REVIEW: Macunaíma Gourmet Pigmalião Escultura que Mexe (Brazil)

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

Macunaíma Gourmet 

By Pigmalião Escultura que Mexe (Brazil)

Suggested for 14 and up. Puppet and human nudity and mature themes. 

REVIEW:

By Bonnie Kenaz-Mara

It was an eye opening adventure to catch the opening performance of Macunaíma Gourmet by Pigmalião Escultura que Mexe from Brazil. Before last night, if someone mentioned Brazil to me, it conjured images of all you can eat steak houses with an endless parade of skewers of meat, and gluttonous diners overeating. After last night, I'm considering becoming vegan! 

Macunaíma Gourmet is an intense and scathing piece of political theater from Brazil. The troupe bravely bared their bodies and souls in this excellently executed nightmare of a piece. This compelling and thought provoking hellscape includes cannibalizing the indigenous, force feeding, forced breeding, decapitation, and more. This reinterpretation of the classic Brazilian novel brings puppetry and object theater to life, tackling modern political issues. This is the cast's first visit to the USA, and I'm happy they've brought their impressive talent and dystopian vision to Chicago. Bundle up Brazilians!

FREE to all CPS students! 

If you're considering bringing your CPS student, please make sure they're emotionally mature enough to handle complex, controversial content. This show is suggested for ages 14 and up. 'Macunaíma Gourmet' does feature puppet and human nudity and mature themes. This play tackles political aspects through puppetry, object theatre, and performance. Chicago Public School students are invited to view this piece of activism free of charge as space allows. 

Get ready for an electrifying experience with 'Macunaíma Gourmet' by Mário de Andrade! This is a must-see performance at the Museum of Contemporary Art (@mcachicago) on Jan 26, 27, and 28 at 7:30pm. This reinterpretation of the classic Brazilian novel brings puppetry and object theater to life, tackling modern political issues. 

Much of Macunaíma Gourmet was intense and uncomfortable to watch, but powerful puppetry and strong social commentary with world wide relevance. This production is not a good fit for young or sensitive viewers of any age. For others, Macunaíma Gourmet is recommended. 

Bonnie is a Chicago based writer, theatre critic, photographer, artist, and Mama to 2 amazing adults. She owns two websites where she publishes frequently: ChiILLiveShows.com (adult) & ChiILMama.com (family friendly).

Macunaíma Gourmet Pigmalião Escultura que Mexe (Brazil) U.S. premiere presented by the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival MCA Chicago, 205 E. Pearson St., Chicago January 26-28 Three performances: Thursday, January 26 at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, January 27 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, January 28 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $45/$35 students and seniors 14 and up ADA accessible Performed with English subtitles 80 minutes 

Met by standing ovations at its 2019 premiere, this reinterpretation of the popular Brazilian novel “Macunaíma” by Mário de Andrade is full of spectacle, outrageousness and political perspective that demanded expression through puppetry and object. This adaptation, Macunaíma Gourmet, transports the modernist novel to the present day. In its new guise, the piece discusses the storm that Brazilian and global society faces in its socioeconomic and cultural structures with distinctive raucous imagery, unforgettable Brazilian style, and the urgency with which puppets can make political points. Pigmalião Escultura que Mexe (Brazil) creates, produces, and presents puppet theater. The group’s work starts from the research on construction and manipulation of traditional techniques, developing those techniques and then transposing them to the contemporaneous scene. Working over different styles, Pigmalião investigates the possibilities to give movement to sculptures. pigmaliao.com  ONLINE Visit chicagopuppetfest.org for tickets and information about the 5th Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, and sign up for the festival’s e-news. Follow the festival on Facebook, Instagram, Vimeo or Twitter, hashtag #ChiPuppetFest.

