OPENING: TOKEN AT SECOND CITY TRAINING CENTER'S JUDY'S BEAT LOUNGE 5/19-6/9

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

TOKEN

KAYE WINKS' SOLO SHOW ABOUT BEING A LONE 

BLACK PERSON IN A WORLD OF WHITE, DEBUTS MAY 19-JUNE 9 AT SECOND CITY TRAINING CENTER'S JUDY'S BEAT LOUNGE

 

Kaye Winks has been a token black for as long as she can remember.

In her new one-woman show Token, Winks shares her hilarious and often cringe worthy adventures in being that lone black person in a world of white.

Through her colorful portrayals of family, friends, strangers and foes, Winks offers a comic and ironic look at what it's like to be the token black person.

But white people aren't her only target. Winks also casts a smart, funny and sometimes sobering lens on class clashes within the black community.

"Token is unapologetically un-PC, but it's fair in its political incorrectness because I pick on everyone equally," says Winks. "The show actually brings people together by 'telli ng it like it is.'"

Don't miss Winks' hilarious, 60-minute takedown of the race discussion through the voices and stories of 30 characters we've all met at some point in our lives.

Token, directed by Schoen Smith, will be presented Fridays May 19-June 9, 2017 at 7:30 p.m. at Judy's Beat Lounge at the Second City Training Center, 230 W. North Avenue, 2nd Floor, Chicago. 


Credit: Joel Maisonet

Tickets are $13. For tickets and information, visit secondcity.com or call
(312) 337-3992.


Token information
Kaye Winks has been a token black since the day she was born in Naperville, Illinois to black Republicans. Today she is a stage and screen actress, writer, part-time funny person and full-time cat person. Winks trained at the Moscow Art Theater's Stanislavsky School in association with the American Repertory Theater and Harvard University. Her improv training was at the Second City Chicago. She also studied physical comedy and clown with world-renowned French master teacher, Philippe Gaulier. She has been featured in national commercial and print campaigns for Honda, Sony and Hot Pockets among others. She has recently returned to Chicago following a six-year stint in LA.


Schoen Smith (director) is an actress, writer, producer and director. In March, she directed a sold-out, one-night only performance of Token as part of Collaboraction Theatre Company's Gender Breakdown Lounge series. She also premiered her original spoken word piece Hands Up at Collaboraction's 2016 PEACEBOOK Festival. Before moving to Chicago, she was Producing Director for DOMA Theatre Company in Los Angeles, and also produced the hit play Elevator in the inaugural Hollywood Fringe Festival. She is a co-producer on the award-winning documentary about homeless youth, American Street Kid, which won Best Social Impact Film at the Hollywood Film Festival and People's Choice Award and Power in Film Award at The Beloit International Film Festival this year. She is the Director of Development for Collaboraction and the VP of Development for Venture Hill Entertainment, LLC.

For more, visit kayewinks.com or follow Winks on Twitter and Instagram: @kayewinks #tokenblack.

Celebrate Dizzy Gillespie Centennial One Night Only 5/20/17 With Chicago Jazz Orchestra

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

CHICAGO JAZZ ORCHESTRA CELEBRATES DIZZY GILLESPIE CENTENNIAL WITH DEFINITIVELY DIZZY, 

SATURDAY, MAY 20 

AT CHICAGO'S STUDEBAKER THEATER 

Dizzy Gillespie

The Chicago Jazz Orchestra, under the direction of Jeff Lindberg, will celebrate the centennial of Dizzy Gillespie with Definitively Dizzy, a live concert celebrating one of the greatest jazz trumpeters of all time. 

Definitively Dizzy is a one-night-only event, Saturday, May 20 at 7:30 p.m. at the newly renovated Studebaker Theater, 410 S. Michigan Ave. on the first floor of Chicago's historic Fine Arts Building. Tickets are $35 and $45. For tickets and information, visit chicagojazzorchestra.org or call (312) 753-3210.

Internationally known guest artists include two-time Grammy winner Roy Hargrove, one of the most innovative trumpeters in the world and a frequent performer at Chicago's Jazz Showcase. 

