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Friday, April 7, 2023

THE LANGUAGE ARCHIVE Via AstonRep Theatre Company April 28 – May 28, 2023 at The Edge Off Broadway Theatre

Chi, IL Live Shows On Our Radar 

AstonRep Theatre Company

Concludes 15th Anniversary Season with

THE LANGUAGE ARCHIVE

By Julia Cho

Directed by Dana Anderson

April 28 – May 28, 2023 at The Edge Off Broadway Theatre 



Pictured (left to right) Aja Alcazar, Génesis Sánchez, Erin O’Brien, Jorge Salas and Sean William Kelly. AstonRep Theatre Company’s production of The Language Archive. Photo by Derek Bertelsen.

 

AstonRep Theatre Company is pleased to conclude it 15th and final season with The Language Archive, Julia Cho’s insightful play about language and love, directed by Company Member Dana Anderson*, playing April 28 – May 28, 2023 at The Edge Off-Broadway Theatre, 1133 W. Catalpa Ave. in Chicago. Tickets are now on sale at www.astonrep.com or by calling (773) 828-9129. 

The cast includes Company Members Aja Alcazar*, Sean William Kelly* and Erin O'Brien* with Jorge Salas and Génesis Sánchez. Understudies include and Kelley Holcomb and James Reilly.

A quirky, comic drama about communication – its potential and its limits – this romantic parable for our times features a linguist at a loss for words, especially the vocabulary of the heart. Balanced delightfully between affection and adversity, it is the whimsical, life-affirming chronicle of a brilliant scientist who fights to preserve the dying languages of far-flung cultures, only to neglect the promise and passion of his own. Winner of the 2010 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for Playwrighting.

Comments Director Dana Anderson, “As AstonRep’s last production, this play is a special send-off about connecting with others on a level that goes beyond just words. It is my hope that the themes of this show amplify and reflect the legacy of our company, built on lasting friendships and the desire to express our truest selves.

The production team includes Jeremiah Barr* (Scenic and Props Designer Technical Director), Andrés Mota (Costume Designer), Becca Venable (Lighting Designer), Robert Tobin* (Sound Designer, Producer), Bethany Hart (Dialect and Vocal Coach), Kelley Holcomb (Assistant Dialect and Vocal Coach), Derek Bertelsen* (Producer), Samantha Barr* (Production Manager), Anna Vu (Production Stage Manager) and Miguel Salgado, Jr. (Assistant Production Manager, Stage Manager).

COVID safety: While in the theater, masks are highly recommended and encouraged, but not required. Disposable masks will be available to patrons who request one. If you are immunocompromised or at higher risk, please consider wearing a mask at indoor public settings where vaccination status is unknown.

*Denotes AstonRep Company Members.

Cast (in alphabetical order) Aja Alcazar* (Emma), Sean William Kelly* (George), Erin O'Brien* (Mary) with Jorge Salas (Resten, Ensemble) and Génesis Sánchez (Alta, Ensemble)

Understudies: Kelley Holcomb (u/s Mary, Emma) and James Reilly (u/s George).


Location: The Edge Off-Broadway Theatre, 1133 W. Catalpa Ave., Chicago

Dates: Preview: Friday, April 28 at 7:30 pm

Press performance: Saturday, April 29 at 7:30 pm

Regular run: Sunday, April 30 – Sunday, May 29, 2023

Curtain Times: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 3 pm.

Tickets: Previews: $10; Regular run: $20. Student/seniors discounts available. Tickets are now on sale at www.astonrep.com or by calling (773) 828-9129.

 

About the Artists

Julia Cho’s (Playwright) plays include Durango, The Winchester House, The Architecture of Loss and 99 Histories. Her work has been produced at The Vineyard Theatre, The Public Theater, Long Wharf Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, South Coast Repertory, New York Theatre Workshop, East West Players, The Theatre@Boston Court, Theater Mu and Silk Road Theatre Project, among others. Honors include the 2005 Barrie Stavis Award, the 2005 Claire Tow Award for Emerging Artists and the 2004 L. Arnold Weissberger Award. She was also a two-time finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Award. An alumna of the Juilliard School and NYU’s Graduate Dramatic Writing Program, Julia also served as a resident playwright at New Dramatists.

Dana Anderson (Director) is an educator, director and actor based in Chicago. With AstonRep, she has worked on The Lonesome West, Laramie Project and 1984. Other directing credits include Wife Material (Underscore), Belle of Austin (Rhinofest) and Little Miss (Davenport’s). She has worked with Theo Ubique, Kokandy, The New Colony, Shawnee Summer Theatre, Stage Door Fine Arts and Chicago Dramatists. She is currently the drama teacher at Chiaravalle Montessori School, program manager at Storycatchers Theatre and the Associate Artistic Director of Shakespeare Corrected. 

 

About AstonRep Theatre Company

AstonRep Theatre Company was formed in the summer of 2008. Since then, the company has produced numerous full-length productions, along with their annual Writer’s Series. They are currently in residence at The Edge Theater. AstonRep Theatre Company is an ensemble of artists committed to creating exciting, intimate theatrical experiences that go beyond the front door to challenge audiences and spark discussion where the show is not the end of the experience: it is just the beginning. 

Thursday, April 6, 2023

Chicago Premiere of HATEF**K May 5 – June 10, 2023 at The Den Theatre

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar 

First Floor Theater

Presents the Chicago premiere of

HATEFUCK

By Rehana Lew Mirza

Directed by Arti Ishak

May 5 – June 10, 2023 at The Den Theatre

 

PHOTO CREDIT: The cast of First Floor Theater’s Chicago premiere of Hatefuck 

includes (left to right) Aila Peck and Faiz Siddique.

 

 First Floor Theater is pleased to conclude its Tenth Season with the Chicago premiere of Rehana Lew Mirza’s Kilroys’-lauded hit Hatefuck, directed by Arti Ishak, playing May 5 – June 10, 2023 at The Den Theatre (2B), 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago. Tickets are now on sale at firstfloortheater.com. I'll be out for the press opening May 11th, so check back soon for my full review.

Passions ignite when Layla, an intense literature professor, accuses Imran, a brashly iconoclastic novelist, of trading in anti-Muslim stereotypes. But as their attraction grows into something more, they discover that good sex doesn't always make good bedfellows. Conflicting cultural identities collide in this thornily clever antidote to a meet-cute romance.

Comments Director Arti Ishak, “As an actor I’ve experienced first-hand how Muslim stories get filtered through the lens of whiteness, whether it’s pining to prove we’re ‘just like you,’ playing up the exotic other, or blatantly leaning into stereotypes. Muslim Americans deserve nuanced representation that asks us to wrestle with our intracommunity issues while tangled in a story about messy human connection. Rehana Lew Mirza’s Hatefuck is the modern Muslim love story I’ve been waiting for and I’m ready to help bring that story to Chicago as my directing debut.”

