Top: The Chicago Theatre, Willis Tower, and the Reynolds Club at the University of Chicago. Middle: The Chicago skyline, looking northwest from Lake Michigan. Bottom: Navy Pier, the Field Museum, and Crown Fountain.

The culture of Chicago, Illinois, is known for various forms of performing arts, such as improvisational comedy, and music, such as Chicago blues and soul. The city is also known for various culinary dishes, notably the deep-dish pizza and the Chicago-style hot dog.

[edit] Performing arts

Chicago has a major theater scene, and is the birthplace of modern improvisational comedy.^[1] The city is home to two renowned comedy troupes: The Second City and I.O. The form itself was invented at the University of Chicago in the 1960s by an undergraduate performance group called the Compass Players, whose members went on to found Second City. It is also home to one of the longest running plays in the country — the Neo-Futurarium's Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind, an ensemble of 30 plays in 60 minutes. Many world-famous actors and comedians are Chicagoans or came to study in the area, particularly at Northwestern University in Evanston.^{[citation needed]}

Since its founding in 1974 as an ensemble effort, Steppenwolf Theatre Company on the city's north side has nurtured a generation of actors, directors, and playwrights. It has grown into an internationally renowned company of thirty-five artists. Many other theatres, from nearly 100 black box performances spaces like the Strawdog Theatre Company in the Lakeview area to landmark downtown houses like the Chicago Theatre on State and Lake Streets, present a wide variety of plays and musicals, including touring shows and original works such as the premiere in December 2004 of Spamalot. The Goodman Theatre and the Victory Gardens Theatre have won regional Tony Awards, along with Steppenwolf. Broadway In Chicago, created in July 2000, hosts touring productions and Broadway musical previews at: LaSalle Bank Theatre, Cadillac Palace Theatre, Ford Center for the Performing Arts Oriental Theatre. Broadway In Chicago provides over 7,500 jobs and an economic impact of over $635 million dollars. ^[2] [1] Polish language productions for Chicago's large Polish speaking population can be seen at the historic Gateway Theatre in Jefferson Park.

The Lyric Opera of Chicago, founded in 1954, performs in the Civic Opera House. The Civic Opera House was built in 1929 on the east bank of the Chicago River and is the second-largest opera auditorium in North America with 3,563 seats. The Lyric Opera purchased the Civic Opera House from the building's owner in 1993. The company has reported an average of 100% sales for the past 16 years and approximately 34,000 subscribers for its six-month season.^{[citation needed]}

The Lithuanian Opera Company of Chicago was founded by Lithuanian Chicagoans in 1956,^[3] and presents operas in Lithuanian. It celebrated fifty years of existence in 2006, and operates as a not-for-profit organization. It is noteworthy for performing the rarely-staged Rossini's William Tell (1986) and Ponchielli's I Lituani (1981, 1983 and 1991), and also for contributing experienced chorus singers to the Lyric Opera of Chicago.^[4] The opera Jūratė and Kastytis by Kazimieras Viktoras Banaitis was presented in Chicago, Illinois in 1996.^[5].

The Joffrey Ballet makes its home in Chicago. Other ballet, modern and jazz dance troupes that are located in the city include Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, River North Chicago Dance Company, Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, Thodos Dance Chicago, Chicago Festival Ballet and The Joel Hall Dancers.

The city's Uptown neighborhood is reported to be the birthplace of Slam Poetry, a style of spoken word poetry that incorporates elements of hip hop culture, drama, jazz and lyricism.

[edit] Music

Chicago Jazz Club

Chicago has made many significant pop-cultural contributions. In the field of music, Chicago is known for its Chicago blues, Chicago soul, Jazz, and Gospel. The city is also the birthplace of the House style of music, whose history is related to the development and fostering of the Techno style of music in Detroit, Michigan. The Hip-Hop scene in Chicago is also very influential, with major artists including Kanye West, Twista, Common, Lupe Fiasco, Da Brat & Shawnna.

Chicago artists have also played an influential role in the R&B/soul genre. Popular R&B artists to hail from Chicago include R Kelly, Dave Hollister, Jennifer Hudson and Carl Thomas.

The rock band Chicago was named after the city, although its original name was the Chicago Transit Authority. The band's name was shortened to Chicago after the CTA threatened to sue them for unauthorized use of the original trademark. Popular 1980's band Survivor is from Chicago.

