A Hue's Who on the Streets of Skokie: Blue Öyster Cult, Living Colour Make Past Enjoyably Present at Backlot Bash -- Chicago Concert Review

Concert Review

Blue Öyster Cult
August 26, 2016
Living Colour
August 27, 2016
Backlot Bash, Skokie, IL
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I grew up in Skokie, a suburb north of Chicago, and after some time out west--Los Angeles, Glen Ellyn--have lived in a condo there for the past 9 years.

As such, there are many fine things I can say about my hometown.

After having previously been a largely Jewish enclave, with a sizable number of Holocaust survivors--several who remain present and active with the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center--we are now a proudly multicultural community that openly celebrates diversity.

Although always comfortable and safe, Skokie lacks the ostentation of more affluent towns up the North Shore, while offering easy access to/from Chicago via the Edens Expressway and CTA Yellow Line.

We boast one of country's oldest and best shopping malls in Old Orchard and an outstanding library, nationally-recognized schools and the lively North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, home to Northlight Theatre, where I have witnessed many a Broadway-caliber play.

But for all the good I can say about Skokie, and my happiness in living there, I can't pretend it offers the hip vibe of Chicago itself, nor even nearby Evanston or other more cosmopolitan suburbs.

There are several restaurants in Old Orchard, within the Village Crossing shopping complex on Touhy and elsewhere--including fine Thai, Afghan, Jamaican, Russian and Latin American options--but I can't say Skokie has a great dining scene beyond excellent hot dog and/or gyros joints like Poochie's, Hub's, Herm's Palace and Dengeos (and terrific bagel shops New York Bagel & Bialy and Kauffman's, also a beloved deli).

And as for a year-round music scene, other than some good Sunday afternoon programming at the Skokie Public Library, often in a classical vein, I can't say I've noticed much of one.

But for 10 years now, the Backlot Bash--the village's annual festival, so named due to silent films being made in the area in the early 20th century--has been a terrific treat in late-August.

It's not of the size & scope of other suburban festivals like Naperville's Ribfest, Lisle's Eyes to the Skies, Arlington Height's Frontier Days, etc., but that's part of its charm.

You can park nearby, walk on over, grab some food (Real Urban BBQ's brisket sliders were great; glad to know they'll open a Skokie outpost next year), get a seat (or bring your own), play some bingo--I remain 0-for-Ever--and hear some good bands you likely haven't heard of (such as The Cells this year) before some rather notable headliners.

The Backlot Bash is presented under the auspices of the Skokie Park District. I've never known who does the talent booking for the mainstage, but I offer high compliments.

Though no admission fee is charged, the Bash has consistently been able to book rather unique and interesting  headliners, including several bands I haven't noted playing elsewhere in the area for years or didn't realize still existed.

Over the years, I've seen Fastball, The Fixx, Lonnie Brooks, The Smoking Popes, Spin Doctors, The Fabulous Thunderbirds and Tributosaurus doing showcases of The Who, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, The Cars and more. (This year they "became" The Police on Sunday night, but I was otherwise booked.)

In years past, I also would have liked to have seen Cracker, the English Beat, Psychedelic Furs and more, had I not been precluded by other concerts or commitments. (See the musical history of the Backlot Bash here.)

This year, I saw two bands I've long liked but had never seen in full on their own: Blue Öyster Cult and Living Colour, Friday and Saturday night respectively.

Though both bands are years past the height of their fame, I felt they each represented themselves quite well across solidly enjoyable 90-minute shows.

I still fondly recall listening to BÖC's live album Some Enchanted Evening--and most specifically "Godzilla" and "(Don't Fear) The Reaper"--with a junior high school friend way back when, but can't say I've ever sought out the band to see live or have know anything else besides 1981's "Burnin' for You."

A couple years ago, I caught a bit of their set at Milwaukee's Summerfest, but recently had my interest piqued by someone who doesn't actually exist.