REVIEW: Basil Twist's Symphonie Fantastique Film Via The Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival

ChiIL Mama’s ChiIL Picks List

I was eager to see Basil Twist's Symphonie Fantastique Film, but woke up yesterday with a stomach bug. Fortunately I have some fabulous friends who were more than happy to review in my place. I'll be back out Puppet Festing this Thursday at The MCA, reviewing Macunaíma Gourmet by Pigmalião Escultura que Mexe (Brazil) for ChiILLiveShows.com. Bonnie Kenaz-Mara ChiIL Live Shows/ ChiIL Mama  Review by Catherine Hellmann, Guest Critic    Basil Twist is a New York-based puppeteer (born in Chicago!) who has made a film involving feather and fabric puppets in a 1,000 gallon tank of water. It’s set to one of my favorite pieces of music, Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique. Inspired by the serendipitous finds of locating a 100-gallon aquarium and a record of the symphony in a box on the street, one must admire his creativity. Making a movie/abstract puppet show based on found items from the sidewalk would never cross my mind. He found the title of the symphony and its length (just under an hour) to be perfect for his project. As Twist observed,”Even dropping fabric into water can be beautiful.”    The piece has five movements with a storyline of an artist who is obsessed with a beautiful woman...that ends badly (spoiler!) with him facing the gallows. Basil Twist matched each movement with a color theme to mark the mood: the first section has many colors, followed by black and white with bits of red, section three features blues, four has oranges and greens. The final movement brings all the colors together.    The music is a piano solo by the extremely talented Christopher O’Riley who plays the entire score (adapted by the brilliant composer Franz Liszt) from memory.  The film shows the live action of the puppet show, the pianist, and some of the backstage movement which is like a well-planned ballet. Five puppeteers must navigate around each other in a choreographed dance. As Twist told the audience at the post-show discussion: “Puppetry is movement.” It would be fun to see this show live which includes a backstage tour of the (tsunami?) water mess.  Upstairs on the 4th floor at the gorgeous Fine Arts Building is a puppet “pop up” of fun displays. We enjoyed getting our photo taken with a giant girl puppet in the cafe. It’s neat that Chicago hosts this worldwide event. Catherine Hellmann teaches Psychology and Humanities at a downtown charter school where she is the ooooooldest teacher in the building. (Thank you, Abbott Elementary!) Rather than get a sensible night’s sleep, she’s usually at the theater on a school night…

Review

by Flo Mano, Guest Critic 

I was mesmerized by the movement & colors & texture! I saw Matisse in the first transparent cutouts! Then Dolphins & eels in a sensual, flirting, playful romance! When the music got intense -the red & black feathers felt like predators-sharks. When it was dark I saw outer space-stars- nebulas & comets! The sparkling broken waves like crystal gems! Then the inward  folding of the fabric like a sea urchin-no needles. The red squiggly fiber optics looked like jellyfish & the interwound, colorful tinsel felt like seaweed! The lighting was magic throughout-eliciting emotions to the music- like a tight Tango-not missing a beat! The Q&A was enlightening. It was also fun being silly at the cafe before the show.

Flo Mano is a CPS elementary teacher-aide/librarian, hairdresser, and theater/film fanatic who catches hundreds of Chicago shows annually. She volunteers at numerous film venues and theaters.

Symphonie Fantastique Film A film by Basil Twist (U.S./New York) Presented by the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival Studebaker Theater, 410 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago Tickets: $15/$10 students and seniors One show only: Tuesday, January 24 at 6 p.m. Family Friendly - ALL AGES ADA accessible 55 minutes

In 1998, puppeteer Basil Twist debuted his boundary-breaking response to Berlioz's 1830 "Symphonie Fantastique" to universal acclaim. In the two decades since, Twist became an internationally recognized artist in opera, ballet, and on Broadway, winning countless awards including the illustrious MacArthur Fellowship. In 2018 Twist revisited his legendary masterpiece in its original home, the HERE Arts Center in NYC with live accompaniment by the virtuosic Christopher O'Riley playing the exquisite Liszt transcription for concert piano and in a significantly larger aquarium. Symphonie played a critically lauded and sold-out six-month run, allowing the finest performances to be captured on film in front of, behind, and inside the 1,000-gallon water tank by Twist and director Bobby Sheehan.  Soon after, while on a Rome Prize fellowship, Twist collaborated with master Italian film artisans to edit and refine the definitive filmed version of this iconic theatrical experience. The result, Twist’s first full-length film, is not just a document of a performance but an artistic expression in its own right, weaving imagery seen by the audience with the unseen backstage ballet of the puppeteers and the emotional synergy of the live musical performance. It received its world premiere at the 2019 World Puppetry Festival in Charleville Mézières, France, where Twist was the guest of honor.  

