Today In The Culture, May 5, 2023: Don Cornelius and Chaka Khan In Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame | Blooming In Bronzeville | The Who’s Tommy and SpongeBob Musicals Announce Casts

Tulips by Amanda Williams

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ART

“Blooming In Bronzeville” With 100,000 Red Tulips

Neighbors gathered this week at the “Blooming in Bronzeville” block party to greet the bloom of 100,000 bright red tulips planted last fall by MacArthur Fellow and artist Amanda Williams. Part of of her “Redefining Redlining” installation, they were planted on a vacant lot that had once been a residential unit that was torn down due to redlining. “I am inspired by the idea of ‘me to we,’” Williams says in a release. “This installation started as an idea by a single person, but it then touches other people and becomes something that together we all enjoy.” She says that “the narrative on the South Side too frequently focuses on what is lacking, but she hopes to show that, with action, neighbors can work together to highlight what’s beautiful and to be intentional about artful development.”

Ghian Foreman, president and CEO of the Emerald South Economic Development Collaborative, says that “with the opening of the Obama Presidential Center not too far away, [we] see our community differently. Rather than seeing vacant lots merely as a hindrance, this installation and the beautification work we’re doing with Terra Firma allows us to see vacant lots as an asset that can be developed for community wealth and benefit.”

Four Funders Provide $11 Million Over Five Years To Diversify Art Leadership

“Four major funders—the Alice L. Walton Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Mellon Foundation and Pilot House Philanthropy—Wednesday drew back the veil on a new program aimed at increasing racial equity,” reports Artforum. “The freshly minted Leadership in Art Museums initiative will receive $11 million in funding over the next five years from the four founding organizations. Among the roles LAM hopes to foster diversity across are those of curator, conservator, collections manager, community engagement staff, and educator.”

DESIGN

Seven Owners On What It’s Like To Live In A Frank Lloyd Wright House

“When Dave McArdle and his wife, Joyce, first met in high school, their dates often consisted of touring Frank Lloyd Wright homes throughout Oak Park and River Forest. Later, when they… got married and were looking for a home to start a family in, they learned that Wright’s 1901 Frank Henderson house was for sale in Elmhurst,” conveys Architectural Digest. “Though it needed a lot of work, it was within the couple’s budget. ‘During the renovation, we discovered that there was a real need for a formal way that Frank Lloyd Wright homeowners could share their experiences and resources to maintain and restore their homes… Along with other Wright homeowners, we founded the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy.'”

Chicago Sells A Century Of Lake Michigan Water To Joliet For A Billion Dollars

This region provides eighty-percent of North America’s fresh surface water, reports Bloomberg, creating a selling point. “Chicago has just signed a contract valued at $1 billion to sell its water elsewhere—the first such deal in forty years—and the city expects more… Illinois is also launching a federally-funded plan to expand its $17 billion ‘Blue Economy’ to lure companies from water-intensive chip manufacturers to climate-tech startups.” (By comparison, the annual Chicago Police Department budget is around $3 billion.)

Amtrak Can Run Trains At 110 MPH Between Chicago And St. Louis

“Officials with Amtrak and the Illinois Department of Transportation have cleared the railroad company to set new maximum speeds for their trains through select corridors in Illinois, with some trains now allowed to reach speeds of 110 miles per hour,”reports NBC 5.

Germany Opens Up Affordable Transit Nationwide

Germany has introduced the flat-fee “Deutschlandticket,” which allows riders to use all public transport across the country, reports Bloomberg. “For just €49 ($54) a month, holders get unlimited travel on all city buses, subways and trams in every municipality across the country [except high-speed trains] with one ticket… The pass builds on the popular nine-euro ticket that was introduced last summer to help manage the energy crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine… Its proposed run of at least two years far exceeds its predecessor’s three-month trial and indicates public transport is… a component of national policy rather than just a local service.”

Remote Work Drains Transit

“Most of the nation’s most-trafficked public transit systems are still seeing less than eighty percent of their pre-pandemic ridership,” Politico shares in an extensive report. “‘It’s a new day for transit in terms of ridership, the people delivering the services—from drivers to mechanics,’ former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said… ‘The whole thing has to be rethought and reevaluated.’ … Transportation officials who pivoted at the start of the pandemic to serve essential workers—the only people who were still commuting—have found that in the era of remote work, successful service means getting people all over the city at all hours. It’s no longer just about schlepping to work five days a week.”

