From the Archives

Kris Vire

Jeff Citations Awarded
The 2006-07 Jeff Citations ceremony was held last night, honoring some of the best work in the city's vast non-union theater scene. The big winner of the night was The House Theatre of Chicago, with seven wins for the much-loved The Sparrow, followed by Bohemian Theatre Ensemble's Side Show with five, and TimeLine's Fiorello! and Eclipse's Blues for an Alabama Sky with four each. Full list of nominees and winners here.
Tuesday June 12 2007 Theatre/Dance

Notes to the 1%
Tracy Letts, currently starring in Steppenwolf's Betrayal, weighs in on the company's blog with a very funny reprimand to "the 1%" of audience members who behave badly. I think he's being generous.
Wednesday May 2 2007 Theatre/Dance

I am Shocked. Shocked!
Yeah, Prior's out for the season.
Wednesday April 25 2007 Sports/Recreation

Mmmm, Free PB&J
...and we're not talking Skippy. It seems like everyone's suddenly into the IKEA-tastic pop trio Peter Bjorn and John (and I'm no exception; the whistling bit from "Young Folks" is totally my current ringtone). If you don't have tickets to one of their two sold-out shows at the Empty Bottle May 8, or to Lollapalooza, where they'll be on the bill as well, the Apple Store on Michigan Ave. has announced a free in-store by the soft-rock Swedesters that afternoon.
Tuesday April 24 2007 Music/Clubs

What LaSalle Bank's Sale Really Means To Us
The $21 billion sale of LaSalle Bank to Bank of America is a relatively small part of one of the largest financial mergers ever by LaSalle's soon-to-be-former parent company. Global implications, yadda yadda. I'm more concerned with speculating how the deal will affect our civic life: will BoA close some superfluous branches, thereby freeing up some storefronts for businesses that are actually useful and enjoyable? Seriously, Chicago is drowning in bank branches. And what's the fate of the LaSalle Bank Cinema, or the only-christened-last-May LaSalle Bank Theatre? "Bank of America Theatre"? Gross.
Monday April 23 2007 City Life/Cultural

Lollapalooza Lineup Confirmed!
The Lollapalooza lineup as reported by the Onion A/V Club earlier today is confirmed in print in an inside-back-cover ad in "tomorrow's" issue of Time Out Chicago. If you didn't buy your advance tickets, now is the time.
Wednesday April 11 2007 Music/Clubs

Tribune ownership staying in Chicago?
Bloomberg News is quoting sources close to the Tribune Co. auction as saying Tribune will probably accept the $8 billion takeover offer from native Chicagoan Sam Zell by the end of the week.
Tuesday March 27 2007 Business/Shopping

Celebrity Play Club 2007
Victory Gardens Theater announced this morning this year's celebrity playwrights for its annual Chicago Stories benefit. Sun-Times entertainment columnist Bill Zwecker, retired Tribune theater critic Richard Christiansen (also author of A Theater of Our Own, the definitive history of Chicago theater), and the husband and wife team of Attorney General Lisa Madigan and New Yorker cartoonist Pat Byrnes (writing a musical, no less!) will each author a ten-minute play to be directed by VGT artistic director Dennis Zacek. This year's class joins such illustrious (and often first-time) playwrights as John Mahoney, Phil Jackson, Mike Royko, Carol Mosely-Braun and Jesse Jackson—last year's writers were Rick Bayless, Alpana Singh, and Tribune columnist Rick Kogan. The benefit is May 4; see Slowdown for details.
Monday March 26 2007 Theatre/Dance

Thoughtcrimes and Misdemeanors
It's been on YouTube for two weeks, but the video mashup of Hillary's "conversations" with the famous Ridley Scott "1984" Mac commercial, purportedly made by an anonymous Obama supporter, has made worldwide news since it was picked up by the Drudge Report this weekend. Obama's camp is disavowing any involvement, but I imagine internally they think it's pretty awesome.
Tuesday March 20 2007 Politics/Activism

Polish Up the Doomsday Clock
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is a nominee for a National Magazine Award for general excellence, in the smallest circulation category.
Thursday March 15 2007 Print/Magazines

Sports Dad Strikes Again
An Aurora man was caught on home video Sunday picking up his son's 11-year-old wrestling opponent and tossing the kid out of the ring, before charging the cameraman—the kid's father. NBC5 has a slideshow with scenes from the video.
Thursday February 15 2007 Sports/Recreation

Did DDB Rip Off The Whitest Kids?
Remember the Bud Light Super Bowl ad in which the fist bump is replaced by the face slap as "the new thing?" NYC sketch comedy troupe The Whitest Kids U'Know cried foul, claiming a remarkable similarity between the commercial and a sketch of theirs titled, um, "The New Thing" that had been submitted to Bud.TV. Commenters at NYC comedy blog the Apiary figured out that Bud's ad agency, DDB Chicago, also runs Bud.TV; yesterday the Apiary's Chicago sister site the Bastion posted a purported statement from DDB denying any connection. View the videos side by side at Gawker and draw your own conclusion.
Friday February 9 2007 Radio/TV

But Remember Kids, Gambling's Not Cool
Mayor Daley laid out his spread for the traditional friendly wager between mayors of Super Bowl cities today, and it's a doozy. Daley's not worried, though, warning Indy mayor Bart Peterson that he's won bets with the mayors of five other cities in the last year and a half. While we wait for Peterson to ante up, the cities' theaters are getting in on the action as well. Bailiwick artistic director David Zak announced a bet with Bryan Fonseca of Indianapolis's Phoenix Theatre: ten tickets to Bailiwick's upcoming US premiere of Jerry Springer: The Opera if the Colts win, and ten comps to Phoenix's world premiere And Her Hair Went With Her for a Bears win.
Wednesday January 31 2007 In the News

Steppenwolf Adding On
Steppenwolf held a press conference this morning to announce the addition of six new members to its ensemble. Alana Arenas, Kate Arrington, Ian Barford, Jon Hill, Ora Jones, and James Vincent Meredith bring some much-needed youth (Hill, who last appeared in The Unmentionables, is a senior at the University of Illinois, and Arenas and Arrington are under 30) and color (Arenas, Hill, Jones and Meredith join K. Todd Freeman, the one existing ensemble member of color) to the increasingly gray institution. The Steppenwolf ensemble now totals 41 members, though many (cough Joan Allen cough) rarely return to the theater.
Monday January 29 2007 Theatre/Dance

Illinois to Become Politically Relevant!
Illinois is one of four big states looking to move their presidential primaries to early February next year, creating a new Super Tuesday early in the race. With primary races often decided in early states and in the media long before Illinois's traditional May voting date, this move could go a long way toward making our votes count for a change. (In case you're wondering, the New York Times comes right out and says it: "Illinois lawmakers are talking about moving their primary to help Senator Barack Obama, a Democratic contender.")
Friday January 26 2007 Politics/Activism

Kidnapped Mom and Kids Rescued By Police
Though the search extended to Chicago, a mother and her four children kidnapped from their Elkhart, Indiana home on Saturday by the kids' father have been found safe in an Elkhart motel.
Wednesday January 24 2007 In the News

Checking in on 365
We told you in November about the 365 Days/365 Plays project, in which 52 theater companies are performing 365 short plays by Pulitzer winner Suzan-Lori Parks. The list of participating companies ranges from the traditional big guns (Goodman, Steppenwolf) to the tiny and/or unconventional like Soul Theatre and 500 Clown. Teatro Vista brings us week eleven, with performances (in mixed Spanish and English) tomorrow night at the Hungry Brain and Saturday night at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church; next week The Mill Theatre incorporates their seven plays into their Et Cetera performance festival. See 365 Chicago for the full calendar.
Monday January 22 2007 Theatre/Dance

