We all love being insiders — knowing the best spot to sit, the cool parking that nobody else knows about, that bathroom you can get to and be back in your seat while other patrons are still in line, dancing the jig of … um … impatience. Even though it causes us great pain, we have culled our brains for trade secrets, insider tips that will help you more effectively navigate your entertainment world. Need to eat and be back at your seat before Lyric Opera intermission ends? We hear you. FitzGerald’s parking lot jammed up? We have the answer. This week begins a monthly series that will deliver the goods. Don’t thank us now. Just admire our sacrifice.
But if everybody knows, what then? More info is the answer. If you have some insider tips, e-mail them to us at onthetown@tribune.com, and we’ll include them in the next installment.
Meanwhile …
– At the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, turn left when you first enter the lot and park away from the theater entrance and near the hotel’s reception desk. It’s an easy shortcut through the lobby and you’ll get out fast.
-Chris Jones
Entertainment? Pssst: Enter here
Secrets are secret no longer. Here’s the first of our ongoing series that will guide you toward ways to make the most of your entertainment world. We’ve culled the trick bags of reporters and critics for the inside tips that only they, and a select few others, know. From tickets to food to parking, check out this batch of trade secrets to whet your appetite. Look for the next installment on June 8 in On the Town, and remember — if you have some tricks of your own to share, write us at: onthetown@tribune.com.
Tickets and discounts
Do not pick up the phone unless you love surcharges. Instead, take a lovely walk to one of the box-offices and buy, surcharge-free, in person. Note that Broadway in Chicago tickets are available at all of its theaters. Or go to chicagoplays.com and sign up to get half-price, day-of-show Hot Tix lists mailed daily. As of the last couple of weeks, you can buy half-price tickets online now, without even going to the booths. All remaining mezzanine tickets for the current day’s performance(s) go for half-price at goodmantheatre.org by entering the promo code MEZZTIX during the site’s purchase process. If you have some connection to the theater — however vague — call the box office and ask if they have an “industry night.” You’ll probably get in cheap or free, just for knowing the term. And if you have a penguin suit, you could usher. Visit www.saintschicago.org.
Two Web sites routinely have cheap tickets to Chicago theaters you don’t see elsewhere: goldstarevents.com (requires registration) and theatremania.com. You could also Google search the name of the theater and promotional code to come up with some deals. I just tried it.
— Chris Jones
Theatrical parking hints
I hate to pay. And I hate to get blocked in.
If going to either the Steppenwolf or the Royal George Theatre, park only on Clybourn Avenue. Free parking is almost always available on the northwest side of the street (just north of the El). Then walk behind the mini-mall (under the El tracks) and you’ll be right there. Never interact with those heinous parking garages on Halsted Street, and you’ll not find street parking there either. Clybourn is your only friend.
If going to one of the Loop theaters (such as the Goodman or the Oriental), stay west of La Salle Street, south of Lake and north of Monroe to find free street parking. La Salle is especially good — because there are lots of hidden single spots legal in the evenings. And if you’re having dinner and driving, get to the Loop right at 6 p.m., when lots of spaces become legal. Be especially wary of the crumbling garages right next to the Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress Pkwy. They cost a fortune. Go two blocks south down State or Wabash Streets, and you’ll find cheap, easy-out evening parking in surface lots.
— C.J.
A few artistic tricks
Groups and individuals interested in prints, drawings and photos by specific artists may make an appointment to see them in the Jean and Steven Goldman Study Center in the department of prints and drawings (312-443-3660) or the Photography Study Room (312-857-7639), both at the Art Institute of Chicago. You don’t have to be a scholar or student, but appointments are mandatory.
Wednesday is the slowest day of the week at the Museum of Contemporary Art, hence, the best day to visit. With rare exceptions, exhibitions at commercial and not-for-profit art galleries are free.
— Alan G. Artner
When it’s curtains for diners
If you’re headed to the Civic Opera House, and are stumped for a place to grab nourishment beforehand that’s both tasty and convenient, take heart. Rivers restaurant has long been a favorite hangout of folks attending opera, ballet or theater in the Loop vicinity. Located on the lobby level of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Building at Wacker and Madison across the street from the opera house, Rivers rates high with patrons not only for its contemporary American and European style cuisine but also its super-efficient service: You can be out the door and into your opera house seat in roughly the amount of time it takes to read this (312-559-1515; www.riversrestaurant.com).
— John von Rhein
Sweet parking relief
OK, you have to eat at Chili’s. But on the up side, you don’t have to pay for parking at an Allstate Arena show. The trick? Dine at the Rosemont Chili’s (7140 N. Mannheim Rd., 847-298-9031), and get free parking while at the concert. “A lot of people do that,” says eatery manager Ralph Vega. This location is about a 5-minute walk to the arena, and post-show, while everyone is battling to get in the line to exit the Allstate parking lot, you’ll be in your car with a nice head start up Touhy Avenue.
The Berwyn mojo
As a night spot, FitzGerald’s is highly recommended, but parking can often be a complexity. Thanks to the village of Oak Park and its overnight parking ban, tip-top parking for late shows is just a walk across Roosevelt Road (dividing line between Oak Park and Berwyn) away. Sure it’s an overnight ban, but you won’t be hanging out there overnight. No worries.
Pre-theater unhassle
Petterino’s, adjacent to the Goodman Theatre on Randolph and Dearborn, is invariably jammed — and crazy — from 6:30 p.m. or so until the mob exits at performance time. Especially the bar. That’s good for Petterino’s, but for a mellower run-up to showtime, we like Catch 35, two blocks north on Wacker Drive, where an unrushed cocktail or glass of wine accompanied by variety of appetizers (including perfect calamari and crab cakes) — and, most nights, live jazz — is the perfect way to both unwind from work, gain sustenance, and get psyched for the theater without worrying about missing the curtain because everyone wants the check now.
— Alan Solomon
Getting your Von on
If you want to play with one of the world’s greatest jazz musicians — Chicago tenor sax icon Von Freeman — but you’ve never been asked, there’s a remarkably easy way to do so. Just bring your horn (or guitar or voice) to the New Apartment Lounge, 504 E. 75th St., at 10:30 p.m. any Tuesday. After the great “Vonski” plays his first set, he invites aspiring jazz stars of all ages to join him for a chorus or two. If you know what you’re doing, you’ll survive. If you don’t, you’ll be summarily dismissed. Only the brave need apply, but for those who want to touch jazz greatness, the opportunity awaits — and it’s free.
— Howard Reich
