’Exceptional’ is the word to describe Chicago’s incredible culture scene - a scene that includes a world-class opera and symphony, plus great jazz, theater, dance, art and architecture.
To keep abreast, pick up a copy of the free weekly,
The Reader (website:
www.chireader.com) or
New City (website:
www.newcitychicago.com) - both distributed on Thursdays. The city’s dailies,
Chicago Tribune and Chicago
Sun-
Times, have up-to-date
cultural reviews and comments, particularly on Fridays. The best online information is at www.metromix.com, City Search at http://chicago.citysearch.com or the ’Things to Do’ section of the city’s website (
www.choosechicago.com).
Tickets can be purchased from individual box offices or from
Ticketmaster (tel: (312) 902 1500 for the arts line). At
Hot Tix booths, 78 West Randolph and 163 East Pearson (Water Works Visitors Center) or
Tower Records locations, 214 South Wabash and 2301 North Clark Street, half-priced tickets are available on the day of performance. Check the website
www.hottix.org for daily availability listings. There is a fee of US$3-4 per ticket for processing, so cash is more desirable.
Music: The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, 220 South Michigan Avenue (tel: (312) 294 3000; website:
www.chicagosymphony.org), is internationally renowned. The symphony box office offers ’Rush Seating’ - discounted tickets to students and senior citizens (aged 64 and over) on the day of the performance at 1200 for matinees and 1700 for evening performances. The symphony’s outdoor, summer home is
Ravinia, 400 Iris Lane, Highland Park (tel: 847 266 5100; website:
www.ravinia.org).
Chicago’s notable opera companies are the
Lyric Opera of Chicago, 20 North Wacker Drive (tel: (312) 332 2244; website:
www.lyricopera.org) and the
Chicago Opera Theater, 205 East Randolph (tel: (312) 704 8414; website:
www.chicagooperatheater.org), which always performs in English.
Theater: The theater scene pulsates with everything from regional ensembles to elaborate productions. Productions can vary from classical to avant-garde.
The Loop’s revived theater district, which includes the
Cadillac Palace, 151 West Randolph (tel: 312 977 1700; website:
www.broadwayinchicago.com) and the
Oriental, 24 West Randolph (tel: 312 977 1700; website:
www.broadwayinchicago.com) host booming Broadway productions, while the
Goodman Theater, 170 North Dearborn Parkway (tel: (312) 443 3800; website:
www.goodman-theater.org) and the
Steppenwolf, 1650 North Halsted, (tel: 312 335 1650; website:
www.steppenwolf.org) are renowned for their workings of the classics and contemporary productions. A creative approach to the bard’s works is the focus of the
Chicago Shakespeare Theater at Navy Pier (tel: (312) 595 5600; website:
www.chicagoshakes.com).
Besides the Loop, a multitude of theaters are scattered throughout the city, though many are located on the North Side around Halsted and Lincoln. The
League of Chicago Theaters (312) 554 9800; website:
www.chicagoplays.com) has a complete listing of current programs.
Dance: The city has several talented companies that perform regularly. Its top ballet company is the
Joffrey Ballet Company of Chicago (tel: (312) 739 0120; website:
www.joffrey.com). A daring mix of jazz with classical ballet and contemporary techniques is a specialty of the
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (tel: (312) 850 9744; website:
www.hubbardstreetdance.com). Pure jazz is performed by
Gus Giordano Jazz Dance of Chicago (tel: (847) 866 6779; website:
www.giordanojazzdance.com), founded in 1962 and based in the Evanston suburb. Ethnic dance troupes are an example of the city’s diversity.
Trinity Irish Dance Co, 6655 North Avondale Avenue (tel: (773) 549 6135; website:
www.trinitydancers.com) was formed long before Michael Flatley’s
Riverdance, and for traditional African rhythms and African-American style, there is
Muntu Dance Theater of Chicago (tel: (773) 602 1135; website:
www.muntu.com).
Film: Many of the mainstream cinemas, such as the
Loew’s Cinema Complex, 600 North Michigan Avenue (tel: (312) 255 9340; website:
www.loewscineplex.com), have several screens. Some cinemas,
Biograph Theater, 2433 North Lincoln Avenue, have historical associations. In 1934, gangster John Dillinger was shot by the FBI in front of it. The cinema has recently been sold to
Victory Gardens Theater and will begin showing live performances in late 2006. Cheap, cheerful and sometimes rowdy typifies the Brew and View at the
Vic cinema, 3145 North Sheffield Avenue (tel: (773) 929 6713; website:
www.brewview.com), which screens late-night films, cult numbers and new releases. For a rich mix of the old and the new, there is the
Music Box Theater, 3733 North Southport Avenue (tel: (773) 871 6604; website:
www.musicboxtheater.com), a 1920s ’movie palace’ which features independent films, foreign films, classics and silent films accompanied by a live organ. The
Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 North State (tel: (312) 846 2800; website:
www.siskelfilmcenter.org) specializes in unusual films, classics and film festivals.