Marquis Hill, a rising young jazz star and winner of the 2014 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, is returning to his hometown, Chicago, to perform with the CJO in Definitively Dizzy. 

Also on the program is Walter White, a powerhouse player from Detroit.

Add the CJO Trumpet section - Danny Barber, Art Davis, Victor Garcia and Doug Scharf - for a Dizzy celebration that promises to be uniquely CJO, highlighted by universally loved Dizzy classics.

"The CJO will present an exciting and explosive celebration of Dizzy Gillespie's 100th year, focusing on his formidable big band repertoire. The performance will include such Gillespie classics as 'Salt Peanuts,' 'Manteca,' 'Groovin' High,' 'A Night In Tunisia,' 'Cool Breeze,' 'Things To Come,' 'Tour de Force,' ''Round Midnight' and many more. With soloists Roy Hargrove, Marquis Hill and Walter White, along with the regular CJO trumpet section, Definitively Dizzy promises to be one of Chicago's top jazz events of 2017."

"We're thrilled to be one of first music ensembles to perform in the Fine Art's Building's recently refurbished Studebaker Theater," added Travis Rosenthal, Executive Director, Chicago Jazz Orchestra. "The Studebaker is truly a hidden gem, and the ideal setting for a musical salute to one of the jazz greats of all time."

The newly renovated Studebaker Theater is on the first floor of 

Chicago's historic Fine Arts Building, 410 S. Michigan Ave.

Founded in 1978, the 17-piece Chicago Jazz Orchestra is Chicago's oldest professional jazz orchestra in continuous operation and one of the oldest jazz repertory orchestras in the country. As recently as 2015, Howard Reich of the Chicago Tribune cited the CJO as "one of the best big bands in the country." 

For more information, visit chicagojazzorchestra.org.

The Chicago Jazz Orchestra's concert Definitively Dizzy is supported by an NEA Art Works grant, and sponsored by Chicago Jazz Magazine, WDCB 90.9 FM, the Oppenheimer Family Foundation and Ray and Ann Rusnak.

About Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (1917-1993), along with Charlie Parker, ushered in the era of Be-Bop in the American jazz tradition. He left a legacy of goodwill and good humor that infused musicians and fans throughout the world with the genuine sense of jazz's ability to transcend national and ethnic boundaries. For this reason, Gillespie was and is an international treasure. 

Gillespie was born 100 years ago in Cheraw, South Carolina, the youngest of nine children. He began playing piano at age four and received a music scholarship to the Laurinburg Institute in North Carolina. Most noted for his trademark "swollen cheeks," Gillespie admitted to copying the style of trumpeter Roy Eldridge early in his career. 

Gillespie replaced Eldridge in the 'Teddy Hill' Band after Eldridge's departure. He eventually began experimenting and creating his own style which would eventually come to the attention of Mario Bauza, the Godfather of Afro-Cuban jazz who was then a member of the Cap Calloway Orchestra. Gillespie joined Calloway's band in 1939, but was famously fired after two years when he cut a portion of Calloway's backside with a knife after Calloway accused him of throwing spitballs. The two men later became lifelong friends and often retold this story with great relish.

Although noted for his on and off-stage clowning, Gillespie endured as one of the founding fathers of the Afro-Cuban and Latin Jazz tradition. Influenced by Bauza, he was able to fuse Afro-American jazz and Afro-Cuban rhythms to form a burgeoning CuBop sound. Indeed, many Latin jazz classics such as "Manteca," "A Night in Tunisia" and "Guachi Guaro [Soul Sauce]" were composed by Gillespie and his musical collaborators. 

About Chicago Jazz Orchestra
The Chicago Jazz Orchestra (chicagojazzorchestra.org) strives to develop and promote an appreciation for and understanding of music for the American jazz orchestra as it was originally conceived, performed and recorded by jazz master composers and soloists. 

The CJO is Chicago's oldest professional jazz orchestra in continuous operation and one of the oldest jazz repertory orchestras in the country. When Jeff Lindberg and the late Steve Jensen first came up with their big band concept in 1978 (founded as the Jazz Members Big Band), they could not have predicted the remarkable metamorphosis that has turned a group of first-call musicians into what is now known as the Chicago Jazz Orchestra, a 17-piece premiere jazz ensemble that has garnered both national and international recognition.

