Chicago soul singer JC Brooks and guitarist/Second City director Billy Bungeroth brought down the house Monday night with their exclusive performance for The Dinner Party audience (watch below). And that wasn’t all, performers from Luna Negra Dance Theater stunned the live audience, sweeping the stage with a raucous romantic ballad. The dancers wore patchwork suits to go along with their interpretation of a relationship on the edge. Choreographer and Luna Negra Artistic Direct, Gustavo Ramirez Sansano described dance in general as best conveying story and conflict without words. Being a man of few but profound words himself, he said sometimes words do no justice to the material.

Chef Anthony Martin of TRU was a gem, and his faux caviar served with hazelnut crackers was divine. We were all bowled over when his salmon on a river entre came on stage with a steaming effect from the dry ice as a fisherman would find a river in the morning. Something makes me think Chef Martin fished as a boy. He and his sous chef presented at least three forms of salmon, belly, roe (fish eggs), and the leaner top filet. I bet if you closed your eyes, you’d imagine you were eating at Chef Martin’s TRU restaurant at 676 North Saint Clair Street. When the last dish was served, host, Elysabeth Alfano stopped to take a bite and had the whole audience laughing with her as she was tickled with delicious delight.

Buy tickets for Monday, March 26 at the Mayne Stage or tune in to FearNoArt.tv to see the show and interact with spoken word poet and Louder than a Bomb Artistic Director, Kevin Coval, Chef Matt Troost of Three Aces, and Museum of Contemporary Art Curator, Naomi Beckwith. Twitterers will win prizes for getting their questions read on air. Tweet to @FearNoArtChgo and find yourself eating for two at Chicago’s top restaurants, listening to an album by next great soul musician, or absorbing a performance at one of Chicago’s best theater venues.

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This entry was posted on Monday, March 5th, 2012 at 10:27 am.