A Benefit Apart From The Rest
By: Joel Lemmon |
Tuesday January 01, 2008 |
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| I'm not a big fan of The Nutcracker. The one originally performed by The Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow over a hundred years ago? You know, the one that gets dusted off each December like grandma's vintage decorations for those guaranteed holiday ticket sales? Well, the whole cheerful event never appealed to me in any way, shape or form. A daunting tale published in1816 and penned by E. T. A. Hoffman under the title "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King", it was never meant to be a holiday classic for the entire family. C'mon, the original novel was a dark and brooding affair. Then comes the House Theatre of Chicago, a talented circle of performers that love the darkness in all its theatrical glory. They're still receiving praise and packed houses for their social sci-fi masterpiece The Sparrow while House regulars Phillip C. Klapperich and Jake Minton take the time out from their busy schedules to pen a Nutcracker extraordinaire: a re-imaging that is more Alice in Wonderland dances with Pan's Labyrinth than that dusty old Christmas tale of yore. Needless to say… I loved it. It was by far one of the most original pieces of theatre I've seen in a long, long time. It was truly dazzling from start to finish. The acting was top-notch, the sets spectacular, the costumes and props lavish and at times even frightening (their Mouse King rivals the flying monkeys from The Wizard of OZ,) and the eight-piece orchestra was the perfect icing on this newly baked dark chocolate cake. Delicious. But wait, The House Theatre's production of the Nutcracker was just the golden centerpiece for an evening that brought together one new arts organization, two established pizzerias, three beverage companies, four fine artists, five theatre companies, and a righteous charitable organization that has become a Chicago institution (or a partridge in a pear tree). This was an evening where the fun and excitement extended way beyond the footlights. It was as if the Christmas party in the opening scene continued into the house. Which is exactly the way The House Theatre of Chicago likes it. The gourmet food for the evening was provided by APART Pizza. That's right, kids, gourmet pizza – get used to it. Not only did they feed everyone (did you ever eat a turkey pizza? Gobble-gobble,) they created APART Arts to support local artists and arts groups through grants, mentoring, and promotional partnerships. That night APART Arts was raising money for the 35-year-old charitable organization the Cabrini Green Legal Aid, which provides holistic legal services to low-income individuals throughout Chicago. That's the holiday spirit, eh? Before the curtain raises, R. O'Donnell, the Executive Vice President of APART Arts, hit the stage to warm the crowd (a stand-up comic in a prior life) and introduce the heads of five other theatre companies lending their support to the festivities. They included Lindsey Muscato, Managing Director, The Neo Futurists; Terry McCabe, Artistic Director, The City Lit; Micheal Colucci, Artistic Director, The Actor's Workshop, and Robert Bouwman, Artistic Director, the Cornservatory Theater. Robert B. Acton - Executive Director of the Cabrini Green Legal Aid took the stage to talk about the CGLA and their dedication to helping the poorest of the poor while President of APART Holding Torsten Reiss discussed the importance of employees and team work, being “apart” of the whole. Painless. The silent auction provided by APART Arts was a compilation of who's who in the national art scene: There was a photo sitting donated by local portrait photographer Steven E. Gross, a photograph of the ill-fated Lexington Hotel Ballroom by Los Angeles based Yoshi Hashimoto, a sculpture by world-renown artist Barbara Hashimoto, and believe it or not a tile from Al "Scare face" Capone's bathroom provided by multidisciplinary architectural design firm, BauerLatoza Studio. I wanted the Al Capone Bathroom tile myself, but last I looked it was fetching a pretty penny for the CGLA. Cha-ching. There was multiple desserts, flowers for all the participants, Yes Vodka imported all the way from Holland, and goodie bags with freebees that included everything from theatre tickets from the magnificent five to music CDs provided by local musician/producer Lou Carlozo. I mean, I walked away with a lot more than I bargained for. I just wanted to like the show, enjoy the complimentary pizza for goodness sake. So I can honestly say I'm a bona-fide fan of The Nutcracker. And if The House Theatre of Chicago should remount the show next year, I'll drag a few friends along for the ride. They'll dig it the most. If APART Arts decides to throw another Benefit, I'll be there too. After all, the holiday that proceeds Turkey Day has always come with a bit of dread. Shopping wars, tacky plastic reindeer, and dead trees glistening have masked the true meaning of the day. Yet once in a while something comes along to restore our faith in the season of giving, and this very special benefit held at the Steppenwolf upstairs theatre did just that, creating an evening truly “apart” from the rest – pun intended. |
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