Review: Chicago Gets Down on Friday with Rebecca Black
It comes as no surprise that singer Rebecca Black is currently taking the alternative pop and music scene by storm. After her 2011 one-hit phenomenon debut single, “Friday,” which was met […]
Review: Oscar-Winner Rami Malek Stars in The Amateur, a Reluctant But Engaging Action Movie
Based on the novel by Robert Littell (which was already made into a 1981 film of the same name), The Amateur is the story of an introverted decoder and analyst […]
Review: Alex Garland Co-Directs Warfare, an Immersive and Impressive Cinematic Experience
Right at the top of the new war drama from co-directors Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Annihilation, Civil War) and Ray Mendoza (the military technical adviser on Civil War), a title […]
Review: Suzan-Lori Parks’ The Book of Grace—Beautifully Acted but a Mixed Bag at Steppenwolf Theatre
Suzan-Lori Parks is known for writing plays about the inner lives of Black Americans. The Book of Grace is a companion to the Pulitzer Prize-winning Topdog/Underdog, where brothers Lincoln and Booth live out […]
Review: Free Range Hangs Around in the Lost & Found on Their Exquisite Sophomore Offering
One could say I’ve been practicing listening to Free Range for quite some time.… So much so that the release of their sophomore album Lost & Found this year may […]
Review: Archer Oh Hits the Mark at Cobra Lounge
Anyone who thinks that 2025 does not offer the appropriate musical landscape for a gritty garage rock hybrid of early Nirvana, Weezer, and the Smiths hasn’t heard California’s Archer Oh. […]
Review: Berlin’s Leonkoro Quartet Entertains in Hyde Park With a Mix of Early to Modern Music
Before returning to their homes in Berlin, the Leonkoro Quartet finished their North American tour with an entertaining concert at Logan Center in Hyde Park on Friday night. Formed in […]
Review: A Movie about Music and More, The Ballad of Wallis Island Infuses a Heartfelt Story with Charming Comedy
There are movies, and there are musicals. There are even movie musicals. But the musical movie is something else entirely. These are films where the narrative itself is music-based. Films […]
Interview: Michael Shannon and Screenwriter Brett Neveu on Eric LaRue’s Chicago Ties, Adapting a Stage Play and Casting Judy Greer in a Lead Role
With its roots in Chicago theater, the story of Eric LaRue is set in an anonymous suburban community in the aftermath of a shocking crime committed by the high school-age […]
Review: Porchlight’s Titanique Sparkles Like That Diamond (You Know the One)
Not since gin and vermouth first met ice has any cocktail sparkled so purely, so perfectly, so powerfully as Porchlight Theatre’s crazy collision with a fateful iceberg, Titanique, now running […]
Review: Ela Minus Stuns at Her Sold-Out Schubas Show
The vastly talented Colombian singer, songwriter and producer Ela Minus sold out Chicago’s iconic Schubas Tavern last week as one of her only stops on her U.S. tour. Supporting her […]
Review: At the Art Institute, Frida Kahlo’s Month in Paris Examines a Pivotal Moment in Mexican Artist’s Career
The Art Institute’s new Frida Kahlo exhibit aims to illuminate her connection with Mary Reynolds, an American expatriate artist and bookbinder who encountered Kahlo in Paris at a pivotal point […]