‘Our Town’ at the Lookingglass Theater

Laura Eason and David Schwimmer as Emily Webb and George Gibbs in 'Our Town'. Photo by Sean Williams.

Last night Abigail and I were privileged enough to see the Lookingglass Theater production of Our Town. Among the theater’s ensemble members appearing in the show’s run until Apr. 5, 2009 are David Schwimmer, Joey Slotnick, Louise Lamson, Tracy Walsh and many others. 

Our Town was the first production I have been able to see Schwimmer and Slotnick preform in live. Both honestly surprised me a little with their incredible acting talents. In many ways I was expecting a Ross Geller type character from the Friends sitcom, but what I saw in Schwimmer’s performance was much more. He showed a deeper and profoundly more complex character than I had expected. In the same manner I only knew a few of Slotnick’s parts in shows like Alias or Law & Order: SVU. In Our Town, Joey Slotnick was as a talented actor/storyteller that brought me right into the details of the play.

The “no set” way of doing this production is a unique experience all it’s own. It puts your imagination into motion while watching everyone on stage act with minimal props and great emotion. You can find out more about the “no set” idea via this video from John Musial, writer/director with Lookingglass. 

I highly recommend this play. See it at least once, maybe a second time if you can. I know I plan on seeing it twice. Tickets are on sale now.

Always Learning,
-joel

4 years as of today

Out for Gino's East pizza a while ago...

Four years ago today my wife and I started being a couple… She was an Au Pair in the Netherlands and I was a full-time volunteer at a non-profit Chicago. We’d been friends for a while, she moved away and I missed her. I visited her in Europe, we talked and decided to make it more. After a long-distance relationship of several months she moved back to the United States in the fall. We were married the following spring. Good memories.

Always Learning,
-joel

‘A Summer Without Wrigley’ or ‘Wrigley’s Last Season’

Great documentary idea(s). FYI.

I was driving to work this morning, while singing to one of my favorite bands CDs, when my eyes caught a Chicago Cubs billboard advertising the summer 2009 season’s tickets are on sale soon. That got me thinking…

The Chicago Cubs are in the process of being sold from the Tribune to a likely new owner. What that means, among many other things, is there could be a name change to the Cubs’ home that’s been called Wrigley Field since 1926. If that happens, I would love to see a documentary about the Cubs last season at a field known as Wrigley. That would be interesting… a close to that chapter in the ball park’s history. Perhaps it could even be called “Wrigley’s Last Season.” As I write this post that domain name and several variations of it are still available.

There has also been talk (for a long time) of replacing Wrigley Field with a new stadium or replica. In that case, I’d love to see a documentary about “The Season Without Wrigley.” (Domain name and variations also still available.) The film could cover some history of the field, people’s memories, souvenirs, etc. It could then focus on the construction of the new field, what Wrigleyville is like without baseball, and the players/fans reactions to the new stadium once it opens. Interesting right? What are your thoughts?

Always Learning,
-joel

New Star Trek Trailer Out Soon

Cool news from the Star Trek movie front:

Announced today, a third trailer from Star Trek is planned to be in theaters starting on Friday, 3/6 with WATCHMEN.

The trailer, which features brand new footage will also be online on Apple.com Trailers in HD starting on the morning of 3/9 and thereafter on the official site.

Star Trek arrives in theaters on May 8. You can visit the official Star Trek site at http://www.StarTrekMovie.com

Star Trek: The Big Game Ad