While Basil Twist's Symphonie Fantastique Film was a one and done showing for Chicago, Basil Twist's “Dogugaeshi,” is still coming up

Basil Twist, the internationally acclaimed master puppeteer and recipient of the Rome Prize, unfolds an intimate, abstract, contemporary journey of images and emotions. A feast for the eyes, heart and soul, this Chicago premiere is influenced by “Dogugaeshi,” a rarefied tradition of Japanese sliding screen stage technique, and Twist’s own encounters with the remaining rural caretakers of this once popular art form. Winner of the 2005 Bessie Award and an UNIMA Award for Excellence in Puppetry, Dogugaeshi features original shamisen compositions created and performed live by authorized master musicians Yumiko Tanaka and Yoko Reikano Kimura. Basil Twist, a third generation puppeteer, has significantly contributed to the art of puppetry since 1998, known worldwide for creating original abstract adult puppet works focused on their integration with music. His famous work Symphonie Fantastique, which takes place in a tank of water, is performed to the symphony of the same name. (A new film version is screening Tuesday, January 24 at 6 p.m. at the Studebaker Theater as part of this year’s festival.) n 2010, Twist created the puppetry for the Broadway productions of The Pee-wee Herman Show and The Addams Family. Other works include La Bella Dormente nel Bosco, Petrushka, Hansel and Gretel, Master Peter's Puppet Show, the Araneidae Show, Behind the Lid, and Arias with a Twist. He has received national and regional recognition through numerous awards, including a Rome Prize from the American Academy in Rome, an Obie Award, a Creative Capital Award in the discipline of Performing Arts and a Guggenheim fellowship. He was a Fall 2015 MacArthur Fellow at the NYU Center for Ballet and the Arts. He attended Oberlin College and graduated from the École Supérieure Nationale des Arts de la Marionnette in Charleville-Mézières, France. He is founder and director of the Dream Music Puppetry Program at Here Arts Center in NYC. His newest project is leading the puppetry in the Royal Shakespeare Company adaptation of My Neighbor Totoro at the Barbican Theatre, London. basiltwist.com 

ONLINE Visit chicagopuppetfest.org for tickets and information about the 5th Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, and sign up for the festival’s e-news. Follow the festival on Facebook, Instagram, Vimeo or Twitter, hashtag #ChiPuppetFest.

I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU: KATIE DEAL SINGS DOLLY PARTON To Play Marriott Theatre March 25 and 26

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar 

I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU:

KATIE DEAL SINGS DOLLY PARTON

to play Marriott Theatre March 25 and 26

Award-winning country artist and actress Katie Deal (9 TO 5, A CLOSER WALK WITH PATSY CLINE) will celebrate beloved American icon Dolly Parton in a concert entitled I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU, at Marriott Theatre March 25 and 26.

Leading a sublime band, Deal does Dolly proud with her authenticity, vulnerability, and buoyant charm. As a singer-songwriter, Deal is the recipient of a Georgia Country Artist of the Year Award and an honored member of the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame. MILWAUKEE JOURNAL- SENTINEL cheers, "Deal shines when she sings." Hit songs include "Here You Come Again," "I Will Always Love You," "9 to 5," and "Jolene."

Tickets are $55.00 (not including tax and fees) and can be purchased now by calling the box office at 847-634-0200, in person at the Marriott Theatre Box Office, or online at marriotttheatre.com. Marriott Theatre subscribers receive a 20% discount and groups of 20 or more receive a substantial discount (subscriber and group discounts only available through Marriott Theatre Box Office). Marriott Theatre is located at 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire, IL 60069.

