HOLIDAY/WINTER EVENTS Category
Jingle, Jingle, Jingle
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer – Rosemont Theatre
Tired of holiday shopping? Looking for something fun to do with the kids? And with these warm temperatures it doesn’t quite feel like Christmas yet.
So just to make sure we are all in the holiday spirit Rosemont Theatre is presenting the beloved holiday film on stage starring everyone’s favorite reindeer Rudolph. So take the journey with Rudolph and his friends as he helps guide the sleigh with his famous red nose and saves Christmas.
This show is for any and all ages.
For ticket information call the box office 847-671-5100
or visit www.rosemont.com
The dates are Friday December 18 @ 7pm
and Saturday December 19 @ 11am, 2pm, or 7pm
Half price tickets are available.
So Chicago is known for its traditions especially holiday ones. Just to name a few: Christmas Carol at the Goodman,Windows at Macy’s, the Walnut Room, The lights on the Magnificent Mile. In this city of “big shoulders” there is always room for more.
Friday night I attended the opening of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical at the Rosemont Theatre. I was four years old in 1964 when Rudolph made its television debut and went on to become the longest running and highest rated TV special. And for another piece of Chicago Trivia the book was originally written by Robert Mays in 1939 a copywriter for Montgomery Wards and given away free to children as a way to get more traffic in the store.
This musical made its way to Rosemont last year and was quite successful. It is not always easy to transform something to the stage especially such beloved characters as Rudolph and his friends. This production did not disappoint. It really is as if you are watching the TV show including some outstanding puppetry and graphics. We see the Burl Ives snowman character moving around through the snow and an adorable Rudolph flying through the air. At times I did not even realize there were people in the costumes.
I took my grandkids to the show who sometimes have a hard time sitting still. This time they didn’t. They loved the whole thing from start to finish especially when the abominable snowman took over a large part of the stage. My favorite part of the show was not only the sing along at the end but the priceless faces of the children. In this challenging world we need something like the innocence of Rudolph and his friends to teach love and acceptance.
Make no mistake, this show is not just for the young. I felt transported back to my childhood when life was simple and carefree.
It is my hope that Rudolph the Musical will take its rightful place as a new holiday tradition.
Very Highly Recommended
SILVER AND GOLD
With the holidays almost here take a break from shopping and all the hustle and bustle to enjoy the beloved musical “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer: The musical on stage at the Rosemont Theatre.
The dates are Friday December 18 at 7pm and Saturday December 19 @ 11am, 2pm and 7pm.
For tickets call the box office at 847-671-5100
Half priced tickets are also available.
Rosemont Theatre is located at 5400 N. River Road
Festivities with Figgy Pudding!
A Very Merry Madrigal
As we draw closer to Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanza, the fast-approaching holiday trifecta can take a lot out of us right about now. All the shopping, decorating and holiday parties make it a nonstop season of frenzy that doesn’t stop until January 1st. But an hour spent at the No Exit Cafe will offer a pleasurable respite from all the holiday hustle and bustle, providing some beautifully sung music, a delicious meal or sweet treats and some laughs to recharge your battery.
Directed and compiled by David Heimann, with musical direction by Aaron Benham and Jeremy Ramey (who also provides superb piano accompaniment), this concert is more in keeping with the company’s “cabaret” label, but with a definite Renaissance Faire feel. As you enter the intimate coffee house, ensemble member Sarah Grant (as the company’s court jester) gleefully announces to everyone your name and the kingdom from which you hail. As the lights darken, amiable innkeeper Tom Chiola selects two audience members to serve as King and Queen of the hour’s festivities, and permission is sought from these two crown-wearing patrons for the events to come.
Mr. Heimann’s six-member ensemble of medieval-clad performers delight with songs and poetry from every era. Opening with the traditional “Wassail, Wassail” (during which warm spiced cider is provided to every audience member), toasts are offered, cheer is given and winter’s chill soon melts away. Delicious six-part harmonies infuse a medley of Olde English carols, a welcome beginning to this ultimately eclectic confection of music. Gilbert & Sullivan’s “A Very Merry Madrigal” delights and segues into more period songs and poetry until the ensemble announces a tribute to winter. Irving Berlin’s “Snow” and a wonderfully simple, heartfelt recitation by cast member Greg Foster of Frost’s “Stopping By Woods” make up this section of auditory treats. Then, as the entire company sings their “Dessert Medley,” the audience is treated to a complimentary bowl of figgy pudding, offering additional sensory delight to the song.
