Oak Leaves

Believable chaos results in ‘Unnecessary Farce’

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:22:00 -0600

Paul Slade Smith of Oak Park was the first to laugh at “Unnecessary Farce,” the comedy now on stage at Mayslake Peabody Estate. Years later, the playwright said he laughed again as he watched actors from First Folio Theatre prepare his play for the Oak Brook stage. “I sat in on the first week of rehearsals,” Smith said, and found the play every bit as hilarious as when he created it. Smith’s quick-paced comedy, described by critics as “two hours of non-stop laughter,” features the antics of Billie and Eric, a pair of inept police officers who set up a …

Making art from visions of Africa

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:39:10 -0600

All his life, Amani Borah has been making art for pleasure, drawing pictures for the fun of it and giving them away, usually, or even throwing them away. So it came as a bit of a surprise to him when he had his first exhibit of sketches two years ago in Oak Park’s Third Friday Gallery — and people bought them. “Wow; I couldn’t believe it,” said Borah, a native of Kenya. He came to America in 2003 as a performer in an acrobatic troupe that he still performs with and settled in Georgia before moving to Oak Park in …

New this week on video

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:12:20 -0600

Shakespeare turns out to have been a bit of a poser in the historical drama “Anonymous” and Santa Claus turns out to be a bit of a stoner in “A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas.”

All the necessary hijinx for an exuberant ‘Farce’

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:22:19 -0600

Fast paced, totally silly and punctuated by sexual shenanigans and constantly slamming doors, “Unnecessary Farce” has all the joyfully ridiculous elements of a classic farce. Sure, Paul Slade Smith’s romp of frequently pantsless cops, Scottish mafia dons (who knew?) and clueless politicos (please to excuse the redundancy) lacks the satiric bite of, say Moliere. Then again, Smith is gleefully not about high-brow social criticism. “Unnecessary Farce,” from the self-deprecating title onward, embraces its own ridiculousness — as does director Alison Vesely in a staging that’s keeps up a frantic pace and an exuberantly frivolous attitude throughout. The plot in First …

Oak Park Library presents program on Big Bill Broonzy

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:38:57 -0600

Bob Riesman, author of I Feel So Good: The Life and Times of Big Bill Broonzy, along with guitarist/singer Chris Walz, presents “Big Bill Broonzy: Words and Music” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15, at the Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake St. The two will recount Broonzy’s remarkable career and musical legacy. Broonzy was mentor to Muddy Waters, inspiration to Eric Clapton, musical colleague of Studs Terkel and Pete Seeger, and creative artist courageous enough to speak out against racial prejudice in his songs and writings. The program is free and open to the public. More information at oppl.org. …

Author finds Viking legacy in today’s America

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 10:49:30 -0600

Being born with Norwegian, Swedish and Danish blood pumping through his veins and living in Minnesota wasn’t enough for author Eric Dregni to convey the Scandinavian experience in America to readers. So, after having penned In Cod We Trust, a book about living in Norway for a year, Dregni, an assistant professor of English at Concordia University in St. Paul, Minn., set out on a journey through the Midwest, Brooklyn, N.Y., and Washington state—areas with large Scandinavian-American populations — to delve deeper into his heritage and that of all Scandinavian-Americans. Vikings in the Attic: In Search of Nordic America (University …

Arts and entertainment calendar for Feb. 9

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:43:10 -0600

Stage “Accidental Rapture,” a comedy about faith, friendship and the end of the world, will be presented through Feb. 18 by 16th Street Theater at the Berwyn Cultural Center, 6420 16th St., Berwyn. Richard and Kim believe in God. Amy and Paul don’t. So when they all get together to hang out the same weekend the world happens to end, things get kind of awkward. Curtain at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays; 5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Saturdays. Tickets: $18. Visit www.16thstreettheater.org. “The Art of Dining” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 24-25 and 3 p.m. Feb. 26 in …

Art League unpacks its treasures

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:58:19 -0600

To celebrate 90 years of supporting the visual arts, Oak Park Art League puts its permanent collection in the spotlight with “A Special Exhibition of the Permanent Collection of the Oak Park Art League” at the Oak Park Public Library Gallery through Jan. 30. “We felt that the best pieces to show were pieces from our permanent collection,” said Oak Park Art League Executive Director Faith Humphrey-Hill. “Typically they’re in archival storage so they’re nice and safe and protected, but what good is art in a box? It needs to be shared and viewed and appreciated. So we are always …

River Forest fest hosts some cool creations

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:14:03 -0600

Family Friendly: Chill out at River Forest’s Winter Fest. Or catch Ella Jenkins in Oak Park, Gaming Day in River Forest, Kidzone in Franklin Park and much more.

