See a Play This Weekend at Chicago’s Millennium Park

When summer comes to Chicago, Millennium Park (map it) is the place to be with its outdoor (and free) concerts, events, and even group yoga and Pilates workouts on Saturdays.

Believe it or not, it is also the place be in the winter.

Through January 30, the park’s Jay Pritzker Pavilion is offering Moby Dick as part of its new theater lab series called In the Works.

The In The Works series gives people a chance to sit on the stage of the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, experiencing “works in development” by local theater artists and companies.

Moby Dick, which tells the story of Captain Ahab and the White Whale through puppetry and music, will be ready for a full presentation in the fall of 2010.

According to the City of Chicago, this all-new production of Melville’s classic features the voice of singer/songwriter Michael Smith with puppeteer Blair Thomas as Ishmael and three drowned shipmates who double as puppeteers performing with masks, shadow puppets, and totem/dolls.

The play is set just after the time of Ishmael’s rescue from the floating debris of the destroyed Pequod, before Ishmael can find peace with himself and pen the famous words “Call me Ishmael.”

To order tickets by phone, call 312-742-TIXS (8497). Cost is $10. Performances begin at 7:30 p.m.

Tip: Before or after the performance, have dinner at the park’s Park Grill restaurant, which has become a favorite of locals for its fabulous food and wine list, as well as specials including: a $30 “pre performance” menu, which includes an appetizer, main dish, and dessert, and “$5 Thursdays” where from 5 p.m. to close, certain menu items (including wine and beer) are only $5.

For more information, visit the Millennium Park’s Web site.

Photo credit: SXC