The Nose at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance (Dec. 8 & 10) proves the absurdity of politics is nothing to sneeze at, while a struggle to see eye-to-eye between truth and manipulation is comically explored in The Lifespan of a Fact at TimeLine Theatre (through Dec. 23).
The Lifespan of a Fact
“We’re elated to bring this hilarious, poignant, and conversation-starting play to TimeLine,” says the company’s artistic director PJ Powers, who stars in the Chicago premiere of The Lifespan of a Fact. “This play calls out with a bold red pen that facts matter, while also acknowledging the sometimes-fuzzy distinction between artistic license and journalism, each with its own set of responsibilities for storytelling and/or reporting.”
Based on actual events, Jim Fingal and John D’Agata’s book “The Lifespan of a Fact” (2012) is adapted into the same-named play by Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell and Gordon Farrell. The action kicks in when a magazine intern (Alex Benito Rodriguez) is asked to fact-check an essay by a legendary writer (Powers), only to learn the piece is filled with alternative facts. As his deadline approaches, the intern must decide whether to please his editor-in-chief (Juliet Hart) or abide by an established set of ethics.
“I’m absolutely thrilled to dive into the themes of this play with such an incredible ensemble and production team,” says the show’s director Mechelle Moe. “In our space and time in the world now, what is our relationship to truth and facts? How do we uphold them, champion them, question them? What is the impact to society when misinformation allows truth and facts to be compromised and manipulated to serve a purpose/agenda?”
The Nose
Ukrainian-American baritone Aleksey Bogdanov and Chicago favorite Curtis Bannister lead a cast of more than 30 singers in Francesca Zambello’s new production of the comic opera The Nose. Presented by the Chicago Opera Theater (COT), Dmitri Shostakovich’s compositions will be conducted by Elizabeth Morse and Genius Music Director Lidiya Yankovskaya in her final performances as the company’s music director.
The Nose also features Fellow Harris Theater resident company South Chicago Dance Theatre which will perform original choreography by its founder Executive Artistic Director Kia Smith.
Fans of the satirical comedy of Charlie Chaplin, Monty Python, and The Simpsons will surely be entertained by this remarkable piece of music theater.
Lawrence Edelson
“We are thrilled to be welcoming such a broad array of talent onto our stage for the Chicago premiere of The Nose,” says COT Edlis Neeson General Director Lawrence Edelson. “We are honored to welcome Francesca Zambello, one of the leading creative forces in opera, to direct this remarkable new production in her COT debut…Fans of the satirical comedy of Charlie Chaplin, Monty Python, and The Simpsons will surely be entertained by this remarkable piece of music theater. This production is also a fitting way to celebrate our remarkable music director, Lidiya Yankovskaya, who has been such a champion of Slavic repertoire during her tenure at COT.”
Based on a short story by Nikolai Gogol, the libretto by Shostakovich, Georgy Ionin, Alexander Preis, and Yevgeny Zamyatin follows a Soviet bureaucrat who wakes up to discover his nose has become a high-ranking government official. As such, he chases his nose around St. Petersburg on an absurdist, anti-authoritarian quest.
“The Nose speaks to all the energy, vigor, optimism, humor, and desire to improve the status quo that define a person in their early 20s (Shostakovich was only 22 when he wrote the work). The opera is daring, fun, and collaborative — exactly what we all need at this moment in time,” notes Yankovskaya.
“This masterpiece should have reached Chicago long ago,” continues Yankovskaya. “And it’s a privilege to finally bring it to our city. The Nose is also a beautiful showcase of COT’s strengths — a major Chicago premiere of an outside-the-box work that showcases the company’s incredible artistic capabilities, the breadth of operatic talent in Chicago, and the organization’s great flexibility.”