Search and Destroy Steep Theatre Company at the Chopin Theatre By Brian Nemtusak It’s an uncertain time. Feverish economic growth fueled largely by speculation has bottomed out. The smart and easy money alike have gotten out of the market, leaving only desperate chumps and stupid sharks scrambling to reap or recoup their fortunes. A two-term […]
Tag: Vol. 30 No. 46
Issue of Aug. 16 – 22, 2001
Posted inNews & Politics
The Straight Dope
I’m reading this book about Australia that mentions an enormous explosion in the middle of the Australian outback, circa ’94, and some dark hints that it occurred on a site occupied by those wacky Aum Shinrikyo cultists. It is further averred that they went there specifically to mine uranium in order to build an A-bomb, […]
Posted inMusic
Spot Check
HISSYFITS 8/17, CONGRESS THEATER This playful New York trio once backed Ronnie Spector at Joey Ramone’s birthday party–they’re a girl group with guts, sorta like the Bangles when they were still just the Bangs. Their new full-length, Letters From Frank (Top Quality Rock and Roll), will rot your teeth before it kicks them in–wee girl […]
Posted inArts & Culture
The Curious Sofa
Experimentalism is the name of the game during the Abbie Hoffman Died for Our Sins theater festival, a weekend-long, insomnia-inducing marathon where hundreds of the city’s novice and established theater artists gather annually to celebrate Hoffman’s reckless spirit. Productions routinely vary in length and quality, but with over 60 straight hours of performances to choose […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Chi Lives: Michael Shannon’s creep shows
The wallpaper is still drying on the “cheap furnished room” set at A Red Orchid Theatre. The space is a construction zone, with scraps of drywall, chunks of lumber, a handheld power saw, a hammer, and many screwdrivers scattered about. Toward the back of the theater a phone rings, and Michael Shannon leaps up from […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Calendar
Friday 8/17 – thursday 8/23 AUGUST 17 FRIDAY Six Mexican literary celebrities will sign books at the Little Village Book Fair, which celebrates its 16th anniversary this weekend. Today’s lineup includes inspirational author Alex Dey and comedian Eugenio Derbez, who’s published three books of his humor. The free fair runs through Sunday; it’s from 9 […]
Posted inArts & Culture
True West
TRUE WEST, Shortbridge Theatre Troupe, at the New Harrison Street Galleries Studio Theatre. Small companies reviving Sam Shepard’s oft produced 1981 play about a pair of bickering brothers can learn a lesson from this production. Its two young leads–Benjamin Myers and Andy Schoen, both still in college–lack the range and depth of seasoned actors. And […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Sour Grapes
After reading Lawrence Bommer’s review of The Wine Seller [August 10] (which I saw on opening night, Saturday, 8/4, at the Athenaeum), I felt bound to share my utter disgust with you. I have seen six years’ worth of theater in this town–some of it amazing, some of it deadly. The Reader almost religiously pans […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Sinister
Sinister, Baum House, at the Athenaeum Theatre. Tapping into the compulsion that weekly drew millions to Melrose Place, Andrew O’Brien has created a serial drama with intertwining plotlines, tortured characters, and a good dose of suspense. Story number one features lesbian couple Amy and Rachael (Sarah Morello and Nicole Bond), who are experiencing obvious relationship […]
Posted inArts & Culture
ESG
ESG Few bands have a back story as improbable as ESG’s. The 20-year-old minimalist funk group originally consisted of four Puerto Rican girls from the Bronx, the Scroggins sisters, and one of their neighbors, percussionist Tito Libran. When the Scrogginses were teenagers, their mother bought them instruments–a guitar for Renee, a drum set for Valerie, […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Thumbs Down
[Jonathan Rosenbaum’s] review of Apocalypse Now Redux [Critic’s Choice, August 10] was awful, simply dreadful. This line is typical: “The pan to The Golden Bough and From Ritual to Romance remains the most pretentious shot in the history of cinema.” May I ask how a three-second pan shot can be “the most pretentious” of anything? […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Small Ball
In an upper-deck seat behind home plate, he sits alone with a large scorecard, a creased sports section, and a collection of stat books. Holding a pen in his mouth, he confidently flips through the paper, scanning the standings and league leaders. When Sammy Sosa steps up to face Colorado Rockies pitcher Denny Neagle, the […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Fillet of Solo
Live Bait Theater’s showcase of one-person shows features new work by a slew of familiar fringe faces, among them Stephanie Shaw, Mark Gagne, Quincy Wong, and David Kodeski. The event allows Live Bait the opportunity to launch its second performance space, the Bucket, designed specifically for solo work; shows also take place on the theater’s […]
Posted inNews & Politics
The View From Here
The View From Here As an architect, I can tell you that architects and architectural critics look beyond the skin in judging a building. And having seen Trump Tower [Hot Type, August 10] up close and personal, let me tell you that ugly as it is on the outside, it’s even worse inside. Of course, […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Spectrum Dances: Emerging and Established Voices
As the name suggests, this program showcases the work of mentors and their students. But otherwise there are no common themes or goals. In fact, one of the mentors–Cindy Brandle, coartistic director of the Chicago Moving Company–created Duplicate out of the impulse to avoid any kind of concept. Dressed in simple black, she, Elizabeth Lentz, […]