Fall Into The Arts
By Scott Smith in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 12, 2005 2:27PM
As the temperature is expected to hit 90 degrees again today, we’re having a hard time getting into the sweater-weather mindset of fall that usually hits us around this time. Luckily, the Tribune and Sun-Times have some fall arts previews to get us in the mood.
We’ve already given you the lowdown on the upcoming fall seasons at various theaters around town. But two shows out in the ‘burbs have pushed our fey and geek buttons, respectively. The Noel Coward estate granted permission for Skokie’s Northlight Theatre to create a new revue of his work—a rare occurrence. The result is "A Marvelous Party: A Noel Coward Revue” opening on September 15th and running through the 24th. We can’t imagine how the one-man show “Dave Gorman’s Googlewack Adventure” ever became a hit; theatre geeks are common but geeks in theaters, not so much. But it’s been all over the place and that will soon include the Copley Theatre at the Paramount Arts Centre in Aurora from September 28th through October 2nd.
Big names are the order of the day in comedy performances this fall. George Carlin, Whoopi Goldberg, Drew Carey and Roseanne (not dead!) all appear in the area this fall. Writer Allan Johnson employs a cutesy Mad Libs-like device in his preview that’s best described as “The ADJECTIVE NOUN of FAMOUS PERSON.” It certainly delivers a lot of information in just a few words but the device breaks down by the time he gets to “The Memories-Invoking Stand-Up of Sinbad.”
Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis clue us in to their picks for musical must-sees, though some of the best are already sold out. Tickets for shows by Arcade Fire, Sufjan Stevens, Death Cab for Cutie are already gone but reunion shows from the Smoking Popes (part of the Flower 15 music festival) and the DB’s (who play the Hideout’s Block Party on Saturday). DeRogatis has two Intonation acts on his calendar with a pair of Metro shows in October featuring The Decemberists and The New Pornographers.
Find out more about Chicago's architecture, dance, jazz and art in the Tribune's preview here.