Moviefone (tel: (312) 444 3456; website:
www.moviefone.com) is the principal source of information and also sells tickets to some cinemas (’movie theaters’).
Of the many films set or filmed in Chicago, some of the most famous are
The Sting (1973), starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford; the classic John Belushi film,
The Blues Brothers (1980); the Oscar-winning
Ordinary People (1980);
Risky Business (1983), the film that launched Tom Cruise; the John Candy, Steve Martin film,
Planes,
Trains and Automobiles (1987);
Home Alone and
Back Draft (1990),
Hoop Dreams, a documentary about inner-city kids becoming basketball stars (1994); the Bill Murray movie,
Groundhog Day (1993), the 1930s gangster dramas,
The Untouchables (1987),
High Fidelity and
Return to Me (1999),
The Road to Perdition (2002) with Tom Hanks and Paul Newman,
Barbershop (2002),
Barbershop 2 (2003) and
Amityville Horror (2004).
Proof (2005), starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Anthony Hopkins, and telling the story of a devoted daughter coming to terms with the death of her father, a brilliant mathematician crippled by insanity, was also shot in Chicago.
Cultural Events: Dating back to 1935 is the
Grant Park Music Festival (website:
www.grantparkmusicfestival.com), which performs in the new Frank Gehry-designed Millennium Park
Jay Pritzker Pavilion from June through August. Free performances range from pop, classical, music, opera and blues. The annual
Summer Dance Festival, from mid-June to late August, takes place in the
Spirit of Music Garden, Grant Park. The festival offers one-hour dance lessons as well as dancing to live orchestras. In October, the
Chicago International Children’s Film Festival lasts two weeks and features not only the latest Hollywood offerings but also international films, animation, short films, documentaries, student films and videos. For a list of ethnic festivals throughout the city and the year, check the Mayor’s Office of Special Events (website:
www.cityofchicago.org and click on ’events’).
Literary Notes: The poet Carl Sandburg (1878-1967) was part of the heady ’Chicago Renaissance’ in the first two decades of the 1900s. In his poem,
Chicago (1916), he coined the phrase ’City of the Big Shoulders.’ Upton Sinclair (1878-1968) wrote about the horrors of the meatpacking world of Union Stockyards and the Jewish-Lithuanian ghetto in
The Jungle (1903). The book was the catalyst for the changing of food laws in America.
Chicago’s most famous writers are probably Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961), born in the Oak Park suburb (see
Excursions), and Saul Bellow (1915-2005), who was born in Quebec but raised in Chicago. Bellow portrayed the post-modern city in many guises, including Pulitzer-Prize-winning
Humboldt’s Gift (1975) and
The Dean’s December (1982).
The dangerous, frenzied and unscrupulous underside of the Board of Trade was the subject of
The Pit (1903), by Frank Norris (1870-1902). James T Farrell (1904-1979) was born in Chicago. His best-known work is the trilogy,
Studs Lonigan (1932-1935), depicting the ethnic turmoil of the South Side slums. The clash of races in the slums was also the subject of Richard Wright’s (1908-1960)
Native Son (1940). Detroit-born Nelson Algren (1909-1981), as part of the ’Chicago School of Realism’, continued the unadorned style associated with the city’s portrayal in several of his novels, including
The Man with the Golden Arm (1949), a novel about drug addiction, often regarded as his best work.
Theater has also made its mark in this city, particularly with
American Buffalo (1976), by David Mamet (b 1947), the Chicago-born playwright and film director. With Chicago’s gangster tradition, it is fitting that he also wrote the screenplay for
The Untouchables (1987). It is also appropriate that two writers have based their detective novels in the city. Sara Paretsky’s ’VI Warshawski’ stories and Andrew Greeley’s ’Monsignor Ryan’ tales feature Chicago as a major location or, one could even say, character.
Sport:Chicago has professional teams in all the major American sports. There are two baseball teams – the
Chicago Cubs (website:
www.cubs.mlb.com), who play at the Wrigley Field (tel: (800) THE CUBS
or 843 2827), and the
Chicago White Sox (tel: (312) 831 1SOX
or 1769); website:
www.whitesox.mlb.com), who play at US Cellular Field (formerly Comisky Park). During the season (April-September), a unique experience is attending a Cub game at the ivy-clad Wrigley Field and singing the traditional
Take me out to the Ball Game during the seventh inning.
The
NFL Chicago Bears (tel: (847) 295 6600; website:
www.chicagobears.com), whose season runs from early September to the end of December, play at Soldier Field. The stadium looks quite strange from the outside, but state-of-the-art improvements have made the inside quite the athletic field. The
Chicago Fire (tel: (888) 657 3473; website:
www.chicago-fire.com) soccer team is also based there.
