Preview: Who to Check Out at Riot Fest 2024 (Now Back at Douglass Park)
Ah Riot Fest, you trick tricky fest. After announcing a departure from their usual location only to switch back to the Douglass Park campus, it’s finally time to rock out […]
Getaway: Foliage Drives to Local Spirits
Summer may be Chicago’s peak season, but fall is where we get to drive just outside the city in our green barn jackets and Hunter boots, sip on a PSL […]
Review: Chicago Shakespeare Theater Stages New Artistic Director’s Contemporary Vision for Henry V
When Barbara Gaines founded Chicago Shakespeare Theater in 1986, the first production held on the rooftop of Lincoln Park’s Red Lion Pub was Henry V, the story of a young […]
Review: Verdi’s Rigoletto Triumphs as the Season Opener for the Lyric Opera of Chicago
There has been a lot of discourse on the survival of opera companies in America. Even the revered Met has met criticisms for everything from the artistic direction and performance […]
Review: The Delicate Tears of the Waning Moon Portrays the Cruel Fate of Women Journalists in Latin America
The poetic title of Rebeca Aleman’s play, The Delicate Tears of the Waning Moon, may delude you into thinking her play is a sweet love story. But don’t expect a romcom […]
Review: Based on Familiar Young-Adult Dystopian Tropes, Uglies Fails to Give the Genre a Makeover
For a young-adult story, the concept of Uglies is certainly intriguing, if somewhat familiar: in a post-scarcity dystopian future, everyone is considered an “ugly,” and the powers-that-be decide that if […]
Review: Kevin Smith Returns to His Roots in The 4:30 Movie, Coming of Age in the ’80s
Except for the constant presence of supporting players who have all worked with writer/director Kevin Smith in some capacity in the last 30 years, the filmmaker’s latest work, The 4:30 […]
Review: Falling Into Folklore at the Evanston Folk Festival
It may not officially be fall, but there is a change in the air. The lighting, the crisp colors, the leaves starting to change, and the cool breeze accompanying the […]
Review: Speak No Evil Offers a Slightly Milder Adaptation of a Thriller Where Manners Matter
Shortly after watching Speak No Evil, I went back to my original review of the 2022 Danish horror sensation of the same name directed by Christian Tafdrup, and noticed that […]
Review: Dame Jane Glover, Anthony McGill, and Music of the Baroque Orchestra Give a Spirited Performance at Ravinia
Under the direction of Dame Jane Glover, Music of the Baroque Orchestra gave a spirited performance of musical chestnuts at Ravinia’s Martin Theater on Tuesday night. In doing so, it […]
Review: Oil Lamp Theater’s First Date—Millennial Romcom of Cringe and Courtship
First Date, directed by Christina Ramirez, with a script by Austin Winsberg, slams us with all the goofs and hiccups of modern dating, which, without the bubbly, rambunctious soundtrack and […]
Bites: What Theater Artist Mitchell Bisschop Eats in a Day
He may currently live in Los Angeles but Mitchell Bisschop grew up in Chicago and recently returned for the run of his one man show, Royko: The Toughest Man in […]