October is arts and culture busy time in Chicago, with many different performing arts events happening simultaneously. Last weekend (October 20-21) was especially busy for me, circling the city and running back and forth so much I thought I was a CTA conductor (well, at least a fabulously-attired one).
The Chicago Humanities Festival begins October 27 and runs till November 11. The theme for this year is “Climate of Concern”, global environmental and ecological issues. There are many, many wonderful speakers and presentations, but of course, my particular interests are the performing arts events. There will be readings of new plays by Jose Rivera, Sarah Ruhl, and Don deLillo, among others, which tackle the climate theme. A Complaints Choir, which is described as “Complaints of every variety will be submitted by local volunteers, then strung together into a grand choral composition to be sung by the volunteers themselves in a joyous unburdening of the collective mind…” performs at the MCA. Sounds like Sidetrack the night before Valentine’s Day (maybe a notch less whiny…). If ”joyous unburdening” isn’t your thing, then maybe a theatrical reading of TS Eliot’s “The Waste Land” is. Former Chicago Tribune theater critic, Richard Christiansen, leads a post-performance discussion.
Unfortunately, the films I saw during Week 2 of the Film Festival were not as interesting or memorable as Week 1’s “Four Months, Three Weeks, Two Days” and “You, the Living” (see previous posting). Going to film festivals is much like gay online dating - you’re seduced by the intriguing, articulately-written profile (or film synopsis) with just the right amount of interesting tidbits that beg for more information, but once you agree to meet in person, you plunge into manic-depressive-with-ex-boyfriend-issues-and-Cher-fixation-hell. Or in the case of this week’s film festival movies, incomprehensibility-and-boredom-hell.
As a fervent theatre lover, I sometimes have to pinch myself when I see the extensive theatre coverage in the Chicago Tribune and Timeout Chicago, and realize how much interesting, creative, world-class theatre I have at my doorstep. There is absolutely no other city in the US, other than New York City, where this extensive array of theatrical experiences are available in any given night. You can literally see a play a day (and two on the weekends when there are matinees) given the staggering amount of choices. This week, for example, you can pick among the following:
Every bona-fide, self-respecting musical theatre queen will have a Sondheim work among their top five musicals of all time. In a straw poll though, I would bet very few will include “Passion”, Sondheim’s 1991 Tony award-winning musical about the true nature of love which is now getting a gorgeous, powerfully intimate staging at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. A chamber piece based on an arty Italian movie of the early 80s -”Passion D’Amore” directed by Ettore Scola - it’s complex, beautifully composed score has been criticized as cerebral, cold, and uninvolving. I personally think part of the criticism has to do with the fact that you can’t sing or listen to the songs out of context; they are so organically and intricately woven together and with the production, that to truly appreciate them you need to sit through an actual performance of the entire play.
Several interesting events are coming up in the next couple of weeks. From October 18-21, Opera Cabal, a new artists’ collective focused on experimental theatre and opera, is presenting “Delusions: Chicago 2007″ at the Zhou B Art Center in Bridgeport. From Nick DeMaison, music director of Opera Cabal:
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