Spotlight: Queenie Pie

Legendary composer, pianist and band leader Duke Ellington died in 1974 before he completed his jazz-opera hybrid Queenie Pie. Yet that hasn't stopped the work from being performed in reconstructed versions with other Ellington music attached. Chicago Opera Theater is the latest company to present Queenie Pie in a shared production with Long Beach Opera. Queenie Pie is a 1930s piece about a beauty rivalry between two women that tackles issues of prejudice and class divisions within the African-American community. Queenie Pie is performed four times between Feb. 15 and March 2 at Millennium Park's Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 15, 23 and March 5, with a 3 p.m. Sunday matinee Feb. 23. Tickets are $45-$125; call 312-334-7777 or visit www.chicagooperatheater.org. Photo courtesy of Long Beach Opera.

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