ACT OUT HOLIDAY: A Q BROTHERS’ CHRISTMAS CAROL NOVEMBER 30–DECEMBER 22, 2013 (ages 12+)

CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER INVITES AUDIENCES 

TO A SNEAK PREVIEW OF A NEW WORK-IN-PROGRESS

A Q BROTHERS’ CHRISTMAS CAROL

NOVEMBER 30–DECEMBER 22, 2013

Othello: The Remix Featured at Sydney Festival January 2014

ChiIL out with Jeff Award winning Chi-town favorites, The Q Brothers!  They've infused Shakespeare and other classics with fresh new breath and engaged a younger audience with edgier productions, hip-hop and comedic genius.   We can't wait to see their take on A Christmas Carol!

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) and hip-hop sensations the Q Brothers are back at it again turning up the volume with a fresh take on a beloved classic. The Q Brothers and CST Creative Producer Rick Boynton have come together to develop A Q Brothers’ Christmas Carol—a hip-hop reinterpretation of the perennial holiday favorite by Charles Dickens. Now, alongside Chicago theaters’ familiar renditions of this heartwarming tale, audiences will participate in the creation of an energized, reinvented tradition. Work-in-progress performances of A Q Brothers’ Christmas Carol will run in the theater Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare, November 30–December 22, 2013.

A Q Brothers’ Christmas Carol is being created between stops of the Q Brothers’ international whirlwind tour of the award-winning Othello: The Remix, which will travel to Australia in January to be featured in the line-up of the highly regarded Sydney Festival 2014. Premiering at Shakespeare’s Globe for the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad’s ‘Globe to Globe’ festival, Othello: The Remix has toured to festival venues around the world, playing to sold-out houses of multi-generational and culturally diverse audiences in Edinburgh, Germany, South Korea and London. Its extended five-month Chicago engagement broke records for Chicago Shakespeare’s longstanding CST for $20 program for patrons under 35 years of age. 

Written and performed by GQ, JQ, Jackson Doran and Postell Pringle, A Q Brothers’ Christmas Carol takes on the cherished holiday tale and wrestles it from its sacred roots with irreverence, an array of music styles, and a lot of heart. Just as hip-hop borrows from many genres, the story will be underscored with beats spun live by DJ Super Nova at the turntables, mashing up everything from reggae and dancehall music, to futuristic dubstep and epic rock ballads. Audiences will recognize familiar characters like Ebenezer Scrooge with his erotic passion for money, a Jamaican Jacob Marley, and the most pitiful Cratchit, Lil’ Tim. The time-traveling Ghosts take Scrooge on a voyage through the hip-hop ages–decade by decade from past to present to future–documenting the still-evolving musical art form. This new holiday treat will prove to be as cheeky, intelligent and street smart as audiences have come to expect from the Q Brothers.

A Q Brothers’ Christmas Carol design team includes Scenic and Costume Designer Scott Davis, Lighting Designer Jesse Klug and Wig and Make-up Designer Melissa Veal. Properties Master Amy Peter and Choreographer Anacron complete the creative team. Written by GQ, JQ, Jackson Doran and Postell Pringle and developed with Rick Boynton, A Q Brothers’ Christmas Carol is presented in association with Richard Jordan Productions Ltd.

WORK-IN-PROGRESS PRESENTATIONS

November 30–December 22, 2013

Tuesdays–Fridays @ 7:30 p.m.

Saturdays @ 6:00 p.m. & 8:30 p.m.

   (on 11/30, 8:30 p.m. only)

Sundays @ 3:00 p.m.

Ticket Prices

Tickets on sale now for $20-$35

CST for $20 tickets for patrons under 35 years old.

All patrons receive a 40% discount on guaranteed parking in Navy Pier garages.

Recommended for audiences age 12 & up.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Box Office: 312.595.5600

www.chicagoshakes.com

Programming in the Carl and Marilynn Thoma Theater Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare

is made possible through generous support from Hyatt Hotels Corporation

Escape From Planet Earth Opens 2/15! #review #giveaway

Family movie night can be a great escape.   And we just saw one that's out of this world!    With major name power on the voices, a witty script, and sweet visuals, Escape from Planet Earth is just the ticket to beat the winter blahs and have some family fun.

ChiIL Mama caught a sneak peek at Escape from Planet Earth, the Weinstein Company's latest animated 3D feature, opening nationwide on February 15th.  I took a set of reviewers with me who are 9, 10 & 11 respectively and included boys and girls.   They all thought the movie was hilarious and they had a blast!   It's action packed, has character and characters, and has a great overall message.

It's refreshing when the smart and peaceful prevail over megalomaniacs with revenge fantasies.  I though the social media quips, and creative black and white retro clips were fresh and fun.  And the insinuation that search engines, social networks, cell phones, and more were alien technology we stole, is an amusing premise.

We love that the stay at home mom IS a rocket scientist, and kicks some serious booty, the nerd has the girl, and kids are not underestimated.   Sometimes even superheroes need to be team players.   Brains can trump arms.   And the scrawny can rescue the brawny.  Check it out yourself.

