Theater and dance are going through a brief end-of-summer slowdown before the crush of September openings, so most of the action is in the clubs and cabarets.
At Davenport's, 1383 N. Milwaukee, you have a last chance this Friday night, Aug. 25, to catch Mekole Wells in her new one-woman show, To be me ... Out Proud and Free. Ditto for established star Spider Saloff ( with guitarist Steve Ramsdell ) doing songs of that big ol' queen, Cole Porter, this Friday night at Katerina's, 1920 W. Irving Park. No cover charge for the 6:30-9 p.m. dinner sets.
This Saturday, Aug. 26, for one show only, A Sordid Collective presents Mid-Summer Night Fever: A Drag King Revival, at the Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western. The promoters say, 'Come spend the last throes of summertime with the heat and redemption only a spectacle of drag king camp and revelry can bring,' and Jonny himself could not have turned a better phrase. Performers include DK United ( Vancouver ) , Royal Renegades ( Columbus, Ohio ) , King Kush ( Toledo, Ohio ) , Mario Suave ( Milwaukee ) , and Chicago's Saucy Cockteau, Holly Wouldn't, JR Stranger, Gremlin J., Todd HotBod, Harley Poker, Jyldo, Eddie Mami, Kung Pao Johnny, Jack 'Pretty Boy' Black, Vic Ferrari, Joe Chicago and your co-hosts for the evening, Johnny T. and Dago T. Doors open at 9 p.m. ( with the show starting at 10 p.m. ) ; $7 ( which benefit The Lola Project, a drag-and-burlesque show coming to the stage this fall ) .
Looking down the road a piece, Davenport's will be the venue for a serious theater event as part of the Around the Coyote Fall Festival, Fri.-sun., Sept. 8-10. The room will host late-night performances of Airs and Inventions from Regan's Children, a segment of the opera-oratorio by Eric Reda, the button-cute young composer who was marketing director at About Face Theatre for two years. Reda explains, 'This opera-oratorio, in the tradition of Orff, Stravinsky and Britten's parables, sets to music the eulogies presented at Ronald Reagan's June 10, 2004, interment ceremony by his three living children, along with sections of the requiem text.' Jonny told you this was serious stuff. And you thought it was going to be the truth about Ronnie Junior.
There IS one piece of theater news: Floss, Corn Productions' long-running show that is NOT about dental hygiene, celebrates its sixth anniversary this Saturday night, Aug. 26. As everyone knows, Floss is the thrilling tale of the Beboians, gentle people from the Island of Bebo, and how they danced their way to fame and fortune. To celebrate the anniversary, the performance will include Beboian dance lessons and refreshments featuring Beobian flatt pye, which we might call pizza. At the Cornservatory, 4210 N. Lincoln, 8 p.m.; 312-409-6435; $20.
Jonny has truly FABulous news about playwright Nicholas Patricca, who just can't stop winning prizes. Just weeks ago Jonny reported Mr. Patricca's Irish triumph, as he won the Oscar Wilde Award for Outstanding Achievement in New Writing for the Theater at the Third International Dublin Gay Theater Festival. Now, Patricca has copped a huge cash prize in the third Onassis International Cultural Competition for Theatre for his play, The Defiant Muse. The competition for an original play is underwritten by the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation, and is not an annual event. The first Onassis play competition was held in 1997, the second in 2001 and this is the third. Nick tells Jonny that the current competition was announced three years ago, and drew over 500 entries from 59 countries. Well, it was worth the wait: Patricca's award is 15,000 Euros which, at current exchange rates, is over $18,000. It doesn't make Patricca rich as Onassis, but it certainly makes him a more attractive date.
The City of Chicago's latest round of CityArts ( sic ) grants, announced last month, includes several GLBT-specific organizations ( as well as a whole bunch o' GLBT-friendly cultural groups ) . Among the grant recipients are the Gerber/Hart Library ( $2,400 ) , HealthWorks Theatre ( $5,000 ) , Bailiwick Repertory ( $4,000 ) and the Chicago Gay Men's Chorus ( $4,000 ) . In all, the City handed out over $1 million in 240 grants ranging from $1,000 to $8,000.
A final note: Kama Sutra: The Musical opens Thurs., Sept. 7, at Theatre Building Chicago, 1225 W. Belmont, and the producers specify that the show—a parody of the Hindu manual of sexual practices—is for adults 18 and over. However, the press release for the show adds—Jonny kids you not—'Minors are admitted only if occupied by a legal guardian.' Jonny doesn't recall any Kama Sutra chapters on pederasty.
