Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

SCOTTISH PLAY SCOTT 'Curious' and 'Queer' theatricality
by Scott C. Morgan, Windy City Times
2016-12-07

This article shared 398 times since Wed Dec 7, 2016
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


It's rare for non-musical plays to get major national tours. But The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is no run-of-the-mill play.

Based on Mark Haddon's best-selling 2003 novel, The Curious Incident... makes its Chicago touring debut at the Oriental Theatre after winning with a bevy of major theater awards. It won five Tony Awards in 2015, but also a record-breaking seven Olivier Awards following its 2012 debut at London's National Theatre ( only Matilda The Musical has matched that tally ).

Haddon once felt his novel was averse to adaptation, but playwright Simon Stephens ( long a favorite of Chicago's Steep Theatre ) and War Horse co-director Marianne Elliott both cracked the code. They found a way into the novel's very internal narrative of British teenager Christopher Boone

Though Haddon and Stephens never disclose Christopher's exact condition, the math whiz displays behavior that many doctors would diagnose as autistic. Initially Christopher tries to solve the mystery of discovering the person who killed his neighbor's dog with a pitchfork, but then his investigations uncover even more disturbing personal clues.

One ingenious aspect of Elliott's high-tech staging is to visually depict what might be going on within Christopher's head. Though the set may look like a simple geometric grid, it gets filled with a dazzling array of lighting and projection effects that are simply breathtaking.

Alex Sharp won a Best Actor Tony Award for playing Christopher on Broadway, and his fellow recent Julliard Drama graduate Adam Langdon now takes on the role on the road. Playing Christopher is so physically taxing that Langdon just does five shows a week, while Benjamin Wheelwright goes on as the alternate for three performances. Both actors also wait backstage for each other in case someone has to go on mid-show due to injuries.

"Every single Christopher that has ever performed has been incredibly different, so my and Ben's Christopher are polar opposites," Langdon said. "His Christopher has been in him for a long time since he did it on Broadway, so you will get your own Christopher when you see it."

Langdon said just a couple of technologically wowing stage effects seen in The Curious Incident... in London and on Broadway have been simplified for the tour, which just launched last month. But Langdon promises that the play's gripping story and its important messages still shine through.

"One of the main messages of the play is that difference is something that should be celebrated," Langdon said. "And to see a boy and his parents and his teacher go through this journey of handling his difference and in this very specific way, it sends out a good message. And in this day and age with everything that has been happening in the world, difference is something that should never be hidden and should always be accepted."

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time continues through Saturday, Dec. 24, at the Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St. Tickets are $22-$95; call 800-775-2000 or visit BroadwayInChicago.com .

Diversely positive

Queer, Ill + Okay is back for its fourth iteration. The annual show is a multidisciplinary performance piece featuring performance artists who are HIV-positive or dealing with chronic illnesses.

Queer, Ill + Okay was created by Chicago-based producer Joe Varisco following his own HIV-positive diagnosis four years ago. Varisco was dismayed at the lack of narratives and art that matched his and his friends' situations, so he created Queer, Ill + Okay.

"What I normally do in those situations when I find that there's an absence in a voice that I'm looking for, where I'm trying to understand more of an experience that reflects something more directly to the world I know, I turn to my community," said Varisco. "Tell me your story. What does it mean to be positive today? Or live with a chronic illness as a trans individual, as a black or brown individual, as someone who is differently abled? And that is where the idea came for the first show."

Assembling artists together comes naturally to Varisco as a co-curator at Salonathon and the resident curator of Poonie's Cabaret at Links Hall. Varisco also recently took on the role of program coordinator of the new exhibit Art AIDS America Chicago at Alphawood Foundation.

For this year's Queer, Ill + Okay, Varisco teamed up with Oracle Productions which is dedicated to offering free public access theatre. The show also prominently features 14 diverse artists from around the county alternating in performances so no two performance lineups are the same.

"The entire production, from the artists that are involved to the designers to the venue to the lighting and tech operations to marketing are all pulled from the queer community who are in some way connected or invested in the same kind of mission that Queer, Ill + Okay has," Varisco said. Since the show is free, "we're trying to create accessibility to as many populations around the city as we can."

Queer, Ill + Okay plays four performances only at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 9, 10, 16 and 17, at Oracle Productions, 1802 W. Berenice Ave. The featured performers are avery r. young, Angel Katz, Bea Cordelia, Dev_n and SK Kerastas, Dirty Grits and Vasilios Papapitsios, Emma Alamo, JuJu Minxx, Kay Ulanday Barrett, Lindsey Lee, Lucas Baisch, Michelle Zacarias, Morgan McNaught, Phillip Lambert X Blaknbrilliant and Tim'm West.

Tickets are free, but advance reservations are recommended. For an exact roster of artists featured at each performance and to reserve tickets, visit PublicAccessTheatre.org .


