Theater

Entries Tagged as 'Theater'

Beauty and the Beast – Broadway in Chicago

July 27th, 2011 · 1 Comment

Our annual dinner-and-a-show night this year was way late. My mom’s birthday was last November, but we just got around to it this past weekend. I wanted to wait until after the wedding in February. When I looked at the schedule then, we decided on Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, which was only running for a few weeks during the summer. So, summer it is.

My mom and my dad came down to Chicago on Saturday afternoon. We visited a bit and went for a walk before going out for dinner at Gosu, a new Japanese and Korean restaurant in Logan Square. Then my mom and I caught the train downtown and barely made it to the show in time, while Dallas and my dad hung out at home.

When I lived in New York I knew someone who played the french horn in the orchestra for Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. So, that means that this show has been going on for at least something like ~~10 years~~ 17 years. I was glad to finally get to see it! It was everything I expected. All the songs and the scenes. Gorgeous sets. Such talented actors. I had not seen the cartoon for many, many years. As the show went along, the pieces of the story came back to me. Gaston, Maurice, Lumeire.

On Sunday we all went out for lunch at Lillie’s Q. I thought my dad would really enjoy the southern cooking and barbecue and he did! We tried so many things – boiled peanuts, hush puppies, ribs, pulled pork, pulled chicken, collard greens (x 2), baked beans, macaroni and cheese, and corn bread. All SO delicious. I really like this restaurant. Check out my photos from Lillie’s Q here.

As we were leaving the theater my mom said that she was trying to think up all of the shows we’d seen over the years. Well, here’s the list!

2010: El Nandu & Hubbard Street Dance
2009: Rhapsody & Jersey Boys
2008: Landmark & Dead Man’s Cell Phone at the Steppenwolf Theater
2007: Costello’s & Blue Man Group
2005/6: Hillary’s Urban Eatery (HUE) & Wicked
2004: Petterino’s & Mamma Mia
Ze Olde Days (1999?): Riverdance in Milwaukee
Ancient Times (1997?): Lorie Line

Happy Belated Birthday and Merry Belated Christmas

April 5th, 2009 · 3 Comments

This weekend my mom drove down from Wisconsin and cashed in on her birthday and Christmas gifts. For her birthday gift we went out for dinner and then to see Jersey Boys at the Bank of America Theatre.

Rhapsody Restaurant
Wild Striped Sea Bass :: Rhapsody, The Loop, Chicago

Dallas suggested dinner at Rhapsody because it was nearby the theater and he’d been there before for lunch and liked the food. I thought the food was good, but we were kind of wedged into a table with people really close to us on each side. The service was just ok.. and compared to other fine dining restaurants that are still kind of fun and casual, Rhapsody felt a bit stuffy. Lots of suits in there. Still, we had a good dinner.

For a starter we split a daily special of seared scallops. I haven’t had scallops in a really long time and these were really good. The portion was a bit small. I think the dish was $10 and you only got 2 scallops. For wine we split a half bottle of Matanzas Creek Sauvignon Blanc. It was nice and crisp and refreshing. For an entree mom got the pork tenderloin that was cooked with apples. I got a wild striped bass (above). Surprisingly, after our starter, the entrees were pretty good sized. We each enjoyed what we ordered. We also split a side of first of the season peas with mint, almonds and preserved lemon. They were so fresh and flavorful. I spotted a dessert next to us that I thought looked interesting, so we ordered it to finish off our dinner. It was called chocolate symphony. You got four different small desserts, maybe a bite or two for each of us, which was just the right amount. The four desserts were warm chocolate lava cake, chocolate peanut candy bar, chocolate chip pain perdu, and cookies & cream lollipop.

Jersey Boys at the Bank of America Theatre
Rachelle & Mom :: Bank of America Theatre, The Loop, Chicago

After dinner we walked a couple blocks over to the Bank of America Theatre to see Jersey Boys. I Tried to get my mom tickets to see the show for her last birthday but they were all sold out. Jersey Boys was worth the wait, though. I was surprised that I knew or recognized most of the songs even though they are 40+ years old. I thought it was interesting to see the timeline of the Four Seasons and how the personal lives of the band reflected on the music. The cast was really talented. The recession was showing at the theater. Half the seats on our level were empty. I’d recommend this show, especially if you’re looking for something to take your parents or grandparents to .. people who would remember the songs the first time around. The theater could probably use your money too.

The next day my mom cashed in on her Christmas gift: Brunch and manicures and pedicures.

Bongo Room - Chocolate Tower French Toast
Chocolate Tower French Toast :: Bongo Room, Wicker Park, Chicago

I took my dad to Bongo Room once a few years ago and he still talks about it, so I thought my mom would like to see what all the fuss was about. Plus, I made our spa appointment at a place right next to Bongo Room. Mom and I decided to split two things, one savory and one sweet, so we got the sweet potato and black bean breakfast burrito and the chocolate tower french toast. Both were very good. We were glad we didn’t get two really sweet things to eat. With the burrito, the savory balanced out the sweetness.

After lunch we took a much needed walk around Wicker Park. It was nice and sunny out and we had a bit of time to kill. It’s pretty crazy how different some of the neighborhood is compared to when I lived down there.

