BEATRIX POTTER HOLIDAY TEA PARTY RETURNING LIVE NOV 20-DEC 24 AT CHICAGO CHILDREN’S THEATRE

ChiIL Mama’s Chi, IL Picks List

CHICAGO CHILDREN’S THEATRE’S

BEATRIX POTTER HOLIDAY TEA PARTY

A SEASONAL RITE OF PASSAGE FOR CHICAGO TOTS, RETURNING LIVE, NOV. 20-DEC. 24

Recommended for ages 2-6 with adult 

Run time is 60 minutes with no intermission

Please note: Chicago Children’s Theatre is a “no shushing” theater

The Beatrix Potter Holiday Tea Party, a seasonal rite of passage for countless Chicago toddlers and their parents, returns to Chicago Children’s Theatre November 20-December 24, marking the return of live performances at Chicago’s largest professional theater devoted to children and families.

Now in its seventh year, Chicago Children’s Theatre’s Beatrix Potter Holiday Tea Party has become a popular seasonal tradition for Chicago families looking to introduce their children to live theater.

Some families come dressed up in their holiday finest, while others come just as they are. Either way, young and old alike enjoy this incredibly charming, meticulously designed puppet show starring Beatrix Potter’s favorite animal friends. The Chicago Reader called CCT’s holiday experience for Chicago’s littlest generation of theatergoers “dazzling, brisk at under an hour, and sweet as can be.”

(left) Kay Kron, in the 2018 outing of The Beatrix Potter Holiday Tea Party inviting kids on stage to meet puppets, pull levers and turn cranks that produce moments of delight. (right) After photos with the cast, families head to Chicago Children's Theatre's lobby to enjoy cookies and chocolate milk in a tea party setting. All Production Photos by Charles Osgood.

Watch in awe as a cast of three multi-talented performers bring four Beatrix Potter tales to life in this adorable, mesmerizing, interactive trunk and puppet show, accompanied by a live, original classical music score. CCT’s charming storytellers interweave classic narration and guide gentle interactive moments, recruiting young watchers to join the adventure. This year’s version stars four of Beatrix Potter’s most adorable animal friends -- Peter Rabbit, Jeremy Fisher, Simpkin the Cat, and for the first time this year, Tom Kitten! Families will watch in awe as the cast shares favorite Beatrix Potter family tales, manipulating ingenious mechanical “suitcase sculptures” packed with cleverly designed 3D puppetry meant to surprise and delight.

After the stories, families are invited on stage to explore the trunks, pull the levers and turn the cranks that reveal magical 3D images. After photos with the cast, families come together in a Victorian-style dining hall to enjoy a festive spread of cookies, chocolate milk, coloring activities and beautiful holiday decor.

The Beatrix Potter Holiday Tea Party is presented as a limited engagement, weekends only, November 20-December 24. Regular show times are Saturday and Sunday at 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.

Exceptions: No 9:30 a.m. show Saturday, November 20. Additional holiday week performances are Thursday and Friday, December 23 and 24 (Christmas Eve) at 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.

Single tickets start at $42 including the show and tea party. For tickets, visit  chicagochildrenstheatre.org or call Chicago Children’s Theatre Guest Services, (312) 374-8835. Don’t delay as performances do sell out. Email groupsales@chicagochildrenstheatre.org or to learn about group rates.

Chicago Children’s Theatre is located at 100 S. Racine Ave. in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood. CCT is minutes from I-90 and I-290, as well as downtown and Ashland Avenue. It offers free, onsite parking on the south side of the building. Nearby street parking is available on weekends, or try the Impark parking lot, 1301 W. Madison St.

After photos with the cast, families come together in a Victorian-style dining hall to enjoy a festive spread of cookies, chocolate milk, coloring activities and holiday decor.

Access Weekend is Saturday and Sunday, December 11 and 12

CCT continues to grow its commitment to all Chicago children at The Station by expanding services for patrons with disabilities. Access Weekend is December 11 and 12. Services include:

ASL interpretation and Open Captioning 

Saturday and Sunday, December 11 and 12

Touch Tour

Sunday, December 12, before the 9:30 a.m. show

Sensory Friendly

Saturday and Sunday, December 11 and 12

For more information about access and inclusion at Chicago Children’s Theatre, visit chicagochildrenstheatre.org/access or email access@chicagochildrenstheatre.org.

Covid safety policies

Alongside a growing coalition of more than 65 performing arts venues and producers across Chicagoland, Chicago Children’s Theatre has agreed to ensure COVID-19 vaccination and mask requirements for everyone 12 and over - audiences, artists, and staff. These protocols are subject to change; for more information about CCT’s current COVID-19 safety protocols, visit chicagochildrenstheatre.org/covid.

