January 2014: Chicago

Art & Appetite at the Art Institute

This exhibition serves as a nice corollary to Impressionism, Fashion & Modernity, seen last year at the Art Institute. Whereas that exhibit focused on and included Parisian fashions at the time of the Impressionists, this one acts as a history of food in the United States as reflected in the visual arts, mostly painting. As such, it also acts as a history of the still-life as it transitions through varying degrees of formality and function, and vastly different styles. Worth a visit.

Tribes at Steppenwolf

I became a huge fan of this play by the UK's Nina Raine after seeing the long-running, David Cromer-helmed, in-the-round production at off-Broadway's Barrow Street Theater. This Austin Pendleton-directed version in Steppenwolf's main, proscenium theater is similarly excellent though shades different. What's made explicitly clear in this production is just how isolated Billy really is as the lone deaf child in a hearing family. His need to find his own tribe is devastating though the ending this time is somewhat more upbeat thanks to the inclusion of the entire family in the final scene (which is not in the script). Excellent work once again by the Steppenwolf ensemble.

The Little Prince at Lookingglass

Believe it or not, this production is my first exposure to The Little Prince. Judging from the synopsis on Wikipedia, this adaptation (new?) by Rick Cummins and John Scoullar is faithful to the book and features all of its characters, including every inhabitant of the asteroids visited by the prince. The staging is highly imaginative, as to be expected from Lookingglass, and I expect rather expensive, what with many of the set pieces hanging from the ceiling (impressive in such a little theatre). The excellent ensemble does double duty by also performing the show's music, using both instruments and just their voices. A perfect introduction to this quirky story!