Emmy Rossum, actress and classically trained singer, has never belted out "All that Jazz." "But I figured this was the night to try it," she told a crowd of 400 at the JW Marriott Chicago's grand opening gala on Monday night. The musical selection from Chicago underscored the gala's Windy City-inspired theme.
"The hotel fuses historical architecture with cutting-edge amenities, so we wanted to celebrate Chicago in a way that honored both the traditional and modern aspects of the city," said Ryan Jordan, creative director at Harrison & Shriftman. Based in New York, Harrison & Shriftman handles PR for the JW Marriott brand, and worked with the hotel's PR, marketing, and branding teams to execute the celebration.
Old-school Chicago got a nod from a string quartet performance by musicians from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Representing another of the city's iconic institutions, dancers from the Joffrey ballet performed throughout the evening—but with a modern twist. Done up in rock-star-inspired makeup and dressed in dip-dyed tutus, the dancers improvised instead of using traditional choreography, and the tracks they danced to came from artists such as Lady Gaga and the Rolling Stones.
Apart from honoring the city through her musical selections, Rossum has a work-related local connection: She's in town to film the Showtime series Shameless, which takes place in Chicago.
