Author and “Mother” of Improvisational Theater Viola Spolin of The Second City to Be Honored February 10, 2020

American Writers Museum

to Honor 

Viola Spolin and The Second City

February 10, 2020 at 6:30pm

I have fond memories of my first theatre improvisation class in high school, based on Viola Spolin's work, and discovering the joys of her improv games. I later employed her techniques in college, when I founded Miami University's first troupe, Tower Players Improv, in Oxford, Ohio. The troupe remained in existence over 20 years and won nationwide competitions. I later taught improv classes through the park district in Oxford and The Discovery Center in Cincinnati and Chicago, so she has been an influence of mine for decades. I still see her techniques pop up today in exercises both of my teens have done in numerous theatre productions, camps, and After School Matters programs. Her contributions and influence on theatre arts have been invaluable. 

Join the American Writers Museum as they honor the work of Viola Spolin, author and “mother” of improvisational theater. Ms. Spolin’s groundbreaking work and codification of her theater games into a training method and philosophy eventually led to the creation of The Second City.

The evening will include cocktails at 6:30 PM following by programming that will include opening remarks by museum president Carey Cranston, the unveiling of Ms. Spolin’s ceremonial bookmark to be permanently displayed at the museum, and words by writer and teacher of improvisational theater Aretha Amelia Sills, the granddaughter of Ms. Spolin and daughter of Second City co-founder Paul Sills.

In addition, the event will celebrate The Second City’s 60th anniversary and the release of The Second City: The Essentially Accurate History with an improvised discussion by moderator Mark Bazer (The Interview Show, WTTW) and talent from The Second City. Book signing to follow.

This event is open to the public; however, capacity is limited to 150 attendees. Please RSVP in advance here.

Monday, February 10, 2020
6:30 - 8:30 PM
American Writers Museum
180 N. Michigan Ave., 2nd Floor 

About Viola Spolin:
There would be no Second City if it were not for the work of Viola Spolin, who created and developed a system of actor training that evolved to become the modern art form of improvisation. Born in 1906, actress, social worker, and educator Viola Spolin became drama supervisor for the Works Progress Administration Recreation Project in Chicago, where she invented a series of games designed to teach dramatics to children and recent immigrants. Formalized under the rubric of “Theater Games,” the exercises gave the children hands-on experience at behaving collaboratively and empathetically.

In the early 1950s, Spolin taught those games to actors working with her son, Paul Sills, at the University of Chicago, where their true potential to develop material and entertain audiences was uncovered. Sills used the new techniques in productions for the Playwrights Theater Club and with the Compass Players, the first improvisational theatre in America. In 1960, Spolin began running improvisation workshops for the cast of The Second City, a still-new theater company Sills co-founded with Bernie Sahlins and Howard Alk.

Spolin remained an active teacher, artist, and writer until her death in 1994. Her 1963 book Improvisation for the Theater remains a classic reference text for teachers of acting and improvisation, as well as across a variety of other fields. The book defends the position that “it is highly possible that what is called talented behavior is simply a greater individual capacity for experiencing.” For more, visit www.violaspolin.org

About The Second City
Since opening its doors as a small cabaret theater in 1959, The Second City has grown into an entertainment empire. With sold-out shows playing 7 days a week on stages in Chicago and Toronto, Second City’s Touring and Theatrical companies entertain an additional 1 million theatergoers a year around the globe. The Second City Training Center is the largest school of improvisation-based arts on the planet, with locations in Chicago, Toronto and Los Angeles that serve 11,000 students annually. In 2016, the Harold Ramis Film launched, becoming the world’s only film school dedicated to comedy. Second City Works, the B2B side of Second City, has brought award-winning improvisation and audience-driven techniques to over 600 Fortune 1000 companies, challenging businesses seeking a more collaborative culture to innovate through development programs, original digital and video content, campaign consultation, private events, and more. Second City Entertainment’s foray into television and media continues to produce new content and programming, including two-time Emmy winner SCTV and the upcoming Martin Scorsese-helmed Netflix documentary exploring the iconic series’ enduring legacy.

Review of Lyric Opera Concert: “Rising Stars in Concert”

Photo: Todd Rosenberg

Guest Review
By Catherine Hellmann 

The weather outside was frightful (about 5 degrees, ok, so it is finally winter in January in Chicago), but the atmosphere at the Lyric Opera on Sunday afternoon was delightful. The “Rising Stars in Concert” concert is an impressive “Thank you!” to the donors of the Lyric. 

The 2019-20 Ensemble of The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center is a very talented group of performers. Selected from over 400 auditions, the elite group consists of 11 singers and one pianist. According to their website, the program “prepares emerging singers and apprentice coaches for careers in opera by providing unique, comprehensive training.” Since 1974, the Ryan Opera Center has been recognized as one of the premier training grounds in the world for emerging talent. Young singers are able to study with powerhouse talents, like Renee Fleming, and perform supporting roles at the Lyric in actual, full-scale productions. What a gift for an aspiring star! 

