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Saturday, February 23, 2013

ACT OUT OPENING TONIGHT: Philip Glass’ The Fall of the House of Usher 4 Shows Only



#3 – Suzan Hanson as Madeline and Ryan MacPherson as Roderick 
All photos by Keith Ian Polakoff, courtesy of Long Beach Opera.

 Chicago Opera Theater presents the Chicago Premiere of
THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER
By Philip Glass

The Chicago Opera Theater opens its 2013 season, the inaugural season of new general director Andreas Mitisek, with Philip Glass’ The Fall of the House of Usher, in four performances only February 27-March 1 This gothic tale of suspense, horror and the supernatural is based on a story by Edgar Allen Poe.  

ChiIL Live Shows will be there...will YOU?!   We've been promoting this production for months and it's finally here.   We'll be reviewing opening night, tonight, and can't wait.   We heard two numbers at a sneak peek at Facets Multimedia last weekend featuring the film, Koyaanisqatsi, with a score also by Philip Glass.   They had me at "goth-punk moving men"--four of my fav words all in one character description!

Andreas Mitisek Takes Audiences to the Edge of Madness in
His First Season as Chicago Opera Theater’s General Director

Philip Glass’ The Fall of the House of Usher, a gothic horror story which blurs the line between the real world and the supernatural, opens Chicago Opera Theater's 2013 Season, titled “Power of Love, Love of Power.”  This is Andreas Mitisek's inaugural season as General Director of Chicago Opera Theater since assuming the position in June 2012.  

Glass' haunting 1987 score for Edgar Allan Poe's macabre masterpiece, with lyrics by Arthur Yorinks, provides the perfect backdrop for this nightmarish journey to the edge of madness.  The Fall of the House of Usher, taking place at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph Drive, runs for four performances only: Saturday, February 23 at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, February 24 at 3 p.m., Wednesday, February 27 at 7:30 p.m. and Friday, March 1 at 7:30 p.m.  



#1 – Lee Gregory as William, Nicholas Shelton as the Servant, 
Ryan MacPherson as Roderick 



The Fall of the House of Usher is a co-production with Long Beach Opera (LBO), whose production opens January 27.  An opera in two acts, The Fall of the House of Usher takes the audience deep into the eerie realm of the House of Usher.  When William receives a letter from his long lost friend Roderick Usher, apparently suffering from illness and requesting William’s presence, he journeys to the sinister mansion where Roderick and his twin sister Madeline live as the last of the Usher bloodline.  At first William tries to aid his friend by reminding Roderick of his passion for art, music and literature, but William soon becomes swallowed up in a world where the border separating real and supernatural is blurred, and paranoia then takes control.  Taken from one of Edgar Allan Poe’s most popular tales, this unsettling story explores the line between truth and imagination, all set against Glass' haunting and suspenseful music.  COT has also performed Glass’ opera Akhnaten in 2000.

“Our 2013 Season emphasizes the tension between the power of love and the love of power,” explains Mitisek, who conducts both the COT and LBO performances.  “The Fall of the House of Usher is about internal and external collapsing worlds.  Glass’ music suspends reality and time, hypnotizing us on this journey to the edge of sanity.  It’s a 90-minute psychological roller coaster ride.”

Ken Cazan returns to COT to direct Usher after directing the acclaimed Death in Venice (2004), Bluebeard’s Castle (2007), Erwartung (2007) and Shining Brow (1997).  He is the Resident Stage Director for the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California.  One of America’s most sought-after directors, he has directed more than 100 productions for more than 40 opera companies, including the Santa Fe Opera, Central City Opera, Atlanta Opera, and Seattle Opera, among others.  Of Usher, Cazan says, “Things are rarely what they seem in Gothic horror tales.  What on the surface feels like a tragic and spooky story (which it is), instinctively, upon the first hearing and reading of Glass’ opera, felt like something very different to me.  William feels an unusual sense of passion for Roderick, whom he hasn’t seen since childhood.  William very forcefully speaks of taking Roderick away, of saving him.  And what of Madeleine, Roderick’s ailing ‘identical’ twin sister?  In the opera, William hears her without seeing her.  Does she really exist?”

TICKETS
The Fall of the House of Usher runs for four performances February 23, 24, 27, and March 1 at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park.  Individual tickets to are on saleJanuary 21 and range from $45  $125.  Tickets may be purchased through Chicago Opera Theater at www.chicagooperatheater.org, by phone at 312-704-8414, or through the Harris Theater at www.harristheaterhicago.org and 312-334-7777.  COT offers half-off tickets to students in sections A, B, C and D. 

