Two-and-a-half hours into Billy Elliot, the Elton John-composed musical that just opened its run at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts/Oriental Theatre, the star of the show—who’s 13, mind you—has to pull off a finale sequence of 16 grande pirouettes followed by a series of passé pirouettes…
Rebecca Gilman, the Chicago playwright who gained national prominence a decade ago with her drama “Spinning into Butter,” is back with a new play at the Goodman examining a 19th-century disaster whose lessons feel hauntingly contemporary
Last night, green was blue—as in the organic blueberries muddled with lemonade and organically produced Rain vodka, then poured into a chilled martini glass. Uncommon Ground, the eco-fashionable Edgewater restaurant, was calling it The Agripolitan…
A woman in the crowd at The Vic Theatre this past Tuesday night yelled to the man shambling about on stage: “Can’t wait to see you at Lollapalooza!” Julian Casablancas mumbled back something incomprehensible…
Our top five picks for things to do this week: The Flying Wallendas aim to cheat death in Lookingglass’s Hephaestus; plus, Sonny Rollins rolls into town, 2010’s Golden Gloves contenders, more
This year, the Minnesota Twins inaugurate Target Field, a new baseball-only venue to replace the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. Last weekend, I attended an exhibition game between the Twins and the St. Louis Cardinals at Target Field, and saw outdoor Major League Baseball in Minnesota for the first time since the Metrodome opened in 1982…
If you’re a fan of the Ad Report Card at the online magazine Slate, then you’re already familiar with the writing of Seth Stevenson, who has been the column’s main contributor since 2003. Today, his first book—an epic travelogue titled Grounded: A Down to Earth Journey Around the World—came out…
A cultural short-list for April, in order of buzz
The rising diva has that rare combo of theatrical attributes: She can play smoldering or slapstick
Camera Obscura: As the Victorian age gave way to the 20th century, a beautiful young Chicago photographer named Beatrice Tonnesen made her mark with a brilliant idea: using live models in advertisements. But Tonnesen’s pioneering role, like her artfully composed images (which often were usurped by well-known illustrators), faded into history—that is, until an inquisitive collector rescued Tonnesen from obscurity