The singers study foreign languages in their apprenticeship so they are able to sing in French, German, and Italian as well as English. The program on Sunday included arias by Berlioz, Gounod, Richard Strauss, Rossini, Donizetti, as well as Victor Herbert and Ralph Vaughan Williams. So, check all four boxes on languages! 

There were dramatic pieces, like Lauren Decker (in her awesome red shoes!) singing Verdi in her rich contralto. She gave me goosebumps when she sang the words “Be silent,”  in her very low, deep voice. Mario Rojas sang a lovely romantic piece from Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette in his gorgeous tenor voice. I would have climbed down from my balcony to join him! 

Emily Pogorelc was a standout in her princess white gown singing Bellini’s aria from Act Two of La sonnambula. Her voice with its stunning trills and arpeggios was the cream in my coffee (which sounds like Cole Porter, but it’s Ruth Etting, because I looked it up...thanks, Google!) 

There were comical pieces as well. My favorite was a duet by Bass Anthony Reed and Bass-Baitone David Wiegel by Rossini from Il turco in Italia where two men talk about selling a wife. The one gent determines if he can’t buy the other guy’s wife, he will abduct her! My favorite line was: “When marriage isn’t working, the husband becomes a salesman.” The men intend to duke it out, so they stretch and prepare physically with one of them falling comically as he attempts the splits. The other hurts his back while warming up, so both end up lame at the conclusion. 

After intermission, there was a piano quartet playing Gabriel Faure’s Piano Quartet No. 1, Op. 15, Fourth Movement with pianist Madeline Slettedahl. She says in the program: “It’s been a privilege to perform frequently with my talented singing colleagues both here in Chicago and abroad, developing both musically and interpersonally in a field that has so much to say about the human experience.”  

A video played with departing singers being interviewed about their experiences with the Ryan Opera Center. One singer stated that these four years immersed her in everything and allowed her to “be prepared for anything” while growing as an artist and as a person.   

Another singer grew up attending the Lyric Opera since high school, so being in the program was like “coming home.” 

The show ended with Victor Herbert’s finale from Naughty Marietta. When the singers burst into: “Ah! Sweet mystery of life, at last I found you!” there were chuckles in the audience, probably recalling Mel Brooks’ amusing take on this song in Young Frankenstein. “‘For ‘tis love, and love alone, the world is seeking!” 

The world also needs more glorious music, and the Lyric Opera provided us with this balm on a dreary, frosty day. 

Catherine Hellmann has great stories from a year doing singing telegrams, which was not as artistic as the Lyric, but pretty darn enteratining. 


Lyric Opera's “Rising Stars in Concert” is a showcase performance starring Ensemble members of The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center with members of the Lyric Opera Orchestra conducted by Ari Pelto Sunday, January 19, 2020.

Lyric Opera of Chicago
20 N. Wacker Drive
Chicago, IL 60606
United States

Lead Sponsor: Donna Van Eekeren Foundation

Sponsors: Ann M. Drake, Sue and Melvin Gray, Patricia A. Kenney and Gregory J. O’Leary, Chauncey and Marion D. McCormick Family Foundation, Lauter McDougal Charitable Fund, Frank  B. Modruson and Lynne C. Shigley, and Dr. Scholl Foundation, with additional support from Dentons LLP and Allan Drebin

Rising Stars in Concert was also broadcast on 98.7WFMT and wfmt.com on Sunday, January 26, 2020 at 7:00 p.m.

The radio broadcast of Rising Stars in Concert is generously sponsored by the Donna Van Eekeren Foundation.

REVIEW: The National Ballet of Odessa's Swan Lake at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie

THE NATIONAL BALLET THEATRE OF ODESSA BRINGS BALLET MASTERPIECES “SWAN LAKE” AND “ROMEO & JULIET” TO CHICAGOLAND THIS JANUARY

Guest Review: 
by Catherine Hellmann

“Everything is beautiful at the ballet. Raise your arms, and someone’s always there.”--A Chorus Line

The National Ballet Theatre of Odessa presented the ballet masterpiece Swan Lake at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie on January 21. Featuring 55 of Ukraine’s top performers, Swan Lake has familiar, sensual music by composer Prokofiev. The storyline “follows a young prince as he tries to free the beautiful swan maiden from an evil spell.” 

According to the press release, “Swan Lake is a ballet performed in four acts, with one intermission. The script is based on the scenario by Vladimir

Begichev and Vasiliy Geltser, directed by Elena Baranovskaya, and

choreographed by Marius Petipa, Alexander Gorsky, Lev Ivanov, Konstantin

Sergeyev and Yuri Grigorovich.” 

