Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (HSDC) may be approaching 45 years young, but it’s still very much a dance company to watch. Always on the lookout for just the right talent to highlight its aspirations, the company uses its discoveries to keep surprising and delighting audiences. This was especially true of its RE/UNION summer series that …
Summer Series Reinforces Hubbard Street’s Impressive Creds Read More »
Live theater owns many wonders. One of them is its uncommon ability to slip the audience into the skin and minds of the characters you meet on stage. Athena, now playing at Glencoe’s Writers Theater, achieves this feat far better than most. Its story isn’t unusual because it’s unlikely or far-fetched, it’s rare because it’s …
We have specific notions about what a thinker is. Because of the intellectual gifts we associate with those engaged with pursuits of the mind, we often envision philosophers and theoreticians. Rarely do we think of artists. A trio of new exhibits now being shown at Wrightwood 659 help to broaden our notion of who leads …
Three New Shows Compound the Pleasure at Wrightwood 659 Read More »
Place stamps us more than we realize. It influences the kind of people we encounter and the values we develop. Where we’re from has the power to stoke or stifle how we regard our futures. Even if we grow up veritable nomads, place will still influence the kinds of experiences that define our understanding of …
Despite its eight Academy Awards nominations, a lot of people didn’t really care for the film version of Moulin Rouge starring Nicole Kidman twenty years ago. Those same people would have a very different opinion of the theatrical production now playing at the Nederlander downtown on Randolph. Last year saw the musical winning so many …
Good Night, Oscar, soon to close at the Goodman, feels like something of another age when theater carried the air of grand. The set, the style of acting and the way it presented drama all came together to make an experience that melts indelibly into your memory. The story of an unorthodox TV personality afflicted …
Will we ever completely grasp the power of identity? Works like In Every Generation, now playing at Victory Gardens until May 1st, at least allow us to appreciate how deeply a shared past and lineage can impact our present and define our future. At its beginning, Ali Viterbi’s engrossing drama invites us into the home …
Identity, Discord and Acceptance Give In Every Generation its Power Read More »
Perfect evenings of entertainment can come in many forms. The Music Institute of Chicago’s jazz tribute to guitarist Les Paul easily qualifies as one of them. With Russell Malone on guitar, Eric Hochberg on bass, the drum talent of Samuel Jewell and Tom Vaitsas’s impressive piano versatility, the building blocks for a memorable performance were …
Music Institute of Chicago Celebrates Guitar Legend Read More »
Masks or no masks, returning to the Auditorium Theater to see live performance felt like being reborn. The venue still requires proof of vaccination and mask wearing but nobody was complaining this past Saturday afternoon. The sense of relief at having entertainment return to the iconic venue ran heavy in the air as did the …
Dance companies of every stripe deserve our admiration simply for celebrating an art form that’s been evolving since the dawn of humankind. Some are led by visionaries whose legacies are now dance dynasties. A swarm of others thrive on innovation and partnership to enable dancers to do what they were born to do and to …
Exploration and Skill Define Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s Spring Series Read More »