By Jonathan Abarbanel, Theater Editor
As the Gay Games VII Sports & Cultural Festival roles towards its closing weekend, thousands of fans not only are cheering on the athletes, but also the performers at dozens of theater, dance and musical events plus film screenings, art exhibits, talks and panel discussions that make up the Festival's cultural wing.
Last week we highlighted over two dozen performance events, many of which continue this week and even beyond the Gay Games themselves. This week, we offer a few additional highlights of special performance events affiliated with Gay Games VII, and geared to members of the LGBT communities.
The Best of Annoyance Theater, Annoyance Theater, 4840 N. Broadway. Chicago's inimitable sketch comedy shock-and-schlock theater troupe has opened a large new space cheek-by-jowl with Crew, the gay sports bar, and the legendary Green Mill, famous for live jazz and the Poetry Slam. The Annoyance folk will be performing selections from a variety of their shows of recent years, among them President Bush is a Great Man ( this is a satirical troupe, remember ) , Messing with a Friend and Grabass! Wed.-Sun; 773-561-4665; $5-$20; drinks; open 'til 2AM.
Doria Roberts, Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington ( at Michigan Avenue ) , July 20 only, 12:15PM. Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs offers another of its free Lunchbreak programs, this one a 45 minute recital by singer/songwriter Doria Roberts, whose work blends folk, pop and jazz.
International LGBT Poetry Slam, July 21, 6PM, DuSable Museum of African American History, 740 E. 56th Place. Pow-Wow, Inc. presents a global slam featuring 50 poets of a dozen nationalities, slamming it out for $5,000 in prize money in both singles and team categories. Guest celebrities and judges also will perform. Tickets: www.POWWOWChicago.org; $30 for prelims and finals, or $20 for finals only.
Journey Along the Silk Road: Rainbow Visions, Wrigley Square in Millennium Park ( Michigan Ave. at Randolph Street ) , July 21, Noon. Another free program from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, this one an outdoor sampler of diverse cross-cultural performances. You can catch snippets of singer/songwriters Dylan Rice, Anne-Marie Akin and Doria Roberts ( see above ) , the percussion ensemble Diamond Diva offering songs and sounds of West Africa and more.
Staceyann Chin, Claudia Cassidy Theater, Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington ( at Michigan Avenue ) , July 20 only, 7PM. One of America's foremost slam poets, the outspoken and out Ms. Chin will perform selections from her work Border/Clash: A Litany of Desires. Her free appearance is sponsored by the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs as part of the year-long Silk Road Chicago project.
In addition to the above events, the following theater performances will continue all the way through closing weekend ( and some even longer ) : Bare Naked Lads in the Great Outdoors, Bailiwick Repertory; Changes: A Science Fiction Tap Dance Opera, Chicago Tap Theater at the Athenaeum; The DaVinci Gay Code, GayCo at Theatre Building Chicago; The Home Project, About Face at Victory Gardens Theater; and Jeffrey, Stage Left Theatre.
Also: A Midsummer Night's Dream: A Queer Tale, Kinetic Playground; Shakespeare's R&J, Wallis Theatre, Northwestern University ( Evanston ) ; Some Like It Homo, Live Bait Theatre; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place; The Unmentionables, Steppenwolf Theatre Company; and Wicked, Ford Center/Oriental Theatre.