He Voted For the Bears Before He Voted Against Them
It's a relatively minor entry on the list of reasons why the Bears' trouncing of the Saints yesterday, and their impending trip to Super Bowl XLI, is freaking awesome. But it still warms my heart to reread Jay Mariotti's column from yesterday's Sun-Times—while I'm glad he's healthy enough to be writing again, his pessimistic, ripjob game preview is classic back-and-forth bombast, negative enough that Mariotti could say he told us so if the Bears lost, but never outright predicting they would. Expect Mariotti's next column to claim he knew all along the Bears would dominate the Saints—and the one after that to proclaim they can't possibly beat the Colts.
Monday January 22 2007 Sports/Recreation

All About the Allstate Ad
If you haven't yet seen the Leo Burnett-created Allstate ad with the car that plunges into the Chicago River from the Marina City parking deck, the companies have posted both the 30-second and 60-second versions and a behind-the-scenes video at YouTube. YouTube blocked at work? The videos and a "how'd they do that?" FAQ get their own mini-site at Allstate.com, too.
Thursday January 18 2007 Found on the Web

You Got Your Stand-Up in My Improv!
The divide between improv and stand-up comedy isn't exactly church-and-state, but it's not so often that the twain shall meet. That's what's notable about Thomas and TJ's Tuesday Riot—it's the first show at iO, the former ImprovOlympic, to include stand-up. Each week features sets from three comics, followed by an improv set by Thomas Middleditch and TJ Miller. Read the minireview at Time Out's blog and check out next week's show with guests Prescott Tolk, Pat Brice and Brendan McGowan.
Tuesday January 16 2007 Offbeat/Misc. Events

I'd Like to "Null" His "Void"
As if all of his publicity hogging—new season of The Apprentice, the Miss USA thing, parading his newest trophy wife (whose name we're not even bothering to learn this time, because really, why?) at the Golden Globes—weren't obnoxious enough, The Donald tossed in some douchey business practices in Chicago this week. The Tribune reports that Trump has reneged on the contracts of the 42 "friends and family" buyers who purchased condos in Trump Tower Chicago before construction began. Those buyers, who got a deep discount and expected to be able to flip the condos after prices rose, enabled Trump to secure financing and start the project. Now Trump gets to resell the condos at market price; the "friends and family" get nothing back but interest.
Tuesday January 16 2007 In the News

Purdue-Calumet Gets an 'F'
Purdue University Calumet, a Division I NAIA school and a member of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference, has cancelled the remainder of its mens' basketball season after more than half of the team's members were declared academically ineligible after the fall semester. The Peregrines' entire coaching staff resigned.
Saturday December 30 2006 Sports/Recreation

Lies, Damned Lies, and...
Peter Bernstein's fifteen-year statistical analysis of the relationship between the Cubs' winning records and the yearly increase in ticket prices suggests that after the abysmal 2006 season, prices should remain basically the same next year. I'm willing to bet that between the Tribune Company's woes and the front office's free-spending offseason activity, the statistics won't hold.
Thursday December 14 2006 Sports/Recreation

A Good Offense
To say that comedian Lisa Lampanelli is "politically incorrect" is like saying Michael Richards "ruffled a few feathers." The difference is that Lampanelli does it on purpose, and she's actually funny. Lampanelli gained notoriety from her appearances on several Comedy Central roasts, particularly that of Pam Anderson (the YouTube clip is here, but even with the bleeping it's still not work-safe). She was later invited for a couple of clean-but-still-dirty visits to the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and now she's headlining her own tour. Lampanelli does two shows at the Vic this weekend, and they're both 18 and up for good reason. Details and Ticketmaster links in Slowdown.
Wednesday November 29 2006 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Reeling Dealt a Blow
Chicago Filmmakers and Reeling, the gay and lesbian film festival, were robbed last night. The thieves got away with cash and with unprocessed credit card slips; if you used a credit card to buy tickets at the door for any Reeling screening at Chicago Filmmakers or at the Music Box, you're encouraged to keep an eye on your account and report any unauthorized purchases to Reeling (and, of course, to your financial institution).
Tuesday November 14 2006 In the News

Goodbye Gunther's
The Bastion comedy blog reports that Gunther Murphy's has been sold and will be closing December 1 for remodeling. That means Tuesday night's Chicago Underground Comedy showcase will be finding a new home. No word on what the news means for live music at Gunther's, but considering that ChUC cast member Mike Bridenstine says the bar's being turned into a "Lincoln Park-style Trixie bar", it doesn't look good.
Friday November 10 2006 Music/Clubs

Inge Direct
More in today's NYTimes on Charles Isherwood's recent Chicago visit: he notes the unlikely, informal William Inge festival comprising Shattered Globe's recently closed Come Back, Little Sheba and American Theatre Company's The Dark at the Top of the Stairs.
Tuesday October 24 2006 Theatre/Dance

Another Day, Another Google Maps Application
El and Metra lines overlaid on Google Maps. Sweet.
Thursday October 19 2006 Transportation

You can put it on the ratings board, yes!
Or as Crain's puts it, Holy cow! For the first time in recent memory, the Sox beat the Cubs in overall TV ratings on WGN, WCIU and Comcast Sports Net. The Cubs still sold more tickets than the Sox; of course that was mostly at the beginning of the season...
Wednesday October 18 2006 Sports/Recreation

The Best of Times, the Worst of Times
NYTimes theater critic Charles Isherwood made another of his periodic Chicago visits, this time for a tale of two Shakespeares; surprising himself, he found he preferred Robert Falls' "aggressively raunchy, excruciatingly violent" King Lear (which closes this Sunday) to Chicago Shakes' "studiously tasteful, perfectly bland" Hamlet. (Perhaps he should have opted for Tiny Ninja Hamlet?) Speaking of excruciating violence, The House Theatre of Chicago's Shakespeare-inflected Hatfield and McCoy also closes this Sunday and is similarly not to be missed.
Wednesday October 18 2006 Theatre/Dance

Jam on it
The Vic and the Riviera each debuted newly Jammed-out websites this week, matching the (rather clunky) design of their corporate sib Park West. Seriously, frames? Active Server Pages? No page titles? I guess Jam is partying like it's 1999.
Friday October 6 2006 Music/Clubs

Rollin' to the playoffs
You know you don't want to miss the Windy City Rollers' second-season playoffs this Sunday, with the Double Crossers vs. The Fury and Manic Attackers vs. Hell's Belles, plus halftime hula hoop hijinks by Hoopafreaks. But how do you get out to Cicero Stadium if you're carless? Appropriately enough you can take the oh-so-delicate Pink Line (the stadium is two blocks north of the 54/Cermak station), or for five bucks you can get on the WCR party bus from Liar's Club. Bout details in Slowdown.
Friday October 6 2006 Sports/Recreation

Barack Star
Another week, another starstruck, will-he-won't-he profile of Barack Obama (this week it's New York magazine).
Monday September 25 2006 Politics/Activism

Weekend Warriors
The New York Times spends another 36 Hours in Chicago, this time hitting the Oriental Institute, Orange, and the Hopleaf among other attractions.
Friday September 15 2006 City Life/Cultural

Chicago Politics, Theater Edition
With the nominations for the Jeff Awards announced last week, the Tribune's Chris Jones today addresses the elephant in the room—or perhaps, the lack of elephant: how did Steppenwolf, which spent its 30th anniversary season producing a slate of new plays by major authors ("more world premieres than any major theater in America last season," says Jones), come away with only one Jeff nomination?
Friday September 15 2006 Theatre/Dance

