Chicago has always been a midwestern hub for reflection and innovation aimed at making the world a more just, hospitable place. Perhaps it’s both my personal and institutional stake in the idea that a better world is possible, but the need for change feels especially pressing right now. As I continue witnessing the economic, social, […]
Tag: Vol. 53 No. 3
Issue of November 16, 2023
On the cover: What happens when your loved one goes missing?
A history of neglect, botched investigations, and flawed data reveal systemic issues with the way police treat missing persons cases.
By Trina Reynolds-Tyler, Invisible Institute, and Sarah Conway, City Bureau
Photography by Sebastián Hidalgo for City Bureau and Invisible Institute
Find a print copy of the Reader.
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Posted inFood & Drink
At the upcoming Bonyeon, chef Sangtae Park will have a hundred tastes in his head
Thirty-one years ago, the Leo Burnett Company, on behalf of Michigan Avenue’s erstwhile National Live Stock and Meat Board, branded cattle flesh onto the American brain with the slogan, “Beef. It’s what’s for dinner.” That’s not a bad run by advertising standards, but it’s nothing compared to “One head with a hundred tastes,” or “일두백미,” […]
Posted inMusic
Elastic Arts stretches out
Chicago arts organization Theatre Y launched in 2006 in Lincoln Square, then moved in February 2023 to 3611 W. Cermak in North Lawndale. “It became really clear,” says artistic director Melissa Lorraine, “as we were starting to open our doors and really trying to communicate that we were here for the community, that music was […]
Posted inChicagoans of Note
R. Brent Decker, Racetraitor bassist and anti-violence worker
R. Brent Decker plays bass in Racetraitor and works as chief program officer for Cure Violence Global, a Chicago-based nonprofit that takes a public health approach to reducing violence. As a college student in the mid-90s, Decker cofounded Chicago hardcore band Racetraitor with childhood friends from the north suburbs. The group quickly attracted a passionate […]
Posted inStages of Survival
Definition Theatre makes plans for a new home while building community connections
Stages of Survival is an occasional series focusing on Chicago theater companies, highlighting their histories and how they’re surviving—and even thriving—in a landscape that’s become decidedly more challenging since the 2020 COVID-19 shutdown. Last month’s report from the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) and SMU DataArts, “Navigating Recovery: Arts and Culture Financial […]
Posted inTheater Review
Court’s The Lion in Winter slices through the surface
The arch dialogue in James Goldman’s 1966 drama The Lion in Winter (turned into a 1968 film starring Katharine Hepburn and Peter O’Toole) about the eventful Christmas of 1183 at the English court hasn’t aged well—it calls too much attention to its own cleverness while often failing to advance either the plot or our understanding […]
Posted inTheater Review
Commedia Divina: It’s Worse Than That is Dante for the age of MAGA
Editor’s Note: Due to illness in the cast, the remainder of performances for this show have been canceled. Please contact the company for information on refunds. Feel like you’ve been living in hell the past several years? The Conspirators understand. In their latest offering, Commedia Divina: It’s Worse Than That, writer Sid Feldman concocts a […]
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Support Illinois Veterans with your purchase of the Winter Riches Instant Ticket from the Illinois Lottery
In 2006, the Illinois Lottery launched the first Instant Lottery ticket in the country that designated 100 percent of its profits toward organizations that support Veterans in Illinois. Working with the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs (IDVA), the Illinois Lottery has raised over $21 million to fund the Veterans’ Cash program, which has awarded grants […]
Posted inTheater Review
Beetlejuice is a demonic good time
Thirty-five years after its film debut, the classic Tim Burton Halloween comedy Beetlejuice has been reimagined, first set loose like a demon as a 2019 Broadway musical (score by Eddie Perfect, book by Scott Brown and Anthony King, and directed by Alex Timbers), and now playing at Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre. My inner goth jumped at […]
Posted inArts & Culture
A multisensory sculpture of life and death
Editor’s note: Coco Picard spoke with artists about their project Untidy Objects, on view outdoors at adjacent to the Logan Center for the Arts. Edited text from the comic is transcribed here to ease readability. Just south of Hyde Park’s Logan Center for the Arts, an acre of land hosts Untidy Objects, a dynamic multispecies […]
Posted inGossip Wolf
Indie rockers Soft and Dumb pause work on their next album to drop an acoustic EP
Chicago indie rockers Elena “Lanie” Buenrostro and Travis Newgren, better known as Soft and Dumb, have spent much of the past year writing and recording their forthcoming sophomore album. A few weeks ago, frustrated by the length of that process, the duo paused work on the LP to record a handful of fast-and-loose songs on […]
Posted inMusic
An all-star bill gathers at Metro to support saxophonist Mars Williams
Update: November 20, 2023. 6:55 PM. The family of Mars Williams announced that he had succumbed to cancer. The concert will continue as a celebration of life. Rest in peace. For more than four decades, saxophonist Mars Williams has been a cornerstone of the Chicago jazz scene. In his youth, he studied with the Association […]
Posted inFilm
Chicago Filmmakers celebrates its 50th anniversary
This year, Chicago Filmmakers celebrates its 50th anniversary, a landmark achievement in the history of any nonprofit, let alone one focused on the cinematic arts.
Posted inArts & Culture
StoryStudio turns 20
From a few folding chairs and four students at its very first class to today’s 1,600-square-foot space in Ravenswood—plus online everywhere—and more than 1,400 students, StoryStudio Chicago aims to be a positive, encouraging, and craft-centered storytelling community in the city. That’s the motivation behind founder Jill Pollack creating the local literary nonprofit, which is celebrating […]