The North Shore Weekend, December 3rd, 2022

EXPLORE THE UNRIVALED

™

Echoing through ornate halls and gilded rooms, a regal history comes to life with every step in this enchanted palace. Back on board, your fairy tale continues in lavish comfort as you reminisce about a magical day in Schwerin.

This beautiful world is best enjoyed with an equally luxurious and regal onboard experience. Join us to witness Northern Europe’s masterpieces from the unrivaled space and consummate service found only aboard The World’s Most Luxurious Fleet™.

CELEBRATE THE GIFT OF TRAVEL

Enjoy a FREE Land Program* on select 2023 voyages in Europe. Availability is limited. Special offer ends January 6, 2023.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT REGENT AND BOOK YOUR NEXT LUXURY VACATION AT SEA, CONTACT ROYAL TRAVEL AT 847-999-0350 OR VISIT US ONLINE AT WWW.ROYAL-TRAVEL.COM *For applicable sailings and Terms and Conditions, please visit RSSC.com/Gift-of-Travel.

10 state of the market

The North Shore real estate market finishes strong with housing inventory at a premium 12 holiday art market Shop nature-inspired gifts at Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods 12 abbvie gives back

The Neal Math and Science Academy opens its doors in North Chicago 13 gear up for winter Support the needy by participating in the Cradles to Crayons coat drive 12 holiday pop-up

Check out a new pop-up shop at Lake Forest's Market Square

NORTH SHORE MONEY

16 positive reinforcement

Highland Park native Marissa Fetter Hochster talks about her innovative new business

LIFESTYLE & ARTS

18 on the ball

Winnetka native Christine Ebersole shares insight about her newly released album 20 bones and all Rex Reed gives a less than appetizing review of this new flick

21 my policeman

Another Rex Reed rave about a film that debuted at Toronto International Film Festival

material pursuits

A curated guide for our most discerning readers

holiday luxe This is the ultimate gift list

north shore foodie Get cozy with our delicious Chicken Noodle Soup recipe 24 on my nightstand

Martha Zeeman talks about her latest venture and what's by her bedside 25 mood lighting

Set the scene with eclectic offerings from an Italian designer

LAST BUT NOT LEAST

26 sunday breakfast

Telling stories through restored Holocaust-era instruments—like the late Masha Rapoport's mandolin—lies at the heart of Violins for Hope's 2023 initiative

CORRECTION The year of death was incorrectly reported last week in an information box that accompanied a tribute to the life of local icon Ellen Stirling, who died last month at the age of 73. We regret the typo that resulted in this error.

BY SHERRY THOMAS THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

Tastemaker Lauren Ashley Allan rarely stands still. And when it comes to holiday décor, she prides herself on the power of evolution— especially as her two young children become more involved in decorating the tree and creat ing a new generation of memories.

“Elements are always evolving because I get curious about an idea and have to try it out,” explains Allan, who recently cele brated the two-year anniversary of her eponymous firm, Lauren Ashley Allan Interior Design and Ar chitecture Studio, which serves clients throughout the Chicago area, including the North Shore. “Now that our children, Cleo and Van, are 5 and 3, our daughter is old enough to appreciate ornaments that have been handed down through the generations and gravitates towards those. She wants to know the story behind each and every ornament.”

While Allan has built a national reputation on a fearless design aesthetic that is as modern as it is timeless, her holiday style is rooted in tradition and family.

“It’s all about having things in your home that you love, that lift you up, and make you feel

good. Décor should be elevated, yet warm— with nothing that is too precious,” says Allan, whose design pedigree includes working as a Senior Designer for Kelly Wearstler and Cre ative Director for Nate Berkus. “I like to blend lots of textures with vintage or heirloom orna ments that stand the test of time and spark joy,”

Her growing design studio is constantly embracing the latest technology, incorporating virtual design to create immersive spaces rooted in history. Drawing influences from vintage books and magazines from France and Italy, Allan’s signature take on modern glam is all about bringing in unexpected elements and accents you can’t find anywhere else— especially during the holidays.

“A party is always in sea son. Come up with a concept such as mixed metals, be bold, and have fun!” she says. “Set up a home bar that guests will flock to. It should look festive and appetizing.”

Allan says holiday enter taining is also the perfect opportu nity to put your own signature touch on décor. Rather than rushing out to buy new serving plates or bowls, open the china cabinet to see what’s already there that can be repurposed in a new way.

“Conversation pieces make the bar more interesting,” she explains. “Introduce a select amount of glassware, leaving most out of site behind the bar, with only the frequently used and beautiful decanters up front. Bring in a beautiful tray to give height to different things or a raised tray as a platform for small plates and more accents. Plus, you can slide things under it for extra space.”

Allan also likes to keep a “dialogue with the outdoors,” bringing in fall and winter leaves and branches to add color and height to the bar. Even the smallest details like pretty, wellchosen bartender’s accessories can set the tone for a party that guests will be talking about into next year.

“Scale is important and if everything is big, nothing will shine on its own,” she adds. “When you’re setting up, think about the flow of the guests. Arrange things so they can come, get their drink, their olive, a napkin, a straw—it should be seamless.”

But her best tip of all is to relax and focus on what the season is all about—making memories with family and loved ones.

“The holidays to us are about giving back as much as possible,” she says. “I hope it reminds us all that the best gifts come from a place of love.”

Follow Lauren Ashley Allan on Instagram at @ lauren.ashley.allan.

OH CHRISTMAS TREE

Heirloom Tree

“The heirloom tree is an ode to my Greek grandmother Nene, who only did trees this way. In lieu of color, decorate with all winter whites—warm white lights, head to toe white garland or flowers,” says local designer Lauren Ashley Allan. “Inspired by centuries-old artistry found throughout Europe, add block-printed or hand embroidered ornaments. Layers and layers of heirloom pieces to make the details of the tree come together as one.”

Charlie Brown Tree

Allan says it’s easier than you think to reinvent this famous Christmas tree and add it to your holiday décor. “It can be a holly tree that is reminiscent of the holiday classic with Charlie Brown,” she explains, adding: “It’s OK to have more than one tree and they can each be deco rated differently with a different concept based on the room it is in, or different size—such as a table tree.” If you have kids or grandkids, one tree can be just for them, adorned with all custommade ornaments. Another fun holiday tradition is making pasta garland and velvet beaded ornaments together.

Lush Fruit Tree

Using beaded and velvet luscious fruit ornaments, embrace jewel tones and rich colors of pink and amethyst. Layer in two sizes of warm all-white lights. Include red flowers or smaller red velvet bows throughout the tree for an added touch of warmth to the space. Try a down-to-earth linen tree skirt for a more laid back and approachable feel and top it with an unlacquered brass star.