Subscriptions to all three operas in Chicago Opera Theater’s 2013 season are available through March 1 and prices range from $95  $356. Subscriptions include The Fall of the House of Usher, Astor Piazzolla’s María de Buenos Aires (April 20, 24, 26 and 28) and Giuseppe Verdi’s Joan of Arc (Giovanna d'Arco)(September 21, 25, 27 and 29).  New subscribers received 50% off in sections A, B and C. 





#2 – Lee Gregory as William, Ryan MacPherson as Roderick, 
Suzan Hanson as Madeline


CAST
COT DEBUT: Suzan Hanson (Madeline Usher) is a multi-faceted artist who combines work in opera and music-theater.  Her recent performances of Poulenc’s La Voix Humane was described as “fresh and forceful…[with] blazing dramatic fervor…” by The San Francisco Chronicle.  Hanson has performed with companies such as Arena di Verona, Arizona Opera, Carnegie Hall, Edinburgh, Long Beach Opera, Maggio Musicale (Florence), New Israeli Opera, Pittsburgh Opera Theater, and San Francisco Opera.  Often sought for new works, Hanson has originated many roles, including Hanako in Sound of a Voice.  She is a regular with LBO and has sung Pat Nixon in Nixon in China, Medea in Meda by Cherubini and Margarita inAinadamar by O. Golijov.  Hanson originated the role of Madeline in The Fall of the House of Usher in the World Premiere production by American Repertory Theater.

COT DEBUT: Lee Gregory (William) hails from Houston, Texas.  His recent performances include Silvio in I Pagliacci with Arizona Opera Company, Richard Nixon in Nixon in China with Eugene Opera, Schaunard in La bohème with Michigan Opera Theatre, and the title role in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Opera Theatre of the Rockies.  He reprises the role of William in COT’s production, having sung it with Nashville Opera.

COT DEBUT: Jonathan Mack (Physician) has performed over fifty roles during his eighteen seasons with the Los Angeles Opera, including Ferrando in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte, Kudrjas in Janacek’s Katya Kabanova, Quint in Britten’s Turn of the Screw, and Orpheus in Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld.  He has also worked with Netherlands Opera, Kentucky Opera, Vancouver Opera and Opera Columbus.

COT DEBUT: Ryan MacPherson (Roderick Usher) sings this season with Virginia Opera as Alfred in Die Fledermaus and returns to the Buxton Festival as Horace in Gounod’s La colombeand Kornélis in Saint-Saëns’ La princesse jeune.  He has performed with Dayton Opera, Utah Opera, Portland Opera and Nashville Opera, among others.  With New York City Opera he created the role of Iff, the Water Genie, in Wuorinen’s Haroun and the Sea of Stories.

COT DEBUT: Nick Shelton (Servant) has garnered unanimous accolades for his dark, piercing voice, refined musicianship, and commanding stage presence.  Recent season highlights include Jose Tripaldi in Golijov's Ainadamar with Long Beach Opera, of which Gazettes.com raved “that is some terrific voice!” and called him “a name to remember.”

CREATIVE TEAM
COT DEBUT: Set designer Alan E. Muraoka has been working in the entertainment industry as a production designer and art director for film and television, as well as a theatrical set designer for over 25 years.  He has been honored with two Emmy® Award nominations and three Art Directors’ Guild Award nominations.  His design credits include Dirty Girl andBaadAsssss!  He has collaborated with Mitisek at Long Beach Opera, designing Ricky Ian Gordon’s Orpheus and Euridice, staged in an Olympic swimming pool, and an opera adaptation ofThe Diary of Anne Frank staged in an underground parking garage. 

Costume designer Jacqueline Saint Anne is an Emmy Award-winning costume designer and former President of the Costume Designers Guild.  Saint Anne returns to COT with The Fall of the House of Usher, having debuted with Owen Wingrave in 2010.  This also marks Saint Anne’s second production with Long Beach Opera, where she debuted with The Cunning Little Vixen in 2009.  With Ken Cazan, she has designed for the Thornton Opera at USC: Don Giovanni, Gianni Schicchi, Three Decembers, The Rape of Lucretia and Summer and Smoke, among others.

COT DEBUT: Lighting designer David Martin Jacques’ collaborations with director Cazan include The Fall of the House of Usher with Long Beach Opera, West Side Story with the Vancouver Opera Company, and A Little Night Music, Gianni Schicchi, Oklahoma! and Seven Deadly Sins with Central City Opera.  Jacques also serves as Professor of Theatre and Head of Stage Design at California State University Long Beach.

