Nancy Pelosi might be a fascination you never knew you had. A production premiering over the weekend at Victory Gardens Theater for an abbreviated run could dispel any doubt. On the surface, an examination of one of the most enigmatic and pivotal political figures in the country would appear tempting, but prohibitively daunting. Access and …
Tantalizing Portrait of Power on Victory Garden Stage Read More »
Whether they paint, sculpt, dance, write, design or work in the musical sphere, artists are remembered either for their renown or for their impact. The Elmhurst Art Museum’s exhibition simply titled Sandra Jorgensen movingly commemorates both. An accomplished modernist artist who also led a distinguished academic career, Jorgensen’s name is frequently associated with a Chicago …
Artistic Legacy on Display at Elmhurst Art Museum Read More »
Spellbinding, thrilling, surprising and even incredible might all describe a first visit to Teatro Zinzanni. Equal parts circus and cabaret, a TZ experience can easily be considered a sustained three-hour spectacle tied together with a full course meal. With an ace comedic showman acting as master of ceremony, you’d think tossing a sterling diva of …
Probably one of the most enduring and compelling attributes common to the arts is their lack of complacency. Creativity has a need to push and explore and change and innovate and, in the end, excite. That may be why in its 15th year, Chicago’s Too Hot to Handel: The Jazz – Gospel Messiah felt like …
Too Hot to Handel: The Jazz – Gospel Messiah Still on High Sizzle Read More »
Looking back at someone’s lifetime achievements does much more than chronicle their mastery of craft. If done with the hope of exposing a glimpse of the person as a human being as well as an artist, a retrospective can disclose how talent, savvy and knowledge of self can propel a person into lasting fame. Andy …
As Ronnie Marmo so skillfully reminds us in his ravishing one-man show, you can pay a very high price for telling uncompromising truths. Just entering its second extension at the Royal George, I’m Not a Comedian…I’m Lenny Bruce takes us back to the 60s and reintroduces us to a man known more for his penchant …