U2, Blues, Ravinia favs Diana Krall and OneRepublic, Pitchfork and Lollapalooza heat up Chicago summer nights

Get out the calendar to mark the 2017 summer music festivals you hope to catch. Copy the ticket info and good luck.

Blues comes to Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park in June. Jodie Jacobs photo
Blues comes to Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park in June. Jodie Jacobs photo

First, U2 + The Lumineers will be at Soldier Field June 3-4. Yes, they will be doing “The Joshua Tree” in its entirety.See  U2 + The Lumineers 

Then the Chicago Blues Festival is in the Jay Pritzker Pavilion (201 Randolph St.) in Millennium Park June 9-11. It’s free admission. Headliners include Billy Branch and the Sons of Blues with special guest James Cotton. Also headlining are Rhymefest, William Bell, Gary Clark Jr., Rhiannon Giddens and Ronnie Baker Brooks. For tickets and other info visit Blues.

Next, is Ravinia, the wonderful outdoor music park in Highland Park.  For the full schedule click Ravinia.

John Legend’s “Darkness and Light Tour” is June 10. It opens with Grammy-nominated artist Gallant.

The multi-Oscar-nominated film,”La La Land,” will be shown under the stars on large screens accompanied by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra conducted by George Stelluto on June 18.

Gipsy Kings, a group that blends flamenco with pop and Latin rhythms comes Friday, June 23.

Tickets will soon be available for Ravinia Music Festival headliners. Jodie Jacobs photo
Tickets will soon be available for Ravinia Music Festival headliners. Jodie Jacobs photo

Diana Krall, a five-time Grammy-winning jazz pianist and vocalist comes June 28,

The Moody Blues do “Days of Future Passed” June 30.

OneRepublic & Fitz and The Tantrums are on stage July 14-15.

Blondie and Garbage start their 2017 “Rage and Rapture” tour at Ravinia July 22.

American Acoustic with Punch Brothers, I’m With Her and Julian Lage  are Aug. 14.

Tickets go on sale to the general public on May 9. Donors can request tickets March 22 depending on their giving level. For more information including early request dates. Visit Ravinia.
The Pitchfork Music Festival is back in Union Park July 14-16. Visit Pitchfork Music Festival  Headliners include. LCD Soundsystem,  A Tribe Called Quest and Solange

In addition Pitchfork is collaborating with Saint Heron, for an art installation, film screening, artist talks, late night jazz jam sessions. Visit Pitchfork for tickets and collaboration sites.

Lollapalooza  returns to Grant Park Aug. 3-6. Visit Lolla for tickets and

 

What would Clarence Darrow think?

Maybe Clarence Darrow’s ghost will appear. But even if you don’t see him, you will hear how his view of populism differs from what is being expressed by today’s politicians when the Annual Clarence Darrow Symposium takes place March 13, 2017.

The Clarence Darrow Bridge is behind the Museum of Science and Industry. City of Chicago MSI photo.
The Clarence Darrow Bridge is behind the Museum of Science and Industry. City of Chicago MSI photo.

Titled “Robber Barons & Populists: Would Clarence Darrow recognize today’s Populism,” the event begins with a commemorative ceremony at 10 a.m. near the Clarence Darrow Bridge behind the Museum of Science and Industry (where you might see the ghost). Darrow died March 13, 1938.

Ceremony  guests include  Ald. Leslie Hairston, activist Bernardine Dohrn, ACLU of Illinois Associate Legislative Director Khadine Bennett and Gene Winkler, adjunct faculty at the Divinity School, University of Chicago.

John A. Farrell, author of “Clarence Darrow: Attorney For The Damned,” will speak in the Museum of of Science and Industry’s Rosenwald Room beginning at 10:45. Refreshments will be served.

For more information visit Darrow Bridge.

This Weekend: Entertainers perform for hunger relief

Heads up jazz fans.

The Green Mill features Chicago and touring jazz artists. Photo by Jodie Jacobs
The Green Mill features Chicago and touring jazz artists. Photo by Jodie Jacobs

It’s not too late to get over to a terrific jazz event. The 8th Annual Chi-Town Jazz Festival Supporting Hunger Relief ends this weekend. Tickets are only $20.

Tonight, Friday March 10, the Typhanie Monique Group with  the Sarah Marie Young Quartet and Aaron McEvers Quntet are performing at Winter’s Jazz club, 465 N. McClurg Ct.

Also tonight, Erwin Helfer is at the First Unitarian Church of Chicago, 5650 S. Woodlawn.

