Joe Carducci, Jim Sikora/ Screen Players
Tag: Vol. 27 No. 45
Issue of Aug. 13 – 19, 1998
Posted inNews & Politics
State of Concern
darin.qxd Dear editor: Harold Henderson does a good job (“Dead Zone,” July 31) explaining a complex ecological problem and Illinois’ possible contribution to it, as well as possible solutions. Unfortunately, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, which has the responsibility for providing for clean water in our state, doesn’t seem to take the problem as seriously. […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Queen of the Stardust Ballroom
Queen of the Stardust Ballroom, Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire. Though playwright Jerome Kass based this musical on his mother, the shallow, manipulative script and a pedestrian score by Billy Goldenberg and Alan and Marilyn Bergman squander any true-to-life complexity. Set in the mid-70s, the show tells of an aging Bronx widow, Bea, who discovers new […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Assuming the Worst
putnam.qxd Dear editor: I enjoy the Reader on a regular basis. I look to it for information on a variety of topics, ranging from music to theater. The July 24 cover story by J.R. Jones (“Ska’s Lost Cause”) was well researched and generally engaging. As a frequent ska concertgoer, I found much of what Jones […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Better in Translation
Reservoir Dogs Azusa Productions at the Chopin Theatre By Jack Helbig You’re acting like a first-year fucking thief! I’m acting like a professional! –Mr. Pink to Mr. White in Reservoir Dogs Nothing is less likely to stir my soul than the prospect of yet another theater company remounting a hit. In most cases, this means […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Building Tension
Tear it down or spruce it up? A gentrifying Albany Park debates the future of Ainslie.
Posted inFilm
Return to Paradise
Return to Paradise Compared to the self-righteous xenophobia and hypocritical pornography of Oliver Stone and Alan Parker’s Midnight Express, this drama about a Malaysian drug bust and its consequences for three young Americans is serious, intelligent, and powerful. Three buddies (Vince Vaughn, David Conrad, and Joaquin Phoenix) do some adolescent carousing in Malaysia, then the […]
Posted inNews & Politics
News of the Weird
Lead Stories The BBC reported in June that despite recent government crackdowns in Pakistan, gangs operating around the shrine of Sha Dola in the city of Gujrat have been disfiguring infants handed over to the shrine for religious training so that their appearance will generate more sympathy when they are forced to beg on the […]
Posted inMusic
Diane Delin
DIANE DELIN The classical associations of the violin only go so far in explaining its rarity in jazz. The instrument is widely considered the hardest to learn–at least, the hardest to learn well enough to play in public–and in a music dependent on improvisation, which in turn depends on virtuosity, the winnowing process becomes accordingly […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Trouble Fitting In
Three for One: Monologues for the New Millennium; or Just Get Over It Live Bait Theater, through September 12 By Justin Hayford Edward Thomas-Herrera’s new monologue, Cocktail Confidential, is an apt introduction to “Three for One,” Live Bait’s evening of solo pieces dedicated to outsiders muscling their way into various social circles. In the past […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Petty Crime
July 16, 8 PM, 600 block of West Surf. Burglary. Man broke window of car and removed garage-door opener, which he subsequently used to get into car owner’s garage. He took phone, bike, three bottles of beer, and opener and fled. July 16, 9 PM, 5400 block of South Cornell. Battery. Man came home to […]
Posted inMusic
Joe Ely
JOE ELY The rich tradition of Texas country folk, birthed and nurtured by bards like Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Townes Van Zandt, Butch Hancock, and Steve Earle, is often cited as the cradle of alternative country. Problem is, few of the new exponents can dredge up the lyrical depth or poetic beauty of the originals. On […]
Posted inMusic
Garage Fire
Various Artists Tuff Jams: Speed Garage: the Underground Sound of London (Ultra) Various Artists Basslines (Moonshine) By Michaelangelo Matos Speed garage is the newest convolution of a wrinkle to come out of the underground dance scene, and no, I don’t blame you if you think you can’t be bothered. On-line I recently came across a […]
Posted inColumns & Opinion
Savage Love
Hey, Faggot: I’ve recently started dating this great guy. He’s creative, sensitive, good-looking, and intelligent, but there’s one problem. Before he started dating me, he was a virgin (he used to be phobically shy around women) and watched a lot–and I mean A LOT–of porn. Now, I don’t have anything against some good porn once […]
Posted inFilm
In Loving Memory
The Son of Gascogne Rating *** A must see Directed by Pascal Aubier Written by Patrick Modiano and Aubier With Gregoire Colin, Dinara Droukarova, Jean-Claude Dreyfus, Laszlo Szabo, Pascal Bonitzer, Otar Iosseliani, Alexandra Stewart, and Jean-Claude Brialy. By Jonathan Rosenbaum It’s been a full quarter of a century, but I still harbor fond memories of […]