Friday 8/24 – Thursday 8/30
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Greta Garbo and John Gilbert weren’t just acting during the passionate love scenes in the 1926 film Flesh and the Devil; according to Gilbert’s daughter’s 1985 biography, Dark Star, the pair kept at it long after the cameras stopped. They went on to make three more films together–1927’s Love, 1928’s A Woman of Affairs, and 1933’s Queen Christina. Flesh and the Devil, about a temptress who comes between two best friends, is also notable for featuring the first horizontal screen kiss. It’ll be shown tonight at 8 with live organ accompaniment by Dennis Scott as the last installment in this year’s Silent Summer Film Festival. It’s at the Gateway Theater, 5216 W. Lawrence, and tickets are $10. Call 773-777-9438 or see www.silentfilmchicago.com for more. For the past dozen years, the Link’s Hall Chance Dance Festival has taken place on Wednesday nights in August–which means that folks who work that night have missed out. This year they’re cutting the last Wednesday (there’s a night game) and adding event founder Bob Eisen’s “Chance Dance Weekend.” Eisen, who now lives in Brooklyn and is finishing up a multicity tour, will perform with Kay Wendt LaSota, Bryn Magnus, and Charlie Vernon tonight and tomorrow night at 8 at Link’s Hall, 3435 N. Sheffield. Tickets are $8; for reservations call 773-281-0824.
25 SATURDAY Orleigh, a smart-talking bisexual 19-year-old with a just-say-yes attitude, is the protagonist of local poet Sparrow L. Patterson’s debut novel, Synthetic Bi Products. Patterson will read from and discuss the book, which is set here and in LA in the early 90s, tonight at 7 at Quimby’s Bookstore, 1854 W. North (773-342-0910). It’s free.
29 WEDNESDAY For its four performances at Ravinia this week, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago presents work that fits into the festival’s themes this season–Viennese composers and Latin-inspired music. Tonight’s program includes Petite Mort and Sechs TŠnze, choreographed by Jiri Kylian and set to the music of Mozart, and Ohad Naharin’s Passomezzo and Minus 16. It’ll be repeated on Friday; program two, tomorrow and Saturday, provides the Latin flavor with Margo Sappington’s Cobras in the Moonlight, featuring the tangos of Astor Piazzolla, and Nacho Duato’s Jardi tancat, set to a series of Catalonian folk songs. Program one starts tonight at 8 at Ravinia, at Lake Cook and Green Bay roads in Highland Park. Pavilion tickets are $25 and $30 ($15 for obstructed-view seats); a spot on the lawn is $10. Call 847-266-5100.