Trib and Sun-Times ♥ Macy's?
The Columbia Journalism Review Daily takes the city's mainstream media to task for its "uncritical coverage" of the losses of Field's and Carson's. CJR thinks the press could use a little more healthy skepticism about the evolution of State Street; instead, they say, "the coverage has been strangely uncritical, bordering even on the boosterish." What's more, in the stories about the department stores' handovers, the opposing quotes have come largely from the superannuated. Given the strong opinions proffered here in Fuel and the many younger faces at Saturday's anti-Macy's demonstration, I wonder if the dailies really weren't trying hard enough.
Tuesday September 12 2006 Print/Magazines

The Underwhelming Answer
Spotted the taxi ads asking What's Wrong With Chicago? Turns out it's Q101 doing the asking, and their answer is there's no good morning radio show. That the radio station would present their replacement for Mancow as the answer to all the city's ills is mildly disheartening, especially when the audio clips provided, ostensibly as previews, are the same tired song parodies and flaming-Lance-Bass jokes found on every morning show in America. The show premieres Monday the 18th.
Thursday September 7 2006 Radio/TV

Macy's on State Avenue
It's not quite that egregious, but reader Mike noticed today that the new Macy's information maps installed inside the erstwhile Marshall Field's show Wabash Street, Washington Avenue and Randolph Avenue. That'll make a Chicagoan used to Wabash Avenue and Washington and Randolph Streets twitch. Not exactly getting off on the right foot, Macy's.
Wednesday August 30 2006 Business/Shopping

Critic responds to her critics
Sun-Times theater critic Hedy Weiss, lambasted by the Dramatists Guild for reviewing (poorly) the Stages 2006 musical theater workshop at Theatre Building Chicago, gave her side of the story in a letter posted late yesterday on Romenesko. Weiss says she was expressly invited as a reviewer and given extensive press materials including photos for publication; she also says that both the Sun-Times and Tribune have reviewed Stages in the past, and suggests that trouble arose only because her review this year was negative and the Tribune's critic was on vacation. Meanwhile another Romenesko reader thinks that if the workshops were worth the "prime-ticket ticket pricing" of $85, they were worth being reviewed.
Wednesday August 30 2006 Print/Magazines

Chicago: Gay Student Central
Five Chicago-area colleges and universities were recognized this month as being among the 100 best in the nation for GLBT students. Columbia College, DePaul, Northwestern, UIC, and Northern Illinois are all profiled in The Advocate College Guide For LGBT Students, which scores the 100 gay-friendliest campuses based on school policies and student surveys. U of I Urbana-Champaign campus and western Illinois's Knox College also make the cut.
Tuesday August 29 2006 Schools/Education

Hedy Weiss in Hot Water
On August 16 Sun-Times theater critic Hedy Weiss published a piece reviewing the eight new musicals at Theatre Building Chicago's Stages 2006 festival. Trouble is, the musicals at Stages are presented in workshop, in the early stages (get it?) of development, and they're not meant to be reviewed as final products (TBC says Weiss was explicitly reminded of this). What's more, Weiss stated up front that she didn't see any of the new works in full. The review's ignited a firestorm of criticism in the national theater community, culminating in an open letter to the Sun-Times from the president of the Dramatists Guild demanding an apology, with supporting comments from a score of major playwrights.
Tuesday August 29 2006 Print/Magazines

I bet they've never heard so much Cher
Sure, there's the old stalwart Baton, or Boystown's Kit Kat Lounge. But what if you find yourself jonesing for female impersonators, say, an hour south of the city on I-57? The Tribune reports on the unlikely success of a monthly drag show at a blues club in Kankakee.
Wednesday August 9 2006 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Haute Cuisine, Outlaw Style
The foie gras farewell continues: in honor of the dish's final days in the city, chef Robert Gadsby of 676 Restaurant & Bar in the Chicago Omni put together a one-night menu full of ingredients of which the Nanny State would not approve. The $95 prix fixe menu for tomorrow night's "Outlaw Dinner," as it's being called, features absinthe, hemp seed, morels, unpasteurized cheeses, sous vide preparation, and of course foie gras; Gadsby's planning similar nights at his Noé restaurants in LA and Houston.
Wednesday July 19 2006 Eating/Drinking

Let the Games begin
Okay, okay, I'm trying not to harp on the Gay Games, but this is honestly one of the biggest events Chicago's seen in years (and a serious trial run for the city's 2016 Olympics hopes). It's so big, in fact, that we couldn't possibly list all of the events or even the highlights here in Slowdown; instead I'll just direct you to the schedules at the Games' site and let you know that most events are free, but tickets for those that require them can be purchased online or at the HotTix locations at the Chicago Tourism Center (72 E Randolph), the Water Works Visitor Center (163 E Pearson) and the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie. Have a gay old time.
Friday July 14 2006 Sports/Recreation

Laugh Out Loud/Loud Out Laughs
One thing you can say about the gays: we love our funny girls (and I don't mean Barbra). No surprise, then, that the Gay Games are bringing with them a cavalcade of comediennes. The next week finds shows around town by Margaret Cho, Sandra Bernhard, Kate Clinton, Suzanne Westenhoefer, and Mo'Nique, plus two nights of the triple-bill Queer Queens of Comedy (click links for Slowdown entries). If you prefer your gay comedy local (not to mention multi-gendered), check out GayCo's best-of show, just opened for a Gay Games run at the Theatre Building.
Friday July 14 2006 Theatre/Dance

Fear Factor: Target
Target officials have apparently told south side aldermen that they might cancel plans for three new stores if the city's proposed big-box minimum wage ordinance is passed. Ald. Joe Moore, lead sponsor of the ordinance, called Target's move "bullying tactics." The city council is scheduled to vote on the ordinance on July 26th.
Friday July 14 2006 Business/Shopping

"Everyone wants him. He's lightning."
Today's Washington Post launches the latest volley in the Obama '08 recruitment game.
Sunday June 18 2006 Politics/Activism

CIFF fetes Spielberg
Steven Spielberg will be the honoree at this year's Chicago International Film Festival summer gala, hosted by Bill Kurtis and featuring film highlights and "tributes by colleagues and friends." Ooh! Harrison? Hanks? Henry Thomas? Maybe you can ask Stevey why Jurassic Park IV is happening, or when we'll finally get Animaniacs on DVD. Tickets start at $315 for Cinema/Chicago members or if you're feeling generous, buy a table for ten of your friends for only $3500. If you haven't just won the Mega Millions, this Friday's evening with David Gordon Green (All the Real Girls) at the Future Filmmakers Festival might be more your speed.
Wednesday June 14 2006 Film

Dry Runs on the Metra
I only recently learned that it's allowed (and depending on your traveling companions, encouraged) to drink alcohol on Metra trains. But it's worth noting, as my conductor did this morning, that Metra restricts carrying alcohol and/or glass bottles at night and on weekends during the big downtown festivals, including this weekend's Blues Fest. Here's the calendar of blackout dates (pun intended).
Thursday June 8 2006 Transportation

To listen to on your next coffee break
Local indie-pop outfit Office, last month's Practice Space residents at Schubas, have this week's free single on iTunes with "Wound Up". They play the Bottle next Friday; see Slowdown.
Wednesday June 7 2006 Music/Clubs

GQ eats Chicago
GQ's food critic Alan Richman jumps on the Chicago bandwagon with an article in the June issue naming us "the best restaurant city in America." The story's focus, unsurprisingly, is on culinary wunderkinds Homaro Cantu of Moto, Grant Achatz of Alinea, and Graham Elliot Bowles of Avenues.
Saturday May 20 2006 Eating/Drinking