Chicago has also been home to a thriving folk music scene, particularly in the 1960s and 1970's. John Prine, Steve Goodman and Bonnie Koloc were the most prominent folk singer-songwriters of that time. Goodman, an obsessive Chicago Cubs fan, is most closely associated with the city.

In the late 1970s, local band The Shoes arguably started indie rock with a power pop album recorded in their living room. 1980s' and 90s' alternative bands Local H, Eleventh Dream Day, Ministry, Veruca Salt, The Barbie Army, My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult, Material Issue, Liz Phair, Urge Overkill and The Smashing Pumpkins hail from Chicago. Contemporary rock bands The Lawrence Arms, Soil, Kill Hannah and Wilco are also Chicago-based. The 2000s have seen local artists Disturbed, Alkaline Trio, The Academy Is, Rise Against, The Audition, Spitalfield, Chevelle, the Plain White T's, Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, and Fall Out Boy also attain success in the U.S.

Chicago has become known for indie rockers following in the paths of the Smashing Pumpkins, Urge Overkill, Wilco, and The Jesus Lizard; bands like The Sea and Cake, Califone, OK Go, Andrew Bird and Umphrey's McGee hail from the city. In recent years Chicago has become a pinnacle in the indie scene, attracting both premier indie bands and industry attention. Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger of The Fiery Furnaces, who now reside in Brooklyn, New York are originally from Oak Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Chicago is also home to many independent labels like Thrill Jockey, Drag City, and others, and to the popular music-news website Pitchfork Media.

A handful of punk rock bands are based in Chicago. Some of the more famous punk rock products of the city are Naked Raygun, The Effigies, Big Black (featuring Steve Albini), and Screeching Weasel. Many of these punk and indie bands got their start at noted alternative music venues Metro (originally Cabaret Metro), and from 1987-2000, Lounge Ax.

Chicago is also know for being the "birthplace of American Industrial Music" as many bands got their start in Chicago. The city is also home of the now-defunct Wax Trax! Records record label which once had KMFDM, Ministry, Front 242, PIG, Front Line Assembly, My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult, Coil, and more on its roster.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is one of the nation's oldest and most respected orchestras. It is well-regarded throughout the world both through tours in both Asia and Europe and also through a large number of recordings widely available. Perhaps because of Chicago's historically large German-American population, the CSO is particularly well known for its performances of pieces by German composers.

While lacking a school of music with the stature of the Juilliard School or the Curtis Institute of Music, the Chicago area does have a number of colleges. The best known outside of the region is the Northwestern University Bienen School of Music, however the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University and the School of Music at Depaul University are both working to expand their reputations.

Chicago's colorful historys and culture have provided inspiration for a wide variety of musical compositions. In the 19th century, the chain of events surrounding the Great Chicago Fire led Chicago resident Horatio Spafford to write the hymn It Is Well With My Soul.

[edit] Sports

U.S. Cellular Field on Chicago's South Side. Home of the Chicago White Sox

Chicago has 15 professional sports teams. Chicago is one of only a few cities to have its major sports teams play within its city limits. It is one of three U.S. cities that has two Major League Baseball teams, and the only city to have always had more than one baseball team since the forming of the American League in 1900. The Chicago White Sox of the American League, who recently won the World Series in 2005, play at U.S. Cellular Field, located in the city's South Side in Bridgeport neighborhood. The Chicago Cubs of the National League play at Wrigley Field, which is located in the North Side neighborhood of Lakeview, and the area of Lakeview near the stadium is commonly referred to as "Wrigleyville."

Wrigley Field on the North Side. Home of the Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association are one of the world's most recognized basketball teams, thanks to their enormous success during the Michael Jordan era, when they won six NBA titles in the 1990s. The Bulls play at the United Center on Chicago's Near West side. They share the "UC" with the Chicago Blackhawks, of the National Hockey League. The Hawks are an Original Six franchise, founded in 1926, and last won the Stanley Cup in 1961.

The Chicago Bears of the National Football League play at Soldier Field. Chicago is the largest city to have an NFL stadium. The Bears have won nine American Football championships (eight NFL Championships and Super Bowl XX) trailing only the Green Bay Packers, who have twelve.

