Writers on the Record
Victoria Lautman chats with author Elizabeth Strout.
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Guest Blog: Laurie Anderson Channeling Jon Stewart?
After seeing Laurie Anderson in concert last night, I have to say that I’m a convert. Anderson’s blend of performance art isn’t for everyone. Even Anderson herself will admit as much. But in her latest work, Homeland, it’s clear that she’s let go of some of the visual gimmickry of years past. The topics are serious (national security, global warming), but the delivery is, actually, kind of funny. It’s almost a bit Jon Stewart, if Jon Stewart were a pixie-haired, 60ish art rocker…
The Long Road Home
We chat with art rocker, spoken-word maven, and Glen Ellyn native Laurie Anderson
Cute or Annoying?
Just saw Sarah Ruhl’s latest, Dead Man Cell Phone, at Steppenwolf. I loved the Edward Hopper-inspired staging (one of many suggestions that Ruhl makes in her script). The premise isn’t that earth-shattering—a woman answers a stranger’s cell phone and pieces together his life post-mortem—but Ruhl injects enough of her brand of whimsy and magical realism that you’re quickly steered beyond the predictable. OK, so some weird and pretty unlikely things happen (a delish-looking make-out session in a stationery store; a monologue from the grave…
The Blip – May 2008
Bright spots on the month’s cultural radar
Big Sound
Indie rock’s zest for horns and strings explained
You Should Know … Doug Fogelson
First the Walker, then the Getty. What’s next for this young photographer? Books that promote other artists, that’s what.
Pretty, Dilapidated Stuff
Local photog and friend of historical landmarks Carey Primeau has a knack for making crumbling walls and piles of garbage look beautiful (as displayed in our February roundup of Flickr greats with the haunting photo of a deserted classroom from Chicago’s Jacob Riis Elementary School).
Primeau recently expanded beyond Chicago’s disregarded treasures and traveled through Europe visiting abandoned buildings destined to be forgotten by history…
Weeknight Find: Great Debate
The Strangerer, a fascinating Theater Oobleck play that earned rave reviews last year, returns for a six-week run at the Chopin Theatre.
Solo Show
If you see only one play this month, make it this one