RECOMMENDED

As certain as there is eggnog and mistletoe, there is an annual production of Tchaikovsky’s best-known work. The Joffrey adorns the holiday confection with felicitous glitz and spectacle; bejeweled costumes, a children’s chorus, rapid-fire virtuosic solos (in the Land of Sweets scene) ornament the stage of the golden Auditorium Theatre—a plush visual gift wrap for one of the most famous pieces of classical music and dance ever set to stage. Featuring Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino’s elegant choreography, the Joffrey “Nutcracker” holds strong as a seasonal family treat and the gateway ballet for those who tend to run at the first sight of tutus and men in white tights; strap a giant rat king head on one of your principle dancers and all those fussy French moves seem a lot less stuffy. Sure, you’ve seen it a half-dozen times, but that doesn’t stop you from watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” every Christmas, or insisting your friends who haven’t do so immediately. Take the family, take someone who’s never seen a ballet, sit back and feel like a kid again. (Sharon Hoyer)

At the Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress Pkway, (312)902-1500. December 18-28. $25-$100.

RECOMMENDED

If you haven’t yet seen this Chicago institution, the upcoming Winter Series at the Harris Theater is sure to be an appealing introduction to the most popular modern dance company in the city. The program includes two premieres: “One On One” by Hubbard Street’s artistic director Jim Vincent and “Walking Mad,” a highly publicized new work by Johann Inger set to Ravel’s “Bolero”—familiar, yet bold choice of material and one certainly well suited to the company’s crowd-pleasing, dramatic athleticism. Also on the program is the elegant, balletic “Strokes Through the Tail” by Marguerite Donlon and “The Set” by Lucas Crandall. (Sharon Hoyer)

At the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph, (312)334-7777. Wednesday, Dec 3-Sunday, Dec 7. $25-$86.

RECOMMENDED

The pristine, unabashed beauty of Lar Lubovitch’s choreography is on display in a series of affordable performances this weekend at the Harris Theater. The company is celebrating its fortieth anniversary with an accessible program of favorites—appropriate for a choreographer known for a certain populist camaraderie in his ensemble staging. A one-hour lunchtime performance on Friday costs less than your meal and features two works: “Concerto Six Twenty-Two” and a grand ensemble piece set to Dvorak serenades. Two performances will be held Saturday—a family matinee appropriate for ages six and up and an evening show that includes “Dvorak Serenades,” “Jangle”—a new piece set to Hungarian dances—and the award-winning “Men’s Stories.” (Sharon Hoyer)

At the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph. (312)334-7777. November 21 and 22. $5-$75.

RECOMMENDED

The distance in this case is measured with rigor, in potent, disciplined strokes. Two new pieces, each fueled by near uninterrupted momentum, stand in bold yet harmonious contrast. In Ashleigh Leite’s “I Live in Perfect,” limbs seem to reach beyond their physical limits to slice massive curves across the stage; straightened arms push aside the air or manipulate limbs of fellow dancers with an urgency evident on each face. Place this beside Molly Shanahan’s undulating, qi-driven “Stamina of Curiosity: Everywhen” and you have two poles of contemporary choreography: dancerly extension and precision of form versus profoundly organic, internally generated movement. Shanahan’s gorgeously personal choreography sits well on this company; rippling spines move from floor to the air to the backs of others on waves of palpable energy, bodies weaving intricate jungle patterns with orgasmic reverie. Conspicuous nods to Eastern forms (like when the cast holds warrior II pose in unison as though suddenly in yoga class) could easily fail but, thanks to the unflagging physical focus of the company, fit in the piece with convincing sincerity. The momentum is maintained with Shapiro and Smith’s spellbinding, sensuous and witty “To Have and to Hold,” which uses three parallel benches to play with shifting horizontal levels and chain reactions of cartwheels, log rolls and somersaults, reveling in the sheer joy of movement. (Sharon Hoyer)

At the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Pkwy. (773)506-8730. Fri & Sat. 8pm, Sun 2pm. $20. November 14-16.

