Tag Archives: Chicago

Fleeting: Pre-JoCoCruise from Chicago to San Diego

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Typically I have very little issues traveling, a hiccup once in a while, but today started off on not necessarily the “wrong foot” as much as just… off.

Let’s start with the work portion of the day:

Work was semi-normal, woke up early to triple check my luggage and headed to the local office (why would I drive to the Chicago office on a day like this?) relatively early… I was behind and being prepared for the trip, but had caught up beautifully. The only major item was that I was suppose to have a monthly forecast financial meeting with the cost engineer at work… except that didn’t happen.

That should have been my first hint that things weren’t going to be smooth.
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Review: Profiles Theatre’s Hellcab

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Last week I had the pleasure to see a friend of mine in Profiles Theatre’s production of Hellcab. The first thing I said to him about his performance was that it took til almost the end of the show for me to be any where close to certain as to which character he played.

However, there was just enough doubt in me that I leaned over to my friend (his wife) after the show and ask, “your husband was the blind man, right?” Typically I am pretty good at playing “spot my talented friend” be it on stage or on film… in this case, not realizing which one was my friend was a feat in itself.

If you don’t already know the general production of Hellcab, it is a slew of scenes of various people and their interactions with the cab driver (the main character who was on stage for the entirety of the production). However, instead of having a small slew of actors playing multiple roles, each individual role was cast with a different actor… making this the largest cast production of Hellcab (that I know of to date).

However, considering the concept of this anniversary season of Profiles Theatre is it really any surprise that they would go all out?

When walking into the theatre for your seats the first thing you notice is that there is a full-sized cab sitting in the middle of the stage. The roof was sawed off and both passenger seats were taken out… but for the most part the cab was all there and in reasonable working condition (well reasonable enough).

What do I mean?

Well the cabbie is able to turn left or right and you can see the tires actually turn. The cab’s headlights were working for some of the scenes set in the middle of the night. (Though being an engineer I am kind of curious if they were run from the cabbie in the scene or from a separate tech crew… I should probably ask my friend but I digress).

Since there are so many characters outside of the cab driver, I won’t be able to run through them all (mainly because I don’t remember who they were, or which actors / actresses played what)… so what I’ll do is just notate the highlights.

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Conventions: Wizard World Comic Con at Chicago

Between the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (aka as C2E2 in March / April) and the Wizard World Comic Con (in August) I typically prefer going to C2E2 by default. Wizard World always seem to strike me as a bit too chaotic and busy for my taste… which I suppose is odd considering that pretty much every convention is going to be just as crazy and chaotic.

Nevertheless… I went, and really my reasons for going was sound considering my motivation. In hindsight I kind of wished I spent more time at the convention, and not necessarily for the original reasons. Meeting new people is always a positive and this is no different.

The people I met on this trip to the convention may have given me a reason to look towards going on again next year should they be there, but I digress.

One of the things that is always a sight to see at these conventions are the costumes and below are some costumes that caught my attention in some capacity or another. All of these are already on my personal Facebook album that was posted over the weekend… but the ones below reminded me of one thing or another.

Looking through my original images it is of no wonder that my tastes are beyond eclectic… I can’t really determine my own primary interests when there are just so many of them.

Enjoy.
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Review: Il Divo & Orchestra In Concert World Tour – Chicago Stop

On a whim I decided to purchase a ticket to see Il Divo & Orchestra in Concert World Tour for the first of their two night stay in Chicago. Personally I have been a fan of Il Divo since their self-titled first album back in 2004, like most other women that fell in love with the group over the years the one song that caught my attention back then was the Spanish cover of Unbreak My Heart as sung by Toni Braxton: Regresa a Mi.

Still so good and dare I say it probably even better live. The staging for their current world tour is very similar to their DVD concert Live in London.

For that particular number the men dressed down a wee bit from their normal full Armani suits and serenaded the crowd… but one of the songs that they opened with was their rendition of Come What May from Moulin Rouge.

