Review: Model/Actriz Sets the Bar High at Thalia Hall
As someone who attends a plethora of concerts every year, it can be easy for shows to get lost or jumbled in my subconscious. However last Saturday night’s show with […]
Preview: Celebrate Asian American Heritage Month at Wrightwood 659, Zhou B Art Center and the Art Institute
Asian art abounds in Chicago, especially during Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May, with three exhibits currently on display: Martin Wong, Chinatown USA, at Wrightwood 659; a […]
Preview: Farewell to the Orion Ensemble after 35 Years
This and next weekend, the Orion Ensemble will be performing their last concerts together. For 35 years, this quartet of clarinetist Kathryne Pirtle, violinist Florentina Ramniceanu, cellist Judy Stone, and […]
Review: A Lovely and Touching Poem-Book, Northwoods Lullaby, by Mary Casanova and Jordan Sundberg
Mary Casanova offers “a pine bough swaying lullaby” and “a frog croak-croaking lullaby” and “two swans born today” and “snowshoe hare, eyes so wide.” Jordan Sundberg offers deep vibrant colors […]
Review: Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Wind Ensemble Excels Under Duress at Mandel Hall
London-based chamber orchestra the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields performed at the University of Chicago’s stiflingly hot Mandel Hall rcently. The group was founded in 1958 by Sir […]
Interview: Coming Up at the Den Theatre—Dewayne Perkins Is Better Than You, and That’s OK
Improv, standup, sketch, TV, film—however you like to laugh, Dewayne Perkins does it, and he does it brilliantly. One of comedy’s finest rising voices, the Chicago native and Brooklyn Nine-Nine […]
Review: Teatro Vista’s Both Grapples With Twin Realities, Twin Fantasies
What’s true? Of course, there’s no manageable answer to that. But it’s hard to avoid asking that question throughout Teatro Vista’s world premiere of Paloma Nozicka’s Both, co-produced by Steppenwolf […]
Review: In Michael Jackson Biopic, Michael Gets a Highlight Reel, Audiences Get the Greatest Hits, But No One Gets the Full Truth
When it comes to music biopics, I don’t require or expect historical accuracy—leave it to the documentaries to get everything right. What I do expect is to discover something about […]
Review: The Elgin Master Chorale and Director/Conductor Andrew Lewis Produce a Masterful Performance of Stacy Garrop’s Terra Nostra in Elgin
I was first blown away by Stacy Garrop’s oratorio Terra Nostra when Cedille Records released it in 2024. In three parts, Garrop tells the story of our planet, starting with […]
Review: All is Not What it Seems in Normal, the Latest Action Flick from Writer of John Wick
This article was written by Lauren Weiner. Normal is a little, boring town in the middle of wintry Minnesota, and it seems as though nothing ever happens there. That much […]
Interview: Normal Action Star Bob Odenkirk and Screenwriter Derek Kolstad on Being Underestimated, Staging Great Kills and Chicago Ties
A Chicago native (Naperville via Berwyn actually), actor-comedian-screenwriter-director-author-producer Bob Odenkirk is an artist who wears many hats. In fact, at any point in his career when you think you’re fully […]
Review: At Chicago Children’s Theatre, Goodnight, Moon Has a Talented Cast in Constant Motion and Merriment
You know how kids try to avoid going to bed at night? If you’re a parent or grandparent or sitter, you know the drill. Mama, I’m not sleepy. Will you […]