Newberry Library

Adult Seminars (Classics of Comedy and Wonderful Town II) – Newberry Library

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As Justice Potter Stewart might have said, I may not be able to define comedy, but I know it when I see it (or hear it, or read it). And I’m quite certain I know what is meant by a classic. So I was somewhat taken aback when the instructor for the Newberry winter seminar on Classics of Comedy picked as our first reading a short story no one in the class had heard of, by an author none of us (or the internet based on my search) had heard of, and that wasn’t funny, except to the instructor.

So it didn’t come as a shock when the instructor informed us that the author was a friend of his who, the instructor (and presumably the friend/author) believed, hadn’t received the recognition he deserved. Now that’s classic, but not why I enrolled in the seminar. So I left during the break of the first class to claim a refund of the registration fee. I imagine the instructor didn’t think that was funny, but I did.

I also enrolled in a Newberry winter seminar called Wonderful Town II, about music from New York in the 30s, 40s, and 50s. What a difference. The instructor, Guy Marco, has an encyclopedic knowledge of the music of those years (which he experienced first hand, as he is 90 years old), from Broadway to classical to pop to opera. When I asked him how many rooms his music took up at home, he answered “all of them.”

He even made the mercifully short operatic selections tolerable (which is saying a lot coming from me) with his detailed and humorous analyses, such as his observation in one instance that there was no way to determine from the story line why a particular character had died. And he signed off the last class doing his best Benny Hill impression. His dry wit led me to think that he also should have taught the Classics of Comedy seminar.

Random Acts of Fun in the Parks – 2017

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Every year the Newberry Library, in conjunction with its annual book fair, puts on a celebration of free speech in Washington Square Park (Bughouse Square), which for years had been a popular spot for soapbox orators. I went on July 29, not so much to hear the speeches, which are mercifully limited in length by the organizers, but once again to enjoy the performance by the Environmental Encroachment brass band, a ragtag group that for some reason amuses me.

I also spent the morning of April 27, Earth Day, in Washington Square Park helping prepare the park for the summer. Okay, so this wasn’t actually fun in and of itself, but by reminding me that the other 364 days of the year I don’t have to do any yard work because I live in a condo, it nevertheless brought a smile to my face.

I spent many other days in various Chicago parks during the year, in particular Millennium Park for the concerts and a taping of Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me, featuring ex-Cub Ryan Dempster as the special guest (when I heard that he was the guest I figured they must have gotten to the bottom of a long list of possibilities, but he turned out to be quite entertaining); Lincoln Park for the zoo and the golf course (where one day I got put in a foursome with three guys associated with Second City, which made for an unusual day where the banter was funnier than my golf game); Polk Brothers Park at Navy Pier for the outdoor water-related movies (I saw Jaws and Splash, but missed Sharknado – what a shame); and the park adjoining Adler Planetarium, where I joined several thousand of my closest friends to observe the solar eclipse on August 21. As we used to say in college – any excuse for a party.

Forty-Two Stories – City Lit Theater – April 17, 2017

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Last year I took a class at the Newberry Library on writing one-act plays. I’ll let you know when I get around to finishing mine. I wrote the first few lines about twenty years ago, around the time I also thought of titles for two books I haven’t written yet. I’ve been busy.

My teacher for the class at Newberry was Doug Post, a local playwright. I went with a date to see a preview of his play, Forty-Two Stories, at the City Lit Theater. The theater is located on the second floor of a church, which is only a problem if the elevator isn’t working and you go with someone in need of a hip replacement, like I did. I would have turned around and gone home if it had been me, but she was a trouper.

The play is a dark comedy about life in a Lake Shore Drive high-rise condo building. I’ve lived in high-rises, but don’t really like them, so I consider my twelve-story building to be a mid-rise, whatever the fire department definition might say to the contrary – something about whether their ladders can reach all the floors.

Doug was sitting right behind us during the show, whispering back and forth with the director. I wanted to eavesdrop but felt compelled to pay more attention to the play itself since a friend of mine, coincidentally, had a major role in it.

A couple days after seeing the show, I happened to run into the head of maintenance in my building and mentioned the play to him. He proceeded to regale me with stories from his days working in high-rises. His stories didn’t have the edginess of Forty-Two Stories, but were just as unbelievable. Maybe I should write a play based on his experiences. I’ll put it in the queue.