English – Goodman Theatre – May 25, 2024

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For some reason, I tend to see Pulitzer Prize-winning dramas that have one word titles – Fiorello!, Rent, Proof, Doubt, Hamilton and now English. If I’m allowed to count movies, add in Harvey, Fences and Picnic.

Not surprisingly, a strong list. English definitely belongs. It’s funny, it’s thoughtful, it has tension, it never drags. It’s about small stories and a big picture. For most of us, it makes us think about things we may never have thought about before.

It also leaves us wondering about some things about the characters, but that’s okay. I don’t need a sequel. Neil Simon pulled that off with his Eugene Trilogy, but how many people remember Bring Back Birdie, the sequel to Bye Bye Birdie that closed after four performances on Broadway.

I kept thinking that the male lead in English looked familiar. I was correct. Pej Vahdat played Arastoo Vaziri on Bones for eight years.

A fair amount of the play, which takes place in a classroom in Iran where adult students are learning English, is in Farsi, except not really. If you go see it, you’ll understand what I mean, though it may take you a couple minutes, as it did for most everyone at the performance. In any event, don’t think that you have to spend a year learning the language before seeing the show, though you could brush up before the play’s anticipated Broadway arrival in December.

Level Up: Writers and Gamers – American Writers Museum – May 23, 2024

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The only thing I know about Dungeons and Dragons is what I’ve seen on The Big Bang Theory. I also have seen the movies Ready Player One, Free Guy, Tetris, The Last Starfighter, Cloak and Dagger, Tron and Pixels, and the first season of Fallout, all together unfortunately still not enough to make me a hit at those geek parties I long to attend.

Way back when, I played Zork and Myst, not particularly well.  Both are mentioned in the exhibit, giving me at least a smidgen of credibility and knowledge that I thought I could at least quadruple by attending the exhibit’s opening event.

Alas, my attention span for such things is sorely lacking and I learned nothing except that game playing had changed the lives of a couple of creators who gave heartfelt and mercifully short speeches.

I spent a few minutes chatting with a couple guys from an organization of people who make movie props. They had a table with some samples, including guns, which I quickly found out were rubber, so phew.

Judgment Day – Chicago Shakespeare Theater – May 22, 2024

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Part Defending Your Life, part Here Comes Mr. Jordan/Heaven Can Wait and part Michael, Judgment Day (not to be confused with the Terminator movie) gives Jason Alexander free rein to ham it up comedically on stage and he doesn’t disappoint, though I wondered whether the flap at the back of his toupee was on purpose. Even when you see the joke coming, he hits a home run.

As does the whole cast, in particular Candy Buckley as an Angel with an attitude.

With great humor, the play presents the audience with profound things to think about, but the only message I chose to take from it related to sleeping on your stomach.

Right near the end of the show, it occurred to me that the trajectory of Alexander’s character, Sammy Campo, reminded me in a way of Sky Masterson’s journey in Guys and Dolls, though Masterson was never the low-life that Campo was.

In terms of sleaze per square foot, Campo, through much of the play, more closely resembles the lawyer Alexander played in Pretty Woman. By the end, however, speaking of home runs, (spoiler alert) he’s more like Roy Hobbs in The Natural returning home to play catch with the son he never knew about.

Last Comiskey Book Launch – Chicago History Museum – May 16, 2024

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I’m only going to say this once. Never go to a program where Tom Shaer is the emcee. Wait. I better repeat that. Never go to a program where Tom Shaer is the emcee.

I went to see the panel of former White Sox players, who turned out to be Donn Pall, Ron Kittle and Jack McDowell. By the time they were seated, we were over an hour in and I couldn’t take it any more. Thankfully, it was a nice night for a walk.

To be fair, Nancy Faust was there before the program started, playing the organ with her usual aplomb, to the great delight of everyone.

Faust also was featured in the 20-minute clip from the documentary Last Comiskey, which was a fun watch, particularly the part about Dave Stewart’s jock strap. I need to go to YouTube now and watch the whole film.

According to Shaer (when he wasn’t being a cloying, stand-up comedian wannabe windbag, or telling us a half dozen times that he hates to use notes, while referring to his notes), Faust, creator of the walk-up song, played her first one for Dick Allen in 1972, namely Jesus Christ Superstar.

Shaer spent an eternity introducing practically everyone in the audience, ranging from former sportswriters to former team administrative personnel to random people he knew. He skipped me, even though I co-created, produced and appeared on both episodes of a failed local cable tv sports talk show a million years ago. He must have missed it.

