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Chicago Gay Men's Chorus To Perform 'Miracle on Thirty-Funk Street'

By Howard Ludwig | October 29, 2015 5:43am
 The Chicago Gay Men's Chorus will perform
The Chicago Gay Men's Chorus will perform "Miracle on Thirty-Funk Street" on Nov. 29 at the Beverly Arts Center. The holiday-themed concert is the first time the choir has performed south of Hyde Park in Chicago.
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MORGAN PARK — In its first show south of Hyde Park, the Chicago Gay Men's Chorus will perform "Miracle on Thirty-Funk Street" on Nov. 29 at the Beverly Arts Center.

The 150-member choir will take the stage at 3 p.m. at 2407 W. 111th St. in Morgan Park, said Ken Puttbach, interim executive director for the Edgewater-based group.

"We are really excited to reach a new audience," Puttbach said Tuesday. "We kind of view ourselves at the voice of the LGBT community in Chicago."

The holiday show offers a unique take on the Christmas classic "Miracle on 34th Street." The performance runs about two hours, which includes an intermission, Puttbach said.

"Everything is set to funky beats, and it's kind of an urban tale of a funky holiday in Chicago," he said.

 The Chicago Gay Men's Chorus will perform at the Beverly Arts Center on Nov. 29. The show will include a post-performance discussion both about the chorus as well as about the LGBT community.
The Chicago Gay Men's Chorus will perform at the Beverly Arts Center on Nov. 29. The show will include a post-performance discussion both about the chorus as well as about the LGBT community.
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The family friendly show will include a six-piece band and tunes from several well-known artists including Pearl Bailey, James Brown and Donny Hathaway. The performance also offers a series of comedic scenes as well as flashy musical numbers.

"Audiences will join the colorful staff at the Funk House of Uptown as they try to grab Santa’s attention with more than just milk and cookies; hear a different kind of coming-out story; and see the residents of the North Pole struggle to keep up with the times," according to a description of the show provided by the group.

"It's not your typical choir concert," said Puttbach, comparing the performance to musical theater.

The holiday concert is a joint production between the choir and the arts center. Puttbach said the facility's artistic director, Shellee Frazee, reached out to him to coordinate the show. Thus, he hopes this is the first of many shows at the neighborhood center.

"We've heard through a number of sources that there haven't been that many LGBT-focused activities or [similarly-focused] arts activities in that area," Puttbach said.

Steve English, of Morgan Park, was among those pushing for a show on the Far Southwest Side. The owner of The Blossom Boys florist shop in Beverly said that the holiday concert at the arts center is six years in the making.

"I wanted the choir down here because they always sell out their concerts, which means fans will then go to any place they are performing. They will bring folks from outside of Beverly to our neighborhood," he said.

English also believes that the concert is a good way to showcase the LGBT community — a group he feels is often overlooked or even ignored on the southern edge of the city.

In this regard, the choir will also host post-show discussion. Puttbach said several members of his group have volunteered to talk about their work with the choir as well as the LGBT community.

"We felt that this would be an important component for us being there," Puttbach said. "This might be a foreign thing to some people."

Tickets to the show cost $28 with a $3 discount for members of the arts center and can be bought online. For more information, visit the choir's website or call the arts center at 773-445-3838.

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