By Rob Baker
On Friday, May 11, when office buildings disgorge week-weary workers into the Loop, the fun will just be beginning as the all-night party, Looptopia, kicks off. Based on similar events held in Europe and Canada, Looptopia – billed as “America’s first dusk-to-dawn cultural and artistic spectacle, showcasing the vibrancy and excitement of Chicago’s historic Loop” – features over 75 events. Not to be excluded, numerous theatre and film groups will participate in the el-encircled hoopla.
An insomniac’s delight, Looptopia launches at 5 p.m – when Swing Gitano Gypsy Jazz band, a dream journal workshop (both at the Art Institute), and a Brickheadz break dancing demonstration (at South Dearborn) simultaneously commence – and sails on until a Millennium Park Sunrise Celebration serves up breakfast, poetry, music, and exercise at 5:30 a.m.
In between, plenty of pastimes await, including numerous theatrical and film events. At 6 p.m. – 15 minutes after DePaul Theatre School students begin a stage combat demonstration, and 90 minutes before they perform original solo pieces “that exemplify the theme of Looptopia” – Miss Millennium Park, Miss Block 37, Miss Lower Wacker Drive, and other drag queens vying for the title of Miss Looptopia will mingle at the Hard Rock Hotel with “LoopTini” sipping revelers, who in turn will be hoping to win Stevie Nicks concert tickets, Hard Rock Hotel stays, and other raffle prizes.
“This event is designed to be gay friendly, but not gay exclusive,” said Kevin Boyer, spokesperson for Third Coast Marketing, which, along with queer sketch-comedy troupe GayCo, sponsors the pageant.
Also at 6 p.m., world-traveling teen theatrical troupe Free Street presents “Harold Is Burning,” a multimedia event exploring the life and legacy of Harold Washington. This piece, said creative director Anita Evans, evolved from intensive research, including interviews with co-workers of Washington, and takes place in “a sort of funkin’, in-between land, the space between how things are and how you want them to be.”
Oxymoronically, the Midnight Circus struts their acrobatic stuff in Daley Plaza starting at 6:40 p.m. Five minutes later Monika Ekks performs “Who Gets the Privilege of Disappointing Me Next?” at the Plaza at Chase Tower and, 30 minutes after that, WNEP takes the stage with “Soiree Dada.” At 9 p.m., Chemically Imbalanced enacts their highly praised improv show, “Bad Review,” in which they take a nasty Reader review and create a show “they feel the critic would rather have seen.”
WNEP attendees will have 15 minutes to trot to the Goodman Theatre which, at 10, will present its allotment of Suzan-Lori Parks’ year-long extravaganza, “365 Days/365 Plays,” in “normally unused parts of the theatre” – the cloak room, the refreshment carts, lobby windows, etc. Though they will not be doing their portion of the Parks project until the following week, Silk Road Theatre will perform a multimedia event inspired by their “365 Days.”
Those not up to a 2 to 6 a.m. chess tournament, may want to catch local film ensemble Split Pillow’s Chicago 360, their second annual documentary depicting “interesting, charming, untold Chicago stories,” which also starts at 2 a.m.
The Looptopia organizers did not return our phone calls. Their press materials say full listings can be found at www.looptopia.com, but the Web site wasn’t working before press time. Call 312/782-9160 or visit www.chicagoloopalliance.com for more info.