2 Pianos 4 Hands – Northlight Theatre – July 27, 2024

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Two pianos, four hands, and a hundred twenty minutes of entertainment.

Years ago, when I first saw this show, I had not yet started my adult piano lessons, so, although I enjoyed it, obviously enough to see it again, a lot of what I heard and saw I took on faith, given that the piano teacher I had for two years as a child had the pedagogical skills, though not the charisma, of someone who might have studied with Harold Hill at the Gary Indiana Conservatory, gold medal class of ’05.

This time around I could appreciate everything even more, though I missed the overhead mirror that the earlier production used to help the audience better see the pianists’ hands at work.

Adam LaSalle and Matthew McGloin are both accomplished musicians, who also displayed excellent acting chops while inhabiting several characters each, along with the main roles as they aged from childhood prodigies to adults.

McGloin, in particular, showed off a range of physical movements that highlighted the action in a story where there really is no action other than at the keyboard.

Another ability that both men portrayed was to play below their obvious talents, as occasionally required by the story.

The final classical duet of the night was spotless, even to the point of my inability to decode any subtle signals they were giving each other from across the room, behind their respective instruments.

Scheherazade – Grant Park Music Festival – July 26, 2024

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Just as he had two nights earlier in conducting a stirring rendition of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, Eric Jacobsen wore red socks with his black tuxedo, the latter of which directed me toward the paronomastic pursuit of linking it with the tales from Scheherazade’s One Thousand and One Nights, though I suspect Jacobsen did not wear different tails each night.

And, just as he had a week earlier, when conductor Anthony Parnther had put the pressure on him by announcing that he would be playing the violin part in the theme from Schindler’s List originally performed by Itzhak Perlman, concertmaster and 1st violin Jeremy Black provided the audience with a memorable experience.

A final word about Scheherazade. Even if the music weren’t beautiful, how could you not like a composition whose final movement is described in the program as concluding with The Ship Goes to Pieces on a Rock, which gives me the chance to plug a musical comedy about a ship that goes to pieces on an iceberg (I guess it’s not too soon), Porchlight Music Theatre’s upcoming spring 2025 Chicago premiere of Titanique, presented in association with Broadway In Chicago.

Peter Bergin Piano/Ragtime and Great American Songbook – Fourth Presbyterian Church – July 26, 2024

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Bergin started by announcing his one rule – the audience could/should sing along, but only to the song he’s playing. Seemed reasonable.

With that he launched into his snappy piano playing, starting with a song with no lyrics, unless you’re Maggie Brown (see my previous blog on Peddling Music in Rhythm), Scott Joplin’s The Entertainer.

Just as Brown did, Bergin mentioned the song’s use by ice cream trucks, which is said to have originated in 1973 after the founder of the company that supplied the preloaded music boxes to a majority of the country’s ice cream trucks, heard the song in the movie The Sting.

He followed with a George M. Cohan medley, some John Philip Sousa, and other oldies, including Bill Bailey Won’t You Come Home, adding some lyrics of his own about the Baileys from the neighbors’ viewpoint, no mention of whether they were using binoculars to spy on the couple.

Peddling Music in Rhythm – Harold Washington Library – July 25, 2024

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When I was kid, there used to be a scrap man who walked through our alley singing out, to the best of my recollection, “old stoves, radiators” in the hope that residents would take advantage of his willingness to cart things away for them and thereby provide him with materials he might recycle for cash in the years before the 1960s, when recycling programs sprouted.

I say to the best of my recollection, because Maggie Brown, the very talented daughter of Oscar Brown, Jr., told us, at the Jazz Institute of Chicago’s Peddling Music in Rhythm program, that her father wrote the song Rags and Old Iron after he finally realized what the guy in his alley had been calling out.

Maggie and her excellent backup trio then entertained us with a rendition of that, preceded by Herbie Hancock’s similarly-inspired Watermelon Man, and followed by her own songs, songs by Abbey Lincoln, and other of her father’s songs, which she told us would be part of a 2026 celebration of what would have been his 100th birthday.

