Review of Harris Theater for Music & Dance | Recently we attended a benefit here with some good...

4 years ago

Recently we attended a benefit here with some good...

Recently we attended a benefit here with some good friends. The theme was orchestrations with American-Italian themes centered around piano. The Chicago Philharmonic was also conducted by an Italian conductor.

My friend was a little upset with the first piece played because there was no piano. He loves piano! I told him don't worry, as I pointed to a giant piano siting in the wings. Sure enough 3 guys in black rolled out the piano for the second piece. This was a big production to get the piano out on the stage.

Then a lady from Highland Park came out in her evening gown to bang on the keys. It was a very spirited piece of music.

What always cracks me up is what happens after every piece is finished and we've all seen this if you've attended a classical orchestra show. The song finishes, crowd applauds, conductor points out important players, possibly shake hands, conductor leaves stage for 3 seconds, returns to conduct next piece. I just always find this humorous. I know the conductor is suppose to be collecting his thoughts off stage but only 3 seconds. I say milk it and wait like 5 minutes until the audience breaks out the lighters. Then surprise them and do a costume change too. Use that time wisely conductor man. I am only kidding but I figured I would offer some creative fun. Hey it's all a show so live it.

I also must point out that drinks are expensive here. I think it may be cheaper to drink at a baseball game. In fact, at intermission they had a person walking around selling mini wine bottles. They need to teach this person on how to sell. She should have been yelling, "Get your VINO here!" or "There's a 20 minute liquor line in the lobby!" I'm thinking I may need to re-train the sales staff on the floor.

Yeah the line at the bar was really that long...so lady selling wine from a bag was a faster option. The fastest option was to purchase "intermission drinks" at the bar before the show even started. Then simply arrive at the bar during intermission and your drinks were ready and you didn't have to wait in a long line. Who knew drinking at a classical concert was this complicated!

The theater is beautiful. The front of the theater and box office is located off Randolph street. If you are sitting on the main floor you will have to make your way all the way down to the bottom using an elevator or stairs. You are basically heading down to the lower Columbus street level. This layout is unique because typically the main door isn't at the top of the theater.

I also once had the opportunity to explore back stage. I was very fortunate to be offering support statewide for the premiere of Kevin Smith's movie "Red State" which premiered in Chicago at the Harris Theater. It's fun to feel like a rockstar for the day with an All Access Pass. I was amazed at the ability of the theater to do digital projection in here.

Now if I was comparing these two events. Kevin Smith's movie premiere was sold out but the philharmonic had plenty of seats open. Kevin would probably say, "F***ING RIGHT!" I guess the reason I point this out is because it shows the versatility of this theater to host both classical art and modern art. It shows that no matter what age you are you can always enjoy a night at the theater.

So if your looking for a night of culture then checkout what is happening at the Harris Theater. You may be surprise at what you might find.