The production team includes Paloma Locsin (Scenic and Props Designer), Isaac Pineda (Costumes Designer), Ben Carne (Lighting Designer), Troy Cruz (Sound Designer), Samantha Kaufman (Fight and Intimacy Director), Layla Bahmanziari* (Assistant Director/Dramaturg), Shelbi Weaver* (Production Manager), Anastar Alvarez* (Director of Production) and Devonte Washington (Stage Manager).

*Denotes FFT company members

Cast: Aila Peck (Layla) and Faiz Siddique (Imran)

Understudies: Ben Matthew (Imran) and Donya Rahimi (Layla)

 

Location: The Den Theatre (2B),1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago

Dates: Previews: Friday, May 5 at 8 pm, Saturday, May 6 at 8 pm, Sunday, May 7 at 3 pm and Wednesday, May 10 at 8 pm

Press Performance: Thursday, May 11 at 8 pm

Regular Run: Friday, May 12 – Saturday, June 10, 2023

Curtain Times: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm; Sundays at 3 pm. Please note: there will be an added performance on Saturday, June 10 at 3 pm

Industry Nights: Monday, May 22 at 8 pm and Monday, June 5 at 8 pm

Understudy Performance: Wednesday, May 31 at 8 pm

Tickets: Previews: $0 - $20. Regular Run: $0 – $35. In the spirit of bringing accessibility to the theatre, a limited number of free tickets are available for each performance. Use the code FREE to unlock 1 complimentary ticket (subject to availability). Tickets are now on sale at firstfloortheater.com.

 

About the Artists

Rehana Lew Mirza (Playwright, she/her) is a playwright, writer and creator. Her plays include: Hatefuck (WP/Colt Coeur); A People’s Guide to History in the Time of Here and Now (Primary Stages Toulmin commission); Soldier X (Ma‐Yi); Tomorrow, Inshallah (Living Room Theater; Storyworks/ HuffPost commission); Neighborhood Watch (NNPN/InterAct commission) and Barriers (Desipina, Asian American Theater Company).

With her husband Mike Lew, she shared a Mellon Foundation National Playwright residency administered in partnership with Howlround at Ma‐Yi Theater, where they co‐wrote The Colonialism Project (La Jolla Playhouse commission) and the musical Bhangin’ It, with composer/lyricist Sam Willmott (La Jolla Playhouse 2022; Richard Rodgers Award; Rhinebeck Writers Retreat; Project Springboard).

Additional honors include: 2021 Cape Cod Theatre Project Artist‐in‐Residence, 2020 Kleban Award, 2019 NYFA Fellow, HBO Access Fellow, Lilly Award (Stacey Mindich “Go Write A Play”), and a TCG/New Georges Fellowship. MFA: Columbia University; BFA: NYU Tisch. www.rehanamirza.com

Arti Ishak (Director, they/them) is an actor, director and community organizer, recently named a 3Arts Make A Wave Artist. Directing credits include short films Shukran Bas (Means of Productions), Sun On Ice (Jackalope), BaLa (HF Productions). Catch their upcoming directing work on stage with SAME SECTS! by Paul Michael Thomson, produced as part of Haven Chicago’s Directors Haven. Recent acting credits include The Best Decision You Ever Made (The Second City), KISS (Haven), Venus in Fur (Circle), Witch (Writers), Buried Child (Writers), Men on Boats (American Theater Company), Fantastic Super Great Nation Numero Uno (The Second City). TV: Southside (HBO), Dark Matter (NBC), Chicago Med (NBC). Arti is staff with The Chicago Inclusion Project, an instructor at Black Box Acting and an organizer with SWANASA Central. They are represented by Paonessa Talent Agency. www.artiishak.com



About First Floor Theater 

Founded in 2012, First Floor Theater has garnered a reputation for pairing some of the most cutting-edge scripts in Chicago and the American Theater with a signature innovative design style. Shortly after their inaugural season, FFT was named “Best New Theater Company” in the Chicago Reader. FFT was also honored to be recognized with the 2018 Francesca Primus Prize from ATCA for their production of Leah Nanako-Winkler’s Two Mile Hollow, and in Newcity’s Players 2019: “The Fifty People Who Really Perform for Chicago”. Some of First Floor’s notable past productions include Hooded or Being Black for Dummies, Mike Pence Sex Dream, Two Mile Hollow, peerless and Plano. First Floor Theater is a Resident Company at The Den Theatre. 


Wednesday, March 29, 2023

REVIEW: Lyric Opera World Premiere of PROXIMITY On Stage Through April 8, 2023

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

What you need to know about the world premiere of 

Proximity 

at Lyric Opera of Chicago



Chicago takes center stage in this trio of new American works united by the bold vision of director Yuval Sharon's groundbreaking production, March 24 – April 8, 2023


Review of Proximity: A Trio of New North American Operas at Lyric Opera

By Catherine Hellmann, Guest Critic 

I was a season opera subscriber for over ten years. I never heard an “f bomb” sung on the Lyric stage until the premiere of Proximity last Friday night. The word “bitch,” either. Wow. Contemporary for sure. 

There are three short operas in the cycle: The Walkers (music by Daniel Bernard Roumain and libretto by Anna Deavere Smith), Four Portraits (music and libretto by Caroline Shaw with Jocelyn Clarke also on libretto), and Night (music by John Luther Adams and libretto by John Haines). 

My favorite was The Walkers set in modern day Chicago around gangs. Opera is certainly dramatic, and what could have more drama than the antagonism among gang rivals? The opera examines the likelihood of violence begetting violence. One character has killed a young man at 17; his victim’s family, he notes, looked just like his own. These young people are constantly confronting trauma and trying to survive. (I taught in Englewood for a year; one of my students lifted his shirt to show me his bullet scars. Another young man was shot on his front lawn with his mom watching. Miraculously, after numerous surgeries, he survived.) 

The rival gangs still remember their leaders who went to jail in 1963: Jeff Fort and Larry Hoover. Their hatred against each other’s groups is deep-seated. The Preacher Man, sung by American baritone Gordon Hawkins, urges peace; he reiterates that he’s “got status.” But one of the gang members retorts,” Your theology ain’t my mythology.”  

An unexpected character was Arne Duncan, former CEO of Chicago Public Schools and Secretary of Education (and basketball buddy) under President Barack Obama. (He had a snarky nickname in our household for never calling a snow day when I taught in CPS; I actually snickered when he appeared onstage.) Arne founded CRED (Create Real Economic Destiny) which “provides jobs, counseling, education support, job training, mental health, therapy,” according to librettist Anna Deavere Smith, better known as an actress on The West Wing and Nurse Jackie. Arne, played by Jeff Parker, has a few of the best quotes in the show: “You have to give people a reason to stop shooting…and put the guns down.” He also laments how “nothing gets solved.” 

