“In times of challenge or joy, I have always found comfort and inspiration from the power of the arts to unite us. We are now set to press play on our fall season of online programming. As we say in the business, the show must go online!” says MAC Director Diana Martinez.
The MAC’s fall 2020 season will open with three weekends of live streamed performances of award-winning magician Dennis Watkin’s hit “The Magic Parlour At Home” (Sept. 11-25). Other live streamed performance events include MAC exclusive performances of The Second City’s “I Saw Mommy Kissing the Second City” (Dec. 5) direct from the Second City’s Chicago stage; and “Presley Perkins Lewis & Cash: Million Dollar Christmas” (Dec. 19), direct from the Belushi Performance Hall. As previously announced, New Philharmonic, under the baton of Kirk Muspratt, will also present three streamed concerts, all recorded exclusively for MAC audiences, including “The Music of John Williams” (Oct. 24-25), Holiday Sing-Along with the Symphony (Dec. 12-13) and the symphony orchestra’s New Year’s Eve Concert (Dec. 31).
Throughout the fall, the MAC is offering a series of Free Friday MAC Night events presented by BiCoastal Productions featuring full-scale taped concerts of cover rock band THE HIT MEN, Rick Michel in “Sinatra Forever”, the unbelievable vocal group Naturally 7 and Lee Rocker of The Stray Cats. MAC patrons are also encouraged to take advantage of the College theater and music programs and Cleve Carney Museum of Art (CCMA) Virtual Artist presentations that will be streaming as well.
“2021 will also be the grand opening season of the Cleve Carney Museum of Art,” continues Martinez. “We are thrilled we were able reschedule the Frida Kahlo exhibition to summer 2021 and we have been inspired by Kahlo’s spirit of resilience each day as we have been navigating these fluid times. CCMA and the MAC have created a series of free events leading up to next summer’s exhibition “Frida Kahlo: Timeless.” Events include a Book Club event around "Frida in America The Creative Awakening of a Great Artist” featuring a live Q&A with author Celia Stahr, and a discussion with COD faculty member Kathy Baum on “Fashions of Frida Kahlo” exploring Kahlo’s influence on the world of fashion.
Although patrons are not able to mix and mingle in the MAC’s lobby this fall as in prior years, the MAC is thrilled to present two interactive MAC Happenings this November. These include an online MAC Halloween Pageant Extravaganza (Oct. 31) and, in honor of Frida Kahlo, a Día De Los Muertos Drive Through Celebration and Food Drive (Nov. 1). More information will be forthcoming in the coming weeks at AtTheMAC.org.
MAC’s full fall 2020 line-up is below. Plays/dates/artists and prices are subject to change.Tickets are on sale now at AtTheMAC.org.
The MAC will be announcing 2021 events in the coming months, but encourages everyone to mark their calendars now for the 2021 Global Flicks series streaming Feb. 3 – March 10.
Tickets are currently on sale for “Frida Kahlo: Timeless” (June 5 – Sept. 6, 2021). Tickets are $18 (timed) and $35 (untimed). For tickets and more information vist www.TheCCMA.org.
The MAC encourages everyone enjoying the fall 2020 programming to consider making a donation to support the MAC’s ongoing ablity to continue to provide fun, creative and thought-provoking programming. For more information visit www.AtTheMAC.org.
About the MAC
The McAninch Arts Center at College of DuPage is located at 425 Fawell Ave., 25 miles west of Chicago near I-88 and I-355. It houses three indoor performance spaces (the 780-seat proscenium Belushi Performance Hall; the 236-seat soft-thrust Playhouse Theatre; and the versatile black box Studio Theatre), the outdoor Lakeside Pavilion, plus the Cleve Carney Museum of Art and classrooms for the college’s academic programming. The MAC has presented theater, music, dance and visual art to more than 1.5 million people since its opening in 1986 and typically welcomes more than 100,000 patrons from the greater Chicago area to more than 230 performances each season.
The mission of the MAC is to foster enlightened educational and performance opportunities, which encourage artistic expression, establish a lasting relationship between people and art, and enrich the cultural vitality of the community. Visit www.AtTheMAC.org or facebook.com/AtTheMAC for more information.
The MAC’s 2020-2021 Season is made possible in part with support by Double Tree by Hilton Lisle/Naperville, WDCB 90.9 FM and the College of DuPage Foundation.
“Frida Kahlo: Timeless” is presented by Bank of America and made possible through support from Ball Horticultural Company, Nicor, Wight & Company.
