Frank Brichetto

Chicago Correspondent

Do you believe it? It’s April already, and perhaps we can look forward to some very warm weather, and perhaps it will get cold, damp and rainy. Most likely we’ll see a lot of both. Never mind; this is Chicago, so the weather is always unpredictable, and we will always check today’s weather and be prepared.

Let’s be especially respectful of our Jewish friends, neighbors and co-workers, because this evening, Wednesday, April 1st, Passover begins, and continues until sunset on April 9th. Perhaps we should all be mindful of God’s deliverance of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery, and what that means for all of us.

For those of us in the Western tradition, this is Holy Week, and today, Sunday, April, 5th, is Easter Sunday, the most sacred of Christian holy days. On this day, let’s take the time to reflect upon and celebrate the promise of life restored through the Resurrection. After all, the tomb is empty; there is hope for each of us.  On the Eastern calendar, Easter will be next week, and there is no reason why everyone cannot celebrate the Resurrection twice.

After Easter services, gather with your family and friends to embrace with joy, talk, eat delicious food, and enjoy the spring weather. Maybe you can help the kids find a few of those decorated eggs!  We’ll get together again next weekend to do it again. Yippee!

Please, please, please join us tonight, Friday, April 10th, at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance,  www.harristheaterchicago.org, 205 E. Randolph Dr., to experience Giordano Dance Chicago. The program includes three world premiers, highlighting “the energy, rhythm, and evolving spirit of jazz dance. Choreographers Al Blackstone, Jon Rua, and Mike Minery each contribute new works that push the genre in different directions—blending jazz with swing, tap, and urban street styles while drawing from Broadway, television, and commercial dance traditions.”

We’ll be treated to Blackstone’s Dumb Luck!, a spirited work inspired by swing rhythms and contemporary flair; Rua’s first creation for the company, a full-ensemble piece fusing jazz and street dance into an urban funk groove; and a virtuosic tap duet by Minery performed with dancer Erina Ueda, showcasing intricate rhythms and show-stopping musicality. The program also features acclaimed repertoire favorites, including Blackstone’s Sana with an original score by Stahv Danker, the Latin ballroom-inspired Sabroso by Del Dominguez and Laura Flores, excerpts from Roni Koresh’s Crossing/Lines, and the high-energy ensemble work A Ritual Dynamic by Jon Lehrer—a vibrant showcase of rhythm, movement, and performance power.

“The feat of bringing three world premieres to the stage is bold,” says GDC Artistic Director Nan

Giordano. “Despite the vast diversity in process and style, there underlies a unifying pulse and spirit

that is jazz dance. Jazz is a uniquely American dance form that is ever evolving to reflect the

contemporary culture. For more than 63 years, we have been a driving force moving the art form

forward and are excited to be blending our concert dance company with Broadway, television and the

commercial sectors. In the year of America’s 250th birthday, there is no better time to be celebrating

jazz dance, America’s quintessential art form.”

A wonderful Ukrainian restaurant, Krasa, has opened a new location at 1262 Lee St, Des Plaines, please meet us there this evening, Saturday, April 11th, about 5:00pm to sit and enjoy incredibly tasty burgers and shawarma. I can personally attest that the Spicy Shawarma and the Flame Burger each make for a fabulous meal. The Truffle Parmesan fries are excellent; nicely crispy on the outside, melt-in-your-mouth creamy inside, served with a delightful, flavorful, garlic sauce. “Gourmet Fast Food” is how they describe their offerings; we’re sure you’ll agree.

Afterward, we can all head out to the MAC, www.atthemac.org, McAninch Arts Center at College of DuPage, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn for a show unlike anything we’ve taken in before. In the Belushi Performance Hall, guest artist Nichole Young will thrill and enchant us in turn as she flows, plucks and ripples the strings of her harp. Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” carries us up and down as the music reflects on different paintings by his friend, Viktor Hartmann.

“Harp of Ages” is a much newer work (2023) that demonstrates the graceful range of one of the oldest instruments – the harp. We’ll hear pieces inspired by memorable people who each brought their own style to the harp: Harpo Marx, of Marx Brothers fame, Sister Juana, a noteworthy Mexican poet, and Nichelle Nichols, who portrayed “Nyota Uhura”, in the original Star Trek TV series, are among the sources of music we’ll hear tonight.

The MAC never disappoints, and this promises to be yet another treasure.

