Xmas is over and New Year’s Day is done, but don’t be fooled, dear reader, the festive season is not yet through; for in the United States, the holidays run from Thanksgiving through the Super Bowl.
Tony Kushner, author of Angels in America, has received a commission from the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles for a new play to premiere in spring 2005. If titles are anything to go by, the new work should be a whopper: The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism With a Key to the Scriptures. Kushner is writing it for actor Stephen Spinella.
The Last Lady of Song, Marna Martin, sends word that the Big House on Clybourn has been sold and will be closing in mid-February, thus diminishing Our Town’s cabaret venues by one more. January will be Last Hurrah Month at the bar and restaurant, with Marna and her great trio holding forth on Jan. 16 and 30, with a cabaret gangbang on Jan. 23 featuring Marna, Anne Pringle, Mark Burnell and a cast of thousands of drop-in performers. ‘We’ll have singers and entertainers galore; you won’t find a better variety show anywhere,’ Martin assured Jonny. Ms. Pringle and Mr. Burnell, meanwhile, will be at Gentry on Halsted Jan. 14 and 21.
Meanwhile up at the Speakeasy Supperclub—a new cabaret venue—our own Amy Matheny and everybody’s Alexandra Billings have returned with their very hot sisters act, Duo-Licious, with shows Jan. 16, 23 and 30. The big-voiced broads offer a surprising list of love songs, both standards and more recent pop ballads, bolstered by Russ Long on piano and Try Maclin on guitar. The first performances of Duo-Licious before the holidays sold well, so reservations are recommended. It’s a $15 cover and a BYOB policy. (773) 338-0600.
Tony Award-winning choreographer Anne Reinking (Fosse, All That Jazz) has been engaged to create a new dance piece for Melissa Thodos & Dancers, and will be here in February to work with the 12-year-old troupe. As yet untitled, the new dance will have its world premiere during the troupe’s annual home engagement, March 11-14 at the Harold Washington Library. The program will feature two additional world premieres, Elements, by Melissa Thodos herself, and First Love; Second Sight by company member Paul Christiano.
Hell in a Handbag Productions has completed its now-annual run of Rudolph the Red-Hosed Reindeer, the Yuletide musical parody about a cross-dressing reindeer, written by David Cerda. But the melodies linger on for fans of the show, thanks to a just-issued original cast CD, featuring Brannen Daugherty as Rudolph and including David Cerda himself among the cast members. The CD—which includes new songs incorporate into the show just this year—is available online for $15, see the Web site www.handbagproductions.org.
Romantic-Era musicians don’t get much more romantic than manic-depressive Robert Schumann, passionate composer and passionate musical theorist whose forbidden love for Clara Wieck could not be stopped, and who threw himself into the Rhein River at 44. Symphony Center is devoting Jan. 15-18 to brilliant interpreters of his work in four all-Schumann programs featuring the Staatskepelle Berlin orchestra conducted by Daniel Barenboim, and soloists Radu Lupu (piano), Yo-Yo-Ma (cello), Gidon Kremer (violin) and Jonathan Bliss (piano) It’s a splendid line-up of classical superstars in a brilliant repertory. Call (312) 294-3000 for details and tickets.
The 20th anniversary all-star tour of Nunsense cancelled its one-week stay at the Auditorium Theatre, Jan. 13-18, due to lack of ticket sales. Duh! Hello? This is a tiny, Off-Broadway show. Where would anyone with a brain—even a New York producer—get the idea that this show could fill the 3,700-seat Auditorium? Or be any good there, even if it could fill the seats? Too bad they didn’t have the smarts to book into the 450-seat Royal George (currently empty), or the 850-seat North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, or the 900-seat Athenaeum, or cut a deal as a bonus show for subscribers at the 900-seat Drury Lane Oakbrook Terrace. Of course, it would have taken just a pinch of outside-the-box thinking, but then fans would have had a chance to see Kaye Ballard, Georgia Engel, Mimi Hines and more on stage together. Now, that would have been fun.