Namely, Robert Galbraith, the nom de plume of J.K. Rowling, under which she's now written three
detective novels centering around a recurring character called Cormoran Strike.

I enjoyed the first two of these, The Cuckoo's Calling and The Silkworm, but found 2015's Career of Evil to be even better.

For reasons unknown--other than that Rowling must be a fairly avid fan--the latter takes it title from a Blue Öyster Cult song, all of the chapters are introduced by a BÖC lyrical snippet and the band is referenced throughout the story.

This prompted me to do some latter-day exploring of BÖC on Spotify and Wikipedia--I was surprised to learn Patti Smith was an early collaborator--and though the trio of songs I knew remained my favorites, I was happy to notice the band on the Backlot Bash schedule and make a point of attending.

BÖC's two most prominent original members, Buck Dharma (real name Donald Roeser) and Eric Bloom, continue as mainstays 44 years since the band's debut album, with both guitarists alternating on lead vocals.

After opening with a song I didn't know--"The Red & the Black," rather than "This Ain't the Summer of Love," which Setlist.fm showed me to as a recent opener--the band played "Golden Age of Leather" before rocking through "Burnin' for You."

With Dharma sounding strong vocally and playing some wonderful guitar solos, and Bloom handling his vocal takes with aplomb, Blue Öyster Cult made 90 minutes go by pretty quickly, and impressed well beyond a late-set pairing of "Godzilla" and "(Don't Fear) The Reaper," the latter now of "more cowbell!" SNL fame.

The rest of the 5-piece band included Richie Castellano on guitar and keys, Jules Radino on drums and--at least for this show--Danny Miranda on bass.

I was somewhat surprised that no mention was made of the recent passing of Sandy Pearlman, the man who was instrumental in the band's creation and long served as their manager and frequent producer.

But having finally gotten around to seeing Black Sabbath earlier this year, I was glad to have opportunity to catch their onetime Black & Blue Tour companions, within the town I call home. (See Blue Öyster Cult's Backlot Bash setlist here.)

Although I had seen Living Colour way back in 1989 on the Monsters of Rock tour at Alpine Valley, I only ever knew a few of their songs and can't say I was aware they still existed.

But vocalist Corey Glover, guitarist Vernon Reed and drummer Will Calhoun remain from the original quartet, while bassist Doug Wimbish dates back to 1992.

And all still sounded in quite fine form.

Even after a good bit of Spotifamiliarization, there were a number of songs played that I didn't recognize, but Glover is a strong, energetic singer and the three others proved demonstrably excellent musicians.

Reid remains a brilliant guitarist who flashed some stupendous solos--most notably in the band's biggest hit, "Cult of Personality"--while Wimbish and Calhoun shined in extended instrumental turns in the spotlight.

"Ignorance is Bliss" and "Type" were among other highlights, while the 15-song set included three covers: Talking Heads' "Memories Can Wait" (which was the opener), a rock version of the Notorious B.I.G.'s "Who Shot Ya"--Reid spoke passionately throughout the set about the need to curb violence--and a finale of The Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go" that found Glover atop the steps of a church alongside the Oakton Street stage. (See Living Colour's Backlot Bash setlist here.)

Living Colour was one of the first hard rock bands comprised entirely of African-Americans (excepting the terrific but little-known band called Death).

Hearing them sound superb at the Backlot Bash, I couldn't help but imagine that they influenced Rage Against the Machine and many others, and honestly don't know why they didn't enjoy a greater run of impressive success.

But they certainly helped Skokie seem a whole lot hipper, if only for a night.

And along with another NYC-bred band on the preceding night, they provided a colorful blast from the past that sounded great in the present tense.

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A couple videos I shot: "Burnin' For You" by Blue Öyster Cult; "Cult of Personality" by Living Colour

Getting My Fixx on the Streets of Skokie -- Concert Review

Concert Review

The Fixx
Backlot Bash, Skokie, IL
August 25, 2012
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I can't say that I've ever really been a fan of The Fixx.