Another devastating story was sung movingly by Chicago native and soprano Whitney Morrison as Yasmine Miller, a bereaved mother who lost her one-year old baby boy to gun violence. In June 2020, the 22-year-old mom and her toddler were driving home from a laundromat at 60th and Halsted. Shots fired from a nearby car killed Sincere. Ms. Miller delivered a powerful performance that conveyed the young mother’s heartbreak. The audience was very receptive to her compelling rendition. 

Four Portraits had much-needed humor in its storyline, poking fun at the technology in our lives that we now take for granted. One of the characters was named GPS, ably sung by Corrine Wallace-Crane. Yes, she sings the recognizable directions that lead us to work, home, shopping, and everywhere any more. There was laughter over the familiarity of being instructed to turn right, left, how many feet lie ahead, passing streets, etc. There were also chuckles as actors rode the CTA, and “doors closing” was announced. 

The giant screened set and projected graphics really benefited the show’s modern appeal. I liked the giant maps of Chicago expanding into the entire world. They were one of the best parts of the show. (I had wondered how the Lyric would handle having Carmen with its huge sets in the repertory.) Jason H. Thompson and Kaitlyn Pietras are to be commended as Production Designers for their clever, inspired graphics. 

Although the show overall was confusing with how the vastly different storylines jumped around (I would have preferred a more streamlined performance), the Lyric Opera is to be commended for trying to stay relevant with modern audiences. (There were quite a few empty seats after intermission which is a shame.) I admire them for expanding their horizons. Bravo! 

Catherine Hellmann is a teacher, daughter of an educator, and mom of a teacher and a librarian. Education is important in her family. :-)  She loves to explore Chicago neighborhoods, experience theater, try new restaurants, and read lots of books, especially historical fiction.   

Lyric Opera of Chicago presents the second of two Chicago-set world premieres in its season: Proximity, a trio of new American operas that confront head-on some of the greatest challenges affecting modern society: the devastating impact of gun violence on cities and neighborhoods, yearning for connection in a world driven by technology, and the need to respect and protect our natural resources. In an innovative production by director Yuval Sharon that is searing in its intimacy, revolutionary in its structure, and groundbreaking in its technical wizardry, Proximity is on stage at the Lyric Opera House for five performances only, March 24 – April 8, 2023.

Curated since its inception in 2019 by Lyric's Special Projects Advisor Renée Fleming along with Lyric’s General Director Anthony Freud and Sharon, Proximity brings together some of the leading creative thinkers in American culture, all in their Lyric debuts. Daniel Bernard Roumain, the acclaimed Haitian-American composer, and Anna Deavere Smith, the legendary playwright and actress, have written The Walkers, an opera that gives voice to families grappling with gun violence in Chicago. Caroline Shaw, a Pulitzer and Grammy-winning composer, has teamed with writer Jocelyn Clarke for Four Portraits, an opera about the impact of technology on society. And Pulitzer and Grammy-winning composer John Luther Adams has written Night, a short opera on the fragility of the natural world, set to a text by the late poet John Haines. 

The three operas are spliced and shuffled to create an entirely new work that zooms in and out from the scale of the individual to the community to the cosmic. Proximity, the synthesis of these three works, offers a compelling snapshot of 21st century life with all of its complex intersections and reveals our everlasting capacity for hope. 

A daredevil director’s bold vision. Familiar to Lyric audiences from his immersive drive-through production of Twilight: Gods in 2021 and its resulting film, director and Chicago-area native Yuval Sharon provides the unifying vision for Proximity. Sharon is a MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellowship winner who is widely acclaimed for the work of his Los Angeles-based experimental opera company The Industry as well as Detroit Opera, which he has led as Artistic Director since 2020. Sharon is known for his unconventional body of work that seeks to expand the operatic form. “The ultimate irony in working on a project called Proximity is that most of it was made in the era of social distance,” says Sharon. “We chose the name Proximity because it succinctly captured one of the opera’s fundamental ideas: we are closer to our fellow humans than we are often made to feel.”

A creative team that expands what is possible in opera. The sweeping visual ideas of director Sharon are realized by Proximity's pathbreaking design team. Production designers Jason H. Thompson and Kaitlyn Pietras, who worked on Lyric’s Twilight: Gods, have created a stage design on a scale and complexity never before attempted in opera — a curved quarter-pipe video wall, 40 feet wide by 26 feet high, made of 140 LED panels and 240 black marble LED panels. Complemented by a robust on-set system of responsive cameras and other interactive features, the set design for Proximity affords audiences a new immersive way to experience opera.

Proximity also features the costume design of Carlos J. Soto, the sound design of Jody Elff, and the choreography of Rena Butler, all in their Lyric debuts.

Three distinct yet seamlessly woven sound worlds. Leading Proximity's musical forces is conductor Kazem Abdullah in his Lyric debut. Abdullah is a passionate advocate for new music who recently conducted Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels's Omar at LA Opera, where he was a member of its Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program. Abdullah will guide the 69 players of the Lyric Opera Orchestra in bringing to life the three unique soundscapes of Proximity's three composers. The 43 members of the Lyric Opera Chorus will be led by chorus master Michael Black.

The Walkers

Music by Daniel Bernard Roumain and libretto by Anna Deavere Smith

Composer Daniel Bernard Roumain is known for his signature violin sounds infused with myriad electronic and African-American musical influences. He is a composer of solo, chamber, orchestral, and operatic works, and has composed an array of film, theater, and dance scores. His previous work in opera includes the interdisciplinary chamber opera We Shall Not Be Moved, written with librettist Marc Bamuthi Joseph, which premiered at Opera Philadelphia in 2017. He has worked with artists from Lady Gaga and Philip Glass to Bill T. Jones and Marin Alsop and has published more than 300 works.

Anna Deavere Smith is an actress, playwright, teacher, and author. She is credited with creating a new form of theater by looking at current events from multiple points of view. Her theater combines the journalistic technique of interviewing her subjects with the art of interpreting their words through performance. Plays include Fires In the Mirror (a runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize), Twilight: Los Angeles (nominated for two Tony Awards), House Arrest, and Let Me Down Easy. In 2012, President Obama awarded her the National Endowment for the Humanities Medal. Like Proximity director Yuval Sharon, she is a recipient of the prestigious MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellowship. The Walkers is her first opera.

After Lyric connected Anna Deavere Smith to Chicago CRED (Creating Real Economic Diversity), an anti-gun-violence organization co-founded by Arne Duncan and Laurene Powell Jobs, Smith created the libretto following a series of interviews with Chicagoans whose families had experienced gun violence. Several of the characters in the opera are people she interviewed, including Arne Duncan, CRED counselor and former gang member Curtis Toler, and Yasmine Miller, the mother of a toddler who was shot and killed only months before the interview took place. Other characters are an amalgam of real people who work as counselors and people who have been helped by the organization. Smith's libretto uses the actual words of people to create monologues and dialogue.

