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BY DONALD LIEBENSON
CONCERTS AREN’T THE ONLY
STAGES FOR RAVINIA STARS
G
N
IC N
A
LA
B
READING THROUGH RAVINIA’S SCHEDULE
each year, the lineup of world-class artists is
always striking. But if you take a closer look
at what these performers accomplish away
from the festival’s stage, you find a plethora
of talents among some creative risk-takers
who, not content to rest on their consider-
able laurels, continue to challenge them-
selves with myriad forms of personal artistic
expression.
There’s Mary J. Blige, the nine-time
Grammy-winning “Queen of Hip-Hop Soul”
making her Ravinia debut on July , who
last year made Hollywood history as the first
woman to be double Oscar nominated for
Best Supporting Actress and for Best Song
(as performer and co-writer of “Mighty
River”) for the film
Mudbound.
Three-time
Grammy-winning singer Jill Scott, who
made her Ravinia debut on June , is also
a prolific actress, having starred in the Pea-
body Award–winning HBO/BBC minise-
ries
The No.
Ladies’ Detective Agency
and
recently appearing in a recurring role on The
CW’s
Black Lightning
, as well as a
New York
Times
bestselling poet (for her collection
The
Moments, the Minutes, the Hours
).
What is the impulse that drives these
multi-hyphenates to never settle in one
comfort zone? “Doing different things, it
RAVINIA MAGAZINE | JULY 9 – JULY 22, 2018
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