OTHER UPCOMING 2023 CONCERTS

Marriott Theatre’s 2023 concerts, to be produced by Artists Lounge Live, will also include BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO: JOHN MICHAEL DIAS SINGS NEIL SEDAKA (September 11 and 12), and JINGLE BELL ROCK WITH MICHAEL INGERSOLL AND CHRISTOPHER KALE JONES (December 4 and 5). Tickets are now on sale for all 2023 concerts at www.MarriottTheatre.com

Dates:           

Saturday, March 25 at 7:30 pm

Sunday, March 26 at 1:00 pm

Location:

MARRIOTT THEATRE, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire, IL 60069

Tickets:        

$55.00 (not including taxes and fees)

Box Office:   

847-634-0200

Website: https://www.marriotttheatre.com/show/i-will-always-love-you-katie-deal-sings-dolly-parton 

ABOUT KATIE DEAL 

ABOUT KATIE DEAL: MILWAUKEE JOURNAL-SENTINEL cheers, "Deal shines when she sings." Katie Deal is an award-winning singer-songwriter and actress known for her authentic country sound. Deal is the recipient of a Georgia Country Artist of the Year Award, Atlanta Society of Entertainers Recording Artist of the Year Award, and an honored member of the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame. She has performed with country icon Loretta Lynn and appears as a frequent guest vocalist with Atlanta Pops Orchestra.

As a recording artist and singer-songwriter, Katie has written and/or performed with top Nashville songwriters including Bruce Burch (Reba McEntire), Amanda Colleen Williams (Garth Brooks), Brandon Bush (Sugarland), and John Driskell Hopkins (Zac Brown Band). As an actress, Deal won acclaim starring in multiple national tours of A CLOSER WALK WITH PATSY CLINE and numerous productions of ALWAYS…PATSY CLINE. Other theatre credits nationwide include 9 TO 5 (Doralee), RING OF FIRE (June Carter),THE ROAD: MY LIFE WITH JOHN DENVER, KEEP ON THE SUNNY SIDE (Sara Carter), and THE SPITFIRE GRILL (Percy, Ostrander Award nomination). Film credits include LET’S BE COPS and BILLY LYNN'S LONG HALFTIME WALK. katiedeal.com 

ABOUT ARTISTS LOUNGE LIVE: Artists Lounge Live presents timeless popular music performed by singular talents in captivating concerts marked by superb musicianship and intimate storytelling. The Chicago-based company is created and produced by married team Michael and Angela Ingersoll. All-around entertainer and producer Michael Ingersoll starred as Nick Massi of the Four Seasons in JERSEY BOYS, originating the Broadway tour’s San Francisco, LA, and Chicago casts. He also created retro-rock group Under the Streetlamp, starring in several PBS specials and touring internationally. Emmy Award-nominated actor, singer, and writer Angela Ingersoll tours her PBS special GET HAPPY: ANGELA INGERSOLL SINGS JUDY GARLAND. SHE ALSO STARRED AS GARLAND IN END OF THE RAINBOW, winning Chicago’s Jeff Award and LA Times Woman of the Year in Theatre. artistsloungelive.com

REVIEW: Theodora Skipitares' Grand Panorama Via The Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival January 22-24th, 2023

 ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

Theodora Skipitares' Grand Panorama

Family Friendly - 9 and up

REVIEW:

By Bonnie Kenaz-Mara

It was my great pleasure to catch the Chicago opening of Theodora Skipitares' Grand Panorama. We are so fortunate to have world class offerings right here in town, and free for CPS students (as space allows). Grand Panorama is a mini history lesson, but so entertaining and engaging, you'll hardly realize you're learning something, not only about Frederick Douglass, but about photography and human nature itself. Through cello, song, spoken word, projections, and an incredible array of puppetry styles, this production brings history to life on stage with state of the art storytelling. As an avid photographer, I enjoyed this foray into the early days of the art form. Far from dry history though, this show takes the concept and evolution of photography all the way up to present day selfies and the dark side of social media and our collective loss of privacy.