At the start of The Walkers, we hear about the history of Chicago gang violence from Arne Duncan and Curtis Toler and we meet Bilal, who has been released from prison and is experiencing PTSD. We meet the fictional character of Lil’ Bunchy Bates, a child who deflects attempts to be recruited to gangs until he is shot and killed while playing basketball. Violence breaks out at his funeral, targeting the suspected perpetrator. Across the city, Yasmine Miller is shot in a drive-by shooting that kills her toddler. The story ends with a message of cautious hope that the epidemic of gun violence and the related crises of segregation, police abuse, and gang violence will all one day end, and that the community will finally find peace.

Leading the cast of The Walkers are soprano Whitney Morrison as Yasmine Miller and baritone Norman Garrett as Bilal. Morrison is an alumna of The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center, Lyric's acclaimed artist-development program. Last season at Lyric, she starred in Terence Blanchard and Kasi Lemmons’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones. Garrett has appeared with Lyric in Fire Shut Up in My Bones and in the recent world premiere of Will Liverman and DJ King Rico’s The Factotum. The cast also features baritone Gordon Hawkins as Preacher Man, tenor Issachah Savage as Curtis Toler, soprano Kearstin Piper Brown as Chief’s Daughter #1, and mezzo-soprano Zoie Reams as Chief’s Daughter #2.

The cast also includes several current members of the Ryan Opera Center Ensemble: bass Ron Dukes is Chief’s Son #1, tenor Martin Luther Clark is Chief’s Son #2, and soprano Lindsey Reynolds is Very Loud Girl. Rounding out the cast are tenor Jamion Cotten as Lil' Bunchy Bates and actor Jeff Parker as Arne Duncan. The children's chorus in The Walkers features 20 members of Uniting Voices Chicago under the direction of Josephine Lee.

Four Portraits

Music by Caroline Shaw and libretto by Caroline Shaw and Jocelyn Clarke

Composer Caroline Shaw is a musician who moves among roles, genres, and mediums; her recent work involves compositions for film, television, dance, and now opera. She was awarded the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in Music for Partita for 8 Voices and has received three Grammy Awards. She has written more than 100 works in the last decade, and has worked with artists as diverse as Yo-Yo Ma, Rosalía, Renée Fleming, and Nas. Her work as a vocalist or composer has appeared in the recent film Tár, the Showtime television series Yellowjackets, and the Netflix documentary of Beyonce’s Homecoming. Shaw's co-librettist Jocelyn Clarke is dramaturg at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. and has recently served in the writers room for the Starz television series P-Valley. His work abroad includes time with the Arts Council of Ireland and Dublin’s Abbey Theatre.

The first three of Shaw and Clarke's Four Portraits show a couple grappling with the disconnection of modern life — a fragmented telephone call with a bad connection, a crowded train of strangers, and a nighttime car trip with GPS. In the final scene, which begins with the first face-to-face conversation in the opera, spoken language recedes and acquiesces to the sonic landscape of the forest in a hopeful nod to a future unencumbered by technology.

Four Portraits stars countertenor John Holiday as A and baritone Lucia Lucas as B, both in their Lyric debuts. Holiday, winner of the Kennedy Center’s 2017 Marian Anderson Vocal Award, was recently seen in the Metropolitan Opera’s world premiere of The Hours and gained widespread fame for his appearance in Season 19 of NBC’s popular competition series The Voice. Lucas, an in-demand baritone who has sung at the Met, English National Opera, and across Europe, was featured in the recent documentary The Sound of Identity, which chronicled her journey as the first transgender woman to sing a leading role in a standard work at an American opera company.

Sopranos Kathryn Henry and Lindsey Reynolds, tenors Lunga Eric Hallam and Alejandro Luévanos, and bass Ron Dukes — current members of the Ryan Opera Center Ensemble — co-star as the Passengers, a group that also includes mezzo-sopranos Kathleen Felty (a Ryan Opera Center alumna) and Stephanie Sanchez and baritone Darren Drone. Mezzo-soprano Corinne Wallace-Crane sings the role of the GPS.

Night

Music by John Luther Adams and libretto by John Haines

John Luther Adams began his career as an environmental activist and transitioned into composing upon realizing that music had a better chance of changing the world than politics. Since that time, he has become one of the most widely admired composers in the world, receiving both the 2014 Pulitzer Prize in Music and 2015 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition for Become Ocean, among many other honors.

For his contribution to Proximity, Adams was inspired by the work of his friend and longtime neighbor in Alaska, the late poet John Haines. One of Haines’s very last poems, Night offers a dark and troubling vision of the Earth's future, but Adams was drawn to its ultimate notes of hope and promise in the next generation, a theme that runs throughout each of Proximity's three works.

Night features mezzo-soprano Zoie Reams as an omniscient Greek sybil who launches the work's spiritual interrogations. Reams was seen earlier this season at Lyric as Ragonde in Rossini's Le Comte Ory.

Lyric strongly reinforces its commitment to new work. Following the extraordinary success of the world premiere of The Factotum earlier this season, Proximity continues to push boundaries for what is possible in and for opera. It brings a new kind of musical and theatrical experience to Lyric, to the city of Chicago, and to the world. Experience the world premiere of Proximity — only at Lyric Opera of Chicago.


Important to know

·        Five chances to see Proximity: March 24, 26 (matinee), 29, April 5 (matinee), and 8.

·        A world premiere commissioned by Lyric Opera of Chicago: Proximity includes The Walkers, composed by Daniel Bernard Roumain with libretto by Anna Deavere Smith; Four Portraits, composed by Caroline Shaw with libretto by Caroline Shaw and Jocelyn Clarke; and Night, composed by John Luther Adams with libretto by John Haines.

·        Proximity addresses adult themes and contains some adult language.

·        Sung in English with projected English titles.

·        A total running time of 2 hours and 10 minutes, including one intermission.

·        Tickets and more information: lyricopera.org/proximity.

For updated information about Lyric’s ongoing health and safety protocols, visitlyricopera.org/safety.

Lyric’s world premiere of Proximity is generously made possible by an Anonymous Donor, OPERA America, and support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Lyric Opera of Chicago thanks its Official Airline, American Airlines, and acknowledges support from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.

About Lyric

Lyric Opera of Chicago is committed to redefining what it means to experience great opera. The company is driven to deliver consistently excellent artistry through innovative, relevant, celebratory programming that engages and energizes new and traditional audiences.

