For Derrick I.M. Gilbert, being a poet means walking a tightrope between the spoken and the written word. “The spoken word has played an important role in black letters,” he says. “It’s something we’ve always done. When we didn’t have pens or didn’t know how to write, we’ve had preachers sermonizing, people gossiping on the […]
Tag: Vol. 27 No. 17
Issue of Jan. 29 – Feb. 4, 1998
Posted inMusic
The Pearl Fishers
THE PEARL FISHERS Georges Bizet’s Carmen so overshadows his other work–including an estimable symphony and some lovely incidental music–that relatively few people have had the chance to see his first major operatic effort, The Pearl Fishers. This story of star-crossed lovers in ancient Ceylon, written when Bizet was barely 25, was last presented by the […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, Lifeline Theatre. Adapting a book like this one for the stage is no mean feat. At just over 30 pages (many of them filled with exquisite illustrations), Virginia Lee Burton’s 1939 book about a construction worker and his trusty steam shovel is downright skeletal. Given the advances in technology […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Lessons Never Learned/ A Bad Case of Alibitis/ Starr’s Open Season
By Michael Miner Lessons Never Learned No, last week’s current events don’t fit comfortably into the classroom. The traditional conduit for introducing young minds to matters of state is the Weekly Reader, and the editor in chief admits to feeling flummoxed. “I really want to know what parents would like us to do, as well […]
Posted inNews & Politics
News of the Weird
Lead Stories Daily Variety reported in December that John Kricfalusi, creator of The Ren & Stimpy Show, was threatening legal action against the producers of Comedy Central’s South Park for ripping off a cartoon character. According to Kricfalusi, South Park’s Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo, a festively dressed singing and dancing piece of excrement, closely […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Missing Links
Robert Hughes stumbles on his journey through American art history.
Posted inNews & Politics
Petty Crime
January 10, 4 PM, 4700 block of North Damen. Battery. Woman entered shoe-repair shop and requested shoes. Owner asked for ticket, which woman didn’t have. She demanded shoes anyway. Owner told woman he was busy and she should come back later. Woman slammed hand on glass display case, which shattered, and fled. January 11, 10:45 […]
Posted inMusic
Hum
Hum When RCA signed Hum in 1994, a Champaign quartet playing mammoth guitar rock was a pretty safe bet: Soundgarden and Dinosaur Jr were riding high, and some people still talked about “the Chicago scene” without chuckling. And as it turned out, Hum’s first record for RCA, You’d Prefer an Astronaut (1995), sold a respectable […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Reservoir Dogs
RESERVOIR DOGS, Azusa Productions, at Chicago Dramatists Workshop. I can think of no more compelling evidence of the declining importance of drama in our culture than the fact that a gifted writer with a knack for crackling dialogue and compelling, twisted stories seems never for a second to have considered writing for the stage. I […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Rhino in Winter
Rhino in Winter Offered as an adjunct to the annual summer Rhinoceros Theater Festival, this six-week showcase of fringe entertainment features mostly new work by the Curious Theatre Branch, Theater for the Age of Gold, and other ensembles and individuals. The fest runs February 1 through March 15 at the Lunar Cabaret, 2827 N. Lincoln; […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Theater People: people who need Barbra
The press release’s description of Joel Drake Johnson’s new show, Before My Eyes, sounds like a cliche: the story of a gay man’s life from 1962 to 1988, it focuses on his “loving but sometimes strained relationship with his parents” and “his lifelong obsession with Barbra Streisand.” But cliches often become cliches because they’re true. […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Still Life With Death
John Wickenberg at Perimeter, through February 7 John Wickenberg’s 18 paintings on paper, canvas, and board at Perimeter recall the works of Albrecht DŸrer, a master of certainty who found joy in the simple solidity of trees, houses, rocks, and grass. Wickenberg’s work similarly glories in its own precision, a precision dedicated in part to […]
Posted inColumns & Opinion
Savage Love
Hey, Faggot: My boyfriend and I saw the movie Amistad last night. I’m a white bi female and my boyfriend is a black straight boy. He was very upset after the movie, angry at the injustice to his ancestors, and didn’t want to talk about it with me. My problem is–while he was crying, I […]