Though the British band had a string of hits in the 1980s that couldn't help but breed familiarity, I've never owned an album, seen them live nor could name any of their members.

And at this time a week ago, if asked to name every '80s band I wouldn't mind seeing live--even for free at a local fest--I never would have named the Fixx.

But after discovering (in writing this article) that they would be headlining on Saturday night at Skokie's Backlot Bash--at which I was looking forward to seeing Tributosaurus as Tom Petty on Friday night (which I did) and Local H on Sunday night (which I missed due to the rain)--I made a point of going to see The Fixx and am glad I did.

Without a point of reference, I can't comment on how they compared to their early days, but in his mid-50s, singer Cy Curnin cuts a dashing, engaging figure and still sings well. And if Wikipedia is to be believed, the rest of the band still consists of the classic lineup.

Just among the audience sitting near me, it was clear that some attendees were hardcore Fixx fans who had come to Skokie specifically to see a cherished old favorite, yet one that is still putting out new albums. So I can't blame The Fixx for delivering much the same setlist they had played the other night at a paid admission gig in Milwaukee, with the greatest hits one would expect but also a number of new songs.

I--and presumably many with a "check out anyone who's presented for free" festival mindset--didn't recognize any songs until "One Thing Leads to Another" 10 tunes into the set, leading me to think that perhaps the band should have adjusted their setlist for thr Backlot Bash crowd. But Curnin & Co. confidently gave the throng on Oakton Street their current Fixx.

With the title song of their new Beautiful Friction album and five other new tunes, The Fixx made a strong case that they are still putting out quality music more than a generation beyond being in heavy MTV rotation.

And really, they didn't have that many hits that a casual observer such as myself would know. Really, just "One Thing Leads to Another," "Saved By Zero," "Stand or Fall," "Red Skies" and "Are We Ourselves," the first four of which were dutifully--and well--played.

More ardent Fixx fans likely also appreciated hearing "Deeper and Deeper," "Driven Out," "Secret Separation," "How Much is Enough" and "Less Cities, More Moving People," which also appear on the band's hits collections.

For the price paid--nothing--on a very comfortable night in Skokie, this was a performance that delivered adequate enjoyment to slight Fixx fans--and given my appreciation for their top hits, I guess I should count myself as one--and probably considerably more so to serious ones.

I wasn't overly enthralled by the songs I didn't know and can't say that I was dazzled throughout the entire performance. The Fixx were enjoyable if not quite--at least for me--sensational.

But as the Backlot bash organizers did with Fastball last year, this was another case of being reintroduced to a band that proved to have a deeper history--and more impressively perhaps, ongoing & current activity--than I ever knew or appreciated.

One thing leads to another, indeed.

One Thing Leads to Another Backlot Bash, This Weekend in Skokie

Click image to access BacklotBash.com

On behalf of the Village of Skokie and my fellow residents--err, scratch that; on behalf of no one but myself but with the presumed blessing of the aforementioned--I invite one and all to come to town this weekend for the annual Backlot Bash.

Actually, scratch that too. While I think the music, movie, food and additional offerings of Skokie's premier festival are well worth your time, and our village is marked by a multicultural spirit of inclusiveness, one of the things I like best about the Bash is that it's comfortably populated, not overly besieged by burgeoning masses.

So feel free to attend--and yes, it's free to attend, unlike Naperville's Ribfest, which wanted to charge me $25 just to get enter the grounds--but preferably not in droves that will preclude me from easily parking nearby or getting a prime seat for the headline musical acts, as I have in years past.

Located along Oakton Street in downtown Skokie, alongside the Village Green that separates the library from village hall, the Backlot Bash is so named because the area once served as a backlot set for silent films between 1907-15, including those made by Chicago's Essanay Studios. As such, standup cutouts of Charlie Chaplin typically decorate the Bash, although there is no evidence that Chaplin ever filmed in Skokie. (Some may enjoy this piece I wrote, which cites Charlie's ties to Chicago.)