Under the leadership of General Director, President & CEO Anthony Freud, Music Director Enrique Mazzola, and Special Projects Advisor Renée Fleming, Lyric is dedicated to reflecting, and drawing strength from, the diversity of Chicago. Lyric offers, through innovation, collaboration, and evolving learning opportunities, ever-more exciting, accessible, and thought-provoking audience and community experiences. We also stand committed to training the artists of the future, through The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center; and to becoming increasingly diverse across our audiences, staff, programming, and artists—magnifying the welcoming pull of our art form, our company, and our city.

Through the timeless power of voice, the splendor of a great orchestra and chorus, theater, dance, design, and truly magnificent stagecraft, Lyric is devoted to immersing audiences in worlds both familiar and unexpected, creating shared experiences that resonate long after the curtain comes down.

Join us @LyricOpera on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. #LongLivePassion

For more information, visit lyricopera.org

 

Sunday, March 26, 2023

REVIEW: Carmen at Lyric Opera On Stage Through April 7, 2023

 ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

One of the world’s most beloved operas returns to Chicago 
March 11 – April 7, 2023


Review of Carmen at Lyric Opera
By Catherine Hellmann, Guest Critic 

“If I love you, beware!” declares Carmen in Act I. Well, she warns the gullible soldier Don Jose right from the start, but he welcomes the danger. (shake my head…) 

J’Nai Bridges is a very seductive, beautiful Carmen who is hard to resist. Her Carmen is sexy and captivating. She is playful and confident---I loved when she chugged wine straight from the bottle at the bar. 

In contrast is the very sweet Micaela, a girl from Don Jose’s hometown, who brings a letter from his mother. Golda Schultz was making her Lyric debut as Micaela and has a gorgeous voice. She and Don Jose have a beautiful duet; Jose’s mother urges him to marry Micaela. But bad-girl Carmen is just too alluring for Don Jose. (sung by handsome tenor Charles Castronovo)

Carmen urges Don Jose to abandon the Army. He refuses until his commanding officer Lieutenant Zuniga approaches with hopes of seeing Carmen himself. A jealous Don Jose, in a very poor career move, strikes Zuniga. Don Jose is now like Pee Wee Herman: “a loner…a rebel.” 

The revolutionaries sing “when conniving, it’s good to have women along,” so Carmen is their girl. (ah, those sexist lyrics…the opera was first performed in 1875.) After her fling with Don Jose, Carmen quickly moves on to bullfighter Escamillo. 
A very awkward moment occurs when there is silence between Acts III and IV while sets are changed for new scenes. Some music from the orchestra and that gorgeous, familiar score would have been appreciated. My sis recognized much of the music, from the “Habanera” in Act I to the “Toreador Song” in Act II. Carmen is often the first introduction to opera for many audience members.   

The Lyric Opera Chorus and the Uniting Voices Chicago (UVC, formerly the Chicago Children’s Choir) do an admirable job as always. I’m often reminded of a Cecil B. DeMille movie with its “cast of thousands” since the Lyric productions are so epic. The costumes are gorgeous by Robert Perdziola, especially the ladies’ gowns and the bullfighters’ outfits with lots of sequins. 

By the end, Carmen is dead, having been stabbed by her former lover, Don Jose, when she rejects him. (“Does someone always die in an opera?” questioned my sister. “Usually,” I answered.) Oh, Don Jose…you should have listened to your mother. 


Catherine Hellmann teaches downtown at a cool charter school. She loves theater, Chicago history, museums, reading, walking, and finding new restaurants. (Riding the CTA daily sometimes provides the best live performances in the city!) She needs to get to Hawaii to claim all 50 states visited.  


Opera’s legendary femme fatale returns to Lyric Opera of Chicago with Bizet’s Carmen — March 11 – April 7, 2023 — starring J’Nai Bridges, a leading interpreter of the famous title role and a singer with deep Chicago roots. Audiences are invited to experience one of opera’s greatest hits, featuring iconic music that is instantly recognizable even for those new to the art form.

The diva you know and love. BET has described two-time Grammy Award winner J’Nai Bridges as “the Beyoncé of the opera world.” As Carmen, a signature role she has portrayed around the globe, that description couldn’t be more accurate. An alumna of Lyric’s Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center training program and a Kennedy Center Next 50 cultural leader, the mezzo-soprano makes her triumphant return to the Lyric stage. Bridges has appeared in more than 15 productions at Lyric and continues to shine as an unparalleled talent in opera.

A star-studded cast. Bridges is joined by Charles Castronovo as Don José. A critically acclaimed tenor, he was last seen at Lyric during the 2021/22 Season as Nemorino in The Elixir of Love. He is joined by South African soprano Golda Schultz as Micaëla in her Lyric debut. Schultz is the 2022 winner of the prestigious Bavarian Culture Prize, with the citation proclaiming that “a fantastic firework of tones fills the stage when Golda Schultz sings.” The first prize winner in the 2019 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, Ukrainian baritone Andrei Kymach sings the role of the charismatic bullfighter Escamillo in his Lyric debut.

An international supporting cast of future stars. This production of Carmen is heightened by members of the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center Ensemble. Mexican soprano Denis Vélez is Frasquita and mezzo-soprano and Michigan native Katherine DeYoung is Mercédès. Hailing from New York, tenor Ryan Capozzo is Remendado, while Colombian baritone Laureano Quant is Dancaïre. Bass Wm. Clay Thompson, a Kentucky native, is Zuniga, and baritone Wisconsinite Ian Rucker joins his fellow Ensemble members as Moralès. Rounding out this stellar cast is Mexican tenor Alejandro Luévanos as Lillas Pastia. 

Opera’s biggest blockbuster. The immensely talented Lyric Opera Orchestra will be led by accomplished conductor Henrik Nánási, who is acclaimed for his performances of Carmen in one of opera’s biggest theaters, the Arena di Verona. At Lyric, he was last seen during the 2019/20 Season in Madama Butterfly, and made a memorable debut in the 2015/16 Season leading Le nozze di Figaro. He served as general music director at Komische Oper Berlin from 2012 to 2017. Nánási is joined by talented stage director Marie Lambert-Le Bihan, whose work at Lyric includes La clemenza di Tito in the 2013/14 Season and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in the 2012/13 Season.

A proper operatic spectacle, Carmen features the talents of set designer Robin Don, costume design by Robert Perdziola, and lighting design from Chris Maravich. This production also includes a children’s chorus featuring members of Uniting Voices Chicago, led by Josephine Lee. As always, Lyric’s brilliant chorus will be directed by chorus master Michael Black. 

Dance the night away. This spirited production of Carmen features choreography from Stephanie Martinez. An award-winning Chicago-based dance artist and founder of the acclaimed PARA.MAR Dance Theatre, she was awarded Joffrey Ballet’s “Winning Works: Choreographers of Color” commission in 2015. Martinez is assisted by Noelle Kayser alongside ballet instruction courtesy of August Tye.

