Oct. 31, 2018 From left: Adrian Hadlock, Ed Jones, David Cerda and Grant Drager in The Golden Girls: Bea Afraid! Rick Aguilar Studios COLE ESCOLA: FROM CRAIGSLIST TO THE PARK WEST PAGE 10 Noah Cyrus. Photo from David Enriquez/Records Marketing Cole Escola. Photo by Allison Michael Orenstein Oct. 31, 2018 2 INDEX VOL. 34, No. 06, Oct. 31, 2018 The combined forces of Windy City Times, founded Sept. 1985, and Outlines newspaper, Theater reviews 4-5 founded May 1987. Opera: Tenor shines on stage in ‘Idomeneo,’ finds love off stage 6 PUBLISHER Terri Klinsky Theater reviews 7 Music: Measure for Measure 8 EXECUTIVE EDITOR Andrew Davis Theater: ‘This Bitter Earth’: LGBT play tackles class, race and apathy 9 MANAGING EDITOR Matt Simonette DIGITAL DIRECTOR Jean Albright Theater review 9 6 ART DIRECTOR AND ASSOCIATE EDITOR Kirk Williamson Comedy: Cole Escola: From Craigslist to the Park West 10 SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR Scott Duff BUSINESS MANAGER Ripley Caine SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Terri Klinsky, Kirk Williamson, Scott Duff, Kathy Breit, Theresa Santos Volpe, Kevin Siarkowski, Amy Matheny NATIONAL SALES Rivendell Media, 212-242-6863 THEATER AND DANCE EDITOR Catey Sullivan SENIOR WRITERS Jonathan Abarbanel, Mary Shen Barnidge, Liz Baudler, Charlsie Dewey, Ross Forman, Carrie Maxwell, Rev. Irene Monroe, Jerry Nunn, Tony Peregrin, Angelique Smith, Sari Staver, Sarah Toce, Melissa Wasserman WRITERS Sarah Katherine Bowden, Ada Cheng, Eric Formato, Joe Franco, Veronica Harrison, Kelsey Hoff, Aaron Hunt, Eric Karas, Brian Kirst, Billy Masters, Scott C. Morgan, Amelia Orozco, Ariel Parrella-Aureli, Kerry Reid, Dana Rudolph, Ana Serna, Karen Topham, Joseph Varisco, Regina Victor, Sean Margaret Wagner, Lauren Warnecke, Steve Warren, Lauren Emily Whalen SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHERS Kat Fitzgerald, Hal Baim, Tim Carroll, Ed Negron CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Jean Albright 8 DISTRIBUTION Ashina, Allan, Dan, John, Sue and Victor WEB HOSTING LoveYourWebsite.com (lead programmer: Martie Marro) PRESIDENT Tracy Baim (773) 871-7610 FAX (773) 871-7609 Editorial: [email protected] Sales: [email protected] Calendar: [email protected] Circulation: [email protected] Celebrations: Wanda B./Stephanie Green vow renewal at 25 years 11 Art/ad copy: [email protected] Theater: [email protected] Music: Festival celebrates queer punk rock for people of color 11 Copyright 2018 Lambda Publications Inc./Windy City Media Group; All rights reserved. Reprint by permission only. Back Books: Mark Zubro’s A Cradle Song: Part Three 12-13 issues (if available) for $5 per issue (postage included). 11 Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, Film: ‘Suspiria’ casts suspicion on the artistic mindset 14 and photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials. Film: Filmmakers reflect on original ‘Suspiria,’ LGBT appeal 14 All rights to letters, art and photographs sent to Windy City Times will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such, subject to editing Architecture: Deconstructing spaces to include LGBTQ architects 16 and comment. The opinions expressed by the columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are their own Theater review 17 and do not necessarily reflect the position of Windy City Times. Publication of the name, photograph, or likeness of Books: Queer singer Mary Lambert on her poetry collection 18 a person or organization in articles or advertising in Windy City Times is not to be construed as any indication of the sexual orientation of such person or organization. While Autos: 2019 GMC Sierra Denali echoes classic Suburban pickups 19 we encourage readers to support the advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Windy City Times cannot accept Music: pronoun talks about name, breakups 20 responsibility for advertising claims. Billy Masters 21 WINDY CITY MEDIA GROUP, 5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL, 60640 U.S.A The Dish: Brunch at etta; The Florentine’s aperitivo 22 (MAILING ADDRESS ONLY) Nightlife/Drag: Scene photos (Charlie’s; Jackhammer) 22 Windy City Times Deadline every Wednesday OUT! Chicago’s LGBTQ Visitor’s Guide Online annual Nightlife/Drag: Drag It Up! 23 Windy City Times Wedding and Events Guide Annual Arts and Theater Weekly Online Nightlife/Drag: Sidetrack’s OUTspoken! series for November 23 www.WindyCityMediaGroup.com Cartoon: Kyle’s Bed & Breakfast 24 Calendar 24 Oct. 31, 2018 3 Oct. 31, 2018 4 THEATER REVIEW like Jimmy himself (Ulises Acosta). He’s a young (Ashley Bland) and Eddie (Kyle Johnson), two kid, loves baseball and a DREAMer. The only dif- homeless black kids. He soon find out that they The Real Life ference between a kid you may know and Jimmy have more in common than meets the eye—spe- de las Rosas is that Jimmy can move things with cial abilities. The trio are still discovering their Adventures of his mind. strength and the true