Review: Rachel Bloom Does a Song and Dance with Death, Let Me Do My Show
When bad things like a pandemic cause me to despair, I try to find a logical explanation, remember that heroes appear in unusual situations, and know there is a deeper […]
Kathy D. Hey writes creative non-fiction essays. A lifelong Chicagoan, she is enjoying life with her husband, daughter and three dogs in the wilds of Edgewater. When she isn’t at her computer, she is in her garden growing vegetables and herbs for kitchen witchery.
Review: Dance for Life Fills the Auditorium Theatre with Exuberance, Love and Life
Summer weekends are always an adventure in Chicago. Last weekend was the Air and Water Show, Bud Billiken Parade, White Sox vs the Cubs, and several neighborhood festivals. The best […]
Review: 44: The Obama Musical Is unOfficial and unSanctioned but Hilarious and Spot-on Musical Satire
I love a good satire. I am a devotee of both Mad Magazine and National Lampoon. Both were lightning in a bottle explaining social and political issues as I saw […]
Review: Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre Empowers Ntozake Shange’s 1976 MasterWork
I was 16 when For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf premiered on Broadway in 1976 and started making waves in the Black community. I […]
Review: Theatre L’Acadie’s The Swan Is a Surreal Concoction of Magical Realism and Mythology
Theatre L’Acadie describes The Swan as a psychosexual fever dream. It is that, but there is more simmering beneath the murky surface. Playwright Elizabeth Egloff’s play takes place in Nebraska […]
Review: Purple Onyx Productions Celebrates Prince’s Purple Rain at Funky 40
Next week is the 40th anniversary of the date that Prince’s album, Purple Rain, hit the airwaves; the film appeared in movie theaters a month later. I did not have […]
Review: Black Ensemble Theater Gives the People What They Want in The Salon
Black Ensemble Theater (BET) has been a mainstay of Black theater for almost 50 years. That takes grit which is a step above determination. It takes vision, talent, and fearlessness—the […]
Dispatch: The Final Day of the Chicago Blues Festival Was for Home Grown Legends and Grown Folks
The big finale for Chicago Blues Festival #40 brought gorgeous weather and fevered anticipation for the music. People were lined up early in the sun for the pavilion seats to […]
Dispatch: On Blues Fest Day Three, Women Rule the Day as the Queen of the Blues Is Celebrated
On Saturday, it was proclaimed to be Dinah Washington Day in Chicago. June 8 would have been her centennial. She had been declared Queen of the Blues in her day, […]
Dispatch: Day Two of the 40th Chicago Blues Festival Is a Celebration of the Mississippi-to-Chicago Connection
The Mississippi Delta is considered the cradle of the Blues. This treasure sprang up in the state where cotton was king. It was born of the sweat from grueling work […]
Dispatch: The 40th Chicago Blues Festival Kicks Off at the Ramova Theatre in Bridgeport
I wondered what the audience at the Ramova Theatre for the opening night of the Chicago Blues Festival would think about the second-generation lineup of blues artists. Shemekia Copeland and […]
Review: Stokely: The Unfinished Revolution Is an Indictment of Past Racism and a Relevant Call for Change
The world premiere of Stokely: The Unfinished Revolution appears as America must be reminded that the power of a dedicated group can cause significant changes. It is also a reminder […]