The Stockyards Theatre Project’s fourth annual showcase of woman-centered drama, coproduced with Link’s Hall, features storytelling, dance, improv, stand-up comedy, and other forms. The festival runs October 24-26 at Link’s Hall, 3435 N. Sheffield. Performances are at 8 PM; each evening features a different lineup of seven to nine pieces with one intermission (latecomers will […]
Tag: Vol. 33 No. 4
Issue of Oct. 23 – 29, 2003
When’s Your Show?
[Re “Costes,” October 17]: I already take up to two shits a day. If I stick strange things up my ass, jump off a stage and beat people up, or puke on masturbating chimpanzees would Liz Armstrong write a Critic’s Choice for me too? Anonymous
Tied to the Track
Omar Razvi’s investment and his troubles run neck and neck.
Chicago International Children’s Film Festival
The Chicago International Children’s Film Festival, now in its 20th year, runs Friday, October 24, through Sunday, November 2, at Biograph; Carson Pirie Scott, 6th floor, 1 S. State; City North 14; Facets Cinematheque; and the Vittum Theater, 1012 N. Noble. Tickets are $6 for children and adults, $4.50 for Facets members; various discounts are […]
University of Chicago Humanities Open House
“Reason and Imagination” is the theme of the University of Chicago’s 24th annual humanities open house, a celebration of arts and letters consisting of lectures, discussions, and tours by faculty and staff. It takes place Saturday, October 25, and is free and open to the public. Registration is required (limited registration will be available on-site […]
Gorey Stories
When I saw this show in its first run a year ago, I was overwhelmed by Blindfaith’s fidelity to their source. It’s no mean feat to bring something as distinctively pagebound as the chilly humor of Edward Gorey across onstage, but making it sing with the master’s voice is truly remarkable. Now as then, immense […]
Playing by the Rulings
Posner’s opinion isn’t great for reporter’s privilege; on the other hand, Pallasch’s situation isn’t Novak’s [Hot Type, October 10]. There [Pallasch’s] source is known and wanted, the reporter notes turned over. Posner specifically notes: “When the information in the reporter’s possession does not come from a confidential source, it is difficult to see what possible […]
Mitch Albom’s Tuesdays with Morrie
Mitch Albom’s Tuesdays with Morrie, Northlight Theatre. Dying people make me tense. I had some bad experiences in that vein when I was younger, and I adapted a little strangely, so that now the prospect of witnessing someone’s slow physical disintegration no longer fills me with sadness or pain. Just low-grade panic. I start tapping […]
Children’s Humanities Festival
The Children’s Humanities Festival starts nearly a week earlier than its parent fest, the Chicago Humanities Festival. Events run October 24 through November 2 at the following venues: Art Institute, Michigan and Adams; Chicago Children’s Museum, Navy Pier, 700 E. Grand; Gallery 37, 66 E. Randolph; Harold Washington Library Center, 400 S. State; Merle Reskin […]
Loudon Wainwright III
“In love or in cyberspace, everything’s fair / And it’s OK to steal, ‘cuz it’s so nice to share,” sings Loudon Wainwright III to Dylan-esque acoustic accompaniment in “Something for Nothing,” a mocking commentary on Internet music piracy from his latest CD, So Damn Happy (Sanctuary). It’s a classic Wainwright move to simultaneously inhabit and […]
Ab Baars
Dutch reedist Ab Baars knows how to play the sly games that his country’s senior jazzmen–especially Misha Mengelberg and Han Bennink–have made a stock-in-trade. As a longtime member of Mengelberg’s ICP Orchestra he’s developed an instinctual ability to turn on a dime, and his occasionally comic decisions–like dropping a surprising snort or sourly intoned quote […]
Bears Need a Doctor
Barnaby Dinges [“Teachers or Touchdowns,” October 17] was brought in to give the $560 million spent on Soldier Field a positive spin. If that money had been spent on schools there’d be no need to hire a publicist; wise investments need no PR spin doctors. I agree with Mr. Dinges, we need a great city […]
!Veracruz!–Cirque de Salsation
!Veracruz!–Cirque de Salsation, !Salsation!, at Teatro Luna. In scenes addressing white privilege, the California election results, underfunding of Chicago schools, cultural appropriation, and the importance of embracing one’s heritage, this Latino ensemble aims to be political and timely. However, their sometimes sharp insights are buried within sketches too keen on easy laughs. Surprisingly, the ensemble […]
Misery
Misery, Pyewacket, at Heartland Studio Theater. The writing in Stephen King’s 1987 best seller is frequently overwrought, amateurish, and metaphorically jumbled. With its tissue-thin characters, creaky plot conventions, and enough descriptive prose to make Dickens look like Hemingway, Misery earns its title several times over as romance novelist Paul Sheldon is rescued from a car […]
The Balsa Heart
The Balsa Heart, Side Project, at the Side Studio. The fifth and final one-act in this collection is the evening’s best, though that isn’t saying much. Stephen Cone’s November Boy is a lovely, honest look at two aging men coming to terms with mortality. The script can be vague, and Liz Warton’s staging is awkward, […]