Black & White Striped Tree

Allan likes to use holiday classic ball ornaments in a black and white striped pattern (varying scales of stripe thickness). “It’s so much fun to give your tree a concept and go all in with it—be bold and have fun!” she says. “Then you can even match your table décor to your tree, depending on the room the tree is in.”

Monochromatic Metallic Tree

For a luxe look all its own, go for the gold, or silver! “Try a fun glam tree that is dripping with faceted mirrored balls or metallic ornaments,” suggests Allan. “Add brass and mixed metal tone accents throughout the tree in different sizes and scales to give the tree depth and an artfully elevated feel.”

When it comes to trimming the tree, designer Lauren Ashley Allan believes in dreaming big. Here are five ways to reinvent this Christmas classic.

STATE OF THE MARKET:

North

BY MITCH HURST THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

According to data from TrendGraphix, the market intelligence platform for real estate professionals, there were 357 new listings of homes for sale on North Shore in May 2022, and 225 sales. By October, the latest month data is available, those numbers had been cut in half: 173 new listings and 115 sales. These numbers were consistent across market all segments. There were 85 new listings in the luxury market (+$1.5 million) on the North Shore and 42 sales, whereas in October there were 33 new listings and 22 sales.

The story of the North Shore real estate market as 2022 unfolded and as we move into 2023 comes down to one word—inven tory. For a variety of reasons that The North Shore Weekend documented throughout the year, sellers became more reluctant to list as the year went on.

While interest rates tapered buyer de mand, particularly in the lower segment of the market where buyers are more likely to require mortgages, sellers face the same chal lenge if they’re looking to upsize or down size—where do they go?

Despite inventory issues, the luxury market remained strong throughout the year, with high demand from buyers who can pay

cash. Buyers from the city continued to seek more indoor and outdoor space, even as the pandemic recedes. Starting with our coverage back in February, it was clear that inventory could not keep up with buyer demand.

advantage and listed in December and Janu ary went quickly and with high demand,” Engel & Völkers real estate broker Carly Jones told The North Shore Weekend . “It was another great year for real estate.”

and February.

By June, data was starting to emerge about how rising demand for homes was affecting pricing. Prices had jumped considerably, but buyers remained undeterred.

“With this favoring market for sellers and adding to this the novel experience of today’s rising interest rates, I highly recommend anyone who has been considering a move to list as soon as possible to take full advantage of the current seller-positive conditions,”

Joanna Koperski, a broker with @properties in Lake Forest, told the paper in June. “Any delay in moving forward will allow these increasing interest rates to negatively affect buyers’ purchasing power by decreasing it.”

As mortgage interest rates rose throughout the summer, there was worry within the real estate industry that the COVID-19 bubble had burst, but the market plowed full steam ahead.

“The luxury market is still extremely active and there is still more demand than inven tory. As we started 2022, there were even less homes on the market and the ones that took

Jones was correct. There were 89 new luxury listings on the North Shore in January and February and by March and April sales had jumped to 83 from just 47 in January

“I initially thought rising interest rates would prompt a slowdown in market activity, but I am not seeing that. The buyers I am working with know that while rates have increased, they are still significantly better than they had been in, say, 2008 to 2009,” Engel & Völkers broker Laurie Field said in August. “Buyers know they can refinance when rates go down. They’re better off build ing equity in a home as opposed to paying rent and giving someone else that equity.”

By October, though, the inventory crunch

Shore real estate sales remained strong throughout 2022, weathering challenges faced in other parts of the country. We look back at another record-breaking year while looking ahead to what 2023 has in store.

2022 YEAR IN REVIEW

was being felt. Buyers were facing even stiffer competition and sellers were perhaps becoming a little overconfident with pricing.

“The properties that are move-in ready and priced fairly at all price points are still selling quickly and after multiple offers,” said Spencer Terry, a broker with The Terry Group and Coldwell Banker. “The proper ties that are not move-in ready and perhaps priced too high are sitting, forcing price reductions. Fundamentally, the market is still strong with a lack of inventory. The market

is normalizing after coming off two years of unprecedented activity.”

Fast-forward to December and brokers say overall it was a successful year for real estate on the North Shore and for real estate brokers. While the market evened out in the fourth quarter, there’s not much to complain about.

“It was a stellar year, and even though things kind of changed at the back end of the year, the market was always going to be affected,” says Jena Radnay, a broker with @

properties in Winnetka. “Just like anything, things go up and down, but if you look at the whole year, it was a great one for real estate.”

As for the outlook for 2023, Radnay says her buyers who want to move to the North Shore from the city are looking to do so even sooner. It used to be parents got the tug to make the move when their children are hitting school age. Now they’re thinking about a move as soon as they get pregnant.

“My whole thing in 2023 is people are

going to want to come to the North Shore. Demand won’t change, and the North Shore is always going to do well,” she says. “People in the city are thinking about moving up here earlier because there is no inventory.”

Radnay says as the market transitions into 2023 that being a problem solver is the most important skill a real estate broker can have. Her advice for buyers?

“Lock it in, get it going, and own it,” she says. “My take for next year is that demand is going to be just as high as last year.”

HOLIDAY ART MARKET

A nature-inspired shopping experience at Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods is open for in-person sales this weekend.

Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods presents its 6th annual nature-inspired Holiday Art Market through this Saturday, December 3.

Festivities will commence both online and in-person to support the local arts community. Originally an extension of an annual Holiday Open House in 2017, the Holiday Art Market has grown to include unique art, handmade gifts, cards, and prints from more than 40 talented local artists, makers, and small-scale producers.

“Not only has the market grown, but the artists involved have as well,” says Julia Keme rer, Brushwood Center’s Director of Art and Administration. “It’s amazing to watch the growth of the artists we’ve gotten to know so well along with the growth of the event itself. So many of our artists started as volunteers or

local connections and have become an integral part of the community through their work with Brushwood Center.”

While the market is nature-inspired, the items for sale range from more traditional art depicting natural scenes, to items made from eco-friendly or recycled materials and offers the public the chance to discover something in every style and for every pocketbook.

The 6th annual nature-inspired Holiday Art Market opened with online sales last week end and continues with the in-person sale on Saturday, December 3, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, December 4, from noon to 5 p.m. and will be featured throughout the entirety of Brushwood Center.

For more information, visit brushwoodcenter. org.

ABBVIE GIVES BACK

The Neal Math and Science Academy in North Chicago opened its doors this week, thanks to a generous donation from a long-time corporate partner.

AbbVie and the North Chicago Community Unit School District 187 recently announced the opening of the new Neal Math and Science Academy, the district’s only middle school, built with a $40 million donation from AbbVie.

Constructed with a focus on STEM learn ing, it was designed in collaboration with the school district, AbbVie, students and the com munity. Students and teachers began classes at the new school on Monday.

“As a North Chicago-headquartered com pany, we have been a longstanding partner with District 187 to improve student success and support children, families, and the community,” says Laura Schumacher, vice chairman, external affairs, and chief legal officer, AbbVie. “At AbbVie, giving back to our local communities is part of who we are, and we are proud to sup port the creation of this new school, which will help the young people in North Chicago to grow, learn, and reach their full potential.”

This donation is one example of AbbVie’s longstanding commitment to the North Chicago community. AbbVie employees have committed more than 100,000 volunteer hours since 2013 to renovate spaces and provide mentoring, STEM education, and other sup port in North Chicago.

Additionally, the AbbVie Foundation has made significant investments in nonprofit partners, including Teach for America, North Chicago Community Partners, and Innova tions for Learning, which support students in North Chicago through a variety of programs.

“Thanks to AbbVie for their incredible do nation and close collaboration throughout the

construction process, our students have a trans formative opportunity inside and outside of the classroom,” says John Price, district superin tendent. “The new Neal Math and Science Academy offers expanded STEM learning and supports our students’ own unique goals. This is more than just a new school—it’s an economic catalyst for the North Chicago community.”

Neal Math and Science Academy can ac commodate more than 600 students and has many new features that will aid in student learning, including six new science labs, a media center and innovation lab, music room, and fitness center.

Students are now able to utilize these new features and learn in large open spaces designed to encourage better collaboration. It also features a custom-built sensory room that serves as a therapeutic space to support students’ well-being.

AbbVie and the school district selected IFF—a mission-driven lender, real estate con sultant, and developer—to facilitate the project.

Headquartered in Chicago, IFF works at the intersection of facilities and finance to help nonprofits create safe, inspiring spaces that enable them to achieve their missions and sup port their communities.

A shared objective for AbbVie, the school district, and IFF was to leverage the construc tion of the school as an economic benefit for North Chicago and prioritize minority, women, and veteran tradesman and local subcontractors. JGMA architects in Chicago designed the new school and Gilbane Building Company, Bowa Construction and Blackwood Group were hired for construction.

GEAR UP FOR WINTER

Cradles to Crayons Chicago seeks donations for its annual coat drive.

Cradles to Crayons Chicago (C2C) has launched its annual “Gear Up for Winter” initiative to provide Chicago area children with 50,000 winter coats, free-of-charge.

As the only national organization address ing children's clothing insecurity on a large scale, C2C seeks donations of new and likenew winter coats to provide to its network of more than 70 service partners who directly provide essential social and health services to families.

“Two in five American kids are unable to adequately dress themselves daily, and in Chi cago, more than 23 percent of children live in poverty. With the record-high inflation, energy crisis, and household hardship, families on limited budgets face ‘heat or eat’ decisions this winter,” says Dawn Melchiorre, Executive Director of Cradles to Crayons Chicago.

“The coats we provide will be a critical lifeline for families who will not be able to heat their homes sufficiently this winter. This is an urgent matter. For those more fortunate, we ask that as you clean your closets to make room for new attire, consider donating at one of our more than 30 drop-off sites. We’re grateful for our individual and corporate supporters who helped us get our first round of coat donations. Still, we need the commu nity's support to provide the remaining coats to ensure our children stay safe and warm this winter.”

Through February 2023, C2C will col lect coat donations (size newborn to adult medium) and other donations at the North Center Giving Factory and more than 30 participating North Shore and Chicago area locations (listed below) and distribute them

directly to partners. Coats can also be purchased through C2C’s Ama zon winter wish list, and monetary donations can be received online at cradlestocrayons.org/chicago/gear-upfor-winter-2022/

Participating drop-off sites on the North Shore include:

• Deerfield: Sachs Recreation Center (455 Lake Cook Rd, Deerfield, IL 60015)

• Evanston: Little Beans Café (430 Asbury Ave, Evanston, IL 60202)

• Highwood: Highwood Public Library (102 Highwood Ave., Highwood, IL 60040)

• Waukegan: Belvidere Recreation Center (412 S Lewis Ave Waukegan, IL 60085)

• Waukegan: Waukegan Field House (800 Baldwin Ave. Waukegan, IL 60085)

• Winnetka: Community House Winnetka (620 Lincoln Ave. Winnetka, IL 60093)

Since its 2016 opening, C2C Chicago has distributed more than 650,000 packages to Chicago area children and hosts various an nual initiatives to advance its mission, includ ing Ready for Learning, Gear Up for Winter, Spring Greening, and Gear Up for Baby.

Visit cradlestocrayons.org/chicago to learn more about the winter initiative and how to get involved.

HOLIDAY POP-UP

The City of Lake Forest and the Lake Forest/Lake Bluff Chamber of Commerce unveil annual pop-up shop in a new Market Square location.

The giving spirit continues this holiday season as the Lake Forest/Lake Bluff Chamber of Commerce and the City of Lake Forest join forces to open an annual pop-up shop to benefit local nonprofit entities in Lake Forest and Lake Bluff.

Moved to a new location this year at 252 Market Square, the “Think Local Pop-Up Shop” (formerly known as the Lake Forest Station Pop-Up Shop) debuted last Friday, November 25, and will continue to be open for shopping Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays

from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. through December 31.

This year there will be a “Think Local” theme and an expanded focus for the shop, spotlighting all things local. The shop will add to the holiday buzz in the downtown shopping district and support many local nonprofits by providing a venue to raise their visibility and sell branded items.

When you purchase merchandise from one of the nonprofit organizations, proceeds from the sale will go directly to that organization. Nonprofits will also have volunteers on site on

designated days to help spread awareness and information about their organizations.

The shop will not only showcase the par ticipating groups and provide the opportunity to pick up some unique and fun items with a local twist, but there will also be information available about things to do at our local arts and cultural spots—shows, exhibits, special events, and special offers at local merchants and eateries.

Among those participating are Artists on the Bluff, CROYA, Deerpath Art League, Elawa

Farm, Equestrian Connection, First Presbyte rian Church, Green Minds, Lake Forest Open Lands, Lake Forest Preservation Foundation, Lake Forest High School Boosters, McMahon Gallery (benefitting all groups), Mother’s Trust Foundation, Paws for Patrick, Ragdale, and Reading Power.

For more information, including the most upto-date list of participating nonprofits, visit lflb chamber.com.

POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT

BY MITCH HURST THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

While doing research for her company, Hylite, a platform that allows customers to send positive feedback to company lead ers and employees when they’ve received exceptional service, Marissa Fetter Hochster walked the streets of Manhattan talking with as many managers that were willing to sit down with her.

Hochster, who was born and raised in Highland Park and is relocating back to the North Shore, says the feedback from company leaders about employee satisfaction with their work was dim.

“We found that most customer-facing businesses are really struggling with low employee morale and high turnover,” Hoch ster says. “That's been a huge problem for years, and it's incredibly costly and destruc tive to their business. It costs $6,000 every time they lose a frontline employee and in some industries like food, turnovers are 100

percent annually.”

It was Darryl, a customer-friendly barista at Hochster’s favorite Starbucks in Man hattan, who motivated Hochster to found Hylite.

“He made my day every morning, he was the bright spot for me, and he knew that I appreciated him,” Hochster says. “But I real ized his manager had no idea that he alone was the reason I walked several blocks out of my way each day to his Starbucks instead of just going to the one in my office.”

Hochster worked in people development and employee success for over 10 years at investment banks, most recently Gold man Sachs, and she had seen the power of positive feedback in terms of motivating employees and helping them thrive at work.

“I found that an encouraging email from the manager just saying, ‘Hey, I hear you're doing great, keep it up,’ would keep someone motivated for months,” she says “I realized that in the corporate world there are lots of different avenues for positive feedback but nothing like that exists for frontline work

positive culture, there's no blueprint for doing so.

“That's where we come in. Hy lite is a first of this kind of posi tive-only feedback platform that makes it really easy for customers to recognize frontline employees,” she says. “We're helping organiza tions boost employee morale and create a positive culture.”

Hylite uses a B-to-B model, in which a business puts up a Hylite sign encouraging customers to scan a QR Code. A page pops up on the phone with three quick prompts: Name of employee the customer wants to “Hylite”; why the em ployee is great; and the customer can leave their name but it’s not

“On average, it takes less than 20 seconds and that's it. They submit and then the employee receives that feedback in real time and the rest of the team can see it, too,” Hochster says. “It gives the employee a boost, gives leadership an opportunity to celebrate their teams, and it

Highland Park native Marissa Fetter Hochster founded Hylite to allow customers to provide positive feedback to employees and their managers.

makes the customer feel even more con nected to that business.”

The reason businesses hire Hylite and use its platform, Hochster says, is they're seeing improved employee morale, higher customer satisfaction scores, and they're getting more customer feedback than on traditional review platforms.

“We did an analysis of all our businesses and on average they're receiving 42 times

more Hylite than Yelp reviews in a given period of time,” she says. “Anecdotally, their employees are staying longer because they feel more appreciated and happier at work.”

Hochster’s business clients are integrating their use of the Hylite platform into such human resource functions as performance reviews and into their hiring and training practices.

“I think we're already giving HR valuable

data that they've never had before about their people and it's helping them identify top performers,” says Hochster. “Some larger enterprises are even interested in using this to create an ideal employee profile for cer tain roles, to look for those commonalities, or traits of the top Hylite-d employees.”

Hylite currently works with about 50 businesses, from large companies such as Dunkin’ Donuts and Burger King, to regional chains and local business. On the North Shore, it’s working with an ophthal mology practice affiliated with Northwest ern University.

“It's been interesting to find that there's demand across so many different industries because most customer-facing businesses are really struggling with keeping their people happy and showing them, they're appreci ated,” Hochster says.

After spending a decade in New York City, attending business school in Boston, and living for a few years in Texas during the pandemic, Hochster felt the tug to come back to the North Shore—especially with two young children and a growing business.

“Being an entrepreneur is hard and being a working mom entrepreneur with young kids is even harder,” she says. “I realized it takes a really strong support system to make it all work and a supporting partner, family, and friends. You need all of it.”

Hochster says she feels lucky that she has a strong support system on the North Shore, both personally and professionally, and that

our community is a place where people genuinely want to see you succeed.

“We're looking to bring Hylite to em ployees everywhere,” she says. “I really want Hylite to become a household name and for people to see our logo and our signs and know what we do and have it be synony mous with all things positive for frontline workers who really haven't been recognized before.”

To learn more about how businesses can partner with Hylite, visit hylitepeople.com.

Marissa Fetter Hochster

BY GREGG SHAPIRO THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

Christine Ebersole, two-time Tony Awardwinning actor, singer, and Winnetka native, has returned with a new album—the personal and moving “After The Ball” (Club 44). The

basis of the 10-track album, featuring songs that span more than 80 years, is her acclaimed cabaret act of the same name.

A familiar face from theater, television, and movies, Ebersole is a true multi-hyphenate. She was gracious enough to make time to answer a few questions about the new album before the Thanksgiving holiday.

Beginning with the 1891 Charles K. Har

ris song “After The Ball” and continu ing through the early 1970s with Joni Mitchell’s “Little Green” (1971) and Lieber & Stoller’s “Ready to Begin Again” (1975), the songs on your new album cover a pe riod of more than 80 years. Was that your intention as you were putting the music together or did it just happen organically?

I just picked the songs for the narrative, for

the story I wanted to tell. “After The Ball” is about what happens the music stops and the lights go down. The confetti is on the floor and the champagne is empty. What happens next?

Four of the eight selections are medleys. As the performer, how do you know when two or even three songs belong together?

Again, it's kind of what tells the story. With (the medley of) “Little Green” and “Wait Till You See Her” and “Inchworm,” it all came out of the story I was telling (in my cabaret act) at The Carlisle (in New York) in 2016. It coincided with my being in Chicago during (the pre-Broadway run of) “War Paint.”

At The Goodman Theater.

Yes, with (music director) Larry Yurman (co-producer of the “After The Ball” album). It was a complete collaboration. What hap pened was, I wanted to tell the story be cause all my children are adopted, and Joni Mitchell’s story of “Little Green” is about her personal experience of giving up her child for adoption. Her only child, when she was quite young.

Her daughter Kilauren.

Yes, her daughter who she actually reunited with 35 years later. “Wait Till You See Her” was what Larry brought to the table. It was a juxtaposition of the mother losing the child and then the adoptive mother getting the treasure. Within her loss was my treasure.

Following her health scare from a few years ago, Joni Mitchell is experiencing a massive career resurgence and has begun performing again. Have you ever met Joni?

I did! I met her at a hair salon. It was such a thrill for me because she’s been such an idol of mine. She was getting a manicure or some thing, and I went over to her. I had recorded her (song) “The Circle Game” on my very first album. I told her. I said, “I’m such a big fan!” I was just gooping over her. She was great! For some reason, she thought that I was really young or something. Like, “What are you, in high school or something?” Maybe it was my enthusiasm. She was very welcoming. She wasn’t put out by me bothering her in a hair salon while she was getting a manicure.

I love that you do a cover of the won derful Lieber & Stoller tune “Ready to Begin Again,” which was first recorded by Peggy Lee.

Peggy Lee! Doesn’t it feel like a Kurt Weil/ Bertolt Brecht song?

It does! Especially since Lieber & Stoller were known for writing ‘60s pop tunes. Yes, rock and roll.

And “Ready to Begin Again” is such a poignant and slyly humorous song. Why did you want to record it?

It was telling the story. The inspiration for the whole album and the evening at the Car lyle, which was the genesis of that, was “Who am I? Where am I? Where am I going?” It's the identity of being a mother with children

in the face of being in show business where I've missed out on a lot of the growing up, and now they're gone, I'm nearing my dotage. So, what do I do? What's my identity? That's why that song spoke to me. It's like, well, you just put your teeth in and you put your wig on and you keep going!

The album artwork for “After The Ball” has the feel of a family photo album, which made me wonder if any of the songs were sung to you when you were a child and if you, in return, sang them to your children?

Yes, I did. But to get to tuck them in bed

was a really rare thing. Because I was always on stage singing the 11:00 number wonder ing if they brushed their teeth. That was one of the basic

tenets of motherhood I didn't get very often. In 2021, you were in Paul Thomas Ander son’s Oscar-nominated movie “Licorice Pizza,” playing L Doolittle, a character loosely based on Lucille Ball. When it

comes to your work in comedy, how much influence did Lucy have on you?

She was an icon for me. Her timing was impeccable. Comedy, to me, is music and rhythm. It’s how you emphasize a word. It's like playing an instrument. It's fascinating how it's so connected to music.

Since 2019, you’ve been playing Dottie, the mother of Bob in the CBS sitcom “Bob Hearts Abishola.” What do you enjoy most about that series?

It’s family. The people that are on that show it’s really like a family. We genuinely enjoy one another and laugh all day. It’s an unbelievably blessed experience to have. That doesn't always happen. There’s not a bad apple in the bunch. It's a great, supportive, fun-loving, funny family.

As a member of the class of 1971, 2021 was your 50th class reunion from New Trier High School. Were you able to at tend the reunion?

No. The reunion was canceled in 2021, and rescheduled for 2022, but I couldn't go because I was performing in New Orleans. There was a conflict. I’m so sorry I missed it. Hopefully, maybe they'll have a 55th or 60 and I'll still be alive! That would be good. How often are you able to get back to your roots in Winnetka?

I went back there in July for my brother’s memorial (service). I hadn't been back there since “War Paint” in 2016.

BONES AND ALL

RUNNING TIME: 2 hrs, 10 minutes

1 star

BY REX REED THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

Cannibals in love? I don't think so. But as movies get loopier, the people who somehow, in the middle of inflation, find the millions to make them, just do not seem to care if anybody sees them or not.

And so, we get more than two hours of trash called Bones and All, about dreamy-eyed carnivores who feast on human flesh but avoid each other's jugulars without leaving so much as a hickey. Ah, the things they do for love.

The teenage girl "eater" is named Maren (Taylor Russell). The horror begins when she attends a slumber party and, before the cupcakes arrive, rips off a schoolmate's finger with her teeth and eats it while everybody screams and retches (including a few members of the audience).

Back at home, Maren finds her father gone, escaping at last from a wife and daughter with a taste for thighs you don't find at the A and P. Left alone to fend for herself, the girl runs away too, with two goals in mind: to find her mother and eventually learn to eat an entire corpse, "bones and all".

On the road, she encounters other hungry foodies, including a foul degenerate named Scully, played with nauseous glee by Mark Rylance, the overrated British actor who specializes in playing geeks and other frazzled monstrosities on stage and screen with a performing style so exaggerated and over the top you can' t find their reality with a telescope.

Sully teaches her about the psychology of cannibalism ("Never--never--eat an eater") while he waits for an old lady to die on the floor, gorges on her lower intestines and leaves the room in a pool of blood. Maren ate her first corpse at the age of 3, but still has a lot to learn.

Eaters have a talent for smelling each other from afar, so it's not long before she smells out another eater named Lee in a convenience-store parking lot, eager to teach her. Lee is

a disenfranchised 17-year-old freak who lives on the perim eters of society, played by Timothee Chalamet. He's the young actor who hit pay dirt in 2017 with his first film, Call Me By Your Name, moved on to win more acclaim the following year as Steve Carell's drug addicted son in Beautiful Boy, and grew quickly tired of being labeled just another pretty face.

Desperate to change his image, in Bones and All he appears pale green and anemic looking, with dyed orange hair and ripped clothes designed to show a body that weighs no more than 100 pounds soaking wet. Anxious to erase our memories of him as a good-looking boy with acting potential, he suc ceeds with perfection.

The rest of the film is part road trip, part horror film, as the two intensely and neurotically journey across the country in a battered old truck, finding more social pariahs along the way, before they finally locate Maren's mother (Chloe Sevigny) in an insane asylum, where she has eaten both of her arms up to her elbows.

While you may never know what the point of any of this is, but you always know which state you're in, because the scenes are prefaced by abbreviations: VA, MO, IN, OH. To the other vast annoyances that the film has to offer, add pretentiousness.

Ugly and graphic without a trace of titillation, the script is a blank slate by David Kajganich, and the alleged direction is by Luca Guadagnino, the same man who brought Timothee Chalamet to public attention in Call Me By Your Name.

This time, history is not likely to repeat itself. The young star is also the producer of Bones and All, so he has only himself to blame. It's a preposterous debacle that might work better as a Halloween skit on Saturday Night Live, but it takes itself seriously, which makes it seem even sillier.

I found the result too sick and disgusting to describe, but not interesting enough to care.

Illustration by Tom Bachtell

MY POLICEMAN

RUNNING TIME: 113 minutes

RATING: 4 stars

BY REX REED THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

Meticulously directed, gorgeously photographed, and sensitively acted by a superb cast, Michael Grandage's My Policeman is a heartbreaking, largely underrated British film about three people in an unconventional, life-altering bisexual love affair that spans 40 years, from the 1950s to the 1990s.

When I saw it at the Toronto International Film Festival, I found it mature, sophisticated, sexy, and deeply moving enough to reduce me to tears. Since this usually happens as rarely as a tax rebate and almost always involves films about poverty, abandoned children, and adorable dogs in jeopardy, I was stunned by my emotional reaction and prepared for the declaration of a masterpiece.

Now that it has opened commercially to the disturbingly tepid indifference of largely mixed reviews, I am, in the words of Lorenz Hart, bewitched, bothered and bewildered. To be fair, it has also received some well-deserved raves, but much of what I've read is misinformed, misguided, mislead ing, and mindless. (Also, in some cases, homophobic.)

My advice: if you read something negative about My Policeman, ignore it and see this exemplary film for yourself. You'll be glad you did.

Based on a popular, highly praised novel by Bethan Rob erts, the screenplay is by Ron Nyswaner, Oscar-nominated for writing Philadelphia, and the direction is by Michael Grandage, who made an accomplished debut in 2018 with Genius, about legendary literary editor Maxwell Perkins (played by Colin Firth) and his clients, F. Scott Fitzgerald,

Thomas Wolfe, and Ernest Hemingway.

He makes ambitious, high-quality films of uncommon in telligence that are not always embraced by the low brow hoi polloi, of which My Policeman is a prime example. It begins as the clock is about to strike the year 2000, when an elderly man named Patrick (Rupert Everett), badly damaged by a stroke, is brought to a seaside home to be nursed back to health by Marion (Gina McKee), one of his oldest friends, and her husband Tom (Linus Roache).

She seems devoted; Tom remains resentful of the intru sion and refuses to have anything to do with his uninvited guest, and that's all we know. But as memories come flood ing back, fueled by evenings at the opera listening to Verdi, the film slowly, intriguingly begins piecing together stray pieces of the puzzle that provide clues to their identity and their relationships to each other. Suddenly it's London, 1958, Marion (Emma Corrin) is a bright, promising school teacher, and Tom is an earnest but uneducated young cop (played by pop star Harry Styles).

They meet on the beach and fall in love, but before long they encounter Patrick (David Dawson), an artist and museum curator who reminds Tom of the finer things in life he's been missing. Patrick teaches Tom about art, music, scotch and sex, recruiting him to pose for a painting that leads to seduction, and a new way of life that both frightens and intrigues the naive Tom.

Life is exploding all around him, opening new windows and plunging him into an erotic abyss of forbidden passion. The narrative is non-linear, so the characters are juxtaposed, the fragments of their story blending from 1957 to 1999 while we share their journey through the changing prisms of time.

Marion loves Tom. Patrick loves Tom. Tom loves them both. But he wants a wife and children, too. So, they marry in 1958, but his love affair with Patrick grows more intense.

Marion indulges them both while Patrick takes Tom on an Italian sojourn to explore Venice. The threesome span years while they all endure the agony of living a lie, but the film is so delicately observed that the viewer never grows restless.

At a time when homosexuality in England was ille gal, Patrick is eventually arrested, damned in court by the excerpts in his diary about Tom, convicted and jailed for "public indecency", like Oscar Wilde, it is Marion who comes to his defense. But Mr. Grandage isn't finished with his story yet.

As six actors warmly portray three characters four decades apart, the facts emerge at last, and it is the person you least expect to solve the riddle of what really happened to change them irrevocably that renders the gently dramatic ending with so much overwhelming wisdom and anguish. Tom, Patrick, and Marion evade easy closure while moving toward a place of renewal as they realize they must come to terms with the past if they are to move on with their lives.

Harry Styles may be the commercial lure, but although he infuses the narrative with a certain glamour, he is only one cog in a perfect wheel. His nude sex scenes with David Dawson are graphic but genuine, involving both physical attraction and spiritual depth of feeling.

It's a rare experience when any film passes these passions on to the viewer with such sensitivity. This is why I was so moved by the way the characters are portrayed—both in the throes of youth and when the trio is decades older.

Nothing in this picture is sensationalized for its own sake. Everything depicted is necessary to tell the story correctly— and everything is photographed with insight and splendor by Ben Davis, who also shot The Banshees of Inisherin

The film becomes increasingly more compelling as it reaches its undeniably emotional conclusion. Both the inti macy and the expansive pain and bravery of bigger emotions in My Policeman leave you with a sense of galvanizing hope.

MATERIAL PURSUITS

This weekend’s curated luxury trends.

FASHION MEETS INTERIOR DESIGN

Villeroy & Boch tiles, the international ceramics specialist, has unveiled its first designer collaboration in more than 20 years. Created by leading fashion designer Mary Katrantzou, VICTORIAN is a vibrant and colorful tile collection inspired by the art of lepidopterists and the geometry of Victorian tiles, bringing the natural world into the living environment. The new partnership also sees Katrantzou make her first foray into in terior design, built on the global success of her eponymous fashion label of over a decade. For more information, visit villeroy-boch.com.

SPORT OF KINGS

Assouline’s newest book on the sport of kings, Polo Heritage, presents a guided journey around the world and inside the most prestigious polo tournaments, while div ing deeper into the sport’s heritage, loyal fanbase, and legendary players. Polo Heritage, published by Assouline, assouline.com

GEMS

The Tiffany Knot—a collection inspired by ar chitectural symbols from Tiffany’s hometown, New York City. For more information, visit tiffany. com.

HOLIDAY LUXE

Our select list of luxury gift ideas has something for even the most discerning of people.

BY THERESA DEMARIA THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

For The Connoisseur

The true bourbon enthusiasts on your list are sure to enjoy a new release from The Last Drop Distillers—an exclusive single-cask 1982 spirit from the award-winning Buffalo Trace distill ery in Kentucky. Coinciding with the rare-spir its company’s 10-year anniversary, this special release comprises just 44 hand-numbered bottles and is The Last Drop’s first bourbon among its exceptional roster of rarities. Available at sothebys.com.

For the Cigar Aficionado King of Denmark cigars can be customized according to the buyer's liking. You can choose to add a gold foil with a name in scribed on it and can also add precious metals and diamonds. Each smoke features a fancy humidor worth $8,500 that comes with a crown made of sterling silver and is plated in 24k gold. The humi dor is extra and has a price tag of $4,500. Available at www.cigar.ee.

For the Pampered Pet

Designed to keep your four-legged friend warm and dry, this padded dog jacket from the Moncler + Poldo Dog Couture collec tion is crafted from water-repellent nylon. The tricolor design is enhanced with a detachable hood, sure to keeps your pup safe in a range of weather conditions. Available for $450 at montcler.com.

For the Sporty Fashionista Sporty meets stylish with these eye-catching dumb bells, which combine functional ity with luxuri ous house finishes. The 2kg weights are trimmed with the iconic Louis Vuitton monogram canvas and finished with a LV signature and Monogram Flower engraving at the ends. The soft Epi leather handles are resistant to perspi ration marks. Available for $2,640 at louisvuitton.com

For the Collector

“Ancient Jewelry: Wearable Art” offers the rare chance to literally wear a piece of history. This truly incredible sale of 70 museum-worthy pieces includes necklaces, earrings, and bracelets, intricate cameos, and more from the ancient world—some dating as far back as the 1st century AD—with gold and pre cious jewels from Greece, Rome, Egypt, and the Near East. The sale continues online through December 6 with viewing at Christie’s New York and a live auction on De cember 7. For more information, visit christies.com.

Mary Katrantzou’s first collaboration with Villeroy & Boch

Tiffany, diamond knot bracelet, tiffany.com

Photo by Terry Fincher, Princess Diana Archive, Getty Images

HOMEMADE CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

A little something to warm you up as the temperature drops.

