Writers on the Record
Victoria Lautmann chats with Ann Packer.
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Supersized Marquee: The Original Jersey Boy
The Garden-State Path
Jersey Boys, the Tony-winning musical biography of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, follows the group from blue-collar roots to pop fame, bumps in the road (mafia high jinks, gambling, womanizing, heartbreak) and all. Chicago’s much-anticipated run is onstage now, but the show’s inspiration isn’t idling in the wings. A consummate professional who parlayed his trademark falsetto into 25 top-40 hits and counting, Valli just released a new compilation of love ballads, Romancing the ’60s, and has an upcoming concert date at the Chicago Theatre. Marquee spoke with Valli recently about his long career…
The New Vice President
In his new book, Peter Sagal, the smart and impish host of NPR’s Wait Wait . . . Don’t Tell Me!, turns his attention to porn, gluttony, swingers’ clubs, and other forms of behavior that he’d never, ever have the nerve to do on his own.
Intern Meets Skintern
Why do I love an intern? Let me count the ways. Not only are they useful for sorting through my mound of mail, fact-checking, and picking up small writing assignments, but, like little lab mice, occasionally they’re fun for an experiment or two.
It would have been just a day’s work to have one of my most industrious interns, Leona Liu, to talk to Mr. Skin, a local “documentarian” of sex and nudity in mainstream films. Mr. Skin has recently published a book that counts boobs and butts for movies like Action Jackson (breasts: 4) and Amazon Women on the Moon (breasts: 5, butts: 3). Who does all the counting? Well, Mr. Skin and his army of “Skinterns,” of course!…
Wail
A chorus of volunteers puts everyday gripes into song.
The Redwalls
Dumped by their label, the band is reborn on an indie
New Country
Tom Schraeder and his Gram Parsons-Wilco-Paul Westerberg-Tim Booth-inspired sound, fresh off Lollapalooza, are on the brink of stardom.
You Should Know … E. Faye Butler
The South Shore native who hit it big in musical theatre returns home to play the First Lady of Song
Guest Blog: Affleck Boys in Town
On the list of things I wish to never do again: Arrive at 5 p.m. for media check-in and wait almost two hours in nippy, windy, drizzly weather. Man, the things I do for Coda.
On the coldest day in several months, the Affleck boys came to town to screen their new film, Gone Baby Gone. The crime drama, based on the novel by Dennis Lehane (Mystic River), was directed by Ben and stars his younger brother Casey. The screening was part of the Chicago International Film Festival…
Hawthorn Furniture Gallery Opening
On Saturday, October 6th, Carson Pirie Scott and Chicago magazine co-hosted a special furniture event to celebrate the grand opening of Carson’s Hawthorn Furniture Gallery in Vernon Hills. More than 150 attendees learned how to combine different furniture styles through a presentation by Beverly Rivers, former editor of Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Publications, and Stacy Wallace-Albert, contributing editor of Chicago magazine. Photos by Ken Carl