This article shared 398 times since Wed Dec 7, 2016
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Jamie Barton brings nuances of identity to her Lyric Opera 'Aida' performance 2024-03-18
- Chicago's Lyric Opera is currently featuring a production of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida starring Michelle Bradley as Aida, Jamie Barton as Amneris and Russell Thomas as Radamès. The opera runs through April 7, 2024, with Francesca Zambello ...


Gay News

Queer Eye's Jai Rodriguez is set to slay at The Big Gay Cabaret 2024-03-05
- Out and proud performer Jai Rodriguez is set to play at The Big Gay Cabaret this March for three days. Presented by RuPaul Drag Racer Ginger Minj, this monthly series highlights the wide world of cabaret ...


Gay News

THEATER 'R & J' puts a female, queer spin on Shakespeare 2024-03-05
- Romeo and Juliet is the theatrical gift that keeps on giving. It's been reworked for the masses numerous times, whether in direct adaptations or musicals such as West Side Story. Shakespeare's plotline points have even inspired ...


Gay News

Center on Halsted hosts 6th Annual Intergenerational Talent Show 2024-03-03
- On the evening of Feb. 29, Center on Halsted held its 6th Annual Intergenerational Talent Show in front of a packed audience at the Hoover-Leppen Theater. The event brought together participants of the Center's youth and senior ...


Gay News

THEATER When growth is paramount: Jim Corti helps fuel Aurora theater expansion 2024-03-01
- Out actor/director/choreographer Jim Corti made his Broadway debut in 1974, in the ensemble of Leonard Bernstein's musical Candide. Director Harold Prince's acclaimed Tony Award-winning revival is often cited as a ...


Gay News

Theater Review: Billy Elliot, The Musical 2024-02-19
- Book and Lyrics: Lee Hall; Music: Elton John. At: Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora Tickets: 630-896-6666 or Paramountaurora.com; $28-$79. Runs through March 24 Billy Elliot: The Musical may nearly be two decades old, but ...


Gay News

'West Side Story' gets a sex-positive spin with new burlesque show 2024-02-19
- In partial observance of National Condom Day, which was Feb. 14, Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) presented A West Side Story Burlesque at the Harris Theater for two hour-long performances on Feb. 17. The show, ...


Gay News

Second Glance Productions hosts LGBTQupid Soiree 2024-02-16
- In celebration of Valentine's Day, Chicago based film and media production company Second Glance hosted The LBGTQupid Soiree. The event, which was focused on spinning attitudes on this particular day, was presented at The iO ...


Gay News

Carisa Hendrix mesmerizes as Lucy Darling in Teatro ZinZanni 2024-02-12
- Since 2019, Teatro ZinZanni has gathered together amazing performers from all over the world to create an experience in Chicago under the Spiegeltent in the Cambria Hotel building, 32 W. Randolph St. Over the years, ticket ...


Gay News

THEATER Dot-Marie Jones talks Goodman production, 'Glee,' 'Bros' 2024-02-12
- Running through Feb. 18 at the the Goodman Theatre, the production Highway Patrol works with a script conceived entirely from Emmy-winning actor Dana Delany's (TV's China Beach) digital archive of hundreds of tweets and direct messages ...


Gay News

Dr. Lady J explains how opera can be a drag 2024-02-10
- On Feb. 8, Center on Halsted, in partnership with Lyric Opera of Chicago, presented a lecture by historian, drag activist, podcaster and curator Dr. Lady J. The event, titled "Castrated Superstars, Cross Dressed Divas, and Queer ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Raven-Symone, women's sports, Wayne Brady, Jinkx Monsoon, British Vogue 2024-02-09
- In celebration of Black History Month, the LA LGBT Center announced that lesbian entertainer Raven-Symone will be presented with the Center's Bayard Rustin Award at its new event, Highly Favored, per a press release. She joins ...


Gay News

Chicago-based production company to host all-inclusive, LGBTQ-focused Valentine's Day event 2024-02-07
--From a press release - CHICAGO — Second Glance Productions will host the LGBTQupid Soiree this Valentines Day, Wednesday, February 14, 2024. The event will be held at the iO Theater, 1501 N. Kingsbury St., from 6 pm to 11 pm ...


Gay News

THEATER Nostalgic 'Sunsets' still offers a timely reflection of LGBTQ+ community 2024-02-07
- Nostalgia reigned on a variety of scales this past weekend in Chicago. During her Celebration tour, at a majestically packed United Center, Madonna acknowledged the last 40 years of her career, highlighting her '80s interactions with ...


Gay News

The Jeff Awards announces the 50th-anniversary non-Equity theater nominations 2024-02-06
--From a press release - (Feb. 6, 2024 - Chicago) — Celebrating its 50th anniversary awarding recognition for Non-Equity theater, the Joseph Jefferson Awards announces its nominations for theater excellence among Non-Equity theater during the ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.