Photos by B. Kenaz-Mara

Directed and designed by Greek artist, Theodora Skipitares, using her trademark larger-than-life size puppets, artforms blend with panorama, magic lantern, shadow theater and crankies to articulate Douglass’s belief that “Rightly viewed, the whole soul of man is a sort of picture gallery, a grand panorama.” Featuring music by Mazz Swift, performed by Brittany Harris, and puppetry direction by Jane Catherine Shaw.

Photo by B. Kenaz-Mara

Extra bonus for location. It's always a treat to see the interesting architecture at Harold Washington Library, and the Cindy Pritzker Auditorium is a great venue. It's a short walk from here to the Studebaker Theatre building's 4th floor, where the pop-up puppet cafe and puppet HUB are located for the duration of the fest. Check it out and catch some world class puppet shows before they're gone. Highly recommended. Don't miss this! 

Photo by B. Kenaz-Mara

Bonnie is a Chicago based writer, theatre critic, photographer, artist, and Mama to 2 amazing adults. She owns two websites where she publishes frequently: ChiILLiveShows.com (adult) & ChiILMama.com (family friendly).

Grand Panorama Theodora Skipitares (U.S./New York) Presented by Harold Washington Library and the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival Harold Washington Cindy Pritzker Auditorium, 400 S. State St., Chicago (Plymouth Court entrance ) January 22-24 Three performances: Sunday, January 22 at 2 p.m.; Monday January 23 at  5 p.m.; Tuesday, January 24 at 6 p.m.  Tickets: $30/$20 seniors, CPS students free, limited availability Family Friendly - 9 and up ADA accessible 52 minutes 

Frederick Douglass is widely recognized as the most photographed person in the 19th century. In Grand Panorama, his obsession with photography takes center stage illuminating the power of image to “tell the truth” about humanity and the African-American experience during slavery.  Theodora Skipitares is a visual artist and theater director. Born in San Francisco of Greek parents, she moved to New York in 1970. She began creating personal solo performances in the mid 1970s. She began to examine social and historical themes using realistic, life-size puppet figures, as well as miniature ones, that became the “performers” in large-scale works including live music, film, video, and documentary texts. She has collaborated with prominent composers such as Virgil Moorefield, Bobby Previte, Scott Johnson, and most recently, Sxip Shirey. These works included The Age of Invention, an examination of three centuries of American invention featuring 300 puppets, Defenders of the Code, a history of eugenics, and The Radiant City, a music-theater work based on the life of Robert Moses. More recent projects include Under the Knife, a site-specific story of medicine which took an audience to twelve different theater environments, and Body of Crime, a history of women in prison. theodoraskipitares.com ONLINE Visit chicagopuppetfest.org for tickets and information about the 5th Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, and sign up for the festival’s e-news. Follow the festival on Facebook, Instagram, Vimeo or Twitter, hashtag #ChiPuppetFest. Always a joy to see Blair Thomas, the Founder and Artistic Director of The Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival. Photos by B. Kenaz-Mara Seeing Double: On a playful note, many puppeteers have a doppelgänger or double in puppet form, but this puppeteer has a doppelgänger in publicist form! Every year, many Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival attendees see both Blair Thomas and Jay Kelly, fest publicist, attending many of the puppet productions, and mistake them for each other. I thought this year would be different, with Blair's new green hairdo, but 2 people have already told me personally that they though Jay was Blair and one actually said to Jay, "Oh, you washed the green out!"   How many others have made the same mistake? Fess up... Want to learn more about Frederick Douglass? Check out The American Writers Museum in downtown Chicago.  Now available, the Frederick Douglass Tours introduce you to all of our exhibits with a focus on Douglass's work and impact. This 15-minute tour highlights writers who influenced Douglass, as well as the writers who carried the torch after him. The focal point is our current special exhibit Dark Testament: A Century of Black Writers, in which Douglass is prominently featured. Tours are included with museum admission. Thursdays—Mondays Daily at 3:00 pm Central. Click HERE for tickets and more information on the American Writers Museum Frederick Douglass Tours.