The Great Chicago Fire Festival loses its third and final year of funding
Next year, Redmoon’s fest will not receive the $100,000 in funding it had been promised by the City of Chicago, Special Events Commissioner Michelle Boone told aldermen Monday. This year’s event, which went off successfully at its new home on Northerly Island, cost roughly $1.2 million in total, with $100,000 coming from the city, $75,000 from the Park District, $20,000 from the National Endowment for the arts, and the rest from private donors. Redmoon spokeswoman Debbie Saul told the Tribune Monday that Redmoon hasn’t decided whether it will remount the festival.
The Paramount and Hypocrites clean up at the Jeffs
The work of two newly eligible theater companies, the Paramount and Hypocrites, took away five awards each at Monday night's Equity Jeff Awards for Chicago theater (Hypocrites is now eligible because of its Equity status; Paramount because it had been outside the radius considered for the awards until that was extended last year). Porchlight Music Theatre and Lookingglass Theatre also ran away with a four each; the Goodman Theatre, notably, left without a single award. Check out the entire list of winners here.
Tim Meadows announces a double feature at City Winery
The Saturday Night Live star, former Second City improviser, and sometimes-Chicagoan will perform two sets at City Winery on December 30 as part of his upcoming standup tour. Tickets ($34 to $42) go on sale Thursday at noon at citywinery.com.
The Museum of Science and Industry sells five trains for $500,000
The museum sold off five trains for a total of $500,000 at an antique automobiles auction in Philadelphia Monday, including its 1834 Braithwaite and Ericsson "Mississippi,” which was billed as the first locomotive in the American South and went for $200,000. The sell-off was part of the museum’s move to diversify its train-dominated ground floor; funds will help maintain the museum's collection.
Joanna Newsom announces a concert at the Chicago Theatre
Ahead of her forthcoming fourth LP Divers, the indie-harpist yesterday announced a North American tour with a date at the Chicago Theatre (December 16). Tickets ($29.50 to $55.50) go on sale Friday, October 9 at 10 a.m. via Ticketmaster and by phone at 800-745-3000.
Opening
October 6: Barefoot in the Park (comedy) Two newlyweds, Paul and Corie, try setting up Corie's recently widowed mother with their neighbor. Hilarity ensues. Step Up Productions at the Athenaeum (2936 N. Southport) through November 1
October 6: The Story of a Story (the Untold Story) (comedy) A writer fights to keep clichés on the page from bleeding into real life. Underscore Theatre at the Chopin (1543 W. Division) through November 8
October 7: Treasure Island (drama) Mary Zimmerman's world-premiere adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's novel. Lookingglass Theatre (821 N. Michigan) through January 31
October 7 My Brilliant Divorce (comedy) A woman reenters the circus of single life after her husband runs off with a younger woman in this Midwest premiere of an Irish play. Chief O'Neill's (3471 N. Elston) through November 1
October 7: My Mañana Comes (drama) Teatro Vista probes immigration and the American Dream through the lens of four New York busboys. Teatro Vista at Victory Gardens' Biograph Theater (2433 N. Lincoln) through November 8
October 7 Ride the Cyclone (musical) A new musical about six teenagers who die in a roller-coaster accident and enter freak-show purgatory at the lead of a mechanical fortune-teller. Chicago Shakespeare Theater (800 E. Grand) through November 8
October 10 The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (comedy) Watson corrects the apparently fabricated story of the now coke-addled Sherlock Holmes. City Lit Theater (1020 W. Bryn Mawr) through November 1
Closing
October 10 How the World Began (drama) A former New York science teacher takes a job in rural Kansas and sparks a full-blown uproar re: the origin of the universe. Rivendell Theatre (5779 N. Ridge) through October 10
October 10 The Outfit (drama) Laura Schellhardt's fairytale-noir one-act skewers modern gender politics. Piccolo Theatre (600 Main St., Evanston) through October 10
October 11 Gem of the Ocean (drama) The latest in Ron OJ Parson's trek through August Wilson's century cycle. Court Theatre (5535 S. Ellis) through October 11
October 11 A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder (musical) A coin-thirsty heir tries jumping the line of succession to his family's fortune. Bank of America Theater (18 W. Monroe) through October 11
October 11 The Jacksonian (drama) The Midwest premiere of Pulitzer–winner Beth Henley's play about a displaced dentist in a seedy Mississippi motel. Profiles Theatre (4147 N. Broadway) through October 11
October 11 Jake's Women (comedy) A writer hides from his failing marriage in the women he writes on the page. Spartan Theatre at the Royal George Theatre (1641 N. Halsted) through October 11
