Have you ever thought you had a fair understanding of something only to find out there was a huge gap in your knowledge bank? A gap so big that it made you a little embarrassed for being so presumptuous? That’s how it was with Take Me to the World, an exuberant Zoom extravaganza filled with …
Few things leave themselves open to expansion and clarification quite as much as history. Those mandatory studies of the past we took in school amount to tiny and often highly skewed slivers of what happened when. Compared to the enormity of events that comprise the whole of human history, they are but droplets on a …
Spring is for lovers…and cherry blossoms. Despite love’s penchant for sometimes proving elusive, over a million people can be counted on to flock to Washington, DC to immerse themselves in pale pink when over 3000 cherry trees unfurl to full bloom. A gift from the wife of the Japanese ambassador to the United States 107 …
Eye to eye theater, theater that allows audiences near absolute proximity to the performance is both seminal and thrilling. When it’s done as well as Upended Productions take on Louis Carroll’s childhood classic, Alice in Wonderland, it’s simply delightful. Upended’s Alice has been considerably sassed up and given so many creative spins that the …
Just one hour past noon and the Taste of Chicago’s Main Street, Columbus Drive, was swimming in people and all of them seemed to be in terrific spirits. That good times energy stayed locked in place throughout the 2 hours of back and forth looking for that perfect “taste” that would mark the discovery of …
With its startling ability to change shape, color and texture, music is a lot like an octopus or squid. And, as we heard Tuesday night at Symphony Center, it can even morph into entirely new musical species. Zakir Hussain, the extraordinary Indian tabla player, in partnership with bassist Dave Holland, blended two musical forms to …
A line in Blind Date states, “we are the sum of our choices”. It’s an apt sentiment describing playwright Rogelio Martinez’s story about a 1985 meeting of titans in Geneva, Switzerland during the waning years of the Cold War. The United States and Russia hadn’t been talking for years. An ominous pall that had been …
There’s probably a number of ways to do Restaurant Week well and the Tortoise Supper Club’s rendition ranks high among them. Keeping it very simple and straightforward, they corral a diverse selection of their standard offerings and feature them at a dramatic discount. And they don’t skimp on either the portions or the quality. The …
You don’t need a Gatesian bankroll to make exceptional theater as Eclipse Theatre Company is proving with its current production of Breath Boom at the Athenaeum. Playwright Kia Corthron’s look behind the veil at how the young cope in the very violent world of our inner cities feels like an indictment of all of the …
Curious minds love the unexpected. Visiting a new story is chance to be surprised. If you’re lucky you’ll even be moved. If you’re exceptionally lucky, you’ll also laugh. All those things and more sloshed through Raven Theater’s production of Tarell Alvin McCraney’s Choir Boy. Fresh as a sunrise, the hour and a half play made …