Behind the Scenes of The Beatrix Potter Holiday Tea Party

Chicago Children’s Theatre’s Beatrix Potter series is devised by Will Bishop, Lara Carling, Kay Kron, Grace Needlman and Ray Rehberg. Co-directors are Will Bishop and Lara Carling. Performers are Kay Kron, Time Brickey and Charlie Malave. Puppets are by Grace Needlman. Music is by Ray Rehberg. Costumes are by Ian Liberman, based on the original designs by Jillian Gryzlak. Lighting designer is Becca Jeffords. Sound designer is Daniel Etti-Williams. Anastar Alvarez is stage manager. 

The holiday production’s sister work, Beatrix Potter & Friends, has been performed at schools, libraries, cultural institutions around the city, and toured in 2019 to the 9th Annual China Children's Theatre Festival in Beijing and Jinan.

Beatrix Potter (1866-1943) was a British writer, illustrator and conservationist best remembered for her best-selling children’s books that combined her love for animals and the English countryside. During her childhood in England’s Lake District, she looked after many animals including rabbits, frogs and even bats. She drew these animals throughout her youth, gradually improving the standard of her drawings. In her 20s she sought to try and get her children’s book and drawings published. Her initial attempts proved unsuccessful, but she persevered and eventually her first book “The Tale of Peter Rabbit,” was published in 1902, when she was 36. Today, “Peter Rabbit” is one of the most beloved children’s books of all time. In sum, Potter wrote 24 books. Some of her best known titles include “The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle,” “The Tale of the Pie and the Patty-Pan” and “The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher.” For more information, visit the Beatrix Potter Society, beatrixpottersociety.org.uk.

Coming soon to Chicago Children’s Theatre

With the new year comes the world premiere live production of Leonardo and Sam, based on the beloved children’s books by Mo Willems, created by Chicago’s wildly inventive Manual Cinema (January 29-February 27, 2022). Next, dreams will come true in the spring when CCT presents the world premiere of Carmela Full of Wishes, adapted from the book by Matt de la Peña and Christian Robinson (Last Stop on Market Street), (April 23-May 22, 2022). Single tickets are on sale now at chicagochildrenstheatre.org.  

New virtual productions set for release in 2021-22 include The Relocation of Nokwsi, a new Native American-themed video by Robert Hicks Jr. dropping October 11, 2021, in celebration of National Indigenous People’s Day, This Ability by Daniel Carlton and Nambi E. Kelley, set for release December 3, 2021 in celebration of International Day of Persons with Disabilities, and more Walkie Talkies audio adventure podcast tours through Chicago’s many neighborhoods.

 

About Chicago Children’s Theatre

“The Chicago theater scene is legendarily vibrant, so naturally a number of companies tailor productions to younger audiences. The cream of the crop is Chicago Children’s Theatre.” – Chicago Tribune

Chicago Children’s Theatre was founded in 2005 with a big idea: Chicago is the greatest theater city in the world, and it deserves a great children’s theater. Today, Chicago Children’s Theatre is the city’s largest professional theater company devoted exclusively to children and young families. CCT has established a national reputation for the production of first-rate children’s theater with professional writing, performing, and directorial talent and high-quality design and production expertise.

In January 2017, the company celebrated the opening of its new, permanent home, Chicago Children’s Theatre, The Station, located at 100 S. Racine Avenue in Chicago’s West Loop community. The building, formerly the Chicago Police Station for the 12th District, was repurposed into a beautiful, LEED Gold-certified, mixed-use performing arts, education and community engagement facility that now welcomes all Chicago families.

CCT provides tens of thousands of free and reduced-price tickets to under-resourced schools each season in partnership with Chicago Public Schools. CCT also continues to grow its performing arts and STEAM education programs, offering classes, workshops, winter and spring break camps, and summer camps for ages 0 to 14.

In 2019, Chicago Children’s Theatre won the National TYA Artistic Innovation Award from Theatre for Young Audiences/USA. In addition, Chicago Children’s Theatre has garnered six NEA Art Works grants, and in 2017, became the first theater for young audiences in the U.S. to win a National Theatre Award from the American Theatre Wing, creators of the Tony Awards.

Chicago Children’s Theatre’s 2021-22 Season of Resilience is supported by Goldman Sachs, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, The Ralla Klepak Foundation for Education in the Performing Arts, The Shubert Foundation, Polk Bros Foundation, The MacArthur Fund for Culture, Equity and the Arts at Prince, Bayless Family Foundation, The Crown Family, Rea Charitable Trust, ComEd, US Bank, City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), Illinois Arts Council, Illinois Humanities Council, National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), The Susan M. Venturi Fund in memory of James and Roslyn Marks to Support Theatre Education Accession, and Erin and Jason, Ben, Bici and David Pritzker.

