1. News and thoughts about Rivendell Theatre Ensemble (“Chicago’s only producing organization dedicated to women’s voices”) which is now located at a storefront up in Andersonville.
2. SXSW does comedy; the full schedule is here. Highlights: T.J. Miller, John Hodgman, Jessi Klein, Billy Eichner, Kristen Schaal and Marc Maron. That’s really just the tip of the iceberg. For other SXSW coverage, go here.
3. “I was ten and on a family vacation at Estes Park in Colorado when my dad dragged us to a screening of Show Boat in the grand lodge,” begins Kate Schmidt in her Reader piecec about the show. “I had grumbled—I was a bookworm and wanted to stay in the room reading—but as it happened, I loved it. Of course, I had no clue as to miscegenation, which is central to the plot. When the tragic heroine, Julie, is forced to leave the show boat after her mixed marriage is exposed, I imagine I would have thought something along the lines of ‘Why is the pretty lady leaving?’” A good read; the last performance of Show Boat at the Lyric is this Saturday.
4. This year, Porchlight’s The Icons Gala celebrates director and choreographer Michael Bennett. It’s on April 22 from 11 am to 2:30 pm (basically, an Icons Brunch). They’ll also present the 2012 Guy Adkins Award for Excellence in the Advancement of Music Theatre in Chicago to Hollis Resnik. They’ll be auctions! Silent and live!
5. Gorilla Tango will have DC Pierson is Bad at Girls the weekend of April 4th in the new Skokie location. “He’s good at comedy but bad at girls. Join him for an hour of stories about completely blowing it,” they say.
Questions? Tips? Email kdries@wbez.org.
