Interview: Debbie Sharpe on Rainbow Cake Fame, Giving Back, and Menu Wishes
Debbie Sharpe originated in Australia, toured the world cooking with rock stars but lucky for us, fell in love with Chicago on a stop and stayed. She opened The Goddess […]
Review: Christina Pugh’s Latest Poetry Collection, The Right Hand
The Right Hand, the latest poetry collection by Christina Pugh, possesses abstraction dancing with tradition, faith with the mystical, form that examines line and white space with the material body. […]
Review: Teatro ZinZanni’s Love, Chaos, and Dinner Charms with Charismatic and Talented Performances
When Danila Bim entered the circus tent with a small metal hoop attached to her head, I had a feeling I knew what was coming. Enough performers had taken flight […]
Review: The Juilliard and Isidore Quartets Offer Beautiful Music at Ravinia
“Oh, the joy to being bathed in beautiful music,” I wrote while listening to Felix Mendelssohn’s Octet in E-flat Major in the Martin Theatre at Ravinia on Wednesday. At many […]
Review: In Familiar Touch, Supportive Care Workers Ease an Aging Woman’s Move to a New Life
Ruth is a retired cook. As the film opens, she’s in her cozy kitchen preparing lunch for a guest, setting the table, and then getting dressed up. The guest is […]
Review: Actor Mariska Hargitay Turns to Filmmaking for My Mom Jayne, Excavating the Woman Behind Jayne Mansfield’s Legend
A few documentaries of late have dealt with the children of famous people, searching for stories about a parent’s life because they have few or no memories of them. The idea […]
Review: Shifting from Horror to Action, Megan 2.0 Expands on the AI Concepts of the First Film
Produced by genre titans James Wan and Jason Blum, and helmed by returning writer-director Gerald Johnstone, M3GAN 2.0 does something bold in the horror field: it shifts tones from the […]
Review: In High-Speed Racing Drama F1, Brad Pitt Half-Heartedly Plays a Driver Past his Prime
Let me begin by saying I’m not going to begrudge anyone fully embracing the Vroom Vroom of F1: The Movie for the simple fact that the car-racing sequences are one […]
Your Chicago Curated Weekend: 6/26 and Beyond
Get ready for a full weekend as there are so many movies, concerts, festivals and markets going on to get you into the summer spirit. So start planning the next […]
Interview: Jeff Rueth on Seasonality, Nights in Italy, and Mixing Home with Destination
During the COVID-19 lockdown, each week I would choose a region around the globe and create a feast based on the traditional dishes there. It would be a multi-course meal […]
Good Vibes: The Goddess and Grocer Gives Back for Pride
The Goddess and Grocer may be your quick lunch pick-up for inventive salads and sandwiches, but their claim to fame has to be their Goddess Rainbow Cake. Vibrantly colored layers […]
Review: Giancarlo Guerrero, Pacho Flores, and the Grant Park Orchestra Welcome the Summer
With the summer solstice just hours away, Giancarlo Guerrero led the Grant Park Orchestra through a program of contemporary music with a Latin American flavor and a Viennese masterpiece at […]