Review: Midwestern Sensibilities Drive Jim Gaffigan’s The Fun Tour
Full disclosure: I listen to standup to help me sleep. During these dystopian times, when I’m frequently unable to catch some ZZZs, I’ll play a comedy special on the bedroom […]
Karin McKie is a Chicago freelance writer, cultural factotum and activism concierge. She jams econo.
Review: Black Women’s Work Underpins Goodman Theatre’s Gem of the Ocean
Black history is continuously under attack, even during Black History Month. Some jurisdictions and politicians are busily banning books and curriculums that even mention America’s original sin of slavery. Playwright […]
Kids Can Learn Sign Language, Storytelling and Teamwork with Sweet Animated Video Calvin Can’t Fly
Jennifer Berne wrote the storybook Calvin Can’t Fly: The Story of a Bookworm Birdie in 2010, and her second cousin Sarah Michaelson directed and produced a video version last year. […]
Review: Classical Indian Story-Dances Honor Fires of Varanasi: Dance of the Eternal Pilgrim by Ragamala
Minneapolis-based Ragamala Dance Company performed Fires of Varanasi: Dance of the Eternal Pilgrim at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance last week. Mother Ranee Ramaswarmy, and her daughters Aparna and Ashwini […]
Dialogs: Critical Race Queries from Nikole Hannah-Jones at the Chicago Humanities Festival.
“We’ve been taught the history of a country that doesn’t exist.” Nikole Hannah-Jones is today’s Ida B. Wells, both fearless females and groundbreaking African-American journalists (Hannah-Jones’ Twitter handle is Ida […]
Review: Opera and Nas Mix with Hearing in Color’sUndying Love
Hearing in Color, a Fractured Atlas organization in collaboration with WFMT 98.7 FM, presented the chamber opera Undying Love on November 12, at the warm, welcoming Kehrein Center for the […]
Preview: WTTW Celebrates Mother of Invention Viola Spolin in Inventing Improv
Tonight WTTW’s Chicago Stories premiers “Inventing Improv,” a one-hour special about “Chicago’s greatest export,” improvisation, and its visionary creator, Viola Spolin. Writer/producer Jude Leak chronicles the journey of Spolin, the […]
Review: Visual and Visceral Nourishment at Bright and Airy Pilsen Yards
Light, airy, woody Pilsen Yards opened at 1163 W. 18th St. in January, an inviting rehab of the former Mediterranean-style Monnie Burke’s into a modern speakeasy. The façade is clean […]
Review: Hermanas Do It for Themselves in Goodman’s American Mariachi
The Destinos Latino Theater Festival is Chicago’s celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, and the Goodman Theatre’s offering is American Mariachi, a co-production with the Dallas Theater Center. Henry Godinez directs […]
Review: The Bob Mould Band Thrashes the Vic Theatre
Punk icon Bob Mould brought his energy, gratitude and tight trio to Lakeview’s Vic Theatre on September 24. His Distortion and Blue Hearts! tour started September 16 in Boston and […]
Review: The Art of Banksy Exhibit Shows the Artist as Anti-Capitalist Punster and King of the Mashup
“Nobody ever listened to me until they didn’t know who I was,” says anonymous graffiti artist Banksy. We think. That quote is included in the new The Art of Banksy […]
Vibrant and Subversive Chicago Comics: 1960s to Now at MCA thru October 3
Chicago is a printing town. In the early 20th century, the many printing houses spawned an entire Printer’s Row, located near the Dearborn train station where the paper arrived and […]