Chicago Children’s Theatre is led by Co-Founders, Artistic Director Jacqueline Russell and Board Chair Todd Leland, with Board President Armando Chacon.

For more, visit chicagochildrenstheatre.org.

Mozart’s THE MAGIC FLUTE November 3–27 at Lyric Opera of Chicago

ChiIL Mama’s Chi, IL Picks List 

What You Need to Know About Mozart’s

THE MAGIC FLUTE 

November 3–27 at Lyric Opera of Chicago

THE MAGIC FLUTE Cory Weaver LA Opera

I'll be out to review on November 7th, so check back early and often. In the meantime, book your tickets now. It's a short run with only 7 performances, and tickets are sure to be in demand.

A prince’s valiant quest leads to love at first sight. But to prove his worth for marriage, he must first survive daring trials of wisdom and devotion. The Magic Flute, Mozart’s final opera, is full of gods and monsters, compassion and revenge, love and death—it is both a fanciful fairy tale and a profound reflection on spiritual enlightenment. Lyric Opera of Chicago presents a sumptuously bold, new-to-Chicago production that pays homage to the 1920’s silent movies and German expressionism, while remaining faithful to the magic the opera’s title promises.

•       A truly cinematic experience unlike any opera Lyric has produced. This spectacularly inventive production, created by the team of Suzanne Andrade and Barrie Kosky and directed in Chicago by Tobias Ribitzki, features eye-popping projections by animator Paul Barritt and innovative stage design and costumes by Esther Bialis. Taking its inspiration from silent films, the production foregoes the traditional spoken dialogue in between the operatic scenes. Instead, texts are projected onto the stage with musical accompaniment.

•       The most enduring classical earworm? The villainous Queen of the Night’s high-flying “Der Hölle Rache” (“Hell’s Vengeance”) is one of the most famous arias in all of opera. It is instantly recognizable from its myriad appearances in popular culture, from Disney’s Operation Dumbo Drop to the film Eat Pray Love to TV’s Gossip Girl, not to mention a long list of iconic commercials. In this production, the Queen of the Night fills the stage as a gigantic spider while her stratospheric high notes blow the roof off the Lyric Opera House.

•       An acclaimed Chicago native comes home. Renowned conductor Karen Kamensek, who was born in Chicago, makes her Lyric debut leading the Lyric Opera Orchestra in interpreting Mozart’s captivating and familiar score. In the 2019/20 season, she made a sensational Metropolitan Opera debut conducting its much-buzzed-about production of Philip Glass’s Akhnaten.

•       Lyric favorites return to Chicago. Ying Fang stars as the heroine Pamina, a role she has performed to great acclaim at the Met and in Zurich. She made her Lyric debut as another Mozartian ingenue, Zerlina, in 2019/20’s Don Giovanni. Brenton Ryan, who appeared at Lyric as the Fool in the 2015/16 production of Berg’s Wozzeck, returns in the key role of Monostatos.

•       Exciting debuts. The Magic Flute features many artists making their much-anticipated Lyric debuts in leading roles, including Lila Dufy as the Queen of the Night, Pavel Petrov as Tamino, Huw Montague Rendall as Papageno, and Tareq Nazmi as Sarastro.

•       Meet the next generation of opera stars. Six members of Lyric’s artist development program—The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center—take on featured and supporting roles in The Magic Flute: Denis Vélez is Papagena, Mathilda Edge is First Lady, Katherine DeYoung is Second Lady, Kathleen Felty is Third Lady, Martin Luther Clark is First Armored Man, and Anthony Reed is Second Armored Man.

•       A local flute with 20 years of magic. Assistant principal flautist Dionne Jackson, a Chicago native, plays Papageno’s charming flute solos from the orchestra pit. A graduate of The Juilliard School, she has held the position of assistant principal flute with Lyric Opera of Chicago since 2001.

•       Only seven performances: November 3; matinees on November 7, 11, 14, and 17; and November 19 and 27.

•       2 hours and 40 minutes, including 1 intermission.

•       Sung in German with projected English texts.

•       For updated information about Lyric’s ongoing health and safety protocols visit lyricopera.org/safety

Lyric’s presentation of Mozart’s The Magic Flute is generously made possible by The Negaunee Foundation, Nancy & Sanfred Koltun, Liz Stiffel, the Gramma Fisher Foundation of Marshalltown, Iowa, Mr. & Mrs. Dietrich M. Gross, and Randy L. & Melvin R.* Berlin. *deceased

Lyric Opera of Chicago thanks its Official Airline, American Airlines.