“‘One of the things we’re looking at are the other travel patterns we need to start supporting that may not be the traditional neighborhoods into downtown Chicago,’ CTA president Dorval Carter Jr. said… ‘That may be more of a focus on the neighborhoods and communities and services that we can provide out there to allow people to get to their doctor’s appointment and get to the school and to other things that are important to our community.'”

Bally’s Gambles On Medinah Temple Casino Opening By End Of June

“Bally’s plans for a temporary casino at the Medinah Temple… is up against a shortening timeline,” tallies Casino.org. It’s out of the hands of the city of Chicago: The gambling conglomerate had hoped to open the temporary location by the end of the second quarter, or June 30. The Illinois Gaming Board “is not scheduled to meet in May.”

Zaha Hadid Architects Imagining Projects With Midjourney And DALL-E 2

“Zaha Hadid Architects is using AI text-to-image generators like DALL-E 2 and Midjourney to come up with design ideas for projects, studio principal Patrik Schumacher has revealed,” reports Dezeen. “Not every single project is using it but let’s say most—I’m encouraging everybody who’s working on competitions and early ideation to see what comes up and just to have a larger repertoire… And oftentimes they have interesting ideas and new kinds of form and moves and you can show them as early sketches even to clients… You don’t even have to do much, you show them raw and you can generate ideas with clients and within the team, because of light, shadow, geometry, coherency, the sense of gravity and order is so potent and the ideas are still striking.”

Bears Prepare To Demolish Arlington International

The Chicago Bears have filed paperwork to begin demolition of Arlington International Racecourse, reports the Trib. “The team said the first phase would begin with gutting the interior of the grandstand…Team officials emphasized that this does not mean they’re going ahead with the $5 billion plan to build a new enclosed stadium with housing, bars and restaurants…The team has asked to first determine what taxes it would be paying and has said it needs a public subsidy to help pay to build infrastructure like roads and utilities… The Bears bought the 326-acre former horse track this year for $197 million.” Reports NBC 5: “The Chicago Bears’ potential move to Arlington Heights got a little more complicated after the Cook County Assessor hiked the assessed value of the team’s newly acquired land, meaning their property tax bill could be headed for a major increase.”

DINING & DRINKING

McDonald’s Franchisees Found Using Child Labor

Ten-year-olds are among more than 300 children found working at McDonald’s restaurants, reports NBC News. “Two ten-year-olds were discovered working unpaid and until as late as 2am at a McDonald’s restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky, operated by Bauer Food LLC, the Labor Department said… One of them was also allowed to operate a deep fryer… ‘These reports are unacceptable, deeply troubling and run afoul of the high expectations we have for the entire McDonald’s brand,’ [a] senior vice president and chief people officer at McDonald’s USA said in a statement. ‘It is not lost on us the significant responsibility we carry to ensure a positive and safe experience for everyone under the Arches.'”

CNN: “‘Too often, employers fail to follow the child labor laws that protect young workers,’ said Karen Garnett-Civils, the agency’s wage and hour division district director… ‘Under no circumstances should there ever be a ten-year-old child working in a fast-food kitchen around hot grills, ovens and deep fryers.'”

New York Bans New-Build Gas Stoves Statewide

“The first statewide ban in the U.S., it will affect home cooks for years to come,” reports Bon Appétit.

Englewood Residents Resist Yellow Banana’s Save A Lot Brand

“Nearly a hundred community members gathered Wednesday across the street from the site of a former Whole Foods in Englewood to meet face-to-face with the owners of the proposed low-cost supermarket that is slated to open in its place,” reports the Sun-Times. “Save A Lot CEO Leon Bergmann and the co-founders of Yellow Banana—the company that subleases the site… tried to convince neighborhood residents that, despite their concerns, Save A Lot is able to meet their grocery needs.”

