It's autumn--my favorite season. For many, that not only signals the ending of vacations and the return to school and work, but best of all it marks the beginning of a slew of plays, musicals, orchestral concerts, dance performances, opera productions, and more.
Here is a sampling of the many varied performances you might think about checking out this September. As you grab hold of your calendar, you might even hum the "September Song"--that beautiful melody by Kurt Weill, the Jewish composer who fled Nazi Germany in 1933 and settled in New York. It was just one of the many songs Weill wrote for
Knickerbocker Holiday
, a rarely revived 1938 Broadway musical.
The magic of the Chagall marriage
Marc Chagall, who hardly needs an introduction, has been described as "the quintessential Jewish artist of the 20th century."
But I would expand that description to read this way: Chagall (1887-1985), who worked in a slew of different mediums, was a visual magician whose figures are uniquely airborne. His characters seemed to be living their life in mid-flight-drifting high above the ground, and moving through the air as if elevated by love. Chagall's own love was his beloved wife, Bella, a writer, whom he married in 1914, and who died in New York in 1944. Chagall's paintings also display his love for music, dance, and the beauty of nature.
During their marriage--Bella was unquestionably Chagall's muse--they lived through the arrival of communism, Nazism, two world wars, and constant antisemitism. But the sheer beauty and airborne movement of Chagall's work suggests that he was able to rise above it all.
And that is bound to manifest itself in Northlight Theatre's production of
The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk
, a musical by the British playwright Daniel Jamieson, whose klezmer score by Ian Ross draws on a good bit of Yiddish, plus some Russian and French. The director and choreographer of the show is the Jeff Award-winning Elizabeth Margolius.
"It was love at first sight for Chagall and Bella," said Margolius during a recent chat.
"They lived through so much upheaval, and had to constantly flee and hide, and this affected them in different ways. And in this show an elderly Chagall at times looks back at all this, and you will come away with his apologies."
"This show, that is unlike a traditional musical, inspired me to work in unique ways to explore Chagall's journey," she continued. "I studied his paintings and other works at the Art Institute. And what is really great about this show is how it is not just about 'him,' but about 'them.' Bella was his equal, although they expressed themselves in different ways. And by the end he realizes what they both contributed to the world-and to each other."
"Regarding the dancing in the show, it has a contemporary feel, with a bit of some Russian flavor, as well as help from a 'lift choreographer consultant' who helped me capture the sense of the many flying characters in Chagall's work."
About the show's music Margolius explained: "Composer Ian Ross has combined a bit of traditional Russian music with klezmer, some folk music, a bit of Tchaikovsky, and even a bit of Ella Fitzgerald that I really like."
The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk runs Sept. 5 - Oct. 6 at Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd. in Skokie. For tickets, visit northlight.org or call 847-673-6300.
Singing about the American Revolution
The Tony Award-winning musical
1776
, which ran on Broadway from 1969 to 1972, is coming to the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire. The title refers, of course, to the year in which American independence was declared; the action centers around the writing and signing of the Declaration of Independence.
It is worth noting that the Jewish population of the colonies at that time was quite small, and that there were Jews on both sides of the war. While those facts are not mentioned in the musical, it was created by two Jews: Peter Stone (the writer), and Sherman Edwards (the composer/lyricist).
1776
runs now through Oct. 13 at the Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Dr. in Lincolnshire. For tickets, visit marriotttheatre.com or call 847-634-0200.
The Normal Heart
at Redtwist
It was back in 1985, just a few years after the devastating outbreak of the HIV-AIDS epidemic, that largely afflicted gay men began, that Jewish playwright and activist Larry Kramer created
The Normal Heart
, a groundbreaking work that opened off Broadway at The Public Theater and captured a situation that many did not want to discuss.
The play was subsequently produced more than 600 times throughout the world. Kramer's quasi-autobiographical work is now being revived by Redtwist Theatre. Its principal character,
Ned, is a Jewish-American writer and gay activist, much in the spirit of Kramer himself.
Redtwist Theatre is at 1044 W. Bryn Mawr, where the play is running now through Sept. 29. For tickets, visit redtwisttheatre.org or phone 773-728-7529.
The CSO is back at Orchestra Hall
Talk about a wonderful way to start the fall season! The Chicago Symphony Orchestra performed its summertime concerts at Ravinia, but is returning home to Orchestra Hall this month.
Opening the program will be the first CSO performance of composer Michael Tilson Thomas'
Agnegram
--a work he created as a tribute to Agnes Albert, a major benefactor of the San Francisco Symphony. It was there that Tilson Thomas, grandson of the noted Yiddish Theater stars Boris and Bessie Thomashefsky, served as music director from 1995 to 2020.
Also on the program will be Leonard Bernstein's overture to
West Side Story
, along with Samuel Barber's "Violin Concerto" (featuring Hilary Hahn), and pieces by Tchaikovsky and Ginastera.
The initial program is scheduled for Sept. 19 at 7:30 p.m. and Sept. 20 at 1:30 p.m.
For tickets, visit cso.org or call 312-294-3000.
A unique twist on 'Alice in Wonderland'
Kokandy Productions' Midwest premiere of "
Alice by Heart
" is a most unusual take on
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
, the 1865 children's classic by Lewis Carroll.
The musical--with lyrics and book by the Tony, Grammy, and Laurence Olivier Award-winning Jewish writer Steven Sater--is set in the rubble of the London Blitz of World War II, where a teenage girl's life is turned upside down.
It is there that she and her friend, Alfred (who is ill, and quarantined) are forced to take shelter in an underground tube station. And it is while there that Alice encourages Alfred to "escape" with her into the world of the "Alice in Wonderland" story, with a journey down the rabbit hole to Neverland.
The musical runs through Sept. 29 at The Chopin Studio Theatre, 1543 W. Division. For tickets, visit kokandyproductions.com.Hedy Weiss, a longtime Chicago arts critic, was the Theater and Dance Critic for the
Chicago Sun-Times from
1984 to 2018, and currently writes for WTTW-TV 's website and contributes to the
Chicago Tonight
program.