Conductor and Artistic Director Jeff Lindberg is one of the foremost transcribers in jazz. As a result, the orchestra's repertoire draws upon his vast library, which includes the works of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Benny Carter, Oliver Nelson, Ray Charles and many others. Because the CJO has its own transcriptions of the original recordings, much of the music presented in its concerts cannot be heard anywhere else. The CJO also performs compositions and arrangements by members of the CJO, including Associate Artistic Director Charles Harrison.

The CJO has served as the resident orchestra for the Kennedy Center Honors Supper Dance for more than 25 years. In 2006, the Orchestra performed before a sold-out audience at the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina. The CJO has toured Europe twice, including performances in Italy, Spain, Denmark and Sweden. The Orchestra has performed with such artists as Dizzy Gillespie, Nancy Wilson, Louis Bellson, Herbie Hancock, Jon Faddis, Kurt Elling, Jack McDuff, Kenny Burrell, and many more.

The orchestra performs at a wide variety of top venues across the Chicago area, from City Winery to the Spertus Institute. Merit School of Music is the orchestra's educational partner, including day-long clinics that culminate with students performing alongside members of the CJO, master classes led by renowned guest artists and open rehearsals. The CJO also provides complimentary concert tickets to underserved public school students and their families.

The CJO's recordings include Clark Terry and Jeff Lindberg's Chicago Jazz Orchestra: George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess (Americana Music, 2004), nominated "Jazz Album of The Year" by the Jazz Journalist's Association, and a rare "Five Star" rating by DownBeat magazine, which also named it one of the top recordings of the previous decade. It also made the annual "top CD's" lists of Jazz at Lincoln Center, Jazz Times and Jazz Education Journal. 

To celebrate its 35th anniversary in 2013, the CJO released Burstin' Out with vocalist Cyrille Aimée performing classic and original jazz arrangements. 

The CJO's newest release is the 2017 compilation Live from Space, with live recordings from the summer of 2016.


The newly renovated Studebaker Theater is on the first floor of 
Chicago's historic Fine Arts Building, 410 S. Michigan Ave.

OPENING: Genesis Theatrical Productions' "The Radiant" at the Athenaeum Theatre, Studio One 5/18-6/11

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

"The Radiant" 

by Shirley Lauro

Directed by Kaitlin Taylor

A play about Marie Curie

Opens May 18 at 7:30pm at the Athenaeum Theatre, Studio One
2936 N. Southport, Chicago

Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm
Sunday at 3pm
Production runs until June 11
Tickets are $30 with discounts for students, seniors and groups of 10 or more
Limited number of discounted tickets available on Goldstar and Hot Tix

For tickets call 773-935-6875 or go to

http://www.athenaeumtheatre.org

 A CHANGE IN OUR PLAY READING SERIES

"TWO LIGHTS" OR THE HOPPER PLAY ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED FOR MAY 16
WILL BE RESCHEDULED TO A LATER DATE
DETAILS COMING SOON

For information on Genesis Theatrical Productions go to our web page at
http://www.genesistheatricals.com

OPENING: BLACK PEARL: A TRIBUTE TO JOSEPHINE BAKER

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

BLACK ENSEMBLE THEATER CONTINUES 2017 SEASON WITH

THE WORLD PREMIERE MUSICAL

BLACK PEARL: A TRIBUTE TO 

JOSEPHINE BAKER

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY DARYL BROOKS

May 6 – June 18, 2017

Black Ensemble Theater Founder and CEO Jackie Taylor continue the 2017 Season (The Dance Theater Season) with the world premiere musical Black Pearl: A Tribute to Josephine Baker, written and directed by Black Ensemble Theater Associate Director Daryl Brooks. Black Pearl: A Tribute to Josephine Baker will be performed at the Black Ensemble Theater Cultural Center, 4450 N. Clark Street in Chicago, May 6 – June 18, 2017. 

