I would like to thank Jonathan Rosenbaum for his review of Apocalypse Now Redux [August 17]. I am an artist, a critic, and a combat veteran. I would also like to beg the Reader to sever its ties to David Kehr and give us a better perspective on men like Fellini and Bergman. I’d like […]
Tag: Vol. 31 No. 1
Issue of Oct. 4 – 10, 2001
Posted inArts & Culture
Artificial Sweeteners
The Visit Goodman Theatre You think the U.S. has a crisis of consumer confidence? Consider Brachen, Switzerland, the fictional town in which the Goodman Theatre’s new musical The Visit is set. This backwater is gripped by grinding poverty and dead-end despair. Shopkeeper Anton Schell has laid in a supply of fine liquors and stylish yellow […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Rhinoceros Theater Festival
This ambitious showcase of experimental theater, performance, and music from Chicago’s fringe began as part of the Bucktown Arts Fest. Now it’s produced by the Curious Theatre Branch; in addition to the Curious folks, participating artists include Theater Oobleck, Jennifer Biddle LaFleur, Michael K. Meyers, Nomenil, Barrie Cole, Blair Thomas, and many other ensembles and […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Chagrin Falls
Chagrin Falls, Stage Left Theatre. Publicized as a “death penalty drama,” Mia McCullough’s new play is much too wise and sensitive to be pigeonholed as just another didactic argument for or against capital punishment. Instead this is a fascinating, detailed portrait of an Oklahoma town that has come to depend on the execution business; only […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Serious Static at ‘BEZ
Regarding Deanna Isaacs’s Culture Club piece on Victoria Lautman [September 28], Ms. Lautman is without doubt toast. The pattern of the apparent martinet who has controlled WBEZ for the last few years is plain. Victoria Lautman has always presented an involved, dedicated, and passionate view of a diverse segment of art in Chicago. Very few […]
Posted inMusic
Groping Toward Greatness
Yardbirds Ultimate! (Rhino) The Yardbirds were harbingers of metal, psychedelia, jam bands, and world music, but they were never England’s greatest hitmakers. In the U.S., they skidded into Billboard’s Top Ten only twice, with “For Your Love” and “Heart Full of Soul.” (In Britain they scored six top tens.) They were a typical Invasion band […]
Posted inColumns & Opinion
Savage Love
Like you, I was horrified by the events of September 11. The Red Cross has advised people to avoid repeated viewings of the event, talk about our feelings, and return to our normal routines to reduce stress. Well, sex feels good and lowers stress. But the stress of current events leaves my partner feeling rather […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Tales From the Chair
On September 11, I’m having coffee in a place on Irving Park, trying not to listen to the commander in chief, who’s talking war in the background. I look across the street, and Jerry’s barber pole is gone. Isn’t this day bad enough? “Did something happen to Jerry?” I ask the kid behind the counter. […]
Posted inNews & Politics
New Schedule
Last week’s Reader erroneously said there would be performances of the play Boom Town this Thursday and Friday, October 4 and 5. The show, staged by the Pyewacket Theatre and CollaborAction Theatre companies, resumes performances this Saturday, October 6, and continues through October 14. Sincerely, Kenneth Lee CollaborAction Theatre
Posted inArts & Culture
Chicago International Film Festival
Friday 5 October Address Unknown This melodrama by Kim Ki-duk, set in a small Korean town, focuses on three teenagers with dysfunctional families and how they’ve been affected by the war in the 50s and the continuing presence of U.S. troops. 117 min. (Landmark, 6:30) Anna’s Summer This seems to be a time for radiant […]
Posted inMusic
Spot Check
BLACK CROWES 10/5, ARAGON With their 1999 album, By Your Side (American), the Black Crowes miraculously pulled themselves out of a morass of sluggish grooves, jammy solos, and bloated production, writing a batch of concise, catchy tunes and attacking them with renewed focus and energy. As good as it was, though, the album failed to […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Catching Up With the World
The 37th Chicago International Film Festival and the End of American Isolationism
Posted inNews & Politics
“Redux” Redux
I agree with Mr. Rosenbaum’s enlightening theory on the flaw of Apocalypse Now [August 17]. The fact that Coppola stopped asking questions and tried to answer them. This is the only intriguing idea in the two muddled Coppola-bashing reviews I’ve read in consecutive weeks by him. However, film lovers like myself still consider it a […]
Posted inNews & Politics
City File
Why University of Illinois and City College tuition should be slashed. According to a summary of the new book Risky Behavior Among Youth by Jonathan Gruber (“Poverty Research News,” September-October), teenagers are not pathological risk takers who ignore economic incentives. “For example, teen smoking and marijuana use decisions are found to be sensitive to the […]