Mitisek’s work as director, designer and conductor for site-specific productions in parking garages, swimming pools, night clubs and warehouses has become a successful hallmark of his work with Long Beach Opera, and he anticipates incorporating such innovative projects into the COT repertoire.  In addition to being named “LA Tastemaker” by LA Times Magazine in 2009and highlighted as one of “2012 People” by LA Weekly, in 2012 Mitisek was named by Opera News as one of the 25 people that will be a major force in the field of opera in the coming decade.  Recent LBO credits as director, designer and conductor include Golijov’s Ainadamar, Piazzolla’s Maria de Buenos Aires (which will be the second production of COT’s 2013 season), Lang’s Difficulty of Crossing a Field, Cherubini’s Medea and Glass’ Akhnaten. 

ABOUT PHILIP GLASS
Through his operas, his symphonies, his compositions for his own ensemble, and his wide-ranging collaborations with artists ranging from Twyla Tharp to Allen Ginsberg, Woody Allen to David Bowie, Philip Glass has had an extraordinary and unprecedented impact upon the musical and intellectual life of his times.  His operas – Einstein on the Beach, Satyagraha,Akhnaten and The Voyage, among many others – play throughout the world’s leading houses.  Glass has written music for experimental theater and for Academy Award-winning motion pictures such as “The Hours” and Martin Scorsese’s “Kundun.”  He was born in 1937, grew up in Baltimore, and studied at the University of Chicago, the Juilliard School and in Aspen with Darius Milhaud.

ABOUT CHICAGO OPERA THEATER
Founded in 1974 by Alan Stone, Chicago Opera Theater has carved a significant place for itself in the operatic life of Chicago and has reached an audience of hundreds of thousands through its main stage performances, community engagement, education programs in Chicago Public Schools, as well as its renowned Young Artist Program.  Chicago Opera Theater presents first-class productions of operatic repertoire, ranging from the great works of the 17th, 18th and 20th centuries to intimate and innovative contemporary productions by top-tier, internationally renowned conductors, directors and designers.

PROGRAM INFO
Philip Glass
THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER
February 23, 24, 27, and March 1 at the Harris Theater for Music & Dance

Book by Arthur Yorinks and Philip Glass
Based on the Story by Edgar Allan Poe
Lyrics by Arthur Yorinks 

Conductor:                                            ANDREAS MITISEK
Director:                                               KEN CAZAN
Set Designer:                                       ALAN E. MURAOKA
Costume Designer:                               JACQUELINE SAINT ANNE
Lighting Designer:                                DAVID JACQUES

Sung in English with English supertitles.

Role                                                     Cast (Alphabetical)                                          
Madeline Usher (Soprano)                     SUZAN HANSON 
William (Baritone)                                 LEE GREGORY 
Physician (Tenor)                                 JONATHAN MACK
Roderick Usher (Tenor)                        RYAN MACPHERSON
Servant (Bass-Baritone)                                    NICHOLAS SHELTON 

GOTH-PUNK MOVING MEN:  Joshua Banks, Curtis Bannister, Nathan Gardner, Jamal Howard, Matt Messina, Jordan Phelps, Will Snyder.

The Fall of the House of Usher is generously supported by Orli & Bill Staley and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

For more information on the Chicago Opera Theater and its programs please visit www.chicagooperatheater.org.


TONIGHT: Led Zeppelin 2 LIVE at House of Blues (17+) #originalshowshots



ChiIL Live Shows will be there...will YOU?!   Check back like we vote in Chi, IL... for photo and video filled recaps, music news, free downloads and more.   

Tonight, we can't wait to check out Chi-town's own LZ2 performing The Song Remains The Same!   Highly recommended.



Click here to check out our past LZ2 reviews/coverage.

Tonight:
Led Zeppelin 2 - A Tribute to Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin 2 - A Tribute to Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin 2 - A Tribute to Led Zeppelin concert tickets for the show at House of Blues Chicago
Saturday 02/23/2013
Doors: 07:30 PM
Show: 09:00 PM
Prices:
$23.00 - GA - Advanced
$25.00 - GA - Day of Show
Ages: 17+

House of Blues Chicago
329 N. Dearborn
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 923-2000
 Driving Directions

Headlining Artist:
Led Zeppelin 2 - A Tribute to Led Zeppelin
Additional Info:
• tickets subject to all applicable facility fees and service charges
• applicable fees and charges apply to all ticket sales
• NO REFUNDS / EXCHANGES / CANCELLATION



All signs point to the House of Blues for concert tickets, great food and special events.




Friday, February 22, 2013

TONIGHT: Nashville Pussy LIVE at Reggies #originalshowshots



Nashville Pussy LIVE at Reggies Rock Club 11-7-2011

ChiIL Live Shows will be there...will YOU?!   We've shot these guys a couple times before and they do shine LIVE.   Come on out for what's sure to be a rockin' good time with wickedly witty lyrics and sexy guitar riffs.   Then check back like we vote in Chi, IL...early and often for our photo filled recap.

