5-22-09
Ending With a Bang
Lots of theatres are winding up their seasons with their biggest hits. TimeLine announced that their much-praised production of Alan Bennett’s The History Boys will run through Aug. 2, and Next Theatre’s run of J.T. Rogers’ Rwandan drama, The Overwhelming, which closes on May 30, is totally sold out.
Next managing director (and PerformInk columnist) Kevin Heckman and his wife, Christine, have a different kind of full house on their hands these days. They welcomed twin daughters Noelle and Arianna on May 4. We send our congratulations—and our hope that the doting parents might get some sleep between now and the New Year!
Augusto Boal, the celebrated Brazilian director and creator of Theatre of the Oppressed, died May 2 after a battle with leukemia. Jailed in 1971 by the Brazilian government, he lived in exile from his birth country until 1985. Boal was an artist who lived his principles thoroughly and with great élan. He will be sorely missed.
Awards season is heating up, and though the Goodman Theatre production of Desire Under the Elms was shut out in the Tony nominations, another Chicago transplant, David Cromer’s revelatory production of Our Town, took home two Lucille Lortel Awards for “outstanding revival” and “outstanding director.” The outstanding Mr. Cromer now has former Chicago actor Scott Parkinson standing in for him as the Stage Manager at the Barrow Street while Cromer directs Aaron Sorkin’s The Farnsworth Invention at the Alley Theatre in Houston.
And the Jeff Committee announced that Pegasus Players founder Arlene Crewdson will pick up a special award at the non-Equity Jeffs on June 8.
NEA News: The White House announced that legendary Broadway producer Rocco Landesman is the nominee to take over the chairmanship of the National Endowment for the Arts. Landesman has been an outspoken critic of nonprofit theatres who produce like their for-profit counterparts. We’ll see if the confirmation hearings go more smoothly than they have for some of President Obama’s other picks. (Rocco, please tell us your taxes are in order!)
Some personnel do-si-do: Genevieve Thompson, co-founder and artistic director of Infamous Commonwealth Theatre, is stepping down June 1. (She is expecting her second child later in the month.) She will remain a company member while the reins are placed in the hands of Chris Maher, currently the artistic director for Open Eye Productions. Teatro Luna announces that co-founder and co-artistic director Coya Paz is also stepping away from the day to day operations, leaving Tanya Saracho as the sole artistic director. Paz will remain active with the board and ensemble. Alex Meda steps up as full-time managing director for the company.
Piven Theatre has two announcements this month—Adam Rappaport is on board now as the head of donor relations, a new fundraising position. And the longtime Evanston institution will start offering workshops for kids in grades 4-8 at the DePaul Lincoln Park campus and for adults at A Red Orchid Theatre in Old Town—the first time they’ve brought their legendary story workshop and theatre games programs to the city. Visit www.piventheatre.org. for more information on the summer series of classes.
The Goodman is blinding us with science! The company participates in the year-long Science Chicago initiative by offering staged readings and public discussions of three plays with a scientific bent to them. June 8 is Tom Stoppard’s Hapgood, with its emphasis on quantum physics (among many other things), June 15 is Richard Rhodes’ Reykjavik, about the scientific and ethical questions confronted by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev at a 1986 summit, and June 22 is Caryl Churchill’s cloning fable, A Number. All are free and in the Owen. Reservations available at 312/443-3800. More information on Science Chicago activities at www.sciencechicago.com.
When we talk accessibility in the arts, we frequently focus on making theatre more economically accessible. But physical accessibility is also an issue, and Victory Gardens has brought it front and center through its Access Project, under the direction of Mike Ervin. The company won the Best Accessible Theatre Award on April 18 at the annual Deaf Illinois Awards. In addition to offering signed and interpreted performances for years, Victory Gardens also brought in Arlene Malinowski, the hearing daughter of deaf parents, with her celebrated solo show What Does the Sun Sound Like? for the “Crip Slam” series earlier this season. Malinowski shares the stage with deaf performer Liz Tannebaum in Victory Gardens’ current show, Aditi Brennan Kapil’s Love Person, directed by Sandy Shinner. In addition to English and ASL, the modern romance includes Sanskrit and projected texts and e-mails. Victory Gardens also won the Actor’s Equity Association’s Spirit Recognition Award on March 30, which honors theatres that “have made non-traditional casting a way of life.”
In preparation for the opening of their newest opus, 500 Clown and the Elephant Deal (previewing June 20 at the Steppenwolf Upstairs Theatre), 500 Clown hosts “500 Clown Madame Barker’s Cabaret II: Have a Drink on Me” Sunday, May 23, at the Prop Thtr. Molly Brennan as the titular Madame and composer/lyricist/pianist John Fournier offer up songs from the new show and assorted other bits of madness. Tickets are only $10. Call 773/383-9429 or order online at http://madamebarker-fbevent.eventbrite.com.
More madcap shenanigans, this time benefiting Curious Theatre Branch and their current production of Harold Pinter’s The Caretaker. “This American Life” host Ira Glass joins beloved cabaret art-rock band Maestro Subgum and the Whole (featuring several Curious members, including Beau O’Reilly and Jenny Magnus) at School of the Art Institute of Chicago on June 7. It’s sure to be a hot ticket (the band’s last performance in March during Rhino Fest was sold out to the rafters, and they seldom perform these days), so call 773/508-0666 pronto.
New Orleans-based playwright R.J. Tsarov, whose darkly comic and surreal work has been featured in past Rhino Fests, gets an off-night airing at the Hungry Brain bar on West Belmont with Tsarovia!. The collection of shorts, presented by Citizens’ Relief, runs Tuesdays and Wednesdays through June 3. It’s free, but donations gratefully accepted. Visit www.citizensrelief.com.
If you have out-of-town visitors looking for something offbeat to do, consider checking out Scooty and Jo-Jo’s “Diva Brunch” at the Spot, 4437 N. Broadway, with two seatings every Sunday at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Since opening in March, it’s become a destination for decadent dining and divine entertainment. Prices run $35-$50. Make reservations through the restaurant at 773/728-8934. Right now, the Divas Who Brunch plan to be there through August. Guest Divas looking for a chance to shine over the mimosas are encouraged to apply at www.scootyjojo.com.
We’re not sure who will get their lunch handed to them at this event, but we’d suggest bringing protective clothing if you’re going to be in the audience at the Chicago Theatre on May 28. That’s when Charlie Rose interviews Mr. Mary Matalin, er, James Carville, and Karl Rove. Will the snake eat the rat? Tickets are $35-$185 at Ticketmaster, 800/745-3000 or www.thechicagotheatre.com.
Tips gladly accepted at kerryreid@comcast.net.