Blog Two: Or Madelyn And Mom go to a Show
So I took my mom to a show. It'll be great, I thought, as I reserved the tickets.
And it was. The show was great. Fabulous acting, interesting script, a traditional Chicago storefront-style theatre space. It should have been a relaxing yet intellectually invigorating experience.
Unfortunately, aside from the 2 1/2 hours in the theatre, the evening sucked.
It ought to have been wonderful. I knew a few people in the show, it's a marvelous company, I was getting away from the kids for a night of grown-up adult entertainment. There wouldn't be Barbie, fuzzy animal or animated creature in sight.
But, you see, going to a show isn't like it used to be. Jumping into your car and cruising down to the city on a Thursday night, trusting you're not going to have to deal with much traffic."after all, it's 7:00PM on a Thursday night. How busy can it be?",.well, it just `aint that easy anymore.
First, I will confess, I was tired. Waking up at 5:00AM to write, then moving on to a day of kids, errands, meetings when the kids are in school, juggling the minutia of a life, I will admit to cursing having fabulously talented friends that I must support, when all I really want to do is watch Survivor with my kids, eat a Skinny Cow fake chocolate ice cream bar and stagger to bed.
Second, I'm late getting Mom. I'm picking her up in Lake Bluff. Having Mapquested the theatre, I know it's a 36 minute drive from her place to the theatre. So what if I'm pulling into her driveway at 7:05PM.having miscalculated the feeding of children, updating hubby and finding a relatively hip blouse that doesn't scream suburban mommy.? We'll be there in time, no worries. Mom, always a grand date, is waiting for me in the doorway. Get her in the minivan and we are off.
It's 7:07PM.
Oh, we are good. We might even be early! Get there by 7:45PM; we will be scanning the program by 7:50PM.
Of course, it doesn't work out that way. Right around Touhy, brake lights appear. Lots of them. Even before Touhy, there had been a lot of traffic but it was moving.
Mom: "Where do all these cars come from? Where are they all going? It never used to be like this on a Thursday night."
7:40PM.
We are going to be those dreadful suburbanites that always arrive late, disrupting the show. Why is this traffic here? Rotten drivers, always rushing places, getting in accidents, screwing the rest of us up! Damn Mapquest! I am experiencing the worst combination of sensations. Irritation, rage and sleepiness. Driving, yawning and crawling out of your skin makes for a very unpleasant drive.
7:53PM.
I take my exit, two quick turns and we are almost there! I see it. There's the theatre. I take the wrong turn that I always take going to this theatre. Doubling back, I pass the theatre again. No parking in sight.
7:56PM.
I make a u-turn that has Mom grasping the arm rest in a wordlessly vivid gesture of both fear and resignation to 77 years well-lived. I snag a parking place that can actually accommodate my minivan (such an embarrassing set of wheels to have to drive when attempting to be somewhat hip)
7:58PM.
My mother is doing the 100 yard dash to the theatre. I would be next to her, protecting her fragile form from potential muggers but I seriously doubt anyone could catch her.
7:59PM.
I meet up with her at the intersection. The Mecca of the theatre rises up beyond the teeming masses of flying cars before us. We plunge forward.
8:00PM.
We arrive, raw gasps fighting with the acrid taste on our tongues from mouth-breathing car exhaust.
Thus began our delightful night out.
8:01PM.
A few other late comers are behind us so we get promoted from the accursed ones to merely those who are inconsiderate.
The small theatre is packed. As I said, it's a wonderful group and the show has gotten solid reviews. The theatre has even put an additional row of folding chairs in front of the first row to accommodate the demand. Mom and I plop down in the last two folding chairs left, smack-dab in the center of the row. We are so close to the stage I am glad for the actor's sake that I brushed my teeth. Oh well, at least Mom and I are sitting together. The lights dim. This is good. A riveting performance will take my mind off the hard, plastic backrest that is jamming into my shoulder blades.
Riveting it's not, but damn good it is. I do forget the unfortunately designed folding chair. But not just because of the accomplished and skilled acting and finely crafted script. You see, Mom and I are getting a workout. Seated so close, facing such an oblong space, our heads are bobbing back and forth like spectators at a tennis match. Combine that with the ever-present need to keep our legs a proper distance away from the edge of the stage we are caught in a rather odd game of Twister-Chicago-Storefront-Theatre-Style.
9:30PM.
Intermission. The first act is over at 9:30PM.30 minutes after my regular bedtime. As Mom and I stagger outside for some fresh air, I do some quick math. Second act, gonna be at least 45 minutes. Then staying afterwards to praise and compliment (deservedly) my friends, another 15 minutes. Driving Mom home, 36 minutes, according to Mapquest. Then getting home myself, another 20 minutes.
It's official. The evening is going to run longer than the time it took me to birth my second child.