FILM & TELEVISION

Execs Serious About Chatbot-Scrivened Artificial Screenplays

“If half the internet can be tricked by an AI-created Drake and The Weeknd collab, could that same tech write scripts and enable studios to create more content for less money?”asks the Hollywood Reporter. “AI has become a key deal point in the ongoing writers union negotiations. While AI is one of the more abstract issues on the table during this strike… experts say Hollywood shouldn’t ignore the 800-pound robot in the room. ‘The challenge is we want to make sure that these technologies are tools used by writers and not tools used to replace writers,’ says ‘Big Fish’ and ‘Aladdin’ writer John August… ‘The worry is that down the road you can see some producer or executive trying to use one of these tools to do a job that a writer really needs to be doing.'”

Chicago-bred playwright-turned-television-writer Rick Cleveland, whose credits include “The West Wing,” “Nurse Jackie,” “Mad Men,” “Six Feet Under” and “House of Cards,” writes at the Los Angeles Times: “Over the length of my career, I’ve been able to get married, buy a house and, with the lion’s share of the work being done by my wife, Mary, raise three kids. My family and I have needed that health insurance more times than I can count. It’s been a literal lifesaver…The bottom line is this: The corporations that pay us made $28 billion in 2021 compared with $5 billion when I won my Emmy, in 2000… Now, though, streamers have turned us into easily replaceable widgets… Fewer writers are getting the opportunity to grow and become better while on the job. Working for twenty weeks means being off thirty to fifty weeks between jobs or seasons. And that in a nutshell is what largely defines this new gig economy.”

The strike won’t end soon, writes the Los Angeles Times: among reasons, “the WGA said it sought improvements valued at $429 million annually, while the studios offered increases valued at about $86 million.” Another: “Writers argue that the residuals from streaming projects are far below royalties they would get from reruns of their shows on broadcast networks. Another issue is that streaming companies have shielded viewership data, leaving producers and writers largely unsure of their success.”

LIT

Nineteen Illinois Republican Senators Vote Against Book Ban Prevention

“Legislation that would cut off state grants to public and school libraries if they ban books for ‘partisan or doctrinal’ reasons was passed by the Illinois Senate on and heads to Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s desk for approval,” reports the Tribune. “The Democratic-controlled Senate approved the measure in a 39-19 party-line vote taken as debates over book banning have amplified partisan divides nationwide.”

MEDIA

Block Club Adds Vet Journos

“Two veteran journalists have joined Block Club Chicago’s team to help lead the growing nonprofit newsroom,” says Block Club. “Janet Rausa Fuller, former Sun-Times food editor and metro reporter, joins Block Club as managing editor, and Curtis Lawrence, associate professor of journalism at Columbia College and a longtime editor and reporter, joins as senior editor of investigations.”

MUSIC

Don Cornelius and Chaka Khan Inducted Into Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame

Chicago natives Don Cornelius and Chaka Khan will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame this year. “As creator, producer, and host of Soul Train, Don Cornelius engineered the ‘hippest trip in America’ for over two decades. He single-handedly created a nationally televised platform for African American music and culture that featured the biggest names in soul, R&B, and hip-hop,” relays the institution. On Chaka Khan: “At a time when audiences for rock and soul were splitting into different camps, Chaka Khan’s voice and presence represented the racial and social integration at the heart of rock & roll.”

STAGE

War Declared On High School Musicals

“Schools are canceling student shows with LGBTQ characters,” reports the Washington Post. “Following a record-setting surge in efforts to change curriculums and ban books at schools nationwide, the education culture war has now reached the stage… School administrators have intervened to nix or alter school theatrical productions deemed objectionable—often because they feature LGBTQ characters or deal with issues of race and racism.”

Goodman Announces Cast For “The Who’s Tommy”

Chicago will be the first to experience a reimagined production of “The Who’s Tommy” when the creators, Pete Townshend and Des McAnuff, reunite at Goodman Theatre nearly thirty years after their epic pop-culture musical theater sensation first bowed on Broadway. Rehearsals are underway for the summer musical, which begins previews June 13. “It’s at once an honor and a joy to again collaborate with Pete to realize the power and pertinence of ‘The Who’s Tommy’ today,” director Des McAnuff says in a release. McAnuff originated the acclaimed production at La Jolla Playhouse, followed by its long-running Broadway engagement (1993-1995). “While the music remains as glorious as ever, our world years later is unimaginably and irrevocably changed. Tommy Walker’s triumph over devastating childhood trauma, to enlightened leadership, to ultimately recognizing the folly in which he’s surrounded himself is an amazing journey to discover anew.”

