I don't think I'm the only person who has a deep philosophical interest in carny culture. Otherwise, why would the Department of Cultural Affairs organize a month of carny-related arts programming? The DCA, in conjunction with Silent Theatre Company, is putting on a play of sorts, called Carnivale Nocturne, surrealistically recreating the underground world of a traveling carnival. With a live band and physical acts of carnival performance, this original dark fable by the STC ensemble, directed by Tonika Tordova, combines the styles of Tim Burton and Edward Gorey, telling the story of a curse between a group of fire breathers, fortune tellers, bestial tamers and natural freaks.
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."
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.
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.
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+
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.
Each show is $12 (more if you've got it, free if you're broke) and will be held at 7:30pm in The Chopin Theater's opulent downstairs foyer. Keep tabs on the subject-to-change schedule and get tickets here.
A theme of examining identity through multidisciplinary infusions will take the Museum of Contemporary Art's stage this season as forthcoming core performances were recently announced.
The self-examining premise could also be reflected off-stage as well this year as the MCA continues efforts to advance performances, exhibitions and educational services by converging digital media.
"We hope to draw people's native interests in music, dance and theater while at the same time crossing interdisciplinary work: infusing music with dance, film with music, [etc.]," said MCA Director of Performance Programs, Peter Taub. "By and large we are living within this multidisciplinary world--so, why do we have to think of [performance] in discipline categories?"
Here's a preview of the MCA's highly anticipated multimedia performances--which will you attend?
Gay rights activists across the country -- including Chicago's Gay Liberation Network -- caused a stink about scheduled bookings of Buju Banton, a Jamaican reggae singer who's made headlines for his violent anti-gay lyrics.
Protest organizers say their actions led promoters Live Nation and AEG Live to cancel Banton's Oct. 2 appearance in Chicago, plus House of Blues shows scheduled for Las Vegas, Dallas and Houston.
"These cancellations show the power of protest to deliver the goods," said Network member Bob Schwartz, who's led several "murder music" protests, including a 2006 demonstration during Banton's House of Blues show.
All the performances take place in the first floor performance space at the museum; enter at the north end of the building. Tickets are available online or at the museum.
This Thursday at iO (3541 N. Clark St), local improv group 1,2,3, Fag! begins their run of Qweirdo, a totally gay, totally hilarious showcase that features homosexual performers from Chicago's comedy scene. The men of 1,2,3, Fag! are Kellen Alexander, Seth Dodson, and John Hartman, who met at The Playground and began improvising together this spring. Though the members of 1, 2, 3, Fag! are all gay, they do not set out to promote any type of political agenda when they perform. "1, 2, 3, Fag! sets out to entertain the audience and make them laugh, just like any other comedy group," says Dodson. "However, being three young gay men in a scene where we are a minority, our own viewpoints, opinions and feelings are undoubtedly going to be expressed."
No, that's not the name of R. Kelly's latest album, but rather the latest stage show by Big Dog Eat Child. Big Dog Eat Child (of Boozeleggers Ball and Jones' Good Ass BBQ and Foot Massage fame) brings their show to the Lakeshore Theatre stage this Friday, May 29th at Midnight. More than just your run-of-the-mill comedy show, Intergalactic Sex Rodeo features live music from buzz band The Wires, burlesque dancers from the acclaimed Varietease Cabaret, comedy super-group Big Dog Eat Child, and comedians Marty DeRosa and Bill Cruz.
For ticket info:
Call Lakeshore Theater Box Office at: (773) 472-3492
Or visit: www.lakeshoretheater.com
For more information on Big Dog Eat Child visit their website.
Will summer to arrive by getting your lawn tix for Ravinia. Tickets go on sale April 18 and several shows notoriously sell out on the first day. Plenty of poular acts return this year like Indigo Girls, Diana Krall, The Gypsy Kings, BoDeans, Bonnie Raitt and Lyle Lovett. Most intriguing new concert for this year features David Hyde Pierce singing Cole Porter tunes.
Whether you're Irish or Catholic or neither or both, you can enjoy Irish music and fare at the Fifth Province within the Irish American Heritage Center. Every Friday through April 10, the Center hosts a fish fry and Irish music from bands like The Dooley Brothers and Seamus O'Kane & Jimmy Moore. Plenty of Irish beer and cider on tap, too. Music starts at 9pm. $12 cover.