Lyric Opera of Chicago is supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and acknowledges support from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.

About Lyric

Lyric Opera of Chicago is committed to redefining what it means to experience great opera. The company is driven to deliver consistently excellent artistry through innovative, relevant, celebratory programming that engages and energizes new and traditional audiences.

Under the leadership of General Director, President & CEO Anthony Freud, Music Director Enrique Mazzola, and Special Projects Advisor Renée Fleming, Lyric is dedicated to reflecting, and drawing strength from, the diversity of Chicago. Lyric offers, through innovation, collaboration, and evolving learning opportunities, ever-more exciting, accessible, and thought-provoking audience and community experiences. We also stand committed to training the artists of the future, through The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center; and to becoming increasingly diverse across our audiences, staff, programming, and artists—magnifying the welcoming pull of our art form, our company, and our city.

Through the timeless power of voice, the splendor of a great orchestra and chorus, theater, dance, design, and truly magnificent stagecraft, Lyric is devoted to immersing audiences in worlds both familiar and unexpected, creating shared experiences that resonate long after the curtain comes down.

Join us @LyricOpera on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. #Lyric2122 #LongLivePassion

For more information, visit lyricopera.org.

SAVE THE DATES: SECOND CITY HOLIDAY REVUE, NOVEMBER 26-DECEMBER 23 AT PARAMOUNT'S NEWLY RENOVATED COPLEY THEATRE

 ChiIL Mama’s Chi, IL Picks List: Adult Night Out

PARAMOUNT READY TO UNWRAP ITS NEWLY RENOVATED COPLEY THEATRE WITH THE SECOND CITY HOLIDAY REVUE

NOVEMBER 26-DECEMBER 23

 

The Second City Holiday Revue. Photo courtesy The Second City.

This production is for audiences 18 years and older due to strong adult language and content. No one under 12 allowed.

Paramount Theatre is ready to unwrap its annual end-of-year tradition - bringing The Second City’s famous brand of seasonal hilarity to downtown Aurora for the holidays.

And this year, The Second City’s Holiday Revue: It’s a Wild, Wacky, Wonderful Life, will give audiences the holly jollies as the first live production to be presented in the beautiful, newly-remodeled Copley Theatre.

Following a $2 million, top-to-bottom renovation, capped by the addition of comfortable new seats and a sleek new lobby bar, the 165-seat Copley Theatre is an incredibly intimate space for Second City’s seasonal songs and gut-busting holiday skits. With no seat more than 70 feet from the stage, audiences will enjoy Second City’s side-splitting, song filled holiday spectacular up close and personal. Whether you are on the nice or naughty list, Chicago’s notorious improv troupe will have you laughing so hard you’ll shoot eggnog out your nose.

Skip the long lines and shipping delays, and give the gift of laughter to everyone you meet this holiday season. Performances are November 26-December 23: Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.; Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., Sundays at 3 p.m. Tickets to The Second City Holiday Revue are $37 and are on sale now. Buy early, as these shows will sell out.

The Copley Theatre is located at 8 E. Galena Blvd. in the North Island Center, right across the street from Paramount Theatre. For tickets and information, visit ParamountAurora.com, call (630) 896-6666, or stop by the Paramount box office, 23 E. Galena Blvd., 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday. This production is for audiences 18 years and older due to strong adult language and content. No one under 12 allowed.

Following The Second City Holiday Revue, the Copley Theatre will become home in 2022 to Paramount’s much anticipated, all-new Bold Series, a four-show subscription series that promises to bring a new type of theater to downtown Aurora - fearless, unexpected and thought provoking.

Paramount will announce its inaugural four show Bold series line-up in the coming weeks. Subscribers to Paramount’s 2021-22 Broadway Series will have the first opportunity to purchase tickets and secure their seats as part of an exclusive subscriber pre-sale.

COVID POLICY

Paramount and Copley Theatre are about gathering together and sharing in the experience of live theater. Copley Theatre is committed to the health and safety of patrons, theater employees, production staff and cast. To ensure the safety of everyone in the theater, the following policies will be in place for all performances of The Second City Holiday Revue:

Masks required for performances through December 23, 2021: Everyone in the theater must wear acceptable face coverings at all times, including during the show, except while consuming beverages in designated locations. All face coverings must cover the nose and mouth, and comply with the CDC guidelines for acceptable face coverings.

Vaccinations required for performances through December 23, 2021: Guests will need to be fully vaccinated with an FDA emergency use-authorized vaccine in order to attend a show and must show proof of vaccination at their time of entry into the building with their valid ticket and government issued ID. “Fully vaccinated” means the performance date you are attending must be: at least 14 days after your second dose of an FDA authorized two dose COVID-19 vaccine, orat least 14 days after your single dose of an FDA authorized single dose COVID-19 vaccine.

