The gift of humor
It’s the day after Christmas, and you’ve had just about all of the love, kindness and bonhomie that you can stand for one month. Yes, we have something (or someone) for you: Patton Oswalt. This guy isn’t the funniest guy in America, because Chris Rock is still alive. But No. 2 isn’t bad. Here’s how Oswalt describes a Kentucky Fried Chicken Famous Bowl, on his spectacular “Werewolves and Lollipops”: “A light brown hillock of glop. If you could put my lunch in a blender and liquefy it, then put it into a caulking gun and inject it right into my femoral artery, even better. But until you invent a lunch gun, I would like a failure pile in a sadness bowl.”
Like the best comics, Oswalt has a way with words and thoughts. We’re all funny at some point in our lives, in a manner suitable to entertain our friends. Whatever, dude. Try standing in front of a full arena and ripping it up. That’s what Oswalt does. Now, he’s more famous to you, because he was the voice of Remy, the rodent master chef in the movie “Ratatouille.” So shut your eyes, and think of Oswalt’s riffs coming from the mouth of a blue rodent. Just don’t have anything in your mouth when he grabs the microphone. That warning is our gift to you. 8 p.m. Saturday, Lakeshore Theatre, 3175 N. Broadway. $25; 773-472-3492 or lakeshore theater.com.
— Kevin Williams
Warmth without plane tickets
You know those travel advertisements they put in CTA trains around this time year? Just above eye level: The ones with white-sand beaches, swaying palm trees, tanned people laughing down at us as they wade in turquoise waters. I hate those things. I hope you step on a sea urchin, Smug Tanned Person. But I’m still reminded that I’m not taking that Blue Line train to O’Hare to catch a flight to SuperClubs Breezes, I’m taking it to Washington Street to walk the rest of the way to work through a wintry metropolis. How about a remedy: Now through early January, the first national tour of “In the Heights” is playing at Cadillac Palace in the Loop. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway musical is set in the midst of a metropolis, sure, specifically the Latin-fused neighborhood of Washington Heights in upper Manhattan. But it’s a sultry, summer metropolis, full of moving, singing, non-smug people. As the Tribune’s Chris Jones says in his three-star review: “Its warm ambience is especially welcome on a frigid December night. Andy Blankenbuehler’s glorious choreography — free, fresh, sexy, empowered — would be welcome on any night.” No sea urchins.
Through Jan. 3 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St.; $18 -$90 at 800-775-2000 or broad wayinchicago.com
— Doug George
Wonderful, just wonderful
More Top Picks Best Polishing Machines For Jewelry Shops
“Just a minute. Now, hold on, Mr. Potter …” If you can continue this quotation from memory, you’ve probably seen “It’s a Wonderful Life” more times than I have. I was a little taken aback recently to rediscover how un-gentle this supposedly sentimental 1946 Jimmy Stewart movie was. Opens with a suicide attempt. A predatory capitalist conspires to ruin and jail a man. A desperate father lashes out at his wife and kids. Merry Christmas, anyone? Cocoa? Something stronger? (“Look mister, we serve hard drinks in here for men who want to get drunk fast …”) But the message still resonates, and “It’s a Wonderful Life” can be found live onstage for a few more days. Including rival productions by American Blues Theater and American Theater Company (spun off from an adaptation by Joe Landry) that treat the story as an old-time live radio broadcast. As Kerry Reid says in her three-star double-review for the Tribune: “If you don’t care about the backstage rivalries, but love the Frank Capra film about a man finding out just how big a hole in the world he leaves by never being born, the question is ‘Should I see the ATC or the ABT version?’ The answer is ‘Yes.’ The similarities far outweigh the differences.”
“It’s a Wonderful Life: The Radio Play” through Sunday at American Theater Company, 1909 W. Byron St.; $35-$50 at 773-409-4125 and atcweb.org.
“It’s a Wonderful Life: Live at the Biograph!” through Sunday at the Biograph , 2433 N. Lincoln Ave.; $32-$40 at 773-871-3000 and americanbluestheater.com.
* Also “It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” through Sunday by the NFT Performing Arts Academy at Pheasant Run Resort, Saint Charles; $15 at 630-584-6342 and noblefool.org.
— D.G.
Dim the lights, pop the corks
The best thing about New Year’s is it tempers the let-down of the day after Christmas. Glitter still awaits. “Oh Coward!” utterly transforms the Books on Vernon outpost of Writers’ Theatre in Glencoe, says the Tribune’s Chris Jones in his four-star review. “Kevin Depinet’s design work is simply extraordinary. The rear of this suburban bookstore has been turned into what feels like a 1930s supper club, draped with elegant fabrics and little tables for champagne.” You can’t help but get in the mood. The music under the direction of Doug Peck is exquisite, the examination of Noel Coward is deep and complicated and “the trio of aptly elegant performers — Kate Fry, Rob Lindley, John Sanders — seem trapped together here in some glamorous, dangerous, sexually complex threesome.” Just the thing to ward off January.
Through March 28 at Writers’ Theatre at Books on Vernon, 664 Vernon Ave., Glencoe; $40-$60 at 847-242-6000 or writerstheatre.org.
— D.G.
Kids sing the darndest things
Years and years ago, during a visit to some in-laws in Omaha, Neb., I had to witness some desperate attempts to entertain a wee one. At the time, Raffi was all the rage. Kids being as kids are (little guys), they want to watch the same thing, overandoverandoverandover. So, hour after hour, for most of the waking moments of a weekend, little Daniel, when asked what he wanted to do, always answered “Raffi!”