Sheltered (Advertising) Existence
Old-school bloglebrity Matt Haughey started a MetaFilter thread yesterday on the recent deals for New York City street furniture (bus shelters, public toilets, newsstands) bringing in a billion dollars in revenue to the city, all paid for by advertising sold by the British and Spanish firms responsible for the structures. In light of the similar deal for bus shelters struck between the City of Chicago and French firm JCDecaux a few years ago, I immediately thought, "What? We could have had public toilets too?!" If we're serious about the 2016 Olympic bid, we may see them sooner than later.
Friday May 19 2006 City Life/Cultural

Help stop the Project Marriage referendum
A coalition of civil rights groups has begun a volunteer effort to stop the anti-gay ballot initiative put forth by Project Marriage Illinois, a spinoff of the Illinois Family Institute, by scrutinizing the petitions for invalid signatures. The advisory referendum would ask voters to ask the legislature to ban all same-sex legal unions, including civil unions and domestic partner benefits. It would be non-binding and might or might not pass, but just having it on the ballot would allow the right to stir up a major anti-gay campaign; the Gay Liberation Network notes that anti-LGBT violence in Colorado increased 129% in the year following the Amendment 2 campaign there. To volunteer, email fairillinois AT yahoo DOT com or call 773-477-7173. (Thanks, Tony.)
Wednesday May 17 2006 Politics/Activism

Loop de Looper
Looper is a "quasi-daily architectural photoblog generally focused in and around the Loop;" if only we could all proselytize so well about our urban environment. Read and be inspired.
Saturday April 29 2006 Found on the Web

Blogging the national pastime
With baseball back in full swing and both Chicago teams looking good, it's time to check in on the sports blogs. The aptly-named Agony & Ivy is a well-written one-year-old Cubs diary written mainly by a Chicago ex-pat living in Austin. South Side Sox provides trenchant daily analysis of the World Series champs. What about our other summer sports? Any Chicago Fire sites with breathless reports on the new Bridgeview Stadium? And who'll have the first blog about the Chicago Sky?
Wednesday April 19 2006 Sports/Recreation

Remembering Maggie Dixon
West Point womens' basketball coach Maggie Dixon was remembered at a memorial service yesterday in North Hollywood, California after dying last week of a sudden arrythmic episode. The ceremony was attended by 1200 mourners, including the basketball teams of both West Point and DePaul, where Dixon was an assistant coach for five years before being named head coach for Army just before the start of the last season. After a 5-7 start, Dixon took the Army team to a 20-11 record and the Patriot League championship, earning West Point its first-ever appearance in the womens' NCAA tournament last month. She and her brother Jamie, the mens' coach at Pitt, became the first brother and sister to coach in the NCAA tournament in the same year. Jamie, 11 years her elder, said Tuesday, "I've said this before—when I grow up I want to be just like her." Maggie Dixon will be buried Friday at West Point; she was 28.
Wednesday April 12 2006 People/Sightings

What's that on your head? A wig!
Want a primer on fake hair, but aren't ready to commit to a full course? Head to Navy Pier Saturday evening for a free demonstration by Chicago Shakespeare Theater's wig and costume artists. It's part of a slew of free events being offered by the theater to celebrate its twentieth anniversary, though many (including this one) require reservations; see details in Slowdown.
Tuesday April 11 2006 Theatre/Dance

Theatre history makes way for granite counters, Jacuzzi tubs
The building at 2851 N. Halsted is the current home of ComedySportz; in its life as a theater since the 1970s, 2851 has been home to the St. Nicholas Players (founded by David Mamet and William H. Macy), Steppenwolf, and Organic-Touchstone. Next month it'll meet its final fate: the wrecking ball. 2851 and its surrounding buildings are being razed to make way for a 44-unit condo development, because we all know there's a shortage of new condo developments on the North Side. Read the eulogies by Chris Jones and Hedy Weiss, and consider attending the farewell party this Sunday; details in Slowdown.
Wednesday April 5 2006 Theatre/Dance

Gay Games rowers cross another hurdle
The City Council of far northwest suburb Crystal Lake last night approved by a 6-1 vote the request by the organizers of this summer's Gay Games to hold a rowing event on the lake, a matter which came under contention in hearings before the Crystal Lake Park District last month and brought national attention to McHenry County. Last night's council meeting featured many supporters and only one resident speaking against the event, who told WGN News that "I don't hate gay people; I just think it's a gay agenda event." The Games still need to gain the approval of neighboring township Lakewood, which shares jurisdiction of the man-made lake.
Wednesday April 5 2006 Sports/Recreation

Krystle and Alexis Alert!
The Sun-Times reports on the completion of the 2006-07 Broadway in Chicago season. Besides the previously announced Color Purple tour and pre-Broadway Pirate Queen, the offerings range from fantastic (Cherry Jones in the Pulitzer-winning Doubt) to middling (Mamma Mia again? Really?) to frightening (Michael Crawford in concert to rechristen the LaSalle Bank Theatre). But here's the potentially best-worst: Linda Evans and Joan Collins reunite for the "backstage comedy" Legends! (exclamation point theirs). One can only hope for a catfight in the lily pond.
Friday March 31 2006 Theatre/Dance

Won't anyone think of the Christians?
If you worry about the plight of the downtrodden, oppressed minority known as, um, Christians, rest assured that somebody is doing something about it. The Washington, DC conference The War on Christians and the Values Voter is addressing the hardship of the American Christian as we speak, and Campus Progress has a pair of undercover bloggers reporting. Turns out one of the speakers at a panel brilliantly titled "The Gay Agenda: America Won't Be Happy" is Peter Labarbera of our old friends at the Illinois Family Institute. Our old drinking buddy Alan Keyes is there, too, so you just know the crazy dial is turned up all the way.
Tuesday March 28 2006 Politics/Activism

Chicago on a roll
Chicago magazine keeps racking 'em up, adding to last week's National Magazine Award nomination with four nominations today in the City and Regional Magazine Association's national awards, including General Excellence (competition: Los Angeles magazine and Texas Monthly. We can so take them).
Wednesday March 22 2006 Print/Magazines

Chicago Magazine is just tryin' ta matter, y'all
Chicago magazine received a National Magazine Award nomination today for General Excellence in its circulation bracket (100,000 to 250,000), putting it up against Foreign Policy, Harper's, Town & Country Travel, and the Harvard Business Review. The mag has been a finalist eight times before in various categories; it won for General Excellence in 2004, as we told you then.
Wednesday March 15 2006 Print/Magazines

Cook County goes smoke-free
The Cook County board passed a smoking ordinance today that's tougher than the one that went into effect in Chicago in January. The county banned smoking in all enclosed and semi-enclosed buildings; there's an exemption for nursing homes, but none for bars and restaurants, and the ban goes into effect within a year. It applies only to suburbs that don't already have a municipal smoking ordinance, though, and doesn't trump Chicago's. So I guess now we can expect suburban smokers flocking to bars just inside the city limits until July 2008.
Wednesday March 15 2006 In the News

Set your alarms
Keeping up with the city's major summer music festivals is becoming a full-time job—not that we're complaining. No, we're here to help, so if you missed out on yet another presale yesterday (those $25 Intonation passes are gone, baby), let us remind you to cancel all your appointments for Thursday. That's when the Lollapalooza lineup will be announced (130 bands!) and regular tickets go on sale.
Tuesday March 14 2006 Music/Clubs