New to opera? Start with a certified classic. Carmen has cemented itself in popular culture with its iconic music and irresistibly tragic story. Audiences will fall in love with opera’s fiercest heroine, so get ready for the biggest operatic sensation of the season — only at Lyric Opera of Chicago. 

Important to know
· Eight chances to see Carmen: March 11, 15 (matinee), 19 (matinee), 22, 25, 30 (matinee), April 2 (matinee), and 7.
· Sung in French, with projected English titles.
· A total running time of 3 hours and 25 minutes, including two intermissions.
· For updated information about Lyric’s ongoing initiatives regarding health and safety protocols, visit lyricopera.org/safety.
Lyric’s presentation of Bizet’s Carmen is generously made possible by Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, Liz Stiffel, and the Lauter McDougal Charitable Fund.

Lyric Opera of Chicago thanks its Official Airline, American Airlines, and acknowledges support from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.
About Lyric

Lyric Opera of Chicago is committed to redefining what it means to experience great opera. The company is driven to deliver consistently excellent artistry through innovative, relevant, celebratory programming that engages and energizes new and traditional audiences.

Under the leadership of General Director, President & CEO Anthony Freud, Music Director Enrique Mazzola, and Special Projects Advisor Renée Fleming, Lyric is dedicated to reflecting, and drawing strength from, the diversity of Chicago. Lyric offers, through innovation, collaboration, and evolving learning opportunities, ever-more exciting, accessible, and thought-provoking audience and community experiences. We also stand committed to training the artists of the future, through The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center; and to becoming increasingly diverse across our audiences, staff, programming, and artists—magnifying the welcoming pull of our art form, our company, and our city.

Through the timeless power of voice, the splendor of a great orchestra and chorus, theater, dance, design, and truly magnificent stagecraft, Lyric is devoted to immersing audiences in worlds both familiar and unexpected, creating shared experiences that resonate long after the curtain comes down.

Join us @LyricOpera on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. #LongLivePassion

For more information, visit lyricopera.org/newseason.


Friday, March 24, 2023

Depeche Mode Memento Mori Out Now And World Tour Underway

 

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

Depeche Mode 

Memento Mori Out Now 


Memento Mori World Tour Underway


The wait is over: Depeche Mode has released its eagerly anticipated 15th studio album Memento Mori, available on 2LP vinyl, CD, cassette, and digital as of today, March 24, via Columbia Records.


Early reaction to Memento Mori has been unanimously positive, with The New York Times citing the band’s “exquisite darkness,” Rolling Stone praising the album’s “characteristic musical beauty and lyrical depth,” and the Associated Press raving "The music is staring lovingly into the abyss and asking it to love it back… Depeche Mode might be facing their own mortality but their power as musicians stretches into infinity." In the UK, the Guardian hailed the return of “the biggest cult band in the world” and lauded the album’s "perfect blend of ominous mood, electronic textures that range from intense to ethereal,” while the NME and Uncut labelled Memento Mori “majestic” and “their most powerful work this century, respectively.


Produced by James Ford, with additional production work by Marta Salogni, Memento Mori’s gestation took place during the early stages of the Covid pandemic, resulting in themes inspired directly by that period. The album’s 12 tracks chart a vast expanse of moods and textures, from its ominous opening to its closing resolve—running the gamut from paranoia and obsession to catharsis and joy, and hitting myriad points between. 


Depeche Mode kicked off its Memento Mori World Tour last night with a sold-out show at Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center. Due to popular demand, the tour recently added dozens of new dates, including a new Fall leg of North American shows. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2020 inductees' 19th outing and first in more than five years, the Live Nation-presented tour has gotten underway with a limited North American run featuring stops at New York’s Madison Square Garden, Chicago’s United Center, and Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena. The band will then embark on a European stadium tour on May 16, with noted stops including the Stade de France in Paris, two shows at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, Milan’s San Siro Stadium, and London’s Twickenham Stadium. 


Following the end of the European summer run, the recently added leg of the tour brings the band back to North America in the fall, stopping in Mexico City for three nights at Foro Sol before returning to the US and Canada. Newly announced tour stops include Austin’s Moody Center, Vancouver’s Rogers Arena, additional New York City shows at Madison Square Garden and Barclay’s Center, Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena and more, concluding with a multi-night run in Los Angeles at the Kia Forum and Crypto.com Arena.


Reception to the Memento Mori tour has been overwhelming with shows quickly selling out across Europe and North America, and over two million tickets already sold. The 81 date tour is on track to be one of Depeche Mode’s largest to date and is also well on its way to being one of the largest worldwide tours of 2023. 


Having sold more than 100 million records and played to more than 35 million fans worldwide, Depeche Mode remains an ever-evolving and singularly influential musical force. An indelible inspiration to fans, critics and artists alike, Depeche Mode continues to forge ahead, with the Memento Mori album and tour representing the opening of the newest chapter of a peerless and ongoing legacy.


Memento Mori World Tour 2023


March 23 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center 

March 25 – San Jose, CA – SAP Center 

March 28 – Los Angeles, CA – Kia Forum 

March 30 – Las Vegas, NV – T-Mobile Arena 

April 2 – San Antonio, TX – AT&T Center 

April 5 – Chicago, IL – United Center 

April 7 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena 

April 9 – Quebec City, QC – Videotron Centre 

April 12 – Montreal, QC – Centre Bell 

April 14 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden 

May 16 – Amsterdam, NL – Ziggo Dome 

May 18 – Amsterdam, NL – Ziggo Dome

May 20 – Antwerp, BE – Sportpaleis Antwerpen 

May 23 – Stockholm, SE – Friends Arena 

May 26 – Leipzig, DE – Leipziger Festwiese 

May 28 – Bratislava, SK – Národný Futbalový Štadión 

May 31 – Lyon, FR – Groupama Stadium 

June 2 – Barcelona, ES – Primavera Sound Festival 

June 4 – Dusseldorf, DE – Merkur Spiel-Arena 

June 6 – Dusseldorf, DE – Merkur Spiel-Arena 

June 9 – Madrid, ES – Primavera Sound Festival 

June 11 – Bern, CH – Stadion Wankdorf 

June 14 – Dublin, IE – Malahide Castle 

June 17 – London, UK – Twickenham Stadium 

June 20 – Munich, DE – Olympiastadion

June 22 – Lille, FR – Stade Pierre Mauroy 

June 24 – Paris, FR – Stade de France 

June 27 – Copenhagen, DK – Parken 

June 29 – Frankfurt, DE – Deutsche Bank Park 

July 1 – Frankfurt, DE – Deutsche Bank Park

July 4 – Bordeaux, FR – Matmut Atlantique 

July 7 – Berlin, DE – Olympiastadion 

July 9 – Berlin, DE – Olympiastadion

July 12 – Rome, IT – Stadio Olympico 

July 14 – Milan, IT – San Siro 

July 16 – Bologna, IT – Stadio Renato Dall’Ara 

July 21 – Klagenfurt, AT – Wörthersee Stadion ‘

July 23 – Zagreb, HR – Arena Zagreb 

July 26 – Bucharest, RO – Arena Națională 

July 28 – Budapest, HU – Puskás Aréna 

July 30 – Prague, CZ – Letňany Airport 

August 2 – Warsaw, PL – PGE Narodowy 

August 4 – Krakow, PL – Tauron Arena

August 6 – Tallinn, EE – Tallinna Lauluväljak 

August 8 – Helsinki, FI – Kaisaniemen Puisto 

August 11 – Oslo, NO – Telenor Arena

September 21 – Mexico City, MX – Foro Sol 

September 23 – Mexico City, MX – Foro Sol 

September 25 – Mexico City, MX – Foro Sol 

September 29 – Austin, TX – Moody Center 

October 1 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center

October 4 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center 

October 7 – New Orleans, LA – Smoothie King Center

October 10 – Orlando, FL – Amway Center 

October 12 – Miami, FL – Miami-Dade Arena 

October 15 — Atlanta, GA — State Farm Arena

October 19 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena 

October 21 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center

October 23 – Washington, DC – Capital One Arena 

October 25 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center 

October 28 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden 

October 31 – Boston, MA – TD Garden

November 3 – Montreal, QC – Centre Bell 

November 5 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena

November 8 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena

November 10 – Cleveland, OH – Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse 

November 13 – Chicago, IL – United Center

November 16 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena

November 18 – Salt Lake City, UT – Vivint Arena

November 21 – Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place 

November 24 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena 

November 26 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena

November 28 – Portland, OR – MODA Center

December 1 – Las Vegas, NV – T-Mobile Arena 

December 3 – San Francisco, CA – Chase Center 

December 6 – San Diego, CA – Pechanga Arena

December 8 – San Diego, CA – Pechanga Arena

December 10 – Los Angeles, CA – Kia Forum

December 12 – Los Angeles, CA – Kia Forum

December 15 – Los Angeles, CA – Crypto.com Arena

December 17 – Los Angeles, CA – Crypto.com Arena


SASHA VELOUR TO BE JOINED BY TWO VERY SPECIAL GUESTS AT BROADWAY IN CHICAGO’S BROADWAY PLAYHOUSE APRIL 29 & 30, 2023

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

SASHA VELOUR: “THE BIG REVEAL LIVE SHOW!” 

BOOK TOUR

The critically acclaimed drag queen will perform in Chicago on a tour of the United States and Canada in support of her upcoming, debut book, 

The Big Reveal: An Illustrated Manifesto of Drag


BROADWAY IN CHICAGO’S

BROADWAY PLAYHOUSE

APRIL 29 & 30


Broadway In Chicago is thrilled to announce Sasha Velour will be joined by special guests and Chicago drag artists, Lucy Stoole (April 29) and Tenderoni (April 30) during SASHA VELOUR: THE BIG REVEAL LIVE SHOW, which will play Broadway In Chicago’s Broadway Playhouse. Individual tickets are on sale now.

Internationally renowned drag queen, visual artist, and newly minted author Sasha Velour has announced her upcoming book tour, THE BIG REVEAL LIVE SHOW! This news follows the announcement of her forthcoming, debut book, The Big Reveal: An Illustrated Manifesto of Drag, (HarperCollins) premiered exclusively by Entertainment Weekly on November 29, 2022, and set to hit bookstands on April 4, 2023.

Billed as a first-of-its-kind, “spellbinding” book, The Big Reveal: An Illustrated Manifesto of Drag thoughtfully weaves memoir, history, and theory into a living portrait of an artist and an art. Throughout the book, Velour illuminates drag as a unique form of expression with rich history and a revolutionary spirit as she recalls her own journey and uncovers the history of queer life around the world that made it all possible. The new work by Velour will highlight both intellect and imagination, featuring photos and her own original artwork intertwined with insightful critical theory, riveting LGTBQ+ history, personal memoir, and all-engrossing camp.

In support of the book’s release, Velour will stage exciting new performances across major cities in the United States and Canada. The show will present an immersive evening of drag, storytelling, and live art, bringing Velour’s book to life, featuring iconic new performances from Velour herself, an in-person conversation with a special guest star, an audience Q&A, and book signings. 

Of the upcoming tour, Velour says, “I can’t believe I wrote a book without a ghostwriter! Who do I think I am?! A drag queen with things to say, apparently… That’s why I wanted to translate this book to the stage and open it up for conversation with you! Let’s celebrate the big reveals, the artistry, and the human stories that brings us together!”

THE BIG REVEAL LIVE SHOW! will run for 90 minutes with no intermission, and tickets are now available for purchase. VIP tickets are also available, which include exclusive art prints from the book and a meet-and-greet/photo-op with Velour before the show. Books are not included with ticket purchase; however, purchase of the book is not required. Copies of The Big Reveal: An Illustrated Manifesto of Drag will be available for sale in the lobby at all show venues from local sellers, as well as online. Books are available for preorder in the US (https://bit.ly/3HDau4X) and Canada (http://bit.ly/3GVe49E).


ABOUT SASHA VELOUR

As a modern-day pioneer of innovative, emotive, and provocative drag aesthetics, Sasha Velour continues to raise the bar for the art of drag performance across the globe. Velour is most notably recognized as the winner of season nine of the Emmy-nominated RuPaul’s Drag Race on VH1 in 2017, where her lip-sync performance to Whitney Houston’s “So Emotional” made history and was hailed as “the performance of the year” by The A.V. Club and named one of “TV’s Best Musical Moments on Television” by Entertainment Weekly. The act cleverly featured an elaborate reveal full of rose petals hidden in her gloves and wig and is now widely regarded as one of the most iconic performances in the show’s history. Ingenuity is not something new to Velour, as her live performances have been renowned by critics as “an entirely new level of performance art” (Yahoo!) and “heart-wrenching” (Billboard). Her first one-queen drag show Smoke & Mirrors toured from 2019-2022 to over 80 cities around the world including sold-out performances at the prestigious London Palladium and the Folies Bergère in Paris. Velour’s esteemed drag show NightGowns, founded in 2015, has hosted some of the world’s greatest drag performers before being adapted into a docu-series directed by Sophie Muller and The Documentary Group in 2020. In 2021, the cast released two original NightGowns films: NightGowns Forever, an anthology of past shows, and NightGowns the Musical, an original comedy set in 1966, adapted from a live show performed Off-Broadway. 