Their music repetoire to me appears to stretch across a vast variety of styles and songs, going from balladic pop (like Unbreak My Heart and Unchained Melody) to musical theatre (Impossible Dream, Somewhere), Latin / dance (La Vida Sin Amor) to other popera songs (Time to Say Goodbye). Their latest album and tour set list also largely reflects their expanding repetoire though if I were honest I would have liked to have heard more songs / music in the vein of the Latin / dance song: La Vida Sin Amor. However, this quartet isn’t known for their Latin roots, but rather for their romantic classical sound so I can’t complain too much since that is the sound that drew me to them in the first place. What was another major draw for me? The fact that not all of their songs was in English, in fact the majority of their covers are done in other languages be it Italian, Spanish, or French (as some of the primaries) which is a reflection of the international feel of this group (David is from the United States; Carlos is from Espana; Sebastian is known as the Frenchman in the group while Urs is Swiss).

Taking a look at the released set list for the current World Tour:

ACT ONE ACT TWO
Come What May
Dove L’Amore
Adagio
Nella fantasia
Medley (La Vida Sin Amor / Ti Amero / Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman / Angelina)
Don’t Cry For Me Argentina
Everytime I Look At You
Passera
Unchained Melody
My Way 		Senza Parole
Melanconia
Si Tu Mi Amas
Mama
Hallelujah
Crying
Ven A Mi
Regressa Mi
Por Que Tu Me Amas
Somewhere

There have been a few changes and adaptations from this original set list but the majority of the songs are correct. Il Divo balanced some of the songs from their newest album with plenty of old favorites from their previous four albums. They went through the entirety of the spectrum of music while staying true to themselves as artists and performers. They are entertainers in the same vein as the boy bands or pop princesses from the turn of the century but they entertain in their own way that just brings the audience and fans back for more.
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Review: The Jersey Boys Tour – Chicago Stop

Jersey Boys came to Chicago in early April for a two month stay. I finally found the time to go and watch this production with a friend. Though I generally enjoyed the music from the Four Seasons, I wasn’t really a huge fan, so when a musical based on the rise and fall of the Four Seasons came out I was skeptical. To me it seemed to fall into the world of the “Jukebox Musical”.

What is a “Jukebox Musical”? Well I suppose the most basic definition would be a stage or film musical that uses previously released popular songs as its musical score.

Some of the more known / popular jukebox musicals include:
– Mamma Mia
– American Idiot
– Million Dollar Quartet
– Rock of Ages

But we’re talking about The Jersey Boys and as apprehensive as I was coming in, I enjoyed this show more than I thought I would. The cast, the staging, the music… and I heard the music soundtrack ahead of time and enjoyed that. When looking at The Jersey Boys Tour website, I noticed that there were two tours going on simultaneously. Of the two tours, Chicago got the “Tour 1” cast which included:
– Preston Truman Boyd as Bob Gaudio
– Joseph Leo Bwarie as Frankie Valli
– John Gardiner as Tommy DeVito
– Michael Lomenda as Nick Massi
And man… don’t they look pretty. 😛

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Reflection: Paul Wesselmann and The Ripples Project #681

Weekly I get an email from the “The Ripples Project“, an online project whose purpose is:

helping others get excited about work and school and life; […] and challeng[ing] people to explore their potential

Below is an example of a newsletter that I received this week. The Ripples was titled: Dancing with the Universe whileas the title of my website/blog is Dancing Through the Universe. So why not?

PEBBLE
You can dance with the Universe,
but you don’t get to lead.
-written and submitted by Catherine Julian in Olympia, WA

BOULDER
Cinderella may have been given
the dress, the shoes and the ride,
but she was the one who made
the choice to go to the ball.
You are given opportunities every day,
make your choice to do something with them.
-written and submitted by Jennifer from Cal Poly-SLO

PONDER
Plenty of teeny and huge stuff happens over which we have little or no control; unfortunately we are sometimes so busy fretting over these unscheduled interruptions that we ignore the choices we still have, the options that are still available to us. Just because we cannot control everything doesn’t mean we have to throw up our hands and fail to get busy on the things we CAN control.