RECOMMENDED

The weekend festival of everything tap, sponsored by M.A.D.D. Rhythms, celebrates its fourth year with classes, panel discussions, lectures and performances from the best hoofers in Chicago. Instructors include Robert L. Reed, Reggio McLaughlin, Ernest “Brownie” Brown, Jumaane Taylor and the M.A.D.D. Rhythms crew. If you want to learn a paradiddle but never laced on a pair of tap shoes in your life, this is the weekend to try; dancers of all levels are welcome and the amassed talent is sure to be inspiring. (Sharon Hoyer)

At South Shore Cultural Center, 7059 S. South Shore Dr. (773)256-0149. Nov 14-16. $30 per class, $10 per performance, $300 all-weekend pass.

By Valerie Jean Johnson

“Late at night in the guts of an abandoned theater, a company of actors gathers to rehearse Shakespeare’s “Macbeth.” They soon realize that they’re not alone. As they are drawn deeper into the Bard’s most magnetic play, the ghosts that have haunted the story since its inception hover and encroach.”  So goes the story behind “Radio Macbeth,” the latest offering from the renowned New York City-based SITI Company. Founded in 1992 by Anne Bogart and Tadashi Suzuki, this ensemble-based theater company is no stranger to Chicago, having made the city both a regular stop for many of the nearly thirty shows they’ve toured around the US and abroad over the past sixteen years, as well as a home for an annual two-week intensive training workshop in the summer. This will be their second time taking the stage at Hyde Park’s Court Theatre, after the highly successful 2006 run of “Hotel Cassiopeia,” written by the company’s resident playwright Charles L. Mee. And whether the play be by Mee, Noel Coward, August Strindberg or a completely original work devised by the ensemble, each production carries the indelible strength that comes from SITI’s singular (and rigorous) style of training and development. I caught up with artistic director Anne Bogart about the working life of SITI Company, the desire to take on arguably the Bard’s best (and bloodiest) tragedy, and the delights to be found in being haunted.

For our readers who may not be familiar with SITI Company, would you please tell us a bit about your process of devising work as an ensemble?

We work very collaboratively.  I start by describing the world of the play and I tell the actors and designers and all involved everything that I have imagined about our production.  Then we put our heads together and begin to work.  Except for songs and dances, which we develop and practice every day, we always rehearse in the order of the play, never skipping.  Once we have staged one scene, we move on to the next, in order.  It is a slow process.  When we get stuck we wait until consensus about how to move forward.

SITI Company’s first foray into the work of Shakespeare was “Midsummer Night’s Dream.” What were the driving influences behind the decision to tackle “Macbeth?”

Well, we had such a grand time working on “Midsummer” that I was anxious to tackle another Shakespeare.  And why not move from one of his greatest plays to the next?  These two plays are thematically and structurally diametrically opposite which seems right when moving from one to the next.  Also, “Macbeth” was the very first play I ever saw as a child and it is what made me decide to become a theater director.

“Radio Macbeth” is presented as an adaptation from Shakespeare. How do you define “adaptation” in this way? How much of Shakespeare’s original script is a direct part of this piece?

We are not doing the entire play, rather it is a cutting of the original.  A few of the bits are rearranged but ultimately I believe that we have stuck rather faithfully to Shakespeare’s play.  We try to keep out of the way of the rich language and situations.

Director Darron L. West describes “Macbeth” as “the ultimate ghost story.” What about ghosts entices you personally, and artistically?

I believe that all theater is ultimately about dead people; giving dead people voice.  The Japanese Noh theater, for example, was originally built over graveyards.  The actors stamped the ground to allow the spirits from below to inhabit their bodies.  This sounds morbid, I know, but it is actually quite delightful to allow for the voices and memories of the past to be filtered through one.

So, are there any superstitions in the company about saying “Macbeth” in the theater?

Oh gosh, we joke around about it.  Ultimately though, I do not think that we are overly superstitious.

What’s next for “Radio Macbeth?” Will the tour continue after the run here in Chicago?

Absolutely!  I hope to tour the play for many years.  But I will state here that I share the company’s enthusiasm for performing in Chicago in particular.

At Court Theatre, 5535 South Ellis, (773)753-4472, through December 7

RECOMMENDED

In describing the mission of Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, Artistic Director Kevin Iega Jeff states, “once you are able to reflect on who you are in creation—no matter who you are—once you understand the value of yourself, you can then bring that value to the world.” The evening of repertory presented by Deeply Rooted this week at the Harris is just such a personal reflection—an overview of a celebrated world-class company that maintains strong investment in the local community.