Velour’s talents also expand beyond the drag universe, as her artist profile continues to transcend boundaries and mediums untouched by many other queens. Her studio and illustration work has been the subject of two acclaimed solo gallery shows in New York in 2014 and 2016 before being tapped by Google to draw their homepage search engine doodle of the late Marlene Dietrich in celebration of her 116th birthday in 2017. Together with her partner Johnny Velour, she also self-published and designed the art magazine Velour, which celebrates the art of drag through visual art, poetry, photography, and essays. Velour frequently uses her platform to discuss politics, queer history, and LGBTQ+ issues in an educational format, having transformed her into a highly sought-after public speaker. She has graced the stages at prestigious venues, including The Smithsonian for The Long Conversation, an event with thought leaders from around the world, the US Embassy in Singapore, and many distinguished universities including Purdue, The University of Illinois, the University of North Carolina Wilmington, and Columbia. 


For more information about Sasha Velour, please visit www.sashavelour.com.

www.sashavelour.com | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram


SHOW DATES


April 6, 2023 – San Francisco, CA (Palace of Fine Arts)

April 7, 2023 + April 8, 2023 – Portland, OR (Winningstad Theater)

April 10, 2023 – Seattle, WA (Neptune Theater)

April 20, 2023 – Newark, NJ (Victoria Theatre, NJPAC)

April 29, 2023 + April 30, 2023 – Chicago, IL (Broadway Playhouse)

May 4, 2023 – Montreal, Canada (Mtelus)

May 5, 2023 – Ottawa, Canada (Bronson Music Centre)

May 6, 2023 – Toronto, Canada (Bluma Appel Theatre)

May 8, 2023 – Boston, MA (The Wilbur)

May 9, 2023 – New York, NY (Skirball Center)

May 11, 2023 – Edmonton, Canada (The Maclab Theatre)

May 12, 2023 – Calgary, Canada (Bella Concert Hall)

May 13, 2023 – Vancouver, Canada (Vogue Theatre)

May 15, 2023 – Los Angeles, CA (The Wallis Annenberg Theatre  

May 18, 2023 – Philadelphia, PA (Perelman Theater)

June 1, 2023 – Washington D.C. (Sixth & I)  

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

Performances are Saturday, April 29 at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, April 30 at 7:00 p.m.


TICKET INFORMATION

Individual tickets for THE BIG REVEAL LIVE SHOW! are on sale now and range from $45.00 - $70.00 with a limited number of VIP tickets available. Tickets are available for groups of 10 or more by calling Broadway In Chicago Group Sales at (312) 977-1710 or emailing GroupSales@BroadwayInChicago.com. For more  information, visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com.






ABOUT BROADWAY IN CHICAGO

Broadway In Chicago was created in July 2000 and over the past 23 years has grown to be one of the largest commercial touring homes in the country. A Nederlander Presentation, Broadway In Chicago lights up the Chicago Theater District entertaining up to 1.7 million people annually in five theatres. Broadway In Chicago presents a full range of entertainment, including musicals and plays, on the stages of five of the finest theatres in Chicago’s Loop including the  Cadillac Palace Theatre, CIBC Theatre, James M. Nederlander Theatre, Auditorium Theatre, and just off the Magnificent Mile, the Broadway  Playhouse at Water Tower Place.


COVID-19  PROTOCOL

We recommend our audiences wear masks throughout the theatre. Visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com/covid19 for further details. 

For more information and tickets, visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com.

Facebook @BroadwayInChicago ● Twitter @broadwaychicago ● Instagram @broadwayinchicago ● TikTok @broadwayinchicago ● #broadwayinchicago

Monday, March 20, 2023

49th Anniversary Jeff Awards for Non-Equity Theater March 27th at Park West

Chi, IL Live Awards Shows On Our Radar

PRE-SHOW AND AFTER-PARTY EXCITEMENT BUILDS AS THE THEATER COMMUNITY PREPARES FOR THE 49th ANNIVERSARY

JEFF AWARDS FOR NON-EQUITY THEATER

An evening of major celebration is planned for the Chicago theater community Monday, March 27th, at Park West in Chicago with the 49th Anniversary Jeff Awards for Non-Equity Theater. One of the biggest parties of the theater season with ticket sales nearly sold out, this is the first live Non-Equity awards ceremony for the Jeff Awards since 2019.

I'll be there covering non-equity "theatre prom" for ChiILLiveShows.com and ChiILMama.com. Follow along in real time on our social media channels and/or catch our recap after.


The evening will begin at 6:00pm with a Red Carpet event hosted by two-time Jeff Award Nominee and 2020 Ceremony Host Parker Guidry. Guests striking a pose will include award nominees, theater industry luminaries, and future stars of the Chicagoland theater community. Be sure to follow @thejeffawards on Instagram for photos and updates through the evening.

And the party will continue directly following the awards ceremony with Park West hosting the After Party of music, dancing, and community celebration with a cash bar available.

The 49th Anniversary Non-Equity awards spotlight 167 theater artists across 28 categories of excellence in theater production among shows from 30 companies. Award nominations honor the dedicated artists, behind the scenes teams and theater companies producing during the most recent Non-Equity season which was extended due to the pandemic, running from July 1, 2021, to December 31, 2022.

This year’s program is hosted by award-winning entertainers Honey West and Mitchell J. Fain and under the direction of Adrian Abel Azevedo and with music direction by Dr. Michael McBride. Tommy Novak is the announcer. The production team also includes Emily Marrazzo (stage manager) and Kevin Vilchez (assistant stage manager), musicians Harper Caruso (guitar) and Ben Heppner (percussion), along with Jeff Ceremony Ambassadors Alix Rhode and Quinn Simmons.

A SOLD OUT CROWD IS EXPECTED SO GET YOUR TICKETS ASAP

General Admission tickets are $65 (includes $50 ticket + required fees) and available at www.jeffawards.org. A group rate of $54 (includes $40 ticket + required fees) is available for parties of 10 or more. Information can also be found on social media including Facebook (Jeff Awards), Instagram (@thejeffawards) and Twitter (@josephjefferson).

The Jeff Awards website, www.jeffawards.org, lists all the current nominees, along with previous recipients and nominees as well as other Jeff Awards information and news.

Names of award recipients will be released immediately following the ceremony March 27th by email and on our website under Non-Equity Awards at www.jeffawards.org.

ABOUT THE JEFF AWARDS

The Jeff Awards is one of the most active and engaged theater awards organizations in the country evaluating hundreds of theatrical productions annually and holding two awards ceremonies highlighting work over the past Equity and Non-Equity seasons. Through our recommendations, awards, and honors we help foster the growth of companies, encourage artists, bring new appreciation for diverse storytelling, and cultivate civic pride in the achievements of the Chicago theater community. Originally chartered in 1968 to recognize Equity productions, the Jeff Awards Non-Equity Wing was established in 1973 to celebrate outstanding achievement in non-union theatre. For more information, visit www.jeffawards.org.

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