Chicago Triathlon 2012

My first big tri, and I was pretty pleased with my results.  32/70 for my age class, top 17% overall in the swim, north of average in the bike, and not so great in the run, but I'll take it.  Full photo album here.

Three Sisters at Steppenwolf

A very contemporary translations by Tracey Letts, and as always, superb acting.

Top This!

We finally got the a topper on the truck!  The first major outing was loading up the bikes and heading up the the North Branch trail.  Ms. S took one turn a little to quick, but otherwise, a nice inauguration.  And Superdawg at the end of the ride to celebrate.

Ms. S does a double nickel

A pretty low-key birthday celebration for Ms. S, but we did do double Takashi for the double nickle.  Dinner at Takashi's and then lunch at Slurping Turtle the following day.   Little House in the Big Woods, Stuart Little, The Borrowers we're among the birthday books. 

South Shore Triathlon

My first triathlon!  It was a pretty good day, but the water was really rough. (Rip tide warnings.)   Luckily this one is a run through the water slog.  I just wanted to finish without injury and smiling.  Done.

 

 

Dose Market and Hugo

Went to see Hugo 3d, and visited the Dose Market beforehand. Hugo was lovely, and we appreciated it 10x thanks to the informal film education from the WexPlex.

Margaret Jenkins Dance at Columbia Dance

Light Moves. A little to reliant on contact improv to create the choreography, perhaps?

"An Intimate Tempest"

We liked this more than would have thought from the Tribune review. Nice collaboration between Shakes and Redmoon. Beautiful puppets and a strong cast.

"Long Gone Lonesome" at the Hideout

Something different from Chicago Shakes. The story of Thomas Fraser, a fisherman and crofter from the remote island of Burra, Shetland. Obsessed with country and the blues, Thomas mastered the styles of his idols - like Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams and Big Bill Broonzy - and made their songs his own. A shy, retiring man, he avoided public performance. Instead, he gave away to family and friends tapes he lovingly recorded in the croft.


At the Hideout!

"Mr. Rickey Calls a Meeting" at Lookingglass

Wow. A spectacularly good cast. The story of Jackie Robinson being called into the big leagues. Perhaps not the strongest script, but a nice night out at Lookingglass.

Pina 3D

Now that's great use of 3D. Wonderful. Hope this helps her choreography reach a wide audience.

Penelope at Steppenwolf

Didn't love this as much as we wanted to. Perhaps the casting change threw some things off? Ian Barford was replaced by his understudy.

Book Club: House of Mirth

at Joan's.

Assisted Living at Profile

Great to see Stacey Stoltz in this show. And really close to our home!

Chris Jones's plot summary: At the beginning of the play, set near Boston, we meet Anne, a lower-middle-class woman in her late 30s who has put her mostly unenviable life on hold to take care of a raging mother with dementia (whom we hear but do not see). In the first scene, we do see Anne (played, with a deft mix of defiance and sadness by Stacy Stoltz) interviewing a potential home-help aide named Levi (Jordan Stacey, a young actor very adept at holding his character on the edge). Although an incessant talker skilled at leveraging self-deprecation, Levi immediately seems like trouble. By his own admission, he is an alcoholic with a thin resume and a tendency to get fired. But Anne is lonely and stressed, her mom is difficult and sometimes violent, and this guy seems to offers a solution to myriad problems

Nutcracker at House

The return of Nutcracker. Much the same as last year, but David Caitlin as Drosselmeyer was a nice addition.