First Anniversary Issue!
Clef N tes Chicagoland Journal for the Arts
DESTINATION ARTS! AUTUMN 2010
Where does the harried Chicago arts seeker retreat to when that arctic Michigan Avenue chill is just too much to handle? HAVE WE GOT THE PLACE FOR YOU! p.36
Martha Graham HER LIFE, HER LEGACY, HER DANCE. p.16
Candide UnleasHed Goodman Theatre takes on Voltaire classic. p.56
Up Close and Personal Conversation with legendary artist Jim Nutt p.44
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Contents Autumn 2010
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FEATURES
12 Artist Tony Tasset’s Discerning Eye.
If you’ve been near the Chicago Public Library lately and felt like you were being watched, you’re not imagining things. Artist Tony Tasset’s eye-popping art installation Eye has been drawing attention from everyone who sees it. Alexandra Zajac catches up with Tony Tasset and chats with him about his inspiration for the work.
36 Cover Story: Destination Arts
Destination travel is big on Chicagoans’ lists of things to do when winter strikes, but where can one go to get a Chicago-sized dose of culture? We look at the arts offerings of Napa Valley and give a road map to the best in arts and culture in America’s Wine Country.
On The Cover: Robert Mondavi Winery of Napa Valley. Photo courtesy of Robert Mondavi Vineyards. Above: The Grecian Room of artist Carlo Marchiori’s stunning Villa Ca’Toga is just one of the amazing art exhibits you’ll find in Napa Valley, California. Story on page 36.
54 The Soviet Arts Experience
Chicago celebrates a 13-month festival exploring the masterworks of artists from the former Soviet Union, and everyone’s getting in on the act. With over 40 venues and 100 performances, you will have every opporturnity to experience Soviet arts this year.
56 Candide Revisited
The Goodman Theatre will celebrate 10 years at its Loop Theater District location with a revitalized production of the Voltaire classic by veteran opera director Mary Zimmerman. Autumn 2010CNCJA•3
From the Publisher’s Desk For us, it all began with Mozart. What an incredible subject with which to launch our magazine. From the very first, what was most evident about Mozart was his extraordinary gift. It was something that identified him as a prodigy, a genius, and made him—by very definition—unique. The word “unique” can sometimes become a Mozart’s Clef N♪tes Letters double-edged sword. Be distinctive, individual, A candid look at the composer one-of-a-kind, and you often stand out from the through his writings crowd. Be too eccentric, and you run the risk of becoming over-the-top, even clichéd. But uniqueness and individuality are what the arts are all about. It’s like shouting in a quiet, crowded cafe “Hey, listen to me! I’ve got something important to say!” And getting a reaction, whatever that reaction, means being heard. It’s an amazing experience to be able to publish a magazine as unique and one-of-a-kind as Clef Notes—and in a city that is, pound for pound, more distinctive than any other you’ll find. That makes it all the more incredible that with our autumn 2010 issue, Clef Notes celebrates its first year of covering outstanding arts and culture in the greatest city on the globe—even if I am a bit biased. Clef Notes will be kicking off that celebration with the launch of several new and exciting, recurring features in our magazine. And we’re starting things off in this issue with our first travel feature, “Destination Arts.” We examine some of Chicagoans’ favorite vacation destinations and map out a guide to the unique and varied arts and culture offerings they hold. In our first iteration of “Destination Arts,” we take a look at stunning Napa Valley, California—talk about a one-of-a-kind place. From the incredible natural settings to the amazing food and wine experiences, the Napa region has always been well known for its rejuvenating elements. Well, it has even more to offer than you might have considered. Great arts and culture permeate every corner of the valley, and in this issue, we explore some of the amazaing cultural pursuits within its borders. We also look back in this issue at the incredible work of dance legend Martha Graham. One of the most unique individuals in the history of her field, she changed the course of choreography with a passion for her own aesthetic so poignant that it moved the very boundaries of professional dance and dance technique, ushering in the modern era. We talk with veteran opera director Mary Zimmerman about her upcoming production of Candide at the Goodman Theatre. In her first musical theater production, Zimmerman will take the unique approach of setting the classic stage play to the music of Leonard Bernstein’s opera of the same name. David Weiss sits down with Zimmerman in a preview to the exciting production. And, finally, Clef Notes Editor Patrick Curran talks one-on-one with one of the most unique and individual artists of our time, Jim Nutt, in a conversation about his upcoming show at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art, a show that has been over 15 years in the making. It’s been a great journey creating our own brand of uniqueness for you, and we certainly hope that you enjoy the autumn issue as much as we’ve enjoyed bringing it to you. In a small way, it represents the important thing that WE have to say. Thanks for “listening,” Chicago. Here’s to another great year!
Clef N tes
Chicagoland Journal for the Arts AUTUMN 2010
Concert Journal for the Arts SUMMER 2009
THE ADDAMS FAMILY SINGERS
Bringing Iconic Television to the Musical Stage
MILLENNIUM PARK’S RARE GEM
Chicago’s Harris Theater Celebrating Five Years of Investing in Chicago’s Culture
Publisher D. Webb
Editorial
Editor Patrick M. Curran II Editorial Support Christopher Hopper
ON TOUR!
Jazz Sensation Joshua Redman Talks About His Recent Album, Touring and, of All Things, Beethoven
Staff Writers and Contributors Deanna Arvans Rachel Boury Emily Disher Scott Elam Dinah Grossman Holly Huffstutler Alex Keown Gabrielle Levy David Weiss Alexandra Zajac
Graphics
Art Director Phillip Carlton Contributing Photographer Adam Daniels
Graphics & Design Specialists Chelsea Davis Angela Chang Terrence Young
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Sponsorships
Jason Montgomery
Reprints and Permissions Rachel Levin
www.clefnotesjournal.com Copyright © 2010 Clef Notes Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Printed in the USA.
Contents Autumn 2010
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DEPARTMENTS
16 Shall We Dance?: Martha Graham
Emily Disher takes a fascinating look at the life of modern dance legend Martha Graham, her work to create her own dance form, and how the Martha Graham Center for Contemporary Dance is keeping that work alive today.
20 Curator’s Corner: Modernity The Guggenheim Museum in New York curates an exhibit that sheds light on the startling impact that change in the world around us has had on modern art.
44 Artist Conversational: Jim Nutt Patrick Curran sits down with Chicago art legend Jim Nutt in anticipation of his upcoming show at The Museum of Contemporary Art.
60 Cultural Almanac: Lyric’s 56th Season Gabrielle Levy previews Lyric Opera’s magnificent 56th season, including the return of perennial Chicago opera favorite Carmen to the Lyric stage. Photo: Elizabeth Auclair in Martha Graham’s Herodiade. Photo by John Deane.
Autumn 2010CNCJA•5
scuttlebutt notes from our readers My Kind of (Theater) Town
Many thanks for sparking curiosity in The Chicago Cultural Center and the beautiful Preston Bradley Hall in downtown Chicago. After reading your piece on it, I dropped in during a recent visit to the city and was just in awe of the gorgeous, glass Tiffany dome. It’s so easy to take for granted the many wonderful works of art and beauty around us, especially in a work-a-day grind, and I really appreciate the inspiration your beautiful article gave me to seek this one out. The hall is truly a treasure. Patty Schmidt-Naperville, IL I love Clef Notes Magazine. It’s so great to have a magazine that celebrates the arts in a city like Chicago. I have been a fan of the arts for more than 20 years...While the magazine is beautifully done, and the articles are very informative, I would love to see more coverage of some of the lesser known arts projects in the city. However, all in all, I really love the magazine! Bravo Clef Notes. Joanne Nichols-Chicago (River North)
Readers may submit letters to Feedback, Clef Notes Publishing, Inc. 5815 N. Sheridan Road, Suite 1107, Chicago, IL 60660 or via E-mail to Feedback@ClefNotesJournal.com. Correction: In our summer 2010 issue’s “Behind the Scenes with Blue Man Group,” Clef Notes inaccurately spelled the last name of Tom Galassi, one of the members of The Blue Man Group. We regret any confusion this may have caused. 6•CNCJAAutumn 2010
Lambrecht’s Jewelers, Inc. 1131 Central Ave. Wilmette, IL 60091 Tel. 847-251-3284
Photo by Adam Daniels
I’ve always thought of Chicago as a big theatre town, but it was really startling to learn how much of an impact Broadway In Chicago has had on Chicago’s economy and its overall image as a theatre city in just 10 short years (“Bringing Broadway to Chicago” - Winter 2009). Congratulations to Broadway In Chicago on what they’re doing and to the many hard working theatre companies here that make our city second to none in live theatre. Brad O’Connell-Chicago (Streeterville)
Mayor Richard M. Daley with the cast of Jersey Boys.
I noticed in your recent summer issue’s review of the Tchaikovsky Ballet (Theatre) and their performance of Snow White at the Auditorium Theater that Anna Marks took a pretty cynical view to the traditional approach the ballet company takes in their work....I, for one, applaud the company for their staunch adherence to preserving the strong tradition upon which dance was built, and I respect the technical and historical ideology they represent. It’s not easy to stand firm in a world that is constantly changing artistically, and without a dance company that is dedicated to the traditions of the past upon which modern dance performances are built, those traditions risk being lost. M. O’Neil-Kennilworth, IL Thanks so much for your piece on children and the arts (“Kids and Culture” - Summer 2010). I’m a mom of three very creative kids, and it’s true that with all the distractions that are out there, it’s very difficult to keep their attention on any one thing, let alone the arts. The idea (the article expressed) about engaging kids in how a piece of art or music makes them feel makes so much sense in instilling within them a basic understanding and interest in something that might (without all the bells and whistles of action films or video games) bore them to sleep. Amy Simpson-Chicago (Lincoln Park)
chicagoperatheater Brian Dickie, General Director
Tod Machover
DEATH AND THE POWERS April 2, 6, 8, 10 Marc-Antoine Charpentier
MEDEA
April 23, 27, 29, May 1
HE/SHE May 7, 8, 11, 13 Leoš Janácek
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A WOMAN'S LOVE AND LIFE (Frauenliebe und Leben)
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Autumn 2010CNCJA•7
tidbits
Photo Courtesy of Steppenwolf Theatre
The Metropolis School of the Performing Arts Music School has announced a new Ensemble-In-Residence, Chicago’s highly acclaimed Fifth House Ensemble. Praised by The New York Times for its “conviction, authority, and finesse,” Fifth House Ensemble develops cutting edge performances combining classical music with film, dance, theater, visual arts and more. The group is quickly developing an international following, traveling across the United States and overseas for performances and educational programs. Fifth House will mentor students who join the music school’s chamber music program, coaching them on technical and musicianship skills culminating in an opportunity to play for and with the ensemble in concert. Metropolis Education Director Annie Sisson Rezac anticipates that “Fifth House Ensemble being in residence at Metropolis will have a tremendous impact on our students’ ability to grow as emerging artists in the music industry. Needless to say, we’re very excited about the growth of the music school with this addition.”
Photo by SnoStudios Photography
Photo by J.B. Spector
Okay, Chicago explorer, your mission—should you choose to accept it: live in Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry (MSI) for one month. After hearing an untold number of personal stories from museum guests about how their initial visits to the MSI forever altered their views of science, MSI executives began to ask the question, “If one visit could change someone’s life, what would 24/7 exposure to the museum for 30 days do for an individual?” Conceived as part Hollywood “Night at the Museum” part “Big Brother” reality television, officials at the MSI will select three contestants to compete for The Museum of Science and Industry what could be the opportunity of a lifetime. “The winner will eat, drink and breathe science at the science museum for an entire month,” said Lisa Miner, public relations manager for the the museum. The winner of the contest will literally become part of the museum’s varied collections. He or she will have complete and unfettered access to all parts of the museum including areas typically closed to the public. Furthermore, the lucky individual will take part in several demonstrations, including blowing up chemicals in the museum’s Bangs, Flashes and Fire exhibit as well as blogging daily about their adventures there. At the end of their month-long stay, the museum’s new roommate will walk away with $10,000. The winner will also take home a package of tech gadgets (including a laptop and video camera) and an honorary lifetime membership to the museum. Of course, along with the good must come some sacrifices. Living in the museum 24/7 means the winner will have limited contact with the outside world. He or she will not be able to spend much time with kith and kin. During this residency, he or she will also have limited access to mobile telephones and the Internet. And In this day and age, that’s a sacrifice few can muster the strength to make!. Contest applications were due August 11th. Museum officials will winnow those applications down to three and allow the public to choose the lucky winner. MSI’s new roommate will be announced on October 6th and move into the museum on October 20th.
Have you ever wanted to get your hands on some of those out-of-thisworld creations you see on stage? Well, you can if you decide to take part in Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s 2nd annual “Behind The Curtain” fundraiser. The annual fundraiser will take place on Saturday, November 13, 2010 at 7 p.m. at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington Street. Celebrating the world of theatrical costume design, guests will have access to a number of colorful costumes from Steppenwolf’s most popular productions—you and your date can even try them on! Sip on signature cocktails Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s Tempest and enjoy appetizers as you explore each stage of costume design through interactive displays and demonstrations, or bid on various Steppenwolf memorabilia and other one-ofa-kind items at the silent auction. Before the night ends, a live fashion show featuring some of Steppenwolf’s most memorable pieces will leave you smiling. For further information please visit steppenwolf.org/behindthecurtain or call the Steppenwolf Special Events Department at (312) 654-5632. 8•CNCJAAutumn 2010
Fifth House Ensemble
Under The Streetlamp, will be held on Saturday, Nov. 13 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 14 at 4 p.m. at the Arts Center, located at the Elgin Community College Main Campus, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin. The brainchild of Chicagoan Michael Ingersoll, Under The Streetlamp is an electrifying evening of unforgettable hits featuring all four recent leading cast members of the smash Tony Award-winning hit Jersey Boys. This amazing group of performers brings to life doo-wop favorites, golden oldies, Rat Pack tunes and a few special surprises. “We were incredibly fortunate to have this group perform at Elgin Community College last year to sold-out audiences, and we couldn’t wait to bring them back,” says Steve Duchrow, the Center’s director of performing arts. Not only an incredible evening of music and laughter, Under The Streetlamp also moves forward with a mission: to join forces with performing arts venues and not-for-profit organizations across the country to raise money for worthy causes ranging from the creation of student art programs to fighting AIDS. At this point in the project, Under the Streetlamp is on the cusp of surpassing the one million dollar mark in charitable contributions.
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6 Degrees of Separation It’s said that everyone is six degrees of separation from anyone else on the planet. We thought we’d test that theory out by tracing the CSO’s Judson and Joyce Green Creative Consultant, world renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, to another institution just up the road in Old Town, and we came up with some very interesting results.
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Sting is married to actress, director and producer Trudie Styler.
Mr. Ma appeared with singer Sting and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in a performance of a special arrangement of Sting’s “Fragile” during the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Photos: Yo-Yo Ma. Photo by Stephen Danellan; Sting, Trude Styler, Rosario Dawson Tina Fey and Halley Berry. Photos courtesy of Ghetty Images. Mr. Alexander’s photo courtesy of Reuters. Sponge Bob Image courtesy of Fotolia.
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Trudie Styler directed the critically acclaimed “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints,” whose cast included Rosario Dawson.
After graduating from the University of Virginia, where she studied playwriting and acting, Fey moved to Chicago and joined Second City improvisation comedy troupe, owned by Mr. Andrew Alexander.
We take this opportunity to point out Mr. Ma’s 7th degree of separation from Ms. Halle Berry because... well.....SHE’S HALLE BERRY.
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Academy Award winner and red capet stunner, Halle Berry also studded at Chicago’s Second City.
Rosario Dawson lent her voice in a cameo appearance in “Sponge Bob’s Truth or Square.”
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Actress and Comedien Tina Fey also made a cameo appearance in “Sponge Bob’s Truth or Square.”
Photo: © City of Chicago/GPO
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I
n July, 2010, Chicago received a new sculpture installation to buzz about. Eye is a 30 foot structure by artist Tony Tasset that sits at State and Van Buren. Inspired by his love of roadside attractions and Americana, Tasset set out to create something very public that still allowed for very personal interpretations from passers-by. As an artist, Tasset’s “thing” is that he doesn’t really have a “thing.” He works with a variety of mediums, because, as he put it, “The idea dictates what the look is gonna be.” From his Blob Monster, which was recently displayed at the Merchandise Mart, to his minimalist installments at the Kavi Gupta gallery, just west of the Chicago Loop, Tasset is an artist that knows no bounds, and Eye is just another example of his artistic dexterity.
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Photo: Artist Tony tasset and Art Installation EyE. Photos courtesy of The Chicago Loop Alliance.
ARTIST TONY TASSET HAS HIS EYE ON YOU!
I caught up with Tasset while he was in Sparta, Wisconsin working on the sculpture. A. Z.: How did you decide on the subject? T.T.: Well, the eye, like a thumbprint, is very singular and specific, and is everything that represents self, and specifically myself. At the same time, it’s also this image that people can put all kinds of readings on. It’s a symbol that’s been used throughout histories and cultures, and it means all kinds of different things from a supreme being to a certain inner knowledge. It’s an image that people look at, and they have lots of different interpretations, which is why the eye is a perfect intersection between the artist … and this very public presentation. At the same time, it’s just this big crazy effect—I mean, it’ll be extremely surrealistic to be downtown and see it. I want it to be a piece that speaks to everybody, and that is smart, but also totally fun and open and...well, hip, in a way. You know, it’s sort of monstrous; it messes with scale; it’s psychological, but again it can be any interpretation you want, and I just know why I made it. But I totally love when other people bring their ideas to the piece, and that’s what it’s about—really. A.Z.: And what’s the concept behind the cardinal banners that will be on State Street? T.T.: They’re a separate piece. I was asked to do something that somehow addressed the whole street, and for a variety of reasons I saw all these banners as an opportunity to create this new experience, a different experience of going down the street, and in a way that’s what I tried to do with the Eye too, even though that’s more overt. A.Z.: As a Chicagoan yourself, what’s your favorite part of the city? T.T.: The beauty of the city itself. The architecture is bar none to any other city, and it has good food. A.Z.: Speaking of food, what’s your favorite?
A.Z.: Really? Nothing off the top of your head? T.T.: Well, it’s just so cliché. I’m thinking about the classic Chicago hot dog because it’s just such a beautiful sculpture. A.Z.: Wow, you really consume it with an artist’s eye. T.T.: Just wait ‘till the next time you have one. You’ll know what I’m taking about. It’s a perfect composition. Tony Tasset’s EYE and CARDINAL, can be seen on the corner of State and Van Buren near the Harold Washington Public Library. Both works were commissioned by the Chicago Loop Alliance. -Alexandra Zajac
Left: Cardinal by Tony Tasset. Right: Eye in various stages of development.
T.T.: Hmm, my favorite food..........
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Photos by Jordan freeman
O
n Thursday, August 12, 2010 Chicago Opera Theater (COT) presented their second annual Opera Boat Cruise: “High Cs on the High Seas.” Just over 100 guests set sail on Kanan Cruises and enjoyed an evening of song, “Operatinis,” and dancing. The opera program featured legendary soprano Nancy Gustafson, and up-and-coming star, baritone Paul LaRosa. The two sang a twenty minute program that concluded with the beautiful “Lippen Schweigen” from The Merry Widow. The fundraiser, celebrating the end of the 2010 season and marking the final two weeks of the COT’s fiscal year, raised nearly $9,000.
