Open Rehearsal: The Court Theatre Blog
Hyde Park
August 19, 2009
Literary events of note
Two literary events in Hyde Park you should know about:
1. Every Wednesday, the Dean’s Men (the university’s resident Shakespeare troupe) holds court over “Shakes and Shakespeare.” Grab a $1 milkshake from the C-Shop and see a free Shakespeare performance on Bartlett Quad at high noon. UChiBLOGo has the story. The few times I’ve seen the Dean’s Men perform, I’ve always had a blast. This week: Antony and Cleopatra, part 1.
2. 57th Street Books hosts the single best thing I’ve ever heard of: the H.P. Lovecraft Memorial Ice Cream Social! “Hear tales of unspeakable horror, see (and possibly win) forbidden tomes and strange artifacts, and partake of frozen confections colder than the howling void.” This is why some of us never leave Hyde Park. Saturday, August 22nd at 2pm.
August 10, 2009
Court in ‘63
We found some old poster-programs from the early 1960’s when Court was an outdoor festival in Hutch Courtyard on the university campus. Here’s one:
On the back is a sampling of Hyde Park advertisements, circa 1963:
Still the one.
Proof that, at one point, someone served late night food in Hyde Park.
A distant ancestor of Calypso Cafe, according to the Law of Conservation of Tiki.
A distant ancestor of What the Traveler Saw. Clearly? Clearly.
July 28, 2009
A Rainbow and its Understudy
Hardcore double rainbow action yesterday evening at Promontory Point, Hyde Park. [Cameo: my left thumb.]
July 20, 2009
Borders and Fortresses
Martha Lavey asks how to make our theaters more inviting, but Hyde Park Progress asks, how do we make our neighborhood more inviting? Richard Gill speaks about the barricade at 57th Street, which prevents inbound traffic from Lake Shore Drive from cruising down one of Hyde Park’s more robust thoroughfares:
The barrier has been there for so long, nobody (including CDOT traffic engineers) seems to know exactly when or why it was put there. Looking for clues, I found that it dates to the paranoid days of “the urban renewal,” nearly 50 years ago. According to the Hyde Park Herald edition of February 1, 1961, 57th Street was closed to westbound traffic at Stony Island in September 1960. The change at that time provoked the ire of many, such as residents at 58th & Dorchester who said the one-way designation required them to drive an extra four blocks, just to get home (It still does).
Richard Gill/Hyde Park Progress
July 14, 2009
Hyde Park Arts Center
I missed this article, over a year ago in the Times, about the Hyde Park Art Center and its ability to craft an impressive arts institution on a $3 million budget.
