New year, fresh start. Chris Jones got the resolution game kicked off on the cover, with suggestions for himself, theaters and theatergoers. Just so he wouldn’t have all the fun, Tribune critics and On the Town staffers offer up their own resolutions for one and all. So get busy.
A new entertainment you awaits.
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Help introduce or re-introduce children to the wonderful cultural arts and entertainment Chicago has to offer. But parental units, you’ll have to do your part: turn off the iPod, Disney Channel and Guitar Hero.
Here’s a start:
The Sunday Salon series at the Chicago Cultural Center features wide ranging classical compositions with many family-friendly programs. Chicagoculturalcenter.org
Short Shakespeare at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater at Navy Pier is an un-intimidating way to enjoy Shakespeare for all ages. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” begins January 24. chicagoshakes.com.
Venues around town such as Old Town School of Folk Music (4544 N. Lincoln Ave. 773-728-6000, oldtownschool.org) and House of Blues (329 N. Dearborn St. 312, hob.com) offer a diverse schedule of all ages music performances.
A Joffrey Ballet matinee couldn’t be more kid-friendly. Go to joffrey.com for the company’s upcoming programs.
— Regina Robinson
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Hit one club show a week. Chicago is a great music town, and it’s easy to focus on the big hitters: Aragon, Riviera, Allstate Arena. But great shows are happening at the Empty Bottle, Reggies Live, Hideout, etc.
Can you resist a lineup featuring bands such as Armageddon After Party, and Slaughter the Weak? We can’t either. 5 p.m. Saturday, Reggies Rock Club, 2109 S. State St, 312-949-0121.
Do the gallery tripping thing, because there’s some great art that can be seen for free. Yes, there’s also a bunch of treacle, and stuff that matches the sofa. That’s fine. You don’t know the good, unless you know the … um … adequate.
Gallery G.R. N’Namdi is as reliable as the tides. It’s also a nice, low-key experience that must be experienced. 110 N. Peoria St., 312-563-9240 or grnnamdi.com.
Make like a tourist. Yes, I know this city’s entertainment scene. So much so that it becomes easy to emanate derisive snorts at the everyday stuff that makes this city’s scene go. Have you been to Navy Pier lately? Neither have I. Let’s fix that together, shall we?
— Kevin Williams
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Never miss another “Picnic”: Playwright William Inge’s classic “Picnic” about Midwestern restlessness and bottled-up sexuality got the David Cromer treatment last fall at Writers’ Theatre. By all accounts, it was one of the great shows of 2008 — and it even helpfully extended its run by a few weeks. But I still never got up to Glencoe to see it. No more just getting out to shows when the time suits me.
Oh, just go up and talk to Her. Or Him: It happens like this. I’ll be out at a play and will recognize a face in the lobby of an actor whose work I really like. In which case, here’s what I do: Stare straight at them for several seconds until they glance over and I look away and stare at the ceiling instead. Rarely do I go up, say hello and talk to them. They don’t want to be bothered, they get that sort of attention all the time, I’m not going to be some intrusive fan. But I hereby resolve to barge in, tell them I liked their work and ask them about it. Be warned, Carolyn Defrin.
— Doug George
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Following is some advice for organizations that may not necessarily be seeking it:
Jazz Showcase: In 2008, the iconic Chicago club opened in a sumptuous new home — surely the most beautiful spot founder Joe Segal has enjoyed since he began presenting concerts in 1947. But now the club needs to dramatically expand its artist roster beyond the fine but familiar headliners who have been returning there for decades. Marcus Roberts, Vijay Iyer, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Corey Wilkes, Henry Butler, Patricia Barber and dozens more would enliven the lineup.
Chicago Jazz Festival: In the past few years, the festival has begun to refine its tired, anachronistic formula. In 2009, more dramatic change would be welcome: Use Grant Park’s flawed and dilapidated Petrillo Music Shell Park less; use Millennium Park’s superb Pritzker Pavilion more; augment the Lollapalooza-type shows with events in intimate venues such as the Chicago Cultural Center and the city’s clubs and concert halls.