From left: Aaron Davidson, Jill Davidson, Brad DeCori
From left: COT Board of Trustee Julie Green along with Ryan and Dorothea Boyle
From left: Karianne Wardell, Katarina Visnevska
Jim Corboy and daughter Mona
Cleopatra and James N. Alexander
Out and About 14•CNCJAAutumn 2010
T
Ball in grand fashion in the new lobby and deca Restaurant and Bar of The Ritz-Carlton Chicago on Thursday, June 24th. The celebration was preceded by a performance of Lookingglass Alice at Lookingglass Theatre located inside Chicago’s historic Water Tower Water Works. In conjunction with the production, the theme of the party was “Alice in Wonderland.” The star studded event, co-chaired by ensemble members Joey Slotnik and Andy White and Board member Jon Harris, featured a silent auction. Proceeds from the evening’s events will support the operation, expansion and outreach of Lookingglass’ Education and Community programs, which encourage creativity, teamwork and confidence for thousands of community members each year.
From left: Board member and Madhatter’s co-chair Jon Harris and Allie Harris.
From left: Tamberla Perry and Lookingglass Alice cast member/Lookingglass Artistic Associate Kevin Douglas.
Photos by Will Byington
he Lookingglass Theatre kicked off its 2010 Madhatter’s
From left: Ensemble Member Laura Eason, Ensemble Member/ Co-chair Joey Slotnick, Artistic Associate Louise Lamson, Board Member Billy Dec, Ensemble Member Heidi Stillman.
From left: Scott Grimes, Greg Grunberg and Junior Board Member Kit Mueller.
Cast of Lookingglass Alice
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and
Of Legend Legacy
Martha Graham
Photo courtesy of the library of congress
By EMILY DISHER
Shall We Dance?
M
Martha Graham, Erick Hawkins and the Martha Graham Dance Company in Martha Graham’s Appalacian Spring.
the delicate, yet complex, motions of breathing: contraction and release. artha Graham, the legendary creative genius who The movements of what was to be called the Graham technique were single-handedly shaped modern dance, has been sharp, angular, direct, and real, unlike anything seen in the prevailing called the greatest American artist of all time. Those dance forms of Graham’s day. Graham once noted that dance was not who have compare her to other artists have likened necessarily meant to be “pretty.” Her work has reflected this in various her influence on dance to Stravinsky’s impact on political, psychological, and sexual music, and Picasso’s influence on art. contexts, exploring and reflecting “ Graham’s close colleague and dancer genuine human experiences, with an Agnes DeMille describes the magnitude “Martha has given us a body of dance technique as American sensibility. In the 1937 essay, of Graham’s impact on the field in her preface to the biography “Martha.” complex and formal as that of ballet; yet ballet has been “A Platform for the American Dance,” Graham wrote, “A dance reveals the DeMille writes, “Martha has given us a evolving for over four hundred years, while Martha spirit of the country in which it takes body of dance technique as complex and formal as that of ballet; yet ballet has been Graham produced her dance, the Graham, or so-called root. No sooner does it fail to do this than it loses its integrity and significance.” evolving for over four hundred years, It surprises many to discover that modern, technique, in the space of one lifetime.” while Martha Graham produced her Graham did not begin formal dance dance, the Graham, or so-called modern, - World Famous Choreographer Agnes DeMille training until the age of 22. In fact, technique, in the space of one lifetime.” she saw her first dance performance, Martha Graham’s fire for life and for featuring Ruth St. Denis, with her her art form has seared her legacy into the father in 1911, when she was only history of American dance and culture. seventeen. The performance had a profound impact on her and, in 1916, During her illustrious and prolific career, Graham created her own Graham’s family relocated from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles, so that entirely original—and entirely American—dance technique, built upon
16•CNCJAAutumn 2010
refused Adolf Hitler’s invitation to perform at the International Arts Festival, organized in conjunction with the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, and for ensuring that no other American dance company would perform there either. When she later discovered that her name was included on a list of people to be “taken care of” should Germany gain control of the U.S., Graham noted that she “took it as a great compliment.” Graham’s fire for life and passion for dance fueled the creation of an astonishing 181 works before her death on April 1, 1991; she had lived an impressive 96 years. Some of her most famous
top and bottom photos by costas. middle photo by John Deane
she could study at the Denishawn Dance School, founded by Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn. The Denishawn school trained Graham in classical technique, the confines of which she would discard and completely transform as her career progressed. While dancing at Denishawn, Graham’s teachers were convinced she would never be a performer, but rather a teacher only. There she was reminded that she did not possess the beauty consistent with the standards of the day (Shawn and St. Denis repeatedly type-cast her in “exotic” roles, and she was asked more than once to use peroxide on her dark, straight hair). Yet, Graham continued to study at Denishawn for eight years. During these years, she would often sneak downstairs in the middle of the night, alone in the dark, to rehearse her own distinct movements. Graham left the school in 1923, accepting an offer to tour with the Greenwich Village Follies, a position that enabled her to provide financial support to her family. While touring with the Follies, Graham had her first encounter with the modern paintings on display at Chicago’s Art Institute. Here, she viewed a painting by Wassily Kandisnky, which moved her deeply. She wrote in her autobiography, “I nearly fainted because at that moment I knew I was not mad, that others saw the world, saw art, the way I did.” Graham recalled looking at the painting and saying, “I will do that someday. I will make a dance like that.” In fact, that very work inspired her 1948 production Diversion of Angels. After two years of touring with the Follies and a brief year of teaching at the Eastman School of Dance, Graham resolved to no longer continue dancing the technique of others. Luckily, there were many people in Graham’s life who were able to recognize her genius, sometimes before she could see it in herself, and certainly before her creative virtuosity was thrust upon the world. It was Frances Steloff, a book-shop owner on West 47th Street and avid supporter of struggling artists, who provided the $1,000 to fund Graham’s first performance on April 18, 1926 at the 48th Street Theatre. Steloff had never seen Graham dance, but didn’t hesitate when asked for the loan. This formal debut of Graham’s dance technique was a categorical success and led to the establishment of the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance in New York City that year. As Graham’s career progressed, her personality, which burned as hot as her creative passion, became nearly as famous as her art. She gained a reputation for having a violent temper, but she was well respected, particularly among feminist circles, for her outspoken and forthright attitude. Graham had a clear sense of what she wanted, or did not want to do, based on a humanitarian sense of right and wrong. For instance, she is quite famous for having
works include El Penitente (1940), Letter to the World (1940), Appalachian Spring (1944), Cave of the Heart (1946), Clytemnestra (1958), Phaedra (1962), and Frescoes (1978). Her works have been re-staged time and time again. Her legacy continues to drive contemporary dance and inspire generation upon generation of dancers and choreographers. The Martha Graham Dance Company, the oldest dance company in America, continues Graham’s legacy today, bringing to life her ageless and uniquely American language of dance, and fostering her spirit of ingenuity in new generations of dancers and choreographers.
The Company continues to unite the work of Graham, her contemporaries, and successors across time within a deep historical and thematic narrative, while also promoting new platforms for contemporary dance. The Martha Graham Dance Company’s 2010 Season, which was performed June 8-13 at the Joyce Theater in New York City, offered a prime example of the company’s extension of the work begun by its founder. The company presented both contemporary and classic works exploring the ways modern dance addressed political issues in the 1920s and 1930s, and how these groundbreaking works continue to resonate with audiences today. Martha Graham Dance Company’s Artistic Director Janet Eiber explains, “Our Political Dance Project… provides a unifying theme that embraces both Graham classics and masterworks from her contemporaries….We want audiences to see that a work from the 1930s can be profound and relevant today, and that experiencing classic and contemporary dance side by side can enrich their appreciation and enjoyment of both.” The Joyce Theater performances featured works such as American Document (2010) by Anne Bogart, which was inspired by Graham’s work of the same title, and explored the definition of “American;” Dance as a Weapon, a multimedia presentation that integrated narration, video projection, and performances including the Isadora Duncan solo The Revolutionary and Graham’s Panorama; and politically-themed Graham works such as Appalachian Spring and Sketches from Chronicle. Additionally, this year the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance has positioned itself as a living “museum” for modern and contemporary dance and will showcase the best of classical American dance through curated programs. Executive Director of the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance, LaRue Allen explains, “It’s time for the modern dance field to take a serious approach to preserving our legacy.” In doing so, the Center preserves the legend that is Martha Graham. There is no doubt that Graham’s life and work have been immortalized, and that they will live on through the creative fires of dancers and choreographers for generations to come.
From top: Tadej Brdnik and Fang-Yi Shen Photos from top: Pagalava Variation by Bulareyaung Pagarlava; Elizabeth Auclair in Martha Graham’s Herodiade; Martha Graham Dance Company in performing Martha Graham’s Clap.
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luminaries
Photo courtesy of The Merit School of Music
Classical Clarinetist Anthony McGill first came to the attention of classical music watchers in Chicago when, at the age of fourteen, he performed in the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series. The live radio broadcast recital series is typically home to emerging concert artists twice that age. A Chicago native and former pupil of Chicago’s Merit School of Music, McGill is now principal clarinetist of The New York Metropolitan Opera (MET) Orchestra and quickly making the rounds as soloist and chamber musician in some of the industry’s most revered halls, concert series and festivals. In 2000, he was awarded the highly esteemed Avery Fisher Career Grant. Following the election of President Obama in November 2008, McGill was hand picked by world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma to perform Air and Simple Gifts by John Williams with Ma, Itzhak Perlman, and Gabriela Montero at the 2009 inauguration. In demand as a concert artist, McGill appears regularly as soloist on the schedules of some of the nation’s prestigious orchestras, including the Baltimore and Kalamazoo Symphonies. And he’s fast becoming a staple at international music festivals the likes of Marlboro, Sarasota and Tanglewood.
Soprano Amanda Majeski is one of the rapidly rising stars of Lyric Opera’s Ryan Opera Center (a training ground for some of the best young voices in opera today), and it’s no wonder why. When she filled in unexpectedly last season from a supporting role to play Countess Almaviva in Lyric’s production of Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) with Sir Andrew Davis conducting, Majeski sang like an angel. The soprano received acclaim from both critics and audiences alike as Vitellia in Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito with the Chicago Opera Theater. The Chicago Tribune called her performance a “genuine tour de force that brought down the house.” Majeski is no stranger to critical acclaim, however, having garnered praise for a voice with “silvery beauty” (Musical America) coupled with “refined power, effortless dynamic control and warm tonal color” (San Francisco Chronicle). Majeski completed her graduate degree at the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music, where she was heard as Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), along with the title role of Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta. An active member on the roster of the prestigious Marilyn Horne Foundation, the soprano made her New York City recital debut at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall in 2008. Majeski has no shortage of accolades. In 2007, she was the recipient of a Sara Tucker Study Grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation. And she’s also received awards from Opera Theatre of St. Louis, the Bel Canto Foundations of both Rhode Island and Chicago, and Opera Index.
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Photo by adam daniels
Opera
Theater
Photo by Nikki Cunningham
Fresh from her acclaimed production of Steppenwolf Theatre’s Brother/Sister Plays, ensemble member Tina Landau is hot property in Chicago theater. Since joining Steppenwolf in 1997, Landau has directed the company’s productions of The Red and Brown Water, The Brothers Size and Marcus; Or the Secret of Sweet; Diary of Anne Frank; and Midsummer Night’s Dream. Her Broadway productions include Superior Donuts and Bells are Ringing. And she wrote and directed the musicals Floyd Collins and Dream True for the likes of Goodman, Old Globe and Vineyard theaters. Landau is currently fast at work on the book and direction for the musical Beauty. The work is based on her own play with music by Regina Spector and lyrics by Michael Korie. On the horizon for the busy director is the production of The Hot L Baltimore at Steppenwolf during the 2010-2011 season.
Photo by adam daniels
Dance
You may remember Joffrey Ballet’s Fabrice Calmels from the many billboards featuring the French dancer promoting his title role in the Joffrey’s 2010 production of Othello. In 1998, Calmels was spotted by John Meehan, director of American Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company, and moved to New York. There, he honed his skills as a dancer, joining The Rock School and dancing with the Pennsylvania Ballet. Later, while at The Boston Ballet under the direction of Anna-Marie Holmes, he learned the Russian technique with ballet masters Tatiana Terekhova and Sergei Berezhnoi. Today, Calmels burns up the Joffrey stage with lead performances in the likes of Le Sacre du Prinemts and Italian Suite. A versitle artist, Calmels also dances with The American Ballet Theatre’s principal Veronica Part in guest appearances. More recently he has begun to expand his stage appearances to acting, performing the role of Nijinsky in the new theatre piece MISIA by writer Barry Singer, performed at Chicago’s Ravinia Festival. In 2008, Mr. Calmels collaborated as choreographer with world-famous musician Jean-Felix Lalanne. His work was performed at Lalanne’s Autour de la Guitarre in Paris.
Jazz Flutist Nicole Margaret Mitchell is neatly ensconced in what one might call the sweet spot of Chicago jazz right now. A wildly creative flutist and composer, Mitchell has been widely recognized for her compelling improvisations, artistic wit and incredible talent. Named “Jazz Flutist of the Year 2010” by the Jazz Journalists Association, Mitchell is one of the pre-eminent musicians of Chicago’s sizzling hot jazz scene. The founder of the critically acclaimed Black Earth Ensemble and Black Earth Strings, Mitchell’s compositions reach across musical genres, integrating new ideas and concepts in the legacy of jazz, gospel, pop, and African percussion, all creating a fascinating synthesis of “postmodern jazz.” Her work reaches far outside the confines of the Second City, however. Mitchell appears widely as a featured flutist, and ensemble member throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. She also performs regularly along side some of the great supernovas of her field including George Lewis, Miya Masaoka, and Ramsey Lewis. In 2008, Mitchell became the first female jazz instrumentalist to be recorded on the revered 55-year-old Delmark Records label.
Photo by Bob Fila
Jazz
Autumn 2010CNCJA•19
Modernity New Guggenheim exhibit examines the impact of rapid change on mid-century art. By ALEXANDRA ZAJAC
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Curator’s Corner
L
ight, movement, noise, colorful chaos—these are the idiosyncrasies of modern life. In this day and age, we are so inundated with the sights and sounds of modernity that much of it has become nothing more than white noise in the background of our busy lives. However, there was once a time when such sights and sounds were not only new, but fascinating and inspiring. This fall, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City has assembled several works from iconic artists of the modern age. Broken Forms: European Modernism from the Guggenheim Collection, brings together works from European modern artists preceding and during World War I. Curated by Tracey Bashkoff, Curator of Collections and Exhibitions, and Megan Fontanella, Assistant Curator, the exhibit was brought together with works from the museum’s holdings, and it includes examples of Cubism, Futurism, Rayism, and Expressionism. The first decade of the twentieth century was an age of booming industry, development, and technology. Cities grew quickly, and as a result, society changed faster than ever. This was an especially fertile time for artists, who were caught in the midst of a dynamic, changing world. The works selected for Broken Forms allow viewers to sense the emotional reactions artists had at that time towards modernity. Although the exhibit’s works are arranged by the country and region of the artist, the layout was intended to be open so as to allow viewers to appreciate the similarity of the subject matter across all regions and see how ideas and aesthetics translate across borders. As Megan Fontanella explained, “It was not only a period of heightened sensitivity and innovation, but also a time of collaboration and interchange with artists and ideas crossing national boundaries.” There was radical innovation, exploring means of presentation and structured composition, but all this happened through collaboration, not imitation. From France to Italy, Germany and Russia, the art world was booming with new artistic movements, all responding to
Left: Pablo Picasso, Carafe, Jug and Fruit Bowl (Carafon, pot et compotier), Horta de Ebro, summer 1909. Oil on canvas, 28 1/4 x 25 3/8 inches (71.8 x 64.6 cm). Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Solomon R. Guggenheim Founding Collection, By gift 37.536. © Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Above: Gino Severini, Red Cross Train Passing a Village (Train de la Croix Rouge traversant un village), summer 1915. Oil on canvas, 35 x 45 3/4 inches (88.9 x 116.2 cm). Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Solomon R. Guggenheim Founding Collection 44.944 © 2010 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris.
modernity and the fascinating new technology that came along with it. As a result, much of the art at that time in our history was focused on representing technology and the changing urban landscape, as well as emotions and psychological musings in response to modern life. One of the avant-garde movements showcased in the exhibit is Cubism, pioneered by artists such as Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso. Concerned with spatial perception and the passage of time, both artists were influenced by the geometric works of Paul
to modernity and technology, the Eiffel Tower stood as a beacon of power and human ingenuity. A notable work, and a favorite of Solomon R. Guggenheim and his wife, Marc Chagall’s Paris Through the Window (Paris par la fenetre), 1913, depicts the vibrant city below the overlapping planes of a colorful sky. As industrial development continued to move at a breakneck speed, Italian Futurists such as Filippo Tommaso Marinetti and Gino Severini began to create bold works that aimed to portray the modern individual’s
Cezanne, and as a result, their works featured flattened planes and more simplified forms. These early Cubist techniques eventually evolved into the fragmented works of artists such as Fernand Léger and Robert Delaunay. The exhibition includes Delaunay’s The City (La ville), 1911, which was part of his series of paintings of the Eiffel Tower and Paris. He portrays the City of Lights as seen through a window’s drapery, and much like Cezanne, he uses color, rather than line, to create depth. His fragmented style manages to lend a sense of movement and light to the work, a style which can also be seen in works by Futurists and Rayists. Delaunay certainly was not the only artist to turn to the city of Paris and the Eiffel Tower for inspiration. A majestic testament
overstimulation by the urban experience— especially the constant bombardment by the sights and sounds of modern city life. In Severini’s Red Cross Train Passing a Village (Train de la Croix Rouge traversant un village), 1915, he splits the landscape in order to fracture the image, creating the abstracted illusion of a speeding object. His use of intense, clashing colors imparts a sense of the train’s noise and power, which from the Futurist’s perspective imply vitality. He painted this work in the midst of World War I, while he was living in close proximity to speeding trains, transporting materials and men for war. Perhaps jaded by what he saw, Severini’s works were bold, confident and honest. Simultaneously, Russian art was undergoing its own response to modernity. Autumn 2010CNCJA•21
Curator’s Corner
psychology. One notable Expressionist, Franz Marc, is responsible for creating the painting after which this exhibit is named. Broken Forms (Zerbrochene Formen), 1914, represents the apex of Marc’s experimentation with structured surfaces and his movement towards abstraction. He painted it shortly before he volunteered for service in the German army in August of 1914. He died in March of 1916. Overall, the masterpieces on display in Broken Forms are an impressive array of fine modern art. The collaboration between artists is fascinating, yet each piece is very personal and unique. Broken Forms: European Modernism from the Guggenheim Collection can be seen at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum through January 5, 2011.
A key player was Kazimir Malevich, who described his works as “CuboFuturist.” It took the Cubist fragmentation of space and combined it with the shifting forms of Futurism. One member of this movement was Mikhail Larionov, who later moved on to develop Rayism, which emphasized the effects of dynamic, linear rays of light. Fontanella explained that although artists during the early part of the twentieth century were eager to look to their predecessors for inspiration, their works were still unique and relevant to their time because they were responding to their own modern experience. The Expressionists in particular drew inspiration from renowned artists such as Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, and Edvard Munch, as well as the Fauves, Cubists, and folk art. However, they were not concerned with portraying things as they were, but as they seemed. Their art became overstated and expressive in an effort to explore emotions and
Left: Franz Marc, Broken Forms (Zerbrochene Formen),
1914. Oil on canvas, 44 x 33 1/4 inches (111.8 x 84.4 cm). Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York 50.1240.
River North Chicago Dance Company
Alvin Ailey
SEASON AAADT in Revelations. Photo by Andrew Eccles.
Dance Cuba
LIZT ALFONSO DANCE CUBA » October 28 & 29, 2010 TOO HOT TO HANDEL: THE JAZZ-GOSPEL MESSIAH » January 15 & 16, 2011 THE STATE BALLET THEATRE OF RUSSIA – SWAN LAKE » February 4 & 5, 2011 RIVER NORTH CHICAGO DANCE COMPANY » April 16, 2011 THE EIFMAN BALLET OF ST. PETERSBURG – DON QUIXOTE, OR FANTASIES OF A MADMAN » April 21 & 23, 2011 ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER » May 18-22, 2011
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Clef N tes Concert Journal for the Arts SUMMER 2009
Mozart’s Letters A candid look at the composer through his writings
THE ADDAMS FAMILY SINGERS
Like many very wonderful things, for us it all started with Mozart!