Check out more of our past Nashville Pussy coverage here, including our original photo filled features from an earlier Reggies show and Chi-Town's Bottom Lounge.


Tonight:

Yeah, yeah I know there's potentially record setting hockey in the works for tonight--We love you Blackhawks!!   But we'll be recording the game and heading out to Reggies for some kick ass live music instead.






 NASHVILLE PUSSY
True rock n’ roll doesn’t require definition. It’s self-explanatory based on a gut feeling and the unconditional devotion to the musical genre. Nashville Pussy have celebrated their brand of genuine rock n’ roll for more than a decade, in classic style at times, surprising at others, but always earthy, raw and unadulterated. Band mastermind Blaine Cartwright (vocals, guitar), his wife Ruyter Suys (guitar), Karen Cuda (bass) and Jeremy Thompson (drums) poured their heart and soul into the latest rock release, entitled From Hell To Texas, which saw the band hone their most impressive recording to date alongside the non stop touring, from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Europe, Japan, and almost a year straight with the Reverend Horton Heat, “We allowed ourselves this time to give the songs the chance to turn out as perfect as possible,” Cartwright explains. “We kept playing the new tracks at our rehearsal room until they really clicked. I feel they’re heavier and grittier than previous releases. The whole creative process took three long years, but the result has been worth the trouble.”
Their songs are mostly about fun and good times, but occasionally – as in the case of ‘Late Great USA’ – they also stick the finger into an open wound. “Although Blaine’s comical and satyrical themes mostly prevail on From Hell To Texas, there are two or three numbers which deal with more serious subjects. ‘Late Great USA’ is a political song, we simply had to vent our anger at certain grievances in this country.”

TONIGHT: Swedish Metal Band Meshuggah Rock HOB Chicago (all ages) #originalshowshots



ChiIL Live Shows--Meshuggah at House of Blues, Chicago 5/15/2012





ChiIL Live Shows caught their show last May at Chicago HOB, and they were excellent.   Highly recommended if you dig extreme, genre jumping, experimental metal!




Sweden has the most metal bands per capita in the world!  

And these Swedes know how to bring it LIVE.   They've played world tours for years and show no signs of stopping soon.   














Chi-town metal fans are world class and HOB Chicago is sweet venue for shows, with great sound.












Scion Presents: Meshuggah
Scion Presents: Meshuggah
Scion Presents: Meshuggah concert tickets for the show at House of Blues Chicago
Friday 02/22/2013
Doors: 06:00 PM
Show: 07:00 PM 
Prices: 
$27.50 - GA - Advanced by Section
$30.00 - GA - Day Of by Section
Ages: all

House of Blues Chicago
329 N. Dearborn
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 923-2000
 Driving Directions

Headlining Artist:

Meshuggah

Other Artists at this Event:

Event Info:

Lineup:
Meshuggah
Animals as Leaders
Intronaut

*All support acts are subject to change without notice

Additional Info:

• tickets subject to all applicable facility fees and service charges
• applicable fees and charges apply to all ticket sales
• NO REFUNDS / EXCHANGES / CANCELLATION
Listen to Meshuggah Songs




All signs point to the House of Blues for concert tickets, great food and special events.



Check out Meshuggah's main site here for more info.

Heard their latest release from 2012?





Tour dates:


Meshuggah  Metaltown!
2/20/2013
Meshuggah is doing their only Swedish festival appearance this summer at Metaltown!
Get your tickets here!



Meshuggah - Devin Townsend Project
2/2/2013
Meshuggah and Devin Townsend Project coheadlining the Brixton Academy in London May the 3rd!
Don't miss this!!
Get your ticket HERE as they will surely run out fast!



2013 European Tour Dates!
12/26/2012
2nd slithering of The Ophidian Trek tour through Europe is starting April 21st.
Check Alive for ticket links or go to theMeshuggah Facebook for more info!



2013 North American Tour!
11/28/2012
North American headlining tour with support acts Animals As Leaders and Intronaut starting February 11 in Orlando FL.
Advanced presale tickets & V.I.P bundles are available via Artist Arena.
Check Alive or the Meshuggah Facebook for further info on dates!
Tickets will go on sale through normal ticketing outlets on Friday, November 30th.



Meshuggah Announce 2013 Scandinavian Tour!
11/15/2012
MESHUGGAH will be taking their sonic arsenal and production that has already bulldozed UK and USA to Scandinavia on “The Ophidian Trek” tour, which launches April 18th in Seinäjoki, Finland. Support acts are to be announced.
Tickets will be released Friday 16th of November, please visit Meshuggah's sites and the Alive section for details.



