Mundelein Review

Highland Park artist works in Japanese style

Thu, 24 May 2012 10:15:03 -0500

Highland Park’s Kay Thomas’ first exposure to sumi-e, or Japanese ink painting, was an art lesson show on public television in 1963. “This caught my attention and intrigued me,” explains Thomas. Charactistically Asian, sumi-e painting, or literally, ink painting, is the art of extracting the essence of the object in the fewest strokes. Most often, sumi-e is painted on rice paper or silk. There are three primary forms of this type of painting: Chinese, Japanese and Korean. Thomas said that the Japanese style of sumi-e is characterized by a more straightforward depiction of the subject. An exhibition of Thomas’ sumi-e …

Dive into summer at Barefoot Bay open house

Thu, 24 May 2012 20:36:01 -0500

Family Fun: Explore Barefoot Bay in Mundelein, honor Memorial Day in Libertyville, take a wildflower walk in Waukegan and clean up Rollins Savanna in Grayslake.

Frequently hysterical ‘Hysteria’

Thu, 24 May 2012 20:34:03 -0500

HYSTERIA ★ ★ ★ 1/2 The Victorian era is justly famous for many fine developments: railroads, neo-gothic architecture, universal suffrage, the rise of the middle class and inventions such as photography, the phonograph and the telephone. Stuffiness, too. The Victorians developed stiff, stuffy propriety to its greatest height, which may explain why we seldom associate the era with one of its most revolutionary innovations: the invention of the vibrating personal massager. It certainly explains why there’s rarely a scene in Tanya Wexler’s wonderful (and often very, very funny) romantic comedy “Hysteria” that doesn’t prompt a smile of delight — just …

Diversions: 4 picks for the coming week

Thu, 24 May 2012 16:00:43 -0500

Looking for fun, fancy or off-the-beaten-path options for the coming week? We present four, for your consideration.

Highland Park artist works in Japanese style

Tue, 22 May 2012 20:50:02 -0500

One-woman show tells a hairy tale

Tue, 22 May 2012 21:32:39 -0500

Deborah Staples is playing a colorful role at Writers’ Theatre in Glencoe. Actually, she’s playing several of them as “The Blonde, The Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead.” Robert Hewett’s one-woman play begins when a redheaded housewife named Rhonda Russell reveals that her husband is moving out. Rhonda’s response to this revelation leads to a spiraling series of events that affect everyone around her. We learn what happens through monologues presented by six of the people affected — all played by Staples. This is the second time that Staples has tackled the solo show. The first was in 2008 at Milwaukee …

Historic postcards are art in miniature

Tue, 15 May 2012 20:03:15 -0500

In England, around the turn of the 20th century, if you thought about greeting cards, Christmas cards and, especially, postcards, you were probably thinking of Raphael Tuck & Sons. The firm began in a small frame and print shop in Bishopsgate, achieved great success in the postcard boom of the 1890s and early 1900s, and eventually became “art publishers to Her Majesty” after receiving a royal appointment from Queen Victoria. It’s particularly well known for its large output of Oilette postcards — reproductions of original oil paintings commissioned by Tuck for the edification of the masses. And now, a comprehensive …

New theater company debuts in Highland Park

Tue, 22 May 2012 20:36:01 -0500

There’s something about the ancient art of story-telling that simply will not go away. It’s been a draw as long as there have been campfires — and people brave enough to stand up and rap about whatever comes to mind. Hunting mastodons, wrangling with mothers-in-law, and such. As evidence, we can point to the fact that the story-telling tradition is still going strong and in theatrical circles, with performers re-telling classic folk-tales and offering a few of their own for consideration. The latter is what you can expect when Short Story Theatre, a newly formed troupe of local writer/performers, including …

