“Humankind has always been very curious and driven to find out about life forms in outer space, but not so curious about life forms on the planet,” Giovanni Aloi remarked as he showed me each work of art included in “Earthly Observatory,” an exhibition that he curated with artist/scientist Andrew S. Yang. Over 30 artists […]
Category: Arts & Culture
Posted inNews & Politics
Archive Dive
A daily dip into the stacks, leading up to our 50th anniversary in October
Posted inArts & Culture
Studying the cityscape
This fall brings the return of the Chicago Architecture Biennial, an exposition of activities, tours, and exhibitions all over the city that highlight the power of architecture and the ways in which Chicagoans inhabit the spaces of the city. Although looking at skyscrapers and touring old houses are always edifying and fun ways to check […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Toxic masculinity: the musical!
Midway through the first act of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, there’s an unforgettable duet between the bonkers, titular villain and Penny, the woman he’s loved ever since spotting her at the laundromat while his socks and such tumbled and spun. As their voices twine together in “My Eyes,” Dr. Horrible sings of a world as […]
Posted inArts & Culture
A note from the editors
The week after the shelter-in-place order hit in March of 2020, the Reader was supposed to be putting out a big spring arts preview issue. Clearly, that didn’t happen. Now 18 months later, we’re looking at signs of hope from performing companies and visual arts organizations reopening their doors. Yet we can’t forget the recent […]
Posted inPerforming Arts Feature
The Saints are marching in to fall performances
Tearing Lady Gaga’s ticket. Seeing a tenor dropped in Tosca. Grooving to Mavis Staples from the rafters. These are the magical moments that happen with live performance. They are also just another Tuesday night for The Saints, the quiet backbone of Chicago theater that’s never stopped working, lockdown be damned. The Saints is the only […]
Posted inTheater Review
Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 retains its power
It’s been 30 years since four LA cops pulled Rodney King from his truck and savagely beat him while he lay prone on the street. It’s been 29 years since riots burned across LA after all four police officers were acquitted on charges related to the beating. And it’s been 27 years since Anna Deveare […]
Posted inBook Review
From World’s Fair to living rooms
To cover Chicago theater is to carry a ghost map in one’s head of all the lost spaces. Some buildings are gone altogether, like the original Goodman Theatre at the Art Institute, or the Jane Addams Hull House Center on Broadway at Belmont, which at various points housed Steppenwolf, Bailiwick Repertory, Famous Door, and About […]
Posted inTheater Preview
Not a drag: The Golden Girls find a new home
When we talk about The Golden Girls, we need to talk about sex. According to Buzzfeed, the four women had over 260 lovers over the course of seven seasons, with Blanche Devereaux clocking in at 165. (Get it, girl.) In a truly stupid culture that often treats women over 40 as untouchables, the sitcom’s depictions […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Cultural Asset Mapping Project creates a ‘braided web’
The city’s Cultural Asset Mapping Project (C.A.M.P.) uses creative storytelling, data visualization, and many other collaborative tools to build arts engagement on the south and west sides.
Posted inPerforming Arts Feature
Jump back into the cultural stream
Theaters, comedy clubs, museums, galleries, and other venues are blowing off the COVID-19 shutdown dust and preparing to welcome you back this fall. Many companies are picking up with productions that were cut short in March 2020, while others have world premieres up their sleeves. We suggest calling venues ahead of time or checking their […]
Posted inDance
Breathing life into Red Clay Dance Company
“When you realize there’s inequities, and there’s not as many performance opportunities or presentation opportunities for certain artists, you have to begin to make those spaces for yourself,” said founding artistic director and CEO of Red Clay Dance Company Vershawn Sanders-Ward in 2019. Now Red Clay, a company with a mission of teaching and performing […]
Posted inGhost Light
Humboldt Park theaters on the move
Two Humboldt Park theaters take steps to secure new venues.
Posted inArts & Culture
Race, fate, and sisterhood on the south side
“My earliest memory of myself is of my sister. My earliest understanding of my world comes from three women—my mother, grandmother, and aunt.” In her new memoir Three Girls From Bronzeville: A Uniquely American Story of Race, Fate, and Sisterhood, Dawn Turner turns her journalistic eye toward her own story, one she weaves as inextricable […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Lit this month
September brings us a bevy of book-related, word-inspired, and otherwise literary events. Here’s a few to pencil into your calendar. The Paper Machete has returned to its performance home in Uptown at the Green Mill, to the delight of fans. The organizers describe it as a “weekly live magazine,” and while comedians are regularly featured, […]