Bringing Iconic Television to the Musical Stage
MILLENNIUM PARK’S RARE GEM Chicago’s Harris Theater Celebrating Five Years of Investing in Chicago’s Culture
ON TOUR!
Jazz Sensation Joshua Redman Talks About His Recent Album, Touring and, of All Things, Beethoven
We at Clef Notes are thrilled to be able to do what we do, and the support you’ve given us this past year has been invaluable. So from all of us to all of you: Thanks, Chicagoland! We look forward to another great year of Chicagland arts and culture!
In celebration of our first year’s anniversary, we want to hear from you. We want to know what you’ve enjoyed about Clef Notes and what you’d like to see in the future. And that’s not all! We want to help you explore the many wonderful cultural opportunities Chicago has to offer! Simply visit our Website clefnotesjournal.com and click on the CNCJA Anniversary Page. Fill out the Reader Feedback Comments Window, and you will automatically be entered into a drawing on September 30, 2010 for tickets to some of the most anticipated performances of the season, including tickets to Goodman Theatre’s Candide, and tickets to The Auditorium Theatre appearances of The State Ballet Theatre of Russia and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. All feedback submitted prior to September 30 will be eligible for the drawing. Winners will be announced online and in our winter 2010 issue. Employees of Clef Notes or its affilliates are not eligible to enter the drawing.
Clef N tes Chicagoland Journal for the Arts
Autumn 2010CNCJA•23
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1st Annniversary Subscription Offer!
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Clef Notes is celebrating its first year in Chicago with a subscription offer that’s just too good to pass up. Order three issues of Clef Notes, and get a fourth free. That’s one year of Clef Notes at 25% off. At a cost of only $14.85 (3 issues at $4.95 each), you will receive four great issues of Clef Notes Chicagoland Journal for the Arts, each featuring a wealth of coverage of our city’s great arts and culture community along with our popular “Cultural Almanac,” a three month, day-to-day, comparative guide to performing arts events throughout Chicagoland. Our guide also contains reviews of current run performances and previews of upcoming shows and exhibits. Don’t enter the new fall arts season without it! I would like to order three issues of Clef Notes Chicagoland Journal for the Arts for $14.85 ($4.95 each) and add an additional bonus issue for FREE! Name: Address: City/State/Zip: Phone #: E-mail: 24•CNCJAAutumn 2010
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In This Quarter Year
Autumn 2010 Photos from top left: Melanie Keller, Minita Gandhi, and Anish Jethmalani in Twelfth Night (Photo courtesy of First Folio Theatre); Laura Crotte and Malaya Rivera Drews in The Sins of Sor Juana (Photo by Liz Lauren); Violinist Mark Peskanov (Photo courtesy of the Woodstock Mozart Festval); Grant Park Orchestra (Photo by Norman Timonera); William Petersen and Ian Barford in Endgame by Samuel Beckett (Photo by Michael Brosilow); Hope Through Dance Ensemble (Photo courtesy of LTSAF)
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EXHIBIT REVIEW
KENNA EXHIBIT POIGNANT AND COMPELLIING July 29, 2010 - Located in Chicago’s bustling River North, the Catherine Edelman Gallery houses images from a number of photographers, all of which have spectacular pieces on display. Recently, the gallery was home to the works of award-winning photographer, Michael Kenna. Born in England, Kenna attended art school with the original intention of becoming a painter, but gradually began to gravitate towards the photographic arts, eventually finding his niche in landscape photography. Unique and visually arresting, Kenna’s works are certainly a sight to be seen. All photographed in black and white and sized 8 x 7.5”, each picture is stark and almost eerie, yet at the same time, hauntingly beautiful. From the canals of Venice to the mountains of China, Kenna’s photographs have become reflections of his own world travels. However, unlike most photographs of this nature, one thing was noticeably absent from the majority of his pieces: life.
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Taken with long exposure during the dawn and throughout the night, Kenna’s works depict scenes devoid of life. No humans, no animals—nothing. Most compelling were the scenes showing man-made settings, such as abandoned fishing nets in India and empty bridges in Norway. Town squares and pathways lit by electric streetlamps, such as the ones pictured in Two Lamps, Fondamente Zattere, Venice, Italy, 2006, were no doubt built by humans for humans, yet appeared to be entirely deserted. Even scenes of nature showing mountains and trees, showed no indigenous inhabitants. These natural elements appeared as nothing more than stark, gorgeous structures set against striking backgrounds of expansive sky. Kenna’s images represent the natural state of his subjects, placid and untouched. However, since they feature man-made subjects, for the most part, their untouched state actually comes across as unnatural, yet still beautiful. It is a paradox that Kenna adeptly configures in an unforgettable way. Particularly poignant is Plane and Sugar Loaf Mountain, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2006. It perfectly reflects the paradox—a solitary plane is seen near the horizon, yet no people can be seen in the plane or on the beach below, and no birds are in the sky— only man made and uninhabited scenery is depicted. Overall, the exhibit was nicely curated. With works ranging from 1980 to 2009, it exemplified Michael Kenna’s masterful photography in a memorable, engaging way that did justice to his artistry. Left: Plane and Sugar Loaf Mountain. Right: Two Lamps. Photgraphs by Michael Kenna.
Photos Courtesy of the Catherine Edelman Gallery and Michael Kenna
By ALEXANDRA ZAJAC
Autumn 2010CNCJA•27
THEATER REVIEW
A NOVEL TWELFTH NIGHT
Photo courtesy of first folio theatre
By GABRIELLE LEVY
Melanie Keller (Olivia), Minita Gandhi as Viola and Anish Jethmalani as Orsino.
July 23, 2010 - The trouble with performing Shakespeare, especially one of his popular comedies, is that each play has been staged numerous times—for over four hundred years. The First Folio Theatre, based at the Mayslake Peabody Estate in Oak Brook, IL, gave their account of Twelfth Night in July, transporting the play’s original location of Illyria (An island off the eastern shore of the Quadradic Sea) to British Rajera India in a well-received, if occasionally uneven, attempt at a novel interpretation of the play. First Folio Artistic Associates Melanie Keller and Nick Sandys (as Olivia and Malvolio) gave fluid performances that brought to life both characters’ emotional transformations. Ms. Keller’s Olivia was particularly moving in her speech following her first introduction to Viola as Cesario, and Mr. Sandys’ reading of “Olivia’s” letter was one of the show’s funniest moments. Comedic duo Donald Brearley and Nick Maroon, as Sir Toby Belch and Sir Andrew Aguecheek respectively, were pitch-perfect Shakespearean caricatures, and Craig Spidle presented a droll and varied turn as Feste. In one of the weaker performances, Minita Gandhi’s Viola/Cesario was unfortunately marked by stilted gestures and line delivery that too often sounded like memorized speech. However, Ms. Gandhi’s scene partner, Anish Jethmalani, was far smoother as Orsino, stepping effortlessly into the bravado expected of Shakespeare’s dashing leading gentlemen. Outdoor performances come with their own set of unique challenges, and while the weather on this particular evening was ideal, 28•CNCJAAutumn 2010
bugs are clearly an ongoing problem at First Folio’s outdoor stage. Moths that flitted around the stage lights were occasionally—and audibly—zapped, and cicadas provided constant accompaniment to Henry Marsh’s score. In one of the evening’s most memorable moments, Mr. Maroon rescued an injured butterfly that had landed center stage, threatening to distract the audience completely even as the actors tried to ignore it. Mr. Maroon pranced over to pick it up in perfect continuation of his foppish and flighty interpretation of Sir Andrew, earning mid-scene applause as he carried it offstage with his exit. Shakespearean comedy lends itself well to humorous gags, and under Mr. Goldberg’s direction, First Folio’s production was no exception. Both Ms. Gandhi and Mr. Sandys especially relied on exaggerated, occasionally grotesque facial expressions, often directing them pointedly toward the audience. Fortunately, the audience was happy to be on the receiving end of these pouts and grimaces, which earned hearty laughter in turn. “We’ll strive to please you every day,” Feste says at final curtain; this, aside from a few awkward elements, First Folio’s production successfully achieves.
THEATER REVIEW July 1, 2010 - Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz led a life seemingly filled with contradictions. Born an illegitimate Mexican child, she eventually became a fixture within the Spanish royal circles in Mexico City. A 17th-century woman who found a way to self-educate, and ultimately become a nun, Sor Juana wrote challenging poetry and provocative comedies from within the walls of her convent during the time of the Spanish Inquisition. Perhaps it’s only fitting, then, that The Sins of Sor Juana—the centerpiece of the Goodman Theatre’s 5th Biennial Latino Theatre Festival—also feels like a collection of contradictions, embracing elements of Spanish Golden Age comedy, contemporary drama, Shakespearean tragedy, and even modern performance art. Playwright Karen Zacarías manages to interweave these varied theater styles to reconstruct Sor Juana’s final days in the convent while, at the same time, drifting back and forth through time, illuminating Sor Juana’s past struggles as her present situation worsens. Rather than feeling disjointed or confusing, director Henry Godinez blends this combination of time periods and influences slowly, almost seamlessly, into a thrilling portrait of a woman whose life and art entwined in strange (and sometimes volatile) ways. It should come as no surprise that the production owes much of its success to the winning and heartfelt performance of Malaya Rivera Drew in the title role. With effortless charm and lovely simplicity, Drew skillfully avoids playing Sor Juana as a prodigy weighed down by the burden of her own genius, instead offering a portrait of a woman whose light wit goes hand-in-hand with her brilliant mind and relentless determination.
Sor Juana’s wit isn’t truly revealed until her first encounter with Silvio (Dion Mucciacito), a fellow illegitimate child who, in an amusing conceit, is paid to seduce Sor Juana and disparage her reputation in court. Mucciacito lends to the role of Silvio the perfect blend of sly charisma, confident sexuality, and, most importantly, powerful intelligence. As the two begin to spar and tease one another, it’s easy to believe that Sor Juana may finally have stumbled upon an equal, and together Drew and Mucciacito have wonderful fun blurring the lines between debate, wordplay, seduction, and love. The production is bolstered by a strong supporting cast, most notably Joe Miñoso as Don Pedro, a nobleman at court who harbors more than a passing interest in Sor Juana. With impeccable physical timing and perfectly calibrated line readings, Miñoso gives a fearlessly comic performance that, nevertheless, contains honesty and heart. His most memorable scene, involving one of Sor Juana’s bed pillows, left the audience howling with laughter. Also notable are Amy J. Carle as the loving, but dangerous, Vicereine; Tony Plana as the amusingly pathetic Viceroy; and Laura Crotte as the wise and resilient servant Xochitl. Sor Juana’s fascinating story, with its fluid, dreamlike chronology, is further enhanced by Todd Rosenthal’s versatile set, Joseph Appelt’s lovely, often ethereal lighting design, and composer Gustavo Leone’s beautiful and mysterious original music. Combined with such dramatic performances, The Sins of Sor Juana is a wholly entertaining, intriguing, and complex exploration of art, love, and the personal choices that define who we are.
SINS AN INTRUIGING TREAT FOR GOODMAN’S LATINO THEATRE FESTIVAL
Photo by Liz Lauren
By DAVID WEISS
The ghosts of Juana’s (Malaya Rivera Drew) past come to haunt her in a vivid dream.
Autumn 2010CNCJA•29
EXHIBIT REVIEW
Earth Revealed By ALEX KEOWN The Museum of Science and Industry’s Earth Revealed charts the impact of humanity on the planet and how our choices affect the atmosphere around us. The digital exhibit focuses on the changing climate of the Earth over the past 20 years. Museum visitors sit inside a round chamber and focus their attention on a large globe-shaped screen while digital images slide across depicting weather patterns, daily flight paths of commercial airlines, earthquakes and areas of the earth that are heating more quickly than others. During various segments on tsunamis and earthquakes, small monitors positioned around the exhibit reveal video images of these environmental catastrophes, particularly the 2004 tsunami that tragically struck Indonesia. But the increase of carbon dioxide is the primary focus of Earth Revealed. It serves as a wake-up call for how individuals and modern conveniences such as automobiles and coal-fired plants can adversely affect the environment. Designers for the museum developed the exhibit to be experienced in two distinct ways. On their own, visitors can watch a 10 minute presentation that runs four times every hour, or they can opt for a more interactive tour led by a museum docent. The interactive tour is only offered a few times a day Monday through Friday. The “guided” tour allows visitors to ask questions about the environment and the concepts that the exhibit explores. If the crowd is less inquisitive, however, the docent is likely to begin quizzing guests on how they themselves impact the environment. Both the docent and the digital experience offer a prime example of a planet with extreme amounts of carbon dioxide: Venus. The high amounts of carbon dioxide on that planet make it the hottest planet in our solar system. However, the Museum of Science and Industry is quick to point out the Earth is in no danger of becoming as hot as Venus. But curators want visitors to think about being better stewards of our own environment. Signs instructing visitors as to how to do that dot the area. They ask questions such as “How can you reduce your carbon footprint?” In fact, the signs direct visitors to visit the Website www.carbonfootprint.com to glean an even better ideas of ways to effect positive change. While too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere can lead to a greenhouse effect, the exhibit is quick to point out that carbon dioxide is indeed necessary for the survival of the planet, since plants absorb the gas and release oxygen. Without a healthy level of carbon dioxide the planet would become too cold to inhabit. Some of the topics explored in Earth Revealed, coincide nicely with other exhibits at the Museum of Science and Industry. Once visitors leave the digital experience, they can learn more about these forces of nature as they further explore the museum’s many offerings
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Earth Revealed exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry.
Autumn 2010CNCJA•31
Photo by J.B. Spector, Museum of Science and Industry
THEATER REVIEW
STEPPENWOLF’S ENDGAME A TOUR DE FORCE By DAVID WEISS
Photo by Michael Brosilow
July 2, 2010 - The first sensation achieved by Steppenwolf’s Endgame is an unsettling undercurrent of decay. One entered the theater to find the stage and set draped in heavy folds of stained burlap, as if this production of Samuel Beckett’s haunting oneact were the bitter remains of some long-forgotten life. This sense of deterioration lingered and grew even after the burlap had been
Left to right: Steppenwolf ensemble members William Petersen and Ian Barford in Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s production of Endgame by Samuel Beckett, directed by ensemble member Frank Galati.
pulled back to reveal the tattered daily routine of Hamm (William Petersen), Clov (Ian Barford), Nagg (Francis Guinan) and Nell (Martha Lavey), perhaps the last four people living in a seemingly post-apocalyptic landscape. Adorned with almost translucent, pale skin and colorless eyes (the character cannot see or stand), Petersen’s tour de force turn as Hamm was filled with wicked relish and dexterous skill. Perched atop a crumbling throne of a wheelchair, the actor invested the character with an enticing blend of cold precision and delirious playfulness, taunting and manipulating his fellow characters even while sculpting himself into a creature that was by turns childish
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and paternal, at once pitiless and pitiful—yet never less than thoroughly entertaining. Though he may have never left his chair, Petersen commanded the stage with ease for the duration of the play’s brisk 90 minutes. Entrusted with the less showy role of Hamm’s put-upon servant (who conversely, cannot sit), Barford embodied Clov with a heartfelt combination of anxious dependence and bitter, barely-contained wrath. Convincingly nonplussed by his own devotion to a charismatic but intolerable master, Barford made Clov a simple man who was nevertheless capable of giving as good as he got; he poured as much emotion into Clov’s protracted silences as his resentful verbal barbs. As Hamm and Clov bickered and bantered in fits and starts, the duo found an effective rhythm somewhere between that of a vaudeville act and an old married couple, a rhythm which produced surprising moments of both comedy and pathos. Rounding out the cast as Hamm’s longsuffering parents (who are legless and reside in trashcans), Guinan and Lavey made a delightfully depressing pair as they reminisced about years past. Lavey lent Nell a warm, charming stateliness despite her unenviable situation, and Guinan portrayed Nagg as a sweet and gentle man—at least at first. In a later monologue, Guinan deftly revealed troubling glimpses of his own character’s cruelty, perhaps suggesting the origin of his son’s sadism. Complimenting these four vivid characterizations was a bold and evocative production design. James Schutte’s impressionistic set and finely detailed costumes conjured up a hollow world of deep greys, dull browns and dirty whites; everything (and everyone) looked as if they might collapse into a pile of dust at any moment, a feeling that was further enhanced by James Ingalls’ eerie lighting scheme and Andre Pluess’ otherworldly sound design. Director Frank Galati seamlessly combined these technical elements with the cast’s perfectly orchestrated performances to make Endgame a uniquely satisfying theatrical experience— one that will haunt your memory long after you’ve left the theater.
CLASSICAL CONCERT REVIEW
Delicacy Marks Peskanov’s Approach with Mozart Festival Program
Violinist Mark Peskanov and Woodstock Mozart Festival ensemble members.
August 9, 2010 - Under the banner, “Mozart… and more!” the Woodstock Mozart Festival’s series of concerts comprising its 24th season features the works of Bach, Wagner, Handel and Chopin, in addition to the music of the Austrian master himself. The second program, performed August 7 and 8 at the Woodstock Opera House, was led by violinist and Festival artistic advisor Mark Peskanov, who conducted the evening’s program while playing principle violin. The concert opened with Gioachino Rossini’s Sonata No. 3 in C Major (1804), followed by Antonio Vivaldi’s Le Quattro Stagioni (The Four Seasons, 1728), and concluded with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Divertimento No. 17 in D Major (1780). The Four Seasons was the highlight of the evening, and Mozart’s Divertimento suffered to follow it, marked by a lagging energy in the work in comparison to its brisk predecessor on the program. Mr. Peskanov performed only the Vivaldi from memory, and under his animated direction, it was the most passionately played selection. On his feet before the ensemble, Mr. Peskanov was undoubtedly the evening’s star, dwarfing his instrument while giving vigorous direction. Sonata No. 3, believed composed when Rossini was only twelve, proved an appropriate and pleasant, if less musically developed, place to start. Each of the movements reflects the composer’s youth with dancing melodies that enabled Mr. Peskanov to show off his adeptness and delicacy. The sonata notably featured solo moments for other instruments, especially the bass (Charles Grosz), cello (Nazar Dzhuryn), and second violin (performed by
Photos Courtesy of the Woodstock Mozart Festival
By GABRIELLE LEVY
first violinist and concertmaster Karen Kelleher). In her third movement solo, Ms. Kelleher seemed unprepared to shoulder the spotlight, failing to match the technique and grace demonstrated by Mr. Peskanov, but performed more fluidly later in the evening. Sonata No. 3 was a charming aperitif of less demanding music, with occasional startling harmonic moments within otherwise conventional writing. The Four Seasons are just four of the twelve concerti in Il Cimento dell’Armonia e dell’Invenzione (“The Trial of Harmony and Invention”), in which Vivaldi challenged himself to create music invoking a specific impression. Each of his Seasons reflects not only the changing weather but also events in the lives of ordinary people—a summertime nap, shivering in the snow—with impressive clarity. The motifs throughout the piece are familiar to the modern ear, not because Vivaldi relied on clichés, but because his compositions created the archetypical style and sound of climate as expressed by music. With its instantly recognizable entrance and familiar themes throughout, the fame of Vivaldi’s suite of concerti is itself a challenge, and the Woodstock players rose to it admirably. Mr. Peskanov threw himself into the material with barely-contained enthusiasm; the presto (III) of Summer
was particularly impressive. It was a relief—and a wonderful surprise— when Mr. Peskanov returned for an encore, playing the breakneck presto movement of Summer again to deserved applause.