The dancing was incredible and made me feel like I should run home and do five hours of Pilates. Even the way ballet dancers walkoffstage puts me to shame; they are simply so elegant and graceful. I trip just walking to my car…

The costumes were gorgeous. What’s not to like about incredibly fit men in tight white tights?? (Oh, the women were lovely, too..) 

All of the dancers were extraordinary, but the lead ballerina was divine.

 

When I was a kid, my beloved uncle George, a Franciscan priest, used to take me to the Cincinnati Ballet. We had a bachelor relative who had extra money and was a big sponsor of the company and passed free tickets on to Fr. George. I loved those outings, even though George was so intellectually formidable then. 

My teenage daughter had never been to a ballet before, and she loved it. I was so tickled to pass the family tradition on to a new generation. 

Catherine Hellmann is a teacher, writer, and theater junkie. She has tried to inspire urban and rural middle schoolers for over twenty years. A mother of three, she is thrilled to once again claim Chicago as home.  

Acclaimed Ukrainian Ballet Company To Perform “Romeo & Juliet” at Harris Theater for Music and Dance, January 19, 2020 and “Swan Lake” at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, January 21, 2020

The National Ballet Theatre of Odessa, is proud to announce two performances coming to Chicagoland in January 2020.  Featuring 55 of Ukraine’s top performers, “Romeo & Juliet” will be performed at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph St. in Chicago, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020 at 3 p.m., and “Swan Lake” will be performed at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020 at 7:30 p.m.. “Romeo & Juliet” tickets are $55 - $85 , and are available by calling the box office at 312-334-7777 or through www.harristheaterchicago.org. “Swan Lake” tickets are $38 - $68 and are available by calling 847-673-6300 or by visiting www.northshorecenter.org. 

“Romeo & Juliet” is a ballet performed in two acts, set to the music of composer Sergei Prokofiev, choreographed by Michael Lavrovsky, directed by Elena Baranovskaya and produced by Garri Sevoian. The fullscale production is based on the WIlliam Shakespeare’s tragedy of the two doomed young lovers. The principal dancers are Olena Dobrianska as “Juliet” and Sergii Dotsenko as “Romeo.” 

ART BEAT: South Shore Arts will host an Artist’s Reception for “It’s Surreal Thing” Friday, February 21 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. At The Towle Theater in Hammond

Openings On Our Radar:

“It’s Surreal Thing”

 An Exhibit of Inked Imagery by Artist Jim Siergey

South Shore Arts in Northwest Indiana will host an Artist’s Reception for “It’s Surreal Thing”, an exhibit featuring the inked imagery of Jim Siergey, on Friday, February 21 from 6–8 p.m. at the Towle Theater in Hammond.   An Opening Night performance of Towle Theater’s production of “Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End” follows at 8:00 p.m. to kick off the theater’s 2020 season. Both “It’s Surreal Thing” and “Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End” continue through March 8.

Jim Siergey is an artist well-known in the underground art scene for over two decades.   It was on a grade school field trip to The Art Institute of Chicago where Siergey was introduced to Messrs. Magritte and Dali as well as Mssrs. Tanguy, Ernst, DuChamp and Man Ray.   According to Siergey, “These Surrealists became another perverse influence on my young life as I had already been tainted by TV viewings of the anti-establishment antics of The Marx Brothers and Bugs Bunny.   How could I be expected to look at anything logically or take anything seriously ever again?”



Before moving to Munster, IN a year and a half ago, he spent his previous lifetime in Chicago working as an illustrator, character animator and cartoonist.   His permanent record includes gigs for Time magazine, USA Weekend, The Field Museum, TV commercials, educational films and an animated Take Me Out to the Ballgame 7th inning stretch video for the White Sox’ Jumbo-Tron.   His comic strip “Cultural Jet Lag” ran for 20 years in many alternative press publications.   Paperback books, bubble gum cards, greeting cards and art gallery exhibits are other places where his work can be found.   Since moving to “The Region”, he has exhibited his work at the Promise You Art House in Highland and the Paul Henry Studios in Hammond as well as in group shows in Griffith and Crown Point.



The Towle Theater is located at 416 Sibley Street in downtown Hammond, IN 46320.   For information about the gallery to view the exhibit by appointment, call 219.937.8780.

Photo Credits: Jim Siergey

OPENING: Legally Blonde: The Musical at Northwestern’s Wirtz Center Feb. 14 to March 1, 2020

America’s beloved blonde law student takes the stage at Northwestern’s Wirtz Center

“Legally Blonde: The Musical” 

(complete with canines) 

opens Valentine’s Day

Northwestern University’s Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts presents “Legally Blonde: The Musical” Feb. 14 to March 1.