A cast of twenty-eight along with a nine-piece band performs the classic songs from The Who’s 1969 rock concept album in this new staging. Cast in the title role of Tommy Walker is Ali Louis Bourzgui, with Adam Jacobs as his father, Captain Walker and Alison Luff as his mother, Mrs. Walker. Joining them are John Ambrosino as Uncle Ernie; Bobby Conte as Cousin Kevin; and Christina Sajous as the Acid Queen. Young Tommy is played as a child and a pre-adolescent by these actors in rotation: Ava Rose Doty, Presley Rose Jones, Annabel Finch and Ezekiel Ruiz. “The Who’s Tommy” is on stage at Goodman Theatre June 13–July 23 in the 856-seat Albert Theatre. Tickets here.

Kokandy Productions Announces Casting For “The SpongeBob Musical”

Kokandy Productions has cast “The SpongeBob Musical,” with Frankie Leo Bennett as the bright, bold and boldly optimistic SpongeBob SquarePants. “He is joined by a motley crew including Sarah Patin (Sandy Cheeks), Isabel Cecilia García (Patrick Star), Tommy Bullington (Eugene H. Krabs), Parker Guidry (Sheldon J. Plankton), Quinn Rigg (Squidward Q. Tentacles), Amy Kim (Karen the Computer) and Jennifer Ledesma (Pearl Krabs). The Bikini Bottom ensemble includes Connar Brown, Maddison Denault, Sydney Genco, Fia Hunter, David Lipschutz, Nicky Mendelsohn, Nataki Rennie, Shane Roberie, Quinn Simmons and Kelcy Taylor. Swings include Amelia Bell, Abbey Demorow and Kenny Miller.” “The SpongeBob Musical” plays June 22–August 20 at The Chopin Theatre in Wicker Park. Tickets here.

Broadway In Chicago Announces Twelfth Annual Illinois High School Musical Theatre Awards

Broadway In Chicago has announced the twenty-four student nominees for Best Performer in an Actor and Actress role, nominees for Best Ensemble, Best Direction and Best Production for the 2023 Broadway In Chicago Illinois High School Musical Theatre Awards. In its twelfth year, the awards celebrate excellence in high school theater throughout the State of Illinois and is the regional program that feeds into the National High School Musical Theatre Awards (also known as The Jimmy Awards). Nominees and details here.

Profile Of General Dynamics-Sponsored “Antiwar” Opera Tempered

How far can corporate sponsorship go in today’s costly arts? “‘Grounded,’ a new work about the psychological toll of drone warfare, drew scrutiny after its presenter, Washington National Opera, advertised the support of… a major military contractor,” General Dynamics, reports the New York Times. Composed by Jeanine Tesori, “Grounded,” “an adaptation of an acclaimed Off Broadway play, and the Metropolitan Opera in New York, which commissioned the opera” hoped to “make it clear that General Dynamics, which has been a major sponsor of the opera company since 1997, had nothing to do with the creation of the opera.” General Dynamics “rewrote its promotional text for the opera, removing some militaristic language, including a line that had described its protagonist as a ‘hot shot F-16 fighter pilot, an elite warrior trained for the sky’ and a line noting that ‘war “with all the benefits of home” isn’t clear-cut.'”

ARTS & CULTURE & ETC.

Block Club Says City Council Will Be Nation’s “Gayest”

“The new City Council will soon have Chicago’s highest-ever representation of lesbian, gay and bisexual alderpeople, offering key opportunities to strengthen the city’s reputation as a beacon for LGBTQ rights while protecting the most vulnerable members of the community,” reports Block Club. “The number of openly LGB-identifying alderpeople in Chicago will grow from seven to nine, comprising one-fifth of the council, when members are sworn in… Chicago now has the most LGBTQ-identifying officials out of any city council in the United States… All nine of Chicago’s LGB-identifying alderpeople talked to Block Club about why this representation is significant.”

Park District Slates “Boatload” Of Perks For Lifeguard Applicants

“The Park District is hoping a $600 retention bonus, free soccer tickets and other perks will float up interest in being a summer lifeguard,” tallies Block Club. “The bonuses will boost average pay for seasonal lifeguards to $17.45 hourly from $16.20 hourly, and will be paid out across two checks during the summer.”

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