Review: A Concert to Remember by Bella Voce and the Madison Bach Musicians
Some of the best Christmas music I have ever heard has come from churches of every denomination. On December 14, I ventured out on a frigid 5° afternoon to St. […]
Kathy D. Hey writes creative non-fiction essays. A lifelong Chicagoan, she is enjoying life with her husband, daughter and three dogs in the wilds of Edgewater. When she isn’t at her computer, she is in her garden growing vegetables and herbs for kitchen witchery.
Review: Manual Cinema’s Christmas Carol Is Hilarious, Brilliant and Moving
I was not quite sure what to expect from the Manual Cinema adaptation of A Christmas Carol. I have seen countless versions, including one rated TV-MA on cable television that […]
Review: Wizard of Oz Rarities Are Still Magical Off Screen in The Land of Oz: Beyond the Page at the Driehaus Museum
The Richard Driehaus Museum is a repository of decorative arts and Gilded Age treasures. I covered A Nativity Tribute last year at the Murphy Auditorium, featuring stained-glass windows and throne […]
Review: Chicago Opera Theater Delves Into Salieri’s Falstaff With a White Lotus Vibe
The Chicago Opera Theater, a much-enjoyed cultural institution, performs works from the corners of history that have been forgotten or have not received their due recognition. COT commissions and stages […]
Review: South Chicago Dance Theatre Exopresses the Raw Emotions of Loss Through Lamentations of Peace
South Chicago Dance Theatre (SCDT) is in season 9 and continues to dance close to the edge. Founder Kia S. Smith choreographed Lamentations of Peace with a narrative of the […]
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: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: A More Dickensian Approach to A Christmas Carol for the Goodman Theatre’s Centennial
Several versions of A Christmas Carol are familiar on television, in the movies, and, specifically, live at the Goodman Theatre. It’s a start to the holiday season in Chicago, usually coinciding […]
Review: Quirky Characters Spotlight the Fun in Much Ado About Nothing at Chicago Shakespeare Theater
She hates him. He loatheItss her. “The course of true love never did run smooth.” Wait, that is A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but in any case, it’s a Shakespearean theme […]
Preview: Tchaikovsky and Ellington Duke It Out in a Family Friendly Nutcracker at the Music Institute of Chicago
The 2025 holiday season is upon us, and there are delightful entertainments for everyone. Duke It Out is a face-off between Duke Ellington and Pyotr Tchaikovsky of The Nutcracker Suite. […]
Review: Court Theatre Puts a Feminist Twist on Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew
I have contemplated the versions of The Taming of the Shrew that I have seen over the years. I never liked the premise that a woman should be trained to […]
Review: Genius, Envy and Madness on Display in Amadeus at Steppenwolf Theatre
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Whenever I speak or hear the name, his glorious and stirring Requiem is the first thing that springs to mind. Sir Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus is now playing […]