Valentine's Day brings thoughts of chubby boys with wings shooting arrows through living flesh and other kinky activities. What, you say? Doesn't Jonny believe in romance? Jonny IS being romantic!
Well, all right, we'll forget about the arrows. After all, it's St. Valentine's Day, not St. Sebastian's Day. Jonny recommends the prix fixe dinner for lovers ( OK, lovers or tricks ) at Tweet, the restaurant wing of Big Chicks. It's $45 for four courses, with choice of four entrees ( drinks extra ) . Reservations advised.
Music lovers ( OK, music lovers or music tricks ) will find no one sets the romantic mood better than authentic French chanteuse Claudia Hommel, a mainstay of the local cabaret scene, whose Valentines from Paris has become an annual event. Regrettably, her Friday-Monday engagements this week have her far away from the City Center glitter, performing in Palos Park and Barrington. But on Feb. 24 she will bring it all back to the Near North Side to Cyrano's Bistrot and Wine Bar with shows at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. The music cover is $10.
Dance lovers ( and those who love dancers ) might want to check out the weekend engagement of River North Chicago Dance Company at the Harris Theatre, Feb. 11-13. They promise to 'leave your valentine breathless,' although Jonny thinks that's something you'd want to do yourself. In any case, the River North engagement will offer several romantic duets, plus several world premiere dances. FYI, the Aria Restaurant, 200 N. Columbus Drive, is offering a special $35 dinner before or after the River North performances. Dining details at ( 312 ) 444-9494.
Just in case some amorous male or female offers you a little more love than you want, those fightin' Babes with Blades are offering a Feb. 13 self-defense workshop, Beat the Streets—Active Resistance, lead by fourth-degree black belt Patricia Charatin. It's 1-4 p.m. at Glade Memorial Hall, 2640 W. Altgeld in Logan Square, and admission is free ( although a modest $5 donation is suggested ) . Maximum participation is 70, so call and reserve a space. Wear clothes you can move in and bring a drink. By the way, the workshop is designed for women but the content also is applicable to men. Self-defense is self-defense, right? A Spanish-speaking translator will be in attendance. To register, call Jen Albert at ( 773 ) 392-8414.
The side project, the small but mighty Off-off-Loop theater wedged under the El tracks on Jarvis Street, is presenting a program of one-woman theater pieces that explore the mythic, poetic, historic and heroic nature of women. Notice, please, there's nothin' about birthin' no babies. When Women Wore Wings, as the evening is called, portrays such real-life heroes as Christina McAuliffe and Amelia Earhart, and such fictional figures as Eve, Snow White and the Medusa ( whom, as Jonny recalls, was female but not a woman ) . Performances are on Sunday nights at 7 p.m., Feb. 20-March 20. Call ( 773 ) 973-2150; only $10.
Symphony Center is cooking up a couple of February treats for cineastes ( otherwise known as movie queens ) and rice queens.
Movie lovers may celebrate the approaching Oscar festivities Feb. 25 at a Chicago Symphony Orchestra ( CSO ) concert of music from Academy Award-winning films, as film images are projected on a giant screen. The stately, world-class CSO will get down with music from The Godfather, Out of Africa, Casablanca, Dr. Zhivago and others. Tickets are $19-$66 for A Night on the Red Carpet.
If you're into butch, sinewy Asians wearing loincloths and banging for all they're worth, put a big X through Feb. 28. That's when the Kodo Drummers come to Symphony Center for one night only, and a helluva percussive one it will be, too! Dubbed 'percussionist kamikazes' by the Village Voice, this celebrated troupe pounds away at gigantic drums with athletic and ritual splendor that conveys primal power and beauty. No, really! Tickets are $15-$55. Call ( 312 ) 294-3000 for both performances.
Jonny is pleased to tell you that two shows enthusiastically endorsed by Windy City Times critics have been extended: Peer Gynt at the Artistic Home through Feb. 13, and The Game of Love and Chance produced by Reverie Theatre Company at Breadline Theatre through Feb. 27.