Deerfield Review

NU symphony, choirs premiere oratorio

Fri, 25 May 2012 10:54:12 -0500

The oratorio “Not in Our Time,” written to commemorate the terrorist attacks on 9/11, will receive its United States premiere Sunday at Millennium Park in Chicago. Under the baton of Northwestern University’s Robert A. Harris, the 70-member Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra will perform the work by British composer Richard Blackford. About 175 singers from NU’s Chorale and Chorus and Women’s Chorus, including 62 members of the Bournemouth Symphony Chorus, will be on the Pritzker Pavilion stage. Soloists will be tenor Harold Brock and bass-baritone David Govertsen, both Northwestern alumni. The oratorio was commissioned by the Bournemouth Symphony Chorus for its …

Mr. Singer spotlights audience in Wilmette

Thu, 24 May 2012 20:36:01 -0500

Family Fun: Singalong with Mr. Singer in Wilmette, see ‘Antigone’ in Evanston, take daughters on a date in Glenview, enjoy ‘The Lorax’ in Northbrook and see stars and planets in Highland Park.

Frequently hysterical ‘Hysteria’

Thu, 24 May 2012 20:34:03 -0500

HYSTERIA ★ ★ ★ 1/2 The Victorian era is justly famous for many fine developments: railroads, neo-gothic architecture, universal suffrage, the rise of the middle class and inventions such as photography, the phonograph and the telephone. Stuffiness, too. The Victorians developed stiff, stuffy propriety to its greatest height, which may explain why we seldom associate the era with one of its most revolutionary innovations: the invention of the vibrating personal massager. It certainly explains why there’s rarely a scene in Tanya Wexler’s wonderful (and often very, very funny) romantic comedy “Hysteria” that doesn’t prompt a smile of delight — just …

Highland Park Strings close season in high style

Thu, 24 May 2012 20:32:00 -0500

The Highland Park Strings just wrapped up its 33rd season of free Sunday afternoon concerts, and a 34th will commence Oct. 21. That’s reason enough to cheer this volunteer ensemble, but the concert on May 20 provided additional incentive. Not only did it boast an original work by a local composer, a trumpet player who soloed in a Haydn concerto while conducting, and a pianist who played Mozart with exquisite sensitivity, but it also included a full-scale symphony by Schubert. Strings founder and co-principal cellist Larry Block remarked to the audience that Deerfield composer Armando Susmano expressed a bit of …

Chicago Philharmonic, soloists inspire genuine ovations

Wed, 23 May 2012 19:00:00 -0500

Standing ovations are so common at concerts and plays that the New York Times has declared war on them. And indeed, they have become devalued. But Sunday night the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra’s concertmaster David Perry played Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with such speed, dexterity and style that the well-deserved standing ovation at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall in Evanston went on for several minutes. Perry’s performance of this Romantic masterpiece displayed virtuosic technique as well as sensitivity and emotion with a kind of authentic wizardry well beyond the powers of the fictional Hogwarts. On the podium was Larry Rachleff, the orchestra’s music director …

McEvoy still relishes life at the track

Wed, 23 May 2012 15:07:01 -0500

It’s spring, the time of year when most Americans become horse racing fans, if only for the two minutes it takes to run the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May, or perhaps for a few weeks longer if a viable Triple Crown candidate emerges. Just in time to take advantage of this annual uptick in interest in following the ponies comes Photo Finish, the fourth installment in Evanston author John McEvoy’s racetrack thriller series featuring tough guy Jack Doyle. This time around, Doyle is working as a jockey’s agent for a talented young female rider from Ireland when …

Highland Park artist works in Japanese style

Tue, 22 May 2012 20:50:02 -0500

Highland Park’s Kay Thomas’ first exposure to sumi-e, or Japanese ink painting, was an art lesson show on public television in 1963. “This caught my attention and intrigued me,” explains Thomas. Charactistically Asian, sumi-e painting, or literally, ink painting, is the art of extracting the essence of the object in the fewest strokes. Most often, sumi-e is painted on rice paper or silk. There are three primary forms of this type of painting: Chinese, Japanese and Korean. Thomas said that the Japanese style of sumi-e is characterized by a more straightforward depiction of the subject. An exhibition of Thomas’ sumi-e …

One-woman show tells a hairy tale

Tue, 22 May 2012 21:32:39 -0500

Deborah Staples is playing a colorful role at Writers’ Theatre in Glencoe. Actually, she’s playing several of them as “The Blonde, The Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead.” Robert Hewett’s one-woman play begins when a redheaded housewife named Rhonda Russell reveals that her husband is moving out. Rhonda’s response to this revelation leads to a spiraling series of events that affect everyone around her. We learn what happens through monologues presented by six of the people affected — all played by Staples. This is the second time that Staples has tackled the solo show. The first was in 2008 at Milwaukee …

