Daily Rehearsal: Chicago theater 6/21

Daily Rehearsal: Chicago theater 6/21
Daily Rehearsal: Chicago theater 6/21

Daily Rehearsal: Chicago theater 6/21

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1. Stephen Colbert’s commencement speech at Northwestern is on Youtube, and its a winner.

2. Just for Laughs wrapped up this weekend, and which means that The A.V. Club can finally get some sleep. Their original piece of best-bets included big names like Demetri Martin (whose set they were definitely impressed with) and Louis C.K., but they also paid tribute to local talent; Cameron Esposito, Chris CondrenDJ DouggpoundLord Of The Yum YumMary Mack, MC Mr. Napkins, and Mike O’Connell, who were at the Lincoln Lodge on Friday and Saturday nights in an evening entitled Sounds: Comedy + Music.

3. A Chicagoan (Bob Bullen) was so committed to seeing the New York Philharmonic’s Company that he drove to Rosemont to see the filmed version of it. I was unaware people actually went to the theaters to see theater (though River East has tried to convince me that it’s worth my time/money), but I digress. Bullen mentions that Patti LaPone’s Joanne throws a drink on the audience, so perhaps if you were lucky enough to get tickets to Company, you weren’t actually that lucky.

(Julie Coe)

4. Everyone’s all about Seth Meyers; Chris Jones proclaims that Meyers has “groupies” here in Chicago and bound for his own talk show, while TimeOut’s Jason A. Heidemann believes he should have made more political jokes. Unfortunately for Jeffrey Ross, neither found his Friday roast of Chicago (yes, he roasted the city) particularly revelatory.

5. Zac Thompson is calling Steppenwolf’s Where We’re Born (part of Next Up) a throwback to the work the company has done in the past: “Akin’s production is visceral, volatile, violent—a throwback to the sort of work that earned Steppenwolf a reputation more than 30 years ago. If this is the future, it looks a lot like the past.” The question remains: was Thompson alive to have seen that work? I guess he’s going on lore alone.

Questions? Tips? Email kdries@wbez.org.