It may not be the most original way to bring in the new year, but spending it at one of your favorite restaurants has its pluses. Goosefoot, one of city’s most consistent fine dining establishments, has gotten so good at ushering in January 1st with style that it’s now better choreographed than a Balanchine dance. …
Ringing in the New Year with Culinary Entrepreneurs Read More »
Guillermo del Toro’s interpretation of life gets more interesting every time he gives an interview. Conversations with him these days center around his beautiful new animated reimagining of Pinocchio. We all know the story of the wooden puppet whose nose grows when he tells a lie. Somehow, what happens to his nose overshadows the fact …
Everyone loves the idea of the Christmas holidays. In the United States, whatever your religion or heritage, they’re an opportunity to be in the company of people you care about under a banner of celebration. It’s also a season of giving. Add the whirlwind of parties, dinners and pressures of shopping, Christmas, for all its …
Comedy to the Rescue – The Art of Trevor Noah and Neal Brennan Read More »
Isn’t it great when you find a restaurant that lets you exhale? Its food lives up to its five-star rating. You don’t have to be rich to eat there. And its personality is genuinely unique. Penumbra Restaurant and Wine Bar, a Latin leaning dining room and wine bar in Logan Square, checks those notable boxes …
Buffalo Theatre Ensemble’s Season’s Greetings may just be the ticket for those looking for a different take on what the holidays mean to people. Written by the highly prolific British playwright Alan Ayckbourn, the slightly farcical, oddly dark play digs into the relationships of nine adults who’ve come together to celebrate Christmas in the English …
Season’s Greetings Tucks Hidden Treasures in Laughter Read More »
A long stretch of silence opens The Island. Two men stand facing the audience; providing a good look of their outer selves. Young, vital, Black. Their faces appear resolute. Quietly determined. Eventually, still in silence, they move more deeply into character. Hands cross at the wrist as if they’re handcuffed. Their feet move as if …
By striking the right balance in nearly every aspect, the Lyric’s current production of Verdi’s Don Carlos may be the perfect opera. The most transfixing element in the mix may be Robert Jones’s magnificent set. Color and lighting soften its dramatic dimensions, but they don’t detract from its galvanizing impact. Jones’s set is the constant …
Even when you think you’ve seen the best of the best, you can still be surprised with new heights of perfection. One of those epiphanies detonated Saturday night on the Auditorium stage when Deeply Rooted Dance Theater obliterated the psychological barrier that separates audience and performance. From the first sound of Mikel Rouse’s soul stomping …
Even though our culture seems deluged with music megastars, we can only wait and see how many will maintain their resonance decades after they’ve taken their last bow. A half century after her death in 1975, the singularity of Mahalia Jackson’s voice and influence still course through our musical universe. Vocalist Tammy McCann, who usually …
Yes, Mahalia! Brilliantly Fuses Two Musical Forms Read More »
There’s no shortage of people who believe their lives would make a killer movie. And given the differences in human beings, just as many don’t see their lives unique enough to warrant anything as ostentatious as a screenplay. Still, no matter how you parse it, all our lives are stories touched with pathos, humor, failure …
Man and Moon Underscores the Importance of Connection Read More »