I am not a theater critic but I have been devoted to covering theater since my early 1980s reports on the explosion of Chicago storefront theaters for National Public Radio. On The Mara Tapp Show in the 1990s, I was honored to host weekly conversations about and offer scenes from some of Chicago’s best shows, and delighted when those interviews filled houses for our local theaters.
In 2015, at the request of friends, I started a series of emails with recommendations for shows I thought worthy of patrons. Some years later, actors, directors and publicity people in Chicago’s theater world prevailed on me to share these raves, a request I accepted, especially in light of the increasing tensions in the theater world and need to keep Chicago theaters healthy. Read more…
Find out what the critics think at the Review Round-up on the website of TheatreInChicago.com.
Raves
It’s Not Theater But It’s Definitely Art Worth Seeing!
Georgia O’Keeffe: “My New Yorks”
The Art Institute of Chicago through September 22
Christina Ramberg: A Retropective
The Art Institute of Chicago through August 11
Both Highly Recommended
I am a firm believer that brilliant art has the power to transform us, to force us to see the world differently, to make us better people. And so it was with great joy that I took in, and was altered by two extraordinary exhibits now at The Art Institute of Chicago, as were the two friends I invited to accompany me.
Both exhibits of are of artists I admire, Christina Ramberg and Georgia O’Keeffe. I teach O’Keeffe to my eager and adorable elementary-age Chicago Public School students, and sing Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World,” stressing the lines “I see skies of blue and clouds of white” – apparently forbidden but who knew you couldn’t sing in a museum? – on the stairs under her epic 1965 painting “Sky Above Clouds IV.” It is the song we sing to help our children transition from their school day to our after-school program, and we started our Art Institute tradition on our first post-pandemic field trip, an act that delighted other patrons enough that they burst into applause, which, in turn, delighted our students.
But back to O’Keeffe. With the exception of this painting, I’ve reached my lifetime limit of her Southwestern work. Those flowers do, however, enchant my students so I was pleased on this year’s visit when they gravitated to her 1926 painting, “The Shelton with Sunspots, N.Y.,” which is also in the museum’s collection. It’s one I’ve always adored for its angles, and the way it honors New York architecture with those sparkling sun spots. Imagine, then, my elation at the treasure trove of O’Keeffe’s New York paintings in this new exhibition. Some are absolute stunners, like her 1927 “Radiator Building—Night, New York” and “New York Night.” They capture the architectural gems of the city’s historic skyline, and reveal a less-known side of O’Keeffe.
Though I am usually irritated when an artists’ biography is allowed to eclipse their art, as is so often the case in these days of too much memoir, the stories and quotes here are just right. Photos by her famous husband American Photographer Alfred Stieglitz, some of which are already familiar, confirm his ability to bring out her striking looks. They also show how this promoter of modern art shaped her career in positive and negative ways, and the role her New York paintings played in how she defined herself as an artist. It is almost impossible not to compare their marriage to that of Mexican Artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. There is much here to be seen, learned and enjoyed so I won’t spoil it. My only quibble is with some of the curatorial choices, especially the final painting. I understand the idea was to be chronological but ending with a stronger artwork would have better capped such a monumental show. …
I returned to both of these exhibits because I just can’t stop talking about these extraordinary artists to everyone I know, and thinking about what they gave us. It is nothing short of magnificent.