to fuel their programming, and they don't use visual extremes or try to melt people's minds.
I've never worked for them and don't know anyone there, so I don't have a ulterior motive. I just appreciate that they're around.
There are two things you need to do before seeing Zombieland for the first of what will inevitably be many times. The first thing is to erase the memory of Shaun of the Dead, if only for the 90-minute duration of this film. Despite both works being very funny, bloody and full of zombies, they are two very different creatures. Zombieland is not the American version of Shaun — it's certainly not trying to be — and any comparisons between the two are foolish and lazy. The second thing you need to do is stay as far away from any cast list you might have access to for this film. If you've already seen a reference to a certain extended cameo in this film, they you've ruined one of the truly great sequences in any film of 2009 for yourself. Maybe you stumbled upon it by accident, who knows. But going in not knowing gave me one of the true joys of going to a movie this year. And here's the thing, somebody actually told me about the appearance, and I just plain forgot. Thank god for that. My point is, go into Zombieland pure and with a head just empty enough to truly appreciate what director Ruben Fleischer and writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick have carefully constructed — a film that appears to be all about the fun-filled world of the zombie Apocalypse but has a little something for your mind and soul as well. You will laugh, without a doubt, but you're also going to feel something for these characters and their individual situations.
The Chicago Park District's Nature Areas Program has started a photography contest to "illustrate the natural beauty and biological diversity" of Chicago. Winners will participate in a traveling exhibit, among other prizes.
I arrived at the ViaDuct Theater ready to see a Russian play. Even though I had known Ivanov had some comic flavor, I was very much prepared for something tragic and depressing. Ivanov did not disappoint in the least. A midlife crisis story, written in the late 1800s about a landowner and his high-faulting friends, Ivanov is riddled with bad love, greed, betrayal, and lots of Vodka. This is not the play to attend if Blue Man happens to be sold out, but it is definitely worth a once over.
Tuesday's Chicago inaugural of The Moth's StorySLAM at Martyr's was sold out to a crowd of eager listeners. I arrived early and installed myself at the bar, where I scanned the notes I'd prepared in case my name got pulled from the hat. When I looked up, I saw other storytelling hopefuls doing the same. The slam was focused around the theme of "school". Hosted by Dan Kennedy of The Moth Radio Hour and sponsored by WBEZ, this was the first time the 13-year old storytelling institution conducted a StorySLAM in Chicago. Later this week they'll be in Detroit, and then back in New York.
No stranger to comics, movies, or Chicago, it seems only natural that Gordon McAlpin would create Multiplex, "a comic strip about life at a movie theater." The Peoria native's knowledge of and deep affection for the webcomic's prevailing topics is evident: characters and dialogue have an easy familiarity to them, movement and expression coming through surprisingly well given the strip's slightly static, cartoonish aesthetic. Recently, Gordon filled me in on his history, Multiplex's backstory, and the next step in its evolution.
How did you get into comics in the first place?
I always loved superheroes from watching cartoons, specifically Super Friends. My older brother read a few comics, horror comics, he had the most copies of Gru. He was never really into it. He was more into D&D and heavy metal. In 4th or 5th grade, I got the DC Heroes roleplaying game. They kept referencing this series called Crisis on Infinite Earth, so I saved up more allowance, trucked on over to a comic book store, picked up the old Crisis books. I started hanging around Metropolis, a comic book store, then Acme, its competitor. A chain-smoking, curmudgeonly guy named Jim would recommend stuff to me. Eventually, he would introduce me to slightly more grown-up stuff, he knew I wasn't going to run and show it to my mom. I hung out there for years. Fell in love with the medium, and I always liked to draw.
Comedian Brent Weinbach's latest album, "The Night Shift", is what one might expect from an Andy Kaufman Award-winner. It's odd, very odd, but funny, and it goes all over the place. Stand-up bits are interspersed with cracked anecdotes told in a gravely NPR-esque voice, a few phone conversations are thrown in and to top it off there are some Cole Porter type piano tunes as well. The album is a grab bag of crassness, creepiness, sincerity, and foreign language lessons (I'm going to say "pinatas" and hope that at some point you will know what I'm talking about, and come back and laugh at this reference.), which is a lot to digest while listening to on your iPod, and might just be better served live.
Fortunately for Chicagoans, Brent Weinbach will be in town this evening kicking off the tenth season of comedy at the Lincoln Lodge. The Lincoln Lodge is a premier showcase for local comedians and variety acts, and to celebrate their tenth season they're bringing in headliners and Lincoln Lodge alumni. The show is tonight at 9:00 pm at the Lincoln Lodge (4008 N. Lincoln Ave), and tickets can be purchased for $10 here or by calling (773) 251-1539.
News broke this week that the 
Tonight's the night for documentaries about icons, apparently. You have two to choose from:
