another night at the theater

This most recent foray was to lookingglass theater at Water Tower in the old pumping station.  We have seen a number of excellent productions there and loved some of them.  Actually among my all time favorite plays is the North China Lover which we saw here a few years back and I also found Title & Deed a terrific and thought provoking play.

http://blog.semifreelife.com/2015/05/a-question-of-genius.html

http://blog.semifreelife.com/2013/10/north-china-lover-must-see.html

This time we were there to see Thaddeus & Slocum and I would say it was overall a positive review with a some criticism.  The performances were fabulous all around- a terrifically talented cast.

"Thaddeus and Slocum: A Vaudeville Adventure tells the story of two friends, one black and one white, who are Vaudeville street performers trying to make it to the “big time” in segregated 1908 Chicago.

"It’s 1908 and Chicago’s Majestic Theatre is the jewel of the vaudeville circuit. The only thing stopping Thaddeus and Slocum from becoming the next great stage act is as simple – and complicated – as black and white. Will laughter triumph and friendship endure as racial boundaries threaten to destroy their dreams of making the “big time?”

"Lookingglass dives deep into the divided heart of American culture and show biz for a daring cavalcade of slapstick, song and dance, and burlesque as two best friends risk everything to make it to the top together."  Here is a link to an article about early African-American theater in Chicago-
http://www.robertloerzel.com/2011/01/01/early-african-american-theater-in-chicago/

of course from the point of view of 2016 there was much that was disturbing in the play surrounding the issue of race- wish we could say it was all ancient history but it is just less obvious now-

the characters of Thaddeus and of Isabella are both wonderfully portrayed by the actors and extremely sympathetic and on that basis alone I would recommend seeing the play (before 7/17- when the current Isabella leaves and is replaced).  I found the ending logical (if somewhat abrupt) but Phil found it completely jarring.

Overall - a mild thumbs up - enthusiastic for the actors but less so for the structure of the play.  Next up - a post on one of the reasons we will always be Chicagoans - if only for part of the year...

everyone has one

no - it's not belly buttons LOL

and yes - that's right we all do, even if we ignore them or deny them or create them from whole cloth- we all have families... we came from two people and they each came from two people and so on and so on...

Last night's production of The Herd at Steppenwolf - hit Phil's sweet spot... he thought it was terrific. He said he hadn't seen anything as good since Clybourne Park. I found it very good but wasn't as enamored and would disagree with the length of time since we had seen anything this good.  I LOVED The City and the City (Lifeline) and  also loved Bill Nighy and Carrie Mulligan in Skylight and I had a (positive) visceral reaction to The North China Lover (Lookingglass) and found Chesapeake (Greg Matthew Anderson at Remy Bumppo) to be a masterwork. And, I was really engaged with Timeline's Concerning Strange Devices from the Distant West. I also enjoyed, in the more traditional vein, The Big Knife (Raven) and another family story Other Desert Cities.

Don't get me wrong - this was a very good play with excellent performances, but it was not pushing the boundaries and was very straightforward theater. The things I have really found memorable over time, have generally had elements outside the traditional multi-generational family story presented in The Herd.

Looking back over the last several years of theater, because we see many things over the course of a year, I see how many things are good (like The Herd) and some are bad (like Creditors, the Strindberg mess we saw a couple of years ago at Remy Bumppo) but only a few stand out in my memory after several years - and those are the ones I keep returning to in my thoughts again and again. And LOL frequently these are ones Phil will grumble to me "what the hell was that ABOUT?" He likes narrative - plain and straightforward... which is why I was much more taken by Title and Deed (Lookingglass) than he was.  I also find whimsy and off beat amusing and entertaining and he often harrumphs...

But the difference of opinions is what makes it all interesting and creates opportunities to see and hear different view points- so Phil gives this one a BIG thumbs up and I give it a moderate thumbs up (based on performances by Molly Regan and Lois Smith who were both terrific.)

so tonight it is another show - in a different media (film) and one I have seen and LOVED - we will see how Phil feels about this - "The End of the Tour"...

and we are trying a new restaurant as well- Knife & Tine - which is having a special James Beard Menu to celebrate James Beard week here in Chicago - the award ceremony was Monday at the Civic (Lyric) Opera House- here is the menu:

FIRST

Muesli Oyster, champagne granita, pickled celery 

Inspired by Erling Wu-Bower from Nico Osteria

SECOND

Rabbit and white asparagus terrine, fava beans, cremini mushrooms, hazelnuts, pickled garlic 

Inspired by Curtis Duffy from Grace

THIRD

Pork sausage, crispy sweetbreads, farro, beer jam, fennel and cherry kraut 

Inspired by Paul Virant from Vie

FOURTH

Lemon chamomile cheesecake, lemon curd, white chocolate crumble 

Inspired by Andrew Zimmerman from Sepia

so we will report back on this in due course- and tomorrow is - 

which we managed to squeeze in during its last week of presentation before they move n to Tapas...

a question of genius

way back decades ago when I first moved to Chicago there was a homeless woman who frequented the Gold Coast area where my apartment was located.  she would make money to live on by selling her art work. these simple drawings had a great deal of charm but I would not call them works of genius... but then what is genius?