Although, for me and seemingly many others, the musical acts are the centerpiece of the Backlot Bash, there is an abundance of activities for attendees of all ages, including--tying in to the festival's theme--screenings of silent films at the historic, now nicely renovated Skokie Theatre.

These will run between Noon and 5pm on Saturday and Sunday; this page lists the films that will be shown, albeit without exact showtimes. I am also unsure if the films will be accompanied by a live pianist, as they have in prior years; I hope so as this was a real treat.

At 10:30pm on Friday, the Skokie Theatre will host a special screening of the Rocky Horror Picture Show to benefit the Les Turner ALS Foundation. Details and a link to buy tickets can be found here.

Although the food booths have tended to offer typical festival fare, I do recall some nice offerings by Myron & Phil's, so hopefully they'll be there again. The Backlot Bash website doesn't list food vendors, but notes that this year its "extended beer tent will be offering beer, wine and hard lemonade."

Other activities include the 5K Backlot Dash and Kids' Run, Carnival Rides, a Bingo tent, a Classic Car Show and a Pancake Breakfast.

And especially for a free-of-charge, relatively sparsely attended local fest, I've been quite impressed by the caliber of musical acts the Backlot Bash has offered.

In the past, I've seen the Smoking Popes, Fastball, American English, Tributosaurus, Lonnie Brooks, Lil' Ed & the Blues Imperials and others. The talent buyers for the Bash seem to really do their homework, because even the unknown bands I've caught there have typically been very good, and a band like Fastball showed last year that they remain terrifically enjoyable, even if they're not exactly top of mind anymore.

So I'm really looking forward to seeing how The Fixx--the inspiration for this post's title--are on Saturday night, and local favorites Local H on Sunday. On Friday night, the always great Tributosaurus will become Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers; hopefully they'll play personal favorites like "A Thing About You," "Straight Into Darkness" and "Change of Heart" that Tom himself has long since forgotten about.

I'm not sure how much else I'll get to, but am also intrigued--see the full musical roster here--by The Steepwater Band, The Handcuffs and a Brazilian guitarist named Paulinho Garcia.

Should be quite a hot time in the city--err, village. Hope you can make it; although perhaps not everyone all at once. Without a preponderance of homerism, I do feel the Backlot Bash deserves to attract more people than it often does, but I would hate for it to swell to the size of this sage Yogi-ism: "Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded."

But until then, come one, come all. On the imagined behalf of my hometown, Seth saith, "Welcome to Skokie."

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Speaking of Skokie pride, this is a t-shirt I designed, but never did much to mass produce or market. But if you would like to order one--or better yet, a thousand--feel free to get in touch or leave a comment to that effect.

Rocking Out on the Streets of Skokie -- A Celebration of My Hometown

Fastball shows "The Way" at Skokie's Backlot Bash

Today marks the fourth anniversary of moving into my Skokie condo. Although it is now worth about half of what I paid, I still really like it.

While I had enjoyed living in the Western 'burbs of Chicago--Glen Ellyn to be exact--for the previous 12 years, spent 3 years out in L.A. in the early '90s and have traveled far & wide, I genuinely relish being back in my hometown of Skokie.

Sure, it's where I grew up, and as my Mom still lives in the same house, I've never been too detached.

So certainly, much of my fondness for Skokie has to do with familiarity, but it also isn't a case of not knowing anywhere else. Between my time living in DuPage County, long having relatives & friends in the south suburbs, many years of working in the far north suburbs and spending substantial stretches in northwest suburban areas, I feel I am fairly well acquainted with a wide swath of the greater Chicagoland area.

And though it would be rather presumptuous and clearly centric for me to call Skokie "the best Chicago suburb"--our neighbor, Evanston, offers much more in the way of history and cosmopolitanism, as does Oak Park, Naperville and elsewhere--the village offers sufficient reason for me to feel proud to live here.