The only exception will be for guests who need reasonable accommodations due to a medical condition or sincerely held religious belief. Guests under the age of 12 will not be permitted to attend Second City and guests requesting an exemption must provide proof of at least one of the following, in addition to properly wearing a mask inside the building:

negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of the start of the performance, ornegative COVID-19 rapid antigen test taken within 6 hours of the start of the performance.

Rapid antigen tests must be administered by a medical professional, pharmacy or healthcare worker and must be administered within six hours of the start of the desired performance. Proof of this, along with proof of negative results, are required for entrance. Any version of a home rapid antigen test will not be accepted.

Guests may present proof of vaccination or a negative test on paper or a smartphone. In addition to proof of vaccination, all guests 18 years or older must also present a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license or passport. Guests under 18 may also use a school photo ID.

Guests who do not comply with these policies will be denied entry or asked to leave the theater. If you feel you cannot follow these guidelines, please contact the Box Office at (630) 896-6666 to discuss your options.

About Paramount Theater

Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., is the center for performing arts and education in downtown Aurora, the second largest city in Illinois. Since 1931, the beautiful, 1,843-seat theater, graced with a strong 1930s Art Deco influence and original Venetian décor, has been downtown Aurora’s anchor attraction. Since launching its own Broadway Series in 2011, Paramount Theatre steadily amassed more than 41,000 subscribers, prior to COVID, making it the second largest subscription house in the U.S.

Paramount Theatre is one of four live performance venues programmed and managed by the Aurora Civic Center Authority. ACCA also oversees downtown Aurora’s 165-seat Copley Theatre, RiverEdge Park, the city’s 6,000-seat outdoor summer concert venue, the Stolp Island Theatre, an immersive space opening in summer 2023, and the new Paramount School of the Arts.

For the latest news from Paramount Theatre, please visit ParamountAurora.com or follow Paramount on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, all @ParamountAurora.

OPENING: Imagine U: Last Stop on Market Street Via Northwestern University's Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts November 12-21

 ChiIL Mama’s Chi, IL Picks List

Imagine U: Last Stop on Market Street

Winner of the 2016 Newbery Medal, Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor, Caldecott Honor

By Matt de la Peña

Illustrated by Christian Robinson

Adapted and Directed by

Gloria Bond Clunie

November 12–21, 2021 Streaming December 3-12, 2021

Recommended for ages 6+

Estimated Runtime: 65 minutes, no intermission

I had the pleasure of catching this wonderful show at Chicago Children's Theatre back in 2018 and I'm thrilled that Northwestern is bringing it back to the area in 2021. This delightful story is a must see for families. I'm betting the adults will enjoy it every bit as much as the younger audience members. Book now as the Imagine U series is wildly popular and this short run is likely to sell out. Not quite ready to brave an indoor performance with unvaccinated littles? Wirtz has excellent covid precautions in place and they're also offering a streaming option you can watch from home. There's also a Sensory Friendly Performance Sunday, Nov. 21 @ 2 p.m. for greater accessibility. Full details are below. Don't miss this!

Fri., 11/12 @ 7 p.m.

Sat., 11/13 @ 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Sun., 11/14 @ 2 p.m.

Fri., 11/19 @ 7 p.m.

Sat., 11/20 @ 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Sun., 11/21 @ 2 p.m.

Streaming: Fri., 12/3 @ 9 a.m. through Sun., 12/12 @ 11:59 p.m.

Click HERE for tickets

Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts

Ethel M. Barber Theater

30 Arts Circle Drive

Tickets

One Sunday morning, CJ and his Nana set out in the rain on their weekly bus ride across town.  Along the way, CJ wonders why they don’t own a car, or headphones, or an iPad like his friends.  Most of all he wishes they didn’t have to journey to the scary last stop on Market Street. Their trip through the bustling city becomes an exciting magical adventure which helps CJ solve a mysterious riddle, make unexpected special friends — including Mumford, The Dragon, and discover a wonderful new kind of beauty.

Creative Drama Workshops Nov. 14 and 21

Following the 2 p.m. performances on Nov. 14, 21, Northwestern teaching artists and members of the cast will offer a 45-minute creative drama workshop. The workshop is free and open to any child who attends the show. Parents and guardians are encouraged to participate. Space is limited; reservations are required, and can be made by e-mailing the Wirtz Center Box Office (wirtz.northwestern.edu). The Nov. 14 workshop will take place in Room 101 in the Wirtz Center (participants will meet in the Barber Lobby and be escorted outside to the Workshop room).  The Nov. 21 workshop will take place in the Bergan Rehearsal Room located in the Wirtz Center (participants will meet in the Barber Lobby and be escorted outside to the Workshop room).

