THE ILLUSION Next Theatre Before he emerged as France’s first great tragic playwright, Pierre Corneille wrote comedies. They’re not done much today–nor are the tragedies for that matter–but in France in the mid-17th century they were pretty popular. Especially with commoners, to whom Corneille often appealed even when he was under attack from the elite. […]
Tag: Vol. 20 No. 26
Issue of Apr. 11 – 17, 1991
Posted inArts & Culture
Art People: Jerry Smith’s visions of urban excess
Jerry Smith does junkyards. “Not landfills,” he says, “but working junkyards–cranes dropping big chunks of metal, planes flying overhead, a real loud and violent atmosphere. I’m intrigued by this part of the urban environment.” A weirdly cartoonish couple make love fervently in a heap of crumpled beer cans, old tires, a television set with a […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Ju Dou
The second feature of Zhang Yimou (Red Sorghum), perhaps the best-known “Fifth Generation” director from the People’s Republic of China, is even more beautiful and complex than its predecessor, both in its ravishing uses of color and its grim critique of feudalism. Winner of a Golden Hugo at the 1990 Chicago Film Festival (under the […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Where’s a Place for Us?
Three young mothers and their children came together in a shelter on 63rd Street. In mid-1988, they left to find places of their own. Here’s what’s happened to them since.
Posted inArts & Culture
Redd Kross
“I looked at my face this morning / I just couldn’t comb my hair / Ate two candy bars for breakfast . . .” That’s depression, Redd Kross style. The band is a walking case of arrested development if ever there was one: the McDonald brothers (Jeffrey and Steven) and pal Robert Hecker sport Twiggy […]
Posted inNews & Politics
The Straight Dope
My grandmother used to amuse me by making five-pointed stars from a piece of paper. She’d fold it, make one cut, then hand it to me to unfold. The stars had five points, and the angles were all even. How did she do this? I’d ask Grandma but she died last year and won’t respond […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Law Enforcement
To the editors: Florence Levinsohn’s article on the David Arana case [March 22] clearly shows the double standards that apply to “law enforcement” in this city, and the extent to which the Chicago Police Department abuses its power. When Police Officer Johnny Martin was killed, the whole law enforcement system was mobilized to prosecute and […]
Posted inNews & Politics
The City File
The killer building at 311 S. Wacker. “Every day in September and October [1990] we found dead birds concentrated on the north side of the building”–the 65-story skyscraper topped by giant glowing cylinders across from the Sears Tower–“obviously southbound migrants that had struck the building at night,” writes Chicago Birder coeditor Allan Welby. “Hermit thrushes, […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Wiley and the Hairy Man
I wouldn’t blame you if you didnt believe a word I said about the Chicago Children’s Theatre production of Wiley and the Hairy Man. I’m lousy with conflict of interest where this show’s concerned. I didn’t realize exactly how lousy until I got to the theater and toted up the number of connections I have […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Carpet Bombing Saves Lives
To the editors: In answer to your Hot Type column of March 8, 1991, wherein you stated, regarding the recent war: “The final score apparently will be in the neighborhood of: Their Side, 50,000 dead; Our Side, about 150. Let’s see if journalism can produce a levelheaded analysis of these results.” Here’s my analysis. Iraq […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Sarafina!
Hey, kids, let’s put on a show! That’s been the motif in innumerable showcases of young talent over the years, from Mickey and Judy musicals to Fame. The show the performers in Sarafina! put on is a matter of life and death. Mbongeni Ngema and Hugh Masekela’s musical-within-a-musical recounts the slaughter of Soweto schoolchildren in […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Old Scam
To the editors: Peter Kostakis’s piece “Wolf” in your March 22, 1991, issue is woefully behind the times. That particular street scam which he fell victim to has been practiced by tall, young black hustlers for over three years now as any Chicago cop can attest. Dean Wade Snow Chicago Peter Kostakis replies: You’re right, […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Endgame
ENDGAME Curious Theatre Branch When I was in college Beckett was one of my favorite playwrights and Endgame my favorite of his plays. Something about his cold, bitter wit and his bleak worldview appealed to my late-adolescent melancholia. So it was strange to finally see Endgame faithfully performed by an accomplished, intelligent company–the Curious Theatre […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Address Unknown
ADDRESS UNKNOWN at Edgewater Theatre Center Life is more important than art, that’s what makes art so important. –James Baldwin Address Unknown is performed by homeless people, who meet and rehearse under the auspices of the social-service agency Christopher House, and is based on their experience of being homeless. What these people are willing to […]