Miss Celie's a-comin
Considering that the new Broadway musical version of The Color Purple is directed by Chicago's own Gary Griffin (as first reported here three years ago), and the lead producer is named Oprah Winfrey, it's only natural that the show's national tour should start in Chicago, as the producers announced this weekend. The show will play a six-month run at the Cadillac Palace starting in April 2007 before taking off for other major cities, but as Chris Jones reports in the Trib, if sales are good it could leave an open-ended run here á la Wicked.
Monday March 6 2006 Theatre/Dance

Exactly what are you paying attention to, Rod?
Gov. Blagojevich is getting national attention for another one of his missteps—appointing an aide of Louis Farrakhan to the Governor's Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes. Sister Claudette Marie Muhammad is the chief of protocol and director of community outreach for the Nation of Islam; she was appointed in August but caused no controversy until she invited the other commissioners to a Farrakhan speech last weekend, where Farrakhan made reference to "Hollywood Jews" promoting homosexuality and "other filth." Blago says he didn't realize Muhammad was associated with the Nation of Islam; presumably the same staffers charged with not telling him The Daily Show was satire are in trouble again.
Saturday March 4 2006 Politics/Activism

Explosives undetected! Story overreported!
In case you missed out on the latest crisis in the local-news culture of fear, a CBS-2/Sun-Times investigation has determined that security dogs at Metra stations might not detect suicide bombers, assuming those suicide bombers behave under the exact circumstances as the CBS-2/Sun-Times fake ones did. And we all know what a juicy target for suicide bombers Metra is. Both Metra and Securitas, the contractor that provides the dogs and their handlers, say the dogs aren't meant to work that way. The Sun-Times and CBS respond, "Boo! See, made you jump. What if we'd been a suicide bomber? Huh?"
Tuesday February 28 2006 In the News

CGBB 2, Electric Boogaloo
Back by semi-popular demand, next Thursday I'm hosting the second annual Chicago Gay Bloggers Bash, a shindig for Chicago's LGBT bloggers and their friends, families, and fans, straight and gay alike, to meet, greet, booze and cruise. It's totally casual, not unlike our monthly GB Get-Togethers (this Friday with no fries, chips!) and all GB readers are welcome to show up at Crew Bar + Grill. See my site or Slowdown for the deets.
Tuesday February 21 2006 Weblogs

RedEye of the 'burbs
Last May we told you about the Daily Herald's youth-oriented blog site, Beep. Last week Beep relaunched as BeepCentral.com, with a richer mix of blogs, feature stories, and entertainment listings, plus a note that a print tabloid version is on its way. (Thanks, Aimee!)
Monday February 13 2006 Print/Magazines

And speaking of special talents...
As reader steve_sleeve points out, today's Fuel question ties in quite nicely with Mrs. Meow's Talenza Bonanza talent show, this Friday at Phyllis' Musical Inn. Maybe some of you can take your talents out for a test drive. More info in Slowdown.
Tuesday February 7 2006 Offbeat/Misc. Events

"The city's informal festival of anxiety"
New York Times theater critic Charles Isherwood checked in on Chicago last weekend, visiting the Goodman, Steppenwolf, and... the House Theatre? It's official, kids: you've arrived.
Saturday February 4 2006 Theatre/Dance

Clark Kent, meet Veronica Mars
In what's sure to be a supremely weird reshuffling of the television landscape, The WB and UPN are merging to become the "CW Television Network." What's this have to do with Chicago? The Tribune Company was a minority owner in the WB, and it'll be a major player in the new net as well. "Tribune Broadcasting is expected to be the primary station group for the new network," says the Hollywood Reporter, with 16 Tribune stations becoming CW affiliates, including WGN, natch. Here's the Tribune's spin.
Tuesday January 24 2006 Radio/TV

What's the buzz, tell me what's happenin'
The relatively new Theatre In Chicago looks to be a remarkable resource for playgoers: an independent, well-designed database of what's playing where and when, with theatre info and nearby restaurants. It's easier to browse than the League of Chicago Theatres' effort, not as stroke-inducing as Metromix, and is the only place I know of to round up all the local critics' reviews for an at-a-glance scorecard.
Tuesday January 24 2006 Theatre/Dance

Fat Tire on the road to Chicago
Beer enthusiasts, especially those who've spent time west of the Mississippi, have reason to celebrate: Fat Tire Ale is coming to Chicago. While on a Friday night outing to Whirlyball for a friend's birthday, I spotted a sign proclaiming the impending arrival of Fat Tire, which is one of my favorite beers and has never been distributed east of the big river (though at least one Chicago bar sells it clandestinely). I emailed New Belgium Brewery to confirm, and they've told me it's true—22oz "bomber" bottles of Fat Tire should start showing up here in February.
Monday January 9 2006 Eating/Drinking

Love that Lovie
Bears coach Lovie Smith was named the AP's NFL Coach of the Year today, edging out Indianapolis' Tony Dungy. Smith, who turned the Bears around from 5-11 to 11-5 this season even in the midst of a quarterback crisis, joins the company of former Bears coaches of the year George Halas and Mike Ditka. The Bears are enjoying a first-round bye this weekend before facing ~~one of three teams next week depending on wild-card outcomes~~ (UPDATE: it'll be Carolina, Sunday at 3:30).
Saturday January 7 2006 Sports/Recreation

Variations on a Theme
Here's a new one: in my email inbox this morning I find a new iteration of the Nigerian scam—except this one claims to be from the personal assistant to Conrad Black, the recently indicted former chairman of Hollinger International, owner of the Sun-Times. This "assistant," who says Black is wrongly accused, knows where to find some of that money Black allegedly diverted from the company, and would just love to give me a big chunk for helping to "invest" it away from the prying eyes of that nasty Patrick Fitzgerald.
Friday December 2 2005 In the News

Bear-on-Bear violence
The news out of the Bears camp this weekend wasn't all rainbows and record-setting touchdown runs. Offensive linemen Fred Miller and Olin Kreutz admitted yesterday that Kreutz broke Miller's jaw in a fight on a day off last week; they'd been covering it up by claiming Miller hurt himself in a fall at home. Details of what happened are still sketchy: the Tribune story says the two "spent the off day at an FBI shooting range in North Chicago," and that tension escalated "as more alcohol was consumed." Y'all, I can't help but think that if you've got a bunch of pro football players getting liquored up at a shooting range and a broken jaw is the worst thing that happens, that's a good day.
Tuesday November 15 2005 Sports/Recreation

No such thing as a free withdrawal
If you're a non-Washington Mutual customer who's been inclined to seek out WaMu ATMs because they don't charge you a fee, be warned that the honeymoon is over. Crain's reports that WaMu will begin charging non-customers $2 a pop just like every other bank, starting November 17.
Thursday November 10 2005 Business/Shopping

Chicago, home of the nation's favorite gay bar
The Chicago Free Press reports that Sidetrack was named the best gay bar in the country by readers of OutTraveler magazine. Indeed, Sidetrack tied for the top spot with NYC's Roxy in the magazine's readers' poll; as the editors aptly put it, "Either invite 1,200 of your closest friends over for a night of trash TV or meet them all at Sidetrack, Chicago’s sleek, supersize video bar."
Wednesday November 2 2005 Eating/Drinking

"I don't know if I'm a leader, but I have the biggest mouth"
In our continuing Ozzie Guillen coverage, the Washington Post profiles Ozzie today, complete with a rich repository of postseason Ozzie quotes. As Deadspin reports, "it's 90 percent Ozzie goodness and 10 percent beleaguered PR reps trying to settle him down."
Friday October 21 2005 Sports/Recreation

