One full day.

That's all the time Ravinia Master Carpenter Mike Robinson and his stage technicians have to transform Ravinia's pavilion stage from a relatively empty symphony-friendly space into a glitzy 1930's vaudeville theater.

The pavilion stage is in use daily for either shows or rehearsals, and so time to actually erect the set is limited. The crew is doing as much as possible ahead of time. They have been building the set for a month and the electric system has already been hung. Monday is the only full day the crew has the stage entirely to themselves, and according to Robinson it will be a 14-hour work day.

"This is the most complicated scenery we have ever done," Robinson says. "It is also the best." And that's saying something because Robinson has plenty of shows to his credit. If Tony-winner Patti LuPone and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra were not enough to entice to come to Gypsy, you should consider coming just to see the miracle our stage technicians will perform in one day. But to quote Mama Rose, "That's show business..."

Catch Gypsy on Friday, August 11, Saturday, August 12 and Sunday, August 13. All three shows start at 7:30 p.m., and the August 11 show will be preceded by a talk with Stephen Sondheim and Welz Kauffman at 6:45 in the Martin Theatre.

-Shannon Rego, Communications Intern

The MySpace service has provided Ravinia with access to millions of Rock & Roll bands, chamber music ensembles, and individual performing artists. Many users (there are currently 97 million) have discovered Ravinia through MySpace and utilized the opportunity to send promotional materials to the festival for review.

Special promotions, offered exclusively to MySpace members, have provided the opportunity to bring listeners to Ravinia for the first time to see performances by Lalah Hathaway, Blondie, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The MySpace webpage provides users with easy access to Ravinia's performance calendar and blog. MySpace users also have the ability to leave messages and comments regarding the festival and its performances.

The Ravinia MySpace page can be found at the following address:

-Justin Brown, Communications Associate

The Women's board of Ravinia hosted the festival's annual Gala Benefit Evening on Saturday, July 15, 2006, which celebrated the 70th anniversary of Gershwin's only Ravinia performance.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Andrew Litton, and Hershey Felder headlined the evening, and Gershwin's Cuban Overture, Rhapsody in Blue, and Porgy and Bess were featured.

There were 1,100 guests in attendance at the sold-out Gala, and the benefit evening raised approximately $750,000.

Audrey Rubinstein (Women's Board chairman), Gail Hodges (Gala co-chairman), Welz Kauffman (President and CEO of Ravinia Festival) , Becky Murray (Gala chairman)

-Justin Brown, Communications Associate

Of course, the morning after a concert the park staff always finds the usual keys, cell phones, sunglasses, and blankets, but sometimes they come across something a little more unusual.

This season alone the staff has found a whole salmon, a baby stroller, a pair of socks, women's undergarments, and an engagement ring. As Facilities Manager Jim Schmitz said, "It has been a fantastic journey in the land of garbage collection." And if anyone out there misplaced a salmon, it's being held in the lost and found.

-Shannon Rego, Communications Intern

Taiwanese-born violinist Cho-Liang ("Jimmy") Lin performed a diverse program of music for violin and piano on Tuesday evening with the French pianist Andre-Michel Schub. The music of Mozart and William Walton was featured, as well as the Chicago premiere of Bright Sheng's Three Fantasies. Sheng's composition was inspired by Tibetan and Kazakhstani folk songs and music that he heard in a dream.

The Israeli duo of conductor Yoel Levi and violinist Itzhak Perlman took the pavilion stage on Wednesday evening to perform for a sold out Ravinia audience. Mozart's Fifth Violin Concerto was passionate and full of energy, there wasn't an inch of free space surrounding the pavilion; hundreds left their picnics on the lawn to catch a glimpse of the classical music star. Mr. Perlman returns to Ravinia this evening to conduct the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in an all-Beethoven program featuring the Polish-born pianist Emanuel Ax.

-Justin Brown, Communications Associate

On Wednesday, June 28, Maestro Conlon participated in an online chat hosted by Chicago Classical Music, the online classical music forum hosted by the Arts and Business Council of Chicago. He discussed in detail his "Breaking the Silence" series, a multiyear series of concerts that feature music suppressed by the Third Reich, and Shostakovich's Symphonies. Visit www.chicagoclassicalmusic.org to view a transcript of the chat.

-Justin Brown, Communications Associate

Don't forget, Greenberg returns to Ravinia on July 22 & 23 to talk about Shostakovich. Be sure to catch these exciting and wonderful lectures!