Your Chicago Curated Weekend: 9/12 – 9/15
It’s hot and humid and rainy, so it must be the last days of summer in Chicago. But don’t let the temperamental temperatures scare you into not going out! There […]
Playtime Radio: We Talk Rock Opera, 911 Day, and Why It Ain’t Real Photography Without a Real Camera
We collaborate with Playtime with Bill Turck and Kerri Kendall and appear on their Sunday afternoon arts radio show once or twice a month. They’re on WCGO, 1590AM and 95.9FM, each […]
Review: Spamalot–For Pure Fun, Head in the General Direction of the Mercury Theater
It is not necessary to have seen the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail to enjoy the Mercury Theater’s buoyant new production of the musical Spamalot, though it might help you […]
Review: Dehd and Deeper “In the Round” at Thalia Hall
Ask any Chicagoan; we’re obsessed with this city. As someone who’s lived here my whole life (okay, okay, I did grow up in the suburbs), I can attest to the […]
Preview: Catch Giuda’s Glam Stomp At The Empty Bottle Tonight
Giuda is based in Rome, Italy, so it’s not often our citizens get a chance to see them come through town. I’ve been lucky enough to have seen them a […]
Review: Vital Early Childhood Ed Doc No Small Matter Returns to Siskel Center
Early on in No Small Matter, directed by Danny Alpert, Greg Jacobs and Jon Siskel, audiences are introduced to Rachel Giannini, the lead teacher in Highland Park Community Nursery School and […]
Review: Holo-rifficMaria Callas in Concert at Lyric Opera
There was some life in this death. BASE Hologram and director Stephen Wadsworth resurrected soprano Maria Callas 42 years after her death on September 7 at the Lyric Opera. The […]
Dispatch: Early Hits, Misses and Mehs at Toronto Film Festival
In just its first few days, the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival has presented dozens of films to thousands of eager audiences. Some (the movies, that is) have arrived to […]
Review: Remy Bumppo’s Beautiful Production of Howards End Tells Three Family Stories
Howards End, the stunning new production by Remy Bumppo Theatre, weaves together strands of three families. The wealthy and elite Wilcoxes—father, sons and daughter—the Schlegel sisters, who belong to the […]
Preview: Extra Arms Brings Their Heavy Power-pop To Montrose Saloon
Extra Arms is led by Ryan Allen and traffics in the ultimate blend of the sounds he crafted in previous bands, including Thunderbirds Are Now! and Friendly Foes. Allen has […]
Review: Into the Spirit World with Ceremony and Choir Boy
I keep ending up at Thalia Hall. It’s my siren. Calling and cooing me in yet again. On the heels of my review of The Hold Steady I find myself […]
Book Review: In Tied with Twine, Pam Records Tells Stories of Polish Hegewisch
Tied with Twine, by Pam Records, Indigo River Publishing Reviewed by M.D. Walters The residents of Hegewisch harbor painful secrets, perplexing little mysteries, and big ambitions – all tangled up […]