AUGUST 10 the place to be is THE AUDITORIUM THEATRE Chicago Dance Health Fund, which supports the health and wellness of Chicago’s professional dance community, announces the program of works for Dance for Life, its 33rd annual fundraiser, taking place Saturday, August 10 at 6 p.m. at the Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Ida B. Wells Drive, Chicago, followed by an After Party at Venue SIX10, 610 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago. Dance for Life 2024 Co-Chairs are Victor Alexander and Maray Gutierrez, returning for a second year, and new this year, Ekua and Jamin McGinnis.   Proceeds fr ..read more

Anyone who took piano lessons, or any sort of musical instrument/voice during their childhood, will appreciate what the main characters in the musical play Two Pianos Four Hands (2P4H) go through. Adam LaSalle and Matthew McGloin The story follows two extremely talented would-be concert pianists, as they tell us their childhood stories of pushy parents, odd teachers, neverending practice, social life sacrifices and dreams of being famous. Adam LaSalle and Matthew McGloin Piano duo, Ted (Adam LaSalle) and Richard (Matthew McGloin), work together to produce outstanding performances that are a co ..read more

Happy birthday, Navy Pier! You are now the grand old age of 108, congratulations! To help you celebrate, Chicago’s newest and most popular attraction, Flyover, threw you a little party, complete with Eli’s cheesecake! The front desk where you can purchase Flyover tickets Flyover, is the wildly successful attraction that allows guests to “fly” over the beloved and dazzling city of Chicago through an exhilarating flying journey. Flyover is a multi-sensory experience featuring impressive aerial shots and first-person narratives, along with leading drone technologies, to showcase Chicago from pers ..read more

Chicago definitely boasts some of the most beautiful rooftops in the Midwest. The newest exciting offering is the 101 Club, which has taken over the former Conrad Hotel at 101 E. Erie. The space offers three event spaces: the 101 Club Patio, the 20th floor restaurant, and the 101 Club and the rooftop deck Sky Terrace. 101 Club Ground Patio and Restaurant My friend and I highly enjoyed our visit to the grand opening of the 101 Club. This is a chic and sophisticated outdoor rooftop, bar and restaurant, overlooking Michigan Avenue and Lake Michigan. 101 Club Ground Patio and Restaurant The roofto ..read more

By Jennifer Lunz and Weston Gleffe This past June of 2024, Navy Pier opened the new virtual Illuminarium exhibit, which has taken over the formal Crystal Gardens space. Think of Illuminarium as VR (virtual reality), but without the glasses.  Entrance to Illuminarium Illuminarium is a multi-million dollar creation that took three years to develop. It is described as a breakthrough global experience produced by talented worldwide creators specializing in cinematic immersion, theatrical design and venue operations. Navy Pier now joins as the fifth company’s Illuminarium location following La ..read more

Richard Greenblatt and Ted Dykstra are the aspiring Canadian concert pianists who created the musical comedy Two Pianos Four Hands. Its title is a revamp of the term “piano four hands,” a term used to describe a duet. Each piano nerd has their own piano in the play, so the correct reference is they are a piano duo. Greenblatt (Playwright) is an actor, director, writer, and musician who trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in England. He and Dykstra were the original performers for this play. Dykstra (Playwright) is the co-creator of 2 Pianos 4 Hands. He is a graduate of The National Th ..read more

Fans of Dancing With The Stars rejoice on July 9-21; you are invited to experience the artistry and passion of Savor After Hours: co-produced and choreographed by Val Chmerkovskiy, 3-time winner of Dancing with the Stars, Jenna Johnson Chmerkovskiy Val’s wife and two-time DWTS winner, along with Artem Chigvintsev a Latin dance master and winner for the original version of Strictly Come Dancing from the United Kingdom and DWTS. There is also a supporting cast of six professional backup dancers. Different cast members perform on selected dates through August 18. Savor After Hours Montage Savor A ..read more

On July 6, 2024, The Ravinia Steans Music Institute Faculty Chamber Players, comprised of Artistic Director Midori, violin; Mihaela Martin, violin; Kim Kashkashian, viola; Frans Helmerson, cello; Clive Greensmith, cello; and Marc-Andre Hamelin, piano, presented a program of carefully curated pieces in The Martin Theater at The Ravinia Festival, Highland Park, Illinois. The concert showcased 2 newer works set between 2 older masterpieces of the classical chamber music repertoire, the whole event allowing the different virtuoso faculty members a ..read more

It was hard to know what to expect going into Goodman Theatre’s world premiere production of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Adapted from John Berendt’s nonfiction book of the same name, with book by Taylor Mac and music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown, the star-studded cast includes Sierra Boggess and J. Harrison Ghee, so there was certainly an expectation of quality. The plot description, however, is awfully vague, the mentions of a Southern setting and a murder the only real grounding points offered. (Standing in center, L-R) J. Harrison Ghee and Lance Roberts. (Leaning, L-R) Bria ..read more

On July 3rd, 2024, in a concert to be repeated July 5th, 2024, bookending the 4th of July holiday and the Independence Day Salute, the Grant Park Orchestra, led by Finnish Conductor Ludovic Morlot, Music Director of the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, with Special Guest violinist Anne Akiko Meyers, performed at The Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millenium Park, Chicago. The first half of the concert was comprised of new art music; in the second half the orchestra performed Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74, 1893, known as Pathétique. A ..read more