The program “Hidden Treasures” starts with a suite that migrates through history and space, beginning with “Olowa,” a duet inspired by African ancestry, traveling through the middle passage in “The Dance We Dance” and into the civil-rights movement with two pieces—“Change is Gonna Come” by Krystal Hall Glass and an adagio by Jeff, along with associate director Gary Abbott, that celebrates the shared vision of civil-rights activists of all colors. The suite is followed by “Church of Nations,” a piece “inspired by a statement George Bush Senior made prior to going into the war in Iraq,” Jeff explains. “Bush said he had consulted his spiritual advisers and those advisers said it was alright for us to go to war. ‘Church of Nations’ poses the question: can we justify death and destruction in the name of God? Is it a religious issue or a political issue?” The first half of the program ends with “Surrender,” a hopeful vision of a world that has transcended poverty, violence and hate.

Act II returns to the local level with performances from two of the Deeply Rooted community ensembles—Mature Hot Women and an ensemble of professional-level, non-career dancers. Also featured is a personal reflection by Jeff on the death of his sister, who suffered a nervous breakdown and passed away in 1997.

“We as a society have a problem talking about mental illness without it having a sort of stigma,” Jeff says in describing “Naemah’s Room.” “I use her life as an anchor, but I also use other people I see in similar conditions to tell the story. ‘Naemah’s Room’ examines mental illness; it examines the abuse women suffer and even the abuse men suffer, in societal expectations and pressure to behave in a less-than-nurturing way.”

The evening closes with the upbeat “Heaven,” a high-energy, accessible work drawn from social dances around the world. “Heaven being a place we create through joy of being together,” Jeff says. “It’s an audience favorite, I think, because they can see themselves dancing in the piece.” (Sharon Hoyer)

At the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 East Randolph, (312)334-7777. Thursday, November 6.

RECOMMENDED

Adam Bock’s “The Thugs” communicates more in its glances, glares and sentence fragments than other plays’ most artfully crafted soliloquies. Bock captures the tension and fractured relationships in the bleak world of temporary employees and throws in a couple of potential homicides for good measure.

Seven temporary employees working for a law firm sort through the rumors surrounding two recent deaths in their building. The characters reveal the threats they face: abusive boyfriends, a waning environment, a violent world on the edge. The collective paranoia builds to a well-orchestrated fever pitch.

The top-notch cast makes the Mametesque dialogue sound as natural as breathing, and capably man-handles the script’s helter-skelter rhythms. Standouts include Caroline Dodge Latta as the office’s sad-sack pariah/victim; Bob Pries as the ebullient gossip-monger and Greta Honold as the cheerful do-nothing who must deal with a very real conflict at home. (Lisa Buscani)

At Profiles Theatre, 4147 North Broadway, (773)549-1815. Through December 14.

Monica Westin

“Jon,” the creepy and beautiful short story by George Saunders about corporate-owned trendsetters living in a bubble of product-testing and commercial-producing, has its world premiere as an adaptation for stage by Collaboraction theater company. I spoke to Saunders—critically acclaimed American short story writer, recent winner of a MacArthur genius grant, and Chicago native—about watching his story take life.

You’ve had a few of your short stories adapted for the stage now, although “Jon” is the first show in Chicago that I know of. You’re also known for being a famous revisionist. Can you tell me about how the adaptation process worked and your experience being part of a collaborating team that adapted the story?

This is the third time I’ve had my work produced, and I love it. Since I don’t do theater regularly, it’s a treat for me. I’m kind of an obsessive story writer, so its nice to have a break and let somebody else in another area lead the way, and all my experiences have been positive. I’ve done some screenwriting and it’s the same thing—I can relax. What’s interesting is, “Pastoralia” was done in New York, and the end production didn’t seem like something I had done. When I work with theater companies adapting my work, I’m involved in just the play script part, which often comes down to just reading drafts. With “Jon” in particular, there are a lot of “voicey” things going on, so if there’s some kind of action that gets written in that needed his voice, I could do that. For example, how do you show onstage a sentence like “over the next six months the relationship went downhill.” To be literally faithful to story you’d have to do pages of explanation, but you can create parallel action to get you there more quickly.