No, Skokie isn't going to be the epicenter of excitement on a typical Saturday night--which is actually one of the reasons I like it--but last weekend's Backlot Bash, which I'll expound upon below, is an example of how the community can come together for a fun yet not intimidatingly overwhelming celebration.

I went to the Bash on all three of its days and am happy to highlight what I feel is a very well put together event. Skokie also has its annual "Festival of Cultures" each May, a fireworks event--often with live music--on Independence Day and at least a couple sizable art fairs each year, but the Backlot Bash--so named because what is now downtown Skokie was once used as a filming location for early movies, back in the Essanay Studios days--is my favorite festival in town. And it's not just a matter of location and (lack of) cost that brought me to Oakton Street for 3 days of live music in a year when I consciously skipped much larger fests like Lollapalooza, Pitchfork and even more sprawling suburban festivals.

More on the Bash in a moment, but it isn't just the fest or the 4th anniversary of my local homeownership that has put a salute to Skokie on the docket.

The "You Know You're From Skokie If..." Facebook Group page

Digging Up Memories,
Sharing Them Online

In just the past month, I caught wind of--and joined--a Facebook group called "You Know You're From Skokie If...". Though I had to opt out of getting an email everytime any of the 234 members posted (or someone commented), it has been fun following threads having to do with the schools, camps, stores and restaurants I grew up with.

I posted that Skokians of a certain age would remember restaurants like the Candle Wick--which was Acres and Zwieg's before I came to know it--Chandelier, Sam 'N Hy's, Tower Garden and LaRosa Pizzeria (the one on Golf is still there). 

Undoubtedly, similar Facebook groups exist for myriad other cities and towns, with their own native nostalgia, but this one has been fun for me to tinker around with.

Now, beyond an occasional fest and a new Facebook page, Skokie really has a whole going for it. Although I rarely go there despite living across the street, in Old Orchard we have one of the best shopping malls in the Midwest. The wonderful Skokie Public Library doesn't have to take a back page to any I've visited. The District 219 high schools, Niles North (my alma mater) and Niles West, were selected in 2007 as having the best arts programs in the country. The Northlight Theater delivers many fabulous productions (including this year's fantastic The Outgoing Tide, which just earned many Jeff nominations). After years of being a haven for Holocaust survivors--who famously battled to keep neo-Nazis off the village streets in the late '70s--in 2009, Skokie became home to the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center. And while I wouldn't describe Skokie as a fine dining mecca--despite some decent restaurants in Old Orchard and elsewhere--it does boast two of the best hot dog stands you'll find anywhere: Poochie's and Herm's Palace, located within blocks of each other on east Dempster St.

A Local Celebrity That's Making Us Look Good

While there was a 1981 TV movie named Skokie (starring Danny Kaye) about the planned Nazi march and large Jewish community, today the village is notable for its vastly multi-ethnic population. Hence, The Festival of Cultures. And although the Skokie Wikipedia page doesn't list any famous Skokie residents or natives--for a long time, Robert Reed (a.k.a. Mike Brady) being buried in Memorial Park Cemetery was the closest we came to having a celebrity in town--we now can claim a bona fide football star: the Steelers' Rashard Mendenhall, a Niles West grad.

Erin Heatherton, the Skokie supermodel

And as I learned through a number of articles noting her recent visit to launch a new line of Victoria's Secret athletic apparel, there is even a supermodel named Erin Heatherton (formerly Erin Heather Bubley) who hails from Skokie.

Not only, as you can see at left, is Heather one of most attractive human beings on the planet--a nice Skokie counterbalance to yours truly--but I really liked the answer she gave in an interview with Trib Local's Brian L. Cox about growing up in Skokie:

"I think Skokie’s one of the best places anyone could grow up. It’s a very multicultural town. In my high school you’re exposed to every single culture and race. I think that’s very important when growing up because you’re really not shocked by moving to New York, where it’s kind of a melting pot."