Tomorrow, Saturday March 11, Tammy McCann and Jeremy Kahn are at PianoForte, 1335 S, Michigan Ave. and the Ron Perrillo Quartet plus Bakerzmillion and Jon Deitemyer are at the Green Mill, 4802 N. Broadway.

For more info check ChiTown Jazz Festival’s facebook page.

It is Show and Tell Time at the Field Museum

“Specimens: Unlocking the Secrets of Life,” takes Field Museum visitors behind the scenes in a new exhibit.

See what Field Museum scientists found at Mason Creek near Chicago. Photo by Jodie Jacobs
See what Field Museum scientists found at Mason Creek near Chicago. Photo by Jodie Jacobs

What any scientist knows that few Field visitors grasp as they try to see everything in the museum, is that what’s out there is less than one percent of millions of collection items.

But few Field guests get to see some of those items where they are stored or where the curators work.

Therefore, some of those objects, such as a giant clamshell, a very long sawfish snout (rostrum), a few dinosaur bones and some extinct species have been temporarily moved into a main floor exhibit hall accompanied by videos and interactive tables so visitors get to see some of what the Field collects and why.

“Lots of people don’t realize that we have collections behind the scenes, let alone collections numbering over 30 million objects,” says Director of Exhibitions Jaap Hoogstraten.

The exhibit’s videos and a reconstructed curator’s office with maps showing locations of water beetles, remind visitors that the Field is way more than a place to see interesting items.

“…the Museum is an active research institution where scientists work and make discoveries based upon these collections,” Hoogstraten said.

Some of the specimens reveal chemical and other changes in their environment such as the mercury levels in oceans over time.

Another display shows creatures and plants that lived millions of years ago. It includes fossils from Mason Creek such as the Tully Monster. The area is an exceptional site south of Chicago that was an inland sea about 300 million years ago.

“Museum collections are a way to preserve the past so that we can learn from it in the future,” Hoogstraten said.

Details: “Specimens: Unlocking the Secrets of Life”  is at The Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, March 10, 2017 through Jan. 8, 2018. For admission and other information visit Field or call (312) 922-9410.

 

Sex and self-destruction in a high-pressure environment

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It is hard to appreciate ‘The Scene,’ Thersea Rebeck’s darkly satirical play set against New York’s  hyper TV and acting professions, on stage at Writers Theatre.

Clea (Deanna Myers), Charlie (Mark L. Montgomery) and Lewis (La Shawn Banks) in 'The Scene' at Writers Theatre. Photo by Liz Lauren
Clea (Deanna Myers), Charlie (Mark L. Montgomery) and Lewis (La Shawn Banks) in ‘The Scene’ at Writers Theatre. Photo by Liz Lauren

Chicago stage and TV actor Deanna Myers is so good at playing the obnoxious Clea, an ambitious, amoral, vacuous young woman who recently moved to New York, that it is difficult to understand how she can attract the play’s two male characters.

Continue reading “Sex and self-destruction in a high-pressure environment”

New art exhibit turns viewers into participants

'Helio Oiticia' exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago encourages viewers to be participants. Yes, there is a person walking through the blue room. Photos by Jodie Jacobs
‘Helio Oiticia’ exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago encourages viewers to be participants. Yes, there is a person walking through the blue room. Photos by Jodie Jacobs

Try to define “art.” Think beyond typical words that come to mind.

Think creative use of shapes, color, scenery, structures or materials. Then head over to the Art Institute of Chicago to see ‘Helio Oiticia: To Organize Delirium.’

At ‘Helio Oiticia,’ you not only see the famed Brazilian artist’s definition of art, you experience it. Be prepared to take off your shoes.

When you first walk into the Regenstein Hall you see Oiticia’s fondness for shapes and color. Then you find his actions and reactions to his country’s political upheavals and social issues.

'Helio Oiticia' exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago
‘Helio Oiticia’ exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago

But after exploring his large, room-like installations, his sandy beach complete with live, colorful birds and his dark room with a bouncy floor, you see that during Oiticia’s short life (1937-80) he liked to physically share his view of the world.

You will not be a mere viewer of the Art Institute’s show because Oiticia wants you to be a participant.

Look beyond what appears to be paradise.

His “Spatial Reliefs” are hanging structures. “Nuclei” are suspended panels. His famed “Tropicália,” a large installation of sand, birds and foliage done in 1967 contrasts tropical images with what was really going on under Brazil’s dictatorship.

