Tag: theater

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:

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).

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The Sentinels at Theo

Love it-love it-love it!!!

I am copying this review from the Evanston Round Table, because I think it will be removed from the newspaper website very soon!

Continue reading “The Sentinels at Theo” →

The Factory Theater

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.

The War of the Worlds at the Lifeline Theater

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)!

The previews just started, so you can still see it!

Last Week In Review

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.

The two were “The Fat Ham” in Goodman

and “Clue” at the CIBC theater.

The audience was ecstatic at both shows, so I guess I should attribute my ambivalence to “I am not in the mood for “just funny” things” these days.

The ones I loved.

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Pictured From The ‘Secret Garden”

I knew, Theo would publish more pictures of the show 🙂

Harry Potter And The Cursed Child

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!

“Never Better” Musical

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!

Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil

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!