{contents}
CHICAGO Volume 24, Issue 4
FOOTNOTES pg. 4
DINNER AND A SHOW Dining Guide and Show Listings pg. 8
{staff} Steve Marcus
Karin Marcus
Matt Thiele
Kelly Locke
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Published by Marcus Promotions, Inc. The content of any article in this publication is based solely on the opinion of its writer and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Marcus Promotions, Inc., Footlights, or its staff. The center program content is at the sole discretion of the performing arts group. Any errors, omissions, or inconsistencies are their responsibility. Inquiries or comments should be directed accordingly.
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Footlights Performing Arts Magazine
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Chicago Footnotes March-April 2014
By Jonathan Abarbanel
JONES JOINS CRITICS’ CAMP
Chris Jones has stuck another feather in his cap, as if he weren’t busy enough as Chief Critic for the Chicago Tribune (in print and online), with weekly appearances on CBS-Ch. 2 and WGN radio. Now he’s also director of a summer camp, kinda-sorta. Jones has been appointed Director of the National Critics Institute, a prestigious training program for theater critics, at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut.
The Edith Oliver Theater at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. Photo by A. Vincent Scarano.
The National Critics Institute (NCI) was founded in 1968 and has trained many of the nation’s best arts writers and reviewers through its intense, stringent, 16-day summer program often called “boot camp for theater critics.” Originally designed to train theater critics writing on overnight deadlines for daily newspapers (as Jones himself still does), the NCI now includes arts journalists and bloggers looking to strengthen their skills in an increasingly competitive and fast-paced industry. The NCI meets on the O’Neill Center’s lovely seaside campus at the same time as the National Playwrights Conference and National Music Theater Conference, two other signature programs of the O’Neill Center. The new works being developed in those programs provide the fodder for the critics’ mills. Jones was selected after a six-month national search and already is planning for the 2014 boot camp, June 28-July 13. He’s thinking about expanding the program to serve a wider range of arts critics and entertainment writers, such as those covering movies and food, to more closely reflect the reality of the news industry today, when the daily newspaper is endangered, staffs are being cut and many writers must be generalists rather than specialists.
NEA NUMBERS ARE IN
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) emerged intact in the recent bipartisan budget compromise worked out by Congress and signed into law by President Obama. America’s premiere arts agency is funded at $146 million (and small change) for Fiscal 2014, a number which restores the sharp cut made last year due to sequestration. The NEA easily survived the customary annual attacks upon it made by fringe loonies in the House of Representative and firmly rejected by leaders of both political parties. What? You didn’t know there are loonies in Congress? As Joan Rivers used to say, “Grow up!” Of course, $146 million in 2014 dollars accomplishes far, far less than the NEA at its peak, funded at nearly $176 million in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, under Republican Presidents Reagan and Bush. It’s also less than President Obama’s request for $154 million. Then again, Congress also approved $25 million for Arts in Education for 2014 when the President had not requested any funding for the program.
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Footnotes
NEIGHBORS UNITE
The cluster of theaters in the Lakeview neighborhood on the city’s North Side— also known as Wrigleyville—has struck up an Internet marketing partnership and dubbed it all the Belmont Theatre District. Prospective patrons can go to www. btdchicago.com for details about what’s playing now and loads of information about Lakeview restaurants, bars and cafes. Over 100 arts organizations and businesses are participating, anchored by long-time Belmont Avenue stalwarts Theater Wit, You can find out about Cupid Has a Heart Stage 773 and ComedySportz but also On, by the Cupid Players, at Stage 773 on www.btdchicago.com. spreading across greater Lakeview to include Oracle Productions, Blue Man Group, the Athenaeum and TimeLine Theatre among others, as well as the district’s very newest resident troupe, the Annoyance Theatre (which actually began life in Lakeview before moving to Uptown). You’ll be able to purchase tickets on line, of course, and link directly to each participant.
DUELING CRITICS STILL CROSSING SWORDS
Many theatergoers have told me how much they miss hearing me on radio as onehalf of The Dueling Critics, a mainstay of WBEZ for six years until last June. I very much appreciate all the remarks which have come to me and my fellow Dueling Critic, Kelly Kleiman. The good news is you still can hear us every week reviewing a show or two, and doing our well-honed Fric-and-Frac act for your enjoyment. Kelly and I have launched The Dueling Critics as a weekly podcast, refreshed every Friday morning. You can go to www.duelingcritics.net to hear our current review, you can access our archives in SoundCloud, you can follow us on Twitter @DuelingCritters and you can subscribe to our podcast in iTunes. I have absolutely no idea how any of this works, but Kelly is a media whiz, which is a good thing ‘cause she don’t know jack about theater!
