Posted inArts & Culture

Best midnight screening of an iconic early-2000s movie

On a cold November night, as the clock struck midnight and the movie theater lights dimmed, the audience broke into raucous, hooting-and-hollering applause, and I knew that movie-going etiquette was out the window. Sipping Mystery Machine Margaritas—the Music Box’s featured cocktail for the occasion—longtime fans of 2002’s cult classic Scooby-Doo watched with giddy anticipation as […]

Posted inBest of Chicago

Best way to combine theater, exercise, and history

In 2017, the members of Theatre Y completed the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain—a 500-mile route followed by pilgrims for centuries. That sparked the company’s annual ambulatory “Camino” productions, which invite audiences to walk through different Chicago neighborhoods while experiencing a series of environmental performances. In 2019, the Camino Project focused on neighborhoods surrounding […]

Posted inBest of Chicago

Best arts education programming

PlayMakers Laboratory (PML) stands out among other theater and arts education programs for its unique approach to teaching creative writing—and so much more—to Chicagoland area students (grades three to six). What sets PML (founded in 1997) apart is that the adult actors and musicians in the program adapt the students’ written stories into sketches and […]

Posted inBest of Chicago

2022 Arts & Culture poll winners

The people, places, and things voted Chicago’s best—and runners-up: street artist, mural, museum, comics illustrator, comics writer, zine, independent book publisher, poet, new poetry collection by a Chicagoan, poetry organization, nonfiction writer, new nonfiction book by a Chicagoan, novelist, new novel by a Chicagoan, reading series, lecture series, storytelling series, open mike, dance production, original digital content (dance), dance studio or training program, dance troupe, dancer, choreographer, venue for dance, new local opera production, opera company, performing arts festival, drag performer, venue to see drag, stand-up comic, venue for stand-up, comedian (non standup), sketch/improv troupe, venue for improv, filmmaker, film festival, movie theater, movie theater bar, film programming, drive-in movie programming, theater production, original digital content (theater), new play, virtual play, musical, new theater company, established theater company, off-Loop theater company, theater training program, stage actor, stage director, playwright, theater designer (sets, light, sound, etc.), venue for theater, theater bar or lobby, and more