So if you’re feeling stuck this week, I invite you look between the lines of the STUFF you are facing and seek the choices and options you still have. And then find a way to dance with them!

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Review: Lemont High School’s production of Chicago

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Normally it would take a lot for me to think about going to see a high school production. Not only that but I’m not really a fan of the Chicago musical either, but what brought me ultimately to see this particular high school production was because one of the students I tutored in mathematics was a part of it. What makes this student different from most anyone else is the fact that for someone as cerebral as she is, auditioning for a play, let alone a musical is a huge step away from her norm. It was a risk, but when it came out that she was called back for the part of Velma Kelly (mind you this is her first audition), but ultimately cast in ensemble… it meant a great deal for her, and I vowed to do what I can to see her in it.

Fortunately time was by my side, with rehearsal over by five, I had enough time to relax and then ultimately head over to Lemont High School to see her production, what I didn’t expect to see was her not only in the ensemble, but also w/ lines as the Bailiff in the trial of Roxie Hart. As her math tutor I was more than proud for her, she did something that was completely and totally out of her comfort zone and not only did she find that she enjoyed it, she actually caught the acting bug as well.

What caught my attention from the get go was the actress that played Roxie Hart. Roxie, to me, was suppose to be this annoying little chit while Velma Kelly should be the starlet that needed a real breakthrough. Instead the girl that played Roxie totally stole the show while the girl that played Velma bored me half to death.

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Reflections: 25 Things…

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This was posted as a note on my Facebook page probably a few years ago. I’m thinking about 2009-ish. So a lot of people haven’t really seen this from what I can recall.

The “25 Things” is suppose to represent twenty-five things about you that most people wouldn’t know about right off the bat and that you wouldn’t mind letting people know about. So the first time I did it, the list turned out to be very depressing so I deleted it and decided not to do it. Then I tried again and was a little bit happier with what I came up with… so I took it off of my Facebook page and brought here instead.

Ironically, looking at this now, there were some things that were meant for the year of 2009, but in the end also works for 2012. So for those of you that have seen this already, I apologize, but for those that haven’t, well enjoy!

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Review: Cats the Musical on Tour – Chicago Stop

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In the first week of May, the touring production of Cats the Musical opened for its week long stint in Chicago. For a little bit of history, Cats the Musical is based off a collection of poems from Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot, the musical itself was composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber with Lyrics by Trevor Nunn. On the Great White Way, Cats is currently the second longest running musical, surpassed only by Phantom of the Opera (another Andrew Lloyd Webber musical).

When Cats was on Broadway, I never got a chance to see it live, and I don’t believe I ever saw it live on stage. When the video of a stage production came out in 1998, I was more than content with that version that I could watch on my leisure, that is until I realized that there was a scene/song cut from the original production that was not in the film production. If you are a huge fan of Cats then you would know that I am referring to: Growltiger’s Last Stand, incorporating either ‘The Ballad Of Billy M’Caw’ or the Italian aria ‘In Una Tepida Notte’.

My understanding is that Cats is such a long show that most groups that even attempt to put this production together are likely to cut and carve and snip away to make it easier for either their cast, or the audience wouldn’t think that this was such a long show to bear through. This is such an intensive dancing and singing production that it requires a very strong cast that can do both efficiently and brilliantly. This touring production did just that.

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Euphonia: Beyond Celtic Thunder

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Anyone that knows me well enough knows that my tastes in music is fairly eclectic. I mean in my CD collection alone there is a bit of rap, a bit of rhythm and blues, country, pop, rock, classical, etc etc etc. I was never one to conform into any one arena, it’s just not me.

So it should come as no surprise that I would have some celtic music in my collection… especially a quintet of Irish men whom called themselves Celtic Thunder. They were brought together upon the successful heels of Celtic Woman and include two very special gems the really cute Damian McGinty and the soulful tenor Paul Byrom.

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