Category Reviews
Sinfonietta de los Muertos
Teacher subs in with the Chicago Sinfonietta on occasion, last night being one of them. She offered free tickets to the Halloween concert, so I went with a friend down to Symphony Center for my first experience with this orchestra. The group was founded in 1987 to promote diversity in the arts – as anyone […]
Rocky Horror Light
Campy musicals are more or less defined by The Rocky Horror Picture Show – I first saw the classic supported by all its pomp and circumstance at an old theatre in Wichita, KS more than 20 years ago. It’s a Halloween favorite, though I don’t think the season had much to do with my and […]
Mame
Mame presents the story of an upper-crust woman who gains custody of her nephew after the death of her brother. The family clearly had money – the boy and his nanny arrive in the New York party pad of Auntie Mame and first meet her as she’s hosting a soiree combining prohibition booze, top entertainers […]
Nigerian Soul in Chicago
Millennium Park, one of Chicago’s downtown public space jewels, hosts free concerts on Monday and Thursday nights during the summertime. They take place at the Pritzker Pavilion, a landmark Frank Gehry designed bandshell. I should go more often – it’s a real treat to sit out on a blanket snacking and watching music with friends. […]
America After the Fall at The Art Institute
Interests in industry, the land, history, and raucous urban nightlife were all features of 1930s America, so of course they were reflected in the music and the visual arts of the era. Together, the interests provide a nice curatorial frame for the Art Institute’s current exhibit of works from the period, entitled America After the […]
Les Miserables at The Imperial, 2016
From the projected opening curtain, inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo, author of the namesake novel that inspired Les Miserables, to its final ensemble act, the Imperial Theatre’s current revival of the fifth longest running show on Broadway presents an emotional musical masterpiece. I don’t get to many Big Broadway Shows; I have wanted […]
Heifetz and the Bridge that Auer Built
Jascha Heifetz was born at the temporal conjunction of Romantic and modern music – his most influential teacher was an aging Leopold Auer, the man to whom Tchaikovsky dedicated one of the most significant pieces that exists in the violin repertoire, and my personal favorite – the Great Concerto. While Auer initially and quite famously […]
On Getting to 40
Teacher cancelled last week’s lesson, and when I wrote her back to confirm I mentioned that our next lesson would happen on my 40th birthday, which happens to be today. I said that I couldn’t imagine a better way to start my new decade than with a lesson – beginning the violin was undoubtedly one […]
To Shun the Heaven?
I have listened to Rufus Wainwright’s new album all the way through just once – on Monday as I ran on the lakefront. While not giddy with anticipation, I have been interested to see what the singer/songwriter came up with on this occasion of the 400th anniversary of the Bard’s death; the album, released a […]
The Chicago Community Chorus
Chicago has a number of community choirs – I’ve written before about experiences with a couple of them over the years, most of which are organized for and by people who just love to sing; many take up donations for some charity or another. Last night I had the pleasure of attending a performance of […]
Ryan Libel 