Black Ensemble travels across the ocean to Oui Paris to tell the story of the one of the most dynamic performers the world has ever seen.  Black Pearl: The Story of Josephine Baker will take audiences through the life of the first black international superstar, beginning with her meager beginnings to the star power of one of the most iconic figures that the world has ever seen.

The cast of Black Pearl: The Story of Josephine Baker features Joan Ruffin as Older Josephine, Aerial Williams as Younger Josephine, and Rhonda Preston as Mother.  

The ensemble also includes

Dennis Dent, Lemond Hayes, Kelly Maryanski, Linnea Norwood, Rhonda Preston, William Rowland, Henri Slater, Kyle Smith, Jake Stempel, and Vincent Jordan. Additional casting information will be announced at a later date.

Tickets are available at the Black Ensemble Box Office located at 4450 N. Clark St in Chicago, or online at www.blackensemble.org, or by phone at (773) 769-4451. Tickets are $45 for previews (May 6, 7, 12 and 13, 2017); $55 (Thursdays and Saturday matinees) and $65 (Fridays, Saturday evenings and Sunday matinees).  There is a 10% discount for students, seniors and groups.

Dates: May 6 – June 18, 2017

Previews: May 6, 7, 12 and 13

Press Performance: Sunday, May 14, 2017 at 3:00 pm

Schedule: Thursday: 7:30 p.m.

Friday: 8:00 p.m.

Saturday: 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.

Sunday: 3:00 p.m.

Location: Black Ensemble Theater Cultural Center, 4450 N. Clark Street, Chicago

Valet parking is available.

Ticket prices: $45 Previews

$55 on Thursdays and Saturday matinees;

$65 on Fridays, Saturday evenings and Sunday matinees

A 10% discount is available for students, seniors, and groups.

Box Office: Buy online at www.blackensemble.org or call (773) 769-4451

The Black Ensemble Theater

Founded in 1976, by the phenomenal producer, playwright and actress Jackie Taylor, Black Ensemble Theater is the only African American theater located in the culturally, racially and ethnically diverse north side Uptown community. Through its Five Play Season of Excellence, The Black Ensemble Theater dazzles audiences locally, nationally and internationally with outstanding original musicals that are entertaining, educational and uplifting. The Black Ensemble Theater has produced more than 100 productions and employed over 5,000 artists.

On November 18, 2011, The Black Ensemble Theater Cultural Center opened and is able to accommodate larger-scale productions, bigger audiences and a wider range of educational programming. The new facility includes amenities such as a 299-seat main stage theater (double the capacity of the original venue); 14 offices, classroom space, rehearsal hall, dance studio, scene shop, costume shop, and wardrobe rooms; seven dressing rooms; rehearsal room for musicians; front lobby space with concession areas; and an indoor parking garage.  The completion of a 150-seat theater, which will serve as an experimental stage for the work of the Black Playwright Initiative (BPI), with construction by General Contractor Norcon Inc., is expected in 2017.

The mission of the Black Ensemble Theater Company is to eradicate racism and its devastating effects upon society through the theater arts.  For more information on the Black Ensemble Theater Company, please visit www.BlackEnsembleTheater.org or call 773-769-4451.

NOW PLAYING: We're Gonna Die at Haven Theatre Through June 4th

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

HAVEN THEATRE COMPANY PRESENTS 

WE’RE GONNA DIE, 

WRITTEN BY YOUNG JEAN LEE AND DIRECTED BY JOSH SOBEL, 

AT THE DEN THEATRE THROUGH JUNE 4

Tonight, ChiIL Live Shows will be ChiILin' in Chi, IL with Haven Theatre Company. We're dying to catch their latest show, We’re Gonne Die, the final production in their fourth season, written by Young Jean Lee and directed by Josh Sobel. They're back again at the company’s new home, The Janet Bookspan Theatre at the Den Theatre,,1335 Milwaukee Ave. Check back soon for our full review.

With Storytelling, Stand-Up and Live Music, this Chicago Premiere Shares Real Life Experiences and Unites the Audience with the Life-Affirming Fact That...