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CLASSICAL CONCERT REVIEW
GRAF EXPRESSIVE WITH RUSSIAN WORKS, GPO
By GABRIELLE LEVY
Photo Courtesy of the Grant Park Symphony
July 15, 2010 - On an oppressively warm evening in Millenium Park, the Grant Park Orchestra gave a heady performance of Russian works that ran the gamut of emotional landscape with agility, energy, and grace. Ambient sounds of police car sirens and sporadic crowd laughter notwithstanding, guest conductor Hans Graf’s presentation of three works by composers Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Igor Stravinsky was a vibrantly played, absorbing program. The concert, which took place within Millennium Park’s magnificent Pritzker Pavilion, was part of the Grant Park Music Festival’s 76th season. The program opened with Tchaikovsky’s The Tempest, Fantasy-Overture after Shakespeare, Op. 18 (1873), followed by his Variations on a Rococo Theme for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 33 (1876), and concluded with Stravinsky’s Petrushka, Ballet in Four Tableaux (1911). Under Mr. Graf’s expressive direction, the orchestra played with an energy that clearly delighted the audience, yet often at the expense of crispness or accuracy. This was perhaps exemplified in Alban Gerhardt’s impressive performance of the cello solo in the variations: he played every note with exciting intensity, but occasionally left wanting in pitch or exactness in some of the most challenging passages. Still, Mr. Gerhardt’s dexterity and emotion were worthy of the standing ovation he received.
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Tchaikovsky’s Variations requires the soloist to play his instrument to its grandest capacity, and if the audience was most thrilled by the brisk virtuosity of the fourth, fifth and final variations, Mr. Gerhardt’s playing was at its most exquisite in the mournful, emotive passages in the third and sixth variations. In these quiet moments especially, the orchestra accompanied with seamless unity of color and tone, creating a lush backdrop for the solo. The Tempest is an impressionistic rendering of Shakespeare’s famous romance, with a vague literary outline of themes representing the play’s major characters and plot points with the sea on either end. Tchaikovsky himself described the piece as “disconnected…episodic and unbalanced,” but Mr. Graf’s handling smoothed the disjointed passages and imbued clichéd musical moments with elegance. Stravinsky’s ballet, equal in length to the combined Tchaikovsky pieces, was thematically their opposite. Petrushka, which traces the story of a grotesque, love struck puppet, is particularly challenging not only for its musical content but also for its unsettling, supernatural conclusion. Written between two of his most famous works, The Firebird and Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), Stravinsky intended Petrushka to be a palate-cleansing compositional exercise. Unlike The Tempest, Stravinsky’s score masterfully depicts not only a variety of colorful scenes, but clearly evokes movement within the dance. The orchestra’s verve served particularly well, their brilliant energy an easy match for the music’s heavy demands, especially when the overlapping themes challenged one another for prominence and created the busy, dissonant soundscapes of the fairground. A charming flute performance in the first tableau, expressive piano passages depicting Petrushka’s “human” emotions, and horn blasts, appearing throughout and often exposed after thundering crescendos, were especially remarkable. Lighthearted summer frivolity, this program was not. But under Mr. Graf’s deft hand, these three Russian works spirited us all to another place and time.
Special Benefit
Hope Through Dance Benefit A Poignant and Moving Tribute By EMILY DISHER
Photo Courtesy of the Laura Twirls Suicide Awareness Foundation
Clef Notes would like to take an opportunity to bring focus to a very poignant benefit that took place this past June meant to support those touched by a painful and life-altering experience that, sadly, occurs every day. Hope Through Dance is an example of how art, artistry and expression can provide great meaning and inspiration in times of grief and sorrow. Jeri Pulver wants to expose the topic of suicide. It is a facet of reality that has long been concealed behind blankets of stigma, but it’s also something that has altered Pulver’s life, and the lives of countless others. Not long after her daughter, Laura Maceika, moved to Chicago to pursue a career in dance at age 19, the young woman took her own life. Pulver found herself faced with the loss of her child, overwhelming grief, and the task of, somehow, picking up the pieces. Realizing that suicide has an untold impact on the lives of many other survivors, Pulver founded the Laura Twirls Suicide Awareness Foundation (LTSAF). LTSAF raises funding for the development of programs for survivors of suicide, while also providing scholarships for young dancers, and focusing on dance as an outlet to improve selfesteem, self-expression, and communication. This year, LTSAF instituted a two-night festival in honor of Maceika and to benefit the foundation. On June 26, LTSAF presented its second performance of “Hope through Dance” at Chicago’s Athanaeum Theatre, following its opening night performance in Woodstock. The hour-long program brought together choreography and dancers from many different companies and with wide-ranging credentials. The evening
proved to be a somber, deeply personal outpouring of emotion expressed through the medium of dance. Pulver introduced the benefit with startling strength, sharing her daughter’s story and sobering statistics about suicide. She emphasized that artists have a 112% increased risk of suicide, due to a higher prevalence of depression. Importantly, she focused on the survivors, like herself, who have been left behind to piece their lives back together. A variety of pieces, many of which explored themes of distress, searching, and even anguish, commenced after Pulver’s introduction. The performances featured works by independent choreographers, as well as those from Chicago Dance Crash, Culture Shock Chicago, and All That Dance Studio. Dancers included a mix of professionals, as well as seven teenage girls who had studied dance under Maceika. The concluding piece proved particularly moving, as several of Maceika’s former students broke into tears on stage. However difficult to watch such emotion, the moment was an honest example of the struggles with which survivors are faced after a friend or loved one commits suicide. This year’s “Hope through Dance” served as the inaugural LTSAF benefit production, which the foundation plans to make annual, each summer. To learn more about the Laura Twirls Suicide Awareness Foundation, the next benefit production, or how to donate, readers may visit the LTSAF website at www. lauratwirlsfoundation.org.
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DESTINATION ARTS! By DAVID HENLEY
Woven deeply within California’s beautiful Napa Valley is a rich, vibrant arts and culture community that will make any arts lover feel right at home. Napa Valley Vineyards - Napa, California
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Photo Courtesy of the Napa Valley Destination Council
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travel & arts
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t’s no secret that Chicagoans are a very well-traveled bunch. And with the onset of fall, it’s probably certain that many will soon be reaching for their calendars to plan a timely escape from Chicago’s notoriously brutal winter. But when arts aficionados make a break for sunnier destinations, one thing they rarely sacrifice is the incredibly high level of arts and culture they’ve become accustomed to in the Windy City. And that makes it all the more important to seek out locations that soothe the mind and soul as well as the occasional frost bitten nose. So when the opportunity to explore options available to the artsseeking traveler emerged, I decided to take a bullet and venture out to sunny Napa Valley, CA just to see what the region’s arts and culture community had to offer. The region of Northern California commonly known as Napa Valley stretches north from the city of Napa to Calistoga, CA and is widely considered the ultimate luxury retreat for the destination traveller from any origin. But how would a region dedicated to the cultivation of grapes and fine wine fare when put under the lens of a seasoned arts seeker like myself? That’s the question I set out to answer. Like any experienced traveler, the question I had to answer first when looking for the perfect arts-infused vacation was where to stay. For the dedicated art-seeker, it’s always important to find the right blend of location, comfort, amenities, and knowledgeable staff to best explore any region’s culture. For me, in Napa Valley it just didn’t get any better than Meadowood Resort and Spa. Voted Traveler + Leisure Magazine’s number 1 Napa Valley hotel or resort for 2010—and voted 9th in the world—Meadowood represents 38•CNCJAAutumn 2010
the ultimate home away from home for the Chicago vacationer. Set on a stunning private estate, stretching out over 250 acres of the most lush, scenic region in Northern Napa, Meadowood’s secluded country resort is widely considered the center of cultural and viticultural life in Napa Valley, a bastion of privacy, relaxation and, ultimately, some of the best food and wine experiences you’ll encounter. The estate boasts 85 sumptuously appointed cottages, suites and lodges—many decked with private terraces—all nestled organically in a lush, tranquil hillside in the heart of St. Helena, California, just north of Downtown Napa. The resort offers more amenities than one can absorb in any one visit. There are two professional croquet lawns, a feature particularly special to the Meadowood experience; a nine-hole executive golf course; seven outdoor tennis courts; two swimming pools; expansive on-site hiking trails offering mesmerizing views of the valley; and a complete health spa. The list goes on and on. The cottages offer a sea of seductive comfort. Most are appointed with large wood-burning fireplaces, heated floors throughout, and some have deep, cavernous soaker tubs that beckon any traveler accustomed to harsh Midwestern temperatures. The service is unsurpassed. Every staff member seems genuinely integrated into your experience. Every experience becomes a custom experience. And that’s apparently part of the culture at Meadowood, as explains general manager Alain Negueloua, “Providing a custom experience is very important to the staff here at Meadowood. Guests pay a premium to stay here. And we like to offer guests unique experiences that are not only unique to Napa Valley, but…unique to anywhere you travel.” Because of their relationships with many of the long time fixtures in the region, from private wineries and estates to the famed Culinary
Photos courtesy of Meadowood Resort and Spa
Aerial view of Meadowwod Resort’s spa and croquette lodge and lawn.
hours with Gilles and learn everything from golf, a period based game that challenges proper wine parings to the cultivation of you to use authentic, hickory wood-shafted grapes to early Napa Valley history. clubs dating back to the early 1920s and A cultural replicas of calendar detailing turn-of-thearts events and century golf activities in the balls made Valley is delivered with tree sap. to guest lodges Some even every evening, don periodand Valley arts based attire, organizations adding a are known to nostalgic bring a variety flavor to of professional an already concerts to the intimate Meadowood Resort and Spa maintains long-standing estate. setting. Another of relationships with Napa area fixtures like The Culinary Institute But it’s not M e a d o w o o d ’ s of America (above). about getting unique offerings dressed up is its nine-hole executive golf course. Built and emulating a period long gone by. As upon what was once a 1950s Christmas tree Pike points out, it’s more about the true farm, the resort’s verdant fairways create an aesthetics of the game as seen from the idyllic retreat whether you’re an avid player perspective of its early players. Hickory or a novice to the game. Members and guests golf takes away the pressure of how far look to Doug Pike, Meadowood’s golf pro, you have to hit the ball because those early to help sharpen the finer points of their balls and clubs employ specific limitations games, and according to Pike, no element on distance and focus more on the essential is too minute to cultivate on Meadowood’s elements that make golf a game of accuracy, lanes, “We’re all about results,” Pike says, position and approach. And it’s as much an “Whatever they want, we’re going to give exploration of the history and the tradition it to them.” of golf as it is the technique of developing The sentiment seems angles and shots. In Pike’s words, “Playing to be part and parcel of the Hickory Golf gives you a whole new level of Meadowood culture: providing respect for the game.” Moreover, it becomes that custom experience an appreciation for how far the game of golf scarcely found anywhere else has come. And Meadowood is one of the few courses that offers it. Of course, no Napa Valley experience would be complete without world class cuisine. And Meadowood provides some of the most exquisite fine dining in the region by way of its famed Meadowood Restaurant, two-Michelin-star-recipient and home to red hot head chef Christopher Kostow. Named one of the top chefs of 2009 by Food and Wine Magazine, the in the Valley. Pike arrived at 33-year old Highland Park, IL native is no Meadowood nearly 13 years stranger to accolades. He received his first ago and began building a strong Michelin star years ago while head chef clientele among area members. for Bay area eatery, Chez T.J.—Southwest Since that time, he has had of San Francisco. It was at Chez T.J. that a hand in developing many Kostow learned to run a kitchen from a of the unique elements that head chef’s perspective. In only his second make Meadowood golf a oneyear there, the worldwide restaurant ratings of-a kind experience. One of guide returned the chef’s second star. the most interesting is hickory That much acclaim in such a short period Photo Courtesy of the Napa Valley Destination Council
Institute of America, Meadowood is able to tailor an exclusive experience for its guests with as little as a phone call. And that’s one reason why many of their guests return. According to Negueloua, 28% of the resort’s guests are indeed return visitors, a number that is steadily rising. As he puts it, it’s all due to, “the level of personal attention and service that we provide…It’s a very intimate property here. The size of our property allows for one-on-one interaction with our guests and members.” That and the breathtaking surroundings that envelope you from the very moment you make your way onto the estate are enough to keep any traveler coming back for more. Because Napa Valley is such a close knit community with a primary industry that is an art form all unto itself, culture and arts seem interwoven into the very fabric of life in the Valley (as it is affectionately called). And so it’s no surprise that Meadowood would itself provide such ample cultural offerings for its guests. Each night the resort presents a wine reception that provides custom, personalized wine education with the estate’s very own Master Sommelier Gilles de Chambure (one of only 170 Master Sommeliers in the world). Passionate about his own unique art form, one can sit for
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of time has its benefits and drawbacks. “It definitely puts you out there.” Kostow explains, “It makes you part of the larger conversation. But it also, obviously, raises expectations to kind of a ridiculous level, which in the end, makes you a better chef.” Now, in only his second year, Kostow and his Meadowood Restaurant team have snagged a staggering four stars from the San Francisco Chronicle and two Michelin stars for the restaurant. All of the accolades have placed him in the company of some of the world’s most eminent chefs. And while he recognizes the importance of such a position, Kostow sees an even more important benefit. “The greatest thing that comes out of it, which is sort of rarely discussed, is the more accolades you get, the more talented people want to work for you.” Kostow says that the draw for such acclaim gives a chef the luxury of “building a better machine,” a machine that can be consistent and create long term success, which is definitely something he has his sights set on. Kostow’s focus these days: food memories. His goal is to create flavors that resonate with food experiences his guests have had before. But he’s quick to remind you “The food’s not derivative,” (essentially a recreation of a favorite dish). Kostow works with flavor combinations that, in his own words, “speak to a time and to a place.” And that resonates with the culture prevalent at Meadowood, creating one-of-a-kind experiences for its guests. Kostow admits that he’s grown through a fair bit of coaching in his two years at Meadowood, something he didn’t find a great deal of in the French kitchens where he cut his 40•CNCJAAutumn 2010
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ne of the first elements of culture one notices right away from the time one enters Napa Valley is the rich, vibrant history of the region. The soil, the topography that feeds the livelihood for which the region is known, the very structures and caves that house the cultivation of some of the greatest wines in the world all sing of the history that built what is now famously America’s Wine Country. To get a sense of that history’s impact on the culture of Napa, I toured the first and best place to examine it, the Napa Valley Museum. Located in Yountville, California, The Napa V a l l e y Museum works to execute its mission of educating residents and visitors on the art, history, and the environment of Napa Valley. The m u s e u m ’s structure is the creation of famed architectural firm Fernau & Hartman and is designed in the classic Arts and Crafts style. The primary exhibit space is modern Photos courtesy of The Artist
photo Courtesy of Meadowood Resort and Spa
Christoper Kostow, head chef of The Meadowood Restaurant.
teeth. Now, he sees himself able to coach and create opportunities for those under his wing. “I’ve gotten a tremendous amount of coaching here. And now I’m able to look at members of my staff and figure out how to reach them, what they need to be successful.” As for what Kostow needs: more of the same. “I mean from a chef’s point of view, this is paradise. I grow my own things. I have a beautiful kitchen. I have a tremendous staff, great dining room, great service staff, and a property that really believes in what we’re doing. It gives us all the tools to succeed.” With the easy questions behind us, I just had to take an opportunity, from one Chicagoan to another, to get to the really important stuff. Steely-eyed and resolute, I hit Chef Kostow with what Chicagoans want to know most: Cubs or Sox? Without a moment’s hesitation, he fired back: “Cubs.” I knew there was something I liked about this guy.
Images from Villa Ca’Toga by artist Carlo Marchiori
and open, dedicated to rotating art exhibits that feature some of the best artists in the Bay area. But travel to the exhibit space below, and you’ll find a fascinating gallery showcasing a wide variety of historical artifacts revealing the impact of the Valley’s landscape on the economy prevalent in the region, and the rich soil from which vintners developed the area’s historic grapes.You’ll see many of the rare Plein Air paintings that catalog Napa’s extraordinary geography in the various stages of its development. You’ll find a permanent exhibit that chronicles the incredible transition of Napa Valley from the Gold Rush era to present day, all just the beginning of the museum’s mission to bring meaning to one’s experience of Napa’s historic terrain. “Meaning-making is what we do,” says Pat Alexander, director of education for the museum. It’s to that end, Alexander says, that the museum offers its various outreach programs that target people of every age and background to enrich the lives of Napa’s citizens and visitors with the wealth of knowledge that is its history. There’s a traveling trunk program that hails from the museum’s early days, when they would take a mobile exhibit to area schools and teach students from grades K through 12 about the fascinating history of the valley. There are a variety of environmental programs that offer geological explorations of the region, bird watching and stargazing—exploring Napa’s crystal, nighttime sky. And then of course, there’s the mainstay at the museum: the many art programs that include classes in a variety of painting and sculpting techniques. Alexander’s favorite element: the inter-generational classes the museum offers. “It’s another way to connect, another way to influence each other,” she says. Art: And speaking of art, there are the many incredible artists that show at the
most important collections of its kind.