The Chicago Fire, members of Major League Soccer, won one league and four US Open Cups since 1997. After eight years at Soldier Field, they recently moved to the new Toyota Park in Bridgeview at 71st and Harlem Avenue during the summer of 2006. Toyota Park is also home to the Chicago Machine of the Major League Lacrosse.

The Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League play at the Allstate Arena in nearby Rosemont. The Chicago Slaughter of the Continental Indoor Football League play at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. The Wolves have won league championships in 1998, 2000, and 2002. Their first season was 1994-95.

The Chicago Hounds of the United Hockey League, the Chicago Shamrox of the National Lacrosse League and the Chicago Storm of the Major Indoor Soccer League play at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates.

Chicago United, USAFL members, are the Australian Rules football club in the city, competing in the MAAFL.

The city has offered an official bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics.^[6][7] Chicago also hosted the 1959 Pan American Games, and Gay Games VII in 2006.

[edit] Cuisine

[edit] Local specialties

A sign of the establishment serving Maxwell Street Polish

The great triumvirate of Chicago-style foods is Chicago-style pizza, Chicago-style hot dogs and Italian beef:

• Chicago-style pizza, deep-dish pizza with a thin crust covered by a thick layer of cheese, is world-renowned and popular locally. Chicago pizzerias also serve the less well-known stuffed pizza (a close relative of deep-dish) and a unique crispy style of thin crust.

• A Chicago hot dog is traditionally a steamed or boiled natural-casing wiener on a poppy-seed bun topped with yellow mustard, chopped onion, sliced tomato, neon-green sweet-pickle relish, sport peppers, a dill-pickle spear and a sprinkling of celery salt — but no ketchup. Many hot-dog stands also serve the Maxwell Street Polish.

• An Italian beef is a sandwich featuring thinly sliced roast beef flavored with Italian-style seasonings and served on an Italian roll sopped in the meat juices, sometimes combined with a grilled Italian sausage, and topped with hot giardiniera or sauteed, green Italian sweet peppers.

Not unique to Chicago, but ubiquitous there is gyros, reportedly introduced to the U.S., along with flaming saganaki, by Chicago's Parthenon restaurant.^[8] Many locally owned fast-food restaurants serve hot dogs, Italian beef and gyros.

The newest Chicago specialty is the jibarito, a sandwich served on fried plantains. The oldest delicacies are chicken Vesuvio and shrimp DeJonghe.

Steakhouses also figure prominently in Chicago cuisine and culture, dating from the city's days as a meatpacking capital.

Less well known are the South Side specialties: the big baby, a double cheeseburger style;^[9] aquarium-smoked barbecue, particularly rib tips and hot links;^[10] the mother-in-law, a chili-topped tamale on a bun;^[11] and atomic cake, featuring banana, yellow and chocolate cake layers alternating with banana, strawberry and fudge fillings.

[edit] Restaurant scene

The Windy City also features many ethnic restaurant districts, including Greektown on South Halsted Street; Little Italy on Taylor Street, just west of Halsted, and in the Heart of Italy neighborhood in Heart of Chicago; Chinatown on the South Side; Middle Eastern fare along Lawrence Avenue between Pulaski and Kedzie; Polish cuisine on the Northwest and Southwest sides; the Mexican districts of Pilsen and Little Village; Korean food along Lawrence Avenue and, increasingly, in northern suburbs such as Niles, Illinois; and the Indo-Pak stretch of Devon Avenue.

Chicago is also home to many fried-shrimp shacks, and has its own local fried-chicken chain, Harold's Chicken Shack.

Along with fast food and ethnic fare, Chicago is home to many steakhouses, as well as a long list of world-renowned, upscale dining establishments serving a wide array of cuisine from some of the best-known chefs in the United States. Some notable destinations include Frontera Grill, a gourmet Mexican restaurant owned by Food Network star Rick Bayless, and Jean Joho's Everest, a new-French restaurant on the top floor of the Chicago Stock Exchange building downtown. Others are Charlie Trotter's, owned by well-respected chef Charlie Trotter, and Tru from chefs Rick Tramonto and Gale Gand.

In the June 2006 issue of GQ magazine, Chicago was hailed as the best restaurant city in America, and in the October, 2006, issue, Gourmet magazine chose Alinea as the finest restaurant in the United States. Chicago has recently become a center for molecular gastronomy, thanks to Alinea, Moto and Avenues.