The regular performance schedule is Thursdays – Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m through June 4. Previews are Pay-What-You-Can, and regular run tickets are $18. You may purchase tickets and get more information at www.haventheatrechicago.com. 

A singer takes the stage, backed by her rock-band compatriots, to share Young Jean Lee’s life-affirming show about the one thing we all have in common: “we're gonna die.” Drawing from true stories of people's experiences with tragedy, despair and loneliness, this personal and rejuvenating play with live music reminds us that in our darkest, most isolated moments, we are not alone.

image by Joe Mazza at Brave Lux. Pictured from left to right back row; Jordan Harris, Elle Walker, Spencer Meeks; from Left to right front row; Sarah Giovannetti and Isa Arciniegas


Cast for We’re Gonna Die includes: Isa Arciniegas (singers), Sarah Giovannetti (band), Jordan Harris (band), Elle Walker (band), Spencer Meeks (band) and Kamille Dawkins (singer u/s). The production team for We’re Gonna Die includes: Josh Sobel (director), Abhi Shrestha (assistant director), Julie Leghorn (stage manager), Krista Mickelson (production manager), Spencer Meeks (music director), Claire Chrzan (light designer), Izumi Inaba (costume designer), Mike Mroch (scenic designer), and Jon Martinez (choreographer).

ABOUT PLAYWRIGHT YOUNG JEAN LEE

Young Jean Lee has been called “hands down, the most adventurous downtown playwright of her generation” by The New York Times and “one of the best experimental playwrights in America” by Time Out New York. She has written and directed nine shows in New York with Young Jean Lee's Theater Company and toured her work to over thirty cities around the world. Her plays have been published by TCG (Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven and Other Plays, The Shipment and Lear) and by Samuel French (Three Plays by Young Jean Lee). She is currently under commission from Plan B/Paramount Pictures, Lincoln Center Theater, Playwrights Horizons and Oregon Shakespeare Festival. She is a member of New Dramatists and 13P, and has an MFA from Mac Wellman's playwriting program at Brooklyn College. She has received grants from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Creative Capital, NYFA, NEA, NYSCA, the Jerome Foundation, The Fox Samuels Foundation, the Greenwall Foundation, and the Rockefeller MAP Foundation. She is also the recipient of two OBIE Awards, the Festival Prize of the Zürcher Theater Spektakel, a 2010 Prize in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a 2011 Guggenheim Fellowship, and a 2012 Doris Duke Artist Award.

ABOUT DIRECTOR JOSH SOBEL

Josh Sobel is artistic director of Haven Theatre Company, as well as a former ensemble member and literary manager with Strawdog Theatre Company. Recent directing credits include Bobbie Clearly at Steep Theatre, The Long Christmas Ride Home along with the world premieres of The Hunting of the Snark (also Chicago's "Night Out In The Parks" and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland), Best Beloved: The Just So Stories and The Pied Piper at Strawdog Theatre, and Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead at Metropolis Performing Arts Centre. Additional credits include work at Chicago Dramatists, A Red Orchid Theatre, Victory Gardens, LiveWire, Collaboraction's Sketchbook, WildClaw, The Ruckus, Tympanic Theatre, Polarity Ensemble Theatre, The Fine Print Theatre Company, the side project, The Greenhouse Theater Center, Abbie-Fest and New Leaf Theatre. From 2010 - 2013 he served as associate director of the National Theater Institute summer "Theatermakers" program at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center. Sobel is the recipient of a Stage Directors and Choreographers (SDC) Observership on Hamlet at Writers' Theatre and is an associate member of SDC.



ABOUT HAVEN THEATRE COMPANY

Haven Theatre Company is one of Chicago's fastest rising companies. In 2015, Haven's sold-out run of Arlene Hutton's Last Train to Nibroc received a coveted four-star review from Chris Jones of the Chicago Tribune, who proclaimed the production "deserves to be the sleeper hit of the summer." Nibroc also received three Joseph Jefferson Award nominations (the company’s first Jeff-eligible production) and received the prize for Best Principal Actress in a Play. Also in 2015, Haven launched “The Director's Haven,” a unique initiative built to better support the career development and community visibility of directors at the very earliest stages of their professional journeys. Additionally, Haven has produced highly lauded productions of Idris Goodwin’s How We Got On, Deborah Bruce's The Distance (U.S. Premiere), Theresa Rebeck's Seminar (Chicago Premiere), Catherine Treischmann's Hot Georgia Sunday (Chicago Premiere), Stephen Belber's Don't Go Gentle (Chicago Premiere) and Hedwig and the Angry Inch. 

