Review: 140 LBS Weighs in on a Family’s Body Dysmorphia
Susan Lieu’s solo show title is 140 LBS: How Beauty Killed My Mother, but it’s more a personal story. Directed by Sara Porkalob, the 75-minute story ran November 14-17 at […]
Karin McKie is a Chicago freelance writer, cultural factotum and activism concierge. She jams econo.
Review: Sarah Vowell’s Acerbic “Past and Present” Closes Chicago Humanities Festival
Narrative nonfiction titan Sarah Vowell closed the diverse and well-curated Chicago Humanities Festival’s 30th anniversary “Power” juggernaut Sunday at Francis W. Parker School in Lincoln Park, showcasing her acerbic wit […]
Review: The Suffrage Plays Celebrate Centennial of Women’s Voting Rights
Tennessee became the 38th state to ratify the 19th amendment on August 18, 1920, the last of the required 36 states. A women’s right to vote was officially adopted on […]
Rachel Maddow’s Blowout, Impeachment Porn and Martini Recipe at Chicago Humanities Festival
Emmy Award-winning host of the eponymous MSNBC program Rachel Maddow made a book tour stop on October 12 at McCormick Place’s Arie Crown Theater, as part of the Chicago Humanities […]
Review: Chicago Shakes’ A Man of Good Hope Is an Operatic African Odyssey
Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents Isango Ensemble’s effervescent musical memoir, A Man of Good Hope, as part of its Worldstage series, in a limited run through October 13. The 20-member company returns […]
Ta-Nehisi Coates Brilliantly Inaugurates the 30th Chicago Humanities Festival
MacArthur Fellow (genius award) writer Ta-Nehisi Coates launched the Chicago Humanities Festival’s impressive 30th anniversary “Power” season with an engaging and lively discussion on October 2 at UIC’s Dorin Forum. […]
Review: Holo-rifficMaria Callas in Concert at Lyric Opera
There was some life in this death. BASE Hologram and director Stephen Wadsworth resurrected soprano Maria Callas 42 years after her death on September 7 at the Lyric Opera. The […]
Preview: See Callas in Concert via Hologram at the Lyric on September 7
Step stage left, Tupac. OG Maria Callas is taking center stage now. Over 42 years after her death, the definitive La Divina diva is performing at the Lyric Opera on […]
Review: High Crime-ing and Ms.-Demeanors with Mueller, She Wrote
Constitutional crisis commentary has become a cottage industry, and three SoCal women have carved out their niche with focused, funny, and accessible vivisections of the constant onslaught. The Daily Beans […]
Review: True West, a True Time Capsule at Steppenwolf Theatre
The play that launched Chicago’s lauded ensemble returns to the substantially larger stage for the first time since 1982. Sam Shepard’s True West propelled the Highland Park High School and […]
Review: Author, Auteur John Waters and the Tarnished Wisdom of a Filth Elder
Iconoclastic film- and filth-maker John Waters told interviewer Michael Phillips that the first time he came to Chicago was with a “drive-away” car. He couldn’t believe a stranger trusted him […]
Review: I Just Wanna Bang on the Djembe! All Day
Djembe! is a Disney-like journey through the history of the West African drum, a kind of “Around the Drum in 80 Minutes” diorama, and that’s OK. The intermission-less musical, in […]