From April 4-15, 2009, Mess Hall will host "Brains, Brilliancy, Bohemia: Art & Politics in Jazz-Age Chicago," an exhibition featuring counterculture documents and art from the Chicago hobohemian era, as well as audio from a rare interview with Studs Terkel.
The exhibit will make use of documents drawn from the Newberry Library and other sources, particularly those related to the Dill Pickle Club and its affiliated artists and activists.
If the crowds of over-served, over-festive St. Patrick's Day revelers haven't forced you to hole up in your apartment until the holiday is over, I recommend you check out Cook County Social Club's "Unplugged" show this Tuesday at 8:00 pm at the iO Theater (3541 N. Clark St.). According to the group they'll be improvising while their musical pals Butterscotch "pump out the Irish jams". The CCSC is always sharp and hilarious, so let them take your mind off the green madness in the streets with some laughs and tunes. More details here.
The Chicago Opera Theater is offering a free pair of season subscriptions in its first ever YouTube contest. Contestants have to upload a video explaining why they deserve free COT tickets, and the video that gets "favorited" most wins.
COT is so Web 2.0 right now it hurts -- from their bloggy-fresh web design to their presence on Twitter. And it's kind of refreshing, especially when general director Brian Dickie is slightly self-effacing about it on his blog. He called the contest a "marketing gimmick," but then quickly added, "We shall see what happens with this little bit of fun... Someone has to be the smart one who wins free tickets for COT."
And with a limited number of entrants so far (the contest ends April 1), why shouldn't it be you?
This Saturday March 7 at 10am, tickets will go on sale for "Unwigged & Unplugged: An Evening with Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer", who are playing the Chicago Theatre on May 30 at 8pm.
Through music-themed mockumentaries such as This is Spinal Tap and A Mighty Wind, the trio has straddled the line between comedy and musicianship, and with this upcoming appearance they'll be focusing on the music. The trio is billed as, "coming out from behind the hair, the facial hair, and the absence of hair, to perform as themselves songs from both films, and more, in a rare acoustic setting."
For more information you can visit the Chicago Theatre website here.
It's not every day -- or ever, really -- that a truckload of Chicago musicians trek across the country to celebrate an inauguration, and today Jay Ryan, who runs the screen print poster workshop Bird Machine, is offering up his limited edition Big Shoulders Ball poster for just $20. There are only 450, and you can buy one here.
If you're keen on owning a piece of Chicago history, dropping a Jackson on this print is probably a better way to go than buying an overpriced newspaper on eBay.
Attention anyone who's ever listened to "Pissing in a River" in a dark room by themselves: Patti Smith will be at the Jan. 30th screening of Patti Smith: Dream of Life at the The Block Museum of Art and will participate in a post-screening discussion with the film's director, Steven Sebring, and Sound Opinions co-host Jim Derogatis.
Tickets are $11 ($8 students) and go on sale Jan. 23, but you must pre-register to purchase them.
The MCA upped the hip a notch recently by adding folktronica duo The Books to its Spring 2009 performance schedule. The May 3 concert, co-sponsored by the Empty Bottle, is part of the ongoing MCA Stage program, which expands the museum's reach beyond visual art and into the realms of theater, music, dance and other media.
The Books' multimedia performance includes an Artists Up Close pre-show talk with members Nick Zamutto and Paul de Jong.
Your $20 ticket gets you one free museum admission on the performance date or any day during the following week. And heads up students: tickets are $10 with valid ID.
The newly formed Chicago Miniaturist Ensemble specializes in music consisting of 100 notes or fewer. Over the summer, the group issued a call for scores; composers from across the United States and around the world responded with miniature score submissions. For its inaugural performance, composers were challenged to address the theme of "chiaroscuro," the contrast between light and darkness.
The Chicago Miniaturist Ensemble will perform "Chiaroscuro" on Dec. 4 at 8pm at Ossia Fine Arts Space in the Fine Arts Building, 410 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 537. There is a suggested donation of $10 ($5 for students) for admission.
Sunday nights at 8pm, Town Hall Pub (3340 N. Halsted) opens its doors for "Entertaining Julia," a free comedy variety show currently produced by local comedians Beth Stelling, and sisters Danielle and Tiffany Puterbaugh. (Yes, Julia is the lass behind the bar.)