Elle Woods, Bel Air's favorite pink-clad blonde, and her equally stylish Chihuahua, Bruiser seem to have it all until Elle’s boyfriend dumps her to attend Harvard Law. Determined to get him back, Elle charms her way into law school, then discovers she has far more legal savvy than she ever imagined. 

Based on the popular 2001 movie, this musical comedy with book by Heather Hatch and music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin is directed and choreographed by Christopher Chase Carter.

“‘Legally Blonde’ is just as relevant today because it is all about breaking down stereotypes,” said Chase Carter, known to Chicago audiences for his recent directing work for Theo Ubique Cabaret’s production of “Working” and choreography for Porchlight Musical Theatre’s production of “A Chorus Line.”

Chase Carter even believes Elle’s signature color “pink” is about breaking down stereotypes.  “For many people, pink is seen as soft, or for girls, but in this show, pink makes a statement,” Chase Carter said. “It’s power, it’s vibrant and bold, and it’s a symbol for breaking down stereotypes.”

In addition to plenty of pink, this production includes two campus canines: Atty, who plays Bruiser, Elle’s stylish Chihuahua and Shlomo, who plays Rufus, Elle’s manicurist and confidant’s dog. Bruiser’s pet parent is Caleb Whittaker, a Northwestern student, and Rufus’ pet parent is China Whitmire, house manager for the Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts.

“It’s always interesting working with animals,” Chase Carter said. “You can’t always communicate 100 percent of what you want them to do.” Despite the communication challenges, Chase Carter knows the canines add something very special to the cast. “Bruiser is Elle’s dearest friend, he serves as an important support system for her,” Chase Carter said.

“Legally Blonde: The Musical” opens Valentine’s Day, Fri., Feb. 14 and continues performances through March 1 on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. in the Ethel M. Barber Theater, 30 Arts Circle Drive, on the Evanston campus.

Tickets are available now on the Wirtz Center website, by phone at 847-491-7282 or in-person at the Wirtz Center box office, which is located in the lobby of the Ethel M. Barber Theater.

Box office hours are Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. The box office is closed Sundays and Mondays. 

The Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts annually mounts more than 40 productions in theater, music theater and dance. Undergraduate actors, managers and playwrights, alongside graduate actors, designers, directors and dramaturgs, collaborate on works both classic and contemporary for audiences of all ages. The Center adheres to and reflects the academic mission of the University, the curricular needs of the theater and performance studies departments and the educational priorities of communication students. It exists in service to the campus and the greater community of the Metropolitan Chicago area.

The Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts is a member of the Northwestern Arts Circle, which brings together film, humanities, literary arts, music, theater, dance and visual arts.  

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REVIEW: The Merry Widow at the McAninch Arts Center in Glen Ellyn, IL

NEW PHILHARMONIC EXPANDS ITS OPERA PROGRAMING WITH 

THREE PERFORMANCES OF 

Franz Lehár’s “THE MERRY WIDOW” 

AT THE MAC JAN. 24-26

Pictured Katherine Weber (far R) with cast in Act I

All photos are by John Cebula Esq. 

Guest Review
By Catherine Hellmann

I am very much a City Girl. It takes a strong lure to get me to the suburbs, even though my elder daughter brags, ”Mom, there is always free parking!” But the long haul out to Glen Ellyn at College of DuPage (where, yes, there was indeed plenty of free parking) to the McAninch Arts Center on a dreary night to see The Merry Widow was worth the drive. 

The Merry Widow is an operetta by Franz Lehar which means it has spoken dialogue interspersed between songs; this production is sung in English but still has the supertitles above the stage so nothing is missed. All of these factors make the performance much more palatable to patrons who may not be “opera people.” 

Plus, it is a funny script and story. 

Set in Paris, Baron Zeta from the fictional country of “Pontevedro” is concerned that his troubled nation is going to go (sssh! Don’t say this word!) “bankrupt.” A plan is hatched to keep the money from a rich young widow in their principality. A “Cinderella story” is explained where a poor farmer’s daughter, Hannah Glawan, was wooed relentlessly by a very wealthy older man until she finally agreed to marry him. He died shortly after their nuptials, leaving her with millions. Hannah is pursued by all the eligible bachelors in Paris, who are more interested in her purse holdings than her. “It’s not me they’re in love with, it’s my bank account,” she laments.  

Pictured: Alisa Jordheim in Act II

Hannah’s old love was a boy from her childhood, now known as the Count Danilo Danilovitch. At their first reunion, he is upset that she married the old man. Hannah tells him,”When one is a woman and poor, one does what she has to do.” The Count actually still loves her, but feels that if he courts Hannah now, it will appear to be only for her money. I doubt this will be seen as much of a “spoiler” if I reveal that the two original lovers do wind up together at the end, and Pontevedro is saved! All’s well that ends well.