Photos courtesy of the Hess Collection
museum year-round. Carlo Machiori, another intimate surroundings and stunning panoramic of Alexander’s favorites, is one that has long views, wineries offer an opportunity to held a place in the hearts of Napa Valley combine two wine country favorites in a citizens. Marchiori’s living art estate Villa truly exotic arts Ca’Toga has to be one of the most profoundly experience. unique exhibit spaces in the country. One of my Located at the Valley’s northern tip, favorite such Villa Ca’Toga is a remarkable tribute to the galleries is Ma(i) Palladian-style house representative of the sonry Napa Valley. architecture of Veneto, Italy—Marchiori’s Billed as an art, home. A living art structure, Ca’Toga design and wine represents one of the most ambitious blending gallery, Ma(i) of reality and fantasy with mural and sculpture sonry is nestled intertwined to create a phenomenon of whimsy c o m f o r t a b l y and wonder. And while Marchiori’s own art in an elegant, gallery of the same name is a fine showcase of his many works from prints to sculptures, Villa Ca’Toga is one place you will not want to miss when you’re in the Valley. It really is one of those art experiences that has to be seen to be believed. Of course, if it’s strictly fine art that you’re hungry for, the number of art galleries in Napa is endless. From paintings to sculpture to blown glass or fine pottery, galleries abound in the Valley to suit every discriminating art lover’s desire. I found in my trip that many of The Hess Collection Art Museum, St. Helena, CA. the exhibits in Napa focus on collections of prominent Bay area artists past contemporary sculpture garden and features and present. But, not surprisingly, some of a rotating collection of internationally these Napa area galleries also feature some of acclaimed art and limited-production wines in the most compelling art from around the world. an experience it calls “a life aesthetic.” The largest art gallery in Napa Valley, Jessel The Hess Collection winery is another Gallery features the work of portrait artist well known area vineyard that houses a Jessel Miller. A Canadian-born artist, Miller significantly important collection of works in achieved her first successes in the area in 1980 its own onsite gallery. The Hess Collection Art when she was presented by the San Francisco Museum was opened in 1989. Housed in the Museum of Modern Art (SFMOM). The rare original 1903 winery, The Museum represents one-person show was attended by such area the personal collection of owner Donald Hess. luminaries as Maya Angelou and Herb Caen. An avid art collector from his youth, Hess Her works are sparkling portraits of stunning has always been known as a wildly intuitive wine country views and landscapes. Other collector. Throughout his life, he has amassed artists featured in the gallery include an impressive cache of works from a select Plein Air specialists Timothy Dixon group of artists that have, on the whole, grown and Clark Mitchell. Vibrant, colorful to become some of the most important of landscapes, vivid floral portraits and their peers. Hess finds artists whose aesthetics ocean scenes dot the gallery’s exhibit resonate with his own intuitive tastes and space. supports their evolving works for periods of However, galleries are not the only time spanning, in some cases, more than 20 places you’ll find compelling fine art years. What he has created as a result is an in Napa. Some of the Valley’s most art museum that represents a very personal captivating collections can be found and exceptional, in-depth examination of within the many winery/galleries in over sixty very talented artists, and one that the region. Popular for their uniquely is widely recognized as among the largest and
Theater:
While Napa Valley is not exactly teeming with Broadway productions, it does however, offer a strong contingent of dynamic professional ensembles to engage your passion for live theater. Benicia Old Town Theatre Group, Bay Area Stage, The Mira Theatre Guild and Dreamweavers Troupe all offer a wide array of challenging productions featuring some of the great masterworks of live theater. Among the four area troupes’ 2010-2011 calendars, you’ll find performances of such works as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Diary of Anne Frank, Jesus Christ Superstar and Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps. The level of sophistication in the productions you’ll see in the Valley range from intermediate to excellent, but what you’ll find most is a passion for bringing a unique perspective to some of the world’s greatest works written for live theater. Music and Dance: Of course, any arts and culture community worth its weight in salt would have to have a first rate music and dance contingent. And, certainly, Napa has its share. The Napa Valley Regional Dance Company offers an eclectic mix of professional dance performances each year rounding out each season with a concert featuring Tchaikovsky’s beloved Nutcracker Suite. As for music, Napa Valley has a terrifically
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image Courtesy of the Napa Valley Destination Council
varied line up of festivals and concert series that span genres from bluegrass to jazz to classical. On my trip, I had occasion to visit with Evie Ayers, executive director of Music In The Vineyards, an annual chamber music festival presenting some of the foremost musicians from around the world and in some of the most incredibly spectacular (if unconventional) venues under the California sun. Music In The Vineyards is the brainchild of Daria and Michael Adams. Accomplished musicians themselves (Daria, a violinist with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra since 1978; and Michael, violinist with the Minnesota Orchestra since 1989), the Adamses wanted to create an opportunity for their many friends that were also orchestral musicians to come together and perform chamber music with one another in an intimate and personal setting, the way chamber music was conceived. And with venues as unusual as winery barrel rooms and vineyard tasting spaces, they began what has now become an annual celebration of great music, wine and incomparably stunning views, all culminating in a unique threeweek chamber festival cultivating a fine marriage of great music and the culture endemic to the very soil of the land. Ayers admits it’s more than just the music that brings back the faithful to the 15 year festival. “People come back year after year for the whole experience,” Ayers say. “We get a small percentage of our audience who are specifically interested in listening to chamber music, and they don’t care where it is (performed). But most of our audiences come for the whole experience…of being in a winery, hearing wonderful music, having lovely wine, seeing beautiful views, and it’s all just sublime.” And it’s no wonder why. With concert venues provided by the likes of Clos Pegase Vineyard, The Hess Collection Winery, Francis Ford Coppola’s Rubicon Estate, and Meadowood Resort, Music In The Vineyards wraps superlative music making in aweinspiring settings that create a custom wine and music experience unlike any you will find. The avid support of core area institutions like these is indicative of the way the arts permeate this close knit community. Diane Miller, owner of Silverado Vineyards—another winery that supports the festival—has been on board with Music In The Vineyards’s vision from the beginning. “Because of Diane Miller’s cultural background, she’s very keen on arts and culture in the Valley,” says Ayers. Three nights out of the three-week festival, Silverado hosts concerts. And that constitutes the lion’s share of the limited number of days Silverado is allotted by Napa County for public functions. Because of restrictions in place to control
congestion and tourism in the area, wineries are limited in the amount of days they are able to open their doors to functions like weddings or receptions, a potentially generous source of revenue. Of course, incredible venues aside, what would great music be without great musicians? Each summer Music In The Vineyards brings together high caliber artists from around the world. This year’s festival will offer 13 venues featuring 40 renowned musicians from the United States, Canada, and Europe, including Trio Cavatina, The Enso String Quartet and The Pacifica Quartet. Chicago area chamber music lovers will recognize the Pacifica from their many concerts here (Pacifica will also be performing in Chicago’s upcoming “Soviet Arts Experience 2010-2011”). The Quartet, which also serves a residency at The University of Illinois, Champaign, Urbana, has had a strong relationship with Music In The Vineyards for the last seven years. “We in the (Pacifica) quartet are particularly pleased with our association here (with Music In The Vineyards),” says Sibbi Bernhardssohn, violinist with The Pacifica, “because of the many
experience. It’s not just outstanding arts and culture, it’s outstanding arts and culture wrapped up in an ethos of exquisite food and wine and exceptional warmth and serenity, making for the most intimate environment in which to enjoy one of the most intimate things: the arts. And that makes Napa a place
Photos courtesy of Music In The Vineyards.
great musicians that we get to play with.” Bernhardssohn says that, because chamber music was meant to be experienced in intimate settings, chamber music and Napa Valley are quite a natural fit for one another. And because of that, Music In The Vineyards works beautifully for its artist and patrons alike. “A lot of the (festival) venues actually do create a very intimate relationship with the audience,” Bernhardssohn says. “But I also think that the artistic directors, Michael and Daria Adams, have been able to create a really great relationship with the community here in Napa… and Michael (gives) concert conversations before each concert...I think that helps break down the barriers also.” Like many things in Napa, Music In The Vineyards really provides the kind of concert experience you simply cannot have anywhere else, which speaks to the quality of the overall Napa
where you forgo nothing by way of great artistic enjoyment. In fact, if you take away the gust of wintery, arctic air that rolls off Lake Michigan every now and then, Napa Valley begins to feel just like home. Clockwise from top: Music In The Vineyards performance at Berringer Vineyards. Performance in the caves of Clos Pegase Winery. Members of The Pacifica Quartet.
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CONVERSATION WITH ARTIST JIM NUTT By PATRICK M. CURRAN II
Artist Conversational
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that Nutt says he developed his passion for art. “(The collections) n January 29, 2011, Chicago’s Museum of were a gigantic distraction…there you are taking classes in a Contemporary Art (MCA) will present the first building filled with art from the past…being in the same building solo exhibit in nearly 15 years of the works as these things and having to pass by them, going from one of Chicago artist Jim Nutt. Lynne Warren, class to another gave you an intimate relationship with them— curator of the exhibit Jim Nutt: Coming into an unforced relationship…constantly in their presence…every Character, herself an avid follower of Nutt’s work, believed that day I was walking by these paintings, and believe me, that was the time had come for Chicago to get reacquainted with one of its electrifying. That had a big influence on me.” most influential modern artists. Nutt indicated that some of the Art Institute collections For the last 20 of his 50 years, Nutt has produced works of art involved in this unforced relationship included the works of using a single underlying image, that of the female head. The 75 Monet, Matisse, Rembrandt and Kandinsky—to name a few. piece MCA exhibit is a retrospective of the development of Nutt’s It was during his time at the Art Institute, surrounded by fellow unique 20-year focus on the female head through a comprehensive students and teachers, such as Pop Artist Ray Yoshida, that Nutt was review of his earlier works and influences. Though his career first exposed to the culture. “I was particularly interested in Andy has spanned decades, and his work has stretched in untold Warhol’s work…and Jasper Johns. (Robert) Rauschenberg’s work directions, history has, for better or for worse, classified and was very exciting. There was a very interesting Rauschenberg compartmentalized Nutt and his paintings into show put on by the Arts Club (Chicago) that of the Pop Art culture that emerged in New “I had a rather naïve idea that around ‘64…the techniques he was using, York and expanded to Chicago in the midart had been progressing, and we the transferring of images…his paintings 1960s. Though history has defined Nutt as part were so extreme…they were really virtual of the Chicago Pop Art Imagists, his work since were leaving the figure behind, and if you wanted to be a modern artist, knockouts in a variety of ways.” Nutt the ‘60s has revealed a singularity all its own. credits the Rauschenberg one-man-show Warren maintains that Nutt’s work is so you had to do totally abstract work as the “greatest exposure (to Pop Art) I important today because of that singularity. No because that was where (the field) had…it was very overpowering.” other contemporary artist is doing work like it. was going. Now, I don’t think that’s Though art historians have attempted Unlike many of today’s modern artists, whose to define Nutt artistically by his Pop Art the way it works” works often accompany detailed descriptions work during and immediately following -Jim Nutt instructing viewers on the “proper” meaning of his time at the School of the Art Institute, their art, Warren argues that Nutt is the epitome Nutt himself has never felt comfortable of a “serious” artist. He allows his art to speak with that label. When I asked him whether for itself, never choosing to describe what one he felt artistically confined by historians’ classification of his should see in his work. work, he stated that the “reality is that, in my studio, it was a nonWhen I asked Nutt what he wanted people to take away from issue. I just don’t think about that at all. Believe me—it’s not easy his art, he insisted that, “All my energy goes into making pieces, doing paintings. Your action is all spent with the mistakes you’ve and from that point on, it’s beyond my hands. I don’t have an made as you start to get the work going—It’s just trying to rectify agenda in terms of how I want people to look at the work or how everything so that it works, so I don’t think about those kinds of I want to present it, necessarily. I do control the painting, and I (classifications) at all.” do control the…environment, by that I mean the framing. Then “Basically, all my work since ’62 had been figurative. (Prior beyond that point, it sort of is out in the world.” to that) I was very interested in totally abstract work, and thought Given Nutt’s singularity within the field of modern art, it was that was what I wanted to do. But whenever we were trying to surprising to hear him state that he never felt an innate yearning do something, I would succeed in making something that was to become an artist. Unlike his wife and fellow School of the completely nonrepresentational and thoroughly abstract…and it Art Institute alum, Gladys Nilsson, who at an early age knew never felt right.” Nutt explained that during his days at the Art she wanted to be an artist, Nutt admitted that he had none of that Institute, “I had a rather naïve idea that art had been progressing, internal artistic drive or focus. “I never really did have a particular and we were leaving the figure behind, and if you wanted to be a interest in being an artist…I came in the back door, in a sense that modern artist, you had to do totally abstract work because that was I was taking a drawing course, a figure drawing course as a result where (the field) was going. Now, I don’t think that’s the way it of being in a an architecture program (at Washington University works…I ended up being more and more comfortable expressing in St. Louis). And I discovered I liked what I was doing, and it myself through the use of somewhat quasi-representational wasn’t nearly as easy as I thought it would be, and I kind of got elements.” hooked without realizing it.” In fact, Nutt decided to attend the Asside from his affiliation with the Chicago Imagists, Nutt’s School of the Art Institute of Chicago only after meeting some work over the past 20 years has focused on the female form, visiting students from the institution and enjoying what they and exclusively the female head. When I asked why he has spent the others were doing artistically in Chicago. It was during his years last two decades painting figurative images of the female form, at the school and amongst the various renowned collections there
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Photos Courtesy of David Nolan Gallery, New York
Bump (2008), Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO
Nutt stated that his “work has evolved very slowly, one thing to another… I don’t sort of look at work of the last year and have a meeting with myself…I really don’t think that kind of way. Once a painting is done as best I can…the decision what I’m going to do next is usually based upon things that didn’t work in the painting that interested me. In any work, you start with a idea…and then as you’re developing it and trying to make it…it starts shifting and going in different directions, and it goes from one thing to another, lots of things that you throw away and hope you’ll never see them again, but there are lots of things that you can’t use but (find) interesting, and usually from that sort of awareness...that is where the next piece starts from…So how I ended up with these women? I really can’t tell you for sure because I really wasn’t aware at the time. One thing led to another, and I ended up working on these imaginary portraits sort of creating in my mind real people that are female.”
Nutt mentioned that it’s only after interviews like mine, or when he reads reviews of his work that he consciously steps back to evaluate the complexities of his art and any influences that may or may not have impacted his work. Though history has tried to confine and connect Jim Nutt to a specific genre or model, his life and art reveal that he is beholden to no particular genus. Jim Nutt is as unique and original as they come. Curator Lynne Warren has known this for years, and now younger generations of modern artists are discovering this as well. Chicagoans should be proud to call him one of our own.
Autumn 2010CNCJA•45
Goings on
For the first time in 50 years, the Jane Addams Hull House Museum, located on the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) Campus at 800 S. Halsted Street, has undergone a major renovation and will officially reopen on Wednesday, September 8, 2010. The restorations have dramatically expanded the house areas open to the public, developed a new temporary exhibition space relating issues of the early 20th century to today, and greatly increased the artifacts in its collection. For the first time ever, visitors will now be able to view the entire second floor of the Hull home, which includes a permanent exhibition titled The Making of a Political Woman, comprised of areas such as Jane Addams’ bedroom with personal artifacts such as her 1931 Nobel Peace Prize, childhood diary, letters, photographs, an 1881 class ring from Rockford Seminary, and more! Celebrating the museum’s re-opening and coinciding with the 150th anniversary of Addams’ birth are two events on Wednesday, September 8. The first will be a special civic ceremony at noon at Daley Plaza, presented by the Hull House Association. The second will be a free “People’s Block Party” at the revamped museum from 4-6 p.m., showcasing the new facility, where free refreshments, self-guided tours, and a chance to meet the museum’s executive staff will all be available. Photos of the Hull House restoration above courtesy of The Hull House Museum.
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Richard M. Daley (center) with the Sydney cast of August: Osage County, Steppenwolf Artistic Director Martha Lavey (far left), playwright Tracy Letts (second from left) and Director Anna D. Shapiro (second from right). Photo by Michael Brosilow.
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At a press conference held on August 6, 2010 at Steppenwolf Theatre’s administrative offices, Mayor Richard M. Daley toasted the cast of Steppenwolf’s critically acclaimed play August: Osage County, calling it one of Chicago’s great cultural ambassadors. The press conference served as a send off for a six-week engagement at the prestigious Sydney Theatre Company. Australian Consul-General Ms. Elizabeth Schick was on hand for the event. Most of the original Chicago and Broadway cast members of the play have reassembled for the Sydney engagement. August:Osage County was written by Steppenwolf ensemble member Tracy Letts (Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony® Award-Best Play) and directed by ensemble member Anna D. Shapiro (Tony® Award-Best Direction). You may remember that August: Osage County enjoyed a sold-out run during its world premiere here at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre back in 2007. Just months later, the play made its way to Broadway, where it ran for an impressive 648 performances, earning five Tony Awards and becoming one of the longest-running plays in Broadway history. August also played an eight-week engagement at London’s National Theatre before embarking on a 20-city North American tour that included stops in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Toronto and back home to Chicago. A motion picture based on the play is currently in the works, and Tracy Letts has been tapped to write the screenplay.
New Digs for BET Chicago’s Black Ensemble Theater will soon be breaking ground on their brand new Black Ensemble Theater Cultural Center, 4440 N. Artist’s rendering of Black Ensemble Theater Cultural Center Clark Street. On Friday, September 10 at 2 p.m., actor Harry Lennix will chair a ceremony featuring performances from popular Black Ensemble productions and remarks from founder and executive director Jackie Taylor. Guests for the event will include Governor Pat Quinn, Mayor Richard M. Daley and Alderman Eugene Schuler. The new center will greatly increase the number of people the theater company reaches each year through its productions, playwriting initiatives, and other programming.
Mammoths and Mastadons Clef Notes Chicagoland Journal for the Arts
Lyric Opera’s 56th Season MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET
Alexander Calder and Contemporary Art: Form, Balance, and Joy
AUTUMN 2010
Candide
Soviet Arts Experience Shakespeare Theatre’s Romeo and Juliet
Cultural Almanac
Shrek The Musical
Joffrey All Stars Autumn 2010CNCJA•47
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Various artists presented on stages throughout Millennium & Grant Parks.
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Labor Day Spectacular: Tribute to Erich Kunzel Symphony Center w/Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Jazz at Symphony Center (Tel. 312.294.3000, cso.org) CSO in Pilsen Special: FREE Concert for Chicago in Millennium Park Muti Conducts Berlioz Spectacular Muti Conducts Mozart and Haydn
International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) Music of the Baroque (Tel. 312.551.1444, baroque.org) Dido and Aeneas Music Institute of Chicago (Tel. 847.905.1500 ext. 108 , musicinst.org) Quintet Attacca with pianist Mark George Marcus Roberts Trio Old Town School of Folk Music (Tel.773.728.6000, oldtownschool.org) Brazilian Independence Day Celebration Sam Amidon Voices of Resistance Nine: Fair and Lovely Texas Tornados Aimee Mann Cimarrón and Los Guitarristas Kinobe & Soul Beat Africa and Meklit Hadero Jessica Fichot Kids Show Connie Smith Orion Ensemble (Tel.630.628.9591, orionensemble.org) Beethoven, Schumann and Piazzolla/Bragato Ravinia (Tel. 847.265.5100, ravinia.org) Alon Goldstein - Celebrating Robert Schumann's 200th Birthday The Knights - Leonard Bernstein 20 Years Later/Aaron Copeland 20 Years Later Nelly Furtado Train Tom Chapman and Friends - Kraft Kids Concert Hershey Felder in Maestro: The Art of Leonard Bernstein
SEPTEMBER 2010
Chicago Chamber Musicians (Tel. 312.819.5800, chicagochambermusic.org) A Century of Romanticism Chicago Jazz Festival (Tel. 312.744.0573, chicagojazzfestival.us) Nicole Mitchell, flute and Anthony Davis, piano (Roosevelt Univeristy's Ganz Hall) James Dapogny Ramsey Lewis 75th Birthday Celebration (Millenium Park's Jay Pritzker Pavilion) Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Orchestra Maggie Brown: "A Tribute to Abbey Lincoln" Kurt Elling Quintet with special guest Ernie Watts The Dance Center of Columbia College (Tel. 312.369.8330, colum.edu/dancecenter) 1306 - Ten Years Later The Dance COLEctive (Tel. 773.604.8452, dancecolective.com) In Your Space--collaboration with Friends of the Chicago River Harris Theater for Music and Dance (Tel. 312.334.7777, harristheaterchicago.org ) Chicago Chinese Cultural Institute - Beauty & Melody See the Dance Lar Lubovitch Dance Company Lyric Opera of Chicago (Tel. 312.332.2244, lyricopera.org) Stars of Lyric Opera at Millennium Park -- FREE! Museum of Contemporary Art (Tel. 312.280.2660, mcachicago.org) Redmoon Theater: The Astronaut's Birthday
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The CNCJA Cultural Almanac listings are representative of schedules from participating institutions available at time of publication.
Photos from left: Riccardo Muti and members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Photo by Todd Rosenberg); Members of the Orion Ensemble (Photo by Cornelia Babbitt); Marcello Giordani (Photo by Marty Sohl of the Metropolitan Opera); Nadia Krasteva (Photo by Monika Rittershaus of The Netherlands Opera); Members of the Attacca Quartet (Photo courtesy of the Attacca Quartet).