Baha’i concert honors harmony of spirit

Tue, 22 May 2012 20:48:01 -0500

The Sixth Annual Baha’i Choral Festival Sunday promises a multi-cultural experience celebrating the spiritual harmonies of the world’s religions. Featuring 200 voices from Germany, Italy, Bermuda, Barbados, Uganda, Trinidad, Finland, Hawaii and Canada, the Choral Festival will feature 10 choral compositions by Baha’i followers sung with no musical accompaniment. The 1,200-seat, architecturally dynamic Baha’i House of Worship in Wilmette is expected to fill for each of the two concerts Sunday. “Black and white faces, brown faces, people whose cultures are vastly different, we come together to share the music in the Baha’i faith,” said Van Gilmer, Baha’i House of Worship …

Deerfield composer’s work gets orchestral debut

Wed, 16 May 2012 14:49:33 -0500

Three soloists and an original composition by Dr. Armando Susmano of Deerfield are on the program for the final concert of the 33rd season of the Highland Park Strings free concerts, set for 3 p.m. Sunday, May 20, at Highland Park High School. Susmano’s Serenade for Flute, Strings and Percussion will open the program with Constance Volk, principal flute of the New Millennium Orchestra, as featured performer. Guest conductor will be trumpeter Stephen Burns, who will also solo in Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto. Schubert’s Symphony No. 5 will be on the program. Award-winning pianist Lori Kaufman will be soloist in Mozart’s …

Young artists can apply for Highland Park festival

Tue, 22 May 2012 21:32:56 -0500

Three young Highland Park artists, Alyssa and Ashley Smolensky and Ryan Heller, will be among the 6-18-year-old artists displaying their work at the Barrington Art Art Festival, May 26-27 at Cook and Station streets, downtown Barrington. Highland Park-based Amdur Productions, producer of the Barrington and other local art fairs, is now accepting applications for the Youth Art Division of its Port Clinton Art Festival, set for Aug. 25-26 in Highland Park. The youth artists will showcase their talents in a variety of mediums including, painting, drawing, jewelry, ceramics, prints, fiber, sculpture, photographs, glass and mixed media. All artwork featured must …

New theater company debuts in Highland Park

Tue, 22 May 2012 20:36:01 -0500

There’s something about the ancient art of story-telling that simply will not go away. It’s been a draw as long as there have been campfires — and people brave enough to stand up and rap about whatever comes to mind. Hunting mastodons, wrangling with mothers-in-law, and such. As evidence, we can point to the fact that the story-telling tradition is still going strong and in theatrical circles, with performers re-telling classic folk-tales and offering a few of their own for consideration. The latter is what you can expect when Short Story Theatre, a newly formed troupe of local writer/performers, including …

Arts and entertainment calendar for May 24

Tue, 22 May 2012 10:34:01 -0500

Stage “After Miss Julie,” presented by Focal Point Theatre Company through June 10 at Piccolo Theatre, 600 Main St., Evanston. Miss Julie, a wealthy politician’s daughter, finds herself entangled in a perilous web of class conflict, seduction and betrayal when she spends the evening with her father’s ambitious valet, John, and loyal cook, Christine. Performances are at 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets: $20; $15 students and seniors. Visit www.focalpointtheatre.com. “Antigone,” the classic Greek tragedy, will be presented by Mudlark Theater Company at 7:30 p.m. May 24-26 and 6 p.m. May 27 at Next Theatre, 927 Noyes St., Evanston. …

Thrill to Circus in Progress in Evanston

Thu, 17 May 2012 19:50:01 -0500

Family Fun: Marvel at daring feats in Evanston, enjoy the smallest show on Earth in Glenview, sing and dance in Wilmette and book a surprise in Lincolnshire.

Evanston-based orchestra to play for Joffrey

Tue, 22 May 2012 19:06:10 -0500

The Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra, which gives a series of concerts at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall in Evanston, has been named the official orchestra of the Joffrey Ballet. “We’re thrilled,” said Donna Milanovich, flutist and executive director of the Chicago Philharmonic. “They asked us to submit information on the cost of providing live music for all their concerts next season. But frankly we get requests all the time. When we heard [May 15] that we were chosen, we were amazed.” “It’s like a lightning bolt,” said James Berkenstock, bassoonist with the orchestra and artistic coordinator for the ensemble. “The Joffrey does some …

True grit, humor and heart in ‘[title of show]’

Tue, 15 May 2012 18:37:58 -0500

“[title of show]” just may be the most self-referentially meta-musical ever writ. Jeff Bowen (music and lyrics) and Hunter Bell’s (book) musical is about two guys named Jeff and Hunter struggling to create a musical titled “[title of show].” And while theater nerds will delight in the countless inside, (and sometimes self-described “obscure”) references to the musical theater, “[title of show]” is not just a show for Broadway geeks. It matters not if you don’t know “Hairspray” from “Hedwig.” “[title of show]” is a delight from start to finish as it captures the agony and the ecstasy of creating art …