To Master the Art (Julia Child) Oct 30 - Dec 19, Theater

To Master the Art, opening October 30th through December 19th at TimeLine Theatre, 615 W. Wellington Ave. 773.281.8463 x24

Commissioned by TimeLine in 2008, this world premiere recalls the adventure and romance of Julia and Paul Child’s journey of discovery to Paris during the 1950s. From the bistro where Julia fell in love with food, to the kitchen table where she recreated everything learned during cooking class, to a room where Paul was grilled by U.S. agents about alleged Communist contact, this is the story of a larger-than-life culinary icon and her remarkable husband as they struggle to find themselves as Americans abroad.

http://www.timelinetheatre.com/to_maste ... /index.htm

I'm not familiar with the TimeLine theater company, but this sounds like it might be a fun night out. There are certainly a number of places nearby where one can get lth-worthy grub. If anyone is interested and wants to pick a date this could be a fun group opportunity to do a meet and eat before the show.

Challenging for me to get downtown on a weeknight- but if we did a sat nitght, maybe Nov 20?
I would love to do a group thing for this show...

I won't be able to join a group, as I'm already a subscriber and have tickets for this show, but I'd like to put in a rousing endorsement for the quality of TimeLine's work. My husband and I have been lucky enough to see several shows there, and a couple (including recent productions of Frost/Nixon and The History Boys) rival anything we've seen elsewhere in Chicago for quality of acting, staging, and direction. We both count Julia Child among our heroes, and so are looking forward to this new production.

bean wrote:http://www.timelinetheatre.com/to_master_the_art/index.htm

I'm not familiar with the TimeLine theater company, but this sounds like it might be a fun night out.

As subscibers and donors to Timeline, we obviously enjoy their productions, and their actors are first-rate. The company recently won another Equity Jeff Award (Best Production - Mid-Size Theater Company) for one of last season's 4 productions.

The theater seats ~110 and has gotten increasingly popular. Subscriptions have risen steadilly over the last 2 seasons. To avoid disappointment, order your tickets promptly. Most productions are now selling out quite early, and the only times they've extended an engagement since we've been patrons has been on the final play of their season (which normally wraps in June).

Enjoy!!

I highly recommend this play, and not just to foodies. It succeeds on many levels.

4-star review at Chicago Theater Blog

According to Timeline's website, the entire run is sold out.

I love Timeline and am looking forward to seeing this!

Very happy I jumped on this as soon as I saw it posted here. What places are recommended for dinner afterwards? Living in the suburbs, I always need to get my bearings.

Hi,

I went last week, parking is a bear around there. Bring your shortest car and arrive early enough to allow for a few drives around the block.

I thought this play was terrific. Unlike the disappointing Julie and Julia, where you wanted to mentally delete Julie. This play zeroed in on what we wanted: Julia Child.

It opened on their arrival to France and closed with the book on the cusp of being published and their return to the States. In between, they concentrated on the strong relationship between Julia and her husband Paul, her culinary life and the politics of the time.

There are cooking odors wafting throughout the play, though mostly cooked onions. You are wise to have a destination for dinner afterwards, because you will be looking for something to bite into. Pastoral is up the block, you may want to bring a cooler for some cheese shopping.

Julia Child's 100th anniversary of her birth is in 2012. It would not surprise me if this play is not replicated during her anniversary year. I'm glad I had the opportunity to go.

Regards,

aschie30 wrote:According to Timeline's website, the entire run is sold out.

I would call the theater anyway because they may have a waitlist for cancellations and given how soon this one sold out, with enough expression of interest, it's possible they'll consider extending. Given that this play was a special commission, it may be that they'll override typical practice. (One of the drawbacks of Chicago theater generally is how rarely plays run more than six weeks or so, even when they do sell out their run.)

Re parking: Although street parking can be challenging, both Erwin and The Bagel have deals where you can dine there and leave your car with their valet during the show; there are also commercial lots nearby.

I highly recommend dining before rather than afterward. As mentioned elsewhere, the most thematically fitting place in the area is probably La Creperie.

TimeLine has just added three additional performances:

* Tuesday, November 16 at 7:30 pm
* Tuesday, November 30 at 7:30 pm
* Tuesday, December 7 at 7:30 pm

Call immediately. They also are maintaining a waitlist in case of subscriber cancellations.