“Holiday” At Goodman

Retrospectively, it was not the best idea. I decided to get a discounted ticket for the Holiday when I realized I would need to work from home on Friday for my mom’s case manager visit. I already had a reservation for the Ribbon, and I did some mental time math and decided that since I would see my mom during the day, I wouldn’t need to visit her in the evening, and I could go to the Ribbon by five-something, and go to Goodman right after that.

Then, there were things at work, and I felt bad refusing to help, and then there was no time to go to the Ribbon, and I only went to Goodman, being really tired.

I do not get the concept of shows starting later on Friday. Most weekend shows start at 7 PM, but Friday shows have to start at 7:30 or 8 PM, “because you do not need to go to work the next day.” But I am pretty tired by the end of the day on Friday, and more sleepy than any other day of the week.

The play is a modern adaptation of the 1920s play by Philip Barry, and in my opinion, it would be better if the setting remained “a hundred years ago” one. Not like the situation itself is less probable nowadays, but the language and a very specific humor definitely belong to the 1920s. I could appreciate and acknowledge amazing acting, but I kept mentally placing the characters in a different setting, and in the end, it felt like too much.

But once again, I am happy to admit that I was just super tired. I rarely go out on Fridays, and I think it’s better for me to keep it that way!

The Dance Of Death At The Steppenwolf

I didn’t really get this play. I chose to go because I haven’t been to Steppenwolf for a while, and they had discounted tickets for the Chicago Theater Week, and also, I wanted to take my friend Y to a show. When we talked about it, I didn’t know that I would have a work crisis! There was supposed to be nothing going on this weekend, and I asked her which show she would rather see at the Goodman or at the Steppenwolf, and she chose that one. The description looked interesting, and I didn’t know the play, so I readily agreed.

In the high stone tower of an isolated naval fortress, Alice and Edgar are about to celebrate 25 years of wedded bliss—if decades of resentment, recrimination and mutual sabotage count as bliss. But when an alluring visitor arrives, the delicate balance of their tedious arrangement falls off its axis, cracks growing into canyons. In Conor McPherson’s wicked take on Strindberg’s masterclass in marital warfare, a twisted love triangle waltzes off the edge of a cliff, plunging us all into the deep.

The play was written in 1900, which I didn’t realize before I came to the show, and that probably explains why “I didn’t get it.” For example, it was challenging to figure out the nature of the relationships between Alice and Kurt and the “vampire kiss.” When I read more about the play, I got an impression that it was a “symbol” of something. I think it was all about symbolism, and as I have recently realized, I do not understand it or like it.

One thing is for sure – the acting was superb. Even when you can’t make any sense of the plot, the acting is incredibly believable. My friend enjoyed it just because of that, and texted me later that it was a great experience, but to be entirely honest, I think she was just happy to see me :).

Eureka Day

On Wednesday, I went to see the first show of the year of my Broadway subscription: Eureka Day.

This Timeline Theater production was performed at the Broadway Playhouse by the Water Tower. I have mixed feelings about this venue: it’s further from the Loop, so I need to plan for an almost 40-minute commute, including the wait (or walking for approximately the same time), and also, it is often very cold inside, but I really like the house layout (a better view from virtually any seat), and faster commute back home.

The plot is as timely as it can be. A private school in California, based on principles of consensus and inclusion, where no decisions can be made unless all Board members agree, faces an outbreak of mums. The events take place during the 2018/19 school year, when Zoom is still new and largely unfamiliar, and a quarantine decision is not taken lightly. And then comes the contradiction between parents who want to change the school rules to make vaccinations mandatory and anti-vaxxers, some of whom have deeply personal reasons to refuse to vaccinate their children.

I really liked how the Zoom message exchange was displayed on a big screen, revealing very common conversation patterns between the parties.

For those who have time to read the Behind-the-scenes booklet for Eureka Day, here is the link. There is a lot of interesting information about the history of vaccination in the world and in the US specifically. The most interesting part is that the play was actually written in 2018, before the pandemic, and now it’s hard to believe the choice of dates isn’t intentional!

Unfortunately, I didn’t find any video clips from this play. If you find any, let me know, and I will add them to the post!

2025. Part 2

Civic activities

Here, there are more negative than positive results. My biggest regret of 2025 is that I didn’t do enough during the election campaign. To be precise, I did zero canvassing and a very moderate amount of convincing people of what the right thing to do is. I knew it was wrong, but I kept telling myself that organizing Prairie Postgres is more important at that moment, and that I can’t do everything, and… I didn’t speak up enough, which I also regret. I post very little, if anything, political on LinkedIn, where I am most visible, and the list continues. I will never do it again!

I’ve done a little bit better at supporting DEI, regardless of the political climate, but I wasn’t consistent enough, so one of my goals for this year is to always keep this support on my radar.

Even with simple things like attending the rallies, I did way less than I did in previous years. Once again, my excuse was that I was twice as busy as before because of Prairie Postgres and my activities in the professional community. Still, I should always remember that if the country’s civic values are at risk, the interests of my professional community are at risk as well. I want to make an intentional effort to attend rallies when I really care about the cause. I know that society’s well-being depends on each individual’s actions, so I have no excuse. I know that each person matters. Earlier in 2025, I tried to become more involved in local initiatives, but I had to drop these activities because they looked like a very insignificant outcome for the time spent. I will try to get involved again in a couple of years, when I retire.

