magic Archives - Chicago Reader

A Magical Cirque Christmas, concerts, and a sound bath

by Kerry Reid and Salem Collo-Julin December 7, 2022December 7, 2022

Last night A Magical Cirque Christmas opened at CIBC Theatre (18 W. Monroe), starring magician Lucy Darling (aka Carisa Hendrix) as hostess. Hendrix’s alter ego is a 1920s-style screwball dipsomaniac with a special talent for making bottles of booze and cocktails appear and disappear. She’ll be joining a lineup of circus artists in this family-friendly […]

Agenda

Sapphire and Crystals, Funeral Potatoes, and more

by Kerry Reid and Salem Collo-Julin August 28, 2022August 28, 2022

Sapphire and Crystals, the 36-year-old collective of African American women artists in Chicago, celebrates their legacy of exhibiting and supporting the work of women artists of African descent with “Forward,” an exhibition that closes on Fri 9/2 at the Bridgeport Art Center (1200 W. 35th St.). Since the collective’s first show at the South Side […]

Agenda

Rootin’ and tootin’, psychics, and more

by Micco Caporale, Kerry Reid and Salem Collo-Julin July 22, 2022July 22, 2022

If you’re seeking a rootin’ tootin’ good time that’s really outta this world, look no further than the Cosmic Country Cookout at Judson & Moore (3057 N. Rockwell, Building 5). From 2-10 PM, the organizers behind the Cosmic Country Showcase, a campy quarterly revue that happens at the Hideout, host an expanded version of the […]

Two men stand onstage. The man on the left wears jeans and a casual shirt. He appears to be middle-aged. The performer Luis Carreon stands on the right. He is wearing an elegant purple and black tuxedo. There is a red string held in their hands between them. Behind, we see a table covered with a Mexican blanket and a single red rose in a vase.

Theater Review

Fantastic beast

by Catey Sullivan July 15, 2022July 15, 2022

When Luis Carreon takes the stage at the Chicago Magic Lounge, he’s pure old-school vaudeville, an elegant throwback in silver-toed boots and a tuxedo subtly imprinted with crushed velvet roses. He swoops around the stage to the beat of swirling music, spinning gold from fire and pulling rose petals from a fluttering deep-purple handkerchief. It’s […]

A white woman in a red wig and a blue cocktail gown stands holding a cocktail mixer in front of a table upon which three cocktail glasses sit.

Theater Review

Indulgence and illusions

by Kerry Reid June 30, 2022June 30, 2022

Back in the Before Times, I saw Carisa Hendrix perform as her alter ego, dipsomaniacal Lucy Darling, at the Chicago Magic Lounge. Combining va-va-voom Golden Age of Screwball Comedy glitz and sass with sleight-of-hand involving making bottles of whiskey appear and disappear, Hendrix/Darling’s act both celebrates and upends the “sexy assistant” trope in magic. She’s […]

Film poster showing a two-faced ventriloquist's figure.

Performing Arts Feature

Ventriloquism and Oobleck

by Kerry Reid April 27, 2022April 27, 2022

When I think of ventriloquism in film, my thoughts flash to the commercials for 1978’s Magic that creeped me out as a kid. I wasn’t alone; according to the IMDb trivia page, the original trailer for this psychological horror film was pulled from broadcast after parents complained. (“Fats,” the murderous dummy who seemingly possesses Anthony […]

Music

Amira Jazeera’s dreamy pop makes a perfect quarantine soundtrack

by Brianna Wellen August 31, 2020August 18, 2021

Take it from her roommate, who hears every note.

City Life

Public Sculpture Opinion Poll

by Salem Collo-Julin July 24, 2020August 18, 2021

What our listings coordinator is musing about this week

Arts & Culture

Some of the best entertainment in the city this week is at Potter & Potter’s automata auction

by Kate Sierzputowski August 20, 2019August 18, 2021

Wind ’em up and watch ’em make magic.

Music

After 25 years, Smash Mouth’s gold still glimmers

by Leor Galil July 18, 2019August 18, 2021

I’m sure you’re expecting a takedown here, since at some point in the past two decades it apparently became unforgivable for a band to record a phoned-in cover of “I’m a Believer” for a family movie starring an animated green ogre. I don’t blame anyone who sees Smash Mouth as a joke, since they’ve squandered […]