Posted inArts & Culture

They Might Be Giants

Back in 1986, this wiseass two-man band from Brooklyn proudly released their first album full of deadpan synth-pop melodramas, catchy heartbreaking songs, dumb cowpoke sing-alongs, and just about every other received pop cliche they could think of. They claimed none of it as their own. In fact, it was all performed with cheesy, synthesized instrumentation […]

Posted inNews & Politics

Buck the Archdiocese

To the editors: As I finish reading your article, “Knells of Saint Mary’s” [September 9], one thought comes to mind . . . Bravo to the Reader for having the guts to print the real story behind the “for-publication” version. Congratulations to Bryan Miller for a well-written, thoroughly investigated story and for exposing the political […]

Posted inNews & Politics

Deep Disappointment

To the editors: My first reaction was to demand a second “this-time-get-it-right” article. But on further thought why risk any more damage by Mr. Henderson [“A Piece of Lakefront,” September 23]. He had a chance to do a thorough in-depth story about a very complex project whose underlying issue may indeed be control, but not […]

Posted inNews & Politics

The referendum on Con Con: Does Illinois need a new constitution?

“We have thrown off the shackles of an archaic and restrictive constitution, and gained the freedom to deal effectively with the problems confronting Illinois,” said Governor Richard Ogilvie in 1970 after voters did away with a century-old constitution. Gone was a bulky document that included specifics on warehouses and the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. In […]

Posted inArts & Culture

Robert Ashley

In 1985 the Museum of Contemporary Art presented an anniversary commission at the Goodman Theatre, an opera by composer and performance artist Robert Ashley called Atalanta (Acts of God). The work exemplified Ashley’s longtime interest in the coordination between musical ideas and visual media–in this case, video. Now Ashley returns to Chicago for the local […]

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Antony and Cleopatra

ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA Shakespeare Repertory at the Ruth Page Theatre I suppose it’s only natural to find Shakespeare Repertory’s Antony and Cleopatra and Goodman Theatre’s Romeo and Juliet shacked up together in my mind. After all, they’re both Shakespearean, they opened nine days apart, and they’re basically about the same thing: a love that can’t […]

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Bird

Clint Eastwood’s ambitious and long-awaited biopic about the great Charlie Parker (Forest Whitaker), running 161 minutes, is the most serious, conscientious, and accomplished jazz biopic ever made, and almost certainly Eastwood’s best picture as well. The script (which accounts for much of the movie’s distinction) is by Joel Oliansky, and the costars include Diane Venora […]

Posted inArts & Culture

Basically Bach

With the incredible growth and expansion of the City Musick since its 1985 inception, it’s easy to forget that there is another period instrument ensemble in Chicago that is one season older: Basically Bach. The City Musick is trying to build a permanent orchestra of Chicago-area players; Basically Bach hires many of its players from […]

Posted inArts & Culture

Bad Blood

The distinctive and unusual talents of French filmmaker Leos Carax have relatively little to do with story telling, and it would be a mistake to approach this, his second feature, with expectations of a “dazzling film noir thriller,” which is how it was described for the Chicago Film Festival last year. Dazzling it certainly is […]