On the Road: A Whimsical Look Inside California’s New Modernism Museum
The release of the 2022 film Don’t Worry Darling has once again cast a spotlight on Palm Springs. A playground of the rich and famous since its inception 85 years […]
Essay: Divine Decadence—A Look Back at Porchlight’s I Am a Camera and Cabaret
Cabaret has always been about pushing boundaries. But it also has a rich and complicated past. This month Porchlight Music Theatre at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts offered not only […]
Review: Tolstoy in a Cigar Factory—The Sensual Story of Anna in the Tropics by Remy Bumppo Theatre
Desire is a theme of Anna in the Tropics, the so-very-sensual play that won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for playwright Nilo Cruz. The new production by Remy Bumppo Theatre, […]
Review: Oscar Nominated Animated Shorts Make the Most of a Creative Medium, from the Humorous to the Heartfelt
Making any film is no small task; it can take years from start to finish. Making an animated film only complicates matters, and it’s a small miracle anytime the likes […]
Review: Dead Heat to Destiny: Three Lives and a Spy, by J.B. Rivard
Anyone who’s joined a beginners’ writers workshop knows the difficulty of reviewing prose that is nowhere near polished. It’s awkward, stressful even, trying to devise cogent thoughts about art that […]
Review: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Takes a Deep Dive Into the Quantum Realm
Without really meaning to, the character of Ant-Man has become something of a major player in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After starring in two films that were largely disconnected from […]
Review: Winspear Perfectly Presents Their Diverse Roster at Thalia Hall “In the Round”
Winspear Records showcased a substantial roster of artists Saturday night at Thalia Hall including Brenda’s Friend, Lutalo, Video Age, and Chicago’s own Divino Niño. Performing In the Round, this was […]
Review: En Pointe and En Travesti With Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo
Brave drag queens and cowardly Russian oligarchs dominate the news these days. These fabulous queens are often incorrectly labeled as subversive while the Slavic autocrats aren’t receiving enough comeuppance for […]
Review: The Marshal Who “Could Spit and Bust a Brick in Two,” Black Gun, Silver Star, by Art T. Burton
It is important that there is a book such as Art T. Burton’s Black Gun, Silver Star: The Life and Legend of Frontier Marshall Bass Reeves to ensure the memory […]
Review: CSO Celebrates Rachmaninoff With Conductor Lahav Shani and Pianist Beatrice Rana Making Debuts
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra kicked off its weekend celebration of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s 150th birthday in a fantastic fashion at Symphony Center on Thursday night. In his CSO conducting debut, Lahav […]
Review: Sharper Uses a Flexible Storytelling Structure and Strong Cast to Create a Gripping Neo-Noir
In a slight twist in the recent trend in movies to stick it to the rich, first-time director Benjamin Caron’s Sharper has nearly every character trying to stick it to […]
Review: Good and Bad Habits—Acid Nun, by Corinne Halbert
We rarely see the bright side of horror. Mostly connected with darkness and gloom, the genre reluctantly explores color and light. Not always. In the hands of a few auteurs, […]