Dec. 15, 1996 To the Editor: Harold Henderson begins his article on Jean Bethke Elshtain (“Uncommon Sense,” Dec. 6) by telling us that if there’s anything that Prof. Elshtain “can’t stand it’s sentimentalism.” He then quotes Prof. Elshtain in regard to Christopher Reeve’s call for increased funding for spinal research, as follows: “Most spinal injuries […]
Tag: Vol. 26 No. 11
Issue of Dec. 19 – 25, 1996
Posted inArts & Culture
The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute One of the best things about this Lyric Opera production of The Magic Flute, which was first presented ten years ago, is its straightforward fairy-tale charm. With a sharp, childlike imagination, German stage director August Everding (with an assist from the Lyric’s own Matthew Lata) has laid out a rich pageant of […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Un-bull-ievable
Re: “Impersonal Foul” [November 15] Poor Fern Schumer Chapman! So she found out that it isn’t nice to steal someone else’s idea. And that’s exactly what she is/was attempting to do with her little “Air” (TM) book–steal. No matter that I’m no fan of Nike and never will be, nor am I a fan of […]
Posted inNews & Politics
American Medical News Bending to Doctors’ Orders / New Sun-Times Columnist Arrives With Baggage
By Michael Miner American Medical News Bending to Doctors’ Orders The future of American Medical News makes me think of the past of Astor Street. The most coveted address in Chicago, Astor lacked nothing but enough front doors to meet the market demand. Clever developers knew how to get around that one; they began tearing […]
Posted inArts & Culture
The Gift
The Gift, About Face Theatre, at Famous Door Theatre. This debut of writer-director Eric Rosen’s full-length version of The Gift is a delightful work of theater that focuses on the chance meeting of a gay and a lesbian couple yet appeals to the humanity of any audience. Inspired by O. Henry’s classic short story “The […]
Posted inMusic
Nasty Girls
Nasty Girls Despite their artistic differences, women in hip-hop–from old-school pioneers like Roxanne Shante and Queen Latifah to new artists like Bahamadia and Da Brat–have found themselves united by virtue of being an alienated community within an alienated community. Their assertions of female strength and healthy sexuality have won them both street cred and market […]
Posted inMusic
Outside the Lines
God Is My Co-Pilot Empty Bottle, December 13 We’re here / We’re queer / We’re gonna fuck your children!” screams God Is My Co-Pilot front woman Sharon Topper on “Queer Disco Anthem.” You bet it’s a sensationalist hook, and it sure is fun to shout–whether or not you mean a word of it. Though the […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Abandoned Beauty
Aaron Siskind: Six Decades at Ehlers Caudill Gallery, through January 4 Deadpan, or the Holy Toast: Digital Images by Paul Hertz at Artemisia, through December 28 By Fred Camper Most museums have an Aaron Siskind photograph in their galleries–and almost inevitably it’s one of his “signature” works, a close-up of some surface covered with cracks […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Contrabbasso Quartet
Contrabbasso Quartet Not a particularly versatile instrument, the double bass has nonetheless charted an interesting musical history, from its lowly origins in the early 1700s as a maritime fog signaler and an orchestral support player to its current preeminence with the jazz set. As with the percussion family, whose lower sounds it was meant to […]
Posted inMusic
Hamid Drake & Michael Zerang
Hamid Drake & Michael Zerang Every year since 1991, the duo of Hamid Drake and Michael Zerang has rung in the new season–not the New Year–in a quietly spiritual and wholly ancient fashion. Drake and Zerang, both percussionists par excellence, play a wealth of instruments that come from the southern tip of Africa, the Middle […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Aesop’s Fables
Aesop’s Fables, Raven Theatre. Aesop’s fables, passed down from the ancient Greek storyteller in various versions, are likely to remain among the stories we pass on to our children because they teach valuable lessons about human nature in entertaining ways. Raven Theatre’s current show, adapted by Bill McGough and Michael Menendian and staged by Menendian […]
Posted inMusic
Redd Holt & Sons
Redd Holt & Sons Having never heard Redd Holt’s offspring, I’ll take a chance on this free show anyway–if only because Holt himself has sounded so grand whenever he’s appeared in recent months. Having earned his fame as a member of the Ramsey Lewis Trio in the 1950s, Holt later went on to enjoy some […]
Posted inMusic
Doing it for Themselves
Luscious Jackson Double Door, October 24 By Cara Jepsen Some years ago, while driving down our street, my mother pointed out a woman maneuvering a riding lawn mower. “It’s so much more interesting to see a woman on one of those things,” she said. At the time–I was 13–I wondered what in the hell she […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Being at Choice, Rapid Fire, and Utterly, Completely Bored Out of My Friggin’ Mind
Being at choice, rapid fire, and utterly, completely bored out of my friggin’ mind, Factory Theater. This com-pany’s Ernie Banks-on-speed approach to comedy (“Hey, let’s play three today!”) seems predicated on the notion that if you throw enough material at the wall, something’s bound to stick. The productivity’s impressive, but the quality suffers. Jill Rothamer […]