Review: Chicago City Opera Stages a Minimalist Carmen in a Gothic Setting
Georges Bizet wrote his magnum opus 150 years ago. Carmen is an opera of spectacle, passion, and the darkness of obsession. It has been sung in the greatest houses of […]
Commentary: Accompanying the Misunderstood, Vulnerable and Maligned, Pioneers of Latino Ministry, by Deborah E. Kanter
As a 13-year-old, I left my family’s home on Chicago’s West Side to study for the Roman Catholic priesthood at a high school seminary about 50 miles away in Momence, […]
Bites: What Horror Author Christina Henry Eats in a Day as Spooky Season Arrives
Christina Henry has published more than a dozen books and is about to celebrate the first hard cover release of her latest horror novel, The Place Where They Buried Your […]
Review: Water From Your Eyes Embrace a More Rocking Vibe at Sleeping Village
It’s probably a weird year for an indie-rock band to be declaring “It’s a Beautiful Place.” But the duo behind Water From Your Eyes aren’t exactly known for making explicit […]
Review: Gwydion Theatre Company’s Death of a Salesman Is Great Despite Some Deviations
Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman is an American classic so excellent, so full of wisdom and raw emotion, that any production stands to be a helluvah show. Now at […]
Banned Books Week: Writers Recall the “Forbidden” Books of Their Youth
It’s Banned Books Week, and while it’s not a week to celebrate, per se, it’s one to faithfully observe. Those who would ban books offer different reasons for their desire […]
Review: Queens of the Stone Age Tone it Down With Spellbinding Chicago Theatre Show
On the opening night of Queens of the Stone Age’s Catacombs Tour at the Chicago Theatre, you could hear crickets chirping…and that was by design. The band’s set began with […]
Review: Porchlight’s New Faces Sing 1960 a Golden Time in the Golden Age
Ah… 1960. Smack-dab in the middle of post-war prosperity and (unknowingly) on the brink of enormous change. Has Broadway ever brimmed with more confidence or more cultural clout? Poised roughly […]
Quick Spins: Tamar Berk, Bobby Conn, Sloan, Rocket, and Ryan Allen
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: Matthew McConaughey and America Ferrera Star in Paul Greengrass’s The Lost Bus, Recounting Real Life Wildfire Drama
Set during the 2018 Camp Fire, which became the deadliest wildfire in California history and destroyed the community of Paradise, The Lost Bus is based on the true story of […]
Review: Cillian Murphy Leads a Heavy but Human-Centered Steve About a Boarding School on the Brink
Though he’s broken through to the mainstream moviegoer’s radar since his Oscar win for Oppenheimer (and perhaps beforehand for his leading role on the much-loved Netflix series Peaky Blinders), Cillian […]
Review: The Great Daniel Day-Lewis Returns to Acting in Anemone, Co-Written With and Directed by Son Ronan
There’s an interview clip floating around this week where Oscar-winner (and one of our best living actors) Daniel Day-Lewis takes umbrage with having the term “retirement” attached to his recent […]