We're gonna need more tiaras
If an 80's prom isn't your thing, how about a gay homecoming? Crew Bar+Grill in Uptown is holding a homecoming dance Friday night to benefit the Gay Games Chicago 2006. Highlights include the Patty Elvis Band, a $100 bar tab prize for best dressed, free food and some serious drink specials. Plus they'll be crowning a king and queen. Or queen and king, as the case may be. Details, as always, in Slowdown.
Thursday October 20 2005 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Wake Me Up Before You Go Bowl
We're getting a little overwhelmed with premature '80s nostalgia. Witness The Awesome '80s Prom, the Tony'n'Tina-style interactive entertainment that's opening next month at the new '80s-themed club RadioStar (yes, as in "Video Killed the"). But here's one bit of '80s fever we can get behind: the HRC 80's Equality Bowl. Wear your best Reagan-era costume to Waveland Bowl this Sunday for a benefit for the Human Rights Campaign, featuring bowling, buffets, and probably more Madonna than you can shake a stick at. See Slowdown for details.
Wednesday October 19 2005 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Boystown on $40 a Day?
Are you a fan of Rachael Ray? Yeah, neither are we really, but we suppose somebody must be or she wouldn't have four shows on the Food Network, a new magazine, and a development deal with Oprah. If you're one of those fans, you should know that Ms. Ray will allegedly be taping $40 a Day in Boystown Friday. We met her advance team last night, who told us that plans include breakfast at Nookie's Tree and late night drinks at the Closet. No, really.
Thursday October 13 2005 Radio/TV

QOTSA up close and personal
I was intrigued by reports that Queens of the Stone Age would be giving an in-store performance this Thursday night at the soon-to-be-demolished Belmont Army Surplus. I mean, who wouldn't be interested in an, um, intimate experience with Josh Homme? Or is that just me? So I stopped by the store this afternoon and talked to a clerk to get the details. Unlike most in-store performances, this one's not exactly free. To gain admission, you'll need a wristband available at Tower Records—with purchase of QOTSA's "new" album, Lullabies to Paralyze... which dropped in March. Huh. Mr. Homme and co. play the Allstate Arena Friday with Nine Inch Nails.
Wednesday October 5 2005 Music/Clubs

True Patriots
Chicago artist Al Brandtner's Patriot Act is back in the news. The piece, which caused some controversy during its display at Columbia College last spring as part of the "Axis of Evil" exhibit, has been pulled by the chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, where "Axis of Evil" opened last night. The decision prompted student protests with demonstrators wearing the image on t-shirts, thus demonstrating once again that censoring something is a great way to draw even more attention to it.
Friday September 16 2005 Arts/Architecture

Laughing Matters: Katrina Relief
Four prominent members of the Chicago Comedy Association have banded together for a weekend-long benefit for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, with proceeds from a different theatre each night going to the American Red Cross's relief efforts. You can also expect raffles, "suggestion auctions," and other fundraising efforts at the designated shows. Head to ComedySportz Thursday, I.O. Friday, the Playground Saturday, and Second City Sunday for comedy and karma. See each night in Slowdown for details.
Wednesday September 7 2005 Theatre/Dance

Office Girl next door
Punk literati, take note: Joe Meno, author of Hairstyles of the Damned (the inaugural selection of the Gapers Block Book Club) and Columbia College writing instructor, is debuting a new work this week: a play called Office Girl. It's being produced by Go Cougars!, of which Meno is a cofounder. "I see theater as this amazing combination of the best storytelling of fiction mixed with the intimacy of a great rock show," he tells the Sun-Times. Details in Slowdown.
Tuesday September 6 2005 Theatre/Dance

Can't swing a cat without hitting a theatre festival
Street festival season in Chicago could also be considered theatre festival season. The dog days of summer provide Chicagoans interested in adventurous new stage work with a plethora of opportunities. Last weekend saw the annual Stages set of new musicals at Theatre Building Chicago. Currently ongoing are Live Bait's Fillet of Solo fest of solo performance and Steppenwolf's new entry, the First Look Repertory of New Work. This weekend brings two more players to the table, with the two-week Single File collection of solo pieces, and the three-day tsunami of fringe theatre that is Abbie Hoffman Died For Our Sins. Go out and see something new.
Wednesday August 17 2005 Theatre/Dance

Katie Todd Band on iTunes
Music about Chicago aside, there's quite a bit of national attention on music from current and former Chicagoans these days. Common's new album was one of the major releases of the spring, and Kanye drops his sophomore effort in two weeks. Fall Out Boy is climbing the charts, and bands like the Ponys and the Changes are building buzz. Now longtime local faves the Katie Todd Band are hitting the buzz bin, too: the iTunes Music Store named "Face Down," from KTB's new self-released album Make Some Time For Wasting, their single of the week (link requires iTunes player). Katie Todd plays the Metro August 27.
Tuesday August 16 2005 Music/Clubs

Hey, have you heard about that Sufjan Stevens album?
Good news for fans of really long song titles: the Metro has just announced a second Sufjan Stevens date September 17, to supplement the sold-out 9/16 show. Stevens is, of course, touring in support of his Illinois-inspired album, which we've told you about over and over.
Tuesday August 16 2005 Music/Clubs

Sweatshop-free, Union-free, Class-free
Like a lot of hipster-leaning internerds, we at GB used to love American Apparel: nice clothes, indie aesthetic, and "sweatshop-free" practices. Since they started opening boutiques in the city last year, though, I've grown incredibly weary of their ubiquitous, porn-styled advertising. I'd like to be able to read my Time Out or my Reader on the bus without exposing "Miguel"'s crotch to Granny across the aisle. The skeevy ads may not be the only reason to dislike AA. There's been much press coverage in the past month of the sexual harassment suit filed by three female employees against the company's gleefully libidinous CEO. In last week's In These Times, meanwhile, Ari Paul recounts the chilly reception he got in an interview for the chain's Wicker Park store last year after he mentioned his former affiliation with United Students Against Sweatshops. It seems "sweatshop-free" doesn't mean "union-friendly."
Sunday August 14 2005 Business/Shopping

Sun-Times defending the caveman
Several male Sun-Times staffers made idiots of themselves today in expressing their opinions on Dove's Real Women, Real Curves ad campaign. As part of a feature package on the campaign, reporter Lucio Guerrero offered his opinion [second segment] that "most men don't like the ads," which show non-models of varying shapes and sizes in lingerie. Richard Roeper chimes in on the "chunky women" in his column, noting that "If I want to see plump gals baring too much skin, I'll go to Taste of Chicago." Bill Zwecker added his half-cent on the CBS-2 morning show and on their blog, suggesting that these perfectly normal women will make people "think it's okay to be out of shape." Way to go, guys. Glad to see we're growing and learning.
Tuesday July 19 2005 In the News

"You: white belt and aviators. Me: white belt and aviators."
If you want your Intonation wrap-up more textual than visual, have a gander at the Craigslist missed connections this week. Our Chuck Taylors runneth over with hilarious name-drops and tortured romance (incidentally, "Did we make eyes during Les Savy Fav?" is the title of my upcoming neo-retro- garage-dance freak-folk harp album, the first in a series of concept albums exploring the national parks). I wonder why the kids didn't use their indie rocker pick-up lines?
Tuesday July 19 2005 People/Sightings

Woo Lost and Woo Found
To follow up on Tuesday's post, Ronnie "Woo Woo" Wickers is alive and well and, in fact, apparently doesn't even have a wife to report he's missing. The reports of his disappearance were discussed on WLS-AM Tuesday afternoon, and according to the Trib: "Within seconds, Wickers was on the air proclaiming, in his inimitable fashion, 'I'm alive, woo, I'm alive, woo.'"
Thursday July 14 2005 People/Sightings