Cultural activities and reading

According to Goodreads, I read fewer books in 2025 than in 2024, but I believe that’s because I didn’t record books that ended up being a waste of time, and there were more of those in 2025. The majority of books were audiobooks, and that’s something I want to address. I switched to audiobooks because it is easier to listen while I am doing something else, and also because of my vision problems. Now that my vision is better, I am looking to find ways to read e-books again. Today, I realized I have a new option: I started taking the L more often, and when on the L, I can find a place to sit, but there isn’t enough space to open my computer, especially since I switched from Mac Air back to Mac Pro. This is the time when I can read e-books.

As for the other cultural activities, I attended many exhibits, concerts, operas, and different theatrical performances, but I didn’t keep track of them, and that’s something I want to do next year. I am still hungry for more cultural activities and want to see more performances than I have time to see, and oftentimes I feel disappointed because I do not like the show. Next year, I want to get more organized with all these activities, keep track of them, and what I like and what I don’t, so I can figure out how much I really want to see and what exactly.

To be continued

Black Comedy

I went to this show at Above the Law theater last Sunday (November 23), and forgot to post about it. They are still running this show until December 21, so if anybody interested, you still have a chance to see it.

Whenever I attend Above the Law shows, I try to take mom with me, because it’s very close to home, and the theater is tinym so she can always see well (especially because she is always the first to be seated by the staff).

They rarely publish their show synopsis, but this time, there was an email with the following description:

Struggling sculptor Brindsley Miller and his fiance, Carol, are having a party with the aim of impressing Carol’s bombastic father, Colonel Melkett, and millionaire Georg Bamberger. They hope the two men might purchase some of Brindsley’s sculptures. Without permission, they have borrowed the furniture of their fussy neighbor, Harold, to make their own flat more presentable. Just before the guests arrive, the main fuse blows, plunging the flat into darkness. What follows is a frantic romp with unexpected visitors, mistaken identities, and surprises lurking in every dark corner. Only we, the audience, can see the action that ensues in the dark. As you might expect, the results are chaotic, disastrous and downright hysterical.

If I won’t read this description it would be impossible to understand what’s happening on the stage, but to be honest, even with this description, it was confusing in the beginning.

The idea is that 90% of the show time things happen in a complete darkness, because the fuse is blown. Nobody would enjoy the show in a complete darkness, so the way the set it up was that at the time the lights were suppose to be on, they went off, and vise versa. So most time, there was light, but the actors acted as if they are in complete darkness. And at the time, somebody was turning on a flashlight, the lights were dimmed.

It was funny. Probably a little bit too grotesque:). Brilliant acting, as always.

Amadeus At Steppenwolf

There were no interesting concerts this weekend, so I suggested to Boris to go see Amadeus at the Steppenwolf Theater. Boris was skeptical, because he does not like the idea of the original play, because it’s based on unjust accusations, but he said he will go. As for me, I haven’t been to the Steppenwolf for a while, and wanted to go.

During the first act, ot felt like a mock version of the movie, and during the intermission I asked Boris whether he wanter to go home. He said: no, the acting is great! Actually, I believe it was a new experience for him: I got the first row tickets, and because of how the Ensemble Theater is build, the acting was happening right in from of our eyes, so he could see most of it, was watching all the time with his eyes open 🙂

Then, during the second act, they started getting off the films score, and build something else, and that was much more interesting, so in the end, we both enjoyed it 🙂

Revolution(s) At Goodman

I am writing this post during the intermission, sitting in the first row of the Owen Theater in Goodman.

I am glad I decided to go, and made time to see the one before last performance,

I am glad I went on my own, not inviting any of my girlfriends.

The play is extremely loaded. A part of me wants to leave and not watch the second act, because I think it will be even more intense, but I won’t.

I worked from home today, so that I could see mom after work, and still go to Goodman. That scenario worked surprisingly well, so I think I will be doing it sometimes.

I am glad I am here. The second act is about to begin, unveiling a drama that’s way too close to what’s happening on the streets outside the theater. It’s a call for action, but I am not sure which one.

Glenwood Market

Today was my last market day of this season – I will be gone for the next two weekends. I had no time and no reason to go but went anyway, especially when I saw their Instagram post this morning:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Glenwood Sunday Market (@glenwoodsundaymarket)

I had breakfast at the Common Cup

Got my flowers at the market:

Made an apple tart:

Took my mom to the Above the Law Crimm Brothers:

As usual, my mom said that she didn’t understand anything, but enjoyed the acting. I told her that the plot is twisted enough so she might not have understood it even if it were in Russian 🙂

Weekend With Lena

Lena finally made it to Chicago – in September instead of July, and it turned sharply cold, and we could not go to the beach. Still, our interests are so much aligned that we made it an absolutely perfect weekend.

Lena arrived on Friday evening and met with her Chicago-based coworkers. We chatted for a bit before and drafted the plan of activities.

Saturday was chilly, and since Lena uses each of her Chicago visits as an occasion to dress nicely, and I am happy to join her, we ended up being dressed not precisely to the weather, and were moderately cold most of the time :).

We started the day in the Field Museum, and I was able to properly see all the exhibits (and the recent updates to the “Evolving Planet,” which Lena didn’t see yet).