Learn about our Health and Safety Guidelines HERE

Sensory Friendly Performance Sunday, Nov. 21 @ 2 p.m.

This adapted performance facilitated by Imagine U will provide a relaxed and safe environment for autistic and otherwise disabled audience members. This performance is open to all with an enhanced focus on theatrical accessibility.

Modifications to the performance include: 

Changes to light and sound cues to eliminate sudden changes and high volume effect

A separate sensory room if students need a break from the performance

Imagine U trained teaching artists with a background in theatrical accessibility 

Fidget toys and communication devices are welcome in the theatre

Sensory kits will be available and include items such as headphones, sun glasses, fidget toys, etc.  

 All audience members for this performance will experience this special sensory friendly performance. Learn about our Health and Safety Guidelines

Nightbooks on Netflix is Scary Fun

ChiIL Mama's ChiIL Picks List: 

What We're Watching

Looking for some scary good fun for older kids? Check out Nightbooks on Netflix. 

 

When Alex (Winslow Fegley), a boy obsessed with scary stories, is trapped by an evil witch (Krysten Ritter) in her magical apartment, and must tell a scary story every night to stay alive, he teams up with another prisoner, Yasmin (Lidya Jewett), to find a way to escape.

Check out the trailer HERE.

Synopsis: Alex (Winslow Fegley) is a creative boy with a strong passion for writing scary stories. But when he's labeled weird and rejected for what he likes, he swears he'll never write again. That’s when an evil witch (Krysten Ritter), captures him in her magical apartment in New York City and demands that he tell her a new tale every night if he wants to stay alive. Trapped inside with Lenore, the witch’s spiteful cat watching his every move, Alex meets Yasmin (Lidya Jewett), another young prisoner who has learned how to survive the witch's wicked whims. With Yasmin’s help, Alex must learn to embrace what makes him unique — his love for scary stories — and rewrite his own destiny to break them free.

Directed by David Yarovesky

Screenplay by Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis

Based on the book by J.A. White

Produced by Sam Raimi, Romel Adam, Mason Novick, Michelle Knudsen

Executive Producers: Rob Tapert, Jeanette Volturno

Co-Producers: Mary Anne Waterhouse, Tracy Kopulsky

Starring: Winslow Fegley, Lidya Jewett and Krysten Ritter

 *Head ups - this one has some big scares and intense moments, so it might not be appropriate for younger or sensitive viewers. If in doubt, check it out first without your child.

@Netflix #NightbooksNetflix

TIME CAPSULE SEALING CEREMONY OCTOBER 27 AT HAROLD WASHINGTON LIBRARY

ChiIL Mama’s Chi, IL Picks List

1000s OF CHICAGO KIDS CREATED TIME CAPSULES DURING COVID, WATCH THEM PUT UNDER LOCK AND KEY UNTIL 2026 AT TIME CAPSULE SEALING CEREMONY,

OCTOBER 27 AT HAROLD WASHINGTON LIBRARY

This special event is free and open to the public, but pre-registration is required via the Once Upon Our Time Capsule website at ourcapsule.org/sealing.

The past 18 months were rife with change, stress and even unexpected joys. And while adults had plenty of opportunities to share how they were impacted by COVID-19, children were given precious few platforms to express how this challenging year impacted them. 

Until last spring, when two parent volunteers and more than 35 youth-focused Chicago nonprofits, schools and government agencies joined up to launch Once Upon Our Time Capsule, a citywide project that captures the individual and collective experiences of Chicago’s children living through the COVID-19 pandemic.

The goal? To elevate Chicago’s children to superhero status, and to let them to see themselves as the incredibly special generation of kids that they are - kids confronted with a pandemic, social unrest, the shift to remote learning, and even the loss of friends and family. The project celebrates kids who were able to overcome adversity and emerge from the worst of the pandemic stronger, smarter and more empathetic to others.

“The kids of Chicago have an important story to tell about the years 2020 and 2021,” said project co-founder Stacey Gillett. “Through Once Upon Our Time Capsule, we listened to what they found cool and special, what they found weird and difficult, and most importantly, how they were brave.”

Gillett’s counterpart, Time Capsule co-founder Stephanie Hodges, added, “from May to August, we collaborated with over 35 youth-serving organizations to engage thousands of kids ages 5 to 12 from more than 70 different communities. With the enthusiastic support of partners, we heard from all of the communities where Chicago’s kids live, learn and play, including schools, summer camps, inpatient hospital settings, homeless shelters, and residential care for undocumented minors. Approximately 70 percent of participating children represent Chicago’s BIPOC communities.”

