Goodman’s Blind Date Stars the World on the Cusp of Change
The blind date actually took place on November 19, 1985, in Geneva. Nothing much happened diplomatically; the world order wasn’t changed. But the two leaders of the U.S. and the […]
Artists Connect: Bit Bash – Interactive Influence at Art Institute
Some may argue that video games don’t have a place amongst world famous works of art, but on Thursday night at the Art Institute we got to experience just that […]
Joysticks and Lightsabers: A Personal History with Star Wars Games
When the The Last Jedi was announced at the end of 2016, I thought I was pretty much done with Star Wars. I liked The Force Awakens well enough, but […]
Film Review: A Bit Heavy on Propaganda, Animated Bilal‘s Visuals Impress
After premiering at the Dubai Film Festival at the end of 2015, this beautifully animated work (Dubai’s first animated feature) about a slave who becomes a mighty warrior over a […]
Film Review: Foreign Film Vazante Is Strikingly Familiar
Chicago-based Music Box Films has a knack for cherry-picking impressive independent, foreign fare that’s earned acclaim on the international festival circuit and bringing it to discerning American audiences. It worked […]
Film Review: Oscar Nominee The Insult Puts A Human Face on Cultural Clash
A seemingly small but heated exchange of words sets off a powder keg of protests, media frenzy and hate speech in this incendiary, Oscar-nominated (for Best Foreign Language Film, from […]
Tony Winner The Humans Returns to Chicago Better Than Ever
The 70th Tony Awards, presented in June 2016, were an affair to remember in more ways than one. It was the year Hamilton won big. It was the year Cynthia […]
Siskel Film Center Hosts 28th Annual Festival of Films from Iran
The 28th Annual Festival of Films from Iran takes place at the Gene Siskel Film Center; it starts tomorrow and screenings continue throughout the month of February. As expected, the […]
Porchlight’s Dynamic Merrily We Roll Along Puts Energy in Ever-Poignant Sondheim
In 1981, Stephen Sondheim and Harold Prince collaborated with writer George Furth for a new musical based on a 1934 play, Merrily We Roll Along. The show was to be […]
Illinois Supreme Court Overrules Gun Ban Near Parks
The Illinois Supreme Court ruled the ban of gun possession within 1,000 feet from a park unconstitutional, on the grounds that the carrier could absentmindedly pass a park while bearing […]
Police Continue Search for Lane Bryant Shooter 10 Years Later
Today marks a decade since five women were shot and killed inside a Lane Bryant store in Tinley Park, when an armed robber entered the store, and locked the women, […]
Kevin Coval Celebrates Chicago History in Poetry and Hip-Hop at Driehaus Museum
The evening opened with DJ Cash-Era playing some tunes as the audience gathered in the elegant ballroom of the Richard Driehaus Museum, that mansion of the Gilded Age. The ballroom’s […]