One one-time participation in the discussion of the CSO youth programs and my readiness to be one of the CSO for Kids ambassadors keeps getting me unexpected benefits.
I had tickets for the “bigger kids concert” for last Saturday’s matinee, and about ten days before that, I received an invitation for the exclusive behind-the-scene tours, for which I happily signed us both. Since Anna is not exactly in a position to travel, on Friday, I took Haiawata to Milwaukee; Anna dropped Nadia off at the train station, and we got on the same train back to Chicago (as usual, the conductor said: hope to see you again soon! and I replied: you’ll see me very soon!
Saturday was the CSO day. We had this amazing backstage tour an hour before the concert:
We had a family activities day at Jarvis Square on Saturday. It was the first time we had such a family-style celebration (the adult part followed after 8 PM). There was free face painting, and free s’mores, and trick-or-treating, and drumming, and Taro fortune telling. Most importantly, there were kids in costumes who had enormous fun! I walked there with my mom, and we walked around and made our s’mores over the fire, and then I got the butternut latte in the Charmer’s Cafe for myself and caramel cider for mom, and we sat there and watched the kids running around with the buckets, sitting for the face painting and drumming.
Mom was saying that it’s too bad we can’t take pictures, and then she added that it’s impossible to tell others how good it was because no words and no pictures can reflect the feeling and the atmosphere. That was one of the rare moments when she felt the way I hoped she would feel after moving here.
We saw Channel 5, and one kid yelled: Mom, we are on the news! The reported was interviewing one of the organizers, and I heard that she said that “it feels very safe,” which I couldn’t agree more.
Theater Above the Law is the best of all Rogers Park small theaters. On Friday, my mom, Igor, and I went to see “Grimm,” and it was flawless! My mom, not being able to understand what’s going on, still appreciates their acting each time I take her to Above the Law. I can’t stop comparing them with the Lifeline Theater – I made the right choice when I decided to subscribe to Above the Law and to hold off with the Lifeline.
It is flattering when the theater director recognizes me even from afar, and waiving: Hi Henrietta, your family is already in!
The play was great. A very accurate take on the Grimm Brothers’ tales, without any “humanization” and “adaptation.” Horrible stories of horrible times.
Tuesday’s concert was indeed one of a kind! The program included
One composer unknown to me
A soloist unknown to me
Three pieces unknown to me
… and all of them were so good!
Each of the pieces was a gem, but Gershwin’s Piano Concerto stood out. I wish I would have the right words to describe it! The program said that Gershwin wanted to combine classical musical forms with jazz and blues, and that’s exactly what it was. The music was all around us and filling each corner of the space. I was bathing in the sounds of music, and each next phrase felt absolutely unexpected and at the same time perfectly in the right place.
OK, I just do not have enough words to describe it! The soloist told the audience how he was coming to CSO as a kid, and how happy he is now to perform on that stage. And again, I do not know how to describe how amazing he was!
Yesterday, we had a “Women’s Night Out” in our firm: we had a floral workshop with Flowers for Dreams at the Riverfront Terrace of Beatnik on the River. I thought from the start that this would be a great activity, and it was even better than I thought! Also, I didn’t like Beatnik that much before because they always have very loud music, but when you are down in the Terrace, you do not hear the music from the street level, and being right there by the water feels like magic!
Chicago International Film Festival is in progress, and I had absolutely no time to see anything. Except for when I saw that documentary in the list of participating films, I knew I would find a non-existent time.
It was not even in the Siskel Center, but fortunately, on my way from work to home (I had to leave about an hour earlier to make it, but there were only two screenings of this film!).
It’s an unimaginably difficult film to watch. Even though there is no fighting, no shooting, no explosions, and even though we’ve seen footage of buildings damaged by Russian shells, you feel it differently watching from inside an evacuation minibus. Most of the people whom Maciek was evacuating were Russian speakers, and it was especially horrible to hear them referring to the “Russian tanks” as enemy tanks. About twenty minutes into the documentary, I started to cross my heart and didn’t stop till the end.
Maciek Hamela was there! The funniest thing is that he entered the building right before me, and like I, he was a little bit uncertain about where theater 13 was, where the screening was about to take place. And I heard him talking in Polish on the phone, and I thought that he might be going to the same screening, but I could never imagine it was a filmmaker! He talked a little bit before the screening and after (he answered many of the same questions in the interview below), and then he answered questions from the audience. And then people started to thank him and started to come down and hug him, and then I left. May those who brought this war to the land of Ukraine burn in hell!
The day started with the pouring rain, and I was unsure whether it was still a good idea to go with our original plans for the OHC Day. Igor said he would go with me or without:), and I decided to go, hoping for the rain to stop later in the day. It eventually stopped, and the trip “to the other side of the world” was totally worth it.
As usual, I hope to tell more about what I saw a little bit later, but judging by my recent level of busyness, it is not very likely to happen, so I will at least mention the highlights of the day.
First and foremost – Beverly Hills is so beautiful! Regardless of the OHC sites being open to public, it was such a pleasure to walk the streets, to see houses and trees, and just take in the spirit of the place.
This is a new musical about the life and career of Louis Armstrong, and I went to see it on Friday. That was one of the conflicts my neighbor and I an into because of having too many subscriptions :). Two long shows in two consecutive days is not a great idea, especially approaching the end of a busy week.
I really liked the singers, and the dances, and everything was spectacular, but I felt less impressed than the night before at Joffrey.
I didn’t write anything about it because it was a complete Uber screw-up last night, and it took almost 40 minutes for me and my neighbor to finally get into a car (but we got Tesla:)). And having the ballet was very long I ended up being at home close to midnight.
But aside from getting home late, it was an amazing experience! Joffrey ballet amazes me pretty much each time I see their performance, but each time – in a new way.
Born and raised in Saint-Petersburg, I saw many classical ballets in my life, and I never doubt that Mariinsky Theater (“Marinka”) is the best in the world. When I first saw a Joffey performance, it struck me how lively a ballet can be! Several years later, Marinka was on the US tour, and I went to see the Swan Lake. That was yet another shock: the technique was flawless (after all, there is over 200 years of perfecting it!) but it looked like dry leaves in a herbarium in comparison with the live trees of Joffrey.
I do not know how Joffrey does it: it is classical ballet in its purest form, but at the same time, everybody is alive, you see a story, you see humans with their human feelings. The short clip does not show any of it, unfortunately. Also, it does not show the movements of the Creature – non-human, the movements of a live puppet, of something combined from several pieces, not all of them completely aligned. With all the horror and tragedy of the story, I was smiling the whole first act.
I am a part of Wild Onion Market – I joined as an owner almost two years ago, and since then, donated several times. Now, our coop is in the final fundraising stretch, raising the remaining fund needed to open in December.
Today we had a fundraising event in the Rhapsody Theater. I bought two tickets because I felt I could do at least that, and took my mom there, since the theater is just two blocks away from her building. I was hoping to catch a program, but when we came thee at six, they told us that the programmimg won’t start till 8 PM, and I was not ready to stay that long.
I didn’t plan to participate in either silent auction or the live one, but since I had time, I decided to check out the silen auction items. To my surprise, I saw that a painting with the estimated price of $350 and initial bid of $75 didn’t get any bids. I quickly put a $100, and nobody put anything after me! That way, completely unexpectedly, I became an owner of this beautiful painting:
Hettie's Reflections 