What's happening on the arts scene – on stage, in museums and at fairs and festivals
The signs of the season are there. Macy’s windows have come alive with moving characters, holiday market tents are going up in Daley Plaza, a giant evergreen is hoisted in Millennium Park and people are wondering if we should pray for cold to have good ice in the park or warm weather for good shopping.
No matter what the weather holds, here are a few of the jolly, holly ways to celebrate the season in the Chicago area.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
“Crazy For You” is a musical rom-com warmly embraced by the music and lyrics of George and Ira Gershwin.
Now running at Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace, the song-and-dance extravaganza is loosely based on the 1930s Gershwin musical “Girl Crazy. The original production starred Ginger Rogers and marked the stage debut of Ethel Merman.
RECOMMENDED
“Annie” at Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theatre now through Nov. 13, 2016, is a pre-Thanksgiving family treat.
The current touring production feels so fresh that even if you have seen past “Annies” you will be glad to be back watching Miss Hannigan’s orphans prance across the stage and a pugnacious Annie change everyone’s outlook on life and business from Oliver Warbucks to FDR.
RECOMMENDED
‘Fun Home’ is an unforgettable show that just came to Chicago after winning five Tony Awards in 2015. Unfortunately, it is only at the Oriental Theatre now through Nov. 13, 2016.
An intimate, questioning look back at a father and family life from a daughter’s view during youth, college years and in mid-40s, the show probably deserves an intimate space. Continue reading “‘Fun Home’ tries to understand family truths and appearances”
Art aficionados, collectors and anyone who has been to the annual SOFA art show know about the high quality works on display.
Perhaps for everyone else the title, an acronym for Sculpture, Objects and functional Art and Design is misleading.
SOFA isn’t a crafts fair. Nearly 70 galleries, some as far as Melbourne, Australia, Kyoto, Japan and London, England, have brought their showpieces to Chicago’s Navy Pier for the event.
When asked during opening night why come so far, Melbourne’s Kirra Galleries Manager Suzanne Brett, said, “We come because this is the biggest collector’s fair in the year.” Her gallery specializes in exquisite glass objects.
A couple of rows over are the gorgeous ceramics of the Sokyo Gallery from Kyoto. “This is the only one we do in the United States. It’s a good show for us,” said Yoshika Yajima.
At the Thursday night preview reception, the crowd appeared to be collectors and buyers who talked about how pieces would fit with what they had.
At London’s Gladwell & Patterson Gallery, Ella C. Elphick was adjusting a stunning mobile. “A lot of our customers are in Chicago,” she said explaining this was the gallery’s second year at the show.
Interested in buying or not, SOFA is a good show to see what is trending and what might be fun to have. Begun Nov. 3, the show continues through Sunday, Nov. 6, 2016.
SOFA is at Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand Ave., Chicago, IL. For tickets and other information visit SOFA and Navy Pier.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
While the Cubs spectacularly reigned Wednesday at the Indians’ Progressive Field, audiences were treated to a spectacular ‘Dancing in the Rain’ production at Marriott Theatre Lincolnshire.
Mobile phones checked Cleveland during intermission while MGM’s 1953 hit musical that starred Gene Kelly was brought back to life in Lincolnshire.
Continue reading “At Marriott, ‘Singing in the Rain’ has a glorious feeling”
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
“This is just a card,” magician extraordinaire /actor Brett Schneider tells the audience. And so starts a little over two hours of Goodman Theatre’s fascinating The Magic Play.
Smaller than the Albert Theatre, the Owen’s space is perfect for appreciating Schneider’s magic. But playwright Andrew Hinderaker has put a lot more up Schneider’s sleeve than astonishing tricks.
Continue reading “‘The Magic Play’ is about a lot more than illusion”
Instead of subjecting oneself to all the election noise on TV and social media, try to feel good about the world, at least for a little while, by going to a fun event. An old fashioned musical opens this week. See what creative folks are doing with functional art. Visit an outdoor destination that has an unusual indoor exhibit this weekend.
Continue reading “Three things to blot out 2016 election static Nov. 3-6”
RECOMMENDED
In East Texas Hot Links, Writers Theatre’s current show, the rhythmic speech of Adolph the “Professor,” the café setting, the discussions about work, life and death, and a sense of the economic futility of being black in a white man’s world, is somewhat reminiscent of playwright August Wilson’s Two Trains Running that ran at Goodman Theatre in 2015.
Continue reading “‘East Texas Hot Links’ looks back at the racial divide”
Be immersed in color, movement and animal life with “The Sympathetic Imagination,” a short retrospective of the work of video/film artist Diana Thater. Organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Thater’s installations take up the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago’s fourth floor exhibition area now through Jan 8, 2017.
Continue reading “Stunning videos pull viewers into animal and plant life”