Dance

Joffrey Academy of Dance to Present New Slate of “Winning Works”

The Joffrey Academy of Dance, School of The Joffrey Ballet, will present four world premieres in the culmination of Joffrey’s national call for ALAANA (African, Latinx, Asian, Arab and Native American) artists to submit applications for their Winning Works Choreographic Competition. This year’s Competition winners—Natasha Adorlee, Christian D’Ariano, Kameron N. Saunders, and Mike Tyus (Recipient of the Zach Lazar Winning Works Fellowship)—each have choreographed an original work created for the Joffrey Academy Trainees and Studio Company to a commissioned score by a chosen composer collaborator. An additional performance has been added to the program this year due to popular demand.

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ArtMuseums

Elmhurst Art Museum to Present Art in Wilder Park This Spring

In partnership with the Elmhurst Park District and consulting by RGL Marketing for the Arts, Elmhurst Art Museum has announced the return of Art in Wilder Park to the heart of Elmhurst this spring. The first outdoor festival of the season, Art in Wilder Park features over 125 exhibitors including local artists, food vendors, a designated Kids Court for family activities, and more. The free-to-the-public event regularly attracts over 8,000 people to the museum campus and takes place May 6-7, from 10 am to 5 pm, at 175 S. Cottage Hill Ave in Elmhurst.

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Classical MusicMusic

Chicago Opera Theater Launches Search to Replace General Director Ashley Magnus

The Board of Directors of Chicago Opera Theater (COT), Chicago’s foremost producer of contemporary and re-imagined opera, announced recently that it will launch a national search to replace Ashley Magnus, Stefan Edlis and Gael Neeson General Director, who departed the company effective Friday, March 3, 2023.  Magnus leaves the Chicago area to unite her family in Southwest Michigan, where she and her husband opened the River Trade Brewing Company in Constantine, MI. She has served Chicago Opera Theater for 7 ½ years, including as General Director since January 2019.  Chicago Opera Theater Director of Development Meaghan Stainback Smallwood has been named the Interim General Director.

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Classical MusicMusic

Chicago Philharmonic to Welcome Ryan Speedo Green in Orchestra Debut

The Chicago Philharmonic Society has announced it will welcome two-time Grammy Award winning bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green in a concert showcasing selections from opera and musical theater, one night only; Saturday, October 14 at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance. Featuring repertoire from every era of opera and musical theater, Green will make his debut with the dynamic, musician-led orchestra under the baton of Chicago Philharmonic artistic director Scott Speck.  

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TheaterWinter 2023

Family Dyamics: Preview of “Layalina” World Premiere at Goodman Theatre

There’s quite a bit to unpack, both literally and figuratively, when a family immigrates from a far flung country to the West and have to take on the challenges of adapting to local culture and idioms while maintain their own along the way. Imagine just how much more there is to deal with when that family spans several generations and the move is made amidst a swirl of global strife and social upheaval. Then you’ve got a conundrum of intense magnitude. How does the family navigate challenges unlike any it’s ever seen, economically, physically and culturally and stay a family? Such is the challenge depicted in Layalina, an extraordinary new play about how multi-generational families fall apart—and ultimately find each other again—amidst turbulent global and social change. 

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DanceWinter 2023

Coming Home: Alvin Ailey Returns to the Auditorum Theatre This Spring

If ever there was a “cultural ambassador” Chicago could call our own, it’s the beloved Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. The world renowned and resplendently talented company of diversely gifted dancers has performed for an estimated 25 million people in 71 countries on 6 continents—as well as millions more through television broadcasts, film screenings, and online platforms—promoting the uniqueness of the African American cultural experience and the preservation and enrichment of the American modern dance tradition. 

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MuseumsWinter 2023

Frozen in Time: Pompei 2.0

There are many, many events in our history that would prove tempting should one be able to to travel back in time to view up close. There are few that we can glean for an absolute certainty, the facts thereof. One such event is catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D., marking the sharp end of activity in the life of Pompeii. Now an archaeological site in Italy’s southern Campania region, Pompeii is a city frozen in time, preserved by meters of centuries-old ash and pumice to give us a picture of life during the moments it came to a cataclysmic end.

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Music

CYSO’s “Women in Music” Gala to Honor Laurie Anderson

Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras (CYSO) hosts its 2023 gala “Women in Music” at The Geraghty, 2520 S. Hoyne Avenue, on Saturday, Feb. 25 beginning at 6 p.m. This is CYSO’s largest fundraising event of the year. Attendees will enjoy cocktails, gourmet dinner provided by Boka Catering, live auction, and performances from more than 100 of CYSO’s talented young musicians, including orchestra, steelpan, and jazz ensembles. Proceeds from the evening directly support CYSO’s award-winning music education programs for dedicated young musicians from across the Chicago region.

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ArtsAutumn 2022Travel

Travel & Culture: Exploring Door County

Amidst an uncharacteristically frosty Chicago fall, and a bustling holiday cultural calendar that proffers more familiar fair than not, one might be forgiven if the mind wanders to less acquainted shores. In fact, a brief getaway is often the answer to what ails this time of year. But who wants the kind of anguish holiday season air travel can inflict? And, truthfully, a staycation simply defeats the purpose. For harried Chicagoans looking for a quick restorative escape, a fresh dose of culture, cuisine and amiable hospitality rests comfortably a short drive north of the Illinois border. It’s scenic, placid and secluded—just enough to be recuperative. It’s a community inspired with artistry and ingenuity, and it’s a haven for foodies across the strata of culinary appreciation. It’s Door County, Wisconsin, and it just may be the ticket you need this fall.

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