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis – Orchestra Hall at Symphony Center – April 27, 2024

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In the week that Foxtrot’s convenience stores closed, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra opened the concert with John Adams’s The Chairman Dances (Foxtrot for Orchestra). As with everything that followed, it was a hit.

Then it was on to Shostakovich’s Suite for Variety Orchestra No. 1, arranged by Atovmyan in eight movements, which challenged the time-worn, or is it worn-out, tradition of saving applause until the end of the piece.

It wasn’t always so according to a nice little article I found with some history and differences of opinion on the topic.

In any event, a sizable portion of the audience could not restrain themselves, perhaps because they were attracted to the event by the appearance of Wynton Marsalis and the jazz orchestra. No such tradition at jazz concerts.

It even became interactive, and funny, when some in the audience started clapping during a moment of silence before the ending to one of the movements. The conductor, Giancarlo Guerrero, acknowledged the faux pas, and, when the movement really ended, turned to the audience with a nod and then back to the musicians for a look of appreciation for not missing a beat.

After intermission the jazz orchestra joined the CSO on stage, bringing the head count to about 573, or maybe not quite that many, but it was so crowded that some of the violinists had to sit at the kid’s table.

The guests played Duke Ellington’s Mooche, not to be confused with Cab Calloway’s Minnie the Moocher.

Then the groups, with their own distinct stylistic arrangements, separately took on Prokofiev’s Selections from Romeo and Juliet, alternating between the eight movements (each one followed by applause), before finishing together with Marsalis’s All American Pep from Swing Symphony. Something for everyone.

CelloBello Celebrates Chamber Music – The Arts Club of Chicago – April 24, 2024

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I wanted to ask Katina Kleijn, one of the featured cellists (with Ken Olsen and Brant Taylor), what she thought about the name CelloBello, as opposed to, say, CelloBella or CellaBella, but I restrained myself. After all, I live for rhymes, and Cella translates to cell.

All the music was terrific, but, for me, the highlight of the first half of the program was, of course, the rendition of The Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boy, featuring three cellos (celli?) and some wicked piano-playing by Craig Terry, whom I told afterward I hated because he was so good at what I yearned to master (I’m currently attempting Death Ray Boogie, which is just as scary as it sounds).

There also was a bit with an unlit cigarette dangling from Taylor’s mouth during part of his solo that you had to be there to appreciate.

Unlike many of these events, there was nothing that I would derogatorily classify as speechifying. The oratory was interesting and kept to a minimum, and there was cheese available at the back of the room all the while, just in case. Moreover, all the appetizers were excellent and the deserts did not escape my attention.

The second half was a rousing rendition of Mendelssohn’s Octet in E-flat major, Op. 20 performed by the Balourdet and Pacifica Quartets.

These eight musicians got more exercise during the piece than I ever did in a Pilates class. Some of the violinists were swaying, bobbing and weaving like a bunch of fans doing an energetic version of the wave at a football game. They were clearly having a great time, as was the audience. One of the viola players occasionally seemed to be imagining that he was using a ThighMaster.

The exercise regimen continued, especially for the cellists, as the group, at the end of the concert, all the while carrying their instruments, kept coming back for more deserved applause.

They may still be doing that, but I bolted (at least my version on two bad knees), grabbing brownies on the way out and being the first person to arrive at the coat check, a perfect ending to a wonderful evening.

Money Museum – Chicago Federal Reserve Bank – April 23, 2024

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First answer – yes the museum gives out samples. Really. But they’re of shredded bills and you’re only supposed to take one piece (though I don’t think anyone was watching).

And, you have to reach into a dark hole, ala something Indiana Jones might do, and though I doubted there were spiders or snakes guarding the paper (actually 75% cotton and 25% linen), I decided to forego the experience.

Second answer – “not a clue”, to the question of whether, after spending my whole life here, I had any idea that this museum existed (before yesterday).

Third answer – definitely worth the visit. I may have spent more time there than I did at the Louvre. And the Buy Bonds posters are worthy of any art gallery. I was particularly fascinated by the one featuring Joan of Arc (probably Jeanne D’Arc on any copies at Musée du Louvre).

I learned a lot about Military Payment Certificates used during the Viet Nam troop deployment, including how easy it apparently was to counterfeit them.

I leaned a lot about counterfeiting, not how to do it (darn), but how to spot it and the fact that, at the time of the U.S. Civil War (also, strictly speaking, not a war) almost one-third of all the U.S. currency in circulation was counterfeit (today only about .03%, but who uses cash anymore anyway, probably just counterfeiters).

