Lit, Poetry

Review: Myriad Chicagos, Wherever I’m At: An Anthology of Chicago Poetry, edited by Donald G. Evans and Robin Metz

Summer mornings, in my West Side childhood, I would go out on our rickety second-story back porch, and, across the alley, on the worn, gray asphalt of the parking lot/school […]

Patrick T. Reardon /
Film, Film & TV, Review

Review: Relative, a Genuinely Chicago Film, Tells the Story of a Rogers Park Family Going Through Change

Relative weaves together the stories of a Rogers Park family–the progressive parents, their adult children and their children–as change affects them all.

Nancy S Bishop /
Stages, Theater

Review: Hercule Poirot Unravels Murder Scheme Aboard Milwaukee Rep’s Orient Express

Agatha Christie mystery fans will want to climb aboard Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s production of Murder On the Orient Express, which opened last weekend in the largest of the Rep’s three stages. Orient Express closes […]

Anne Siegel /
Film, Film & TV, Review

Review: Adam Sandler’s Genuine Love of Basketball Shines Through in Hustle

Adam Sandler is not above surprising us every so often. He did it not too long ago in the hyper-real world of Uncut Gems, much as he pulled together a […]

Steve Prokopy /
Dance, Stages

Review: Joffrey Ballet Shines with the Exuberance of Spain in Don Quixote

Don Quixote by the Joffrey Ballet

Kathy D. Hey /
Classical, Music, Reviews

Review: Kontras Quartet’s Premier of Amy Wurtz’ Third String Quartet Is Worth the COVID-19 Wait

The Chicago-based Kontras Quartet performed several string quartets by American composers at Roosevelt University’s Ganz Hall yesterday. Hosted by the American Music Project, the program included works by five contemporary […]

Louis Harris /
Stages, Theater

Review: Water People Theater Brings Surreal and Magical Writing to Life with Lorca, Living the Experience

Lora, Living the Experience
The life and work of Federico Garcia Lorca

Kathy D. Hey /
Lit, Nonfiction, Reviews

Review: Flight of the Rondone: High School Dropout vs. Big Pharma: The Fight to Save My Son’s Life, by Patrick Girondi

Flight of the Rondone: High School Dropout vs. Big Pharma: The Fight To Save My Son’s Life (the memoir so meandering they named it thrice), by Patrick Girondi, poses several […]

Adam Kaz /
Film, Film & TV, Review

Review: An Updated Take on Austen, Fire Island Takes on Contemporary Romance, Gay Culture and Coming-of-Age

What little I knew about New York’s Fire Island (which runs parallel to the south shore of Long Island) before seeing director Andrew (Driveways, Spa Night) Ahn’s new film of […]

Steve Prokopy /
Feature, Stages, Theater

Theater Memories: RIP House Theatre of Chicago and So Many More

We learned this week that House Theatre of Chicago, a 21-year-old company, will cease to exist this summer. House will formally wind down its operations now that its North American […]

Nancy S Bishop /
Music

Review: Chicago Philharmonic’s Aretha Rising Paid (and Played) Respect  

Chicago Philharmonic focused most of its 2021-22 season on great composers—such as Mozart, Copland, Brahms, Dvorak and Respighi—featured by most classical ensembles.   But more than most orchestras, Chicago Philharmonic […]

Bob Benenson /
Music, Reviews

Review: Makaya McCraven’s Avant-Garde Jazz Transports Lincoln Hall

Makaya McCraven

The crowd at Makaya McCraven’s Friday night show at Lincoln Hall was as varied as the hometown artist’s take on jazz. The first of a two-night stint at the venue […]

Jessica Mlinaric /