Jul 23
When I moved to the US from the Philippines for graduate school in the mid-1990s, I never thought I would end up living in Chicago. I’ve visited it before then since I had cousins who lived in the city, and although I liked it, I always thought that if I stayed in the US, I would find myself ultimately settling down in New York City or San Francisco, the two American cities that personified first-world sophistication and hipness to those of us who grew up in the developing world. But a great job opportunity presented itself, and I moved to Chicago in 1998 and have not left since. Over the years, I have come to deeply love Chicago’s cosmopolitan buzz and sprawl, its diversity and rich history, its Midwestern plainspokenness, its thriving, confident arts and culture scene- this blog was initially conceived as, and continues to be, my love letter to the city. But I’ve also been pragmatic enough to embrace its infuriating inefficiencies, its constant politicking, its defiance at not covering up its warts and scars. In my mind, 13 years living in Chicago have made me an expert of its urban psyche and landscape, so I initially didn’t pay attention to the mailings from Chicago Shakespeare Theater about en route, described as “an extraordinary journey through downtown streetscapes, building lobbies, and cafés—guided by audio tracks and mobile phone communication—as (the audience’s) shifting perceptions make and remake the city they inhabit.” I’ve walked and driven all over this city, and have gone on so many Chicago Architecture Foundation tours that I could probably ace the docent exam, so my initial reaction was “no thanks” to what, on paper, seemed to be another city tour, but with a theatrical bent, devised by the Melbourne-based theater company one step at a time like this. But after raves from the Tribune’s Chris Jones and Timeout Chicago’s Kris Vire which unequivocally stated en route’s exhilarating uniqueness but intriguingly did not give anything away, I was, well, intrigued. So I scooped up one of the last tickets for en route, and boy, do I feel fortunate that I did. As a passionate lover of theater, of culture, of urban space, and of Chicago, en route has been one of my most indelible cultural experiences ever. It is truly, uniquely unmissable.
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Tags: Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, one step at a time like this
Jul 08
The big theater news of the 2011 summer have centered around the critical and popular success of the world premieres of About Face’s The Homosexuals and the Goodman’s Broadway-bound Chinglish, two shows that I admired but felt ambivalent about, and the polarized reaction to the Chicago debut of Will Eno’s quirky, moving Middletown at Steppenwolf which I liked a lot (and in the spirit of full disclosure, I am President of the theater’s junior board and a Trustee). But the storefront theater scene is hot and hopping as well; over the long holiday weekend I managed to catch the latest productions from two theater companies I’ve raved about on this blog over the years: I’ve followed The New Colony since their Frat days and way before they won Broadway in Chicago’s Emerging Theater Award, and have always loved their fearless, bungee-jumping-adrenalin-infused approach to new work; Redtwist Theatre gave me one of my most indelible theatrical productions of the past two years with their searing and claustrophobic The Pillowman. 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche from The New Colony and That Face from Redtwist Theatre, although I have some reservations on both, should be welcome alternatives to the usual Chicago summer diversions of Ravinia lawn picnics, Lake Michigan sailboat cruises, indistinguishable street fairs, and endless rooftop deck partying.
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Tags: Redtwist Theatre, The New Colony
Jul 01
I can safely say that David Henry Hwang’s Tony-winning M.Butterfly is one of the plays that shaped my love for theater. I saw several local productions when I was growing up in Manila in the 1980s and I was just deeply impressed by the stylized approach to live performance and the impeccable, impactful, very clever use of language. The major themes of M. Butterfly- the tension between Asian and Western cultural norms and perspectives; the nature of sexual identity – were important, resonant themes for a gay kid growing up in an Asian city that was often called the most Western city in the Asia-Pacific Rim, a city filled with multi-national corporations, expatriates, and the enveloping presence of American pop culture. But I have always been unsettled by Hwang’s portrayal of Asian, specifically Chinese, culture in M. Butterfly – how Song Liling, the Peking Opera singer who turns out to be the opposite of what she has purported herself to be, trafficked, both explicitly and subtly, in deception, ambition, and power plays, and how the culture she inhabits condones these traits and the grey ethical areas they inevitably create. And pity the white guy, Gallimard, clueless, weak-willed, trapped. Many theater critics and aficionados have lauded Hwang’s portrayal of Sing Liling, and Chinese culture by extension, in M. Butterfly as brazen – Asia finally portrayed not as some exotic unknown but as powerful, willful, and able to subdue the machismo and hubris of the West. Well, uhmmm, ok. I personally don’t think cultural relations can be reduced to powerful vs. non-powerful, moral absolutes vs. moral ambivalence. Cross-cultural discussions, because of context and history, will invariably always be complex. So though I liked a significant amount of Hwang’s new play Chinglish, now in a world premiere production at the Goodman Theatre before it transfers to Broadway in the fall, it still seems to have some of the same value judgments that bothered me with M. Butterfly.
