Chicago Lifestyle Podcast & Video Blog
Bob (H.B. Ward) and Jennifer (Linda Reiter) Jones are surprised to meet their new neighbors, Pony (Cortney McKenna), and John ( Joseph Wiens) who also share the same last name. The two couples have an ongoing series of absurd conversations that actually do get to …
Chicago is home to approximately 150,000 individuals who identify as Asian. This February was the beginning of the Lunar New Year hailed as The Year of the Pig according to the Chinese Zodiac. According to TheChineseZodiac.org, this is a great year to make money, and …
Until now I have generally dedicated one podcast to one review. In this episode, I thought I would do something a little different and talk about two plays I recently reviewed for ChicagoTheaterandArts.com.
The first is “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” at the Greenhouse Theatre Center near Lincoln and Fullerton and the Second is ‘Brooke Astor’s Last Affair’ which is part of The Chicago Musical Theatre Festival running through February 24, 2019, at the Edge Theater on Broadway in the Edgewater neighborhood.
CORRECTION:
In my review for “Brooke Astor’s Last Affair,” I am a bit harsh in my comments about the set design and costumes. Since then I have read more about the mission of the festival and see that the festival producers specifically say:
CMTF is designed to showcase musical theatre writing talent, and not to showcase how much you can spend on set design and fancy production whizbangs and flibbertigibbets. read more
Until recently Rosalind Franklin had gone virtually un-credited for her contribution to the discovery revealing the structure of DNA to be a double helix. The discovery ultimately earned Franklin’s research colleague Maurice Wilkins and two rival collaborators James Watson and Francis Crick the Nobel Prize. “Photograph …
The Lyric Opera of Chicago is presenting an encore series through January 31, 2019 of its attractively updated version of Giacomo Puccini’s “La Boheme” directed by Richard Jones which launched the 2018/2019 season accompanied by the very capable Lyric Orchestra under the direction of Domingo Hindoyan. …
The world premiere of “La Ruta” at the Steppenwolf Theater, Chicago by playwright Isaac Gomez has figuratively commandeered a bus transporting “maquila” workers to and from their jobs in Juarez, pointing its headlights into the vast darkness to expose the despair and anguish of the mothers and sisters of hundreds of women kidnapped, used as sex slaves, murdered and disposed of like trash in the Mexican desert.
According to Gomez this is a story that has been systematically silenced through intimidation and adherence to a Latin American culture of toxic masculinity, or “machista.”
“La Ruta” focuses on the few days leading up to and the nearly three years following the disappearance of “Brenda” played by Cher Alvarez and is based on a compilation of a number of true stories.
Listen to the full audio review by Reno Lovison in the Pod O’ Matic player above, subscribe at Spotify or read it entirely at ChicagoTheaterandArts.com
We like to emphasize events and activities actually within the city limits but Music Theater Works in Evanston at the Cahn Auditorium is just outside Chicago on the northside and steps from the Northwestern campus. Running through December 31, 2018. The company formerly known as …
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” puts a contemporary twist to an old favorite at Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Chicago’s Navy Pier through January 27, 2019. Call the Box Office 312-595-5600 or visit Chicagoshakes.com for ticket information. Update Note: Though the Reader, Tribune, and WTTW reviews all …
Wrigleyville goes all out with Holiday Spirit featuring decorated pop-up bars and family fun including the “Wrigleyville Winter Wonderland” at the corner of Roscoe and Clark Streets put on by The Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce featuring four heated geodesic domes, with unique, fun and interactive seasonal experiences. Admission is free. Food and beverages are available for purchase.
Wrigleyville Winter Wonderland, 947 W. Roscoe, Saturday, Dec.15 and Sunday, Dec. 16 from 2 – 8 p.m.
Video by ABC Channel 7 Chicago
This is an interesting film to video of a train ride from Chicago to Kenosha from the 1920’s evidently unearthed from the Huntly Film Archives. Film equipment was not exactly portable in at this time so this is something of a treasure to see riders …
We had a great time visiting the Winter WonderFest at Navy Pier. Though it is geared primarily toward the little ones there is plenty of fun for the whole family. Essentially this is an indoor carnival. The brochure claims “thrills without the chills.” A chance …
This popular play by Will Kern has been trotted out by several companies since its debut in the nineteen- nineties and was even made into a movie in 1998.
“Hellcab” is comprised of a number of vignettes all taking place within the confines of a cab trolling the streets of Chicago during an evening leading up to the Christmas holiday.
There are highs and lows, there
“Hellcab” by The Chicago Theater Collective is at The RavenTheatre, 6157 N. Clark Street, Chicago through December 30, 2018. Information is available at http://wearetheagency.org or call (773)680-4596
Reviewer Reno Lovison Read entire review.
Photo: (left to right) Adam Mengesha, Jack Schultz, Audrey Gladson and Regina Linn in The Agency Theater Collective production of HELLCAB. Photo by Katie Reynolds.
Podcast Theme Song “Foster Avenue Beach” by Scatterplot