CHICAGO (January 31, 2011) –Chicago Public Media (Vocalo 89.5 FM/WBEZ 91.5 FM) continues its Off-Air Series with The Alternative History of Chicago Theater (Abridged) at the Chopin Theatre, 1543 W Division Street, on Wednesday, March 2 at 7:00pm. Reception to follow.
Over the past ten years, Chicago has emerged as America’s Theater City with nationally renowned institutions as well as a host of smaller storefront and itinerant groups. This history of theater has been documented before in writings like A Theater of Our Own: A History and a Memoir of 1,001 Nights in Chicago by long time Chicago Tribune critic Richard Christiansen, and Jeffrey Sweet’s Something Wonderful Right Away (an oral history of Chicago's The Second City troupe); however, missing from these is the seedier, funnier past known only to those that were there.
Sharing some of those lesser-known moments and their personal favorites from the past six decades, WBEZ Dueling Critics Kelly Kleiman and Jonathan Arbarbanel will host a discussion alongside a panel of distinguished Chicago theater experts including critic Albert Williams, Broadway actress Kate Buddeke, and Victory Gardens' founder Dennis Zacek. The evening will also include original pieces created and performed by sketch comedy group Robot vs. Dinosaur, spoken word troupe BoyGirlBoyGirl, fringe theater companies The Plagiarists and RoShamBo Theater, and Southside educational theater company Tofu Chitlin' Circut.
Admission is $15 general admission, $12 for WBEZ members, and $10 for students with a valid ID. Tickets are available at www.wbez.org/events.