Because of former basketball player, Michael Jordan, the
Chicago Bulls (website:
www.nba.com/bulls) is perhaps the most internationally known of the Chicago teams. They play their games at the United Center (1901 W Madison; tel: (312) 455 4000),. The neighborhood is not all that safe, so be careful in and around the center.
The United Center is also home to the
NHL ice hockey team, the
Chicago Blackhawks (tel: (312) 943 7000; website:
www.chicagoblackhawks.com), while the
Chicago Wolves (tel: (800) THE WOLVES
or 843 9658
or (847) 724 4625; website:
www.chicagowolves.com) the IHL ice hockey team, play at Allstate Arena, located in Rosemont near O’Hare Airport at 10550 Lunt Avenue.
The best place for purchasing tickets to sporting events, other than the venue itself, is
Ticketmaster (tel: (312) 559 1212; website:
www.ticketmaster.com). Tickets for
Bears and
Cubs games are often sold out but are available from a broker for a hefty fee.
Biking: The Lakefront Trail has 29km (18 miles) of cycling paths, the area between Monroe Street and Wacker Drive being the most scenic. Keep in mind that walkers, joggers and in-line skaters also use these paths, so they often get very crowded during rush hours and weekends. Many of the city streets have bike lanes, but visitors should take extreme caution should they decide to use them because drivers often use them as car lanes. For biking information, contact
The Chicago Park District (tel: (312) 742 BIKE
or 2453), Millennium Park (tel: (888) BIKE WAY
or 245 3929), or the
Chicagoland Bicycle Federation (tel: (312) 427 3325; website:
www.chibikefed.org). To obtain a Chicago Bike Map, telephone (312) 742 2453 or e-mail:
cdotbikemaps@cityofchicago.org.
Bike Chicago, at the
Navy Pier (tel: (312) 595 9600
or (800) 915 BIKE
or 2453; website:
www.bikechicago.com),
Millennium Park (tel: (888) BIKE WAY
or 245 3929) or at
North Avenue Beach (tel: (773) 327 2706) has a good range of bicycles and blades for hire from Apr 30 to Oct 31. Rates vary between US$9.95 (minimum four days) to US$40 per day, including helmet, lock and map. Cycling tours are also available at
Bike Chicago. They will guide you through Lincoln Park, Grant Park and Chinatown. From late May through early September they offer free tours of the lakefront and the Japanese Garden.
Fitness Centers: Though most fitness clubs are for members only (although guests are welcome when accompanied by a member), many hotels have their own facilities or associate membership arrangements with nearby gyms. For US$15, a fitness facility day pass is available at any one of the city’s YMCAs, (tel: 312.932.1200; website:
www.ymcachgo.org) or download a free pass at:
www.ymcachgo.org/images/ymca/sites/ymcachgo/guestpass.pdf Golf: There are several nine-hole and 18-hole public golf courses scattered around the metropolitan area. Some of the courses that are operated by the Chicago Park District (tel: (312) 245 0909; website:
www.cpdgolf.com) include Robert Black on the north side, 2045 West Pratt Boulevard (tel: (312) 742 7931) Jackson Park on the south side, 63rd Street and Lakeshore Drive (tel: (773) 667 0524) and west at Columbus Park, 5701 West Jackson Boulevard (tel: (312) 746 5573).
The Forest Preserve District of Cook County (tel: (800) 460 0010; website:
www.fpdcc.com) also has several courses, including
Edgebrook, 5900 North Central Chicago (tel: (773) 763 8320) and
Indian Boundary, 8600 Forest Preserve Drive (tel: (773) 625 9630).
Harborside International Port & Starboard Courses, 11001 South Doty Avenue (tel: (312) 782 7837; website:
www.harborsidegolf.com), has two courses. Prices vary from about $US13.60-28 (nine holes) and US$22-92 depending on the course, the day of the week and the season.
Ice Skating: November to March, depending on the weather, Chicago Park District offers several outdoor ice skating venues (tel; (312) 742 7529; website:
www.chicagoparkdistrict.com). The primo one is
Millennium Park, 55 North Michigan Avenue (tel: (312) 742 1168; website:
www.millenniumpark.org). It is free. Available skate rentals are US$7.
Swimming: Lake Michigan’s 31 beaches are maintained by the Chicago Park District (tel: (312) 742 7529; website:
www.chicagoparkdistrict.com). The beaches are opened from Memorial Day (the last weekend in May) to Labor Day (the first weekend in September). Lifeguards are on duty 0900-2100. Many hotels have indoor pools as well as health clubs.
Tennis: The Chicago Park District (see above) also maintains outdoor tennis courts throughout the city. Most are free. Public school outdoor courts are also available after school hours. There are 12 lighted courts at the
Daley Bicentennial Plaza, 337 East Randolph Street (tel: (312) 742 7648), but they must reserved at least 24 hours in advance. US$7 per hour per person. Most indoor clubs are private.
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