The second half of the program is a mixture of the classical and contemporary. Songs like Anne Murray’s “Snowbird,” beautifully sung by Missy Aguilar, “Turkey Lurkey Time” from Burt Bacharach’s musical “Promises, Promises,” sung by Sarah Grant, a sexy “Santa Baby,” purred to perfection by lovely Molly Kral, and “Winter/The River,” beautifully and sensitively crooned by Andrew Sickel and Greg Foster provides variety to the styles of music. Heimann returns to more traditional madrigal harmonies as he closes his show, but he saves a funny, delectably performed “Christmas Can-Can,” for the finale. In this number every holiday celebrated at this time of the year is represented, including those oft-heard complaints about how every year they start earlier and earlier.
It’s an intimate production, with performers not only using the stage but frequently wandering through the audience as they sing. While the variety of songs sounds strange, the effect is “something for everyone” and, as presented, add up to a very pleasant evening of unique holiday music audiences won’t hear everywhere. Combined with this cast’s genuine good humor and friendliness, Theo Ubique offers a winning and welcome break to the usual holiday hullabaloo.
Recommended
Reviewed by Colin Douglas
Presented Nov. 23-Dec. 22 by Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre at the No Exit Cafe, in Rogers Park, 6970 N. Glenwood Ave.
Tickets are available by calling 800-595-4849 or by visiting www.theo-u.com.
Additional information about this and other area productions can be found at www.theatreinchicago.com.
Holiday Fun for Younger Audiences
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
There’s no lack of holiday entertainment in the Chicago area, but sometimes it’s difficult to find a show that will appeal to and hold the attention of younger viewers. Adapted practically word for word, song for song and character for character from the 1964 animated television special, this musical Christmas confection is the perfect holiday event for children, ages 3-10. First Stage Milwaukee’s Artistic Director Jeff Frank conceived the idea of adapting the stop-action animated holiday classic for the stage. Working closely with Robert Penola, they devised a script that recreated the cartoon’s magic, while still honoring Robert L. May’s original children’s story and Johnny Marks‘ well-known holiday song. Add to this Brandon Kirkham’s spot-on production design, which includes costumes, scenery and puppets, and you have a stage production that looks and sounds as if the animated TV special has actually come to life.
A Family Holiday Treat
The Nutcracker – Marriott
With Christmas fast approaching, Marriott’s Theatre for Young Audiences brings back one of its holiday favorites. Based upon E. T. A. Hoffmann’s children’s story “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King,” which in turn inspired Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s world famous ballet suite, Marc Robin has created a 60-minute play with music and dance that captures the magic of both pieces.
The story opens on Christmas Eve in the Victorian home of youngsters Marie and her mischievous brother Fritz. Just as dinner is being served, their Uncle Drosselmeyer arrives surprising them with gifts, including a beautiful Nutcracker, which Fritz immediately breaks. After he’s mended Marie falls asleep next to her cherished Nutcracker. She dreams that all the Christmas toys have come to life and a battle ensues between the Nutcracker and the Mouse King over possession of a magical crown. Their journey takes Marie and her new friends to Candy Land, through the Snowflake Forest and to the Kingdom of the Sugar Plum Fairy. After the crown is rightly restored to the Nutcracker, Marie awakens to find that her prince looks very much like the new boy next door, and young audiences will be assured that the magic will continue.
Read MoreMary Wilson's Holiday Spectacular
The Holiday Season gets a taste of the Motown Sound as “Mary Wilson’s Holiday Spectacular Featuring Special Guests The Four Tops” blows into the Windy City December 23, 2013 – January 5, 2014 at the Harris Theater (205 E. Randolph St.) Presented by Reach Out Entertainment and Starvox Entertainment and Marketing, audiences will be taken on a journey through some of the greatest Motown hits as well as Holiday classics by Mary Wilson, one of the original Supremes and the legendary Four Tops, celebrating 60 years of performing in 2013. Pre-sale tickets ($59.99 – $119.99) go on sale Tuesday, October 22 at 10 a.m. and can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com with an American Express Card. General Public tickets go on sale Sunday, October 27 and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com, HarrisTheaterChicago.org, by calling 312.334.2419 or at the Harris Theater Box Office. For more information visit marywilsonandthefourtops.com.
“It is a dream to celebrate the Holiday season in Chicago,” said performer Mary Wilson. “To perform with my good friends The Four Tops while singing the great songs that introduced us to world combined with some of my favorite Holiday tunes, is the perfect way to usher in the New Year and celebrate the spirit of the season.”