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Tags: Goodman Theatre
Jun 22
As a bona-fide, pink-union-card-emblazoned, goldstar gay, you’d think I would be rushing breathlessly to About Face Theatre’s world premiere of Philip Dawkins’ The Homosexuals. Well, I did sashay with unaccustomed speed to Victory Gardens, where it was playing, over the weekend, but as I told my friend Fab Jason, I was a little wary about the whole business after reading a summary description of the play on the theater’s website. The Homosexuals sounded like a whole lot of Love! Valour! Compassion! mixed in with some Boys In The Band and drizzled with a dash of Queer As Folk repurposed for the millennial generation. In short the play could be a mishmash of every single circle of gays movie, TV show, or play that we’ve seen over the past decade. Is there something new or fresh that Dawkins would say about the gay experience in the 21st century? Will it talk about what the words “gay” or “homosexual” or “queer” mean right now? And how the definitions and constructs have evolved through the years? I think for the most part The Homosexuals is funny, poignant, captivating, delightfully energizing, a packs-little-punch summer diversion, which is terrific. But, despite the play’s attempt to survey some of the key themes that have and continue to confront the community over the past decade, I feel that, as a homosexual, the play is somewhat of a missed opportunity.
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Tags: About Face Theater
Jun 19
I recently came back from Hong Kong, a city that in my and many of my travel-savvy friends’ opinion is in the top five destinations in the world. It’s a dazzling, vibrant, breathlessly fast-paced city where the whiff of money, ambition and futuristic visions permeate the air more than tradition, history, or East Asian exoticism do. The limitless energy and intoxicating buzz of the city is unmatched by very few other world capitals (New York City and Tokyo come to my mind), and these qualities extend to a dynamic, diverse food scene. In my opinion, there is absolutely no possibility of getting a bad meal in Hong Kong. The city has 63 Michelin-starred restaurants (in contrast, New York City has 57 and Chicago has a surprisingly paltry 23). Alain Ducasse and Joel Robuchon have flagship restaurants in the city, while Hong Kong superstar chef Alvin Leung has the highly-acclaimed Bo Innovation, the preeminent Asian take on molecular gastronomy. Spectacular food can be had in its many teahouses and dimsum restaurants as well as in its unique dessert-only cafes, and dai pai dongs or the cooked food stalls in street markets. And then there are Hong Kong’s private kitchens, unlicensed, covert restaurants housed in residential flats or within the upper floors of commercial buildings.
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Tags: Hong Kong, Yin Yang
Jun 14
The one thing I clearly remember about going to see the Danish film The Celebration back in 1999 at the Music Box Theatre was that my friend Niels, who was originally from Copenhagen, kept bursting out laughing throughout the screening even as the rest of us in the audience sat rapt and riveted by the horrific family tragedy unfolding on screen. I remember shushing him several times, because, frankly, people were getting ticked off (and we were in the smaller theater as well so even the most restrained guffaw became an irritating echo). But his reaction was probably typically Danish – in the film and in it’s theatrical adaptation by British playwright David Eldridge, Festen (the film’s original title in Danish), now receiving an astounding, triumphant Midwest premiere from Steep Theatre, the terrible, gut-wrenching revelations of family secrets and lies are intermingled with dancing, singing, laughter, festivity, a culturally-programmed emotional response filled with denial and delusion. And thanks to Jonathan Berry’s moody, confident direction, and the exceptional ensemble cast, especially the magnificent Kevin Stark, the play is both emotionally draining and terrifying, exacting and suffocating, like a bizarre blend of August: Osage County meets Paranormal Activity. In short, Steep’s Festen is superb, a must-see for everyone who seeks out unsettling theater.
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Tags: Steep Theatre
When I moved to the US from the Philippines for graduate school in the mid-1990s, I never thought I would end up living in Chicago. I’ve visited it before then since I had cousins who lived in the city, and although I liked it, I always thought that if I stayed in the US, I would find myself ultimately settling down in New York City or San Francisco, the two American cities that personified first-world sophistication and hipness to those of us who grew up in the developing world. But a great job opportunity presented itself, and I moved to Chicago in 1998 and have not left since. Over the years, I have come to deeply love Chicago’s cosmopolitan buzz and sprawl, its diversity and rich history, its Midwestern plainspokenness, its thriving, confident arts and culture scene- this blog was initially conceived as, and continues to be, my love letter to the city. But I’ve also been pragmatic enough to embrace its infuriating inefficiencies, its constant politicking, its defiance at not covering up its warts and scars. In my mind, 13 years living in Chicago have made me an expert of its urban psyche and landscape, so I initially didn’t pay attention to the mailings from Chicago Shakespeare Theater about en route, described as “an extraordinary journey through downtown streetscapes, building lobbies, and cafés—guided by audio tracks and mobile phone communication—as (the audience’s) shifting perceptions make and remake the city they inhabit.” I’ve walked and driven all over this city, and have gone on so many Chicago Architecture Foundation tours that I could probably ace the docent exam, so my initial reaction was “no thanks” to what, on paper, seemed to be another city tour, but with a theatrical bent, devised by the Melbourne-based theater company one step at a time like this. But after raves from the Tribune’s Chris Jones and Timeout Chicago’s Kris Vire which unequivocally stated en route’s exhilarating uniqueness but intriguingly did not give anything away, I was, well, intrigued. So I scooped up one of the last tickets for en route, and boy, do I feel fortunate that I did. As a passionate lover of theater, of culture, of urban space, and of Chicago, en route has been one of my most indelible cultural experiences ever. It is truly, uniquely unmissable.
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