Jonny's good friend Sylvia Ewing leapt out of the frying pan and into the fire when she left Chicago Public Radio to produce the multi-disciplinary Traffic Series at Steppenwolf Theatre Company. But being a multi-tasker and into discipline, she took to it like a duck to water. The 2008 Traffic Series begins with a kick, An Intimate Evening with David Sedaris, Jan. 8-13 in Steppenwolf's intimate Upstairs Theatre. Alas, Jonny must tell you that all eight Sedaris performances are SOLD OUT! Sedaris no sooner checks out than WVON's Sharon McGhee checks in, headlining The PocketBook Monologues for one performance, Jan. 14. It's a collection of stories—it was a book first, then adapted for the stage—from women of color that reveals their heartfelt emotions about intimacy, performed in the style of Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues, but with the Black female perspective front and center. McGhee is the constant in a rotating ensemble of performers. 312-335-1650; $35.
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Images: Part of the Girls on the Verge exhibition. WVON's Sharon McGhee of The PocketBook Monologues.
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Yes, yes, Jonny knows: There's the real you and then there's the you that comes out after dark. Or perhaps it's the other way 'round. Well, if there's a touch of duality hanging on you, and you can sing and move, there may be a role for you at the Bohemian Theatre Ensemble. As of press time, BoHo still was taking audition appointments for its upcoming production of the Broadway musical, Jekyll & Hyde. Auditions are 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Jan. 12-13 ( callbacks Jan. 19 and 26 ) . Call for an appointment at 773-791-2393; there are no walk-ins. You're asked to prepare 24 bars that show your range, in the style of the show ( operatic pop-rock ) . BoHo promises that 'the concept of duality will be explored in all aspects of the design and direction.'
Ah, Jonny fondly recalls the time long ago when Jonny auditioned for a national tour of Godspell by singing a Rodgers and Hart song! They gave Jonny a callback anyway, based on Jonny's mime and improv skills ( true! ) , but Jonny's ship was sunk when they found out Jonny couldn't sing even soft rock. But Jonny became the great star he is, anyway.
Victory Gardens Theater once again is presenting its gracefully-named alternative series, Crip Slam Sundays, presented by the Victory Gardens Access Project for folks who can't see, hear, move or think like most of us do. And Jonny hears some of them like weird sex, too. In any case, Jonny's attention was caught by the upcoming Jan. 27, 7:30 p.m., program, Chicken and Striptease, featuring solo performances by Matthew Kerns and ( one of Jonny's favorites ) Tekki Lomnicki. The Chicken of the title is Kerns, who details his one-man quest for life, liberty and the pursuit of healthiness in the shadow of HIV. Can the cure really be peanut butter, pop culture and a chain-smoking mother? In Striptease, Little Person Lomnicki sheds her denial about having a disability only to find herself at a Little People of America Conference with the Mayor of Munchkinland. At Victory Gardens Greenhouse; 773-871-3000; $10; discussion with performers follows.
As if Crip Slam Sundays isn't odd enough, Jonny has received intel about a Jan. 18-19 performance event at the Museum of Contemporary Art that really sounds like a freak-out. Hey Girl!, presented by the radical Italian theater troupe Societa Raffaello Sanzio, is described as an intense, darkly poetic dreamscape with 'breathtaking' visual effects both beautiful and horrific. Sounds a bit Jekyll and Hyde-ish to Jonny, but it's really a deeply serious, symbolic work that follows a girl's evolution from birth through the brutality of adolescence to the sexual independence and power of womanhood. The production utilizes architectural sets, large-scale paintings and sculpture, video projections and exploding glass. Perhaps you should bring your safety goggles. Seriously, the MCA performance series brings high-quality, cutting-edge international theater, dance, music and performance art to Chicago, most of which hasn't been seen here previously—allowing you to judge for yourself without any predisposition from the critics. 312-397-4010; $19-$24.
Yet another girlie show is a featured exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago. Girls on the Verge: Portraits of Adolescence features more than 40 photographs and one video by 11 contemporary artists that showcase perceptive, subtle images focusing on the subject of female adolescence. These pictures reveal the complexity, power, and common humanity of the transitional moments between girlhood and womanhood. Increasingly, the dividing line between innocence and adulthood seems more and more blurred. Not surprisingly, then, this simultaneously beautiful and awkward stage has provided photographers with a wealth of material. Girls on the Verge continues in Gallery 1 through Feb. 24 and is included with the voluntary admission donation to the Art Institute.
Jonny lifts a glass of champagne to wish all readers a happy and—especially—a healthy New Year.