You’re obviously most famous for your short stories, which you’ve compared to jokes in that they’re “risky” enterprises that can quickly fall on their faces—in other words, it’s immediately and painfully obvious when they work and when they don’t. What do you make of theatrical enterprises as risks, and the relationship between narrative and play script?

To be honest, theater is still a kind of a mystery to me, but the whole model of storytelling works in a similar way. I have to keep it really simply for myself, but what I think it is: In the first line of the story, the first motion of a play, you instantly generate out of 360 degrees of possibility a single expectation. The success of the next beat is how well you fulfill that expectation, and it always comes down to a matter of modulating future events. For me, whether it’s a play or a story, the key is to keep in the crazy space where you’re with me, and I go just a little faster than you thought I was gonna go, and to sustain that pace, so right away one thing I realized is that I don’t know how to do that in theater. The surface tension has to be kept, to put it a different way, with different tensions as you transfer from word to stage.

“Jon” is often seen as a kind of “poster child” Saunders story-this totally hilarious and biting satire about consumerism, corporate culture, pop culture, branding. I was intrigued that “Jon” was recently chosen by Jeffrey Eugenides for a selection of “love stories.” What do you make of that?

I actually thought that was just right. For me its funny, I don’t really care that much about the consumer-criticism stuff—I’m not a Luddite; I’m of two minds about it. I just see it as a feature of my culture, both sort of horrible and sort of wonderful. But for me it’s honestly really easy to generate that stuff—I could make up commercials for the rest of my life. When I was growing up, I saw literature as something very distinct from my life, and one day I realized, well if I can just do this kind of writing at will, maybe that’s not a bad thing. But it’s not the point, rather just more generative. Under the surface of this language of consumer culture the other, more interesting things are going on. With “Jon,” I found out early something else has to happen to make it a story. “Jon” as well as other love stories in that book [My Mistresses’ Sparrow is Dead] get talked about as critiques of American pop culture, but for me the love stories is what they’re all about.

The moments I remember best in the story are when the main character, Jon/Randy, is trying to describe the girl he loves, but is unable to do so because he lacks the language, the vocabulary. Hearing him try to articulate is so moving because of that sense that he’s stunted by this linguistic determinism.

Exactly, and that’s the paradox. Despite the world he lives in, his emotion is not stunted, although his language is. He feels, but his lens, his speaker is too small, and it doesn’t mean he’s not feeling. That experience, for me, is somehow where we are as a culture. More than ever, forces are conspiring to make us stunted at communication. If you’re bombarded by inarticulateness long enough, after you go a long time without real communication, after time your emotions start to change. That is the frightening thing to me—that the inability to express yourself results ultimately in the inability to feel. I’ve certainly found in my own life that when I’m stunted in my expression, I shrink emotionally. Conversely, when you can express higher concepts, something in your heart expands. I suppose that’s part of what makes me so delighted to help adapt my work for stage. I worry all the time about my ability to communicate with a wide audience, and seeing young actors find emotion in it brings me a huge amount of comfort—that’s relatable, as they say in Hollywood.

“Jon” opens October 30 and runs through December 14. At the Building Stage, 412 North Carpenter, (312)226-9633.

The DuSable Museum of African American History presents an evening-length sampling of African performance at the Harris Theater, some traditional—as with Ghanaian company Tatjj Drama ‘N’ Dance Ensemble—some contemporary and inspired by the diaspora—as with music, poetry and dance group Giwayen Mata. The program is advertised as an arm of the museum’s permanent collection—a new live component to flesh out the ongoing “Africa Speaks,” an exhibition that tours African culture region by region.

Also performing are Chicago-based theatrical dance-fusion company the Andrea Kelly Dance Ensemble, a group dedicated to urban youth outreach, and multidisciplinary arts collective POETREE (yes, it’s an acronym, albeit an ungainly one). POETREE is a collaboration between musicians, emcees and poets that strives to create urban music with a positive message. The Odyssey promises to be an upbeat, family-oriented presentation of both African and African American performance art. (Sharon Hoyer)

At the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 East Randolph, (312)334-7777, October 31.