In all, the project engaged more than 5,000 Chicago children who created personal Time Capsules this summer. They custom-decorated their Time Capsules, stowed personal mementos inside, and shared the memories they’d like to keep and those they’d prefer to leave behind. By doing so, Chicago’s kids were given a creative, cathartic outlet, unlike anywhere in the world, to process the emotional toll of being a child during a pandemic, to release the negative, and celebrate the positive that came out of the unforgettable years of 2020 and 2021.

That’s why, on Wednesday, October 27 at 4:30 p.m. in the Harold Washington Library Winter Garden, 400 S. State St., project volunteers and partners will come back together with participating children and families at the official Once Upon Our Time Capsule Sealing Ceremony.

The ceremony kicks off with a Time Capsule Gallery showcasing select Time Capsules, Time Capsule-inspired arts and crafts activities for kids, plus live performances by Global Girls, After School Matters, People’s Music School, Auditorium Theatre’s Hearts to Art Summer Camp and Chicago Children’s Theatre. Next comes a festive Time Capsule Parade, culminating with a ceremonial sealing of the Giant Time Capsules.

Confirmed speakers (at press time) include Amy Eshleman, First Lady of Chicago; Chris Brown, Commissioner, Chicago Public Library; Jacqueline Russell, Co-Founder and Artistic Director, Chicago Children’s Theatre; and, Stacey Gillett and Stephanie Hodges, Co-Founders, Once Upon our Time Capsule. 

Following the ceremony, hundreds of Time Capsules will be aggregated into 12 Giant Time Capsules and put on display at iconic cultural institutions around the city including Chicago Children’s Theatre, Chicago Academy of Sciences/Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, The DuSable Museum of African American History and Legler Regional Library in Chicago’s Austin community.

In 2026, these 55-gallon drums, teeming with Time Capsules from 2021, will be unsealed to allow a new generation of Chicagoans to revisit the story of life in Chicago during the pandemic, as told through its children’s eyes. 

Also, stay tuned, because on October 27, organizers will announce new plans to write and publish a children’s book telling the Once Upon Our Time Capsule story, drawing from actual stories of life during COVID-19 shared by kids during the summer of 2021. A supporting curriculum will be created to allow integration of the book into educational settings to create an opportunity for kids to discuss hopes for themselves and for the future of Chicago.

More about Once Upon Our Time Capsule

Once Upon Our Time Capsule was launched in May by Stacey Gillett and Stephanie Hodges, two professionals with backgrounds in urban innovation and technology who live in the city with their families. Lead partners are The Center for Childhood Resilience at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Chicago Children’s Theatre, Chicago Public Library and My CHI. My Future.

Community and school partners included 826Chi, Adler Planetarium, After School Matters, Augustus H. Burley Elementary School, Boys and Girls Club of Chicago, Brian Piccolo Elementary School, BUILD, Casa Central, Carole Robertson Center for Learning, Chicago Academy of Sciences/Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, The Chicago History Museum, Chicago Housing Authority, Chicago Park District, Chicago Youth Centers, Children’s Museum of Art and Social Justice/KIPP Charter Network, Chinese American Service League, Communities in Schools of Chicago, DuSable Museum of African American History, Friends of Cabrini, Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana, Hearts to Art, Heartland Alliance Human Care Services, Hyde Park Art Center, Ingenuity Chicago, JCC Chicago Apachi Day Camp, John C. Dore Elementary School, Lincoln Elementary School, MENTA Academy, Metropolitan Family Services, Namaste Charter School, Oscar Mayer Magnet School, People’s Music School, Primo Center for Women and Children, Suder Montessori Magnet Elementary School, UChicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital and YWCA Metropolitan Chicago.

Once Upon Our Time Capsule is supported by the generosity of Bloomberg Philanthropies, Chicago Public Library Foundation, Comer Family Foundation, Crown Family Philanthropies, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and Polk Bros. Foundation. Multiple Inc., a branding and marketing firm based in Chicago, Atlanta and Vancouver, is generously providing pro bono strategic branding, website and communication services for Once Upon Our Time Capsule. 

For more information, visit OurTimeCapsule.org or follow Once Upon Our Time Capsule on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

FEST ALERT: The Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival is BACK, January 20-30, 2022

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

Save the Dates

The 4th Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival will return with live performances, ready to make Chicago the puppetry capital of the world, January 20-30, 2022.

For 10 days, Chicagoans and visitors alike will be treated to a deep, diverse roster of contemporary and traditional puppetry forms presented at cultural institutions large and small all over the city. Shows, artists and all festival events will be announced in the fall.