‘Pirates’ continues through June 10 at Marriott

Tue, 22 May 2012 21:24:01 -0500

Alene Robertson, (from left), Omar Lopez-Cepero and Kevin Earley are some of “The Pirates of Penzance,” running through June 10 at the Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire. Shows at 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. Wednesdays; 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays; 4:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturdays; and 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $41-$49, plus tax and handling fees. Discounts available for students and senior citizens. Dinner and theatre tickets, $55, are available Wednesday and Thursday evenings. Dinner is at Kings Wharf Restaurant or the Fairfield Inn (based on dining availability). Call (847) 634-0200 or visit www.marriotttheatre.com. …

Arts and entertainment calendar for May 24

Tue, 22 May 2012 21:24:27 -0500

Stage “The Last Five Years” will be presented by Liberty Town Productions at 7:30 p.m. May 25-26 at Austin’s Fuel Room, 481 Peterson Road, Libertyville. The all-sung story explores a five-year relationship between a rising novelist and a struggling actress. Dinner-theatre tickets are $35 (buffet, soft drinks and tip included); theatre-only tickets are $20. Dinner will be served from 6-7 p.m. Doors open for theatre-only ticket holders at 7 p.m. Visit www.libertytownproductions.com. “Hero,” the story of a talented young artist and comic book illustrator living anything but a superhero life, June 20-Aug. 19 at the Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive, …

Train Days chug into Libertyville’s Lambs Farm

Thu, 17 May 2012 19:52:00 -0500

Family Fun: Man the train controls in Libertyville, unwrap ‘Willy Wonka Jr.’ in Round Lake, enjoy ‘Chipwrecked’ in Mundelein, celebrate mom in Vernon Hills and visit Bonner Heritage Farm in Lindenhurst

Diversions: 4 picks for the coming week

Fri, 18 May 2012 17:09:44 -0500

Looking for fun, fancy or off-the-beaten-path options for the coming week? We present four, for your consideration.

Libertyville troupe stages ‘The Last Five Years’

Tue, 15 May 2012 21:42:08 -0500

You want to root for Cathy in the musical, “The Last Five Years,” when you know the young woman playing her, Carley Wilson Alcorn, of Buffalo Grove, is celebrating her second wedding anniversary on the closing weekend of the show. “The Last Five Years,” by composer Jason Robert Brown, shows us a crumbling five-year relationship, filled with emotional highs and lows, told by twentysomething Cathy, starting at the end and going backward, and by Jamie, starting at the beginning and told chronologically. During only one point in the show do they share the stage — at their wedding. “I feel …

Highland Park Strings in concert

Tue, 15 May 2012 21:42:20 -0500

Stephen Burns conducts the Highland Park Strings in the season’s finale, “Now and Then” at 3 p.m. May 20 at Highland Park High School, 433 Vine Ave. The program includes works by Haydn, Schubert and Mozart, as well as “Serenade for Flute, Strings and Percussion” by Deerfield resident Armando Susmano. Admission is free. Preconcert lecture by Stephanie Ettelson at 2 p.m. For information, visit www.hpstrings.org. …

Plan a ‘Girls Night’ Out

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:48:42 -0500

Although actress Tina Jensen, who plays Carol in the stage presentation of “Girls Night: The Musical,” believes that many audience members appreciate the great songs in the show, she also thinks there is a bit of a message. “I think it speaks to women and girlfriends who go through a lot of ups and downs,” Jensen said. “But through thick and thin, you find that your relationships are stronger. I think we find that we are not always perfect, but we have always been there for each other.” “Girls Night: The Musical” will be presented at the Genesee Theatre in …

Flawless cast celebrates life, love in ‘Music’

Tue, 15 May 2012 17:58:01 -0500

Full disclosure: We’ve seen “A Little Night Music” three times in the past year — twice with leading ladies of serious star wattage writ on bold on the marquee. And while it’s in bad taste and unfair to compare, we’re going to do so anyway. Which is to say, those million-dollar, $200-a-ticket endeavors on Broadway have nothing on the current production in Glencoe. Directed by Bill Brown and featuring a compact chamber ensemble, Writers’ Theatre’s “A Little Night Music” is irresistibly seductive. Stephen Sondheim’s musical (inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film, “Smiles of a Summer Night”) is about many things, …