Review: Joffrey’s Sparkling Nutcracker Delivers Sugar Plums, Magic, and Spectacle
Let us now consider the sugar plum. For years, I thought it was an artisan plum rolled in silver sugar. I was this many years old when I discovered that […]
Review: Snocaps Get Off to a Great Start in First Night at Thalia Hall
I honestly can’t think of a better way to see a surprise new band with a name like Snocaps than fresh off our first snow of the season. And they […]
Review:The Catalyst Quartet’s Against All Odds Is Flawless at Nova Linea Musica
One of my favorite things about reviewing music, arts, and culture in Chicago is being in the audience to experience artists in their habitat. That could be a big stage […]
Review: Filmed Version of Merrily We Roll Along Revival Starring Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe and Lindsay Mendez Is a Close-Up Gift to Musical Theater History
Over the course of his storied career, composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim had quite a stunning list of successes and very few misses. His greatest fail, however, came in 1981 […]
Quick Spins: Juana Molina, Yada Yada, Time Thieves, Glyders, Strange Neighbors, and Messiness
Quick Spins takes a quick look at recently released albums to make certain you’re listening to all the quality music being released these days. And with today being Bandcamp Friday, […]
Review: Steve Schapiro: Being Everywhere Offers a Glimpse into the Prolific, Historical Work of Chicago-Based Photographer
Even though combing through the archival material could feasibly take a lifetime, making a documentary on a legendary photographer like Steve Schapiro must be the most fun to assemble. Searching […]
Review: Detailing the Publication’s History and High Esteem, The New Yorker at 100 Offers a Glimpse into Process, Legacy
Directed by Marshall Curry (an Oscar-winning shorts filmmaker) and narrated by Julianne Moore, The New Yorker at 100 tells the fairly straightforward but no less interesting tale of both the […]
Review: 100 Nights of Hero Spins a Pretty, if Obvious, Story of Oppression, Queerness and Feminism
Set in an alternative past in which the world worships a god named Birdman (personified by Richard E. Grant, naturally), who has a mischievous daughter named Kiddo (Safia Oakley-Green) and […]
Review: Zarella, River North’s New Bustling Pizzeria
A few months ago, I stumbled upon a TikTok detailing a dinner out at a new River North spot. I saw mozzarella sticks and pasta, in a dimly lit, cozy […]
Your Chicago Curated Weekend: 12/4 and Beyond
The snow finally came last weekend and Chicago is truly looking like a winter wonderland! And all the cool events— ice skating throughout the city, holiday lights everywhere you turn, […]
Review: Dame Jane Glover and Music of the Baroque Keep The Messiah Fresh
As I listened to Dame Jane Glover conduct the Music of the Baroque Orchestra and Chorus in Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” for the third time in as many months, it dawned […]
Review: The Smith in River North Knocks Our Socks Off and Tightens Our Belts
Our evening at The Smith was one to remember, and thank goodness they have a photobooth in their basement so we could preserve our post-meal glee. My partner and I […]