Craig P.
Yelp
The Albany Park Theater Project is a very cool Chicago organization that works with multicultural youth to product amazing, thought-provoking theater. They do incredible work with Chicago's kids; by going to one of their shows, you are supporting a great cause.
But you go to theater not just to engage with the community, but to experience art. And the current production at Albany Park, "Learning Curve," gives you just that experience. I went with my partner and another couple, and we had a fantastic evening. The play takes place in a old Chicago public high school and throughout the evening you experience high school as today's students might--starting with issuing a student ID and then going through several classes and experiences as the evening continues. The logistics of the experience were quite incredible--at various times, you are in large groups, small groups, groups of two, and solo, and the troupe pulls it off seamlessly. The acting was professional-grade; the couple who attended with us teach high school and called it an accurate representation of what classes they lead are like. Some of the scenes are touching, others quite troubling; we had so much on our minds after the performance that we had to go out for a drink afterwards to talk about it! Over that drink, we also learned that all four of us had slightly different experiences--i.e., we all saw a scene or two that the others did not see.
An incredible evening. Put this on your list and do something that is the essence of Chicago and off the beaten path.