Music & Dance
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SEPTEMBER 2010
A Red Orchid Theatre (Tel. 312.943.8722, aredorchidtheatre.org) Louis Slotin Sonata Apollo Theatre (Tel. 773.935.6100, apollochicago.com) Million Dollar Quartet Broadway In Chicago (Tel. 312.977.1700, broadwayinchicago.org) Billy Elliot Shrek The Musical Rock of Ages An Evening with Sutton Foster Disney's The Lion King Chicago Shakespeare Theatre (Tel. 312.595.5600, chicagoshakes.com) Romeo and Juliet Circle Theatre (Tel. 708.771.0700, circle-theatre.org) The Philadelpia Story The Wedding Singer City Lit Theater Company (Tel. 773.293.3682, citylit.org) Lovers Court Theatre (Tel. 773.702.7005, courttheatre.org) Comedy of Errors Goodman Theatre (Tel. 312.443.3800, goodmantheatre.org) Candide The House Theatre of Chicago (Tel. 773.251.2195, thehousetheatre.com) Thieves Like Us Lifeline Theatre (Tel. 773.761.4477, lifelinetheatre.com) Wuthering Heights Metropolis Performaing Arts Centre (Tel. 847.577.2121, metropolisarts.com) The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee Northlight Theatre (Tel. 847.673.6300, northlight.org) Daddy Long Legs Profiles Theatre (Tel. 773.549.1815, profilestheatre.org) Jailbait RedTwist Theatre (Tel. 773.728.7529, redtwist.org) A Delicate Balance Steppenwolf Theatre Company (Tel. 312.335.1650, steppenwolf.org) Detroit Timeline Theatre Company (Tel. 773.281.8463, timelinetheatre.com) Frost/Nixon Writers Theatre (Tel. 847.242.6000, writerstheatre.org) She Loves Me
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Photos from left: Entire cast of Million Dollar Quartet (Photo by Sarah Von); Tommy Batchelor and the Ballet Girls from Billy Elliot (Photo by Joan Marcus); Phindile Mkhize as Rafiki in “The Circle of Life” from Disney’s The Lion King (Photo by Joan Marcus); Hamilton Terry from Frost/Nixon (Photo courtesy of Timeline Theatre); Alan Mingo Jr. as Donkey and Dragon (played by Carrie Compere in Shrek The Musical (Photo by Joan Marcus).
Theater
MUSICAL THEATER REVIEW
Shrek Bring’s DreamWorks Magic to Chicago Stage By GABRIELLE LEVY
Eric Petersen as Shrek, Alan Mingo Jr. as Donkey and Haven Burton as Princess Fiona in the first national tour of Shrek The Musical.
often depressed temper provides an excellent vehicle for the plot: nothing more than the familiar story of a curmudgeon’s heart melted by love when the right girl comes along. The cast of plucky sidekicks, particularly the excellent Haven Burton as Princess Fiona and Alan Mingo, Jr. playing Eddy Murphy’s Donkey with soul, are the necessary counterpoints to Shrek’s troubled mien. They capably stand out against the busy scenery and rise above the often kitschy material to give memorable performances as real emotional beings. The production of Shrek the Musical is not without its problems; many, but not all, of its issues are inherent in the musical and were noted by critics of the original Broadway production. However, the creative team has replaced or reworked several songs, including the Dragon’s “Donkey Pot Pie” for the show-stopping “Forever,” a hard gospel anthem reminiscent of “And I’m Telling You” from Dreamgirls with aged knights singing backup. Ms. Tesori’s melodies are familiar to the point of cliché; and she often opts for bombast over subtlety. Some of Mr. Lindsay-Abaire’s jokes also border on the provocative (Donkey asks, “what goes with donuts?” and answers himself, “donuts and diabetes!”) in an effort to sound hip, but Mr. Mingo and his castmates deliver these cringe-worthy lines so guilelessly that it’s easy to forgive Shrek for its various warts and see the sincerity at its very heart. Photos by Joan Warren
When DreamWorks Animation Studios released Shrek in 2001, the film served as the first true competitor to the Disney/Pixar animation juggernaut, largely because it successfully enjoined kid-appropriate content with sly humor that kept both children and their parents entertained. Shrek the Musical maintains the winkand-nudge writing style of the film, with lyrics and Tony- and Drama Desk-nominated book by David Lindsay-Abaire (Rabbit Hole) and music by Jeanine Tesori (Thoroughly Modern Millie; Caroline, or Change). The musical is a treasure trove of contemporary cultural jokes, each marked during the performance by a giant, flashing neon “X.” Like the film before it, Shrek pokes fun at various fairytales made famous by Disney, but the producers have also included a number of cracks at Broadway fanatics. In “Freak Flag,” for example, a giant flag, sporting a child’s face, waves grandly behind a marching crowd à la Les Misérables, and a big “Defying Gravity” (a song made famous by the musical Wicked) ending finishes Lord Farquaad’s partially-plastic “Welcome to Duloc.” Shrek’s fantasy world plot requires larger-than-life set pieces and costumes, and Tim Hatley has filled the production with vivid colors and quite a bit of sparkle. Actor David F.M. Vaughn as Lord Farquaad, thanks to a cartoonish illusion created by small puppet legs attached to his pants, is only as tall as Shrek’s waist. Shrek’s ogre ears, nose, and verdant coloring come to life when Eric Peterson dons expertly applied makeup and facial prosthetics that also, unfortunately, restrict some of his expressive ability. Petersen’s brogue-tongued performance as the title character is earnest and heartfelt, and he’s the only guy around who isn’t in on the joke. It works, though, and the contrast between his moody,
Cast of the first national tour of Shrek The Musical. 50•CNCJAAutumn 2010
EXHIBIT REVIEW
Calder Exhibit Provides Optimistic Look Into Artist’s World By ALEXANDRA ZAJAC
Currently on view at the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art is the breathtaking exhibit Alexander Calder and Contemporary Art: Form, Balance, and Joy. Full of clean lines, simple shapes and bold primary colors, the exhibit is nicely curated and provides a whimsical, optimistic look into the mind of an iconic modern artist. The exhibition space engages the eyes with a mesmerizing, ethereal scene of floating mobiles. The sculptures—including static works such as Portrait of Artist as a Young Man, 1947—seem delicate, and are full of movement and character, despite being made of metal. Calder first began experimenting with form and balance in Paris. Initially, he produced abstract, moving works powered by e l e c t r i c i t y, but soon took a more naturalistic direction and began creating mobiles that relied on power from air currents. From solid bronze sculptures to artfully suspended m o b i l e s and stabiles s t a n d i n g in elegant anticipation of their next movement, Calder’s works reflect the mind of a truly innovative and passionate artist. Inspired by the “perpetual motion” of animals, the Calder exhibit includes several of his sculptures of birds, cats and seals. There is also a space across the hall from the Calder room that showcases other artists, such as Kristi Lippire and Martin Boyce, both of whom were inspired by Calder. The museum’s garden also has a few of his sculptures, where his large, powerful structures are balanced by the delicate surrounding flora. Throughout his works, Calder’s use of color was very basic, yet also very striking. A signature matte paint added a warm tone to the metal. He primarily worked with black, white and red, because he considered them to be “elemental,” and yellow and blue because they were primary colors. Although his color palette may have been simplistic and minimal, the engineering behind each piece is a work of art in itself. Nothing
is jarring and everything moves in graceful, suspended animation, leaving the viewer with a mystical experience and a constant sense of anticipation of what will shift next. For example, the magical Les Mouettes (The Seagulls), 1965, seems to transform from a flock of gulls to the underside of a fish skeleton, depending on one’s view. Known as the Sculptor of Air, Calder loved the process of creating his art. Although he had to relinquish some control when working with bronze, he still managed to be involved enough to ensure that his bronze sculptures, such as Snake on the Arch, 1944, looked as fluid and as full of movement as his mobiles. A particularly interesting aspect of Calder’s work was his penchant for using discarded materials, like used cans, steel, and wire. Although he simply found joy in these materials and
maintained no intent to use them to express a social agenda, many in today’s
eco-conscious society will, nonetheless, find his use of creative re-use inspiring. Truly, the exhibit couldn’t be more aptly named. While the form and balance of Calder’s works are remarkable, it is the joy he takes in his art that is the champion of this exhibit. Above: Installation view of Alexander Calder and Contemporary Art exhibit. Photo by Nathan Keay © The Museum of Contemporary Art; Inset: Alexander Calder in his Roxbury studio 1944. Photo by Eric Schaal.
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Art Exhibits
I Do! Chicago Ties the Knot Lincoln at 200 - Online Exhibition Lincoln Park Block by Block Chicago: Crossroads of America My Chinatown Sensing Chicago The Dioramas Treasures
SEPTEMBER 2010
The Art Institute of Chicago (Tel. 312.443.3600, artic.edu/aic) "Kindly Cable Me at the Earliest Moment": James Henry Breasted's Role in Building the Egyptian Collection Stanley Greenberg: Architecture under Construction Contemporary Collecting: Selections from the Donna and Howard Stone Collection Roger Hiorns Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century Pierre Huyghe: Les Grands Ensembles (The Housing Projects) Everyday Adventures Growing Up: Art from Picture Books Looking after Louis Sullivan: Potographs, Drawings, and Fragments Neither Man Nor Beast: Animal Images on Ancient Coins Sound & Vision What's Greek about a Roman Copy The Touch Gallery Jitish Kallat: Public Notice 3 Ballplayers, Gods, and Rainmaker Kings: Masterpieces from Ancient Mexico Lewis Baltz: Prototypes/Ronde de Nuit Gray Collection: Seven Centuries of Art Museum of Contemporary Art (Tel. 312.280.2660, mcachicago.org) Rewind: 1970s to 1990s Works from the MCA Collection Earthworks: Robert Smithson, Sam Durant, and Mary Brogger Works on Paper Alexander Calder and Contemporary Art: Form, Balance, Joy National Museum of Mexican Art (Tel. 312.738.1503, nationalmuseumofmexicanart.org) Millas y Kilómetros Translating Revolutions: U.S. Artists Interpret Mexican Muralists Adler Planetarium (Tel. 312-922-78278, adlerplanetarium.org) Cyber Space From Earth to the Universe Our Solar System Planet Explorers Shoot for the Moon Exhibitiion Space Visualization Laboratory Telescopes Universe In Your Hands Galaxy Wall Chicago Architecture Foundation (Tel. 312.922.3432, architecture.org) Chicago Model City Chicago: You Are Here Chicago History Museum (Tel. 312.642.4600, chicagohistory.org) Facing Freedom
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Ongoing Exhibits Begin September 25, 2010
Ongoing Exhibit Begins Septembert 11, 2010 Ongoing Exhibit Begins September 16, 2010
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The CNCJA Cultural Almanac listings are representative of schedules from participating institutions available at time of publication.
Photos from left: Installation view of Alexander Calder and Contemporary Art exhibit. (Photo by Nathan Keay © The Museum of Contemporary Art); Roman. Portrait of Emperor Hadrain, 2nd Century A.D. Marble, 36 X 27.5 X 27.3 (14 ¼ X 10 7/8 X 10 ¾ IN.) The Art Institute of Chicago, Katherine K. Alder Endowment.; View of Modern Wing from Millennium Park (Photo by Charles G. Young, Interactive Design Architects); Dearborn Telescope 1864(G-33) from Telescopes: Through The Looking Glass (Photo courtesy of the Adler Planetarium); “Galileo” from Beyond at the Museum of Science and Industry (Photo by Michael Benson, Kinetikon Pictures).
Museums
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SEPTEMBER 2010
Red, White, Blue & Black: A History of Blacks in the Armed Services A Slow Walk to Greatness: The Harold Washington Story Field Museum of Natural History (Tel. 312.922.9410, fieldmuseum.org) kip fulbeck:part asian, 100% hapa Mammoths and Mastodons: Titans of the Ice Age Climate Change Africa Lasting Impressions: Chinese Rubbings from the Field Museum Bird Habits Bushman Travels of the Crow: Journey of an Indian National Lions of Tsavo Insects: 105 Years of Collecting Mammals of Asia Man-eater of Mfuwe Nature Unleased Plants of the World Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center (Tel. 847.967.4800, ilholocaustmuseum.org) The Zev and Shifra Karkomi Permanent Exhibition Make a Difference: The Miller Family Youth Exhibition Daily Medicine: Creating the Master Race Legacy of Absence Gallery Museum of Science and Industry (Tel. 773.684.1414, msichicago.org) Beyond: Visions of Planetary Landscapes Coal Mine Colleen Moore's Fairy Castle Earth Revealed Fast Forward…Inventing The Future Genetics and the Baby Chick Hatchery Imaging: The Tools of Science Navy: Technology at Sea NetWorld Pretroleum Planet Science Storms The Idea Factory You! The Experience Shedd Aquarium (Tel. 312.939.2438, sheddaquarium.org) Amazon Rising Caribbean Reef Fantasea Oceanarium Reimagined Polar Play Zone Waters of the World Wild Reef Spertus Institue of Jewish Studies (Tel. 312.332.1700, spertus.edu) Chicago Jewish History
DuSable Museum of African American History (Tel. 773.947.0600, dusablemuseum.org) African Presence in Mexico
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Photos from left:Earth Revealed Exhibit at The Museum of Science and Industry (Photo by J. B.Spector); Mammoths and Mastonds (Image courtesy of The Field Museum); ; Yellow Sub of Oceanarium Reimagined (Photo courtesy of the Shedd aquarium); You-The Experience’s Your Expressions (Photo Courtesy of the museum of science and industry).
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Experiencing Soviet Arts By ALEX KEOWN
Soviet composers Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitry Shostakovich and plawright Evgeny Shvartz.
The Soviet Union as a political state may have collapsed in the 1990s, but it left behind a brilliant legacy of art and culture that will soon come alive in Chicago with The Soviet Arts Experience, a wide-ranging festival celebrating the amazing artistic contributions that sprang from the former communist empire. A comprehensive, multimedia festival celebrating that singular approach to arts, The Soviet Arts Experience will fuse with over 20 different Chicago cultural institutions to present nearly 100 events over the course of the next 14 months.
Similar to Silk Road Chicago, which took place from 2006-2007, The Soviet Arts Experience will showcase the works of artists, composers and choreographers created under— and in some cases in direct response to—the communist ideology espoused from the Kremlin. The Soviet Arts Experience will begin October 1 with a performance by the renowned Tokyo String Quartet and will run through December 2011 culminating in a performance of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 7 by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the baton of music director Riccardo Muti.
Initially billed as The Soviet Experience, the keyword “Arts” was added to the festival’s title so that people would not misconstrue the intentions of the organizers. Shauna Quills, executive director of University of Chicago Presents and festival organizer, wants people to understand they are promoting art, music and literature, not a political ideology. Many Americans remember the Soviet Union only as a political and militaristic archrival. But this celebration of culture and artistic expression aims to transform that view. The Soviet Arts Experience will take Chicagoans behind the Iron Curtain and allow them to experience, first hand, the cultural and artistic contributions and legacy left behind by the USSR. The various events will present
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an opportunity to “explore its (Soviet Union’s) essence through the creative work of its visual artists, choreographers, composers, and dramatists.” While not the focus, the politics of the former Soviet Union will also be explored. The Art Institute of Chicago will also host an exhibition of Soviet propaganda posters, many of which were created by well-known Soviet artists, and The University of Chicago Library will exhibit special collections of iconic Soviet propaganda imagery, book art, children’s books, posters, cartoons and more. There will also be a reading of Soviet playwright Evgeny Shvartz’s “The Dragon,” a political satire. Some of the concerts will include performances of the complete string quartets of Shostakovich by the Grammy Awardwinning Pacifica Quartet. Conductors Riccardo Muti and Jaap van Zweden will lead the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in performances of Shostakovich symphonies. And the Mark Morris Dance Group will perform Sergei Prokofiev’s Romeo & Juliet-On Motifs of Shakespeare. The Soviet Arts Experience is a joint venture spearheaded by The University of Chicago Presents, the school’s professional presenting arm. Other festival partners include Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, Chicago Opera Theater, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Harris Theater for Music and Dance, The Art Institute of Chicago, Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University, Smart Museum of Art, Special Collections Research Center at The University of Chicago Library, The University of Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Court Theatre. Clockwise from top inset photo: CSO music director Riccardo Muti (Photo by Todd Rosenberg); Eighth Blackbird Ensemble (photo courtesy of The University of Chicago); Belcea Quartet (Photo by Sheila Rock).
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Philip Glass’ Seasons Project juxtaposes his magical new work Violin Concerto No. 2: The American Four Seasons – with its inspiration, the Vivaldi classic The Four Seasons. Don’t miss this Chicago premiere with the Venice Baroque Orchestra for “one of the most exciting musical evenings of the year” (Toronto Star.)
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Autumn 2010CNCJA•55
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Goodman Theatre and Veteran opera director Mary Zimmerman take a new look at the Voltaire classic.
T
By DAVID WEISS his fall, the Goodman Theatre will be celebrating 10 years in its present location in the heart of the Chicago Theater District. And one big part of that celebration will be bringing together old and new creativity with a fresh theatrical take on Candide, the classic satire by famed writer/philosopher Voltaire. Filled with fast-paced episodes and biting humor, the comedy follows the unfortunate adventures of the title character as he travels the world after being banished from a sheltered existence. Seeking to draw upon the various adaptations Candide has already received over the years, the Goodman’s upcoming production will incorporate musical numbers from Leonard Bernstein’s 1956 operetta of the same name (along with its subsequent revisions), while also utilizing the original novel as a blueprint for a brand new script, courtesy of Tony Award-winning director Mary Zimmerman. “Candide is sort of right up my alley,” notes Zimmerman, who feels that getting to adapt the tale is an exciting opportunity to weave together its many disparate versions. “Even the musical has multiple variants, and the score itself has multiple variants,” she says. “Some of the versions that have been done stay close to the structure of the novel and
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images Courtesy of Goodman Theatre
CANDIDE REVISITED
the characters of the novel, and some depart rather widely from it.… They’re different in the way they solve certain things.” Specifically, Zimmerman hopes that the new “connective material between the songs” will be able to move the show closer to the original text. “I’m trying to go back to obeying the quirkiness and unsettledness of the original novel,” she says. Importantly, Zimmerman has only been given permission to write a new book for Candide, not new music or lyrics. “Not that I would want to,” she assures us, “I think they’re some of the best (lyrics) ever written.” However, the limitation does present an unusual challenge for the director as she undertakes her adaptation: “The jigsaw puzzle is that those lyrics are tied to particular structural moves that previous adaptations have made,” she explains, “so, for instance, they’re sung by a couple of characters who actually are not together at that point in the novel. Or they’re in a certain context that actually doesn’t
exist in the novel.” As such, Zimmerman is working to preserve “that And while Candide will mark the first time Zimmerman has taken which flows with the novel,” while still including Bernstein’s music. charge of a full-on musical theater production, the director is hardly Put simply, “There are certain songs that we’re not going to give up unaccustomed to staging songs. “For every show I’ve ever done, even just because when I was in school, I had music composed for them, and there’s the original often a few songs,” she says, though she admits that Candide will V o l t a i r e definitely be her first musical show “that has a history, that has an novel doesn’t existence already as a musical in the world.” e x a c t l y However, Zimmerman has already accrued considerable accommodate experience working within what she refers to as “the Ur-Musical that situation.” Theatre:” opera. As a recent director for the Metropolitan Opera in Moreover, New York, she has staged productions of Lucia di Lammermoor, La Z i m m e r m a n Sonnambula and Armida. “Having done operas on kind of a grand is intrigued by scale,” she says, “I feel that has sort of prepared me.” In Zimmerman’s the theatrical experience, the extreme difficulty of an opera’s score can risk limiting c h a l l e n g e s both the performers’ and the director’s choices. “You’re submitting posed by to the demands of the production of the music,” she states. “Just the Vo l t a i r e ’ s strength that it takes those singers to produce that kind of sound in g l o b e - any opera house…takes such a phenomenal effort from them that they h o p p i n g , sometimes don’t have the presence of mind or body to do much else.” On the other hand, Zimmerman feels like the style of music that sometimes v i o l e n t , Bernstein composed for Candide will allow much greater freedom for a d v e n t u r e . both her and her cast. “The music is just an entirely different demand “I’m looking in the American musical theatre,” she says. “It’s way more intimate and forward to more flexible, and it’s not sort of killing the singers to sing it. It’s just f i g u r i n g a different kind of composition.” As a result, Zimmerman is looking out certain forward to approaching Candide from a far subtler, more “theatrical” things,” she angle. “Although, ironically, Bernstein called this a ‘comic operetta,’” Veteran opera director Mary Zimmerman will direct her first musical theatre production the Goodman Theatre’s admits. “You notes Zimmerman wryly, “so here I am, so happy to be coming back to Candide. know, how do the theatre, and it’s a musical that’s called an opera!” For now, though, Candide’s writer/director is simply looking you show someone being dismembered, for instance? How do you get from one place to another really quick? How do you make things forward to the collaborative, exploratory process of rehearsals with her happen that the novel demands happen? …That’s when I get to use my cast. “I don’t really write until I’m in the hours in-between rehearsals,” performers and my imagination, all the tricks of the trade, to try and she reveals, adding that she’s most productive when she’s “full-on in production, trying to be inspired by my cast and my set and everything make that happen in an imaginative way on the stage.” Not that Zimmerman lacks experience in adapting unconventional works for theatre. To the contrary, much of her career has been spent adapting ancient texts in innovative ways, including an adaptation of “I’m looking forward to figuring out certain things... How do you make Ovid’s “Metamorphoses,” for which she received the things happen that the novel demands happen? … That’s when I get to 2002 Tony Award for Best Direction. “They’re texts use my performers and my imagination, all the tricks of the trade, to that I had a sort of passion for, often a childhood try and make that happen in an imaginative way on the stage.” passion,” explains Zimmerman, “and I wanted to live -Director Mary Zimmerman in them in three dimensions. I wanted to make them manifest in the world.” As a director, Zimmerman says she has always been especially drawn to works that she felt were likely first intended to be heard and embodied in a public space. “I feel like doing the ‘Odyssey’ for the stage or something like that, is, in a way, returning it to the air, else.” But most of all, Zimmerman says, “I just am very happy to be returning it to its rightful place,” she says, “not as something that lives going back in the room with people who are stage creatures inherently as much as they are musical creatures…people who are professionally inside a book, but that is in time and space, and is performed.” Like Candide, such ancient works nearly always venture into charming and funny. I feel like if we’re having a good time in the fantastic or unrealistic realms. “Those old texts, you know, they room, and I’m having a good time, then the audience will have a good weren’t paying any attention to how difficult would it be to fully time in the room, too.” Candide, adapted and directed by Mary Zimmerman, will run in embody onstage,” observes Zimmerman, “so there’s all these things that they do that plays...written for the stage don’t do: impossible the Albert Theatre at the Goodman from September 17th to October things that have to happen. And figuring out how to do those is a sort 24th, 2010. of delight for me. It makes my job really challenging and ultimately so rewarding.”