More information at www.haventheatrechicago.com. 

OPENING: Relativity at Northlight 5/11-6/18

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

The National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere of

RELATIVITY

By Mark St. Germain

Directed by Artistic Director BJ Jones

May 11 - June 18, 2017

The cast is Mike Nussbaum, Katherine Keberlein and Ann Whitney.

The creative team includes Jack Magaw (Set Design), Rachel Laritz (Costume Design), JR Lederle (Lighting Design), and Andrew Hansen (Sound Design). Rita Vreeland is the stage manager.

We'll be out on the 19th for the press opening. Check back soon for our full review.

In 1902 Albert and Mileva Einstein had a baby daughter. After 1904 she was never seen or spoken of again. Forty years later, a reporter interviews Einstein about this mysterious piece of his past, revealing shocking secrets about his family and his personal life. While the reporter questions Einstein on his theory of relativity and his decisions, she also poses a query of her own: to be a great man, does one first need to be a good man?

The author of Freud’s Last Session and Becoming Dr. Ruth showcases his signature blend of insight, intellect, humor and heart in this fictional account of a legendary figure.

The Box Office is located at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Boulevard, in Skokie.  Box Office hours are Monday-Friday 10:00am-5:00pm, and Saturdays 12:00pm-5:00pm. On performance days, the box office hours are extended through showtime. The Box Office is closed on Sundays, except on performance days when it is open two hours prior to showtime.

Tickets for previews are $30-$57.  The regular run is $30-$81.  Student tickets to any performance (subject to availability) are $15.

Curtain times are: Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m.; Wednesdays at 1:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.; Fridays at 8:00 p.m.; Saturdays at 2:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.; Sundays at 2:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.


    
Northlight Theatre aspires to promote change of perspective and encourage compassion by exploring the depth of our humanity across a bold spectrum of theatrical experiences, reflecting our community to the world and the world to our community.

Now in its 42nd season, the organization has mounted over 200 productions, including more than 40 world premieres. Northlight has earned 198 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations and 34 Awards.  As one of the area’s premier theatre companies, Northlight is a regional magnet for critical and professional acclaim, as well as talent of the highest quality.

Northlight is supported in part by generous contributions from Allstate Insurance; the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; Robert & Isabelle Bass Foundation; BMO Harris Bank; Henrietta Lange Burk Fund; The Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation; The Chicago Community Trust; ComEd, An Exelon Company; The Davee Foundation; Edgerton Foundation for New American Plays Award; Evanston Community Foundation; Full Circle Foundation; Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; Kirkland & Ellis Foundation; The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; Melvoin Award for Playwriting; Modestus Bauer Foundation; National Endowment for the Arts; NorthShore University HealthSystem; The Offield Family Foundation; The Pauls Foundation; Room & Board; Sanborn Family Foundation; The Shubert Foundation, Inc.; The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust; The Sullivan Family Foundation; Tom Stringer Design Partners; Turner Construction; and the Venturous Theater Fund of the Tides Foundation.

Top Weekend Picks: Gene Siskel Film Center's Benefit May 13 With Jeremy Piven and Kevin Spacey

CHICAGO NATIVE JEREMY PIVEN LEADS INTIMATE DISCUSSION WITH

KEVIN SPACEY AT THE GENE SISKEL FILM CENTER’S ANNUAL BENEFIT MAY 13

“Kevin Spacey: Renaissance Man,” Features In-Depth Conversation with Golden Globe and

Emmy Award-Winner Piven and Spacey at The Four Seasons Chicago

Chicago’s own Jeremy Piven will lead an in-depth discussion with Gene Siskel Film Center Renaissance Award recipient evin Spacey at this year’s annual benefit “Kevin Spacey: Renaissance Man,” Saturday, May 13 at The Four Seasons Chicago (120 E. Delaware). This special evening begins with a cocktail reception followed by the featured discussion between Spacey and Piven paying tribute to the actor’s accomplishments on the screen while providing insights into his creative process and influences, favorite roles, upcoming projects and more. A retrospective of film clips from some of his most memorable performances will accompany the conversation highlighting his illustrious career. 

