Th news is…a lot right now. Sometimes the easiest, healthiest decision is to just look away. To look inward, to make our circle smaller and focus on what’s right in […]
It’s almost not fair how filmmaker Josh Ruben (Scare Me, Werewolves Within) is both a knowledgeable cinephile, a gifted filmmaker, and very funny performer, but here we are. His latest […]
Having re-emerged following the disbanding of underrated outfit Disappears, local trio FACS have been an integral part of Chicago’s punk scene for some time now. Now half a dozen albums […]
Tim Heidecker has too many talents to list from his storied career, so many that I’ll only briefly touch upon a few of them. I’m sure many of my peers […]
James Baldwin is the greatest American writer. Period. Even more so during Black History Month 2025. Among Baldwin’s many, many gifts was prescience. As a gay Black midcentury man, he […]
The new production of The Mannequins’ Ball at Trap Door Theatre is a whole lot of 1930s agitprop choreographed with music, singing and dancing. Nicole Weisner and Miguel Long direct 90 minutes […]
Kenneth Lonergan’s Lobby Hero blends working relationships tested by an ethical dilemma in this comedic drama that gets a timely staging by Shattered Globe Theatre. Is the titular Lobby Hero the loopy […]
Our coverage of Sundance Film Festival continues with more reviews of the festival’s official selections. Last Days One of the finest documentaries from 2023 was Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss’ […]
Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Joni Mitchell, and, more recently, Taylor Swift. These renowned musicians have transcended what it means to be songwriters—they’re storytellers whose evocative lyrics intertwine with intriguing melodies […]
Our coverage of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival continues with reviews of four films making their world premiere at the festival. Folktales Documentarians Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady are a […]
The Miró Quartet from Austin, Texas, entertained a large audience to end the Northwestern Winter Chamber Music Festival on Sunday. In performing a program of classics by Franz Joseph Haydn […]
The second and final week of the 7th Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival concluded yesterday, after 12 days of international puppet theater productions at dozens of venues plus free neighborhood […]