Autumn 2010CNCJA•57
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Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University (Tel. 312.922.2110, auditoriumtheatre.org) The Merchants of Bollywood List Alfonso Dance Cuba A Night in Havana - Gala Benefit featuring Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba Chicago Chamber Choir (Tel. 312.409.6890, chicagochamberchoir.org) Songs of War and Peace Chicago Chamber Musicians (Tel. 312.819.5800, chicagochambermusic.org) The Complete CCM The Dance Center of Columbia College (Tel. 312.369.8330, colum.edu/dancecenter) Emily Johnson/Catalyst Dance Yasuko Yokoshi Harris Theater for Music and Dance (Tel. 312.334.7777, harristheaterchicago.org) Sphinx Orchestra Sankai Juku Phillip Glass' The Seasons Project Hear the Music Hubbard Street Dance Chicago Joffrey Ballet (Tel. 312.739.0120, joffrey.com) All Stars Lyric Opera of Chicago (Tel. 312.332.2244, lyricopera.org) Macbeth Carmen Music Institute of Chicago (Tel. 847.905.1500 ext. 108, musicinst.org) Orquestra de Samba The Newberry Consort (Tel. 312.255.3610, newberryconsort.org) Rule Britannia! Old Town School of Folk Music (Tel.773.728.6000, oldtownschool.org) Bettye LaVette Elizabeth Mitchell and You are My Flower McCoy Brothers Gravestone Benefit Suzanne Vega Nick Lowe & His Band Patty Loveless Meshell Ndegeocello with special guest Helen Money Catie Curtis and Terri Hendrix with Lloyd Maines Bob Mould with special guest Tim Eriksen Special Consensus Janiva Magness Michael Miles: America 1957 Spooky Singalong Vintage Vegas! Orion Ensemble (Tel.630.628.9591, orionensemble.org) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Beethoven, Schumann and Piazzolla/Bragato River North Chicago Dance Company (Tel. 312.944.2888, rivernorthchicago.com) North Shore Center for the Performing Arts Program Symphony Center w/Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Jazz at Symphony Center (Tel. 312.294.3000, cso.org) Muti Conducts Mozart and Haydn Symphony Ball with Riccardo Muti, conductor and Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin Muti Conducts Beethoven 3 Jazz at Symphony Center: Chick Corea Trio Muti Conducts Cherubini Requiem Afterwork Masterworks: Gil Shaham Gil Shaham and the CSO Jazz at Symphony Center: Hugh Masekela Piano: Andras Schiff CSO: Shostakovich 8 Special: Ravi Shankar 90th Birthday Celebration
OCTOBER 2010
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The CNCJA Cultural Almanac listings are representative of schedules from participating institutions available at time of publication.
Photos From top: Thomas Hampson (Photo by Terrence McCarthy); Riccardo Muti (Photo by Todd Rosenberg); Nadia Krasteva and Yonghoon Lee (Photo by Monika Rittershaus); Joffrey Ballet in Pretty Ballet (Photo by Herbert Migdol).
Music & Dance
Autumn 2010CNCJA•59
Theater
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OCTOBER 2010
A Red Orchid Theatre (Tel. 312.943.8722, aredorchidtheatre.org) Louis Slotin Sonata Apollo Theatre (Tel. 773.935.6100, apollochicago.com) Million Dollar Quartet Broadway In Chicago (Tel. 312.977.1700, broadwayinchicago.org) Billy Elliot Rock of Ages Disney's The Lion King Traces Chicago Shakespeare Theatre (Tel. 312.595.5600, chicagoshakes.com) Romeo and Juliet Circle Theatre (Tel. 708.771.0700, circle-theatre.org) The Wedding Singer City Lit Theater Company (Tel. 773.293.3682, citylit.org) Lovers Court Theatre (Tel. 773.702.7005, courttheatre.org) Comedy of Errors Goodman Theatre (Tel. 312.443.3800, goodmantheatre.org) Candide The Seagull The House Theatre of Chicago (Tel. 773.251.2195, thehousetheatre.com) Thieves Like Us Lifeline Theatre (Tel. 773.761.4477, lifelinetheatre.com) Wuthering Heights Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type Metropolis Performing Arts Centre (Tel. 847.577.2121, metropolisarts.com) The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee Northlight Theatre (Tel. 847.673.6300, northlight.org) Daddy Long Legs Profiles Theatre (Tel. 773.549.1815, profilestheatre.org) Jailbait RedTwist Theatre (Tel. 773.728.7529, redtwist.org) A Delicate Balance Saint Sebastian Players (Tel. 773.404.7922, saintsebastianplayers.org) Cash on Delivery by Michael Cooney Steppenwolf Theatre Company (Tel. 312.335.1650, steppenwolf.org) Detroit To Kill a Mockingbird Timeline Theatre Company (Tel. 773.281.8463, timelinetheatre.com) Frost/Nixon To Master The Art Writers Theatre (Tel. 847.242.6000, writerstheatre.org) She Loves Me The Art Institute of Chicago (Tel. 312.443.3600, artic.edu/aic) Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century Pierre Huyghe: Les Grands Ensembles (The Housing Projects) Chicago Cabinet: Views from the Street Focus: Richard Hawkins-Third Mind Museum of Contemporary Art (Tel. 312.280.2660, mcachicago.org) Works on Paper Alexander Calder and Contemporary Art: Form, Balance, Joy Luc Tuymans Urban China: Informal Cities
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Photos from top: Laurie Metcalf in Detroit (Photo courtesy of Steppenwolf Theatre); Cast of Million Dollar Quartet (Photo by Sarah Von);Cast of Traces (Photo by Joan Warren).
Art Exhibits
Lyric’s
Fabulous 56th By GABRIELLE LEVY
60•CNCJAAutumn 2010
Photo by Skrebneski
T
he Lyric Opera of Chicago has set an ambitious program of masterworks for its 56th season, including four entirely new productions, celebrating Sir Andrew Davis’s 10th anniversary as music director. Widely acclaimed as one of the world’s leading opera houses, Lyric Opera once again draws upon a phenomenal lineup of international and homegrown talent for a season that promises spectacular music and moving storytelling. General Director William Mason anticipates “a wealth of beautiful music performed by a roster of exceptional artists.” The season’s repertoire spans more than three hundred years, from George Frederic Handel’s tragic oratorio Hercules to Benjamin Britten’s atmospheric adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Six of the season’s eight productions are new to Chicago audiences; four are completely new stagings. A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Hercules, the oldest and newest of the season’s selections, are receiving their Lyric premieres. Additionally, Lyric will present “Stars of the Lyric Opera in Millennium Park,” a free pre-season concert, on September 11, featuring luminaries from this season’s upcoming productions of Guiseppe Verdi’s Macbeth, Georges Bizet’s Carmen, Richard Wagner’s Lohengrin, Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado, and Verdi’s A Masked Ball. And the gem in the crown of a season of spectacular performances will yield soprano superstar Renée Fleming in a special subscribers-only concert with Sir Andrew Davis and the Lyric Opera Orchestra on December 12th. Mason describes the Lyric’s season opener, MacBeth as “a Left: Sir Andrew Davis, music director of The Lyric Opera of Chicago.
powerful story and the best of early Verdi.” The production will be staged by Chicago Shakespeare Theater founder and artistic director Barbara Gaines. Thomas Hampson, previously seen as Germont (La Traviata) and Athanaël (Thaïs) at Lyric, stars as the titular usurping Scotsman, with Nadja Michael making her Lyric debut as his scheming and ambitious wife. “The brilliant baritone-soprano duet after Macbeth has killed Duncan is absolutely searing, and Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking scene is one of opera’s greatest,” Mason added. “Barbara Gaines is a brilliant director who… has given incredible preparation and study to Verdi’s version of Macbeth. This will be an unforgettable season opener.” Also on stage in October and again in March will be Carmen, Bizet’s dramatic tale of seduction and jealousy. One of the most popular and frequently performed operas in the repertoire, Carmen has enjoyed eight previous runs at Lyric, including the 1999-2000 production that serves as the basis for the upcoming revival. Both Kate Aldrich and Nadia Krasteva, singing Carmen in the fall and spring respectively, make their Lyric debuts in the role each has performed widely overseas. Both Korean tenor Yonghoon Lee (debut, October) and American tenor Brandon Jovanovich (March) are experienced Don Josés, and Kyle Ketelsen returns as Escamillo after his recent successful Lyric residencies as Méphistophélès (Faust) and Masetto (Don Giovanni). In November, Lyric will collaborate with the Houston Grand Opera and Canadian Opera Company, with Rory MacDonald making his conducting debut in a premiere of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The production will be staged by Neil Armfield. “This is a comic masterpiece,” said Mason, “an incredibly successful adaptation of the Shakespeare play.” Starring Lyric
Photos clockwise from left: Emily Magee (Photo by Clive Barda); Nadia Krasteva and Yonghoon Lee (Photo by Monika Rittershaus); Nadia Krasteva (Photo by Monika Rittershaus, Netherlands Opera); John Both (Photo by Clive Barda, Royal Opera House); Marcello Giordani (Photo by Marty Sohl, Metropolitan Opera).
regulars David Daniels (Julius Caesar, Orfeo ed Euridice, Partenope) and Peter Rose (The Pirates of Penzance, The Midsummer Marriage, The Bartered Bride), Britten has pared down Shakespeare’s text, focusing on the mystical elements of the play’s forest scenes. Another production on Lyric’s schedule new to Chicago audiences will be A Masked Ball (Un Ballo in Maschera), in a San Francisco Opera staging. Returning to the Lyric for the eleventh time, Verdi’s opera is based partially on the true events surrounding the conspiracy and assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden, but adds romance and fortune-telling that elevate the tale to high drama. Mason is particularly pleased with the traditional approach this production will take, and anticipates “a very impressive cast” for the opera. Frank Lopardo, who has sung eleven roles at Lyric and most recently starred as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, will sing Gustavo. Lopardo will be joined by Sondra Radvanovsky (Elvira in Ernani, Leonora in Il trovatore) as Amelia and Mark Delavan (Alfio in Cavalleria Resticana, Tonio in Pagliacci, Count di Luna in Il Trovatore) as Renato. Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado, is a farcical opera Mason describes as “married wit and cleverness, and true sentiment, to gorgeous melodies.” The opera takes place in fantastical Titipu, Japan, and accounts entangled romances, ridiculous political proclamations, mistaken identities and the outlawing of flirtation. Beginning in December, The Mikado will be
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Photos clockwise from left: Kate Aldrich (Photo by John Grigaitis, Michigan Opera Theatre; Eric Owens, (Photo by Dan Rest, Lyric Opera of Chicago); Frank Lopardo (Photo by Dan Rest, Lyric Opera of Chicago);Stephanie Blythe (Photo by Terrence McCarthy, San Francisco Opera).
conducted by Sir Andrew Davis in this new production directed by Tony-nominated Gary Griffin. James Morris (Scarpia in Tosca, Wotan in Ring cycle) will star as the Mikado, while Toby Spence and Stephanie Blythe will make their Lyric debuts as Nanki-Poo and Katisha. Celebrating its 100th anniversary, Puccini’s California romance, The Girl of the Golden West (La Fanciulla Del West), will begin performances in January. The performance, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis, will revive a 1978 Lyric production staged by decorated director Harold Prince (Madama Butterfly, Candide). Deborah Voigt (Tosca, Isolde in Tristan und Isolde), who made her debut to the role of Minnie in San Francisco in 2010, will be joined by Marcello Giordani (Cavaradossi in Tosca, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor) as the bandit Ramerrez disguised as Dick Johnson. From the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, a new-toChicago production of Wagner’s Lohengrin portrays the tragic story of a mysterious knight who defends a lady wrongfully accused of murder. Johan Botha (Calaf in Turandot, Canio in Pagliacci, Enzo in La Gioconda) has performed the titular role in leading opera houses worldwide, and Ryan Opera Center alum Emily Magee (Ellen Orford in Peter Grimes, Fiordiligi in Così Fan Tutte) will sing Elsa opposite him. Finally, the season will conclude with Handel’s Hercules, at Lyric for the first time 62•CNCJAAutumn 2010
in a new production. The oratorio is a tragic take on the mythological hero, returning home to his long-awaiting wife, Dejanira, who is tortured with jealousy over Hercules’ seduction of Iole. Eric Owens (General Grovers in Doctor Atomic), “a powerfully commanding actor and singer”, stars as Hercules, and Alice Coote (Orlofsky in Die Feldermaus, Hansel in Hansel and Gretel) returns as Dejanira; Peter Sellars (Doctor Atomic, Tannhäuser, The Mikado) directs. And as Mason puts it, “Anything that Peter Sellars does is consistently fascinating...Hercules has some of Handel’s best music—it will be a first-class evening musically, and Peter Sellars will ensure that the production will be unforgettable.” Lyric’s approach is as devoted to education and accessibility as it is to its performance standard, offering half-hour lectures before each performance (except opening night) free to all ticket holders. All productions (including those in English) will have projected English translations. The 56th season will, unfortunately, mark the departure of two treasured members of the Lyric family. Chorus Master Donald Nally will prepare the Lyric Opera Chorus for the seven productions in which it appears this season before leaving to concentrate on dedicated non-operatic choral music. And after more than forty years with the company, General Director William Mason will also be embarking on his retirement following the 2011-2012 season. Each has promised a thrilling 56th season, and as always, magical performances not to be missed.
Chicagoland
Museums
1800 South Prairie Avenue 312.326.1480 Chicago, IL 60616 www.glessnerhouse.org Tours offered Wednesday - Sunday at 1:00 and 3:00pm This National Historic Landmark, designed in 1885-1886 by Henry Hobson Richardson, is ranked among the most important residences designed in the 19th century. Located in the Prairie Avenue Historic District, the home features most of its original furnishings including pieces by Isaac Scott, William Morris, William DeMorgan, Émilé Gallé, and many others. Experience Chicago’s Gilded Age at its finest!
Let history be heard! Historic Museum Village 523 S. Webster St., Naperville www.napersettlement.museum
Autumn 2010CNCJA•63
EXHIBIT REVIEW
Amazing Mammoths By ALEX KEOWN Mammoths and Mastodons: Titans of the Ice Age is a fantastic trek through the Paleolithic world—all from the comfort of Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History. There you’ll meet Lyuba, the best preserved mammoth ever discovered. Over 40,000 years ago Lyuba, then barely 30 days old, wandered away from her mother in search of water on the steppes of what would become modern-day Siberia. Instead of water, the young mammoth quaffed a trunkful of silt. In a panic, and gasping for air, the infant fell into the water and was sucked into the mire, where she
was made, museum officials realized that Lyuba needed to be the exhibition’s cornerstone. Visitors begin their descent into the world of proboscideans— creatures with tusks and prominent trunks—as they walk past a partially exposed skeleton of a mammoth. A series of video screens placed throughout the exhibit trace the 55 million year history of these animals, which originated in Africa, but soon evolved into a series of subspecies, such as the elephant. Perhaps the most popular hands-on activity in the exhibition features wrestling mastodon heads. Picture “Rock-Em Sock-Em Robots,” but instead of plastic boxers there are mammoth craniums with large tusks. Visitors can wrestle with the heads, much like mammoths did. Although entertaining, the exhibit serves as a grim reminder of the seriousness of such combat. Above the game hangs a photograph of two mastodon skulls, excavated in Nebraska, clenched forever in death. The skulls revealed that each animal scored a fatal blow, piercing their opponent’s head with a tusk. Both animals fell and remained locked in mortal combat for thousands of years until their skulls were uncovered. One of the most staggering parts of the exhibition is the section dedicated to other animals sharing the land with the ancient proboscideans. One animal that may have had the greatest impact on the species was man. Proboscideans served multiple functions for early modern man. Their meat served Rendering from Mammoths and Mastodons at The Field Museum. Image coutesy of the Field Museum. as a food source, and their bones were used as building materials. would remain for the next 42,000 years. But that is not the end of this The mammoths were also an artistic, and perhaps spiritual, tragic Ice Age tale. inspiration for early man. Although ancient humans had no written Flash forward to 2010 and Lyuba is now the star of the Field’s language, they left documentation of the proboscideans in cave Mammoths and Mastodons exhibit, highlighting the colossal beasts paintings and carved stone figurines. That said, early man may also and how they lived. have played a role in the extinction of mammoths and mastodons. Four years in the making, the exhibition transports visitors Mammoths and Mastodons: Titans of the Ice Age will appear at back to the time of mammoths, mastodons and early humans. The the Field Museum through September 6, 2010. Then Lyuba and her discovery of Lyuba, which means “love” in the Russian language, various Ice Age friends will begin a multi-city tour across the United occurred shortly after exhibition planning began. Once the discovery States. 64•CNCJAAutumn 2010
THEATER REVIEW
Quartet a Charming, Nostalgic Ride
Entire cast of Million Dollar Quartet
Photo by Sarah Von
By DAVID WEISS
For theatergoers who appreciate a healthy dose of nostalgia, the Apollo demons, even if we never see them during the show. Theatre’s Million Dollar Quartet may be just what the doctor ordered. Quartet’s weakest link arrives in the form of David Lago’s Based on the actual occurrence when Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl underwhelming Elvis Presley. Saddled with portraying the King Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis all gathered together for an evening’s jam himself, Lago expends so much energy just trying to imitate Presley’s session at Sun Records, Quartet gleefully imagines what might have vocal and physical mannerisms that the character ends up seeming transpired between these remarkable musical legends. self-conscious instead of easygoing, stiff instead of loose. In Lago’s Leading the quartet with a charming and nuanced performance is hands, Elvis simply registers as a stylish enigma whose singing Gabe Bowling as Carl Perkins. Touting the effortless assurance of a (though competent) does little to illuminate the man within. lifelong musician, Bowling easily masters However, Quartet gets a nimble Perkins’ vocal attitude and foot-swinging boost from two sharp supporting turns. physicality, but his subtler touches are First is Tim Decker as Sam Phillips, the equally crucial. Bowling sometimes The true pleasure of Million Dollar Quartet man who discovered all four superstars, does more with a cocked eyebrow and a lies in its enthralling music, in its time-capsule yet fears being left behind in the wake knowing grin than he might with a stagecharm, and in watching these larger-than-life of their successes. Though his lines are full of choreography, and it’s in these often jocular, a sick desperation lingers personalities bounce off one another. Perkins under every word. Equally appealing moments that Perkins truly comes alive. bickers with Lewis, who challenges Cash, Hot on Bowling’s heels is Lance is Kelly Lamont as Presley’s girlfriend who pressures Presley, and round and round it Dyanne, a smart beauty who, one Lipinsky with a winning portrayal of Jerry Lee Lewis. Filled with both naiveté and goes—all while Phillips struggles to keep the senses, understands the world a little bravado, Lipinsky’s endearing portrait better than her beau. powder keg from exploding. of the young artist rises to another level And if, ultimately, the show’s plot entirely whenever he takes to the keyboard. happens to be paper-thin, it’s beside By merrily reproducing Lewis’ tendency to the point. The true pleasure of Million treat piano-playing like a cross between Dollar Quartet lies in its enthralling a rapturous seizure and a decathlon, music, in its time-capsule charm, and in Lipinsky’s musical acrobatics are worth the price of admission all by watching these larger-than-life personalities bounce off one another. themselves. Perkins bickers with Lewis, who challenges Cash, who pressures Providing contrast is Sean Sullivan’s fascinating and effective Presley, and round and round it goes—all while Phillips struggles to Johnny Cash, who possesses not only the crushed-velvet voice but keep the powder keg from exploding. Come see for yourself whether also the distinctive presence. One sees the shyness and stoicism, or not he succeeds. the glimpses of humor, even the awkwardness that occasionally Million Dollar Quartet runs at the Apollo Theatre through January plagued Cash. But more importantly, Sullivan succeeds in evoking an 2, 2011. undercurrent of danger; one is reminded that Cash was a man with
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The CNCJA Cultural Almanac listings are representative of schedules from participating institutions available at time of publication.