Auditorium Theatre: During the past few years, the magnificent space has presented occasional jazz and cabaret shows, including inspiring events by trumpeter Orbert Davis and the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic. In 2009, the folks who program the Auditorium ought to shift to the next gear, creating a bona fide series of jazz concerts. “Jazz at the Auditorium” — who could resist?
WBEZ 91.5 FM: It’s time to admit that the public radio station’s decision to drop live, late-night jazz programming in favor of somnambulant tapes of public-affairs shows was a cultural and civic disaster. Bring back the music!
— Howard Reich
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Make listening to contemporary music an essential part of your life: You don’t have to like every new score you hear, of course. But you shouldn’t shun music just because it’s unfamiliar — you might even find yourself turned on by sounds fresh and exciting. No contemporary ensemble based in Chicago serves up such sounds with greater polish and gusto than eighth blackbird. The dynamic group will join with the renowned Hilliard Ensemble to perform works of Stephen Hartke on Feb. 19 as part of its second season at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph Drive (847-421-5257).
Support your suburban orchestra: The area is blessed with a remarkable number of top-quality symphony orchestras besides the band that plays weekly at Symphony Center downtown. Cellist Matt Haimovitz solos with the Elgin Symphony Orchestra (Jan. 9-11, Hemmens Theatre, 45 Symphony Way, Elgin; 847-888-4000). Alexander Toradze thunders through the Prokofiev Third Piano Concerto with the New Philharmonic (Feb. 27-28, McAninch Arts Center, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn; 630-942-4000). And the Leopold Dance Group will join the Northbrook Symphony Orchestra in music inspired by the dance (Feb. 22, Sheely Center for the Performing Arts, 2300 Shermer Rd., Northbrook; 847-272-0755).
Check out the abundance of choral music the area has to offer: Two small vocal ensembles that present really imaginative programs at the highest level are Bella Voce (folk songs and anthems by Vaughan Williams and others; April 26-May 3 in Chicago, Barrington and Lisle; 312-479-1096); and Chicago a cappella (Renaissance music to vocal jazz; Feb. 6-21 in Naperville, Oak Park, Chicago and Evanston; 773-755-1628).
Go for the freebies: With the economy in the tank, you will want to pay closer attention than ever to the many free classical events in the area. Ring in the new year with a concert by the Chicago Chamber Orchestra, celebrating Dieter Kober’s record-setting 57 years as music director (Jan. 11, Preston Bradley Hall, Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington Blvd.; 312-357-1551). Drop by any of the free Dame Myra Hess Memorial concerts at 12:15 p.m. every Wednesday at the same venue (312-670-6888). Or check out any of the Pianoforte Salon Series concerts at 12:15 p.m. Fridays at Sherwood Conservatory (1312 S. Michigan Ave.; 312-291-0000).
Stifle that cough, silence that cell phone, banish that beeper: Bad concert etiquette makes it impossible for performers to give of their best (yes, they can hear you up there on the stage!). It also upsets the concentration of every audience member in your vicinity, including a certain irascible critic. Don’t make me come over there.
— John von Rhein
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Take a visit outside my own personal dance box: Go to the ballet if I’m a devoted postmodernist. And vice versa. Consider Hubbard Street April 1-5 and June 4-7 at the Harris Theater (205 E. Randolph Drive; 312-334-7777) or the hefty, multi-ethnic winter and spring planned at the Dance Center of Columbia College (1306 S. Michigan Ave.; 312-369-6600), including such versatile offerings as Japan Dance Now (Feb. 5-7), the hip Chicago troupe The Seldoms (Feb. 19-21) and storyteller and social moralist David Rousseve (March 12-14). The ongoing efforts at Links Hall (3435 N. Sheffield Ave.; 773-281-0824) are available for the even more adventurous. Those who’ve studiously avoided the more classically based can try out the Joffrey Ballet’s winter (Feb. 18-March 1) and/or spring (April 29-May 10) programs at the Auditorium Theatre (50 E. Congress Pkwy.; 312-902-1500), especially eclectic line-ups including repertory favorites (“Kettentanz,” “The Rite of Spring”) and enticing works new to Chicago (Tom Ruud’s “Mobile,” Christopher Wheeldon’s “Carousel, A Dance).” In any event, stretch my own limits, sample what’s personally exotic, whether ballet, contemporary, ethnic or ballroom.