Adding to the humorous plot is the blatant affair the Baron’s wife, Valencienne, is conducting with a local Frenhman who is an officer. The Baron refers to his wife as “a symbol of virtue” as she repeatedly sneaks away with her lover, Camille de Rosillon. The Baron’s cluelessness is an amusing motif; Baritone Aron Wardell does a nice job as the foolish Baron. Valencienne (a lovely Katherine Weber) calls herself a “respectable wife,” but is anything but that description. 

Another funny, ongoing bit is the list of honorary titles given to the Baron by his embassy secretary, Njegus, played by Michael LaTour, who is also the Stage Director and Choreographer for this production! “Your Bigness,” “Your Vastness,” “Your Sageness,” and “Your Epicness,” he schmoozes. 

The show is set in the 1920s which allows the women to be decked out in gorgeous sequined flapper dresses. Their gowns are simply gorgeous. Thank you, Kimberly G. Morris, for the eye candy in wardrobe design. 

Pictured L-R: Allison Selby Cook, Brooklyn Snow, Erika Morrison, Katherine Weber

Other standouts are the petite but mighty soprano Alisa Suzanne Jordheim as the title character. She has the vocal chops to pull off this demanding role. 

Just last week, I was privileged to see the “Rising Stars in Concert” at the Lyric Opera and praised the brilliant Ryan Opera Center which trains young artists. The Count was played ably by baritone Jesse Donner, and he is a recent graduate of that program from 2017. His voice was not only gorgeous, but his acting was playful as well.

The New Philharmonic was conducted by Music Director Kirk Muspratt. “Cookies with Kirk” follows the performance with the gleeful cast rushing first to the lobby for sweet treats. Wow. I don’t get dessert at the Lyric...maybe the suburbs aren’t so bad…

Mark your calendars: In the spring, there will be two concerts At the MAC on April 18 and 19 celebrating Frida Kahlo. Written by Mexican composers, the works feature a soprano soloist with tenor Jesse Donner singing and a 100-voice chorus.  From June to August, there will be an “exclusive exhibit of Kahlo’s original artwork on loan from the Delores Olmedo Museum in Mexico City,” according to their press release. 26 pieces will be on display. It is the largest Frida Kahlo show in the Chicago area in 40 years. 

Timed tickets for the art exhibit are only $18 plus fees.  Call (630) 942-4000 for tickets. Only 30 untimed tickets are available each day of the exhibit. 

And, there is ample FREE parking. 

Catherine Hellmann is an Ohio transplant in love with the Windy City and all it has to offer...even if it involves traveling in the Chicagoland area. She has a daughter in the ‘burbs, another who goes to school in downtown Chicago, and her son lives in the college town of Ann Arbor.  

Pictured: Katherine Weber and James Judd in Act II

Pictured: The cast of “The Merry Widow” in Act I

Alisa Jordheim (Soprano), Jesse Donner (Baritone), Katherine Weber (Soprano) and James Judd (Tenor) Star in Staging by Michael La Tour, Stage Director of New Philharmonic’s Sold-Out Operas, “Die Fledermaus (2019) 

and “The Mikado” (2017) 

New Philharmonic, under the musical direction of Maestro Kirk Muspratt, opens 2020 with Franz Lehár’s popular operetta “The Merry Widow,” featuring a libretto by Viktor Leon and Leo Stein, at the McAninch Arts Center. Due to the growing popularity of New Philharmonic’s winter operas a performance on Friday, Jan.24 at 7:30 p.m. has been added to the regular two performance run. Other performances are Saturday, Jan. 25 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 26 at 3 p.m. This operetta, staged by Michael La Tour, will be sung in English. A free MAC Chat will take place one hour prior to each performance.

“The Merry Widow” is based an 1861 comedy play, “L'attaché d'ambassade (The Embassy Attaché) by Henri Meilhac and revolves around a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt to keep her money in the principality by finding her the right husband. New Philharmonic’s production will be set in the audacious, stylish, fun and madcap 1920s. 

So many men, so little time. Hannah Glawari has all the money to save the bankrupt country of Pontevedro and all the eligible bachelors in Paris, but what she really wants is her long-lost love. Count Danilo, forbidden to wed Hannah when childhood sweethearts, has been charged with saving Pontevedro, but Hanna’s recent widow’s fortune has turned the tables. The most ravishing of operettas concludes with a party a la Café de Maxim’s complete with dancing girls.