Until then, visit chicagopuppetfest.org to sign up for the fest’s e-newsletter to be the first to learn the 2022 festival line-up, ticket on sale dates, special events and offers, and behind-the-strings scoop. Or, follow the festival on Facebook at facebook.com/ChicagoInternationalPuppetTheaterFestival, on Instagram at instagram.com/chipuppetfest and on Twitter @ChiPuppetFest.

Originally founded as a project of Blair Thomas & Co., the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival has now evolved to become an organization in its own right, bringing three biennial, multi-week, citywide festivals in 2015, 2017 and 2019. Already, Chicago’s puppet festival has grown to be the largest of its kind in North America, attracting more than 14,000 audience members every iteration to dozens of Chicago venues large and small to enjoy an entertaining and eclectic array of puppet styles from around the world.

Expanded operations at the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival are being overseen by Artistic Director/Festival Founder Blair Thomas, Managing Director Sandy Gerding, and new staff members Taylor Bibat and Mark Blashford. Acclaimed Chicago puppeteer Tom Lee has joined Thomas as Co-Director of the Puppet Lab, while Grace Needlman is coordinating pursuit of the Chicago Puppet Lab’s mission: incubating more works of boundary-breaking puppetry in Chicago, expanding equity in the field of puppetry, and encouraging interdisciplinary experimentation in puppet theater.

For more information, visit chicagopuppetfest.org.

REVIEW: Punk Grandpa Now Playing at Dreamers YOLO! Through October 16, 2021

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

Guest Review

By Cath Hellmann 

It’s not often that the playwright of a show I’m reviewing enthusiastically praises my cool new socks within moments of our first meeting. In all fairness, they are super-fun socks with corgis and bacon on them. What’s not to love?? And the outgoing playwright is LaurA! Force Scruggs, who I liked immediately. 

Punk Grandpa is her sweet homage to her funny, irreverent, outrageous grandpa. He always encourages our young heroine to be herself, enjoy life, and it’s ok to be different. What a wonderfu message in our current strange times. 

Playing the grandpa with relish is Colin Jones who breathes life into every scene. He yells from the car at random women that he’ll “pick them up later!” He flirts with all the bank tellers. He claims a black umbrella from the lost-and-found at the bank that’s not really his, but he’s lost other ones along his travels, so he figures it balances out. He tells his granddaughter that the FBI sends him messages through his hearing aids. 

Punk Grandpa is hilariously inappropriate. He brags to the bible-thumpers at church that his son drives a fancy car, makes a lot of money...and is a pimp! The Churchgoers need some levity, as one congregant intones that, “The Liberals are not going to Heaven.” 

Of course, Young Laura, portrayed by a sweet Sallie Anne Young,  adores him. He protects Laura from her horrid older brother who calls her “Freak Show.” She was a very serious child, and her fun-loving grandpa helps lighten her spirits and see the whimsy in life. Laura imagines herself as a fairy, and our Narrator-Older Laura, played by Felisha McNeal, is dressed in a tutu with a wand. She’s been asked in her neighborhood by local children if she really IS a fairy. 

Later in life, Punk Grandpa is diagnosed with Alzheimers. It’s a sad ending for the vivacious man who meant so much to Young Laura. Knowing what he was really like makes his decline all the more tragic. 

The production opens with a vintage slideshow of photos of the real-life Punk Grandpa. I wish we had been able to see the pictures more clearly. My young theater companion thought the images would have been more effective at the end of the play instead of at the forefront. Then the audience members have the opportunity to form their own opinions and impressions of Punk Grandpa from the show. 

I loved the soundtrack of Big Band and Jazz music. Dancing and music play important roles in the show and in the spirit of Grandpa. 

The players who round out the production have a lot of heart. The tiny storefront theater on Lincoln Avenue feels cozy like one is watching a performance in your friend’s living room. The publicity notes describe Punk Grandpa as the male version of one of my favorite characters, Auntie Mame. Remember, “Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death!” Punk Grandpa would have approved. 

Cath Hellmann is a teacher, mom, avid theater goer, and lover of silly socks. Her goal is to be the grandma who causes mischief.  

"Punk Grandpa" is like a modern-day Auntie Mame, with genders reversed. It’s all about being yourself, not worrying about what others think, embracing life and humor and the value of the grandparent/grandchild relationship. The show takes place one magical weekend Laura spent with her grandpa at 5 3/4 years old, portrayed through storytelling, dance, music and vintage family movies and photos. Grandpa was the free-est, most inappropriate person Laura ever knew and this show demonstrates how he set Laura free to be herself through his humor and unpredictable, wild ways. It'll put hair on your chest.

Get your tickets HERE.

Want to learn more about the author? Check out Laura's site HERE.