Nothing gets you back in touch with Chicago like planning where to take out-of-towners visiting for the holidays. Let our critics help with your sightseeing. Chris Jones suggests some seasonal plays — and one about pets. Howard Reich points the way to avant-garde jazz spots and classic Chicago performers. John von Rhein suggests his favorite “Messiah.” Michael Wilmington recommends cinema from Japanese art to classic New Wave. And Julia Keller reminds us to take a walk. If you don’t have guests, feel free to try some of these yourself.
Poetry in Chicago theater
Since a lot of our out-of-town guests are Midwesterners, they enjoy visiting the Loop theater district, which is the most atmospheric slice of urbanity west of New York City.
After cocktails at Petterino’s (150 N. Dearborn St., 312-422-0150), which is the closest thing we have to Joe Allen’s of Broadway fame, and a gander at the State Street windows at Marshall Field’s, for the last time ever, I’ll be checking out “Chicago,” which opens Tuesday at the Cadillac Palace Theatre (151 W. Randolph St., call Ticketmaster).
Sure, it’ll be my umpteenth time. But “Chicago” in Chicago at Christmas has a kind of gritty poetry. It reminds you why you don’t live in Columbus, Ohio.
And while “The Radio City Christmas Spectacular” — opening Nov. 25 at the Rosemont Theatre (5400 North River Rd., Ticketmaster) — has no gritty poetry whatsoever, it does have real animals and a level of spectacle unmatched elsewhere this holiday season. For friends with kids, it’s worth braving those gruff Rosemont parking lot attendants just to see the fake snow. My son loves fake snow, since he’s too young to have seen much of the real stuff.
My mother-in-law is a dog lover of epic proportion. So I might take her to see “Bark” at the Chicago Center for the Performing Arts (777 N. Green St., 312-733-6000), since it’s a fun show that takes the inner life of dogs seriously, an ability that has escaped me for most of my life. And I might introduce a couple of longtime good friends of mine who divide their time between the United States and Tokyo, to Frank Galati’s “After the Quake” at the Steppenwolf Theatre (1650 N. Halsted St., 312-335-1650, www.steppenwolf.org). It’s an American take on three Japanese language stories by the great author Haruki Murakami.
And I often recommend “A Christmas Carol” at the Goodman Theatre (170 N. Dearborn St., 312.443.3800, www.goodmantheatre.org). Sure, Scrooge is the king of all Christmas cliches. But this particular production has for years been enthused with the spirit of the Chicago theater, present, past and future: it’s reliably warm, honest, truthful, egalitarian and eager to please. What more could one want for the holidays in Chicago?
–Chris Jones, Tribune arts critic
Great expectations for live jazz
Anyone who hangs out with me expects to hear great jazz, or at least ought to, which means a marathon tour through some of the city’s world-class music rooms.
For starters, there’s the Jazz Showcase (59 W. Grand Ave., 312-670-2473), where national headliners play in a room designed not for chatting or schmoozing but for listening. Musicians such as bassist-bandleader Dave Holland and pianist McCoy Tyner consistently choose to play the intimate club, even though larger venues pay a lot more. The reason is two-fold: Showcase audiences pay rapt attention, and the room conveys a prestige along the lines of, say, the Village Vanguard in New York and the Jazz Bakery in the Los Angeles area. The music runs Tuesdays through Sundays and no reservations are required or taken (except for major events, such as New Year’s Eve).
The music-making gets considerably edgier at Hot House (31 E. Balbo Drive, 312-362-9707), where avant-garde jazz, world music and other exotica make this club/gallery a prime cultural destination in the South Loop. Unlike comparably edgy venues elsewhere in America, however, HotHouse hardly could be more comfortable or inviting, its nocturnal view of the Sears Tower and the rumbling “L” always a hit with out-of-towners. The place swings seven nights a week.
Finally, every Chicago jazz pilgrimage must include the nearly century-old Green Mill (4802 N. Broadway, 773-878-5552), where hard-hitting, rough-and-tumble performances are de rigueur. When they’re not on the road, Chicago stars such as Patricia Barber and Kurt Elling regularly appear here, but the appeal of the room transcends particular headliners. There’s a rambunctious, unpretentious, no-holds-barred attitude here that reflects the nature of the city itself and, therefore, makes the Green Mill a prime draw for visitors.
–Howard Reich, arts critic
The air is crisp and there’s music in it
The secret to entertaining seasonal visitors is simple: I steer them away from the tourist traps and obvious offerings, and give them a taste of what the region’s entertainment is about all year round. The reason? Most of my guests don’t get out here that often, so why not treat them to the music I would treat myself to, on a cold winter’s night or otherwise?
The charming eclecticism of the Abbey Pub (3420 W. Grace St., 773-478-4408) makes this venue stand out. Somehow, this traditional Irish bar has embraced music of wildly diverse genres; don’t expect to be regaled by fiddlers and pipers here. Acts run the gamut from post-punk to hip-hop, then back again to literate indie-pop, alt-country and, yes, they serve some fine Irish food, too.
In terms of jazz, it’s hard to surpass Von Freeman’s long-standing gig at the New Apartment Lounge (504 E. 75th St., 773-483-7728). Now 83, “Vonski” is a giant of the tenor sax who has rubbed elbows with Charlie Parker and Miles Davis — but is still humble enough, on any given Tuesday, to escort jazz newbies onstage with him.