BY MONICA KASS ROGERS THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

For all its legendary, soul-soothing status, chicken noodle soup recipes— those rich with homemade stock, fresh vegetables, herbs, and egg noodles— are rather hard to find. This classic, homemade recipe is a labor of love that will nourish you in the making, and your family, in the eating. It makes enough to serve four for one meal, with plenty of stock left over to freeze and use for another occasion.

INGREDIENTS

STOCK:

• Two, fresh, small chickens, rinsed

• 12 cups, or, enough water to cover the chickens in the pot

• Two medium white onions, peeled, cored, and cut into quarters

• Two large carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks

• Three celery ribs, cleaned and cut into large chunks

• 1 bay leaf

• 1 teaspoon thyme

• 1 teaspoon whole peppercorns

• 1 sprig rosemary, or 1 teaspoon rosemary needles

CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP (Serves 4):

• 6 cups of the finished chicken stock

• 1 1/2 cups baby carrots, cut into rounds

• 1 rib fresh celery, diced

• 1 fresh leek, trimmed, white and light green chopped

• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

• Thigh meat from the cooked chicken stock, chopped

• 1/2 package German egg noodles, prepared according to package instructions

• Zest of 1/2 fresh lemon

• Juice of 1/2 fresh lemon

• 2 tablespoons fresh snipped parsley, minced plus lemon slices (from the remaining 1/2 lemon) for garnish

METHOD STOCK:

• Place chickens in a large heavy-bot tomed soup kettle. Cover with 12 cups cool water (or a bit more if needed to cover the birds.) Add all remaining stock ingredients to the pot. Heat to a boil; im mediately reduce heat to lowest setting and simmer for 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Using a large strainer, separate broth from all of the solids (vegetables and chickens). Reserve solids in a large bowl to cool. Place stock in refrigerator to chill until fat has congealed over the top, overnight, or for several hours. While the stock is chilling, and when cool enough to handle, pull the chicken thigh meat from the cooked chicken carcasses, and chop into bite-sized pieces. Set aside. (Note: I only add the thigh meat to the finished soup, because it retains better flavor and texture than the chicken breasts, after its long simmer in the stock.) Reserve remainder of chicken (and if you like, the long-cooked vegetables) for another use. Once the fat has congealed on the

refrigerated stock, remove the fat and either reserve (if you have other recipes that call for chicken fat) or, discard.

CHICKEN

NOODLE SOUP:

• In a heavy-bottomed medium soup pot, over medium-high heat, heat 6 cups of chicken stock to a slow boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and add carrot, celery, leek, and parsley. (Set aside and then freeze the remaining chicken stock.) Allow the 6 cups of chicken stock to simmer until the stock has reduced by about 1 cup and the vegetables are tender. While stock is reducing, cook egg noodles in water according to pack age instructions; drain. Add the diced chicken thigh meat and the prepared egg noodles to the soup. Season to taste with salt and freshly cracked pepper. Stir in finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon and the juice of 1/2 fresh lemon.

• Serve hot bowlfuls of soup with gar nish of lemon slices and a sprinkling of parsley.

CARDS, COFFEE, AND THE JOY OF SNAIL MAIL

I keep a journal on my nightstand so I can reflect on the day that has passed or contemplate the day ahead. Rifle Paper Journal, Lake Forest Bookstore, 662 N. Western Avenue, 847-234-4420.

BOOK STACK

I frequently write a few cards before going to sleep, so I always keep a stack by my bed.

A soup bowl from my Grandfather’s Limoges china set. Its Carolina Blue pattern makes me happy and I put my jewelry in it before I go to sleep.

Lots and lots and lots of books. I actually put most of them on the floor before I took this photo! All books available through Lake Forest Book Store, 662 N. Western Avenue, 847-234-4420

Illustration by Tom Bachtell

Dog and card lover and local small business owner Martha

Zeeman shares what is currently on her nightstand.

BY MARTHA ZEEMAN THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

Challenging times often inspire reflec tion on important touchstones, remind ing us of loved ones we’ve lost and the importance of people in our lives. The recent pandemic emphasized our need to connect with them. As an avid sender of cards, I began sending more in 2020. I was overjoyed by the response, which often included a phone call and a great conversation. I’d been thinking of open ing a greeting cards business and decided that if I didn’t do it during the pandemic, then I never would, so Cards and Coffee became a reality. Cards are connections to

hold in your hands, to keep, to treasure, and remind us of the strong connections we have with other human beings. I have a box full of cards I’ve received over the years and it is one of my greatest treasures. I have cards for almost every occasion, but I honestly believe you don’t need to wait for an occasion to send a card. There is nothing better than getting a card in the mail for no reason other than someone saying they thought of you. Right now, I’m selling cards out of my home and at occasional pop-ups in town. My mission is simply spreading joy through snail mail.

I’m blessed to have a wonderful neigh bor who has become a great friend—we both love cards and the Lake Forest Book Store. She gave me two books that I treasure. The boy, the mole, the fox and the Horse is a wonderful illustrated book offering hope during challenging times. The Stillness of Winter explores the holy all around during this sacred season. On my nightstand, I also have a Limoges china soup bowl that belonged to my grandfa ther. During the pandemic, I took it out of the cabinet and now each night I place my jewelry in it when I go to bed. It’s a reminder of my grandfather and to take

things out of cabinets and use them! I also have a copy of The Essential Calvin and Hobbes to remind me to not take life to se riously and to laugh. Calvin is my favorite cartoon character.

I’m currently reading Vesper Flights which my college roommate recommended to me. We’ve been talking and writing to each other frequently during the pandem ic. I’m also reading Everything Happens for a Reason , which one of my Faith Keeper friends suggested. The Faith Keepers is a group of friends I text with on an almost daily basis that began as a daily gratitude text we could share. After reading I’ve Been Thinking by Maria Shriver, we chose the thread name Faith Keepers (FKs). As Maria so eloquently says, this group of women “keeps the faith for me when I can’t find it within myself. And I do it for them. And that’s what we all need.” I encourage you to find your group of FKs because it is a connection that can change everything for you when you need it most. I’m truly grateful for my FKs.

For information on Cards and Coffee pop ups and card sales, visit @cards_and_cof fee_martha on Instagram.

MOOD LIGHTING

A leading Italian decorative lighting brand unveils a new collection of design-forward table lamps for 2023.

Any interior designer will tell you that when it comes to finishing a room, lighting is everything. With that in mind, Foscarini has debuted a series of chic table lamps that provide stylish alternatives to harsh, fluorescent, or overhead lighting. The Italian brand fuses technology with style for pieces to elevate the design and sophistication of any space.