Maggie, known as a storyteller, took us back to the days of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair and gave us a sneak preview of a project or hers about Scott Joplin, including a version of The Entertainer for which she has written lyrics.

All throughout her performance, Maggie never stopped moving, gliding soulfully to the music whether while singing or listening to the band’s instrumental interludes.

A Bigger Table: 50 Years of the Chicago Poetry Center – Poetry Foundation – July 25, 2024

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I’ve walked past the Poetry Foundation approximately three million times since it opened its current location in 2011, and, until now, never stopped in. Part of the reason was that, on the first nine hundred fifty three thousand two hundred twelve or so occasions, I couldn’t figure out where the door was.

It wasn’t just me. A review of the building on the Chicago Detours tour company website said: “Upon initial entry I became briefly confused as an eddy of space was revealed. I found an court that was easily interpreted as the main entry, though it is a dead end.”

But, today, I approached from a different side and voila, an epiphany, as if I were Newton under the apple tree. I believe I had some help, as physical changes have been made, again, not just according to me, but also confirmed by someone I ran into on the street, later, on my way out.

The current exhibit is A Bigger Table: 50 Years of the Chicago Poetry Center. I have no idea where the organization was housed prior to 2011, perhaps in some bohemian cafe that was big enough to warehouse over 30,000 volumes.

Of the 30 or so short poems covering one of the walls, I could find only one, Wish You Were Here, by Denise Duhamel, that drew me in. It started, “I’m writing to you from inside a red m&m.” Unfortunately, it wasn’t like a wine tasting, where they pair cheeses. No bites were available.

Grant Park Music Festival – Millennium Park – July 17 & 19, 2024

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Two beautiful evenings, two large crowds, two wonderful concerts.

On July 17th, I had a feeling of deja vu while listening to pianist 
Clayton Stephenson play Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. And then it occurred to me that I had heard it played by Bill Murray’s character (though really played by session musician Terry Fryer) in Groundhog Day at the party near the end of the movie.

So, it wasn’t an illusion of memory, or one triggered by reliving the same day 12,395 times, as computed and suggested by the yahoo!movies website, but rather an actual memory of a movie I saw three days in a row when it first opened.

On the 19th, for Star Wars and More: The Music of John Williams, I thought I might see a lot of attendees, particularly younger ones, in costume, but there was a dearth of Darth Vaders.

The Grant Park Orchestra, in top form both days, was led that day by Anthony Parnther, who, in addition to demonstrating his conducting skills and James Earl Jones impersonation, albeit from The Lion King, not Star Wars, proved to be an engaging raconteur, entertaining us with, among others, a story about a sound editing room physical altercation about a E.T. score volume alteration.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (Part 2) – John Berendt and Taylor Mac – American Writers Museum – July 8, 2024

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I had trouble determining the identity of the musical. Taylor Mac, who wrote the book of the show, helped by saying he meant to present two interwoven stories, those of Jim Williams and The Lady Chablis, aided by an antagonist for each, Emma Dawes and Lavella Cole, respectively.

The book’s author, John Berendt, stressed how important humor was, stating that his background at Esquire magazine had taught him to write with knowledgeable irreverence.

Mac specifically pointed to the Dawes character, played by Sierra Boggess (what a voice!), who had my favorite line of the show when, in representing the interests of historical and hysterical Savannah, she promised she wouldn’t sell Mercer House to anyone who would knock down a wall to make an open kitchen.

As I stated last time, J. Harrison Ghee, as The Lady Chablis, was great. Their antagonist, Cole, as played by Shane Bailey, had, for me, the best song, among many good ones, in the show when she delivered Clap on One and Three.

I was going to complain about the opening of the show, but Mac’s comments about slowing the audience down to Savannah time, seemed reasonable, though I might still tweak it a little, as I would in a few other places. (I don’t think the audience as the author was explained clearly enough for all.)

