Theatre Tidbits

For a Sunday, today was pretty productive, especially in the theatre department.

I got up early (9.30) to make sure I was not receiving my wake-up call from the cable guy again. Because even after 3 visits the month, apparently not all of the cable can work at the same time. Got up early, no slacker mass for me!

Snow Queen workshop was mostly a jam session, as Michael Smith, the playwright/composer, worked with the musicians and 3 actors. It's terribly cleverly written, and after a presentation by one of the artist-designers, the production will be visually stunning. Revolve, scrolls, puppets!! Almost the complete opposite of the current play in the same space. And I am very excited about Snow Queen, because the director is supposed to be absolutely brilliant and innovative. And very well-connected...

I had to leave from the workshop early so that I could get half-price tickets at the Goodman for Vigils, Noah Haidle's new play. Mission accomplished! $10 for professional theatre.

The Goodman reminds me of the LiveArts DownStage, with an extra tier. Even on the mezzanine, I had a great seat.

Vigils - apparently a bit of a sequel to Mr. Marmalade. If he wrote Mr. Marmalade for his girlfriend, this was in response to her leaving him. Not quite as well-paced as Mr. Marmalade, but interesting. About a woman whose husband died 2 years ago, but she refuses to let go. With a healthy dose of chaos.


But as I was waiting for the show to start, I was amused to hear the people next to me talking about Denmark. And they really got it! I had to prevent myself from telling them I worked on it. I got my landlady tickets for the show today, and she just raved about the show and the space. It was great to get that kind of response, especially for such a cerebral drama.

Chicago Tribune review of Denmark.

And just to confirm that Chicago is my kind of city - every so often you get a whiff of the chocolate factory. Dreamy and torturous all at once. But not to be confused with the Chicago Chocolate Factory where Cheese Fiend and I had amazing food, served up by a cute boy who fed us lots of free goodies.

More workshop tomorrow, and maybe a script review. (unless I give in and read Anansi Boys instead).

on iTunes: "The More You Ruv Someone" - Avenue Q