1. Chinglish said goodbye to the city of Chicago in a dramatic fashion; Rahm Emanuel saw the show on Friday, and Governor Pat Quinn made an appearance Saturday. It’s too bad they didn’t plan it so they could sit together for a nice photo op.
2. Besides being married to The Closer, and being that dude that everyone knows, Kevin Bacon has a band. With his brother! No this is not high school; The Bacon Brothers really are a thing. There probably won’t be any acting, but a girl can dream about a some Footloose dance scenes being reenacted, or perhaps a cover of the timeless tune of the same name. You’ll have to wait until the end of August to see them and experience their “forosoco” style music (“a blend of folk, rock, soul and country”) at the Paramount.
3. The shadow puppet show Ada/Ava was one-weekend only, so you missed it, but why don’t you just sit down and hear about it for a second, alright? Presented by Manual Cinema, it’s the story of twin sisters who are reunited even though one is dead (sounds mystical). Tony Adler at the Reader says, “The piece mixes extraordinary technical sophistication—a rich quadraphonic sound design, cinematic transitions—with assertively naive children’s-gothic-style storytelling. The combination can get clunky at times, but the overall effect is gentle, lovely, fascinating.”
4. Tonight is the first Monday of all Monday’s in August for $500 GTT Stand-Up Thing at, you guessed it, the Gorilla Tango. “Do you love voting for things but have no idea what to do with yourself since American Idol is over for the season?” Stop by Gorilla tango, be funny, or vote for people who are funny, and whoever wins the final round will get $500, a hot dog, and a headlining show at GTT. Which prize is worth the most to you? Tonight at 8 pm.
5. Hug City has a free show at Racine Plumbing Bar and Grill tonight. Hosted by Lauren Vino, it features Marty DeRosa, Aaron Weaver, Ramon Rivas, Jesse Baltes and Sam Mechling. Despite the name, Hug City is more about promoting comedy awareness in Chicago than about just touching a bunch of people physically. They also want to remind you that “This show has a zero tolerance policy for disruptive audience members, that will be enforced in a friendly but firm manner.” Hecklers, you’ve been warned.
Questions? Tips? Email kdries@wbez.org.
