Rebound relationships are notoriously desperate, ill-conceived things. Jimmy Binns is on the rebound from the Noble Fool, the Loop comedy theater that failed abruptly and expensively last spring. You can imagine how brokenhearted he must have been as its artistic director. Actually, you don’t have to imagine. This new comedy revue, which Binns conceived and […]
Tag: Vol. 34 No. 24
Issue of Mar. 10 – 16, 2005
Posted inArts & Culture
Oly
Lots of synth pop is so sweet and overearnest it makes me gag–I can’t stand that lovey-dovey doe-eyed little-girl crap. But I find Oly strangely touching, probably because her forlorn-orphan melodies and almost bluesy vocals don’t give me the impression that she’s looking for a hug–she’s actually OK with being sad. She has to take […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Chicago Chamber Musicians
This concert of romantic works includes one of the most glorious examples of the genre: Schumann’s Piano Quintet, whose virtuosic piano writing and scale almost make it a concerto. The exhilarating first movement alternates optimism and yearning tenderness; the second is mournful and tumultuous. The joyful third contrasts a rush of ascending scales and dotted […]
Posted inColumns & Opinion
He’ll Never Fund-Raise in This Town Again
The new book on Roosevelt University by ex-president Ted Gross is more tell-all than tome.
Posted inArts & Culture
One Small, Illegal Woman/Una Pequena Mujer Illegal
One Small, Illegal Woman/Una pequena mujer ilegal | M. Litwicki’s new two-hander is certainly passionate about illegal immigration, bristling with intertwined issues: drug trafficking, violence against poor women, assimilation into the dominant Anglo culture. What Litwicki hasn’t done is provide a convincing dramatic framework for the encounter between Charlie, a Mexican-American border guard in Arizona’s […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Sweet Charity
This New York-bound revival of the 1966 musical boasts a star who combines kooky clowning, innocent charm, and heartbreaking pathos. No, it’s not leading lady Christina Applegate as taxi dancer Charity Hope Valentine, a role created by the great Gwen Verdon. The most exciting performer in this dance-filled show is nondancing former off-Loop actor Denis […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Don’t Spit the Water!
In the spirit of Make Me Laugh, Comedy Central’s series in which contestants won when they didn’t laugh at comedians’ jokes, Blewt! Productions has created this hour-long interactive game show. Three anything-for-a-guffaw comics try to get audience volunteers in funny hats to laugh and spit out a mouthful of water, occasionally on each other or […]
Posted inArts & Culture
One Trick Ponies
Jay Steigmann and Emily Boardman are more talented than their name implies, but they’re not quite versatile enough to do full justice to the dark comic sketches in their 35-minute show on religion, adoption, cancer, sexual harassment, and pornography. Some scene transitions, seamlessly staged by director Butch Jerinic, have greater energy than the sketches, and […]
Posted inNews & Politics
The Straight Dope
I’ve often read that if you jump off the Golden Gate Bridge, you will accelerate to the point where hitting the water will be like hitting concrete. But my little brain keeps saying, “Yeah, but it’s WATER!” Could you jump off a bridge like the Golden Gate and contort your body in such a way […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Dear Frankie
One should know as little as possible in advance about the plot of cinematographer Shona Auerbach’s subtle and graceful directorial debut, written by Andrea Gibb. So let’s just say that the main characters are a single mother (Emily Mortimer), her deaf nine-year-old son (Jack McElhone), his mysteriously absent father, a sailor hired by the mother […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Sam Prekop
When Sam Prekop made his 1999 debut solo album, he assembled a superb group of musicians who headed into the studio before they’d spent much time playing together. But on the road they matured into a confident, expansive band: cornetist Rob Mazurek became more than an occasional accompanist, and Prekop and fellow Sea and Cake […]
Posted inArts & Culture
European Union Film Festival
The eighth annual European Union Film Festival, with entries from all 25 member states, continues Friday, March 11, through Thursday, March 24, at the Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State, 312-846-2800. Tickets are $9, $7 for students, and $5 for Film Center members. Following are listings through Thursday, March 17; a full schedule is […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
No Boundaries (Heads Up International), a collaboration between South Africa’s leading Zulu gospel choir and the string section of the English Chamber Orchestra, is in many ways a similar project to Youssou N’Dour’s 2004 album Egypt. Both integrate religious music from a foreign tradition: N’Dour uses the distinctive inflections of an Egyptian orchestra to celebrate […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Henry Grimes Quartet
Perhaps the biggest jazz story in recent years is the unexpected reemergence of the great bassist Henry Grimes. A flexible and powerful musician, Grimes was a crucial fixture during the 60s, working with avant-gardists like Albert Ayler, Don Cherry, Archie Shepp, and Cecil Taylor as well as more daring mainstream players like Sonny Rollins, Lee […]