“It will be a rare treat to have Chicago native Jeremy Piven on stage with one of the most versatile actors of our time in what is sure to be a dynamic conversation between two gifted artists,” said GSFC Executive Director Jean de St. Aubin. “Both Piven and Spacey bring a unique charisma to each role they embody and I am sure that guests will be treated to that same charisma in addition to an evening filled with laughter, behind-the-scenes insight and possibly a few surprises throughout the night!” 
  
Each year, the GSFC celebrates the art of film by honoring a filmmaker who advances the art of cinema. Past Renaissance Award honorees have included some of the most respected actors and directors working in the film industry today, such as William H. Macy and Felicity Huffman, Michael Mann, Nicole Kidman, George Lucas, Robert Downey Jr., Jamie Foxx, Reese Witherspoon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Morgan Freeman, Mark Ruffalo and Scarlett Johansson.

The benefit is co-chaired by longstanding GSFC supporters and Advisory Board members Eda Davidman and Melissa Sage Fadim. The chair of the GSFC Advisory Board is Ellen Sandor. All proceeds support the Gene Siskel Film Center’s curated film programming as well as lecture series and discussions with visiting scholars and filmmakers. This programming provides the opportunity for students and the Chicago community to experience the best in film presentation. The annual fundraiser is the primary event that ensures that the GSFC can continue to present the highest quality films and film-related events in Chicago.

To date, benefit sponsors include The Richard and Ellen Sandor Family Foundation, Sage Foundation, MacLean-Fogg, Marlene Iglitzen and Gene Siskel Charitable Foundation, Nordstrom, CME Group, Ariel Investments, BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois, Sheridan Road Charitable Foundation, Joe and JaCee Trpik, Averill and Bernard Leviton, Jamie and Margo Koval and Southwest Airlines.

The Renaissance Award was designed specifically for the Gene Siskel Film Center by R.S. Owens & Company, creator of the Oscar® statuette.

About Jeremy Piven
Chicago native Jeremy Piven stars in the upcoming film “All-Star Weekend,” Jamie Foxx’s scripting and directing film debut, alongside Foxx and Eva Longoria. He was most recently seen as fellow Chicagoan Harry Gordon Selfridge in the fourth season of the popular MASTERPIECE/PBS series, “Mr. Selfridge.” Among his many notable roles, Piven is best known as movie agent Ari Gold in the hit HBO series “Entourage,” which aired for eight seasons and won Piven three Emmy® Awards and a Golden Globe®. In 2015, Piven reprised the fan-favorite role in the “Entourage” feature film released by Warner Bros. He was also seen in “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For” from directors Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez, as well as opposite Tom Cruise in the Doug Liman film “Edge of Tomorrow.” Piven’s extensive career in television also includes the satirical “Larry Sanders Show.” In film, he starred in Mark Pellington’s drama “I Melt with You,” Gaby Dellal’s heart wrenching “Angels Crest,” Gary Fleder’s “Runaway Jury,” Todd Phillips’ hit comedy “Old School,” Ridley Scott’s “Black Hawk Down,” Peter Chelsom’s “Serendipity,” Brett Ratner’s “The Family Man,” Peter Berg’s “Very Bad Things” and “The Kingdom,” Cameron Crowe’s “Singles,” Joe Carnahan’s “Smokin’ Aces,” Guy Ritchie’s “RocknRolla” and “The Player” for director Robert Altman.

In 2005, Piven returned to his theater roots starring in the Off-Broadway hit “Fat Pig” by Neil LaBute, for which he received a Distinguished Performance Honor from the Drama League. He also appeared as Bobby Gould on Broadway in “Speed-the-Plow.” As a child growing up in Chicago, the eight-year-old Piven climbed on stage at the Piven Theatre Workshop, founded by his father, Byrne, and mother, Joyce Piven. He is still very active with this workshop and returns to Chicago frequently to help keep his parents’ dream alive.