Take the time to view (or revisit) great classics of dance on DVD: There are plentiful full videos, notably such classics as “Choreography by Balanchine,” performed by members of the New York City Ballet, on the Nonesuch label and still available for purchase through the Internet. There are plenty of Mikhail Baryshnikov videos out there, too, including his partnering with Gelsey Kirkland in “The Nutcracker.” But it’s also fun to go back to great Hollywood classics on video, starting with a self-devised tribute to Cyd Charisse, who died in June. The leggy, vamp-like dancer is shown off best in “The Band Wagon,” “Silk Stockings” and (in the long dance sequence near the end) “Singin’ in the Rain.”
Take at least one and, if possible, more trips to the Big Apple: Though expensive, New York remains America’s unchallenged dance capital, and going there is a chance to see old favorites who haven’t been back here in a while, or try out hot new dance organizations. The pickings are fertile, including the New York City Ballet’s winter season Tuesday through March 1, American Ballet Theatre’s rich line-up May 18-July 11 (the troupe’s skipping Chicago this year) and the ever-seductive offerings of the Joyce Theater, starting with the delightful Parsons Dance in a Joyce engagement Tuesday through Jan. 18.
Attend a post-performance discussion: Hubbard Street’s Jim Vincent at the Harris Theater and the performers booked at the Dance Center of Columbia College regularly engage in them.
Read some dance history and biography: A few sample favorites: Joseph Epstein’s recent reverie “Fred Astaire,” Amanda Vaill’s “Somewhere” on the life of Jerome Robbins and Sasha Anawalt’s engaging, thorough history, “The Joffrey Ballet.”
Avoid any and all footage of Cloris Leachman dancing.
— Sid Smith
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Reaffirm direct contact with art objects: The Internet has fostered the illusion that works of art can be accurately apprehended from a computer screen. Better ones cannot. There’s no substitute for an unmediated encounter. It continues to be the basis for close study. You are really only looking at art when you are looking at the thing itself. Don’t think otherwise.
Learn: “I do not know art but know what I like” is not a helpful springboard. Take advantage of every resource — Internet, books, museums, galleries — so you do know art and therefore can intelligently develop likes and dislikes. Uninformed reactions may only be unexamined prejudices. Don’t excuse them.
Cross disciplines: Nowadays listeners regularly shift from one kind of music to another without difficulty. But such broadness of taste is not often shown when it comes to other areas. Painting of a given period is, for example, illuminated by the philosophy, literature and music of the same time. Get to know some of it. Your primary area of interest will be enriched.
Avoid provinciality: Travel to different places exposes you to more than your own customs and habits. The same is true of travel to different times. 30,000 years of art from every country in the world is available. The tendency is to overrate our own time. It’s a mistake that’s harder to make when we know some of what preceded us.
Visual art can elicit the same depth of response as the greatest literature or music. Insist upon it: Enough already is in the world to entertain you. Seek out what challenges or moves you to the core. Get to know what that feels like. Understand that it’s precious because such art does not come along often.
Remember that as libraries are free, so are galleries. Take advantage of them. Every few weeks the exhibitions change. So go, and go again. They are such a tremendous resource that it’s hard to imagine you would not want to.
— Alan G. Artner
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Go to the Velvet Lounge. At least once: A lot of those greats aren’t going to be around forever. For ideas, see Howard Reich’s jazz column, on page 14.
Become a regular. Somewhere. Anywhere: Going out — especially in the chilly first quarter — is a lot more fun when everybody knows your name.
Support the fringe theater community: In these Tough Economic Times, everyone is suffering — especially those who need a bit of a budget to put on a show, and don’t have a built-in audience to lean on.
Buy local music: That includes the hip-hop dude hustling his mixes at Armitage Street and Kimball Avenue, to bands selling hand-silk-screened merchandise at local venues, to shopping at local record chains. It helps. In more ways than one.
— Lauren Viera