Mac commented that no one should expect to “get” everything upon first viewing, that just like a book or movie, a second viewing lends itself to greater appreciation. Moreover, he said they changed the ending after the first five previews, so, oops, you also might have to go again for that reason. Nice marketing.

I also wondered whether the show would be attractive to post Broadway licensees. I asked Mac about whether he took possible future productions into account in his writing. He said he, unlike many others, does, and that the Choreographer, Tanya Birl-Torres, who also was the Cultural Consultant, played a big part in those considerations.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil – Goodman Theatre – July 3, 2024

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This will be a two-part blog, the second half of which will come after I attend the discussion next week at the American Writers Museum by the author of the book, John Berendt, and the author of the stage adaptation, Taylor Mac.

Part of my reason to delay is that, although I’ve seen the movie, I’ve never read the book, and I think that the musical needs some adjustments to better serve those who have done neither. I’ll be interested in hearing what they have to say about that and whether they will discuss any possible changes before looking towards Broadway.

On a general note, let me say that I’ve been to Savannah, and, though I walked around town quite a bit, I didn’t meet anyone interesting there, only lawyers.

Also, I’m a fan of Jason Robert Brown, who wrote the music and lyrics for this show, and also for Parade and Honeymoon in Vegas (which I liked very much despite its lack of success). I haven’t seen any of his other work, including The Bridges of Madison County, which is, dare I say, a bridge too far for me.

For now, I will leave on a positive note. J. Harrison Ghee, Tony award-winner for Some Like It Hot, is a force, worth the price of admission. And the audience was ready, giving them a raucous welcome the second they walked onto the stage, reminding me of the greeting Michelle Williams received at first sight in Death Becomes Her. In a moment predictive of the rest of the evening, Ghee looked out into the audience and said “wait until I earn it.”

Charlie Musselwhite and Ivan Singh- Millennium Park Summer Music Series – July 1, 2024

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Argentinian guitarist Ivan Singh (before you ask – his great grandfather was from India), who came to Chicago only a couple years ago, was a very loud opening act. I should have brought my ear plugs. Once I found a place to hang out suitably far away from the stage, I was able to enjoy his music.

But I wasn’t there for him, so I was happy to hear him fire up Sweet Home Chicago, which, predictably, meant he was closing his act.

After a break, blues legend Charlie Musselwhite entered the stage, harmonica in hand. I don’t think I was the only one there for him.

A fair number of people in the park rose to their feet to start dancing as soon as he raised his instrument. And I’m talking young people, though the older generation, folks who knew of him from way back when, some of whom didn’t see to have changed their wardrobe since, were plentiful throughout the crowded lawn.

Musselwhite, who did not disappoint, came to Chicago in 1962, and has played with all the local greats. He told a Sonny Boy Williamson story that must have been funny – the people in the first few rows laughed – but I couldn’t hear the details, even though I had by then moved closer, relieved by the fact that he and his excellent backup band maintained an acceptable decibel level.

Richès Dayiti: Rediscovered Haitian Piano Treasures with Marianne Parker – Harold Washington Library – June 29, 2024

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This was Marianne Parker’s final performance on behalf of Crossing Borders Music, so I won’t have to renew my passport after all. It’s the third time I’ve seen her give a concert of beautiful Haitian compositions, in three different venues, not to mention, though I will, that I also have her CD of the same genre, Pages intimes,

What can I say. She was flawless, and entertaining, as always. So let’s move on to the venue. I go to a lot of concerts at (Jay) Pritzker Pavillon in Millennium Park, but this may have been my first time hearing music at (Cindy) Pritzker Hall at the Harold Washington Library. Wonderful place. Comfortable seats, lots of leg room, good sight lines, excellent acoustics, nicely temperature controlled (i.e. not over air conditioned) on a hot day, working drinking fountains, clean bathrooms and an escalator in lieu of stairs. I may move in.