I had to look twice when I read the description of Inanimate. A woman in a relationship with a Dairy Queen sign. I was thinking surreal, then disassociative personality, or […]

Purpose, a new play written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and directed by legendary actor Phylicia Rashad, follows in the theatrical legacy of plays like August Wilson’s Fences and The Piano Lesson, dealing with the […]

Like many, I first remember taking notice of actor Christina Jackson on HBO’s Boardwalk Empire as Maybelle, the daughter of Chalky White (the late Michael K. Williams). She has starred in other […]

Like many history books, Steven Conn’s The Lies of the Land: Seeing Rural America For What It Is—And Isn’t is a showcase of and argument for nuanced thinking. In his […]

Jersey Boys is the origin story and evolution of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, a musical group from the Garden State that have had an enduring impact on American culture […]

Percival Everett has published 30-some books—mostly novels—over his career, but he has not been a well-known author in the literary zeitgeist. But the LA-based author has a large Chicago fan […]

The Listener is something like a combination of a filmed, one-woman stage play and an acting exercise, directed by Steve Buscemi and written by Oscar-nominated screenwriter Alessandro Camon (The Messenger).  The […]

Portrait painting has always played a vital role in creative expression throughout art history. The best portraits in many of today’s museums not only convey the intricacy of the human […]

I’m a sucker for Nintendo games, so when I saw Princess Peach: Showtime! pop up during during a Nintendo Direct, I knew that I’d play it. Coming off the heels […]

In 1980, at the ripe old age of 35, Steve Martin was the most famous and successful stand-up comic in the world. Some likened his popularity to that of a […]

Leading the Mahler Chamber Orchestra at Symphony Center on Tuesday evening, Mitsuko Uchida gave an underwhelming performance of two piano concertos by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. She first recorded this music […]

Marking the fifth installment in the Legendary/Warner Bros. “Monsterverse” franchise, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire digs deep into the mythology of these so-called Titans, while also attempting to clear a path […]