“The Merry Widow” stars Alisa Suzanne Jordheim (soprano) as Hannah Glawari, Jesse Donner (baritone) as Count Danilo Danilovitch, Katherine Weber (soprano) as Valencienne and James Judd (tenor) as Camille de Rosillon; with Aaron Wardell (Baron Mirko Zeta), Evan Bravos (Vicomte Cascada), Matthew Greenblatt (Raoul de St. Brioche), Douglas Peters (Bogdanovitch), Brooklyn Snow (Sylviane), Reuben Lillie (Kromow), Allison Selby Cook (Olga), Ian Hosak (Pritschitsch), Erika Morrison (Praskovia), Lisa Kristina (Zo-Zo) and Stage Director La Tour in a cameo role as the clerk Njegus. They will be supported by a 20-person ensemble of chorus, grissettes and supers. 

The design team includes Kimberly G. Morris (costume/wig/makeup design), Elias Morales (lighting design), and Jon Gantt (projections design). Stage manager is Isabelle Rund. 

Tickets

New Philharmonic, under the direction of Maestro Kirk Muspratt, presents “The Merry Widow” at the McAninch Arts Center, located on the campus of College of DuPage, 425 Fawell Blvd., Friday, Jan. 24 and Saturday, Jan. 25 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 26 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $59. For tickets or more information, call 630.942.4000 or visit AtTheMAC.org.

Bios
Alisa Jordheim (Hannah Glawari) has been seen at the MAC in New Philharmonic’s 2017 and 2018 New Year’s programs, New Philharmonic 2017’s “The Best of Broadway: Rodgers & Hammerstein and Andrew Lloyd Webber” and in the role of Yum-Yum in the New Philharmonic’s 2017 production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Mikado.” ​ This past November she made her company debut as Clotilde in Pacini's “Maria, regina d'Inghilterra” with Odyssey Opera. Other performing credits include her acclaimed performance as Soeur Constance in Poulenc’s “Dialogues des Carmélites” at the 
Caramoor International Music Festival, Gilda in “Rigoletto” with San Diego Opera, Ninetta in “La gazza ladra” with Teatro Nuovo and concert performances including Mozart's “Exsultate, jubilate” with the Milwaukee Symphony and Mozart's “Mass in C Minor” with the Bel Canto Chorus. Honors and awards include recipient of a 2016 Sullivan Foundation Award and 2015 Sullivan Foundation Career Development Grant, winner of the 2015 Bel Canto Regional Artists Competition, and winner of the Edith Newfield Scholarship in the 2013 Musicians Club of Women Music Scholarship Competition in Chicago. Jordheim was recently featured in Fred Plotkin's "40 under 40: A New Generation of Superb Opera Singers" on WQXR, New York's Public Radio station.  

Jesse Donner (Count Danilo Danilovitch) was most recently seen at the MAC in New Philharmonic’s 2019 production of Strauss II’s “Die Fledermaus.” His just performed the role of Danilo in the St. Petersburg Opera production of “The Merry Widow,” and his other performances this season include his debut as Rodolfo in Union Avenue Opera’s production of Puccini’s “La Boheme,” a return to the Louisville Orchestra as the tenor soloist in Verdi’s “Requiem” and Handel’s “Messiah” and his concert debut with the New Jersey Festival Orchestra. Previous seasons’ credits include Toledo Opera’s Fall Gala Concert, featured soloist for Chicago Philharmonic’s “Concert for Peace,” the role of Ismael in Union Avenue Opera’s production of Verdi’s “Nabucco” and the role of Emporer Alteum in Cedar Rapids Opera’s production of Puccini’s “Turandot.” Donner was a resident artist at Lyric Opera of Chicago from 2014-2017. Honors and awards include the 2015 Luminarts Fellowship and the Bel Canto grand prize, the 2014 George Shirley Award for Opera Performance, a special encouragement award from the 2014 Metropolitan Opera National Council Regional Auditions, and 1st place in the 2012 Michigan Friends of Opera Competition. 

Katherine Weber (Valencienne) was seen earlier this season in New Philharmonic’s “Ode to Joy” concert. Other past performances with New Philharmonic include the roles of Rosalinde in Strauss II’s “Die Fledermaus” (2019), and Violetta in Verdi’s “La Traviata” (2017). Weber garnered acclaim in the title role of Chicago Opera Theater’s 2018 Chicago premiere of Tchaikovsky’s “Iolanta.” Other performing credits include soloist in Beethoven's “Mass in C,” Vivaldi's “Gloria” and Mozart’s “Requiem” with the Winona Oratorio Chorus and Orchestra and two seasons with Opera for the Young, in Madison, Wisc., where she toured in the title role in Dvořák’s “Rusalka” and Pamina in Mozart's “The Magic Flute.” She was featured soloist with the Florentine Opera and soprano soloist in Handel's “Messiah” at her alma mater, Viterbo University. Honors and awards include regional finalist at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions twice (2017, 2015), recipient of the Award of Excellence and the Lew Cady Memorial Award (both from Central City Opera), the Bain Fellowship from Indiana University, and two-time winner of the Schubert Club Competition and four time encouragement award winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