October 11 Washer/Dryer (comedy) A new New York marriage farce. Rasaka at Victory Gardens (2433 N. Lincoln) through October 11
October 11 Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (drama) Edward Albee's ode to marital carnage gets the storefront treatment. Redtwist Theatre (1044 W. Bryn Mawr) through October 11
Now Playing
American Idiot (musical) Billie Joe's rock opera gets its local debut at Chicago's punkiest storefront. The Hypocrites at the Den (1333 N. Milwaukee) through October 25
The Black White Love Play (drama) This musical tells the story of Chaz and Roger Ebert from their courtship to Roger's death in 2013. Black Ensemble Theater (4450 N. Clark) through November 1
Blood Brothers (musical) A drama about two brothers separated at birth raised by families at opposite ends of the socioeconomic spectrum. Theo Unique at No Exit Cafe (6970 N. Glenwood) through November 15
Butcher (drama) What happens after a man in a military uniform and a Santa hat shows up at a police station on Christmas Eve with a meat hook and sign reading "arrest me" around his neck? Signal Ensemble Theatre (1802 W. Berenice) through October 24
The Cheats (drama) A well-to-do modern couple gets a Halloween visit from the neighbors at least one of them has been spying on. Steep Theatre (1115 W. Berwyn) through November 7
Direct from Death Row The Scottsboro Boys (musical) Mark Stein and Harley White Jr.'s soft-shoe rendering of the 1931 court case involving nine black men falsely accused of raping two white women. Raven Theatre (6157 N. Clark) through November 14
Dogfight (musical) The Vietnam-bound soldiers compete to find the ugliest date on their last night at home. BoHo at Theater Wit (1229 W. Belmont) through October 18
East of Eden (drama) Steppenwolf's foremost Steinbeck adapter, Frank Galati, takes on the writer's World War I opus. Steppenwolf Theatre (1650 N. Halsted) through October 31
For Her as a Piano (drama) Nambi E. Kelley's latest tracks three generations of women. Pegasus Theatre at Chicago Dramatists (1105 W. Chicago)
Funnyman (drama) A vaudeville has-been tries to relaunch his career and rekindle his wrecked relationship with his daughter. Northlight Theatre (9501 Skokie Boulevard, Skokie) through October 18
Goblin Market (drama) A hyper-eerie musical about two Victorian sisters who visit their childhood nursery. Black Button Eyes Productions at the Pentagon Theater (Flat Iron Arts Building, 1579 N. Milwaukee) through October 31
Guardians (drama) The 30-year-old storefront theater opens its final season with Peter Morris's parallel narrative about the Abu Ghraib photos and a British tabloid publishing fake war torture photos. Mary Arrchie Theatre (735 W. Sheridan) through October 18
Love and Information (drama) Remy Bumppo takes on Caryl Churchill's ode to Internet-age romance. Remy Bumppo at the Greenhouse Theater Center (2257 N. Lincoln) through November 1
Marvin's Room (drama) A woman who's dedicated her life to caring for her ailing father endures her own bout of illness. Shattered Globe at Theater Wit (1229 W. Belmont) through November 14
Miss Buncle's Book (comedy) A Depression–era spinster writes her unwitting neighbors into an unexpected bestseller. Lifeline Theatre (6912 N. Glenwood) through November 1
October Sky (musical) A world-premiere adaptation by Aaron Thielen on the famous book and film. Marriott Theatre (10 Marriott, Lincolnshire) through October 18
The Price (drama) Two sons duke it out over their dad's heirlooms in this take on Arthur Miller. TimeLine Theatre (615 W. Wellington) through November 22
The Revel (drama) A self-described "soul-quenchin’ revival in music and spirits" crafted at the University of Chicago's Performance Lab. House Theatre at the Chopin (1543 W. Division) through October 25
Scream, Queen, Scream (comedy) Read more about this campy-scary Halloween show. Hell in a Handbag at Mary's Attic (5400 N. Clark) through October 25
The Seagull (drama) Eclectic Full Contact takes on Chekhov's classic. Eclectic Full Contact at the Athenaeum (2936 N. Southport) through November 1
Sins of the Father (drama) Three generations of African-American men confront a bleak family history. ETA Creative Arts (7558 S. Chicago) through October 25
Spamalot (musical) The Monty Python musical swings through the suburbs. Metropolis Performing Arts Centre (111 W. Campbell, Arlington Heights) through October 25
Sucker Punch (drama) Two aspiring boxers face off after years of estrangement and riots in their native London neighborhood. Victory Gardens (2433 N. Lincoln) through October 18
That's F'd Up (drama) Redtwist ensemble member Johnny Garcia tells his own troubling story in this one-man show. Redtwist Theatre (1044 W. Bryn Mawr) through October 25
Twin Set (comedy) An old classmate shows up to throw a wrench in two thirty-something sisters' airtight cohabitation. The Side Project (1439 W. Jarvis) through October 18