Perhaps she isn't all that famous yet--she's been a Victoria's Secret model since 2006, when as a Niles North student & basketball player she was discovered on a trip to Miami, but I  just learned of her last week--but in adding to Skokie's Q rating, we could do worse.

And yes, I am hoping to interview her one day for a profile piece for Seth Saith. Unless she gets an injunction precluding it.

Anyway, Facebook pages, supermodels, football stars, festivals...things are really happening in Skokie.

"Tramps" like us...

Which brings me back to the Backlot Bash. 

It certainly wasn't the highest profile festival of the summer--as kind of a double-edged sword, it's not all that massively attended--but the music I saw & heard over August 26-28 was as personally satisfying as much I imaginably could have heard at Lollapalooza or elsewhere.

On Friday night, I saw Tributosauras become the Who. Tributosauras is a group of skilled musicians who "cover" a different artist at each performance, employing any additional players needed to get the sound exactly right. I had recently seen them for the first time at Martyrs'--a Chicago club where they play every month--when they "became" Bruce Springsteen. That show cost me $20, but their Backlot Bash performance was every bit as good--actually, a bit better--for free. 100 minutes of great Who songs without "Baba O'Riley," "My Generation" or anything from Tommy. My only tip to the guys is to learn an extra song in case you earn an encore; they were forced to repeat "The Seeker." But on my @@@@@ scale, I give this Tributosauras gig a solid @@@@.

Before Tributosauras, there was a band of likely teenagers called Riddum Secure. I guess they had won a local Battle of the Bands, and deservingly so, as they rocked through a couple Stones songs, a few other covers and at least one original that sounded pretty good. It was really a pleasure to see.

Saturday, upon arriving at the fest around 4:00pm, I went into the venerable, recently refurbished Skokie Theater, where in keeping with the Fest's cinematic theme--which was otherwise largely underenunciated except for some Charlie Chaplin standups--they had silent films running with a live piano accompaniment. The three short films starring Buster Keaton--two with Fatty Arbuckle--were quite fun and pianist David Drazin was excellent. 

On the mainstage at 6:30pm were Smoking Popes, a band I would see anywhere. Hailing from the far northwest suburbs, they were one of my favorite bands of the '90s. In the coming weeks, I'll be seeing some of my others--Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, Smashing Pumpkins--and while the Popes weren't quite at that level, their ultra-catchy punk pop sound was also a great throwback that came across as good as ever on Oakton St.

I was sorry the crowd was more sparse than it should have been for such a great band, but I think Smoking Popes made some new fans with their energetic set and affable demeanor. This was a @@@@1/2 performance. A clip of "I Need You Around" is below:



Smoking Popes would have been a more than suitable headliner--and were my favorite act at the Backlot Bash--but following them on Saturday night was Fastball. Yes, on August 27, 2011, the answer to the "Where Are They Now?" question about the Austin, Texas band that had one of the most ubiquitous hits of 1998 with "The Way," was literally: "Skokie, Illinois."

Although they had had a couple more minor radio hits back then, I can't say I'd heard of them since or knew much of their music, but they played an entirely enjoyable set. "The Way" is still Fastball's best pitch, but "Fire Escape," "Out of My Head," "Little White Lies" and the rest of the show sounded good, including nice covers of The Kinks' "Sunny Afternoon," The Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Women" and a crowd-pleasing "Sweet Home Chicago." With a very impressive comeback gig, at least in terms of my awareness, Fastball delivered a @@@@ performance.

Here's a bit of "The Way":



I really don't know how the organizers of the Backlot Bash dug up or decided upon Fastball--I've been to and/or seen listings for many local festivals over the years and never noticed them around town--but I have to commend them. Especially piggybacking on Smoking Popes, this was a much more unique bill than trotting out American English, as much as I enjoy the area's best Beatles' cover band. And even Tributosauras noted that the Backlot Bash is the only outdoor festival they play.