Established as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charitable organization in 1967, the College of DuPage Foundation raises monetary and in-kind gifts to increase access to education and to enhance cultural opportunities for the surrounding community. For more information about the College of DuPage Foundation, visit fwww.foundation.cod.edu or call 630.942.2462. Programs at the MAC are partially supported through a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.
McAninch Arts Center Fall 2020 Season
Events, dates, artists, prices, venues are subject to change.
For tickets and more information visit www.AtTheMAC.org
“The Magic Parlor At Home”
7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 11, 18, 25
8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, 19
$65 per household | Event Link
Award-winning magician Dennis Watkins has created an all-new live virtual magic show that delivers world class interactive magic and mind reading directly to living room screens. Broadway World hails Watkins as “A theatrical, mind-jazzing magical-hybrid show!”
CCMA Visiting Artist Series
Alice Hargrave
11 a.m., Wednesday, Sept. 9
Free | Facebook Live
Photo-based artist Hargrave incorporates sound and video within layered installations of her photographic imagery in space. Her work reflects on the notion of impermanence: environmental insecurity, habitat loss, and species extinctions and is included in permanent collections such as The Museum of Contemporary Photography, The Art Institute of Chicago Artist Book Collection, and The Ruttenberg Collection. For this event, she joins local organizations Chicago Bird Collision Monitors and Willowbrook Wildlife Center in a conversation on habitat loss and environmental insecurity, moderated by College of DuPage professor David Ouellette.
Frida Kahlo Event
“The Mexican Revolution: A Panel Discussion”
7 p.m., Monday, Sept. 14
Free | Facebook Live
MAC Director and “Frida Kahlo: Timeless” Executive Director Diana Martinez moderates a discussion with panelists Cristobal Cavazos, activist and leader of Immigrant Solidarity DuPage; Cesáreo Moreno, Curator of the National Museum of Mexican Art; John Paris, COD professor of History & Latin American Studies; Fernando Ramirez, President of the Mexican Cultural Center DuPage, and Justin Witte, Curator of the Cleve Carney Museum of Art and “Frida Kahlo: Timeless,” discussing how and why the Mexican revolution began and the significant impact it had on art, culture, and national identity. A Q&A with the panelists will follow.
Free Friday MAC Night
THE HIT MEN
Presented by BiCoastal Productions
7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18
Free | Event Link
Last seen at the MAC in 2017, these are artist who all either played, sang or did both on some of the most memorable hits by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, Carly Simon, Elton John, Barry Manilow, Carole King, Tommy James & The Shondells, Sting, Paul McCartney, Three Dog Night, Christopher Cross and Alan Parsons. For this concert THE HIT MEN will pull from their repertoire of some of the most popular and influential pop music of the 60s, 70s and 80s. Between songs, THE HIT MEN will share the ‘back story’ and personal anecdotes and about their experience with the song.
Free Friday MAC Night
“Sinatra Forever” Starring Rick Michel
Presented by BiCoastal Productions
7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25
Free | Event Link
“Rick Michel is the closest thing to Frank Sinatra we have ever heard.” (Variety). This concert pays homage to perhaps the greatest singer of all time. Everyone who has enjoyed Michel’s past MAC shows, will know this is not an impersonation show, but an interpretation performed by Michel, one of Las Vegas’ premier singers and impersonators, who channels “Old Blue Eyes” through his spot-on vocals beloved hits of the legendary Chairman of the Board.
Frida Kahlo Event
“Frida in America: The Creative Awakening of a Great Artist” Book Club Chat
3 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 4
$10 | Event Link
MAC Director and “Frida Kahlo: Timeless” Executive Director Diana Martinez discusses “Frida in America: The Creative Awakening of a Great Artist” by Celia Stahr. A Q&A with Stahr is included. Stahr’s book tells the riveting story of how three years spent in the United States transformed Frida Kahlo into the artist we know today. “Featuring meticulous research and elegant turns of phrase, Stahr’s engrossing account provides scholarly though accessible analysis for both feminists and art lovers." (Publisher's Weekly.)
United States Air Force Shades of Blue Big Band
7:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 9
Free | Event Link
The Shades of Blue jazz ensemble is a group of 18 professional enlisted musicians whose repertoire ranges from traditional big band jazz to bebop and swing to modern jazz.