[edit] Visual arts

Although Chicago's museums concentrate on out-of-town artists, there is a lively fine arts community. The highest concentration of contemporary art galleries can be found in the River North neighborhood, though a great amount of arts activity also centers around the Wicker Park neighborhood.

Chicago has long had a strong tradition of figurative surrealism, as in the works of Ivan Albright and Ed Paschke. In 1968 and 1969, members of the Chicago Imagists, such as Roger Brown, Leon Golub, Robert Lostutter, Jim Nutt, and Barbara Rossi produced bizarre representational paintings. Today Robert Guinan paints gritty realistic portraits of Chicago people which are popular in Paris, although he is little known in Chicago itself.

Chicago has a Percent for Art program of public artworks, although it is notoriously more opaque and secretive than that of most other cities; arts activist such as Paul Klein and attorney Scott Hodes have long criticised its lack of public accountability.^[12]

Chicago is home to a number of large, outdoor works by well known artists. These include the Chicago Picasso, Miró's Chicago, Flamingo by Alexander Calder, Cloud Gate by Anish Kapoor, Crown Fountain by Jaume Plensa, and the Four Seasons mosaic by Marc Chagall.

[edit] Visual arts coverage

The Chicago Reader, an alternative weekly newspaper, contains complete art listings of galleries and museums and has a regular art reviewer, Fred Camper. The Chicago Tribune, one of Chicago's two major newspapers, has no gallery or art listings and one dedicated fine arts reporter, Alan G. Artner. The Chicago Sun-Times, the other of Chicago's two major newspapers, has no gallery or art listings and no dedicated arts reporter, although Kevin Nance covers some fine art issues along with movies and popular culture.

The New Art Examiner (from Chicago) and Dialogue magazine (Detroit) reported on Chicago and midwestern arts communities until they both folded in 2002. Since then no arts journal covers the American midwest art world.

Chicago Gallery News, a glossy color magazine published three times a year, lists gallery shows but has no articles. Gallery Guide magazine publishes a Chicago/midwest edition which is similar.

Local artists' interests are represented by the Chicago Artists' Coalition, a nonprofit advocacy organization, which has a monthly newsletter, the Chicago Artists' News.

[edit] See also

• List of Museums and Cultural Institutions in Chicago

[edit] References

1. ^ Sawyer, R Keith (September 30, 2002). Improvised Dialogue. Ablex/Greenwood. p. 14. ISBN 1-56750-677-1. 
2. ^ Burghart, Tara (2007-01-16), "Study Outlines Chicago Theater Impact", San Francisco Chronicle, http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/01/16/entertainment/e155202S39.DTL 
3. ^ "About the Lithuanian Opera Company, Inc. in Chicago". Lithuanian Opera Co.. http://www.lithoperachicago.org/. Retrieved 2006-09-14. 
4. ^ Marsh, Robert C.. "Author's Preface". in Pellegrini, Norman (ed.). 150 Years of Opera in Chicago. DeKalb, Illinois: Northern Illinois University Press. xii. ISBN 0-87580-353-9. 
5. ^ Posters by Ada Sutkus for the Lithuanian Opera Company of Chicago
6. ^ Levine, Jay. "Chicago In The Running To Host 2016 Summer Games." CBS. July 26, 2006. Retrieved on December 1, 2006.
7. ^ "Official Chicago 2016 Website." Retrieved on December 1, 2006.
8. ^ The Parthenon: History
9. ^ The burger that ate Chicago
10. ^ Zeldes, Leah A. (2008), "Smoke 'em if you got 'em", Dining Chicago, http://www.diningchicago.com/2008/show_new_article_test.php?aID=38, retrieved 2009-07-15  On the West and South sides, barbecue joints tend to be strictly take-out places, and the style is typically smokier and chewier, cooked in aquarium smokers. (Developed in the 1950s and unique to Chicago, these rectangular cookers with transparent doors get their name from their resemblance to fish tanks.)
11. ^ Making a Mother-in-Law Sandwich
12. ^ Kevin Nance, "Artists Plan Protest on Public Art Policy", Chicago Sun-Times, Sunday, June 10 2007, p. 10A

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