The Factory Theater was the last of our neighborhood theaters that was on my to-see list, and that was the first time I finally went to see a performance there. The play description looked incredibly appealing:
Also, I realized that the past Saturday was the last opportunity to see it, so I made an effort, even though I was tired and had a million things to do.
The theater foyer exhibited the history of the motion pictures and the invention of the camera
Probably because I had high expectations, it was a slightly disappointing experience. The show “didn’t hold,” which would be understandable if it were an opening night, but that was the closing. I can’t say anything in particular about what exactly was bad, but it felt less professional than three other neighborhood storefront theaters I patronize. I am willing to give it the benefit of the doubt: it could be just a one-off, or it could be that I was tired, so I am going to try it at least one more time next season.
Ninety-five minutes of sitting still and holding my breath! This play, by and large, exceeded my expectations!
If you are wondering how much this play is related to the famous H.G. Wells book, the answer is – very little! Yes, it’s about the Marician invasion on Earth, but the action takes place in the US, and even more specifically in Illinois, at some fictional point in time. There are definite hints that the action takes place in the past, but at the same time, it’s a sharp satire on nowadays media, television, reporting, politicians, and what else. All the characters are unmistakably recognizable, so you can’t stop laughing (or crying)!
I had some events to attend every day of that week, plus trying to get six hours of sleep every day (hopeless), plus everything else.
Out of the six cultural events I attended last week, one was “above categorization” (the screening of the “20 Days in Mariupol), two were in the category “OK, but I won’t lose much if I didn’t attend,” and three were great.
This show just opened last weekend, and I saw it yesterday. I have just one word – FANTASTIC! Everything they write about this show, and better! Everything you can see in this promotional video, but better because it’s had to capture the fire on stage – it is way cooler than it looks!
Theo Ubique Cabaret just opened the season with the new musical Never Better by Preston Max Allen. Today was a preview and only the second run of the show. I am so impressed! It’s different from anything I saw at Theo before. It’s a very tragic story, not even pretending to be funny, and the acting is just stunning! Each character is so true to life, and for all of the two hours, it’s so real that you forget you’re in the theater, and you worry about the characters and what will happen next.
The show runs for five more weeks, so if you are around, come and watch it!
Yesterday, I took my friends to see “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” at the Goodman Theater. Goodman rarely stages musicals, and when it does, they are priced way more reasonably than Broadway shows. I had four tickets left on my “Whenever Goodman” subscription, which gave me very good mezzanine seats – I do not think you can have the stage view as good as that in any of the Broadway theaters!
The show was spectacular! I always enjoy seeing the reaction of people experiencing an American musical live for the first time! I remember my own experience of feeling never-ending happiness following the perfect movements of the dances and enjoying every bit of music.
The pictures below are official photos of the show from the Goodman Theater website- enjoy!
Back to last week. On Wednesday, my neighbor and I went to see The Kite Runner at CIBS Theater. No, they didn’t make a musical out of this book. The same as with To Kill a Mockingbird, it is a drama, and it was pretty close to the book and very well done.
I know that many readers criticized this book for not being accurate in a number of aspects, but I still find it incredibly valuable in presenting an insider perspective on Afghan society through many years of history. It turned out that my neighbor never read this book, so after the first act she asked me whether it was going to be similarly depressing till the end.
Living through the events described in the book one more time, I have recalled how I felt during the first time reading. Not like I didn’t know at that time about the Soviet aggression in Afghanistan, but it made me feel how Afghans perceived this invasion. I was wondering whether my neighbor would comment on the scene where the refugees are stopped by a Soviet patrol, but she didn’t say a word about it. To be honest, I was relieved. Usually, when we go to concerts or shows together, and she finds from the program that some of the performers are Russian or studied in Russia, she makes a point to mention it to me with a clear intention to please me.
I do not know how to explain to her that these days, I do not feel especially proud of any Russian cultural achievements. And it’s not like I consciously cancel everyone, not like I force myself to dislike anything that comes from Russia. I just genuinely can’t enjoy it; it makes me uncomfortable. I do not think I would be able to attend any concert of any performer who currently resides in Russia, so if I look at the program notes, it’s just to make sure that an artist does not live in Russia at the moment.
Thursday at CSO. A very French concert 🙂 The legendary Jean-Yves Thibaudet (not as young as in the pictures, but magnificent!). Conductor Stephane Deneve. All-French program: Boulanger (a woman composer who died young, I never heard of her!), Saint-Saëns, Debussy, Ravel. It appears to be my last concert of this CSO season: the Sunday concert was unfortunately postponed, and I exchanged all the rest of my tickets for the. next season since I will be out for the second half of June).
Friday: “English” in Goodman Theater. Full house. The audience laughed and cried. The program said that there would be a play discussion after the show, but there was no announcement, so we left. There was still enough to process, even without a discussion.
From the Goodman website:
“English Only.” Four adult students in Karaj, Iran are studying for the Test of English as a Foreign Language—the key to their green card, medical school admission or family reunification. Chasing fluency through a maze of word games, listening exercises and show-and-tell sessions, they hope that one day, English will make them whole. But it might be splitting them each in half.
Hettie's Reflections 