College Music
Student Ensemble Concert
Featuring the COD Chamber Orchestra, Chamber Singers and Small Group Jazz Ensemble
7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 14
$7 | Event Link
Three student ensembles of the COD music department COD music students present an evening of music featuring a wide range of works. Concert features string and wind players, jazz musicians and singers with enthusiasm and creativity. For all of these groups, this concert represents the first public performance of the semester.
College Theater
“The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later”
By Moisés Kaufman, Leigh Fondakowski, Greg Pierotti, Andy Paris and Stephen Belber
Directed by Connie Canaday Howard
Filmed & Produced on Zoom
7 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Oct. 15-17 and Oct. 22-24; 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct.18 & 25
$16 | Event Link
In 1998, Matthew Shepard, a gay college student at the Univ. of Wyoming in Laramie, was tied to a fence, brutally beaten and left for dead. By the following day, Matthew's attack and the town of Laramie had become a focus internationally; six days later, he died, and five weeks later members of Tectonic Theater Project went to Laramie and conducted interviews with people from the town, resulting a “The Laramie Project,” a script which has had national and international acclaim. In 2008, the Tectonic team returned to Laramie to conduct interviews, resulting in this epilogue, which includes some long-term effects on the town, how people have progressed, or not, and how new narratives may discard factual evidence. Mature audiences.
CCMA Visiting Artist Series
Trevor Paglen
11 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 15
Free | Facebook Live
In this lecture, MacArthur Fellowship winner Paglen reflects on the current moment and imagine alternative futures. Paglen is an artist whose work spans image-making, sculpture, investigative journalism, writing, engineering, and numerous other disciplines. He has launched an artwork into distant orbit around Earth, contributed research and cinematography to the Academy Award-winning film Citizenfour, and created a radioactive public sculpture for the exclusion zone in Fukushima, Japan. His work is included in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the Smithsonian American Art Museum; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York among others.
Free Friday MAC Night
Naturally 7 - Berlin Live
Presented by BiCoastal Productions
7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16
Free | Event Link
Naturally 7 is more than a tightly orchestrated collection of a capella singers. It is seven extraordinary vocal artists who transform their voices into actual human instruments, effortlessly producing music of any genre. Their vocal choreography is so perfect, they compelled Quincy Jones, to declare “Naturally 7 is the future of vocal music!” Naturally 7 was showcased in “The World’s Best” TV show competition in 2019, as “Best Group,” and their 20-year career includes three world tours with the incomparable Michael Bublé, shared billing with global phenomenon Coldplay and more.
College Music
Faculty Recital
7:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 22
$7 | Event Link
In addition to holding advanced degrees in their fields, faculty members of the Music Department at College of DuPage are active performers in the Chicagoland area and internationally. This concert is an opportunity to experience their impressive talent.
New Philharmonic: The Music of John Williams
7:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 24 and 3 p.m., Sunday, Oct 25
$40 | Event Link
With a cinematic career spanning more than six decades and honors including 24 Grammy Awards, five Academy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards, John Williams is regarded as one of the greatest American composers of his time. This thrilling concert will include selections of his music from popular films ranging from “ET: The Extra-Terrestrial;” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind;” “Jaws;” plus the Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, Superman and Star Wars series.
CCMA Visiting Artist Series
Mary Mattingly
11 a.m., Wednesday, Oct. 28
Free | Facebook Live
Mattingly explores her body of “social sculptures” which have included floating eco habitats and edible landscapes, and illuminates her approach to public-public partnerships that reimagine commons
Based in New York, Mattingly Mattingly recently transplanted a group of edible palm trees from agricultural zone 10 to zone 5 in upstate New York; the introduced flora accounts for predictions in climatological shifts and how that may affect agricultural zones. Mattingly’s artwork has been featured in The New York Times, Le Monde, New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, and on CBS, BBC, NBC, and PBS's Art21.
CCMA Visiting Artist Series
Ayanah Moore & Darby English
1 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 10
Free | Facebook Live
Chicago-based artist Moore joins University of Chicago Professor English for a conversation on Moore’s work, which considers notions of gender and Blackness and generates alternative histories through cultural artifacts. English is Professor of Art History and Director of the Scherer Center for the Study of American Culture at the University of Chicago. He is also associate faculty in the University’s Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture, as well as Adjunct Curator in the Department of Painting and Sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Free Friday MAC Night
Lee Rocker of The Stray Cats – “The Low Road”
Presented by BiCoastal Productions
7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13
Free | Event Link
Lee Rocker made his mark singing, playing, standing on, spinning and rocking his giant upright bass as a founding member of the Grammy-nominated music group and MTV pioneers, The Stray Cats. The Cat’s worldwide mega hits included “Stray Cat Strut”, “Sexy and Seventeen” and “Rock this Town” listed by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the 500 most important songs in rock. In addition to touring The Stray Cats Rocker has toured and performed with The Rolling Stones, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Willie Nelson, Leon Russell, and John Fogerty. He was inducted into the Bass Player Hall of Fame in 2014.