Mojo Spa Pedicure
Mom :: Mojo Spa, Wicker Park, Chicago

Next, we went to Mojo Spa to get manicures and pedicures. My mom never had a pedicure before so I thought she’d enjoy it when I gave it to her as a gift. She was a little apprehensive because she’s had foot surgery and stuff, but the nail technicians at Mojo were perfect. They took their time and explained everything and were very friendly. It seems like most nail places are either high-end, expensive and stuffy or completely the opposite: a rush job. This place was funky and cute and personable, not busy, and somewhere in between. It was just the right choice. I think my mom might be hooked on nail treatments now!

Mojo Spa Pedicure
Rachelle :: Mojo Spa, Wicker Park, Chicago

Great weekend that went by too fast!

Dinner at Landmark and a Play at Steppenwolf

May 5th, 2008 · 1 Comment

$Dead Man\'s Cell Phone at Steppenwolf$ Last Friday my mom drove down to Chicago from Wisconsin for her much belated birthday dinner and theater date. We do this every year, but this year for some reason we celebrated about 6 months too late. Oh well. Better late…. This year we had tickets for the Steppenwolf Theatre and went to a restaurant across the street called Landmark.

I really enjoyed Landmark. It was really beautiful, really fresh, local food, and the wait staff was really knowledgeable and really down to earth. Let me see if I can remember what we had – the menu is really seasonal and it had just changed so I can’t cheat by looking at the menu online. We split a bottle of white wine. I can’t remember what kind it was (!!) except that it was delicious. As an amuse bouche the chef sent out some little tiny bowls of morel mushroom soup. For appetizers we had goat cheese ravioli with some Parmesan sauce and cherry tomatoes. We also had an appetizer of scallops and pan-fried gnocchi. For entrees I had the trout with wheat berries and morel mushrooms. My mom had risotto with ramps. In the center of the risotto they crack a fresh farm egg and when they serve it you slowly stir it in until it’s nice and creamy. For a side we had fiddlehead ferns that were roasted in a wood oven. Where else are you going to eat fiddlehead ferns!? They were good. They taste kind of like asparagus. And then we were warned that it was like 8 minutes til show time, but we insisted on seeing the dessert menu. We had the goat cheese cheesecake that was served creme-brulee-style and with a strawberry and thyme gastrique. On the side were three slightly salty, savory crackers. The dessert was a really perfect balance of savory and sweet. It was so delicious. Actually, the entire meal was. We had a great dinner.

The play we saw at Steppenwolf was called “Dead Man’s Cell Phone.” This was my first time to Steppenwolf. It was a really nice theater and I enjoyed the play. Note: All of the Steppenwolf plays have an intermission. We didn’t know this and when the play abruptly ended we weren’t sure if it was over and we were supposed to guess at the rest or if it was intermission. Good thing we stayed. It was intermission and the story went on. Afterwards we stayed a little longer for a discussion that was held about the play. It was neat to hear what other people thought about the play.

Views From the Signature Room Lounge

January 16th, 2007 · 4 Comments

Jeannette, Jessica, Rachelle :: Signature Room, Magnificent Mile, Chicago

Jessica and Jeannette, two of my best friends from New York, visited this weekend, taking advantage of the cheap airfare JetBlue was offering now that they’re flying out of O’Hare. Highlights of the weekend were having dinner at Volo, meeting up with Scott and Erin for a drink at Riverview, brunch at Kitsch’n, seeing the musical Putnam County Spelling Bee, shopping on Michigan Avenue, sitting at Cheesecake Factory and eating and talking until at least midnight, having a football viewing party, playing Sequence, and … where these photos were taken… going to the Signature Room Lounge.

The Lounge is the bar portion of the Signature Room, which is a restaurant on the 95th floor of the Hancock building. The Lounge is on the 96th floor. Our table was right next to the window and we had a southern view of downtown and way beyond. The views are stunning. I can imagine they are during the day too, so any time you’ve got guests in from out of town, or you’re from out of town visiting, and you’re shopping on Michigan Avenue and tired and need a rest, I’d suggest going to the Signature Room. We only had to wait about 15 minutes to get in and it was probably about 8pm on a Saturday night. The drinks are expensive but the view is priceless.

Thanks to Jeannette and Jess for coming in. It made me realize how much I miss them and how great of friends they have always been to me.

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Tags:Chicago·Games·Sickness·Theater

Wicked

December 20th, 2005 · 1 Comment

Wicked Marquee at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts Oriental Theatre, Theater District, Chicago

Rachelle & Mom, Theater District, Chicago

Inside the Ford Center for the Performing Arts Oriental Theatre, Theater District, Chicago

Last year my mom came down and we had dinner at Petterino’s, saw the Field’s windows and then went to Mama Mia. This year, we had dinner at HUE, saw the Field’s windows and went to Wicked.

Ana Gasteyer has the lead role, playing Elphaba aka The Wicked Witch of the West. You’re probably familiar with Ana, since she was on SNL for 6 years. She gave an amazing performance, who knew she had such a great singing voice.. especially at the end of the song “Defying Gravity,” right before intermission. People were cheering and crying and going crazy. I think my mom even slipped a curse word or two.

Kate Reinders also gave a great performance as Glinda (The Good Witch), who, in the musical, was way more “Legally Blonde” than I remember her being in the book. I thought her best performance was during the song “Popular.”

Speaking of the book, it was interesting to see how the musical differed from it. Like all book adaptations, a lot of detail was left out and a lot of things happened in the book that were just skipped or changed for the play. To be expected. Both are great works of art in their own seperate ways.