You're young, you're Jewish and you're a fagelah. No? OK, you're young, you're not Jewish but you go coo-coo-nuts for Jewish guys like those butch, dark-haired Israeli soldiers in tight uniforms. Yummy! Either way, such a deal Jonny's got for you. For the first time to Jonny's knowledge, an LGBT trip is being offered for young professionals in their 20s and 30s who wish to explore gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues in Israel. Pride in Israel invites inquiries from groups, couples or individuals.__________
Pictured: The cover of Sybil Shearer's autobiography. Photo by Helen Balfour Morrison. Beauty Salon, Aita El Chaab Southern Lebanon 2007 ( above ) is just one of the prints to be shown at the Women of Islam: Photographs by Rania Matar exhibit running through March 30.
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The 10-day trip is being offered in June and again in August—Oy! In the desert in the middle of summer!—with stops in Tel Aviv ( beaches ) , Jerusalem, Massada and the Dead Sea, among other classic sites. Pride in Israel includes the opportunity to meet gay soldiers in the Israeli army; dance at gay and lesbian clubs; attend the Tel Aviv Gay and Lesbian Film Festival; and speak with LGBT activists and leaders. For more info contact Linda at 212-303-7462 or pride@yjimpact.org . As the Pride in Israel announcement says, 'You never thought a trip to Israel could be so gay. You never thought a gay trip could be so Jewish.'
One of the first events of Women's History Month will be a free screening of The Dances of Sybil Shearer On Film, hosted March 5 by the Morrison-Shearer Foundation at The Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, 610 S. Michigan, 6-7:30 P.M. The screening includes both public performances by the legendary dancer and choreographer as well as rare footage of Shearer dancing on the grounds of her Northbrook home and studio, as shot by her longtime artistic collaborator, Helen Balfour Morrison ( 1901-1984 ) . A notable photographer, Morrison photographed scores of the major artists of her day, but none more than Shearer, with whom she shared not only a professional relationship but also the closest personal relationship—a fact borne out by the name of the Foundation dedicated to preserving their work. The screening coincides with the publication of volume one of Shearer's autobiography, Without Wings the Way is Steep. The first volume is entitled Within This Thicket.
Shearer ( 1912-2005 ) was a leading pioneer of modern dance and is considered one of the finest dancers of the 20th century. After a critically acclaimed solo debut at Carnegie Hall in 1941 she moved to Chicago, where she worked independently, close to nature, and in her own unorthodox way. Soon after arriving in Illinois she met Morrison, who became her lighting director, photographer, filmographer and artistic collaborator for 40 years. The screening is free but seating is limited and reservations are recommended: 847-291-9161 or www.morrisonshearer.org .
The Second Sex Women's Theater Series at Bailiwick is getting a jump on Women's History Month with a one-night reinvention of a classic TV game show, and you're invited to be a contestant!! The Lesbian Dating Game ( single lesbians come out, come out ) and The Lesbian Newly-Bed Game ( couples who have been together at least three months ) . It's tomorrow night ( Feb. 21 ) starting at 7 p.m. at T's Bar in Andersonville, 5025 N. Clark, and you're invited whether you're straight, lesbian, gay or something in-between. Kelsie Huff is the host. There is a $10 entry fee that benefits the Second Sex Series. Hey, there are prizes, too!
The new exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art ( MCA ) is a survey of 15 years of painting, drawing, sculpture, photographs, video and installation by scatter artist Karen Kilimnik, featuring celebrity images of Leonardo DiCaprio, Paris Hilton and Elizabeth Taylor as well as Old Master-influences works. Kilimnik is known for combining the romantic tradition, childhood nostalgia, pop culture and feminine psychology, some of which is patently punk and deconstructionist, thus leading to the 'scatter are' label. The exhibit, which runs at the MCA through June 8, is Kilimnik's first solo U.S. survey exhibition.
Jonny's friends at the Silk Road Theatre Project, real-life couple Jamil Khoury and Malik Gilani, are the recipients of two prestigious awards unique to Chicago, one of which comes with a check for $5,000, which sure beats a stick in the eye. The League of Chicago Theatres will present its Emerging Theater Award to Silk Road at a March 31 gala, a presentation that includes $5,000 underwritten by Broadway In Chicago. Also, on Jan. 29 the Silk Road Theatre Project was honored by the Chicago Commission on Human Relations with an award for 'outstanding achievements in promoting cross-cultural interactions' and 'efforts in using the theatre as a means of fighting discrimination and prejudice.'
Cabaret diva Kat' ( sic ) Taylor warbles this Saturday, Feb. 23, 12-1 p.m., at the Chicago Cultural Center's Randolph Street Cage. Her program—billed as 'steamy old and new Broadway hits'—will feature such songs as Steam Heat, It's Too Darn Hot and Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered in a wintertime indoor warm-up that's part of the city's Museum of Modern Ice programming. And it's free!
The Chicago Cultural Center always has several art exhibits going in its various halls and galleries. Among the current crop is Women of Islam: Photographs by Rania Matar, running through March 30—another good choice for Women's History Month.