ChiIL out with ChiIL Mama--WIN a rockin' Movie-Goers goodie bag

which includes popcorn, candy and a $25 gift card for our winner to use towards a movie night out at Escape from Planet Earth!  

Goody bag sweet treats

Thanks to The Weinstein Co, for providing this sweet giveaway to our readers and for comping us press tickets to review an advanced screening.

Click Rafflecopter below to enter to win:


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Escape From Planet Earth

The 3D animated family comedy catapults moviegoers to planet Baab where admired astronaut Scorch Supernova (Brendan Fraser) is a national hero to the blue alien population.  A master of daring rescues, Scorch pulls off astonishing feats with the quiet aid of his nerdy, by-the-rules brother, Gary (Rob Corddry), head of mission control at BASA.  When BASA’s no-nonsense chief Lena (Jessica Alba) informs the brothers of an SOS from a notoriously dangerous planet, Scorch rejects Gary’s warnings and bounds off for yet another exciting mission.  But when Scorch finds himself caught in a fiendish trap set by the evil Shanker (William Shatner) it’s up to scrawny, risk-averse Gary to do the real rescuing.  As the interplanetary stakes rise to new heights, Gary is left to save his brother, his planet, his beloved wife Kira (Sarah Jessica Parker) and their adventure-hungry son Kip (Jonathan Morgan Heit).

To learn more, please visit Escape Earth Movie here for free games, video clips, photos and more.

To elevate the viewing experience, you can also download the free “Escape From Planet Earth” Movie App that is available for iOS and for Android here.

Valentine Fun:

You can print these free downloadable valentines from your home computer.  ChiIL Mama's stoked to premiere these funny valentines.

Educational Fun:

Click here for spacey fun facts that'll have your interplanetary IQ soaring

  

Disclosure:   This is a sponsored post.   Big thanks to The Weinstein Co. for providing us with review tickets for our family and the giveaway items mentioned above!  

ChiIL Live Shows Streaming California Wives Art History HERE In Entirety #tour dates #album release Lincoln Hall 9/12

Check out Chicago's own new-wave quartet California Wives, upcoming debut full length Art History, arriving on September 4 via Vagrant.  Working with producer Claudius Mittendorfer (Interpol, Neon Indian, Wild Nothing), Art History is eleven tracks presenting a cohesive gallery of modern-day pop portraits framed with a retro '80s fit.



Art History tracklisting: 
1. Blood Red Youth 
2. Tokyo 
3. Marianne 
4. The Fisher King 
5. Los Angeles 
6. Photolights 
7. Purple 
8. Better Home 
9. Twenty Three 
10. The New Process 
11. Light Year 

Their album release party is 9/12 at Lincoln Hall, the guys will support the LP on a nationwide tour with STARS and Diamond Rings this September and October.

California Wives on tour:
9/20 - Portland, ME - Port City Music Hall
9/21 - Boston, MA - Paradise
9/22 - New York, NY - Webster Hall
9/23 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
9/25 - Charlottesville, VA - Jefferson Theater
9/26 - Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
9/27 - Charlotte, NC - Visulite Theatre
9/28 - Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
9/29 - Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge
10/2 - Louisville, KY - Headliners Music Hall
10/3 - Cincinnati, OH - 20th Century Theatre
10/4 - Indianapolis, IN - Deluxe @ Old National Centre
10/5 - St. Louis, MO - Plush
10/6 - Columbia, MO - The Blue Note
10/9 - Lawrence, KS - The Bottleneck
10/10 - Tulsa, OK - Cain's Ballroom
10/11 - Little Rock, AR - Revolution Music Room
10/12 - Houston, TX - Fitzgerald's Upstairs
10/13 - Dallas, TX - Granada Theatre
10/17 - San Diego, CA - House of Blues
10/18 - Los Angeles, CA - Mayan Theater
10/19 - Santa Cruz, CA - Rio Theatre
10/20 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore


*All dates with Stars and Diamond Rings 

Facebook: http://facebook.com/californiawivesTwitter: http://twitter.com/californiawives

Website: http://californiawives.com 

Wed.SEP122012

California Wives (Record Release)

Santah

Deserters

Wednesday, September 12 2012 8:00 PM
18+ $10.00

“I felt like I was asleep for years,” says California Wives’ lead vocalist / keyboardist Jayson Kramer of his decision in 2009 to leave behind a promising career in medicine for a professional go at music. Jayson's first experience with music began at age 6, playing classical piano up until he was 16. Along the way he started writing songs as hobby, taking influence from bands like The Smashing Pumpkins and Oasis, and later electronic music such as Autechre and Aphex Twin. The hobby continued through his undergrad years at Boston University as a pre-med student until, "a weird thing happened when I finished my MCAT and all the studying stopped. I was completely honest with myself for the first time in my life and recognized that I had no desire to go on to medical school. This is when I took a more serious turn toward music, which is something I realized I should have been doing all along." Around this time he moved back to his hometown of Chicago where he was introduced to drummer Joe O'Connor and bassist Dan Zima, who had be playing together since high school. 

MORE

Tags | 18+ | Follow | @californiawives | @LincolnHall