The trauma is still raw, and Ralph Covert is the cure. Kids like to rock. And they like to wiggle around, thus making us say, “Aaaaaawww!” So you take one noted rock ‘n’ roller with legitimate chops (Covert’s grownup band Bad Examples rips), turn his mind to music for kids and you have Ralph’s World. Check out this lyric, delivered in a slightly upticked, but not at all silly voice. “Bats in hats, wearing suits n’ spats/And cats on mats, what do you think of that?”
Now set that lyric to a bouncy tune reminiscent of the Talking Heads, glorious chord changes suitable for any indie darlings on this planet, and you have one of my favorite Ralph’s World songs, “Rhyming Circus.” Nothing against Raffi, who has done rather well for himself and is touted as the most popular children’s entertainer in the Western world. But if a couple of Covert efforts had been part of that wee one’s entertainment collection, I wouldn’t have minded half as much. 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., McAninch Arts Center, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn; $15; 630-942-4000 or cod.edu/ArtsCntr/index.htm.
— K.W.
That’s a wrap
Every family has one: the overly practical person who insists on salvaging precious gift wrap by painstakingly unwrapping each piece, avoiding tears with surgery-like precision. In my family it was Grandpa Viera, and my dad swears that even when he was growing up, on Christmas afternoon (morning was occupied with a tediously long Catholic Mass, naturally), the gift-opening ritual would come to a standstill every time a present landed in Grandpa’s lap. He would wield a penknife through the Scotch tape seal, carefully releasing each overlapping piece from its neighbor in hopes of preserving every last scrap, folded on the crease, for future use.
For those of you who’d rather rip-in-and-crumple, guess what? Your colorful trash also can be salvaged for secondhand use. Bring your scraps to the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, which hosts its annual “Trash to Treasure” event beginning Dec. 26, and local artist Erik Peterson will transform your gift garbage into a “Wrapping Paper Mosaic Mural.” Craft stations will be set up for ripping paper to shreds (kids love it) and sorting by color; scraps are put into place on the canvas mural according to Peterson’s design. We think crafty Grandpa would be proud. Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, 2430 N. Cannon Dr., 773-755-5100 ; naturemuseum.org. 11 a.m.-3 p.m. daily through Dec. 31; then Sat.-Sun. through Jan. 24. Free with museum admission.
— Lauren Viera
The last ‘Supper’
Rare is the relative who chooses to visit Chicago in the wintertime. Rarer still is the relative who chooses to visit Chicago without a visit to the Art Institute. Which means, for those of you hosting family and friends in the coming days, you’re due to huff it downtown, stand in line to check your winter wardrobe and fight the crowds all the way to the gift shop checkout line.
But here’s a thought: Instead of herding your folks blind, only to get trapped in gallery after crowded gallery without a coffee break on the horizon, map out a single destination-piece ahead of time, and fan out after. The obvious choice? Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio’s renowned “The Supper at Emmaus” (1601), which is currently on lend from London’s National Gallery through Jan. 24. It’s huge (which makes for easier viewing in crowds), and demands a good, long look. The visiting work is in Gallery 211: The shortest path is up the Grand Staircase to the second floor, then, facing Michigan Avenue, head left down the hallway straight into the corner gallery. You’re welcome. 111 S. Michigan Ave., 312-443-3600; artic.edu/aic; holiday hours and prices vary. Related gallery talk at 11 a.m. Dec. 29 in Gallery 100; free with admission.
— L.V.
Culture at no cost
If your family is like most, there’s no pleasing everyone. You can try to come pretty close at the Chicago Cultural Center where there is much to explore and enjoy. Even Uncle Joe, who can’t believe the price of, well, everything these days, may even be satisfied as most activities are free.
For the undecided family member, a tour of the cultural center (1:15 p.m.) is a good place to learn about the center’s architecture (the Cultural Center has the world’s largest Tiffany stained-glass dome) and history; or wander off on your own when you see something that catches your eye.
Art exhibitions in photography, painting, new works and the Project Onward art program that presents the work of artists with special needs are just some of the options for the art enthusiast.
You’ve gotten (and given) gifts for everyone already, so visit The Shop at the Cultural Center and get a CD, scarf, jewelry or quaint item for yourself that says, “I was in Chicago,” as most items are the product of Chicago’s diverse local artists and organizations.
Of course you can’t go all day without eating. The Randolph Cafe offers snacks, sandwiches, seasonal fruit, pastries, specialty coffees and standard beverages at a reasonable price. 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St. Free; 312-744-6630, chicagoculturalcenter.org
More Top Picks Best Mini Split Heat Pumps For Cold Climates
— Regina Robinson
Christmas bonus!
Let’s go back in time, many many years ago, to Markham Roller Rink. It was a grammar school outing, when roller skating involved four wheels in side-by-side pairs, and Little Kevin was a stone-cold klutz. He rented skates, gazed admiringly at all the dancing tricksters and set off. Wham! He got up, and set off. Wham! And again. Wham! Which has what to do with ice skating at the Millennium Park Ice Rink? The holidays are about courage, and miracles. They’re also about being chockablock with feelings and love and kindness toward your fellow man. Which means that Christmas is the one day that nobody is going to laugh at you. Because if they do, their presents will be gone when they get home.
Now, attaching steel blades to your feet and setting off across a frozen slab of water requires two things: ability, or a belief in miracles. “I’m not going to fall down, because this is a magic time!” Wham! Second time’s the charm, right? Best of all, the entire family can go and laugh it up, because there is nothing more humanizing than collective inadequacy. If you have a relative who actually knows how to skate, leave ’em at home. This ain’t that kind of party. Best of all, you can do this on Christmas Day. So skate off that turkey noon-4 p.m., 55 N. Michigan Ave.; free; 312-742-1168 or millennium park.org.
— K.W.