Brutal Assault Festival 2013!   
10/16/2012
Yes, Meshuggah is coming back to the lovely Brutal Assault Festival in 2013! 


Wednesday, February 20, 2013

ACT OUT EXTENDED: The Aliens at Red Orchid #Review




DUE TO TICKET DEMAND,
A RED ORCHID THEATRE EXTENDS THE CHICAGO PREMIERE OF
THE ALIENS

Playwright, Annie Baker knows how to get inside your head.  She's not afraid of pauses, lengthy silence and OCD rants designed to make the audience squirm.   And once her plays get under your skin, they stay there.   Come see the highly recommended Chi-town premiere of The Aliens, now extended due to high ticket demand.   

ChiIL Live Shows caught opening night and we were blown away.  Context makes a huge difference in perception and pacing is everything.   If someone sits in meditation as a monk, they're revered and respected.   If someone does the same behind a dumpster, they're a bum.  A highly ritualized tea ceremony performed for enlightenment is derelict or desired, just because the who and where changes.   The Aliens truly takes you on a deep, tangent filled journey with it's troubled trio of entirely endearing characters.

This familiar journey of failed musicians, writers and intellectuals unfolds in a "secret garden" of barren land, behind the stinking dumpsters of the Green Sheep Coffee House.   It's striking and perfect that the friends hang out in back by choice, since they hate the conventional music and vibe inside.   They choose instead to create their own space, and rituals, mentally and physically, in the land outside.

We highly recommend catching The Aliens.   You'll never hear the word ladder the same way again.


The Chicago Premiere of
The Aliens
by Annie Baker
Directed by Artistic Associate Shade Murray
Featuring Ensemble Member Steve Haggard with Brad Akin and Michael Finley.

January 17-March 16, 2013
Shows Thursday-Saturday at 8:00pm and Sunday at 3:00pm

or call the box office at (312) 943-8722

A Red Orchid Theatre announces new performance dates for its hit Chicago Premiere production of Annie Baker’s The Aliens, directed by Shade Murray.  Due to high ticket demand, the production is now extended through Saturday, March 16, 2013 at A Red Orchid Theatre, 1531 N. Wells. Tickets for the two-week extension are now on sale through the box office, (312) 943-8722 and www.aredorchidtheatre.org.

All day every day, two slackers hang out behind a coffee shop by the dumpsters.  These guys have elevated loitering to an almost Buddhist “tea ceremony” level, where music, Bukowski, sex, travel, philosophy, friendship, and ambition - or lack thereof - are intensely meditated upon while the busy world rushes by.  Enter a 17 year-old barista-cum-disciple, and so begins a summer where no one moves but everything changes. 

The Aliens features A Red Orchid Ensemble Member Steve Haggard (Jasper), with Brad Akin (KJ), and Michael Finley (Evan).

Title:               The Aliens
Written by:        Annie Baker
Directed by:      Artistic Associate Shade Murray
Featuring:         Ensemble Member Steve Haggard, with Brad Akin and Michael Finley
Dates:              
                                    Regular Run:               January 22 – March 3, 2013
           
EXTENSION:   Now extended through Saturday, March 16, 2013.

Schedule:         Thursdays:                  8:00 p.m.
                        Fridays:                       8:00 p.m.
                        Saturdays:                   8:00 p.m.         
Sundays:                     3:00 p.m.

Location:          A Red Orchid Theatre, 1531 N. Wells Ave.
Tickets:            $15 previews, $25-$30 regular run.  ($25 Thurs, $30 Fri-Sun),
$50 Red Night Opening & Reception on January 25 at 8 p.m.
Box Office:       Located at 1531 N. Wells Ave, Chicago, (312) 943-8722; or online www.aredorchidtheatre.org

About A Red Orchid
Since 1993 A Red Orchid Theatre has been an artistic mainstay of the Chicago theatre community; known and praised for its powerful ensemble, creative design and its gripping, intimate productions.  The resident Ensemble maintains the conviction that passionately committed theatre will draw passionately committed audiences, and the 2012-2013 subscription season promises to bring Ensemble and audience even closer together.

A Red Orchid Theatre is: Lance Baker, Dado, Jennifer Engstrom, Kirsten Fitzgerald, Joseph Fosco, Steve Haggard, Mierka Girten, Larry Grimm, Karen Kawa, Karen Kessler, Danny McCarthy, Brett Neveu, Michael Shannon, Guy Van Swearingen, Doug Vickers, Natalie West and Craig Wright.

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