OUR HERO
February, celebrated each year as Black History Month, had 28 days and Commonwealth Edison used each one to name a “Neighborhood Hero” from Chicago’s various African-American communities. ComEd’s first pick, honored Feb. 1, was Jackie Taylor, the founder and leader for 38 years of the Black Ensemble Theater. Taylor launched the company in the old Cabrini-Green projects before taking the troupe Uptown where it was the resident company for many years at the Leo Lerner Center Hull House. Under Taylor’s leadership, the Black Ensemble moved into its own permanent, $19 million home in 2011, also in the Uptown ‘hood at Clark Street and Sunnyside.
Jackie Taylor
ComEd is one of Chicago’s major corporate patrons of the arts. The current Black Ensemble show is a musical revue, Chicago’s Golden Soul, about the many R&B greats who called Chicago home.
Footlights Performing Arts Magazine
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GET SOCIAL! #footlightslive START TWEETING... If you use Twitter to stay connected, use the hashtag - #footlightslive - to tweet your thoughts about the show before, during intermission and after the performance. This way, you can see what other people in the audience or at other shows are talking about... Theater tweeting - it’s a whole new conversation and connection! ...AND GET CONNECTED.
@FOOTLIGHTScom For obvious reasons, you should not tweet while the performers are on stage.
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“ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE, AND ALL THE MEN AND WOMEN MERELY PLAYERS.” Open casting call for the Lead role (full time) of
ADVERTISING SALESMAN
Supporting roles (part time) are also being cast. Show is open ended and has been running in Chicago since 1996. Male or Female actors may apply. All ages will be considered. Candidates must be comfortable in front of a live audience and be able to handle the physical demands of daily performances. Please send bio and headshot (resume and cover letter) to: SALESJOB@FOOTLIGHTS.COM
Footlights Performing Arts Magazine
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DINNER & A SHOW HELP US CELEBRATE
YEARS 25 OF FOOTLIGHTS!
If you use Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to stay connected, use the hashtag -
#footlights - to share your thoughts about the show before, during intermission and after the performance. This way, you can see what other people in the audience or at other shows are talking about... Start a whole new conversation & help us keep theatre alive!
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Find showtimes, links to buy tickets and nearby restaurants on
FOOTLIGHTS.COM
MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET Apollo Theater
Ongoing
AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’ Porchlight Music Theatre
Through March 9
GIDION’S KNOT Profiles Theatre
Through March 9
ARSENIC AND OLD LACE Overshadowed Productions
Through March 15
HEDDA GABLER Writers Theatre
Through March 16
MISS MARX OR THE INVOLUNTARY EFFECT OF LIVING Strawdog Theatre Company
Through March 29
COCK Profiles Theatre
Through April 6
THE HOW AND THE WHY TimeLine Theatre Company
Through April 6
A twist of fate brought Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley together in 1956 for an unforgettable jam session.
Fats Waller’s tribute to the 1920s and 1930s Harlem Renaissance, an era of exploding creativity and social changes.
A grieving mother and an emotionally overwhelmed primary school teacher engage in a fraught conversation about the suicide of the mother’s son.
Two spinster sisters are devoted to charity and family but they have taken on another project in this classic comedy about killing with kindness.
Equal parts idealistic heroine and callous antagonist, Hedda finds herself trapped by society in a world that does not fit her.
Apollo Theater 773-935-6100
Stage 773 773-327-5252
The Alley Stage 773-549-1815
777 S. Meacham Road, Elk Grove Village 630-250-7518
Tudor Court 847-242-6000
Strawdog Theatre 773-528-9696
World premiere based on the true story of Karl Marx’s youngest daughter, an actress and political activist.
This tense comedy about sexual identity explores one man’s choices about which path of love to pursue.
Two scientists clash over differing views on evolution, feminism and generational divides in modern America in this smart and compelling new play.
