Light the lights for December (and January)

The art of lighting is unquestionably an essential element in setting the mood for all theater and dance productions. But of course it is throughout the eight days of Chanukah (Dec. 14 – 22 this year) that the lighting of candles in a menorah comes with its own ritual and drama. It’s a holiday that can easily inspire the singing of “Rock of Ages,” “The Dreidel Song,” and “Hanukkah Oh Hanukkah.” And these days you can even add to that list with Karen Daniels’ 2001 piece “The Latke Song,” inspired, of course, by the irresistible Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine of pan-fried (usually potato) pancakes.Yum!

But there is more to be enjoyed. And here are several shows to be seen on stages in Chicago and the suburbs (in December and January) that are sure to delight:

The Klezmatics: in a concert titled “Happy Joyous Hanukkah”

Complete with an orchestra comprised of an accordion, alto saxophone, clarinet, violin, cimbalom (a dulcimer-like instrument with 133 strings), and kaval (a flute-like instrument popular in the Balkans and Anatolia, often by mountain shepherds), this New York-based group performs in several languages, and mixes older Yiddish songs with other types of more contemporary music.

And notably, the group returns to its acclaimed revival of Woody Guthrie’s original lyrics from the 1940s that redefined Jewish-American musical storytelling. Guthrie was not Jewish but his mother-in-law was the Yiddish poet Aliza Greenblatt. He was heavily influenced by her, and often asked her questions about Jewish history and customs, and incorporated what he learned into his music.”

As it happens, the Klezmatics are noted as “the only Grammy Award-winning band in modern Jewish music.” Since emerging from New York’s East Village neighborhood in 1986, they have led a global revival of klezmer; the band celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. The concert at Ravinia will capture how this group “combines Yiddish tradition with radical sensibilities in jazz, gospel, punk, classical, Latin and Baltic music.”

Ravinia’s Martin Theatre in Highland Park on Dec. 4, at 7:30 pm. For tickets, call 847 266-5100.

Meanwhile, three other productions reflecting the work of major Jewish music theater artists include:

Amadeus at Steppenwolf

Set in Vienna between 1783 and 1825, this Tony Award-winning play was written by Peter Shaffer (1926-2016), who was born into a Jewish family in England. The show opened in London in 1979 and then on Broadway in 1980, and went on to win 5 Tonys; the movie version received eight Academy Awards.

The work is described as a somewhat fictional take on the “the emperor’s composer, Antonio Salieri, and the flamboyant entrance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a prodigy and wild child.” The play captures the fierce rivalry between the two men and their legacies. According to Robert Falls, director of the Steppenwolf production, the play is “a cacophony of music and intrigue.”

Now through Jan. 11. For tickets, contact steppenwolf.org or call 312-335-1650.

Irving Berlin’s White Christmas

Of course, the title and story of the classic 1954 musical film White Christmas is not very Jewish. But Irving Berlin (1888-1989), who was born in Russia as Israel Baline, and immigrated to New York City as a child in 1893, was Jewish from the start, and became the brilliant composer who wrote a slew of superb and ever famous songs, including a long list of them for what was initially the hit Paramount Pictures film, which became instant classics when it debuted in 1954.

The musical-with a number of additional Berlin songs included-only arrived on a U.S. theater stage in 2000 (in St. Louis), and later on Broadway, in 2008. The story line? World War II has ended, and two former GIs have become a popular song-and-dance team who meet an equally talented up-and-coming sister act. The songs? “Happy Holiday,” “Blue Skies,” “I Love a Piano,” “Sisters,” “Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep,” and, of course, “White Christmas.” The revival, directed by Stephen Schellhardt, of the iconic musical is currently playing at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora

Now through Jan. 11, at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora. For tickets, visit paramountaurora.com or call 630 896-6666.

Annie

With a score by two major Broadway talents- Charles Strouse (music) and Martin Charnin (lyrics)- this musical was inspired by the Little Orphan Annie comic strip, about an orphan in 1930s New York City adopted by the wealthy Oliver Warbucks. The winner of seven Tony Awards, thus show ran on Broadway for six years (with 2,327 performances on Broadway from 1977 to 1983).

A Music Theater Works production, the show runs Dec. 18 – Jan. 4 at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie. For tickets, visit musictheaterworks.com or call 847-673-6300.

Hedy Weiss, a longtime Chicago arts critic, was the Theater and Dance Critic for the Chicago Sun-Times  from 1984 to 2018, and currently writes for WTTW-TV’s website and contributes to the Chicago Tonight  program.