2006-01-04 - 5:27 p.m.
Shakespeare and Mike Ditka in one night. What could be better? Last night, Nya and I went to see Much Ado About Nothing. She�s working at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater and got free tickets to see the play. The show was in a really nice performance space, modeled on the Globe. It�s a deep thrust proscenium that seats almost 500, but every seat is so close that the actors don�t even use microphones.
Much Ado is probably Shakespeare�s lightest comedy (hell, he says it�s About Nothing in the title). Beatrice and Benedick are always fighting, then get fooled into believing the other one is secretly in love with them and end up actually falling for each other. Meanwhile, Benedick�s friend is tricked by the evil prince into thinking his fianc� is being unfaithful. He rejects her at the altar before the deception is unwittingly revealed by the dopey comic relief characters and they get back together. Everyone gets married at the end.
That�s pretty much the entire plot in a few sentences. Henry IV or Titus Andronicus it ain�t. You know the drill. Comedy ensues the whole way through. The fluffiness noted (and I don�t mean to imply that I only enjoy dark, heavy, brooding meditations), it was a lot of fun. The actors playing Beatrice and Benedick traded barbs that seemed almost touching instead of mean. Comic character Constable Dogberry was appropriately hilarious. They even pulled off Balthasar�s songs well, which I�ve always thought were tricky to work in without seeming hokey.
The theater is on Navy Pier. This is a central-city development that didn�t exist at all twelve years ago (the space was occupied by a University of Illinois campus), but now it�s a kind of tourist-y, plastic-y, �family-friendly� entertainment mall. If you�re familiar with New York�s South Street Seaport or Boston�s Fanueil Hall or Baltimore�s Harborspace or there�s probably one in your town, it�s basically the same thing.
I�m not sure how I feel about these kind of developments. On the one hand, they�re certainly better than letting downtown urban areas go to seed and become a wasteland home for streetwalkers and petty criminals. On the other hand, there�s got to be a better use for the space than chain stores and tourist-trap restaurants. Why would you take a trip to the big city to see the same Gap and Bennigan�s that you can go to at home?
At least Navy Pier has a good deal of space devoted to the arts (I�d assume this was wrangled from the private developers by the public sector). In addition to the multi-performance space Shakespeare Theater, there�s a waterfront concert hall, a Museum of Stained Glass Windows, and the Chicago Children�s Museum. There are also a lot of attractions not predicated on buying things, like a funhouse maze (oddly, wheelchair-accessible), a rock-climbing wall, and several amusement rides including the trademark Ferris wheel.
One thing there is not is a place to eat open late. After we got out of the show, Navy Pier was absolutely desolate to the point of creepiness. We were hungry, but would find no food here. We figured we�d eat when we got home. But when we got on the bus back, we found that the Chicago Transportation Authority no longer gives free transfers with fares paid in cash instead of transit card as of January 1. We had to take two buses to get back and now would have to pay again.
So not wanting the trip to just be a waste of money, after the first leg we went around looking for an open restaurant. This was surprisingly harder than you�d think. I mean, we were in downtown Chicago and it was only 10:45. We were right on the Magnificent Mile. After wandering for many blocks, we finally found the lights on at �Mike Ditka�s Restaurant�. I figured they had just paid to use his name, but we found an accessible entrance to the upstairs bar and went in anyway.
And right there, sitting at a table drinking and watching the Orange Bowl on the several TVs inside, was Coach Mike Ditka himself. Wow. I�ve never really been a big football fan, but the 1985 �Super Bowl Shuffle� Bears who he coached were certainly a part of my childhood and I have to admit that I was a little star struck. The game went into overtime and I was glad to see he was rooting for Penn State. I feel like I have to cheer for the Nittany Lions myself because my great-uncle recruited players for them back in the day.
We sat down at the next table and got overpriced drinks and food, glorious food. It wasn�t terribly good, but it was actually available and we were famished. We watched the game and watched Coach watching the game. Nya pointed out how he seemed to be a sweet guy at heart. A dining companion got livid when the Penn State kicker missed a field goal when they were tied in the fourth quarter and got up grabbing a chair and saying he was going to kill him. Ditka made him calm down and sit, saying the kicker was probably a nice kid after all.
We started to leave when the game was over. Nya went up to Coach and said she was honored to meet him. Her stepfather back in PA knew him (which he apparently really does; Ditka�s originally from that part of Pennsylvania), did he remember? He responded with a blank smile and nod. It was obvious he had no idea who she was talking about, but was too politic to say anything about it. I told him that I had just moved to Chicago and would be remiss if I didn�t shake his hand, which we did. Then he asked me �Hey, what�s the matter?�
Nya and I looked at each other in confusion.
�Uh, nothing�s the matter. We�re fine.�
�No, you came in in a wheelchair. What�s wrong with you?�
Surprisingly few people have asked me so directly, usually Eastern European immigrants not fluent in the culture yet. But this was the Coach and when he asks, you answer.
�Oh. I have MS. You know, multiple sclerosis.�
I figured now maybe he�d impart some wisdom or at least say something from the rugged Hallmark card boilerplate about courage in the face of adversity. But he just muttered he was sorry and wandered away. Oh well, I guess I shouldn�t really have expected a little personal moment of inspiration with celebrity. We left and went home.
Now, there�s only one question left in my mind. People have said that it�s not really valid to compare across sports, but try. Were the �85 Bears not just the greatest football team ever, but the greatest team ever in any sport?
� 2006 Geoff Gladstone
Sign My Guestbook!
powered by SignMyGuestbook.com
�
