Ruth Page Center for the Arts (1016 N. Dearborn) offers its Fall Showcase 2022, the debut performance of the current Ruth Page Civic Ballet Training Company, tonight and tomorrow at 7 PM. The program includes Steady Going, a new piece by South Chicago Dance Theatre founder and artistic director Kia Smith; Dreaming With Ruth Page: The Expanding Universe, a commission by Nejla Yatkin that reimagines a famous solo by Page from 1932 that she created in collaboration with artist Isamu Noguchi; and other shorter classical and contemporary pieces, including excerpts from Giselle. Tickets are $15 at ruthpage.org. (KR)
The fifth annual Destinos: Chicago International Latino Theater Festival continues this weekend, and tonight at 7:30 PM is the opening of Ricardo Gamboa’s new play, The Wizards, which uses the framework of a ghost story to illustrate issues of gentrification. The longtime playwright, educator, and activist also stars (along with their real-life partner, Sean James William Parris) in this story of a queer couple who move back home to Chicago after being assaulted in New York City on the night of Donald Trump’s election. But when they find a Ouija board in their new Pilsen apartment, they connect with the spirits of a 1960s Mexican Motown cover band from the neighborhood. Gamboa talked to Reader contributor Annie Howard about their play this week, noting that it “jumps through time, with Sam and Amado living in the years of the Trump administration, then going back to the 1960s and ’70s. As a cultural studies scholar, I know those moments are closer than we might want to acknowledge, part of an enduring and ongoing legacy of colonialism and white supremacy. We’re not just trying to cash in on these moments, but I believe that in October, the veil between the worlds is thinner.” It runs through 11/26 Thu-Sat 7:30 PM at APO Cultural Center (1438 W. 18th St.); 45 tickets are available in advance for each performance on a sliding scale of $20-$60 via Eventbrite, with ten pay-what-you-can walk-up tickets also available each show. (KR)
Love Hamilton? Hate Hamilton? Either way, you may wanna check out Shamilton! An Improvised Musical, presented at the Revival (1160 E. 55th) tonight and tomorrow at 8 PM. Created by Baby Wants Candy, a long-running musical improvisation powerhouse in Chicago whose alums include Jack McBrayer (Kenneth on 30 Rock) and former SNL castmates Vanessa Bayer and Aidy Bryant, the show promises to send up Lin-Manuel Miranda’s original by substituting a famous person selected by the audience (historical figure or contemporary celebrity—it’s all fair game!). If you want to be in the room where it happens, reserve tickets ($35) at the-revival.com. (KR)
How about some music tonight? If you were able to take in Reader staff member Micco Caporale’s feature this week about Avondale’s Podlasie Club (2918 N. Central Park), you’re probably curious to check out the bar in person. Thankfully the club is open this evening starting at 9 PM, and you can catch sets by DJ M50, Frail808, and Alejandro Marenco. It’s strictly open to those 21 and up with proof of COVID-19 vaccination, and cover is $10 cash at the door. (SCJ)
If you would like to stay in the dance realm but your tastes push more toward first wave acid-house, get over to Spy Bar in River North tonight (646 N. Franklin) to take in Viva Acid, an event dedicated to the distinctive Chicago style of electronic music. Genre pioneer DJ Pierre headlines, and techno vet Noncompliant (often found at 90s midwest raves under her former name DJ Shiva), Brenda, and Mark Angel support. Spy Bar is also open only to those 21 and over with proof of vaccination. Viva Acid opens at 10 PM, and $20 advance tickets are available here. (SCJ)
Kia Smith is a south-side diplomat of dance
At Chicago Dancers United’s Dance for Life festival last August, the Jay Pritzker Pavilion stage reverberated with layers of rhythm. Each row of dancers formed a different section of intertwining phrases—movements playful and powerful that recalled the musicality of jazz. The piece, South Chicago Dance Theatre’s Architect of a Dream, was the work of Kia…
How the USA fell for EDM, chapter one
In these excerpts from his lively and meticulous new book, The Underground Is Massive: How Electronic Dance Music Conquered America, longtime Reader contributor Michaelangelo Matos chronicles the three-decade ascent of EDM.
Will lightning strike Podlasie Club twice?
By all accounts, the debut of Podlasie Club’s namesake party, Podlasie Pleasure Club, was insane. It was a muggy night in July 2021, and organizers were expecting a turnout of maybe 50. Podlasie hadn’t hosted an event in almost a decade, and it was only zoned to accommodate 104. So when the club got so…