In addition to a suggestion that festival organizers attempt to increase the audience's diversity--despite a wide range of ages, those attending seemed much more homogeneous than Skokie's varied population--hopefully they can entice more actual Skokie restaurants to operate food booths. Festival purveyors of funnel cakes and corn dogs were more prevalent than actual restaurants, though Lincolnwood's erstwhile Myron & Phil's did a nice job. From them, I enjoyed a generous portion of BBQ ribs for just $7, along with a great ear of corn. I can't recall who served the Falafel sandwiches, but I had a good one of those as well.

Lil' Ed & the Blues Imperials

Although I hadn't initially planned on going to the Bash all three days, given the great price and comfort level, there was no reason not to catch some blues on Sunday night. A fine 2-hour set from Lil' Ed & the Blues Imperials was warmly received by the crowd and brought the Backlot Bash to an end on a high note. This too was a solid @@@@ performance, and my friend Ken actually bestowed an extra 1/2@.

All in all, it was a really enjoyable weekend in Skokie, even if I didn't play bingo, ride the Tilt-A-Whirl or lose money on any carnival games. With plenty of great music, decent food and lots of space to sit down, I couldn't really ask for more. Thank you to all who helped deliver another first-rate festival in Skokie.

I think I just may stick around.

(Over time, I hope to write some more profiles of Skokie people and places. Here are links to a few on Shalom Klein, Bob Katzman and a Skokie Park District production of Rent.) 

'The Invasion of Skokie' Doesn't Quite Hit Home

Theater Review


The Invasion of Skokie
a play by Steven Peterson
Chicago Dramatists
Through October 10, 2010
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When I invaded, from Skokie, the Chicago Dramatists' theater for a world premiere drama penned by one of their network playwrights, I had high expectations to take in substantive new work of considerable personal significance.

Not only is Chicago Dramatists a great resource for developing talented new writers--most notably of recent vintage, Keith Huff, whose 'A Steady Rain' ran on Broadway with Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig--but in addition to being a current resident of Skokie, I grew up there.

As a child under the age of 10, I likely didn't grasp the full significance when a group of "Illinois Nazis" requested permission to march & demonstrate in Skokie in 1977-78, and upon being denied, enlisted the ACLU to represent them all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court. But I was aware--and later became far more so--that Skokie at the time was a village where a vast majority of the population (roughly 40,000 of 70,000 residents) was Jewish, with about one-sixth of the Jews being Holocaust survivors.

I more acutely remember when the Nazis came to demonstrate in Evanston's Lovelace Park, about a 5-minute walk from my family's Skokie home, in October 1980 (I didn't attend, but still recall it being discussed at Hebrew school) and when the events of 1977-78--which ended with the Nazis ultimately gaining permission to march, sans swastikas, but canceling two days prior to the planned demonstration and opting to instead appear in Chicago--were depicted in the 1981 TV movie Skokie, starring Danny Kaye and Eli Wallach. (This is a fairly good chronology from the Skokie Historical Society website of what actually happened; this is a Time article on the legal battle from June 26, 1978)

This unseemly but unifying bit of local history inspired several of the survivors in town to open a Holocaust museum, which ultimately morphed into much larger one that bowed last year with visits from Elie Wiesel and Bill Clinton. Preceding the new museum's grand opening, the Chicago Tribune Magazine featured a long and quite informative background piece written by Howard Reich, the Trib's jazz critic who grew up in Skokie as the son of Holocaust survivors.

So when a friend recommended we see The Invasion of Skokie, which got a positive review from the Tribune's Chris Jones, I was really looking forward to it.

Photo Credit: Jeff Pines

Before I even entered the theater, on the window I read another press clipping from the Chicago Sun-Times in which the playwright Steven Peterson says, "It's not a history play. It's a play about one family, and the march serves as an intensifier for their story." So I knew it wasn't going to be too similar to the movie 'Skokie,' which I recently re-watched, and perhaps not quite what I was expecting, but I went in with an open mind.