One way of defining genius would be when the "genius" sees things we all see and yet sees more than we do or something else than we do or has some deeper understanding of the nature of "life, the universe, and everything" (L, tU & E) to copy a phrase from a comic genius Douglas Adams.

I hadn't thought about Lee Godie (the homeless artist) in years - everyone in the neighborhood knew her. Last night's play (Title & Deed) reminded me of her, in that I think the one and only character (who might or might not have been homeless) had moments of genius interspersed with moments of lunacy. Perhaps this is "apriori" to genius to some degree.

The Michael Patrick Thornton performance was undeniably brilliant - so brilliant I kept wanting to enter into a conversation with the character he played, the Traveler.  The character made so many interesting observations about "L tU & E" - about the meaning of home, the search for home, the nature of family, of traveling, of seeking. Unfortunately these observations of genius were interspersed with the lunacy of sentences like "the ritual gargling with sand for my third birthday" - such that I felt I had fallen into the Dadaist universe of Travesties from two nights earlier...

The last two sentences above ring 100% true- this was a brilliant performance- it wasn't even really a performance he so inhabited the character he WAS the character....

so here is the thing- I frequently wanted to laugh (and did so mostly into my hand) because I found some of the dialogue so outrageous and ludicrous- there was one point where he goes on and on about a field of shorn sheep and a couple of cows all facing in the same direction huddled together in the snow- yeah... right... remain calm buddy - time for the medication. but then he would say something so brilliant - it was a kind of razor's edge - genius and lunacy...

in the end - I found it painful - so much to talk about and so little opportunity to have the discussion...
so I find myself unable to give a thumbs up or thumbs down because this one is out beyond that kind of review. I found myself wondering if reading the script would give me a better understanding, but then again maybe not...

anyway to bring things full circle- I never considered Lee Godie an artistic genius but apparently others did because she has a wikipedia entry  LOL -

Lee Godie (born Jamot Emily Godee; September 1, 1908 – March 4, 1994) was an American self-taught artist who was active in Chicago during the late 1960s until around the early 1990s. She was a prolific artist who was known for her paintings and modified photos which are shown in galleries and museums such as the Hayward Gallery in London and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. She is often considered Chicago's most collected artist.

Lee Godie was notoriously wary of divulging personal information about herself. She was married twice and had four children. It was possible that she had once wanted to be a singer, but wasn't allowed by one of her husbands. Following the death of two of her children, her life was transformed and Godie reinvented herself as an artist in Chicago. Godie remained in downtown Chicago for almost a 30-year period, becoming a facet of the social milieu during that time.

Godie lived on the streets, sleeping outdoors or in transient hotels. She could be seen sleeping outdoors in sub-zero temperatures, "on a concrete bench...clutching her large black portfolio case." Living outdoors seemed to be by choice, since she had quite a lot of money saved and did not seem to enjoy being indoors.

Godie had a unique fashion style and could be seen wearing different swatches of fabric wrapped around herself or fur coats that were pieced together. She also used her own paint to transform her own personal image, painting "big orange circles over each cheek" and painted-on eyeshadow.

so maybe (and clearly the answer for some is YES) she was an artistic genius- but I did not find her art to be such-  Here are some examples from the internet...

here she is- when I was running into her she looked like the photo n the upper right hand -

so it is a question of genius... what is it? who has it? and how can it be differentiated from lunacy? and I do not have the answers but appreciate those whose seek them...

next up The Herd at Steppenwolf...

and then we will also squeeze in another work about genius - this one- my favorite film from the Sarasota Film Festival about the (IMHO) genius David Foster Wallace... (see - http://blog.semifreelife.com/2015/04/competition-blown-away.html )

So as always- stay tuned!!!

far from a travesty

So last night we kicked off round two (the spring semester) of the Chicago theater season.  Because of our winters away we end up with a sandwich of Sarasota theater in the middle of two ends of Chicago theater.  And yet, because the theater season in Chicago is drawing to a close we have a very full week of catching up to do...

Our first play this week was Travesties by Tom Stoppard. Stoppard won an Academy award for Shakespeare in Love and its brilliance shows up in early form here.  I will go on with more information from the theater and then give you our reviews after that - so you have the background for our two views...

and they were hawking subscriptions to next years productions - which we already have signed up for-  with the exception of the Noel Coward :-( which is while we are away- in NYC/Cuba/FL

so here are our thumbnail reviews- I liked it very much - found it witty and fast paced and I loved the fun the actors were having with the material- especially the two male leads - Greg Matthew Anderson (the amazing Jeff winner for Chesapeake from a couple of years back - a tour-de-force of a one man show) and Jeff Cummings - with a shout out to James Houton.  They were respectively the Dadaist, the civil servant and Joyce.  The ladies in their Wilde-esque roles also added verve to the evening's entertainment.  Phil found it mildly amusing but had no time for the inherent "discussion" of what is art - especially in relation to the "modern- shock of the new"...  So I would give it a solid thumbs up and Phil a tepid one.

Up next, in order - for theater evenings-

Sunday-

the Tuesday play- with John Mahoney-

the Wednesday outing- my favorite film from the Sarasota Film Festival- playing one night in Chicago.

the Thursday dinner-

and Friday dinner with friends-

so more as the week progresses.... and then we are off to see family and friends in NYC before heading to Europe for two weeks.... lots to report back on... stay tuned