To show how hip they are, the curators also have an area dedicated to the first Secretary of the Treasury (and Broadway star), Alexander Hamilton that included quotes from the musical.

There was plenty more, but perhaps the best thing was the Life Cycle of a Dollar section featuring a wonderful Rube Goldberg-type contraption that would look great in my living room.

 

 

A Night at Mr. Kelly’s Exhibit – The Newberry – April 16, 2024

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I’ve never read or seen The Accidental Tourist, but accidentally joined a tour of the A Night at Mr. Kelly’s exhibit at The Newberry (running through July 20) when I unknowingly burst into the back of a gathering just as the docent began her spiel.

I think the last time I did something like that was in Luxembourg City in the mid 1980’s when I had the good fortune to stumble upon the back of the pack of a group of American college students (not my status at the time) being shown around the walled city.

Alas, I remember nothing about Luxembourg City, other than the McDonald’s where I grabbed an orange juice. Nevertheless I’m sure that experience didn’t include stories about Barbra Streisand’s signature being forged for patrons because her hand got tired, the building burning down just as Lainie Kazan was about to sing Smoke Gets in Your Eyes and the audience being handed their checks as they fled the establishment. Also, where else can you see Lenny Bruce’s bar tab.

I saw Woody Allen at Mr. Kelly’s the night of my senior prom and the docent confirmed for me that such parties were accommodated, no fake IDs required. Woody is not mentioned in the exhibit, though, again, the docent confirmed that he appeared at the club several times and his lack of inclusion in the exhibit was not related to later accusations against him, the only person purposefully excluded being Bill Cosby.

The exhibit makes a point of the diversity in Mr. Kelly’s performers and audience members often not found at other clubs of its era, but, I might add, also not in today’s tour group.

Chicago Sings Broadway Pop II – House of Blues – April 15, 2024

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I wasn’t even at the venue yet and already was having a good time as I walked past the post office and saw the long line of last-minute tax filers, of whom I joyously was not a member, nervously double-checking their precious cargo with only 45 minutes before closing to get their valued postmarks.

The annual Porchlight Music Theatre spring event once again hit all the right notes and was an even better experience than last year’s first exploration of Broadway Pop.

The food, which was excellent, was easier to obtain this year, set out on a buffet table so that we didn’t have to huddle near the door to the kitchen to intercept staff as they emerged with trays of appetizers that were voraciously attacked and emptied within seconds. It also allowed for something other than finger food, which sounds cannibalistic. As a side note (like almost everything I write), we ate off bamboo plates, a first for me, for the full panda experience.

The performances were, as always, first rate. I’ll mention a few. Billy Rude, whom I last saw in Pump Boys and Dinettes, once again put his rock ’n’ roll talents on display with a rousing rendition of Johnny B. Goode, currently featured in the stage musical version of Back to the Future.

Nik Kmiecik also broke out his axe in Pinball Wizard (Tommy), a turn that only lacked a Pete Townsend-like demolition at the end, problem due to budget constraints and the fact that he needed it again later to lead the audience in a participatory rendition of Sweet Caroline (A Beautiful Noise), as is the custom with this classic, perhaps more so than with any tune outside the Star Spangled Banner.

The dancers made me dream of what it must be like to be flexible, but, my one disappointment, which carries over from last year, was that there was no tapping. I recovered from that psychological trauma thanks to the great mood that pervaded the room.

The star of the night for many was Kelly Felthous, whose The History of Wrong Guys (Kinky Boots) put her singing and comedic talents on full display. She even threw in a dance split in the middle of the song for no discernible reason other than she could. Bonus points for that.

Blommer Chocolate Company Factory Visitation – April 9, 2024

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In celebration of the fact that I didn’t blind myself staring at the solar eclipse yesterday, I decided to visit, for the first time, the soon-to-close Blommer Chocolate Company Factory (RIP) and purchase some souvenir bites (as in something to be immediately consumed, not put on a shelf with inedible memorabilia).

Alas, although the factory doesn’t officially close until the end of May, and there was still a delicious aroma in its environs, the store that was there already has shut down operations, or so the security guard told me after I spent 15 minutes pounding on the door, though I thought I detected a small chocolate smudge near his mouth.

Unsated and downtrodden, I was only a half mile into the long, lonely trek home when I serendipitously happened across the home of the Doughnut Vault, where I was told that all they had left that day was EXACTLY what I wanted (and needed)!

Strengthened by this fortuity, I now have started making plans for viewing the August 23, 2044 solar eclipse, which may require a sojourn in Great Falls, Montana if I want the full experience.

In the meantime, the new Blommer R&D Center is scheduled to open in the fall.