THIRTEEN WAYS OF LOOKING AT A CITY

As artist, poet, and actor Tony Fitzpatrick prepares to leave Chicago for New Orleans, he presents his theater piece, The Midnight City: a personal conversation that documents the Windy City, certainly, but also history, heroes, and art. Friend and co-writer Stan Klein’”who previously appeared with Fitzpatrick in This Train, Stations Lost and Nickel History: The Nation of Heat’”brings a quiet presence that contrasts with Fitzpatrick’s bulk and bombast. Joy and wistfulness elegantly co-mingle at the Steppenwolf Garage under adapter and director Ann Filmer.

Singer Anna Fermin (who co-wrote the music with John Rice) opens the show, accompanying a flock of Fitzpatrick’s bird paintings projected mid-stage (video art by Kristin Reeves).   Fitzpatrick then embarks on the description of his first bird-watching adventures: He wants to “be warm and draw birds” in his future home. However, as further anecdotes of his experiences with birds, people, and the city unfold, it appears that he may be moving away from a place changing unto unrecognizability. As schools shutter, generic franchises replace local businesses, and reality-show icons brand buildings in a town famous for its architecture, nostalgia mixes with indignation and mourning.

Both Fitzpatrick and Klein visit the ultimate midnight as they reflect on the loss of Lou Reed and painter Kenneth Noland; their own close calls; and the casualties in our city. Klein, who posits that the ultimate epitaph was Sonny Liston’s “A Man,” offers quiet presentations of multiple men’”his personae artist “Vito de Salvo” and the friendly Cubs’ usher “Leo”’”that provide the emotional anchor of the evening.

When he admonishes Fitzgerald with “Do you think New Orleans is going to be any different?” it is a sad acknowledgement of the crime, and in some cases vulture-like developers, that plague our cities. Chicago may not be known for “noble accents” (to allude to the Wallace Stevens poem that is incorporated in the splendid musical accompaniment) but The Midnight City’s reflections on the “lucid, inescapable rhythms” of the city and life will make you celebrate and grieve.

photos by  Anthony Aicardi

The Midnight City
Firecat Projects, in conjunction with Steppenwolf Theatre
Steppenwolf Garage, 1624 N. Halsted
Thurs and Fri at 8; Sat at 5 & 8; Sun at 6
scheduled to end on October 19, 2014
EXTENDED to October 26, 2014
for tickets, call 312-335-1650 or visit www.steppenwolf.org

for info on this and other Chicago Theater, visit www.TheatreinChicago.com