Where's Woo Woo?
Wrigleyville staple Ronnie "Woo Woo" Wickers was reported missing by his wife today. Mrs. Wickers says she hasn't seen the Woo since June 29. NBC5 says that several viewers have already emailed to report Woo Woo sightings in the intervening time, and we're pretty sure we've spotted him too.
Tuesday July 12 2005 People/Sightings

FlickrPride
The 36th annual Chicago Pride Parade brought 400,000 people to Boystown yesterday. Pride is always colorful, to say the least, making for plenty of great photo ops. I've created a Flickr group to consolidate photos from the parade, Saturday's PrideFest and Dyke March, and related events. Check it out, and join up if you'd like to share your pictures.
Monday June 27 2005 City Life/Cultural

I want my HBTV
Dan Smith and Steve McDonagh, owners of Hearty Boys Catering and Boystown's HB cafe, were voted the winners by viewers of The Next Food Network Star last night. (That the show's finale fell on Pride must have been a good omen.) The Boys now get their own Food Network show, to premiere September 18.
Monday June 27 2005 Eating/Drinking

Carl Everett, Gentleman and Scholar
White Sox DH Carl Everett tells the July issue of Maxim that "I don't believe in gay marriages and I don't believe in being gay." Fair enough, I guess; I don't believe in the designated hitter. Everett also tells Maxim that Wrigley Field should be "imploded," Tiger Woods is not an athlete, and "It's proven that 99 percent of baseball fans have no idea what they're watching." For the record, this is the same guy who told Sports Illustrated five years ago that dinosaurs never existed because they weren't in the Bible.
Friday June 17 2005 Sports/Recreation

Chilling Effect
We told you in April about the Secret Service's visit to the Axis of Evil exhibition at Columbia College's Glass Curtain Gallery. The exhibit included among other pieces a stamp by Chicago artist ~~Michael Hernandez de Luna~~ Al Brandtner depicting President Bush with a gun pointed at his head, with the caption "Patriot Act." In response to the Columbia incident, Jeremy Lassen created a series of photo collages which he titled "Bush and Guns" and posted them to his Flickr account. Last week, Lassen got a Secret Service visit of his own. Correction: While Hernandez de Luna curated the exhibit at Columbia, the piece I mentioned featuring Bush with gun was by Al Brandtner. Apologies for the error.
Wednesday June 15 2005 Arts/Architecture

Chicago on Broadway
The Tony Awards were presented last night in New York, and as usual Chicago made its presence felt on the Broadway scene. Jam Theatricals, the Chicago-based spinoff of Jam Productions, received its first Tonys as co-producers on Best Musical winner Monty Python's Spamalot and Best Revival of a Play winner Glengarry Glen Ross (also the first Tony honor for Chicago's own David Mamet). Spamalot, of course, premiered here in December, and also won for director Mike Nichols, a U of C alumnus and founding member of the Compass Players (precursor to Second City). The Light in the Piazza, which played a pre-Broadway engagement at the Goodman last year, took home six Tonys; Celia Keenan-Bolger, who appeared in Piazza at the Goodman, went on to be nominated as Best Featured Actress for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee against her own replacement in Piazza, but the award went to Spamalot phenom Sara Ramirez. Whew.
Monday June 6 2005 Theatre/Dance

Pornstarpalooza
Memorial Day weekend in Chicago means one thing, and it's not baseball, barbecues or parades: it's The Gay. We've already mentioned IML, for the homos and harnesses set, and Bear Pride for aficionados of beards and body hair. As if that's not enough, tomorrow night also brings an influx of gay porn stars to the Park West for the 2005 Grabbys, the Oscars of gay porn, with awards in categories like Best Screenplay, Best Art Direction, and Best Three-Way Sex Scene. You can also get up close and personal with the beefcake tonight at Gentry on State's pre-Grabbys "talk show."
Friday May 27 2005 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Hot Tix? That's Hot
Hot Tix, the League of Chicago Theatres' discount ticket office, is opening its new Loop location today at 72 E. Randolph. Stop by between now and 5pm for free Starbucks coffee, ticket giveaways, and performances by the casts of shows like Wicked and Whose West Wing is it Anyway. Hot Tix offers half-price day-of and week-of tickets to shows at 125 Chicago-area theatres; the list of available shows is posted every day at HotTix.org, but must be purchased in person at the Hot Tix booths in the Loop, the Water Works Visitors Center, the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, or any Tower Records location. (Thanks, Fil.)
Tuesday May 24 2005 Theatre/Dance

God bless boxer briefs
You may have heard about Crunch Fitness's convoluted marketing campaign—you know, the one with the underwear, where the people in their skivs somehow represent the liberation of no long-term contracts, and bringing in a pair of new underwear (to be donated to the homeless!) waives the initiation fee? I know, it makes me tired too. But all was forgiven this afternoon when I saw the hot, underwear-clad Crunch models roaming Wrigleyville. Now I say Crunch can market to me anytime. Aaron of Chicagoist spotted them in the Loop yesterday, and snapped a picture. The briefs brigade is scheduled to be popping up around town through tomorrow, so keep your eyes peeled.
Friday May 20 2005 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Saints preserve us
If you're a theatregoer in Chicago, you've seen members of The Saints, the 25-year-old volunteer organization for the performing arts. They're most visible as ushers at nearly every nonprofit theater in the city, but they also provide other services. Ushering through the Saints is a great way to help out up-and-coming theatres, and you see the shows for free! Membership for the year beginning June 1 is only $50 before May 31, or $25 for students; you can join online here.
Monday May 16 2005 Theatre/Dance

United We Fall
In the wake of the latest development in beleagured United Airlines' bankruptcy restructuring, The New York Times wonders, briefly, if it would be such a bad thing just to let the airline fail. Its 61,000 employees might have something to say about that. In the Trib, meanwhile, Jon Hilkevitch worries about the fate of the United archives.
Sunday May 15 2005 Transportation

Online community-building... for live theatre
The House Theatre of Chicago isn't only the most-hyped young theatre company in several years (and current recipient of 12 Jeff nominations). They may also be the most web-savvy theatre company anywhere, ever. In addition to their well-designed website, they have a 3-month-old blog, a new Flickr account for posters and production photos, and now even a podcast. Their newest show, Dave DaVinci Saves the Universe, opens Saturday (see Slowdown).
Monday May 9 2005 Theatre/Dance

Chicagopalooza lineup announced
The Chicago-only Lollapalooza announced much of their lineup in a press conference this afternoon. The bigger names include Death Cab for Cutie, Liz Phair, the Killers, the Pixies, Weezer, and a reconstituted Dinosaur Jr(!), plus quite a few of-the-moment hipster music nerd bands. Only 30-odd bands out of a reported 60 were named, so there are presumably more to come (we're crossing our fingers and chanting "beck beck beck" under our breath). Tickets are once again on sale at the site.
Friday April 22 2005 Music/Clubs

Bush a Chicago resident?
President and Mrs. Bush live in Chicago—at least that's what their tax return says. The Bushes' 1040 lists a Chicago P.O. box, not a Crawford ranch, as their home address. A White House spokesperson says that's because Northern Trust handles the blind trust in which the Bushes have their holdings. The spokesperson also said it doesn't mean they have to pay Illinois income tax. Hey, thanks.
Friday April 22 2005 In the News