James Judd (Camille de Rosillon) was most recently seen at the MAC in the September “Ode to Joy” concert and in the role of Alfred in New Philharmonic’s January 2019 production of Strauss II’s “Die Fleidermaus.” He has sung with the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Western New York Chamber Orchestra, and The AIMS Festival Orchestra. Judd’s past operatic roles include Monostatos in Mozart’s “Die Zauberflöte,” Ferrando in Mozart’s “Così fan tutte,” the title role in Mozart’s “La Clemenza di Tito,” Asgar in the U.S. premiere of Hajibeyov’s “Arshin Mal Alan” and Claude in the world premiere of Nettles' “The Fall of Stag Lee.” He has performed at the Rocky Ridge Music Center in Estes Park, Colo., where he won their prestigious concerto competition. Judd also sings with many professional choruses, including the Chicago Symphony Chorus. Judd holds a Master of Arts in Vocal Performance at The University of Iowa as well as Bachelor of Music in both Education and Vocal Performance from SUNY Fredonia.

Michael La Tour (Stage Direction/ Njegus) has worked professionally as an actor, singer, dancer, mime, clown, designer, choreographer, director and producer. He is on staff at The Ryan Opera Center of The Lyric Opera of Chicago as a master teacher and stage director (Mozart’s “The Magic Flute,” Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro,” Verdi’s “La Traviata, Strauss II’s “Die Fledermaus,” Presgurvic’s “Romeo et Juliette”). His most recent work seen by MAC patrons was New Philharmonic’s 2017 sold out production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Mikado.” Other directing credits include Kentucky Opera (Puccini’s “La Boheme,” Bizet’s “Carmen,” Presgurvic’s “Romeo et Juliette”) and Opera Moda (Mechem’s “Tartuffe,” Adamo’s “Little Women,” Hoiby’s“A Month in the Country”). With Peter Amster, he has co-directed and choreographed “Side By Side By Sondheim” for Pegasus Players, Hwang’s “M. Butterfly” for Apple Tree Theatre (After Dark Award for choreography) and the grand opening of The Harris Theater in Millennium Park. 

Pictured Center: Alisa Jordheim surrounded by cast members Matthew Greenblatt, John Kouns, Danius Grablaukas, Reed Pence, William Ortega, Ben Adair, Matthew Byerly and Evan Bravos

About New Philharmonic

New Philharmonic, the only professional orchestra based in DuPage County, Ill., has inspired classical music enthusiasts in Chicago and the suburbs for more than 40 years. It continues to thrive with the goal to give innovative treatment to both classic compositions and modern works while striving to make the music accessible to new audiences and youth through a variety of educational efforts. The orchestra was honored with the Illinois Council of Orchestras’ 2017 ICO Award for Professional Orchestra of the Year. Today, under the direction of Kirk Muspratt, named 2018 Conductor of the Year (Professional Orchestra) by Illinois Council of Orchestras, New Philharmonic consists of more than 60 professional musicians and performs more than a dozen concerts a year, reaching more than 7,500 from the greater Chicago area annually. 

About the MAC
The McAninch Arts Center (MAC) at College of DuPage is located 25 miles west of Chicago near I-88 and I-355. It houses three indoor performance spaces (the 780-seat proscenium Belushi Performance Hall; the 236-seat soft-thrust Playhouse Theatre; and the versatile black box Studio Theatre), the outdoor Lakeside Pavilion, plus the Cleve Carney Museum of Art and classrooms for the college’s academic programming. The MAC has presented theater, music, dance and visual art to more than 1.5 million people since its opening in 1986 and typically welcomes more than 100,000 patrons from the greater Chicago area to more than 230 performances each season. 

The mission of the MAC is to foster enlightened educational and performance opportunities, which encourage artistic expression, establish a lasting relationship between people and art, and enrich the cultural vitality of the community. Visit AtTheMAC.org or facebook.com/AtTheMAC for more information.

Support for New Philharmonic is provided in part by Brookdale-Glen Ellyn; ST|G|P Sullivan Taylor | Gumina & Palmer, P.C., the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; WFMT 98.7 FM, WDCB 90.9 FM and the College of DuPage Foundation. This production of “The Merry Widow” is supported by an anonymous Soloist Sponsor.

Established as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charitable organization in 1967, the College of DuPage Foundation raises monetary and in-kind gifts to increase access to education and to enhance cultural opportunities for the surrounding community. For more information about the College of DuPage Foundation, visit foundation.cod.edu or call 630.942.2462. 

Programs at the MAC are partially supported through a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency. 