'The Invasion of Skokie' started out successfully enough. The best set I've ever seen at Chicago Dramatists realistically depicted a local home and backyard, and with strong performances from everyone in the five-person cast, I thought the first act was pretty strong, if not quite perfectly nuanced.

But by the end of Act 2, I left rather disappointed that Peterson's attempt to weave a melodramatic family plot involving a proposed inter-faith marriage--rendered far more poignantly years ago in 'Fiddler On The Roof'--with a recounting of the outrage (and for some, call to arms) that accompanied the Nazis almost coming to Skokie had struck a discordant note on both strands. Though not quite as bad, The Invasion of Skokie reminded me of Rebecca Gilman's disastrous 'A True History of the Johnstown Flood,' where a truer history would've been far more compelling than a convoluted weaving of factual & fictional narratives.

A good deal of Peterson's intertwined arcs just rang untrue, and while I hopefully won't give much away--unlike a tidbit in the press about the play, which ruined the tension of a key moment--I came away feeling that the main character, Morry Kaplan, in objecting to his daughter's engagement to a "Shabbes goy" long beloved by the family and then heading off to meet the Nazis with rifle in hand (stupidly dressed like Elmer Fudd for some reason), demonstrated self-righteous indignance nearly as ugly as the bigotry of the unseen Nazis. (Although the distinction may not have mattered to anyone indelibly scarred by the sight of swastikas, the idiots in Nazi uniforms were technically the National Socialist Party of America, led by Frank Collin, who was ousted from leadership when it was revealed his father was a Jew who claimed to have been a prisoner at the Dachau concentration camp.)

Photo Credit: Jeff Pines

Morry is clearly identified as having lived his whole life in Chicago and thus not himself a camp survivor nor a European Jew who escaped persecution. Certainly, all Jews--really all humans--should detest and decry what Hitler and his minions did, and anyone who espouses such venomous anti-Semitism, but the rage-cum-rifle toting machismo Peterson instills in Morry is not only criminal and anti-constitutional, it feels like piggybacked vigilantism next to the innate fear, revulsion and rebellion of those with numbers tattooed on their arms, many of whom--as depicted by Danny Kaye in 'Skokie'--saw their loved ones murdered before their eyes.

At the end of the night, I never really bought Morry as an inherently anguished Jew--his faith never seems all that central to him--fearing for his family's safety or fighting to uphold their Jewish identity as much as simply a belligerent asshole who lashes out to prop up his skewed, ever-diminishing sense of purpose. While most fictional works are open to interpretation, I'm guessing this wasn't quite the intent of playwright Peterson or director Richard Perez.

I realize that this is extremely tricky subject matter for any writer to tackle, for it's almost antithetical to suggest to anyone--even ourselves--when and where logic should supersede emotion, especially in regards to issues of race, religion and self-preservation. From a legal, First Amendment standpoint, to say the Nazis should have been prohibited from demonstrating in Skokie due to people hating what they espoused is congruent to suggesting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. should have been disallowed from staging civil rights demonstrations to which bigots violently objected. Or, though the parallel is far from exact, that peaceful Muslims should be precluded from building a mosque in downtown Manhattan because of how loudly certain factions may be shouting it down.

So I applaud Peterson for attempting to pull off, at worst, a challenging, thought-provoking play with a bit of originality. The acting by Mick Weber, Cindy Gold, Tracey Kaplan, Michael Joseph Mitchell and Bradford R. Lund is all first-rate, as is the scenery. And given my high regard for the Chicago Dramatists, combined with the substantive nature of 'The Invasion of Skokie,' I wouldn't suggest that anyone inclined to see it should stay away. But as a play that tries--albeit in a roundabout way--to get to the heart of my hometown's most historical moment, it just didn't hit me where I live.