Performing Arts Search
River North Chicago Dance Company
Sat., Nov. 7, 8 p.m.
312-334-7777Dance
If I say “psychological,” you might think “contemplative.” But Forbidden Boundaries, a new work about “being your own worst enemy” by RNCDC artistic director Frank Chaves, is anything but. Fierce battles for control dominate this piece for 12, which consists mostly of duets in which one dancer embodies an aspect of the psyche that holds another back. Old habits of mind are represented by loose, sheer shirts—sometimes partly stripped off to bind the arms, giving Forbidden Boundaries an odd but powerful sexiness. Founding co-artistic director Sherry Zunker contributes Evolution of a Dream, a revision of her 1992 hit Reality of a Dreamer, in celebration of the company’s 20th anniversary. The original piece was set to the Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams”; this version uses a more ethereal version of the same song by Dave Stewart & His Rock Fabulous Orchestra, and the dancers even look like angels at times. Monique Haley’s Uhuru and Chaves’s Sentir em Nos, Tuscan Rift, Beat, and Habaneras, the Music of Cuba round out the program. --Laura Molzahn $30-$65
Aurel & Hardie Burlesque Cabaret
Sat., Nov. 7, 7:30 p.m. 312-733-6000Theater & Performance
Kerramel Productions Presents:
Aurel & Hardie Burlesque Cabaret
Take a trip back to the 1920's speakeasies with sexy dancers, singers, and comedy in this vaudeville inspired variety show that will highlight the sexy (and seedy) history of Chicago and the Jazz Age. And yes, there will be plenty of booze!
Saturday, November 7, 2009
7:30PM
Chicago Center for the Performing Arts
777 N Green St.
Chicago, IL 60622
Tickets:
$15 Advance Purchase
$18 at the door
Box Office: 312-733-6000
www.theaterland.com
Produced by: Kerry McGlynn
Choreographed by: Alison Peterson
Directed by: Ron Ben-Joseph
Starring : (in alphabetical order) Amanda Alexander, Ron Ben-Joseph, Laine Curtis, Colette Gregory, Emily Mannakee, Kerry McGlynn, Alison Peterson, Andrea Rappaport, Melissa Reznik, & Hillary Richmond
El Circo Cheapo Cabaret
Sat., Nov. 7, 7 & 10 p.m. 773-607-2604Theater & Performance
New act premieres and "a few old favorites." $10 reserves a spot; get it back after the show "if you really want it."
Gothla 2009, Halloween bellydance show!
Sat., Nov. 7, 8 p.m.Holiday Shows
Piper's annual Gothla -"The dark side of bellydance"
Bellydance show like you have never seen...
Special Performances by: Mae the Bellydancer, Piper, Sherihan, Mahira and many more...
Come out and have some fun!
River North Chicago Dance Company
Sat., Nov. 7, 1 p.m. 312-334-7777Dance
RNCDC performs Street Beat-Dance Through the Decades as part of the Harris Theater Family Series. $10
So You Think You Want to Be in Love?
Sat., Nov. 7, 8 p.m. 847-673-6300Stand-Up
Authors Greg Behrendt and Amiira Ruotola-Behrendt (He's Just Not That Into You) "talk candidly about relationships" for the Make 'Em Laugh series. $20-$45
The Shape of Things
Sat., Nov. 7, 8 p.m. 773-702-8787Theater & Performance
University Theater at the University of Chicago presents Neil LaBute's drama, examining the drastic consequences of some serious attitude adjustment--or is it mind manipulation?
Carpenters Halloween
Through 11/7: Tue-Sat 8 PM, 800-838-3006Halloween, Theater & Performance
I'll admit I was scared there for a while. The opening sequence of this Scooty and JoJo drag comedy--which grafts the Carpenters' pop songs onto John Carpenter's 1978 horror classic, Halloween--is played out on video monitors that are much too small for the room, and the first live sequence takes place in very dim light. I was afraid I'd be squinting the whole hour. But the rest of the performance turned out to be easy to both see and enjoy. Though limited in some ways by its barroom setting, Carpenters Halloween is a sharp goof with a solid cast and band, fine singing, and witty direction--along with deeply felt--one might even say plush--turns by Muppet-style puppets in supporting roles. Director, co-creator, and scenic designer Scott Bradley plays Laurie Strode (the Jamie Lee Curtis role in the film) with an air of sweet exasperation, and the Carpenter-meets-Carpenters conceit is so sound somebody should do a master's thesis on it. What really creeped me out, though, was hearing "We've Only Just Begun" on the radio as I drove home. --Tony Adler $15-$20
The Flowers
Through 11/7: Thu-Sun 7:30 PM, 866-811-4111Theater & Performance
Adam Bock's 75-minute one-act is a quirky portrait of obsessive actor-playwright-director Hal, whose devotion to his tatty touring theater company, the Flowers, both enriches and warps his life. Hal and longtime lover James have been on the road for years--they once played Romeo and Juliet together. But now, approaching middle age, they have reached a crossroads at which they must evaluate their dwindling troupe and their own relationship. Recalling David Mamet's 1977 A Life in the Theatre, the play--performed here as part of About Face Theatre's XYZ Festival of New Work--is structured as a series of on- and backstage vignettes, imaginatively designed and vividly acted under Trip Cullman's direction. Bruch Reed's Hal combines graceful humor with poignantly understated intensity. --Albert Williams $20
Ivanov
Through 11/7: Thu-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 5 PM, 773-296-6024Theater & Performance
The three-year-old, heretofore unremarkable Sinnerman Ensemble teams up with veteran director Sheldon Patinkin and instantly joins the big league, turning Anton Chekhov's stylistically tricky first play--about a depressed, disillusioned landowner struggling to find an ounce of compassion for his dying wife--into a riveting exploration of the tragic and farcical flounderings of the human heart. Sure, there are a couple flat performances, and a few key moments are lost in half-light. But the inquisitive, passionate, disarmingly young cast are so in tune with Chekhov's nuanced style they make Patinkin's 2001 Steppenwolf production of Uncle Vanya look like a middle-school pageant. These two-and-a-half hours are about all you need to understand why Chekhov, theater, and life matter. --Justin Hayford $15-$20
Tommy Johnagin
11/3-11/7: Tue-Thu 8:30 PM, Sat, 7, 9, and 11:15 PM 312-337-4027Stand-Up
$22 + 2-item min.
Kill the Old Torture Their Young
Through 11/7: Thu-Sat 8 PM, 312-458-0722Theater & Performance
See Kerry Reid's in-depth review. $18
Night Watch
Through 11/7: Fri-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 3 PM, 708-656-8000Theater & Performance
In Lucille Fletcher's thriller, "an unbalanced society woman witnesses two murders across a dark alley . . . or does she?!" $8-$15
Rock Out With Your Wok Out
Preview 9/26. Opens 10/3. Through 11/7: Sat 7:30 PM 312-337-3992Improv/Sketch
Sketch show by improv group Stir Friday Night. $12
