Dance, Stages

Preview: Joffrey Ballet to Premiere New Work Adapted from Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men

The Joffrey Ballet’s spring program will combine an iconic John Steinbeck story transformed into a modern ballet with Serenade, a classic George Balanchine ballet first performed in the 1930s. The program […]

Nancy S Bishop /
Art & Museums, Design, Installation

Review: The Business of Beauty at the Art Institute Displays William Morris’ Genius in Home Textiles and Design

“Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” English textile designer William Morris said in 1880. The statement represented his […]

Nancy S Bishop /
Art & Museums, Feature, Festivals & events

EXPO Chicago 2022: Our Reflections on the Annual Art Fair at Navy Pier

The 2022 EXPO Chicago took place April 7-10 in Festival Hall at Navy Pier with 140 leading galleries from 25 countries and 65 cities from around the world. As in […]

Carrie McGath /
Magic, Stages

Review: It’s Magic With Cocktails in Sean Masterson’s Message in a Bottle at Chicago Magic Lounge

To sit in a beautiful, bustling lounge, surrounded by plush art deco fixings and dolled-up people, while sipping a cocktail (called Smoke and Mirrors) is a luxe experience indeed. But […]

Kim Campbell /
Stages, Theater

Review: Far From Being Forgotten, Six Returns as an International Sensation

Guest review by Anne Siegel.  Make no mistake; while most of the real-life wives of Henry VIII ended their days in misery (or worse), their 21st century counterparts are wiser, […]

Anne Siegel /
Film, Film & TV, Review

Review: We’re All Going to the World’s Fair Unlocks an Interesting New Approach to Coming-of-Age Narratives

Twenty-two years into the millennium, there is an entire generation (and counting) of young people who’ve grown up in an entirely online age. Now young adults, they’ve never known a […]

Lisa Trifone /
Film, Film & TV, Interview

Interview: Filmmaking Duo Daniels on the Multiverse, Working with Film Royalty and As Much As They Could Fit Into Everything, Everywhere, All At Once

For those who have been lucky enough to experience the year’s first truly great filmgoing experience, Everything Everywhere All at Once, interest level in the filmmakers “Daniels” is likely piqued. […]

Steve Prokopy /
Feature, Film & TV

Retrospective: Music Box Theatre Presents a Week of All Things Weird, Wonderful and Totally Lynchian

Five years (and one pandemic) after its first go-round with an all-David-Lynch, all-the-time program, Chicago’s Music Box Theatre again presents a week-long retrospective on “one of the greatest and most […]

Lisa Trifone /
Lit, Nonfiction

Review: Anti-Racist and More, The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop, by Felicia Rose Chavez

The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop: How to Decolonize the Creative Classroom by Felicia Rose Chavez Haymarket Books, 216 pages, $14.97 Chicago’s Haymarket Books promotes The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop: How to Decolonize […]

Patrick T. Reardon /
Circus, Comedy, Dance, Stages, Theater, Theater Festival

Preview: Chicago Circus and Performing Arts Festival Premieres April 21-24

Life’s been a circus over the last two years, so we might as well lean into it. Welcome to the Chicago Circus & Performing Arts Festival, the Windy City’s newest multidisciplinary […]

Karin McKie /
Film, Film & TV, Review

Review: Chronicling Skateboarder Tony Hawk’s Epic Career, Until the Wheels Fall Off Sticks the Landing

Knowing a bit of the of journey of supreme professional skateboarder Tony Hawk would probably go a long way toward appreciating the new documentary about his life and career, Tony […]

Steve Prokopy /
Music, Stages

Review: Trixie and Katya Go Above and Beyond at Auditorium Theatre

Sometimes, there’s nothing better than a good show on a Monday night. Walking into the Auditorium Theatre, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from drag queens Trixie Mattel and […]

Kate Scott /