Incoming

Congratulations to Broadway producer Vivek J. Tiwary on Jagged Little Pill being nominated for a Tony Award as Best Musical. The Alanis Morisette inspired production also received nominations for Diablo Cody in the Best Book of a Musical category and Elizabeth Stanley for Best Lead Actress in a Musical. I’m more familiar with Tiwary as being the writer of the really cool The Fifth Beatle graphic novel about Brian Epstein. I had a chance to talk to him when I bought a copy at Fest For Beatles Fans - Chicago a while back, and was impressed with his enthusiasm for adapting his book into a full-length film.

This is Chicago Acts Together Week, a celebration of our local venues and performers, as well as a call to support them. The official website has suggestions for what people can do each day to help, including making donations to local theaters and sharing favorite memories on social media. 

The Chicago Tribune picked up an article by Elizabeth A. Harris from The New York Times today expressing the need for people to support independent book stores, especially during the pandemic. There was good news about some bookstores, such as Third Place Books in Seattle and Source Booksellers in Detroit still doing fairly well. But be sure to support your local book store.

The one where a new Chicago-based duo names itself after a star from Friends. Kelly and Rick, AKA Jennifer Love Anniston, are performing hits from the 1990s in their debut performance at Montrose Saloon tonight even as I’m writing this. It’s a safe bet “I’ll Be There For You” by The Rembrandts will be one of the songs they play.

The What4 band (Phil Angotti, Scott Ligon, Casey McDonough, John  Perrin, and Tony Kidonkis) will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of The Beatles’ Let It Be by performing the entire album on the patio at FitzGerald’s in Berwyn tomorrow night (October 21) starting at 7:00 pm.

I caught an impressive (and I think rare) solo performance by Dag Juhlin at Hey Nonny in Arlington Heights a week ago. He played a number of songs from the two albums he’s recorded as a member of Sunshine Boys, and it was fascinating to hear them in stripped-down but still powerful renditions. Juhlin’s wry sense of humor was evident during his comments between songs and also provided insight into his long career in Chicago rock.