LOSS OF INNOCENCE: The star professor dedicated his 29-year career at Northwestern’s journalism school to overturning wrongful convictions and, in doing so, almost single-handedly prompted the end of the death penalty in Illinois. How did he and Medill come to such a bitter and rancorous end—in which no party escaped untarnished? Read more
A longtime fan, first-time guest reflects on being the man behind the curtain, at least for a few minutes, and the deeper questions of what we say when we talk. Read more
BROADWAY BOUND: Seven years ago, a little-known Chicago producer acquired the stage rights to Spider-Man and brought along a number of local investors. Now, after a tumultuous journey to Broadway, the $60 million musical "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" is finally ready to fly or flop Read more
Tonight, American Theater Company (ATC), a stalwart off-Loop house in North Center, will present part one of its ambitious Silver Project, a series of plays that attempts, one year at a time, to chronicle the 25 years since the theatre company was founded. If you go tonight, you can catch a quirky gem titled ‘cause I know you got soul... Read more
Don't-miss picks for 09.02.09 through 09.08.09: An Oscar nom comes home … poets pay ode to the fair dino … Burnham goes celluloid … Plus, a Million Dollar Broadway nod and more Read more
Two Chicago theatres have liberated Thornton Wilder's warhorse of a play from its nostalgic conventions to deliver productions both radical and real. Why now? Read more
A Lake Forest house merges a genteel Midwestern farm aesthetic with airy ideas imported from historic Charleston Read more