The Main Stage 773-549-1815
TimeLine Theatre 773-281-8463, ext. 6
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DINNER
& A SHOW
A TALE OF TWO CITIES Lifeline Theatre
Through April 6
SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD NightBlue Performing Arts Company
March 1-30
THE ROPER Den Theatre
March 3-April 13
DESSA ROSE Bailiwick Chicago
March 6-April 5
WATER BY THE SPOONFUL Court Theatre
March 6-April 6
AMERICAN MYTH American Blues Theater
March 7-April 6
An epic story of resurrection and redemption in a world premiere adaptation based on Charles Dickens’ classic 1859 novel.
At age twenty-five, songwriter Jason Robert Brown pulled together sixteen songs he had written for shows, cabarets and concerts to create this theatrical song cycle.
It’s 1876 and a petty criminal hired by the Secret Service to infiltrate a gang of Irish counterfeiters uncovers a shocking plot in this play based on a true story.
A stirring musical drama about an unlikely friendship just before the American Civil War.
A painfully honest and surprisingly humorous look at the unconventional communities we create when we seek redemption from our personal failings.
Award-winning drama explores personal and professional ethics when a beloved professor is accused of lying by a student.
Open ‘til 4AM Nightly, 5AM on Saturdays Covered and Comfortable Smoking Area Live Music Seven Nights A Week! Business Casual Dress Code No Cover
Lifeline Theatre 773-761-4477
Stage 773 773-327-5252
Den Theatre 773-697-3830
Victory Gardens Theater bailiwickchicago. com
Court Theatre 773-753-4472
Greenhouse Theater Center 773-404-7336
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Dinner and a Show
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Find showtimes, links to buy tickets and nearby restaurants on
FOOTLIGHTS.COM
KING HEDLEY II Congo Square Theatre Company
March 7-April 6
CHAPATTI Northlight Theatre
March 7-April 13
DARLIN’ Step Up Productions
March 7-April 13
PASSION Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre
March 7-April 27
ITHAKA Infusion Theatre Company
March 9-April 13
H.M.S. PINAFORE University of Chicago
March 14-15
The ninth play in August Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle is the tragic story of a man recently released from prison attempting to rebuild his life amid changing times and crime.
Romance is a distant memory for two lonely animal-lovers in Dublin until their paths cross and they rediscover the importance of human companionship.
It’s the middle of the night and Clementine just checked into a no-name motel where she meets a mixed bag of regulars with their own secrets.
Love, sex, obsession, illness, passion, beauty, power and manipulation come to a head in Stephen Sondheim’s 1996 Tony Award-winning musical set in 19th century Italy.
Lanie has just returned from her latest tour in Afghanistan but this time things are different: Home doesn’t feel right and nothing makes sense.
Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company and the University’s Chamber Orchestra lampoon the British aristocracy in the canonic comic operetta.
Athenaeum Theatre 773-935-6875
North Shore Center for the Performing Arts 847-673-6300
Athenaeum Theatre 773-935-6875
No Exit Cafe 800-595-4849
Chopin Theatre 773-525-8981
Mandel Hall 773-702-ARTS
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DINNER
& A SHOW
GO, DOG, GO! Open Door Repertory Company
March 15-April 6
HOUSTON BALLET–ALADDIN Auditorium Theatre
March 22-23
SALVAGE First Folio Theatre
March 26April 27
THINNER THAN WATER Gift Theatre
March 27-May 25
EVITA Jedlicka Performing Arts Center
March 28-April 12
CHICAGO IMPROV FESTIVAL Chicago Improv Productions
March 31-April 6
THE DANCE OF DEATH Writers Theatre
April 1-July 20
HOT MIKADO Dept. of Fine and Performing Arts Loyola University Chicago
April 3-13
Discover a joyous world where dogs throw parties, go to work and even drive a car as this timeless classic is brought to life in a whirl of color and music.
Houston Ballet presents celebrated English choreographer David Bintley’s full-length Aladdin, a magical tale of love, trickery and triumph.
The shy owner of a collectables store in Detroit finds his staid existence turned topsy-turvy when a mysterious woman enters his life.
Fighting through the thick-and-thin of family.
The Tony Award-winning pop opera about the life of Eva Person has music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice.
The longest running and largest improv festival in the world showcases the best local, national and international talent in a variety of categories.
August Strindberg’s masterpiece tells the deliciously venomous story of a crumbling marriage, laced with black comedy and biting humor.