purpose of their gifts when He plans on using this to his advantage by be- they set out into the night to get to the bottom Jimmy de las Rosas coming a professional baseball player. This way, of the mystery. By: Ricardo Gamboa like many other boys and girls in Chicago, he will Who or what is the mysterious kidnapper, and At: Free Street Theater, 1419 W. Blackhawk St fulfill his dream of becoming a true hero. He will will Jimmy be a hero or just another boy from the Tickets: http://clata.org/destinos-main; be the one to move his family out of such a dan- hood with shattered dreams? $20-$25 gerous neighborhood, and his mom can quit her Worthy of becoming an after-school special, Runs through: Nov. 2 factory job. Real Life Adventures of Jimmy de las Rosas There are only two problems with this plan— touches on issues impacting communities today, BY AMELIA OROZCO his protective mom (Elizabeth Nungaray) and his from the undocumented status of some Chicago worrying grandmother. Because they are undocu- families to police brutality and (spoiler alert) Here are the ingredients for a Ricardo Gamboa Ulises Acosta in The Real Life Adventures of Jimmy de la Rosas. mented, working hard to make ends meet, they pollution. production: A community, strong Latino, black are afraid of being found out and deported. They Get to Jimmy’s neighborhood and experience Photo by Alejandro Reyes and queer characters, and most importantly, su- beg him to keep his powers to himself as they are the adventure in Free Street Theater’s before the pernatural abilities. Oh, and mutant Chihuahuas. mother (Ruth Guerra) before. She sells fruit, not pleased with his antics in the baseball field. show’s run ends. You will find all of these in the Real Life Adven- snow cones and Mexican corn in Little Village. It So Jimmy complies for as long as he can. The Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA’s) tures of Jimmy De Las Rosas. The show is part of is also likely you have met met Juani (Mia Are- That’s until he learns of the hundreds of people 2nd International Latino Theater Festival runs the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA’s) 2nd valo), a transgender woman loved by everyone disappearing from the neighborhood, and when through Nov. 2. For more information about addi- International Latino Theater Festival. for her sassy spirit. And you may know someone someone close to him falls prey to this, he has tion Festival productions, go to http://clata.org/ You may have seen Jimmy de las Rosas’ grand- no choice but to act fast. He befriends Ayana destinos-main. Wohl has descriptive powers that many more con- that his soap-opera worthy litany makes Ned a Gerachis’ off-stage teacher offers guidance you THEATER REVIEW ventional wordsmiths lack. Murray’s ensemble is figure of genuine empathy. You’ll feel for the guy, can find in just about any self-help book you’d up to the formidable task of creating characters even if he is all but wearing the thumb-and-index care to peruse, but it’s not without wisdom. Still, Small Mouth largely without the benefit of words. finger “L” on his forehead. her soothing tranquility cracks as the retreat con- Sounds As the group trudges in toting various back- Engstrom and Hines’ Joan and Judy are also tinues, eventually revealing that enlightenment Playwright: Beth Wohl packs and satchels, each individual in it takes dealing with tragedy—or rather, the very real is always a destination, never a place one actu- At A Red Orchid Theatre, 1531 N. Wells Ave. shape. Rodney (Travis A. Knight) is some kind possibility that tragedy will hit them both with ally reaches. Tickets 312-943-8722 or of Youtube yogi, tall, supple, and a fan of shirt- tremendous force in the very near future. When Grimm has one of the toughest assignments as ARedOrchidTheatre.org; $30-$40 lessness, leather necklaces and the micro-bikini Joan has a meltdown that sends her fleeing for Jan, for reasons that don’t become clear until the Runs through: Dec. 9 briefs that male Bikram devotees favor. Joan the nearest Starbucks, it’s as primal as it is re- final moments of the production. There’s a short, (Jennifer Engstrom) and Judy (Cynthia Hines) ar- latable. Hines’ Judy doesn’t have the same emo- searing (wordless) moment when he reveals the BY CATEY SULLIVAN rive as a couple, their faces etched with stress tional pyrotechnics, but in her stillness, there’s reason for his stay, a quick shrug that makes up and hope. Alicia (Heather Chrisler) is wried with immeasurable, unmistakable anger and sorrow. understand precisely what has happened to him. The wordlessness of A Red Orchid Theatre’s Small tension and can’t stop twiddling with her phone. Chrisler shows the reason behind Alicia’s inabil- But when the retreat ends and the others grasp in Mouth Sounds takes getting used to, at least Ned (Levi Holloway) has the bearing of somebody ity to unplug with ferocious impact during a feral relief at the connective tissue that words provide, initially.