About Kevin Spacey
Award-winning producer and actor Kevin Spacey currently serves as executive producer and stars as Francis Underwood in the Netflix original series "House of Cards.” Spacey has won Academy Awards® for his performances in “The Usual Suspects” and “American Beauty." He was most recently seen opposite Michael Shannon in "Elvis & Nixon,” and will next be seen in "Billionaire Boys Club,” Edgar Wright’s “Baby Driver" and "Rebel In The Rye.” Through his former production company Trigger Street, he produced "Captain Phillips” starring Tom Hanks, “The Social Network” and "21.” For television, he produced “Recount” and “Bernard & Doris” for HBO, both of which garnered double-digit Emmy Award® nominations. For more than a decade, Spacey served as the Artistic Director of The Old Vic Theatre Company in London where he also appeared on stage in productions of “National Anthems,” “The Philadelphia Story,” “Speed the Plow,” “Inherit the Wind,” “A Moon for the Misbegotten” and the acclaimed production of the one-man show, "Darrow." He won the Evening Standard and Olivier Awards for Best Actor for his role in “The Iceman Cometh,” as well as a Tony Award® for Best Supporting Actor in Neil Simon’s “Lost in Yonkers.” Spacey has also starred in the Broadway and West End productions of “Long Day’s Journey into Night,” opposite his mentor Jack Lemmon; as well as the title role in the Sam Mendes production of “Richard III,” touring to 12 cities around the world as part of the three-year Old Vic/BAM/Bridge Project. Spacey has often launched initiatives to help young people get their start in the competitive worlds of film and theatre, including: The Kevin Spacey Foundation, which offers support to young actors, writers, directors and producers; and the short film competition "Jameson First Shot,” awarded writer/directors from South Africa, Russia and the US, Canada and other countries with the opportunity to direct a short film starring a major actor. Most recently Spacey was awarded an Honorary Knighthood and was made a CBE (Commander of the British Empire) by Her Majesty the Queen for his work at the Old Vic, and in education and philanthropy. 

Tickets and More Information
The Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago proudly presents the Renaissance Award Gala in honor of Kevin Spacey Saturday, May 13 at Four Seasons Hotel Chicago, 120 E. Delaware Pl. Single tickets range in price from $500 to $1,000 (VIP). Table sponsorships range in price from $10,000 to $50,000. Call (312) 846-2072 for tickets, tables or more information.

About the Gene Siskel Film Center
Since 1972, the Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago has presented cutting edge cinema to an annual audience of 80,000. The Film Center’s programming includes annual film festivals that celebrate diverse voices and international cultures, premieres of trailblazing work by today’s independent filmmakers, restorations and revivals of essential films from cinema history, and insightful provocative discussions with filmmakers and media artists. Altogether, the Film Center hosts over 1,600 screenings and 200 filmmaker appearances every year. The Film Center was renamed the Gene Siskel Film Center in 2000 after the late, nationally celebrated film critic, Gene Siskel. Visit www.siskelfilmcenter.org to learn more and find out what’s playing today.

About the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
For more than 150 years, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) has been a leader in educating the world’s most influential artists, designers and scholars. Located in downtown Chicago with a fine arts graduate program consistently ranking among the top programs in the nation by U.S. News and World Report, SAIC provides an interdisciplinary approach to art and design as well as world-class resources, including the Art Institute of Chicago museum, on-campus galleries and state-of-the-art facilities. SAIC’s undergraduate, graduate and post-baccalaureate students have the freedom to take risks and create the bold ideas that transform Chicago and the world—as seen through notable alumni and faculty such as Michelle Grabner, David Sedaris, Elizabeth Murray, Richard Hunt, Georgia O’Keeffe, Cynthia Rowley, Nick Cave, Jeff Koons and LeRoy Neiman. www.saic.edu

The Gene Siskel Film Center and SAIC are part of The Art Institute of Chicago. For more information about the Art Institute please visit www.artic.edu