The new collection includes the following:

Lumiere

A con temporary restyling of the clas sic bedside lamp, the Lumiere table lamp has become an icon of design, and it is distin guished by the blown glass diffuser combined with an unmistakable aluminum tripod.

Buds

Rituals

The Rituals lamps speak the language of beauty and poetry. Recalling the classic paper lantern, they are made with hand-blown glass marked by thin engravings which recall the art of grinding resulting from skilled craftbased workmanship. The low and wide shape of Rituals creates intimate light, softened by the creased surface.

Sophisti cated wealth and valuable materials: in Buds, blown glass plays the starring role, combined with a transparent

base that emphasizes its pure shapes. Buds 1 has a more elongated shape, in a warm white color that changes according to when the lamp is on or off. Buds 2 is the largest in the family, with a generously sized glass in gray or warm white.  Buds 3 is the smallest of the lot as the color of its glass is a characteristic bamboo green or warm white.

Gregg Stem

Gregg’s shape is rem iniscent of a large pebble, its surface polished by the water. Made of hand-blown glass, this table version is part of the Mix&Match System and is available in two

sizes and three colors that can be combined in a flexible way, to define and coordinate the lighting of diverse environments.

Birdie

A reinter pretation of the classic lampshadelamp with a contemporary twist, the Birdie table lamp diffuses direct light downwards and suffuses light into its surroundings. The touch-dimmer on/off mechanism is designed like a branch ready for a bird to roost, hence the name.

Foscarini lighting is available online at lightol ogy.com and lightformshop.com.

“Cards are connections to hold in your hands, to keep, to treasure, and remind us of the strong connections we have with other human beings.”

MASHA’S MANDOLIN

BY BILL MCLEAN ILLUSTRATION BY BARRY BLITT

It could be said that musical talent helped the late Masha Pietkowski survive the Holocaust. She played the mandolin in an all-female orchestra at the Auschwitz concentration camp for nearly 18 months, beginning in 1943.

The facts are sobering. Audience members in cluded SS personnel. And among each musician’s privileges was not having their head shaved.

Masha’s gift also initiated a courtship with her future husband, Morris Rapoport. Both had been transported to a Displaced Persons Camp in Bergen-Belsen, Germany, where they met during a dance party.

“My mother was playing her mandolin on that night,” daughter Gail Rapoport Levin, of Deerfield, says. “My father turned the pages on a music stand for her. They fell in love.”

Decades later, while Levin and her brother, Northbrook resident Ken Rapoport, cleaned out their childhood home in Lincolnwood, they found their mother’s mandolin.

It was resting behind a handful of suitcases and an assortment of toys in a basement storage closet.

The siblings then donated it to the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie. The cherished instrument has been on display there for more than 12 years.

“I’ve spoken with students soon after they had taken tours at the museum,” Gail Levin, 59, says. “I’ve told them my mother’s story. I’ve also told them I’m not much older than their parents, and that I could be one of their aunts. The Holocaust wasn’t that long ago, but education must continue.

“Our nation’s youngsters have to hear stories like my mom’s, as well as stories about others who didn’t survive. What happened to Jews at the time of World War II can never be forgotten. Something as horrible as the Holocaust could happen again.”

Northbrook-based Jewish Community Centers (JCC) of Chicago is doing its part to keep those stories alive and honor the legacy of survivors like Masha—forging a partnership with Violins of Hope, an initiative that showcases Jewish stories of resilience, resistance, and unity.

From April to September 2023, a private collection of more than 70 meticulously restored violins, violas, and cellos—played by Jewish musi cians before and during the Holocaust— will be presented throughout the Chicago area and Illinois via cultural exhibitions, performances, and community education.

JCC Chicago and its partner agencies, includ ing the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Educa tion Center, University of Illinois, and an array of schools, libraries, and synagogues, aspire to collectively reach more than 100,000 community members of all races, religions, ages, and abilities.

Israeli violinmakers Amnon and Avshalom

back and others with names and dates inscribed in the instrument.

Their devotion, through restoration, has helped reclaim the lost heritage of instruments, and given voice to the victims. Violins of Hope delivers es

and raise awareness during Violins of Hope’s six-month endeavor next year.

The British Army liberated the Bergen-Belsen Displaced Persons Camp in 1945. Morris and Masha Rapoport arrived at Ellis Island in New

York Harbor in 1949 and received visa sponsor ship from a Virginian. The couple settled in Chicago’s Albany Park neighborhood in 1950, with Morris finding work as a general contractor and Masha working as a seamstress.

Morris and two men later formed a construc tion company in Rogers Park.

Mr. and Mrs. Rapoport raised Gail and Ken—Niles West High School graduates—in

“My father was a hard-working man and excel lent at what he did for a living,” says Gail, who works with her husband, Bruce, at RapSessions, Inc., a market research consulting firm in North brook. “He built houses in Skokie, Chicago, Lin colnwood, Wilmette, and Northbrook, to name some of the communities, and I have memories of Dad doing estimates at the kitchen table.

“He wanted to build a house for us before he retired—at the time, his only two grandchildren were my children (Mac, now 26, and Danielle, 30, each a University of Michigan graduate). And he did just that. It was a gift for me to work closely with him when he built it in Deerfield.”

Morris died six months later.

“My mother (who passed away at age 85, in 2009) was, like a lot of Holocaust survivors, overly protective of her children, and she and my father kept to themselves,” Levin continues.

Levin, who needed only three years to graduate from Niles West HS, studied journalism at Ohio State University but landed jobs in market re search and advertising after her days as a Buckeye. She launched RapSessions, Inc., in 1989.

Masha, the youngest of seven children, was 20 and living in the small industrial town of Bedzin, Poland, when she toiled as a seamstress making uniforms in a factory. Bedzin is a half-hour train

The Nazis oversaw forced labor at the factory.

“My mom worked for a man named Alfred Rossner,” Levin says. “He had Jewish friends and made a deal with the Nazis—for every factory employee, two family members would be spared immediate deportation to a concentration camp.

“Alfred was like Oskar Schindler,” she adds.

Masha had to take a train ride to Auschwitz on August 6, 1943. Word got out, shortly after her arrival, that auditions would be held for an

“My mom,” Levin says, “told a woman com mandant, ‘I’m a musician.’”

A story of survival begins.

Followed by a love story.

JCC Chicago, founded in 1903 and rooted in Jewish values, offers a life-affirming journey foster ing a connected, inclusive community. With a focus on growing good kids and building connections, its mission is to strengthen the Jewish community, from generation to generation. Visit jccchicago.org/ violins-of-hope/ and violins-of-hope.com for more information.

Deerfield’s Gail Rapoport Levin, daughter of two Holocaust survivors, shares a warm, riveting tale about the leading role a musical instrument played in their family story.

wasn’t that long ago, but education must continue.

Gail Rapoport Levin