College Theater
“A Christmas Carol”
by Charles Dickens, adapted by William J. Norris
Directed by Amelia Barrett
7 p.m., Friday, Nov. 27; 3 & 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 28 & Sunday, Nov. 29
$16 | Event Link
This family-friendly 70-minute show, adapted for the COD College Theatre department by William J. Norris, tells the beloved tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, who learns both that change is always possible, and the great joy of caring for those less fortunate.
College Music
DuPage Community Jazz Ensemble
7:30 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 3
$7 | Event Link
This ensemble, under the direction of Matt Shevitz, performs dances and concert programs during the academic year as well as numerous off-campus performances. Its repertoire spans more than a century of large jazz ensemble compositions, including original work from members of the ensemble. The ensemble is a frequent presence at the Elmhurst College Jazz Festival, has performance at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago, and in 2004 was recognized by the United States House of Representatives for its work on behalf of the Armed Forces Children’s Education Fund.
The Second City: “I Saw Mommy Kissing the Second City”
7 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 5
$30| Event Link
Live, from their Chicago stage, Second City roasts the holidays with a very merry mix of sketch comedy, music, and improv...with just a kiss of seasonal snark. Fresh, fast, and always spectacularly funny, The Second City is celebrating 60 years of cutting-edge satirical revues and launching the careers of generation after generation of comedy’s best and brightest.
College Music
Chamber Orchestra
7:30 p.m., Dec. 8
$7 | Event Link
The Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of Philip Bauman, is a mixed group of instrumentalists consisting of student and community members. The ensemble performs both traditional literature for small orchestra/chamber music from the 1600s through the 21st century as well as less traditional chamber orchestra styles such as jazz, contemporary classical, theater and film music.
College Music
Small Group Jazz
12 p.m., Dec. 10
$7 | Event Link
This ensemble, directed by Matt Shevitz, features a variety of types of jazz, ranging from classic to contemporary, instrumental as well as vocal. Small Group Jazz ensemble is designed to address the fundamental concepts of jazz performances, including reading a jazz lead sheet, improvising over various forms common in jazz and constructing small-group arrangements.College Music
Chamber Singers
7:30 p.m., Dec. 10
$7 | Event Link
Chamber Singers, under the direction of Lee R. Kesselman, specialize in vocal chamber music of all periods with particular emphasis on Renaissance madrigal and motets, music of the 20th century, and the music of many cultures. Contemporary music includes major composers, avant-garde music and arrangements of folk, ethnic and popular music. This select ensemble includes voice majors, other music majors and other skilled singers.
New Philharmonic: “Holiday Sing-Along with the Symphony”
7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12; 3 and 7 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 13
$40 | Event Link
For the first time, New Philharmonic offers a Christmas concert filled with everyone’s holiday favorites including a Hanukkah medley. To make sure no one skips a beat, ticket purchasers will be emailed a song sheet of lyrics.
Frida Kahlo Event
Kathy Baum: The Fashions of Frida Kahlo
7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17
Free | Facebook Live
Frida Kahlo’s self-expression went beyond paint and canvas. The choices she made in what she wore communicated her inner life and outward persona. In this talk, Baum, a professor at College of DuPage, explores how Kahlo used costume as an art form and influenced the world of fashion through her keen intelligence and artistic vision.
Presley, Perkins, Lewis & Cash: “Million Dollar Christmas”
7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19
$50 | Event Link
Direct from the MAC’s Belushi Performance Hall stage, this holiday favorite MAC delivers a rip-roaring live broadcast of their holiday show featuring a full catalogue of heartwarming holiday tunes by rock ‘n roll legends Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash, all done up in that unmistakable rockabilly style.