 

'Tropicali'a is recreated at the Art Institute of Chicago.
‘Tropicali’a is recreated at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Organized by the Art Institute of Chicago; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, ‘Helio Oiticia: To Organize Delirium’ is a fascinating retrospective worth seeing and discussing.

Details: ‘Helio Oiticia: To Organize Delirium,’ is at the Art Institute of Chicago, 111 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, now through May 7, 2017. For other information call (312) 443-3600 and visit AIC.

 

Lyric ends opera season on a glorious Tchaikovsky note

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Director Robert Carsen who first did this Eugene Onegin at the Met in 1997, does an interesting presentation of the beloved Tchaikovsky opera.

Tchaikovsky opera 'Eugene Onegin' at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Tchaikovsky opera ‘Eugene Onegin’ at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Lyric photo

The curtain opens to reveal a distant, somewhat shadowy figure of baritone Mariusz Kwiecien as an Onegin who is gloomily leafing through the pages of an old letter.

How he came to this despondency unfolds through about 160 minutes (not including the intermission) of wonderfully lyrical and dramatic acting and singing guided by revival director Paula Suozzi and conductor Alejo Pérez. Continue reading “Lyric ends opera season on a glorious Tchaikovsky note”

Around Town: Now and Coming

There is always so much going on in Chicago it is easy to miss something you will want to see or find that the tickets you wanted are gone. So check out the following events and opportunities.

Tchaikovsky opera 'Eugene Onegin' opens at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Lyric photo
Tchaikovsky opera ‘Eugene Onegin’ opens at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Lyric photo

Lyric Opera

If you love the music of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, you will love his beautiful, dramatic “Eugene Onegin” opera. The Lyric Opera of Chicago completes its 2016-2017 series with the musically lush opera starting Feb. 26 and going through Mar. 20, 2017.

Based on a Alexander Pushkin’s poetic novel about ill-fated romantic attractions, the Lyric production stars soprano Ana Maria Martinez as Tatiana Larina and baritone Mariusz Kwiecień as Eugene Onegin. The Lyric production is at the Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive, Chicago. For tickets and other information visit Lyric Opera.

 

Rolling Stones

Tickets are available for the Chicago stop of “Exhibitionism,” the first major touring exhibit of Rolling Stones memorabilia. Opened first in London and currently in NYC, the show will take over Navy Pier’s Festival Hall April 15 –July 30, 2017. Time dated tickets range from StonesExhibitionism.com.  $25- $35 for adults to $20-$22 for juniors. Special tickets are $80 for two visits, any time, fast-track entry.m Group tickets are available from  Broadway In Chicago Group Sales at (312) 977-1710. Navy Pier is at 600 E. Grand Ave. Chicago.

Continue reading “Around Town: Now and Coming”

Chekov drama confronts wasted lives

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The depressing atmosphere of a home where time is passing people by is immediately apparent with the set of “Uncle Vanya,” now at Goodman Theatre.

David-Darlow-Kristen-Bush-Tim-Hopper-Marilyn-Dodds-Frank-Larry-Neumann-Jr.-Caroline-Neff-and-Mary-Ann-Thebus-in-Goodman-Theatres-UNCLE-VANYA-adaptedby-Annie-Baker. Photo by Liz Lauren
David Darlow, Kristen Bush, Tim Hopper, Marilyn Dodds Frank, Larry Neumann Jr., Caroline Neff and Mary Ann Thebus in Goodman Theatre’s “Uncle Vanya”  adapted by Annie Baker. Photo by Liz Lauren

Designed by Todd Rosenthal, a once elegant country estate confronts audiences with ravished walls, a light bulb that hangs from a chandelier and decrepit furniture. Continue reading “Chekov drama confronts wasted lives”

Chicago has a new museum

 

Up on the second floor of 180 N. Michigan Avenue beginning mid May, 2017 you will find Samuel Clemens and Saul Bellow, Ernest Hemingway and Nelson Algren, Harriet Beecher Stowe and Gwendolyn Brooks.

A story board in the American Writers Museum shows where a 60 foot long "American Voices" wall will go. Photo by Jodie Jacobs
A story board in the American Writers Museum shows where a 60 foot long “American Voices” wall will go. Photo by Jodie Jacobs

The list of great American and Chicago writers could easily fill a few large tomes.

Instead the famed writers will be filling the American Writers Museum with their personalities, words and, hopefully, inspiring new generations of writers. Continue reading “Chicago has a new museum”