Review: Kurt Elling & Charlie Hunter Bring the Jams at Space Evanston
What a pleasure to spend a misty autumn night grooving to Kurt Elling with Charlie Hunter at Space in Evanston. I saw him at the Chicago Jazz Festival when he […]
Review: The Joffrey Ballet Flawlessly Dances the Frankenstein Story
I am still in awe from watching the Joffrey Ballet’s Frankenstein at the Lyric Opera House. Choreographer Liam Scarlett stayed closer to Mary Shelley’s book Frankenstein or Modern Prometheus than […]
Review: Writers Theatre’s Thought-Provoking Eurydice Features Strong Cast and Stunning Design
Eurydice: “I read a book today.” Orpheus: “Did you?” Eurydice: “Yes. It was very interesting… There were—stories—about people’s lives—how some come out well— others come out badly.” Orpheus: “Do you […]
Dispatch: Chicago Int’l Film Fest Presents a Busy Weekend of Screenings and Events
On Saturday and Sunday (October 14 and 15) at the Chicago International Film Festival, there’s plenty to experience at the festival’s many screenings and events. In fact, these two days […]
Review: Consuming My Religion: Holy Food, by Christina Ward
No matter how busy they were creating the universe, some gods always found time to lay down the law on what their worshippers should eat. Diets and deities have a […]
Essay: In Defense of “Unregulated” Little Free Libraries
Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th) thinks the little free libraries along many Chicago sidewalks are bad—very bad. They are “unregulated”! And they’re “popular”! And many of them are planted in city soil! (Collective […]
Dispatch: First Full Screening Days at 59th Chicago Int’l Film Festival Offer Chicago-Made Family Dramas, Powerful Docs on Legacy, and a Swimmer’s Record-Making Journey
In its first two full days of screenings, the 59th Chicago International Film Festival presents a strong variety of films, from locally made family dramas to harrowing, insightful documentaries about […]
Your Chicago Curated Weekend: 10/12 and Beyond
The fall- and Halloween-themed events are ramping up this weekend with tons of unique experiences happening all over town! Movies, theater, markets, music, so much is happening this weekend, so […]
Preview: 59th Chicago Int’l Film Festival Opens with Chicago-Centric Films, Offers Twelve Days of Screenings, Events and Education
Chicago is home to so many film festivals, there’s an association for them. From niche, weekend events that pop up throughout the year to stalwarts like Reeling (the long-running LGBTQ-centered […]
Review: Subtext Studio Presents a Harrowing Tale of Human Smuggling in The American Dream
Playwright Juan Ramirez’s The American Dream seems to be taken from the stories that are kept out of the headlines. It is the story of a “coyote,” Efren (Jorge Aguilar), […]
Dialogs: Keegan-Michael and Elle Key at the Chicago Humanities Festival—Building Connections One Joke at a Time
Explaining a joke is like dissecting a frog, E.B. White famously said: “the subject dies in the process and the innards are discouraging to any but the pure scientific mind.” […]
Review: CSO Chamber Music Performs Works by Russian and Czech Composers on Sunday in Hyde Park
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra Chamber Music players took the stage at Mandel Hall in Hyde Park on Sunday afternoon and gave a good, but not great, performance of music by […]