Chicago Lifestyle Podcast & Video Blog
Reno Lovison, Executive Producer comments on the documentary Time Passages by Chicago filmmaker Kyle Henry who tenderly reviews his relationship between himself and his mother, whose memory is slowly slipping away due to dementia. Looking at other people’s lives is always interesting. We can’t help but to …
An aspiring African American actress, Vera Stark (Ashayla Calvin) works as a personal maid to fading 1930s movie star Gloria Mitchell (Caitlin Jemison), once known as “America’s Little Sweetie-Pie.” The two have a close relationship and have a shared struggle to find success. However, due …
Letter writing is more akin to internal dialogue and can have a kind of naked intimacy that is difficult to achieve in the flesh.
This is a smart biographical drama providing us a glimpse into the lives and thoughts of two interesting, actual people, who through their own words demonstrate to us the value of friendship and human connectedness.
Dear Elizabeth by Remy Bumppo Productions is at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago through November 17, 2024. Runtime is about 100 minutes with one 10 minute intermission. For information visit RemyBumppo.org.
Reviewer: Reno Lovison
Elizabeth Bishop – Leah Karpel
Robert Lowell – Christopher Sheard
Director – Christina Casano
Assistant Director – Eduardo Xavier
Scenic Designer: Catalina Niño
Lighting Designer: Max Grano De Oro
Costume Designer: Kotryna Hilko
Sound Designer: Chris Kriz
Projections Designer: John Boesche
Kicking off this popular Chicago ensemble theater company’s 49th season a rather incompetent troupe of actors are expertly portrayed by a considerably expert cast, in Steppenwolf’s revival of Michael Frayn’s classic comedy “Noises Off,” directed by Anna D. Shapiro. A co-production with Geffen Playhouse. Featuring ensemble …
The Goodman Theatre reminds us that the more things change the more they remain the same in this production of the classic courtroom drama, “Inherit the Wind.”
Small town school teacher Bertram Cates is on trial for breaking a state law that prohibits the teaching of evolution.
The prosecution is aided by the bombastic self-important fundamentalist bible thumping Matthew Harrison Brady while Cates is represented by famed Chicago lawyer Henry Drummond, a clever defense attorney known for taking on difficult and controversial cases.
Lyric Opera of Chicago presents Beethoven’s message of freedom of expression in this captivating, new to Chicago, contemporary production of Fidelio. It’s interesting to see how easily this 18th Century music transforms to modern times. It’s and story of good triumphing over evil but most importantly a story of hope combined with the courage to speak truth to power while taking action to stand up to tyranny and oppression in order to right a wrong. Twenty-first century audiences will appreciate the portrayal of a strong female hero and the allusions to political oppression that sadly continues to be perpetrated around the world.
Music by Ludwig van Beethoven an opera in two acts in German with Libretto by Georg Friedrich Treitschke
Presented October 2, 5, 10, 2024
Conductor Enrique Mazzola
Director Matthew Ozawa
Set & Projection Designer Alexander V. Nichols
Costume Designer Jessica Jahn
Lighting Designer Yuki Nakase Link
CHARACTERS IN ORDER OF VOCAL APPEARANCE
Jaquino – Daniel Espinal
Marzelline – Sydney Mancasola
Rocco – Dimitry Ivashchenko
Leonore – Elza van den Heever
Don Pizarro – Brian Mulligan
1st Prisoner – Travon D. Walker
2nd Prisoner – Christopher Humbert, Jr.
Florestan – Russell Thomas
Don Fernando – Alfred Walker
This timeless classic amounts to an enchanting evening that deserves to be seen and heard. Whether you are experiencing it the first time or you are coming from a place of nostalgia, the musical South Pacific includes some of the best and most recognizable tunes …
If you think you know something about Georgia O’Keeffe, be prepared to be pleasantly surprised. Her styles at this time while living in New York during the 1920s seems to have generally drifted away from her previous more colorful and amorphous forms, and instead varied …
A war of words. In 1938 twenty-five-year-old Orson Welles became famous after his radio play interpretation of “A War of the Worlds” shook the airwaves, purportedly nearly causing national panic.
The book’s seventy-five-year-old author H.G. Wells was not amused at how his intellectual property was in his mind misused without permission.
This play by Amy Crider presented by Lucid Theater is inspired by an actual encounter in 1940 with the two men, “Wells and Welles” who both happened to be on lecture tours, finding each other in San Antonio, Texas on the same rainy night.
For more information visit LucidTheater.com
“Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” is the best musical I have seen in years. Opening night was one to remember. John Berendt, the author of the best-selling book, was on hand for the curtain call and to see this new musical version …
When you cannot adequately express yourself with the nuance and clarity of a native speaker, people do not know that you are actually smart, funny, and kind. Instead, they only hear your imperfect pronunciation and limited vocabulary. You may be easily assumed to be inferior …
In this “Cracking the Code of Spy Movies” podcast, Raymond Benson (author of 12 post Ian Fleming, James Bond books) joins Spy Movie Navigator hosts, Dan Silvestri and Tom Pizzatto in an enthusiastic conversation with John Morris Russell (a/k/a JMR), conductor of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, about his upcoming appearence conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in a program of Bond movie music. The event dubbed “Shaken Not Stirred” will be a fundraiser for the CSO Tuesday, June 4, 2024.
JMR and the CSO will be joined at the event by Broadway star and vocal powerhouse Capathia Jenkins in this salute to the notorious secret agent.
This fun roughly 30 minute podcast with get you excited about hearing the music behind the most icon spy genre films of the 20th Century written by some of the most iconic film composers of the era.
Author Benson who is also a pianist tell about playing the music of John Barry for the composer himself.
JMR talks about what to expect in this concert and how it all came together.
Raymond Benson understands James Bond, Maestro John Morris Russell understands film scores, and Dan and Tom understand what audiences want to know about spy movies. So take a listen to get ready for what is sure to be one of the most talked about musical events of the summer.