Today, Sunday, April 12th, is Easter in the Orthodox Church calendar. It’s also one of the most important holidays in Ukraine, blending religious devotion with rich national traditions and family gatherings.

A central tradition is the blessing of the Easter basket, containing Easter bread, decorated eggs, sausage or ham, cheese, butter, salt, horseradish, and a candle symbolizing Christ’s light. Friends and readers, perhaps your family decorates pysanky, those intricately painted and decorated eggs that are instantly recognizable as “Ukrainian”. The rest of us will eagerly pay close attention while you point out the delicate symbols of life, protection and hope.

Wednesday, April 15th, is, unfortunately, Tax Day. I’ll say no more about it.

Here’s another performance, if that’s the right description, completely different from our previous excursions. Tonight, Friday, April 17th, at 7:00pm, at the Auditorium Theater, 50 East Ida B. Wells Dr., https://www.auditoriumtheatre.org, we get to join the fun in Stuff You Should Know. If you’re not familiar, Chuck Bryant and Josh Clark have hosted this podcast every week since 2008, creating over 2,000 episodes. They talk about the reality of reality, and open up to us uneducated newbies “the mechanics, history, science, and cultural impact of topics like Ouija boards, asteroid mining, ants, Nazis on meth, disco, Cabbage Patch Kids, kindness, Pop Tarts…” Their book “Stuff You Should Know’s Incomplete Compendium of Mostly Interesting Things” is a bestseller, their episodes have been downloaded over 15 billion times, and they (of course) have a Trivial Pursuit game. This show is something we have to see for ourselves, and truly hope that you’ll be there with us.

We enjoy a good blockbuster movie as much as anyone, but there are times when that doesn’t work for us. Today, Saturday, April 18th, we can visit the Music Box, 3733 N Southport Ave., where, at 11:30am, Real Life, the feature film debut of Albert Brooks, will be on screen. It’s a comedic wonder wherein Albert Brooks, playing “Albert Brooks” has embedded himself into a family of four where he will film every moment of their lives. Does this sound familiar? It’s a mockumentary of “An American Family” the first “reality” TV show, and Mr. Brooks is in full comedic form throughout.  Also, the concession stand here tops its popcorn with real butter.

Another of America’s great dance companies is coming to the Auditorium Theater, 50 E. Ida B. Wells Dr., https://www.auditoriumtheatre.org, this Saturday, April 25th.  Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will be on stage at 7:30pm, putting on display their unique and exhilarating perspective to revealing the endlessly creative ways that the very human bodies of trained and determined dancers can move with joy and grace across the stage and into our hearts and imaginations.

The company has a new Artistic Director, Alicia Graf Mack. She and her troupe will bring new numbers, displaying the vibrant diversity for which Ailey has always been known. Embrace, for example, uses music from Stevie Wonder, Kate Bush, Ed Sheeran, Des’ree, and P!nk while it “examines the ups and downs of human connections and dives into what it takes to love deeply, heal fully, and embrace the journey with open arms.­”  In a different direction, Blink of an Eye, “uses the timeless beauty of J.S. Bach’s violin sonatas and partita to explore the fragile boundary between presence and absence, change and stillness.”

After these, and other dances, we’ll experience Revelations, performed to American spirituals, song-sermons, gospel songs, and holy blues, Revelations, presents as a ballet, unlike any you may have seen before, that takes us through intense grief and celebratory happiness in “the ultimate anthem to resilience and joy.”

Let’s finish the month, as we usually do, in the beginning of next month. Today, Saturday, May 2nd, please meet us in front of the bronze lions of the Art Institute of Chicago, https://www.artic.edu/, 111 S. Michigan Ave., about 11:30am. The Art Institute contains innumerable artistic treasures; today we’re here to view Jazz: Rhythms in Color, a collection of 20 cut-paper maquettes created by Henri Matisse (1869–1954) when he was bedridden and recovering from a painful surgery. Using colored paper allowed him to explore this new technique which reinvigorated his career. He called the Jazz project “drawing with scissors”, and felt this approach let him “draw directly with color”,

 

He drew inspiration from folktales, mythology, the circus, and especially memories of the many music halls of Paris.

It feels as if we have been especially busy this month, my friends. I hope that our adventures lead you, in some way, toward a brighter happier life. We’ll meet again soon, I trust.

  

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