Monica Kass Rogers, Duly Noted

Review: The Photography of Monica Kass Rogers Captures Abstract Views of Chicago Alleys

One of the most underappreciated features in Chicago is the extensive network of alleys. According to statistics from the City of Chicago, there are approximately 1,900 miles of alleys (about […]

Thomas Wawzenek /

Review: Bright, Whimsical Kukoos: Lost Pets  Is Nostalgic but Mediocre

The late 90s and early ‘00s were a special time in video game history. Platformers, along with the rest of video games, were just starting to transition to 3D. Games […]

Antal Bokor /

On the Road: Broadway Up Close—One of the Best Shows on Broadway Isn’t a Musical

Tim Dolan is an  actor—occasionally. But his regular gig is as a Broadway tour guide and entrepreneur. He’s owner of Broadway Up Close, which offers walking tours of the Broadway/Times […]

Nancy S Bishop /

Review: Itzhak Perlman and Klezmer Fill Symphony Center with Tradition and Joy

Bands playing klezmer, the distinctly Jewish and mostly joyous music genre, get to play on many stages. Add Itzhak Perlman—one of the great concert violinists of our era—and you get […]

Bob Benenson /

Review: Dwarf Fortress Is Breathtakingly Complex

I’ve always had a certain fascination with Dwarf Fortress. I haven’t played it before now, but I’d always stumble across stories of dwarven madness, or those that dug too deep […]

Antal Bokor /

Review: Brandon Goldberg Is Phenomenal in Chicago Jazz Orchestra’s A Musical Tribute to a Charlie Brown Christmas

The Chicago Jazz Orchestra gave this child of the sixties a wonderful chance to reminisce with A Musical Tribute to A Charlie Brown Christmas. They brought some nostalgia to the […]

Louis Harris /

Review: Two Winners in the Nutcracker Ballet Relay

My interest in classical music was weaned on Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker ballet. So I leapt at the opportunity to do a Nutcracker relay last Saturday: the matinee opening […]

Bob Benenson /

Review: Broadway Rising Chronicles the Cost, Both Human and Financial, of the Great White Way’s Pandemic Closure

Although some may not have considered the arts an essential function during the COVID-19 pandemic, in the city of New York, the theater industry employs nearly 100,000 artists and craftspeople. […]

Steve Prokopy /

Review: Beabadoobee’s Vitality Matched Her Devoted Fans’ Enthusiasm

Singer and songwriter Beabadoobee, the musical pseudonym of Beatrice Kristi Laus, brought her imaginative universe of Beatopia to the Riviera Theatre this past Tuesday evening. After finding viral success with […]

Andrew Lagunas /

Review: Cyanide and Happiness’ Master Dater Is a Great New Holiday Party Game

Tabletop party games are everywhere these days. A simple trip to Target will turn up dozens and dozens of them. And many of them follow a familiar formula, at least […]

Marielle Bokor /

Review: Gender Bends in Midsommer Flight’s Twelfth Night

William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is a mistaken-identity rom-com designed as a frolic to entertain at the end of the holiday season (there is nothing about Christmas in this play itself). […]

Bob Benenson /

Review: Hot Handel Kicks Off the Holidays at the Auditorium Theatre

I heard that there was some Grinch behavior spreading around Chicago. Even I have mandated that my office shalt not play that one station that starts with the fa-la-la business […]

Kathy D. Hey /