Candlelight theater holds a reunion

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:09:00 -0600

“A Chorus Line” was just one of the great shows produced during the 38-year life of America’s first dinner theater, Candlelight Dinner Playhouse, which closed in 1997. A gala reunion of the people who created and, for 38 years, led Candlelight takes place from 6:30p.m.-12:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 4, at the European Chalet, 5445 S. Harlem (two blocks from the site of the original theater). The $50 admission includes dinner, open bar from 6:30pm to 10:30pm and a commemorative gift. Candlelight founders William Pullinsi and Anthony D’Angelo, founders and co-producers, will attend, along with actors, crew and friends of the …

Oak Park artist’s flowers brighten conservatory

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:38:15 -0600

The vibrant, colorful flowers of Oak Park artist Roberta L. Raymond bring a hint of summer warmth to the Oak Park Conservatory. “Flowers are just an endless subject matter,” said Raymond. “They’re an endless inspiration. The flowers that come up in the spring, I just want to sketch them and paint them. I love the shapes and I love the forms of the plant. I’ve always loved flowers and I’ve always been a gardener, so to me capturing a flower in a painting is a very good experience for me.” Raymond’s new sunflower watercolor series will grace the conservatory walls …

Oak Park’s Jim Gill honored by ALA

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:38:31 -0600

Oak Park musician Jim Gill was recently honored by the American Library Association with its highest award for recorded materials. On Jan. 23, the association named Gill’s new CD and DVD, “Music Play for Folks of All Stripes,” a 2012 Notable Children’s Recording. Gill’s recorded work “respects young people’s intelligence and imagination,” and “in exemplary ways reflects and encourages the natural interest of children,” the ALA noted. This is Gill’s 16th recording. The 15 songs on “Music Play for Folks of All Stripes” includes clap-alongs, finger plays, pretend games and imaginative dances that invite listener participation. Gill will celebrate the …

Chicago a cappella sings spirituals

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:26:18 -0600

“Wade in the Water” is the name of one of the more well-known African-American spirituals, and it is also the title of the latest concert from Chicago a cappella. Chicago a cappella performs at 8 p.m. Feb. 4 at Wentz Concert Hall at North Central College, and at 4 p.m. Feb. 12 at Pilgrim Congregational Church in Oak Park. Some of the selections will be familiar to those who frequent Chicago a cappella concerts; others are brand new, said director Jonathan Miller. “The most exciting thing about this program from a new music point of view is that we have …

Wilder festival at Oak Park Library

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:38:57 -0600

The Oak Park Public Library has gone wild about Wilder, with six classic films from “Billy Wilder: Master Movie-Maker” on tap Feb. 6-March 12. Doug Deuchler, a teacher, author and playwright whose movie series presentations have become a popular draw at the library, will kick off the Wilder retrospective at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 6 with a screening and post-film discussion of the 1944 film noir “Double Indemnity.” Wilder began his career as a screenwriter in Berlin before escaping in 1933 after Hitler came to power (his parents and grandmother later died in Auschwitz). In the U.S., Wilder first made a …

Blackhurst’s Rose is ferocious heart of ‘Gypsy’

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:39:30 -0600

Everything is, indeed, coming up roses for the Drury Lane Oak Brook production of “Gypsy,” thanks in no small part to a galvanizing performance by Klea Blackhurst. The all-American story of a mother in relentless search of the American Dream and the daughter she pushes into the strip-tease business has a tragic-comic clarity in director William Osetek’s staging. It also has a tour-de-force performance from Blackhurst, who inhabits the role of the ultimate stage mother with a ferocity and a luminosity that sweeps the audience along in her wake. It’s a performance to make you believe that the title character …

New troupe offers magic of ‘Bell, Book and Candle’

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:48:31 -0600

Paradise Playhouse brings a bewitching tale tricks and treats to Oak Park with its production of the rarely produced “Bell, Book, and Candle” by John Van Druten at Open Door Theatre February 10-26. “It’s a great show,” said director Jim Leonard. “For a lot of people this is going to be a new experience. It’s going to be like seeing a brand new show, which is nice. It’s something they’re not used to seeing.” The story takes place in 1950s New York City and follows Gillian Holroyd, who happens to be a witch. She’s a thoroughly modern one but not …