Athenaeum Theatre (Tel. 773.935.6860, athenaeumtheatre.com) Hansel & Gretel Chicago Chamber Musicians (Tel. 312.819.5800, chicagochambermusic.org) Honoring Schumann Harris Theater for Music and Dance (Tel. 312.334.7777, harristheaterchicago.org) Hubbard Street Dance Chicago Ballet Hispanico Gidon Kremer and Kremerata Baltica Cuerto Festival - Puerto Rican Arts Alliance Global Rhythms VI Lyric Opera of Chicago (Tel. 312.332.2244, lyricopera.org) A Midsummer Night's Dream A Masked Ball Museum of Contemporary Art (Tel. 312.280.2660, mcachicago.org) Creative Music Summit Music Institute of Chicago (Tel. 847.905.1500 ext. 108, musicinst.org) Lincoln Trio Music of the Baroque (Tel. 312.551.1444, baroque.org) Glorious Chorus-Vivaldi and Handel Newberry Consort (Tel. 312.255.3610, newberryconsort.org) David Douglass - My Favorite Things Old Town School of Folk Music (Tel.773.728.6000, oldtownschool.org) 1 2 3 4 5 6 Jake Shimabukuro Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas David Wilcox The Flatlanders Janis Ian Joseph Arthur Junior Brown Orion Ensemble (Tel.630.628.9591, orionensemble.org) All French Program River North Chicago Dance Company (Tel. 312.944.2888, rivernorthchicago.com) Fall Program Symphony Center w/Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Jazz at Symphony Center (Tel. 312.294.3000, cso.org) CSO: Appalachian Spring Family Event: Into the Big Green Meadow Piano: Murray Perahia CSO: Mendelssohn Italian Symphony Beyond the Score: Mendelssohn 4 Chamber: Pinchas Zukerman and Yefim Bronfman Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 - Sir Andrew Davis, conductor/Vladimir Feltsman, piano Friday Night at the Movies: Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho
NOVEMBER 2010
Above from left: Peter Rose (Antoni Bofill); Vladimir Feltsman (Photo courtesy of Chicago’s Symphony Center); Stephanie Blythe (Photo by Terrence McCarthy, San Francisco Opera); David Daniels (Photo by Antoni Bofill); Sondra Radvanovsky and Mark Delavan (Photo by Dan Rest, Lyric Opera of Chicago); Frank Lopardo (Photo by Dan Rest, Lyric Opera of Chicago). Below” from left: Fifth Ensemble (Photo by SnoStudios); Cast of Million Dollar Quartet (Photo by Sarah Von); Cast of Under the Street lamp (Photo courtesy of Elgin Community College); Cast from Billy Elliot and Cast of Traces (photo by Joan Warren).
Music & Dance
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Theater
Art Exhibits
A Red Orchid Theatre (Tel. 312.943.8722, aredorchidtheatre.org) The Iliad Apollo Theatre (Tel. 773.935.6100, apollochicago.com) Million Dollar Quartet Broadway In Chicago (Tel. 312.977.1700, broadwayinchicago.org) Billy Elliot Disney's The Lion King Traces Chicago Shakespeare Theatre (Tel. 312.595.5600, chicagoshakes.com) Romeo and Juliet The Carnival of the Animals and The Story of Babar, The Little Elephant Circle Theatre (Tel. 708.771.0700, circle-theatre.org) Kiss Me Kate Court Theatre (Tel. 773.702.7005, courttheatre.org) Home Elgin Community Colege Arts Center (Tel. 847.622.3000, tickets.elgin.edu) Under the Street Lamp w/Michael Ingersoll Fifth House Ensemble (fifth-house.com) The Weaver's Tales [World Premiere] Goodman Theatre (Tel. 312.443.3800, goodmantheatre.org) The Seagull The House Theatre of Chicago (Tel. 773.251.2195, thehousetheatre.com) The Nutcracker Metropolis Performing Arts Centre (Tel. 847.577.2121, metropolisarts.com) The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee Northlight Theatre (Tel. 847.673.6300, northlight.org) A Civil War Christmas Profiles Theatre (Tel. 773.549.1815, profilestheatre.org) Kid Sister RedTwist Theatre (Tel. 773.728.7529, redtwist.org) Lobby Hero Saint Sebastian Players (Tel. 773.404.7922, saintsebastianplayers.org) Cash on Delivery by Michael Cooney Steppenwolf Theatre Company (Tel. 312.335.1650, steppenwolf.org) Detroit To Kill a Mockingbird Timeline Theatre Company (Tel. 773.281.8463, timelinetheatre.com) To Master The Art Writers Theatre (Tel. 847.242.6000, writerstheatre.org) She Loves Me Travels With My Aunt The Art Institute of Chicago (Tel. 312.443.3600, artic.edu/aic) Chicago Cabinet: Views from the Street Focus: Richard Hawkins-Third Mind Museum of Contemporary Art (Tel. 312.280.2660, mcachicago.org) Luc Tuymans Urban China: Informal Cities
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Cultural Almanac Pick Lists Jacqueline Carter’s Museum Exhibit Picks Museum of Contemporary Art
Works on Paper from the MCA Collection This exhibition presents a selection of works on paper from the MCA Collection. The works represent or evoke a sense of conflict or alienation, often in a disproportionately cartoonish manner. Laylah Ali’s gouaches from her Greenheads series, for example, translate complicated and dysfunctional human interactions into hermetic, visually streamlined narratives, while Peter Saul’s drawings depict American excess and violence in the 1960s through extremely stylized forms. Works on Paper is open to the public from May 15, 2010 to October 3, 2010. For additional information please call 312.280.2660 or visit mcachicago.org
The Art Institute of Chicago
Neither Man Nor Beast: Animal Images on Ancient Coins Animals pervade the imagery found on the gold, silver, and bronze coinage of ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt. Although they often appear in their natural state, animals sometimes share the features of humans or other beasts, taking the form of mythical creatures like centaurs and sphinxes. Neither Man Nor Beast is an ongoing exhibit at the Art Institute. For additional information please call 312.443.3600 or visit artc.edu
Adler Planetarium
Our Solar System Feel a piece of an actual meteorite that crashed into the Earth and created a huge crater in Arizona, make your own crater with our Crater Maker, and explore Mars through a life-size model of one of the Mars rovers. In the gallery you can try driving the rovers and see two meteorites from Mars. Find out how much you would weigh and how old you would be on Io, Venus, Saturn and Halley’s Comet. Our Solar System is an ongoing exhibit at the Adler Planetarium. For additional information please call 312.922.7827 or visit adlerplanetarium.org
Ed Richter’s Theater Picks Metropolis Performing Arts Centre - Arlington Heights, IL
The 25th Annual Putman County Spelling Bee The story of six young spellers, from nerdy to angsty, overachieving to popular to outcast, all awkward in some way, coming together in the place where they feel most comfortable: a spelling bee. It’s a hilarious, touching tale about growing up, needing approval and becoming an adult that resonates deeply with all of us. The play runs from September 23, 2010 to November 6, 2010. Please call 847.577.2121 or visit metropolisarts.com
Photo by Sarah Von
Apollo Theatre
Cast of Million Dollar Quartet.
Million Dollar Quartet On December 4, 1956, an auspicious twist of fate brought together Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley. The place was Sun Records’ storefront studio in Memphis. The man who made it happen was the “Father of Rock-n-Roll,” Sam Phillips, who discovered them all. The four legends-to-be united for the only time in their careers for an impromptu recording session that embodied the birth of rock ‘n’ roll and has come to be known as one of the greatest rock jam sessions of all time. The show runs through January 2, 2011. Please call 773.935.6100 or visit apollochicago.com
Steppenwolf Theatre for Young Adults
To Kill a Mockingbird Set in Alabama during the Great Depression, To Kill a Mockingbird follows the journey of Jem and Scout Finch, whose father has been appointed to defend Tom Robinson, a black man framed for a crime he didn’t commit. As the trial progresses, Jem and Scout witness their community in a tense tug of war between justice and racism. This timeless classic compels us to take an honest look at our nation’s past and our moral responsibility to each other. Christopher Sergel’s stage adaptations include Winesburg, Ohio, Cheaper by the Dozen, Up the Down Staircase and Black Elk Speaks. The play runs from October 12, 2010 to November 12, 2010. Please call 312.335.1650 or visit steppenwolf.org
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Diane Cook’s Dance Picks The Dance Cener of Columbia College
Emily Johnson/Catalyst Dance Since 1998, Catalyst director/choreographer Emily Johnson has created entertaining and thought provoking installations that blur distinctions between performance and life. Interweaving dance, music, storytelling and visual image, The Thank-You Bar (“Quyana” is Yup’ik for “Thank You”) connects ideas of memory, longing and language to history, preconceived notions, architecture and igloo myth to ask, “What is a true home?” The Thank You Bar creates an intimate space for the truths and illusions of Johnson’s stories with limited up-close-and-personal seating on The Dance Center stage. The production runs from November 7-9, 2010. Please call 312.369.8330 or visit colum.edu/dancecenter
North Shore Center for Performing Arts - Skokie, IL
River North Chicago Dance Company 20th Anniversary Performance This year marks the 20th anniversary of River North Chicago Dance Company and they have selected the North Shore Center for the first performance of their landmark season. Under the artistic direction of Frank Chaves and with a company of dancers of unparalleled talent, River North will amaze you with a memorable performance of new works and selections from the repertoire. Hedy Weiss of the Chicago Sun-Times calls River North, “Enthralling, a hugely attractive and technically impressive company”. One performance on October 23, 2010 at 8:00 pm. Please call the North Shore Center of Performing Arts at 847.673.6300 or visit northshorecenter.org
Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University
A Night in Havana: Gala Benefit featuring Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba’s eighteen female dancers and lives musicians express the uniqueness of Cuban culture, combining flamenco, ballet and contemporary dance with Spanish and Afro-Cuban rhythms. One performance on October 29, 2010 at 8:00 pm. The performance will be preceded by a reception and dinner. Please call 312.922.2110 or visit at auditoriumtheatre.org
Scott Elam’s Classical Music Picks Chicago Chamber Musicians
Honoring Schuman CCM honors the bicentennial of Robert Schumann with a program showcasing the vitality of his music. His Adagio and Allegro is “quite possibly the finest piece ever written for horn,” according CCM co-founder and hornist, Gail Williams and the Piano Trio takes a more experimental approach to the harmonies of the time, offering an adventurous and lively exploration into Schumann’s later years. Bruch wrote Eight Pieces for his clarinetist son; the influence of Schumann can be heard in its Romantic swells. Though written when he was a student, Dohnányi’s Piano Quintet stands worthy among the greatest quintets of the Romantic era, garnering high praise from even Brahms, who proclaimed “I couldn’t have written it better myself.” Performances on both dates begin at 7:30 pm. Sunday, November 14, 2010 - Pick-Staiger Concert Hall in Evanston, IL and Monday, November 15, 2010 - Gottlieb Concert Hall, Chicago Please call 312.819.5800 or visit chicagochambermusic.org
Lyric Opera of Chicago
A Midsummer Night’s Dream Shakespeare’s best-loved comedy. Combining fabulous theatrical flair with rollicking humor and ravishing lyrical beauty, the opera is more than worthy of the Bard. In a new production directed by Neil Armfield and conducted by Rory Macdonald (debut), A Midsummer Night’s Dream promises to be a major highlight of the 2010-11 season. The production runs on select dates between November 8, 2010 through November 23, 2010. Please call 312.332.2244 or visit lyricopera.org
Music Institute of Chicago
Second Annual Brazilian Music Festival Orquestra de Samba and Evanston Escola de Samba Celebrating the music of Pixinguinha, Jobim, and Villa-Lobos. Special guest artist Dill Costa joins the exciting 10-member ensemble Orquestra de Samba to offer two electrifying sets - one classical and one popular. Other guests include Jim Setapen, Julia Miller, and Fiona Queen. One performance on October 10, 2010 at 3:00 pm at Nicholas Concert Hall. Please call 847.905.1500 or visit musicinst.org
David Daniels from Lyric Opera’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Photo by Antoni Bofill)
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Editor’s Picks Broadway in Chicago - Bank of America Theatre
Rock of Ages The newest Broadway smash hit launches the First National Tour right here in Chicago! Tony Award® Nominee and “American Idol” finalist, Constantine Maroulis, reprises his acclaimed performance as Drew in the five–time Tony Award® nominated smash–hit musical Rock of Ages. In 1987 on the Sunset Strip, a small town girl met a big city rocker and in LA’s most famous rock club, they fell in love to the greatest songs of the 80’s. It’s five time 2009 Tony® nominee Rock of Ages, an arena-rock love story told through the mind–blowing, face–melting hits of Journey, Night Ranger, STYX, REO Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Poison, Asia, Whitesnake and many more. Don’t miss this awesomely good time about dreaming big, playing loud and partying on! Show runs from September 21, 2010 to October 3, 2010. Please call 312.977.1700 or visit broadwayinchicago.org
Museum of Contemporary Art
Urban China: Informal Cities For the past six years, Urban China has been engaged in a unique multidisciplinary inquiry into the rapid state of change in China, presented in the format of a magazine -- the only one devoted to issues of urbanism published in and about China. With offices in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, and a network of correspondents and collaborators around the world who work under the guidance of its visionary Editorin-Chief, Jiang Jun, its photographs, texts, and diagrams, as well as a growing archive of artifacts and images have become a repository of knowledge about the fastest process of urbanization ever recorded in human history. The exhibition brings together a retrospective of the magazine combined with a space transformed into a physical manifestation of its pages, as if exploded into three-dimensions. The installation charts networks of influences upon urbanism such as politics, economic growth, governmental policy, and planning, and how these translate to citizens’ often spontaneous and informal decisions and the impact this has upon cities. Offering an expanded narrative of how cities undergo changes, for the Chicago presentation Urban China: Informal Cities investigates the dynamics of urbanism and how metropolitan cities across the globe grow and change as they adapt to multiple influences including reurbanism and informal transformation. Urban China uses “informalism” as a catchall term that combines notions of the informal, or underground economy, with popular vernacular modes of remaking objects, buildings, and lives. Exhibit runs from October 16, 2010 to April 13, 2011. Please call 312.280.2660 or visit mcachicago.org
Publisher’s Picks Museum of Contemporary Art
Alexander Calder and Contemporary Art: Form, Balance, Joy Alexander Calder and Contemporary Art: Form, Balance, Joy pairs the work of Alexander Calder with the work of seven contemporary artists whose practices are bound to Calder’s legacy as modern sculptor. While a well-known, even beloved figure, Calder has not previously been considered an important point of reference for contemporary artists. This is the first exhibition to explore Calder’s significance for an emerging generation of sculptors, reconsidering his influence and his innovation through a presentation of his own work alongside the work of contemporary artists. The exhibit runs from June 26, 2010 to October 17, 2010. Please call 312.280.2660 or visit mcachicago.org
Installation view of Alexander Calder and Contemporary Art exhibit. (Photo by Nathan Keay © The Museum of Contemporary Art)
The Goodman Theatre
The Seagull Goodman Artistic Director Robert Falls directs an intimate new production of Chekhov’s masterwork The Seagull, whose unforgettable characters reveal the passion and pathos of everyday life. When famed actress Irina visits her family with her young lover Trigorin in tow, they become ensnared in a tragicomic tangle of romance, intrigue and unrequited love. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to experience a nineteenth-century masterpiece, interpreted by “Chicago’s most essential director” (Chicago Tribune)—onstage in the Owen Theatre. The production runs from October 16, 2010 to November 14, 2010. Please call 312.443.3800 or visit goodmantheatre.org
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Chicagoland
Theaters
A Theatrical Dance Spectacular! ★★★★
“Their energy is electrifying...” - The Times, London
Oct. 6 ~ Nov. 7
6 Tales take you on a journey through historic Mayslake Hall, from the garrets to the dungeons & deep into the madness of Edgar Allan Poe. “melancholy and macabre...will change the audience’s idea of Poe.” (Tribune) “...masterfully macabre and shrewdly directed” (Daily Herald)
Mayslake Hall
Friday and Saturday October 1-2 Auditorium Theatre
Mayslake Peabody Estate,Oak Brook
www.firstfolio.org 630-986-8067
Tickets On Sale Now at Ticketmaster.com, Ticketmaster Outlets or charge by phone at 800-982-2787. For more info and video visit www.bollywoodtickets.us. For More Information, Including Group Sales and Sponsorships Call 800-400-4964
DON’T MISS THE MUSICAL SENSATION OF THE SEASON, LEONARD BERNSTEIN’S...
MUSIC BY LEONARD BERNSTEIN BOOK ADAPTED FROM VOLTAIRE BY HUGH WHEELER LYRICS BY RICHARD WILBUR ADDITIONAL LYRICS BY STEPHEN SONDHEIM, JOHN LATOUCHE, LILLIAN HELLMAN, DOROTHY PARKER AND LEONARD BERNSTEIN DIRECTED AND NEWLY ADAPTED FROM THE VOLTAIRE BY MARY ZIMMERMAN
STARTS SEPTEMBER 17, 2010
TICKETS ON SALE NOW! 312.443.3800 GoodmanTheatre.org Lead Corporate Sponsor
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PETTERINO’S, Promotional Partner for Candide. Photo of Geoff Packard by Brian Warling. Image design and direction by Kelly Rickert.
Special discounts for groups of 10 or more: 312.443.3820
Exclusive Airline of Autumn 2010CNCJA•71 Goodman Theatre
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