Your Chicago Curated Weekend: 8/25 and Beyond
It’s the final weekend of August and there are so many fun things going on this weekend! It’s feeling a little more normal to go out since Chicago dropped the […]
Preview: Workshopped Play Rectitude Shows a Glimmer of Brilliance in Its Character Study of Two Catholics
In the talkback after watching a workshopped version of a new play titled Rectitude, I heard a term—cradle Catholic—that was new to me. It’s a person baptized as an infant into […]
Review: Lynn Sloan’s Midstream Carries Readers on a Cinematic Tour de Force
Unlike the turbulent 1970s she lives in, Polly Wainwright is determined to be calm, competent, and professional. She’s got a boyfriend making a name for himself as a war correspondent […]
Review: Grant Park Festival Closes with a Great Performance of Haydn’s The Creation
There are few pieces of music that satisfy me more thoroughly than Franz Josef Haydn’s oratorio, The Creation. Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus performed it for a rousing sendoff to […]
Review: Saints Row Introduces Us to the New Saints, Who Are Just Like the Old Saints—Mostly
I know not everyone is going to welcome the new Saint’s Crew. In fact, I wasn’t sure I was going to welcome the new Saints after the rebooted Saints Row […]
Interview: Volition’s Brian Traficante on an All New Saints Row and What to Expect
It’s been a while since Champaign-based developers Volition have been in the final countdown to a big release. After all, Saints Row IV released all the way back in 2013. […]
Dialogs: Two Artists Discuss Developing The Notebook for Chicago Shakespeare in American Writers Museum Event
It may seem a daunting task to take on developing the stage version of a beloved book and film, with thousands of fans. Singer/songwriter Ingrid Michaelson and playwright/screenwriter Bekah Brunstetter […]
Review: The Salt Shed Hits a New High with Courtney Barnett’s Here and There Festival
The past couple of weeks the Salt Shed has been hitting on all cylinders. They attracted a phenomenal lineup of acts for their first month of shows and have been […]
Review: Straight Outta Harvey: Kellye Howard’s Crazy or Nah?! Is a Perfect Storm of in Your Face Grief and Comedy
There have been some really great one-woman performances and standup comics over the years. My favorite ones have told stories that are personal and off-kilter funny. Kellye Howard is yet […]
Review: Human Connection, Communication and Limits Put to the Test in The Immaculate Room
Yet another clean, economic example of a pandemic-made film that isn’t about the pandemic and has higher aspirations than its simple story may let on. Actually, the latest from writer/director […]
Review: Prequel Orphan: First Kill Entertains with the Subtlety of a Lifetime Drama
Let me get this straight: the talented 25-year-old actor Isabelle Fuhrman (The Novice) is once again playing the character of Esther, last seen in 2009’s Orphan, in which [spoiler alert] […]
Review: Beast Is Equal Parts Intense Family Drama and Bloody Cat-and-Mouse Action Thriller
If you’ve seen any movie in the last 50 years involving a shark attack, then you’ve essentially seen Beast, the new release from visionary Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur (101 Reykjavík, […]