Pictured in Act III: Foreground L-R:  Erin Perry, Crystal Chandler. Lori Fimoff, Lisa Kristina, Molly Chesna, Kaitlin Tienen, Sara Solis; Background: Ben Adair, Reed Pence and Meghan Smeenge

New Philharmonic, under the musical direction of Maestro Kirk Muspratt, with staging by Michael La Tour, opens 2020 with Franz Lehár’s popular operetta “The Merry Widow,” libretto by Viktor Leon and Leo Stein, at the McAninch Arts Center, 425 Fawell Blvd.,Glen Ellyn, Ill. Performances are Friday, Jan. 24 and Saturday, Jan. 25 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 26 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $59. For tickets or more information, call 630.942.4000 or visit AtTheMAC.org. 

All photos are by John Cebula Esq. 

REVIEW: The National Ballet Theatre of Odessa's Romeo and Juliet at Harris Theater

THE NATIONAL BALLET THEATRE OF ODESSA BRINGS BALLET MASTERPIECES “SWAN LAKE” AND “ROMEO & JULIET” TO CHICAGOLAND THIS JANUARY

Guest Review: 
by Flo Mano

The National Ballet of Odessa, is recognized as one of the most prestigious institutions of classical ballet and boasts an extremely varied repertoire, carrying the honor and the task to preserve the precious heritage of the great Russian ballets.

‘Romeo and Juliet’ was performed at Chicago's Harris Theater this past Sunday, with 55 of Ukraine's most talented and brightest ballet stars, presenting the most passionate and romantic love story of our time. With the music of Sergei Prokofiev, composed in 1935, this ballet is based on William Shakespeare's timeless tale of tragic love. This ballet has been conquering the hearts of viewers around the world. This full-length, lavish production included costumes and sets brought from the Ukraine.

The main disappointment lies in Mikhail Lavrovsky's choreography, which is mostly monotonous. The various characters swaying and flailing their arms isn't enticing. The contrast was stark between dancers' high emotion and threadbare moves, even if performed nicely by high-level dancers. 

Olena Dobrianska, as the beautiful, princess Juliet and Sergeii Dotsenko, as the handsome, towering Romeo were visually striking. Yet, Lavrovsky's various duets for the couple lacked originality, often structurally a repetitious pattern of the two dancers starting widely apart, racing together and embracing, racing back apart, and then repeating the movement, with a few dramatic lifts. These frailties are all the more obvious given the soaring qualities of Sergei Prokofiev's great score, one of the most hypnotic in all of ballet. 

There are some virtues. The sword fighting and stage combat was strategically on point with theatrical and artistic blocking. The dancers are also attractive and sharp. The cast is buoyant and energetic, though most of the secondary players are given little to do. 

While Lavrovsky fails to deliver in key scenes, he deserves credit for tinkering with the ensemble dancing, injecting echoes of brisk, lively folk dance into the crowd festivities and crafting an especially eerie spectral corps of mourners.

Since 2017, the Artistic Director of The National Ballet Theatre of Odessa, Ukraine is the People’s Artist of Ukraine, Elena Baranovskaya. Production is by Garri Sevoian.

The ballet company consists of the best performers, all graduates of prestigious Ukrainian and Russian choreography schools. Many talented artists have danced with the Odessa National Opera Company in its different periods and many of them have been soloists in major international companies.

Flo Mano is a CPS elementary teacher/librarian, hairdresser, and theater/film fanatic who catches hundreds of Chicago shows annually. She volunteers at numerous film venues and theaters.

THE NATIONAL BALLET THEATRE OF ODESSA BRINGS BALLET MASTERPIECES “SWAN LAKE” AND “ROMEO & JULIET” TO CHICAGOLAND THIS JANUARY

Acclaimed Ukrainian Ballet Company To Perform “Romeo & Juliet” at Harris Theater for Music and Dance, January 19, 2020 and “Swan Lake” at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, January 21, 2020

The National Ballet Theatre of Odessa, is proud to announce two performances coming to Chicagoland in January 2020.  Featuring 55 of Ukraine’s top performers, “Romeo & Juliet” will be performed at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph St. in Chicago, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020 at 3 p.m., and “Swan Lake” will be performed at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020 at 7:30 p.m.. “Romeo & Juliet” tickets are $55 - $85 , and are available by calling the box office at 312-334-7777 or through www.harristheaterchicago.org. “Swan Lake” tickets are $38 - $68 and are available by calling 847-673-6300 or by visiting www.northshorecenter.org. 

“Romeo & Juliet” is a ballet performed in two acts, set to the music of composer Sergei Prokofiev, choreographed by Michael Lavrovsky, directed by Elena Baranovskaya and produced by Garri Sevoian. The fullscale production is based on the WIlliam Shakespeare’s tragedy of the two doomed young lovers. The principal dancers are Olena Dobrianska as “Juliet” and Sergii Dotsenko as “Romeo.”