This post will be the first of what I think might be a series on what I love so much about Chicago. Think of it as a sort of large-scale public brainstorming session for when I write my great Chicago-themed novel. Just so you know, James Joyce wrote the entirety of Ulysses traveling about Europe. He never once set foot in Ireland while writing the book. Distance makes the heart grow fonder, right? Certain aspects of the city brighten and become vivid when remembering them from afar. I only mention this because I have a lot of things running through my mind, and I'm not sure how coherent this posting will be.
I'm writing because I miss Chicago. I miss Buckingham Fountain. I miss the Taste. I miss the lake and the Cubs and Pilsen and Rush Street. I might be in New York for awhile, and I might find myself quite happy here (so far, so good), but Chicago is one of the great characters in my life's story. It's difficult to say because it's only been a little over a month, but I get the feeling that I will always consider myself a Chicagoan. I'm proud of my city, proud to acknowledge it as a part of who I am.
Which brings me to my craving. I thought it was innocuous at first, but I only just now realized that it's quite nuanced. Let me divulge something to you. I might be a health-conscious marathon runner, but I have a weakness for Dunkin Donuts. Lately my desire for a buttermilk donut and medium coffee has been strong. I finally had that donut and coffee this morning (glazed because they were out of buttermilk, eh) when I accompanied my friend Beth to Penn Station. Beth was en route to Newark Airport en route to Tel Aviv. Maybe it was not having the buttermilk. I don't know. The donut experience left something to be desired.
Only fifteen minutes ago I realized that my craving ran deeper than a Dunkin Donuts buttermilk donut. I was in need of Superior Donuts. Superior Donuts is a play that premiered for review today at Steppenwolf Theatre. You can find the New York Times and Chicago Tribune reviews I just read here and here. It stars Michael McKean of Laverne and Shirley and This is Spinal Tap fame as well as budding star Jon Michael Hill. Jon Hill graduated from the University of Illinois a year before Zev, and I had the good fortune to see him on stage alongside my best buddy in the musical I Sing. I like to think I knew him "before he was famous" when in reality I probably shared two sentences of congratulations at a cast party after the show. Jon Hill is a stud, and I believe he's the youngest actor ever to be named an ensemble member at Steppenwolf. Now he's starring in the latest work from a writer who just won a Pulitzer and the Tony for best play. How 'bout them donuts?
I promise this has a point. If you read the reviews, you'll glean that the critics appreciate the fact that the playwright went back to his Chicago roots after earning international fame for his last play. Donuts might not be a staggering work of genius, but it is an honest expression of a Chicago writer's take on the dynamic of his city. It's a show that takes place in Uptown, and it is physically performed in Lincoln Park. It's about race and gentrification and changes and, best of all, those most delectable of all comestibles--donuts.
Which brings me back to my initial point. I wish I could be in Chicago right now to see Superior Donuts. New York is full of big-ticket shows with big-ticket stars, but Chicago has the best stuff. It has Second City and Improv Olympic. It has Uptown and Lincoln Park. It has the sights and sounds and people with whom I grew up. No matter how much New York has to offer, it will never be able to give me that. Tough donuts, I guess.
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