The rest of the night plays out as expected. Second act. Curtain call. Waiting for friends, then hugs, praise, compliments and expressions of appreciation for us coming down. Driving back, first getting on 94 West (which should read 94 NORTH! How many out-of-towners has that little quirk screwed up?), then merging on to 41 North. On the final leg of our expedition, we plunge into familiar darkness of 41 North, with means we are approaching the end of the earth.I mean, the turnoff for Mom's house.
Thus another evening spent enjoying the wonderful perks of living such a short, easy distance from some of the best theatre in the world. There are fabulous shows to see pretty much 7 days a week in Chicago. Equity productions, non-Equity, late-night alternative, performance art, children's theatre, musicals and poetry slams. Goodman, Lookingglass, Steppenwolf, Raven, Stage Left, Gift, Chicago Dramatists, Northlight, Next, Shattered Globe, Victory Gardens and dozens of others. There are 200+ Equity and non-Equity theatres in the Chicago city limits.
But sometimes, for the suburban audience, it's just such a frickin' haul!
And, YES, I am the uncool suburban audience. I say it proudly. Well, okay, not proudly. Just honestly. I've got 2 kids entrenched in the northern suburban public school system, a husband who has built a career up here for 20+ years, a house and we are probably getting a dog. I 'aint going anywhere. I certainly am not moving to the city in this decade.
I will confess that I was getting a little artsy-farsty lonely up here. I missed theatre. So I pounded out manuscript after manuscript in my basement office, made it to the occassional show and accepted my fate Then I found others like me. A few at first. Then more. Then I tripped over Citadel and well, the rest is history.
Okay folks, now I'm gonna plug Citadel for a minute.
Wouldn't it be lovely to occasionally go to excellent, fabulous, edgy theatre.but have it be somewhere besides Chicago? It's an odd notion but it's one of the premises that Citadel is building a theatre on. A professional, not-for-profit theatre, Citadel is bringing the theatre to the under-served North Shore. Or call it the northern suburbs...whatever...the area is under-served. Sure, we have community theatres, some very good ones, two or three professional theatres, and the few children's programs. Still a far cry from 200+ theatres in walking/L distance.
Thus, Citadel was born. It seems to be working. In a few seasons, Citadel has gone from an idea thought up by 3 people in a bar (where most theatre companies seem to be conceived) to a full fledged professional theatre with a large subscriber base, a strong, active board of 12 professionals ranging from lawyers, writers, photographers, executives, professional actors, directors and artists, a passionate and hard working administrative staff, a casting director, educational chair, dramaturg, a Literary Committee of 7 (including one Jeff Committee member) and a growing Education program.
Is it a complete hassle for the actors to get to the theatre? Absolutely! That awful drive. The traffic. Getting to rehearsals bites. But the area is safe, even beautiful, there is parking, the theatre is clean, the bathrooms work, we pay everybody and the dedication and experience of the people running the company shows. Actors and directors that worked at Citadel this past 2005-2006 season have also worked at Steppenwolf, Northlight, Stage Left, Strawdog, Around the Coyote, Asolo, Center Theatre, Bailiwick, Marriott, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Steep Theatre, National Pastime Theatre, Drury Lane, Theatre on the Lake, Saint Sebastian Players, Red Tape Theatre Company, Milwaukee Shakespeare, Montana Shakespeare and Indiana Repertory.
We are the next, great theatre company.
I eagerly await comments on that statement.
Other Random Musings:
Current favorite healthy but savory dish: Bruschetta on Fat-Free Rye Krisp Crackers. Fine chop some tomato (or used petite diced in a can, drained), onion, a little garlic, basil or oregano, a light dusting of salt (Kosher salt is best). Pretty fast and dandy tasting.
I have gotten babysitting so Thursday night (thanks Erwin!)....so off to see the fabulous Doug McDade in Dealer's Choice at Shattered Globe, http://www.shatteredglobe.org/history.html staged at Victory Gardens. Trust me, I won't trust Mapquest's time estimations. Heck, I'll just have David drive.
Citadel is still in the Great Theatrical Real Estate Race. We need a home. Gorton is lovely but we need a location to call all our own! Wouldn't it be lovely to have us close to YOU? Ideas, suggestions, building donations, whatever...all will be accepted!
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On a much more serious note:
My husband David just got word that a friend of his who was deployed to Irag 2 weeks ago, Shane Mahaffee, was injured when a convoy he was in was hit by a roadside bomb. Three other soliders were killed. Shane's family is being flown to Germany to be with him. Please place Shane, his family and the families of the soliders that were killed in your prayers.
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Back to my frivolous self:
Please feel free to subscribe to this blog or perhaps to the next fabulous season of Citadel shows, share my musings with others, attend any and all theatre that this great area has to offer or just stop back in some time!
Best,
Madelyn
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