“Mary Wilson’s Holiday Spectacular” stars the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame, and Vocal Group Hall of Fame recipient Mary Wilson who will treat audiences to rousing renditions of some of the signature songs that catapulted the Supremes to become the most successful “girl group” in history. Favorites include “Stop In The Name of Love,” “I Hear a Symphony,” “Come See About Me,” “Can’t Hurry Love,” “Back In Your Arms Again,” Someday We’ll Be Together” and many more. Abdul “Duke” Fakir, leading The Four Tops will also bring the music of Motown to life with “Baby I Need Your Lovin’,” “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch),” Reach Out, I’ll Be There,” “Bernadette” and “Ain’t No Woman Like the One I Got” and “In The Still of the Night.” Wilson and The Four Tops will then join together on stage, putting the Motown sound into everyone’s favorite holiday classics including “White Christmas,” “Silent Night,” “Winter Wonderland,” “My Favorite Things” and a special rendition of “Baby It’s Cold Outside” sung by Wilson and Fakir. These living legends bring their soul and passion to the stage, embracing the warmth of the season and welcoming in a new year with memorable songs that are sure to have audiences singing along and embracing the spirit and the sounds of holiday.
“We are so thrilled to bring together some of Motown’s living legends and present them to Chicago audiences during the holiday season, said Starvox President Corey Ross.” Both Mary Wilson and the Four Tops have continued to delight audiences for decades and to see them join together on one stage and showcase their incredible talent will be a holiday treat for all.”
Performance Schedule and Ticket Information
“Mary Wilson’s Holiday Spectacular Featuring Special Guests The Four Tops:”
Monday, December 23, 2013 – Sunday, January 5, 2014
December 23, 25 – 29, 31 and January 2 – 4 at 8:00 p.m.
December 28 and January 4 – 5 at 3:00 p.m.
December 31 at 10 p.m. (Special New Year’s Eve performance, details TBD)
*no performances December 24 and December 30
Tickets ($59.99 – $119.99) are available online at , by calling
312.334.7777 or in-person at the Harris Theater Box Office (205 E. Randolph St.). Discounted Group Ticket reservations are available for groups of 10 or more at Grouptix.net or by calling 773-327-3778.
Events at MB Financial in Rosemont
KICK-START YOUR HOLIDAY SEASON WITH THE RETURN OF SKATING IN THE PARK AT MB FINANCIAL PARK AT ROSEMONT FRIDAY, NOV. 29
The winter season is fast approaching and MB Financial Park is kicking off the holiday season with Skating in the Park November 29, 2013. The NHL sized skating rink opens to the public for free ice skating at 11 a.m. followed by skating appearances from cherished holiday characters and horse-drawn sleigh rides throughout the afternoon and evening.
Rosemont’s Mayor Stephens will arrive at 5:30 p.m. to join in the opening day celebration and introduce a special performance by The Chicago Skates Open Juvenile Team, skating out of McFetridge Sports Center for almost 25 years. Coached by Kathy Janik and comprised of skaters ranging in age from 12 to 18, the team participates in competitions throughout the Midwest and the country, including the US Figure Skating Midwestern/Pacific Synchronized Skating Championships.
Following the performance, Mayor Stephens will welcome Santa Claus to join him in the MB Financial Park tree lighting ceremony. The rink closes for the evening at 10 p.m. MB Financial Park restaurants will be open for lunch and dinner throughout the day.
Skating at the Park will be open November 29, 2013 through February 2, 2014. Admission to the ice rink is free; Skates can be rented onsite for $8. Santa Claus will make additional appearances to meet children at MB Financial Park throughout the holiday season. Specific appearance dates are listed below.
Skating in the Park at Rosemont Opening Day Schedule
Open skate: 11a.m. – 5:15 p.m., 6:15 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Sleigh rides: 4 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Mayor’s welcome: 5:30 p.m.
USFS performance: 5:40 p.m.
Tree Lighting Ceremony: 5:45 p.m.
Santa Claus Appearances at MB Financial Park
Dec. 14: 2 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Dec. 15: 1 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Dec. 21: 2 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Skating in the Park at Rosemont Regular Hours
Monday-Thursday: 4 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Friday: 4 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Sat: 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Sun: 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Extended Winter Break Hours
Dec. 23: 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Dec. 24: 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Dec. 25: 5 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Dec. 26-28: 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Dec. 29: 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Dec. 30: 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Dec. 31: 11 a.m. – 1 a.m.
Jan. 1-3: 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.
RECOMMENDED SITES
