By Ed Lowe
Senior Writer
The 16th annual edition of the Chicago Humanities Festival (CHF) will take place between Oct. 29 and Nov. 13. This uniquely Chicago happening presents a group of more than 150 programs with a single unifying theme. This year's theme is "Home and Away," and programming is planned for some 30 venues ranging from Symphony Center to Schuba's Tavern at Southport and Belmont avenues.
Following their tradition, planners for CHF are preparing a benefit performance honoring the popular composer Harold Arlen. This event will be held on Friday, Nov. 4, at Symphony Center and will feature cabaret style appearances by Leslie Uggams and jazz pianist Dick Hyman. The evening, hosted by Turner Classic Movies' Robert Osborne, will include comments by music historian Robert Kimball and musical director Aaron Gandy. Arlen (1905-1986), whose songs include such standards as "Over the Rainbow," "Old Black Magic," Get Happy," and "I Love a Parade," wrote music that became signature pieces for many well-known performers of the mid-20th Century.
Other major topics that will be covered during the 16 day festival include Diaspora/ Exile, Housing/ Homelessness, Homefront/ Battlefront and Sweet Home Chicago. Expert speakers have committed to being presenters at many of these events. Some of the more noted among them include banker David M. Kennedy, entertainer Hershey Felder, author Scott Turow, theologian Martin Marty, and TV personality John Callaway.
In addition to the benefit performance, several other performances are included in the extensive programming. An opening performance titled "At Home on The Stage," featuring the women of the Steppenwolf Theater ensemble including actresses Amy Morton, Joan Allen and Martha Lavey, will involve readings from some of the theatrical luminaries of the late 19th and early 20th centuries including Sarah Bernhardt, Ellen Terry and Eleonora Duse.
Another performance will be a staged reading of Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court," presented by Remy Bumppo Theater Company. In addition to these events designed for adults, there is a parallel Children's Humanities Festival between Oct. 29 and Nov. 13. The programs vary and are suitable for children ages four and above. There's a separate children's program guide to help you decide which of these events are most suitable for your own kids. The children's programming will take place in a more limited area including the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Art Institute, the Harold Washington Library and the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum.
The list goes on, but with this sampler of programming, anyone interested in anything to do with the arts or humanities will want a full copy of the CHF program detailing all the programs, their contents and venues, times and dates and cost of tickets to each of the events. It's available through their office by calling (312) 494-9509. Tickets to these events are remarkably reasonable—many are only $5. The tickets can be purchased at the Tribune Store at 435 N. Michigan Ave., at their ticket office at 500 N. Dearborn St., suite 1028 by fax or mail, or at www.chfestival.org. |