New Philharmonic: New Year’s Eve Concerts
2, 5:30 and 8:30 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 31
Featuring Alysa Jordheim (soprano)
$50 | Event Link
Soloist Jordheim who won hearts in New Philharmonics production of “The Merry Widow” this past January, joins Maestro Kirk Muspratt and New Philharmonic to say a hearty goodbye to the old year and look to the new in a program featuring Strauss waltzes and polkas, arias, light classical works, pop tunes, movie music and secret surprises. This program sponsored by ST|G|P Sullivan Taylor, Gumina & Palmer, P.C.
MAC HAPPENINGS
MAC Halloween Pageant Extravaganza
Beginning 12 noon, Saturday, Oct. 31 (Submission date: 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28)
Free
The MAC celebrates Halloween with a virtual Halloween parade and contest. Everyone is invited to submit their video or photos by 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28 in one of three categories: Kids, Pets, Kids and Pets. Submissions will be edited into a video parade that will debut at 12 noon Saturday, Oct. 31. One winner will be selected in each category to receive a special gift basket. More information will be forthcoming at AtTheMAC.org in the coming weeks.
Frida Kahlo Event
Día De Los Muertos Drive Through Celebration and Food Donation Drive
2-4 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 1
Free
The MAC celebrates the Mexican holiday, Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) with a nod to Frida’s Kahlo advocacy for social equality and responsibility, with a drive by celebration and food donation drive on behalf of Immigrant Solidarity DuPage. Everyone donating a non-perishable food item will receive tasty candy treats with the first 10 cars will receive a special calavera (sugar skull) confection. More information will be forthcoming at AtTheMAC.org in the coming weeks.
GLOBAL FLICKS 2021
The MAC will be announcing more 2021 events in the coming months, but in the meantime, encourages everyone to mark their calendars for the 2021 Global Flicks series Feb. 3 – March 10. Each film will be followed with guided talkbacks by COD faculty.
Poland
“Corpus Christi” (2019)
Directed by Jan Komasa
Wednesday, Feb. 3
A Polish ex-convict, who wishes to join the priesthood, cons his way into becoming a priest of a small town. At Venice Days, it won the Europa Cinemas Label Award and the Edipo Re Inclusion Award and was also selected as the Polish entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards.
Macedonia
“Honeyland” (2019)
Directed by Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov
Wednesday, Feb. 10
This documentary portrays the life of Hatidže Muratova, a keeper of wild bees who lives in the remote mountain village of Bekirlija, and follows her lifestyle before and after neighbors move in next door. It received three awards at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and two nominations at the 92nd Academy Awards in the categories for Best International Feature Film and Best Documentary Feature.
South Africa
“Otelo Burning” (2011)
Directed and produced by Sara Blecher.
Wednesday, Feb. 17
in Zulu with English subtitles
Everyone recognises 16-year-old Otelo is truly gifted on the water, a surfing star in the making. Otelo soon outshines his resentful friend, Mandla, who sells Otelo’s brother out as a suspected informer for the apartheid security police. When Otelo discovers Mandla’s hand in brother’s death, he has to make a choice between superstardom of international surfing and justice for Ntwe. The film won the awards of Best Dramatic feature and Surfing movie at the 2013 Byron Bay International Film Festival.
Iceland
“Women at War” (2018)
Directed by Benedikt Erlingsson
Wednesday, Feb. 24
Halla, a choir conductor and eco-activist, plans to disrupt the operations of a Rio Tinto aluminum plant in the Icelandic highlands, purposely damaging electricity pylons and wires to cut their power supply. The day her long-forgotten application to adopt an orphan child from Ukraine is approved, the government ramps up police and propaganda efforts in order to catch and discredit her. The film won the Nordic Council Film Prize and the 2018 Lux prize award of the European Parliament.
US/Mexico
“IceBox” (2018)
Directed by Daniel Swaka
Wednesday, March 3
Óscar, played by Anthony Gonzalez ("Coco"), a 12-year-old Honduran boy is forced to flee his home and seek asylum in the United States, only to find himself trapped in the U.S. immigration system. “Icebox” was a top 10 finalist for the 2018 Acadamy Award for best Live Action Short Film.
America
“Daughters of the Dust” (1991)
Written, produced and directed by Julie Dash
Wednesday, March 10
This film centers around a multi-generational family in the Gullah community on the Sea Islands off of South Carolina where former West African slaves who adopted many of their ancestors' Yoruba traditions struggle to maintain their cultural heritage and folklore while contemplating a migration to the mainland. “Daughters of the Dust” was the first feature film directed by an African-American woman distributed theatrically in the U.S.