Chicago's small but thriving stand-up scene, long overshadowed by Chicago's legendary improv influence, is vital partly because of its "put on your own show" mindset, and this show has all the charming DIY hallmarks: a flexible start time, cheap beer specials, a nice mix of stand-up and music, and hosts in silly wigs and costumes who hug you the minute you come in the door.
Tonight Chicago Sinfonietta will be performing Gustav Holst's "The Planets" in Millennium Park while photographs from NASA are projected onto a screen behind them. The show was a big hit when it was originally performed two years ago and they've decided to bring it back for a repeat performance in a venue where you can actually see the stars. To help you do that, they're sitting up telescopes along the lawn and making docents available to assist and explain what you're viewing. The performance is free and begins at 7:30.
If you're curious about an art form that is more than the sum of its parts (its parts being dance and martial arts), then Gingarte Capoeira Chicago has your weekend all planned out for you. In capoeira, what starts off looking like a partnered dance turns into an improvised fight--both aggressive and graceful--with kicks, throws, and acrobatics. The music is also instrumental (ha) in this art form that originated (arguably) in the sixteenth century with African slaves in Brazil who wanted to disguise their self-defense training. Today's capoeira dancers are disciplined and spiritual and, as with martial artists, consider it to be a way of life.
Gingarte has been around since 1991, teaching and promoting capoeira, as well as Brazilian music and language. They have an Academy in Pilsen where you can take advantage of their classes year-round, but July 10 through 13 is their 14th Annual Batizado e Troca de Cordões, where you can participate in workshops on capoeira, music, maculelê, and samba. Click the link for the weekend event schedule, registration information (register by July 9), and fees for adults and youth.
Of course, the weekend wouldn't be complete without an opportunity to see the artists at work. Gingarte Capoeira's "Resistência" performance is at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 12, at the University of Illinois Chicago, Performing Arts Theater, 1044 W. Harrison St. Tickets are $10 in advance (online ticket sales end Friday), $15 at the door, $5 ages 16 and under.
If you haven’t cleared your calendar for the MCA’s upcoming Hip Hop Live + Reel, you might want to get on that. Born of New York City’s Hip Hop Theater Festival, Live + Reel is a four-day bonanza of hip hop culture. Artists from both coasts – including New York’s Reggie Watts and Bay Area lyricists The Suicide Kings – will be joining forces with local performers like Deja Taylor, whose work from Louder Than a Bomb has been recorded for Chicago Public Radio, and Teatro Luna, Chicago’s all-Latina theater company.
“This new format – two days of film and two days of live performances – creates a mini-festival atmosphere,” says MCA House Manager Surinder Martignetti. “The strength of combining local artists with national performers offers people such a great opportunity to see what’s happening out there and to really get involved.”
With all four days boasting a packed line up of spoken word performances, outstandingly original films and, of course, music (and only $5 for tickets to the films! Five! For the whole night!), the MCA is encouraging everyone to try to make the whole series. If you can only make one, though, I recommend aiming for Saturday, when The Suicide Kings’ In Spite of Everything, a startlingly timely play revolving around a school shooting, will be performed. Louder Than a Bomb 2008 winner Kuumba Lynx will also perform, and beatboxer Yuri Lane will close the night with an excerpt from his show From Tel Aviv to Ramallah: A Beatbox Journey.
Film night tickets are $5 for all screeings; performance nights are $16 member/$20 non-member. Student pricing is available. To see the full list of performances or to buy tickets on line, visit the MCA’s website, or call the box office at 312.397.4010 for more information.
It is no secret that Chicago has experienced a major upsurge in youth violence; recently, I sat down with Messiah Equiano, filmmaker and founder of Operation Safe Passage, to find out what he and his organization are doing to address... Read this feature »
I don't think I'm the only person who has a deep philosophical interest in carny culture. Otherwise, why would the Department of Cultural Affairs organize a month of carny-related arts programming? The DCA, in conjunction with Silent Theatre Company, is putting on a play of sorts, called Carnivale Nocturne, surrealistically recreating the underground world of a traveling carnival. With a live band and physical acts of carnival performance, this original dark fable by the STC ensemble, directed by Tonika Tordova, combines the styles of Tim Burton and Edward Gorey, telling the story of a curse between a group of fire breathers, fortune tellers, bestial tamers and natural freaks.
The newly formed 