–Louis R. Carlozo, On the Town music editor
Good motivation to get yourself
out and about
The best thing about showing out-of-town guests the sights of Chicago is that you also get to see the sights of Chicago. Living in this thriving metropolis, it’s all too easy somehow to fall into your own workaday world and never get out to experience any of it. What’s up with that? You may as well be living in Rockford with really expensive parking.
Second City is the Michigan Avenue of the theater world, maybe, but no matter–everyone wants to see it and it’s always worth it, for a first visit or a return. I used to live a block away and catch the free improv sets at the end of every night sans Fridays. “Red Scare” is the current revue on the Main Stage (1616 N. Wells St., 312-337-3992 or www.secondcity.com). Uncommon Ground Coffeehouse is good for acoustic music. This Wrigleyville spot has expanded as of late and, eh, it ain’t what it used to be (on weekends it’s more rushed–and bachelorette parties?). But still a fine weeknight destination, with Christmas lights, a menu of great comfort food, coffee in big mugs and unplugged folk and roots (3800 N. Clark St., contact 773-929-3680 or http://uncommonground.com). Last, out-of-towners expect a certain something from Chicago that Double Door delivers. Cool live music and a storied past (1572 N. Milwaukee Ave., 773-489-3160).
–Doug George, On the Town
Treat an avid fan to a classic chorus
Being a music critic, I’m fortunate in having a fair number of entertainment options at hand when friends from out of town decamp at my doorstep. This year, I have just the right Christmas present to give a music-loving visitor. My friend Michael, a former Chicagoan who’s retired and living in Palm Springs, is coming here in mid-December. He’s an avid fan of choral music, having sung in several choruses here while studying music at DePaul University.
What could be more natural, I thought, than to treat him to one of several holiday performances? Michael adores Handel’s “Messiah” — he has the “Hallelujah” Chorus as the ringtone on his cell phone. So I have decided to take him to what promises to be one of the best “Messiahs” to be given in the Chicago area this season: The Apollo Chorus program at 2 p.m. Dec. 10 at Symphony Center, (220 S. Michigan Ave.), and again at 3 p.m. Dec. 18 at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance (205 E. Randolph Drive at Millennium Park). I’m also thinking about taking us for a bite at Park Grill, at the entrance of Millennium Park, 11 N. Michigan Ave., 312-521-7275. Michael will be a first-time visitor to the city’s new cultural playground, so this will be a way for him to satisfy several cravings at the same time.
–John von Rhein, Tribune arts critic
Keep your movie-loving guests in the dark
A movie lover’s weekend in Chicago should include visits to the Gene Siskel Film Center, Facets Cinematheque and the Music Box Theatre. As November winds down, the Siskel Center (164 N. State St., 312-846-2600, www.siskelfilmcenter.org) finishes its series on Japanese film great Yasujiro Ozu. Among the highlights: “Tokyo Twilight” and “There Was a Father.” At 7:30 p.m. Nov. 27, the center hosts the world premiere of Gerard Jamroz’s “Chicago Poems” a movie made here with local actors. Jamroz as well as cast and crew members will be present for an audience discussion. From Dec. 2-8 “Games of Love and Chance,” a comedy revolving around a French high school’s production of an 18th Century farce, will make its Chicago premiere. To make a break from popcorn, a favorite downtown dining spot is Shaw’s Blue Crab Lounge, (21 E. Hubbard St., 312-527-2722). Meanwhile, through Dec. 18, Facets (1517 W. Fullerton Ave., 773-281 4114/9075, www.facets.org) is hosting a retrospective on the late French New Wave giant Louis Malle. Gems include: “My Dinner with Andre,” “Damage,” “May Fools,” “Vanya on 42nd Street,” “Au Revoir Les Enfants” and “God’s Country.” For sustenance, try the pizza at Piece, (1927 W. North Ave., 773-772-4422).
A veritable movie palace that always charms out-of-towners is the Music Box Theatre (3733 N. Southport Ave., 773-871-6604, www.musicboxtheatre.com). Try the classic matinees at 11:30 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays, or the 22nd annual Christmas sing-along and double feature running Dec. 21-24.
–Michael Wilmington, Tribune movie critic
A strikingly simple step
“When you walk,” goes a French aphorism, “every step is a debate between what you are and what you might become.” When you walk in winter, that debate becomes louder and more emphatic — even though, paradoxically, you will be walking in relative silence and calm, since most people scramble to be indoors during winter’s mostly infelicitous weather. Indeed, only a few hardy souls are willing to endure vicious winds, rude snowfalls and temperatures affixed with the forbidding prefix ” — ” for their constitutional.
Only a rare smattering of visitors to our city ever knows the pleasure of tramping along in winter, when the world seems locked in a pale purple twilight all day long. That’s why the best activity one can suggest to adventurous out-of-towners is the simplest and cheapest of all: a good, long winter walk.
The route is irrelevant. Michigan Avenue? Perhaps. A slushy sidestreet? No problem. A winding suburban lane? Be my guest. Purists will recommend the lakeside route, along which the grim ribbon of cold-begripped waters stretches out like a gray road to nowhere. A winter walk in Chicago challenges the spirit as well as the body, and persuades us of the icy wisdom of poet Jack Miles: “You hear yourself walking on the snow,” he writes. “You hear the absence of the birds. / A stillness so complete, you hear / the whispering inside of you.”
So: Listen.
–Julia Keller, Tribune cultural critic