Musical, filled with hilarious characters, fuses Eastern and Western culture with a 1940’s big band twist.
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Dinner and a Show
Open Door Theater 708-342-0810
Auditorium Theatre 800-982-2787
Mayslake Peabody Estate 630-986-8067
Gift Theatre 773-283-7071
JPAC Theatre 708-656-1800
Multiple venues 773-875-6616
Vernon Ave. 847-242-6000
Newhart Family Theatre 773-508-8400
Find showtimes, links to buy tickets and nearby restaurants on
FOOTLIGHTS.COM
CHICK COREA AND BELA FLECK Auditorium Theatre
April 5
SPARK Adventure Stage Chicago
April 5-May 8
SING-A-LONG WIZARD OF OZ AND OTHER WIZARDS Skokie Valley Symphony Orchestra
April 6
JACKIE AND ME The Theatre School at DePaul University
April 8-May 10
LA VIE PARISIENNE Northeastern Illinois University Opera
April 9-12
THE BIRTH OF GOSPEL Chicago a cappella
April 11-19
RIVER NORTH DANCE CHICAGO Auditorium Theatre
April 12
ECHOES OF LIGHT Northshore Concert Band
April 13
Twenty-time Grammy winner Corea and 15-time Grammy winner Fleck meet in a historic duet of piano and banjo.
Pandora lives a regimented life within the underground tunnels of a secluded community but, after encountering two Outliers, she starts to question what she has been taught.
Program features Dukas’ “Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” “Harry Potter Suite” by Williams and other wizardly selections.
A boy with the ability to travel through time uses his powers to meet his role model, baseball player Jackie Robinson.
Sasha Gerritson directs J. Offenbach’s operetta, which is filled with risqué humor and satire.
A journey from the pre-gospel classical works sung in many African-American churches to hymns, spirituals and the full flowering of gospel music in Chicago.
Celebrated for presenting gutsy and entertaining works, River North Dance Chicago returns to the landmark stage for a third season.
Concert features “Fanfare for a New Era” by Jack Stamp and Frank Ticheli’s “Angels in the Architecture.”
Auditorium Theatre 800-982-2787
Vittum Theater 773-342-4141
North Shore Center for the Performing Arts 847-673-6300
Merle Reskin Theatre 312-922-1999
NEIU Auditorium 773-442-4636
Four venues 773-281-7820
Auditorium Theatre 800-982-2787
Pick-Staiger Concert Hall 847-432-2263
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DINNER
& A SHOW
THE LAST DAYS OF JUDAS ISCARIOT The Theatre School at DePaul University
April 16-27
IN THE GARDEN: A DARWINIAN LOVE STORY Lookingglass Theatre
April 16-June 15
LAY ME DOWN SOFTLY Seanachai Theatre Company
April 23-May 25
MILL FIRE Shattered Globe Theatre
April 24-June 7
RAGTIME THE MUSICAL Big Noise Theatre Company
April 25-May 11
NO WITNESS Open Door Repertory Company
April 25-June 1
HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING Porchlight Music Theatre
April 26-June 1
STARS ON ICE Allstate Arena
May 3
Provocative play about the paradox of faith, free will and the nature of divine love.
Long before The Origin of Species will forever change the world, Charles Darwin meets Emma Wedgewood and they forever change each other.
Delaney’s Travelling Roadshow tours rural Ireland in the 1960’s, inviting all comers to fight in a boxing ring, the main attraction.
Sally Nemeth’s play, set in 1978 in Birmingham, Alabama, examines the many definitions of sorrow and the complexities of moving on.
This powerful portrait of life in turn-of-thecentury America, which intertwines the stories of three families, tells a tale that is still relevant today.
World premiere play with music explores Sam Giancana’s journey from street thug to Al Capone’s successor and his ultimate assassination in his Oak Park home.
Fullerton Stage 312-922-1999
Water Tower Water Works 312-337-0665
Den Theatre 773-878-3727
Theater Wit 773-975-8150
Prairie Lakes Theater 847-604-0275
Open Door Theater 708-342-0810
Stage 773 773-327-5252
Power, sex, ambition, greed...it’s just another day at the office in this satirical look at big business.
America’s top Olympic medal contenders from the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi headline this season’s all-new Stars on Ice tour. Cast subject to change.
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Dinner and a Show
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Footlights Performing Arts Magazine
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