Jeff Citation nominations
The nominees for the 2005 Joseph Jefferson Citations Wing Awards were announced Wednesday. The Jeff Citations Wing honors productions from Chicago's unique and thriving non-union theatre scene (union shows have a separate awards ceremony in the fall). TimeLine and Circle Theatre lead the way with 14 nominations each, followed by Bailiwick with 13 and the House Theatre, in its first year of eligibility, with 12. The full list of nominations can be found at Playbill. Awards will be presented June 13 at Park West.
Wednesday April 20 2005 Theatre/Dance

You'd think we could buy a pennant
The Chicago-based sports marketing firm Team Marketing Research yesterday released their 2005 MLB Fan Cost Index, comparing the cost for a family of four to attend a game at each of baseball's thirty parks. Their methodology, which accounts for average ticket prices, food, parking, and merchandise, puts both of Chicago's teams in the top five most expensive. A trip to a Sox game will run $188.07 (fifth), while a day at Wrigley comes in second at $210.01. Both clubs raised their ticket prices by more than 12% this year. (Thanks, Damon.)
Tuesday April 19 2005 Sports/Recreation

Pharmacists sue for right to deny service
A pair of pharmacists from downstate Edwardsville have filed suit against Gov. Blagojevich over his emergency rule on birth control, filed April 1. Blagojevich's rule requires drugstores to fill all birth control prescriptions, including emergency contraceptives, or find other accomodations for their patients. The two pharmacists are being represented by the right-wing American Center for Law and Justice, an anti-choice, anti-gay legal organization founded by Pat Robertson.
Wednesday April 13 2005 In the News

Everyone has someone to hate them
LizWatch may have moved on to other topics without ridding the world of Liz Armstrong, but now there's another snarky, anonymous blog with a wider focus on the city's predominant free weekly: The Reader Sucks. In their first post this week, they passed on Crain's reporting that the Reader's circulation dropped for the sixth consecutive year.
Thursday March 24 2005 Print/Magazines

Ana Gasteyer will get you, my pretty
Playbill is reporting some casting news for that Chicago production of Wicked: SNL star (and Northwestern alumna) Ana Gasteyer will put on the green makeup as the title character. Steppenwolf ensemble member Rondi Reed and multiple Jeff-winner Gene Weygandt, both familiar faces around the city, take on two of the secondary leads. Tickets for the permanent cast, which starts June 24, go on sale April 4.
Wednesday March 23 2005 Theatre/Dance

Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to [censored] we go
The Trib reports that Marshall Field's received some complaints about its Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs holiday windows this past Christmas. It seems some misguided customers saw a "hidden gay agenda" in the depiction of seven men living together. Gregory Clark, Field's VP of creative services, didn't detail how many complaints were received, though it was apparently just a handful. Good thing they didn't go with the SpongeBob windows.
Thursday March 17 2005 Business/Shopping

Chicago Goes to Pilot
Starting Over may have started over in LA, but Chicago has a shot at another reality series. A Showtime pilot about couples therapy is currently in the works. It's produced by the creators of HBO's Taxicab Confessions and sex therapist/Sun-Times columnist Laura Berman. In other pilot-season news, Freddie Prinze Jr. has sunk to the self-titled sitcom; in the pilot for Freddie he plays a Chicago chef. When asked if the show might actually shoot here, producers said, "Of course not! Don't be ridiculous!"
Monday March 14 2005 Radio/TV

Double dose of Tweedy
If you've been looking wistfully at this Friday's sold-out Jeff Tweedy solo show, take heart: a second show at the Vic has been added Saturday. Tickets go on sale 10am Wednesday through MusicToday and 12pm the same day through Ticketmaster—phone and internet sales only for this one, so don't go camping out in front of the Vic Tuesday night. (Thanks, Angie.)
Monday February 28 2005 Music/Clubs

Blogging in the House (Theatre)
Pop-theatre critical darlings The House Theatre of Chicago have started their own blog, where artistic director Nate Allen and company hope to interact with the company's fans. Among the revelations so far: 1930's Chicago, as depicted in the online comic book we told you about last year, will be the setting for the final installment of the Valentine Trilogy next year. Meanwhile the middle piece of the triptych, Curse of the Crying Heart, runs through March 12.
Thursday February 17 2005 Theatre/Dance

Another reason to quit
Gov. Blagojevich's new budget, coming later today, calls for a 75-cent-per-pack increase in the state's cigarette tax. This would bring the total per-pack tax in the city to $3.28, and total prices close to eight dollars a pack. The tax increase is needed to help close a $1.1 billion budget gap.
Wednesday February 16 2005 In the News

Maya Keyes, out in the open
Local blogs were abuzz last fall with the rumors that erstwhile Senate candidate Alan Keyes' daughter, Maya, was gay, based on a Xanga blog that seemed to belong to her. Coming after Daddy had called Vice President Cheney's daughter Mary a "selfish hedonist" for being gay, this was an interesting development. Today Maya makes her first public appearance as a gay activist at a rally for Equality Maryland; she told the Washington Post that her parents threw her out and cut her off last month.
Monday February 14 2005 Politics/Activism

Gay Chicago Bloggers Bash
Thursday, February 24 at Roscoe's is the first-ever Gay Chicago Bloggers Bash, co-hosted by me, GB staffer Kris Vire, and Aaron Bailey of 601am and Chicagoist. Expect it to be a casual gathering not unlike our monthly GB Get-Togethers. All are welcome: GLBT or straight, blogger or non-blogger. Details, as usual, in Slowdown.
Monday February 7 2005 Weblogs

Baseball blogs
Chicago writer Stuart Shea, author of Wrigley Field: The Unauthorized Biography, has started a blog, Baseball and Real Life, where he covers the Cubs and the Sox alongside rock n' roll, politics and more. With pitchers and catchers for both teams reporting next Wednesday, it's a good one to add to your bookmarks alongside other excellent baseball blogs like Most Valuable Network's White Sox-oriented Exile in Wrigleyville and Cubs-focused Behind the Ivy.
Monday February 7 2005 Sports/Recreation

Red Line fire on the tracks
A fire in the Red Line subway south of North & Clybourn caused an evacuation of a train late last night. On the scene (and on the train) was none other than CTA enthusiast Tony Coppoletta, whose collection of CTA Stuff we pointed you to just a few days ago. Read his account of the evacuation in the Chicago El community at LiveJournal. (Thanks, Matt!)
Friday January 28 2005 Transportation

Drinking cheap for tsunami relief
There's nothing like a Chicago winter to encourage combining your philanthropy with heavy drinking. The latest ridiculously easy way to help with tsunami relief comes this Sunday via Wrigleyville's Bar Louie. From 6pm onward you can buy a $10 wristband giving you access to $2 u-call-it drinks and half-price appetizers. The wristband fees go to the Red Cross. Details in Slowdown, natch.
Friday January 28 2005 Eating/Drinking

CTA Geek Out
Tony Coppoletta's online collection of CTA Stuff will bring warmth to the heart of any transit nerd. He has photos from station tours, a huge set of WAV recordings of the CTA Voice from the el and buses, and a collection of scans of farecard designs from tokens to the ChicagoCard.
Tuesday January 25 2005 Transportation

Monday night rock show
If you haven't been checking out Schubas' Monday night residency program this month, you are missing out. Kevin Tihista plays romantic acoustic songs full of yearning and clever lyrics. Andrew Morgan's densely arranged baroque pop songs got his debut album Misadventures in Radiology named one of the best of 2004 by the UK's Uncut magazine (it gets a US release this spring). They play two more shows together, tonight and next Monday. Details in Slowdown.
Monday January 24 2005 Music/Clubs

Stay inside all the time
Ben Johnson offers timely tips for surviving Chicago winter, such as "Allow yourself the simple pleasure of getting shitfaced alone in your apartment. Bars are expensive and it’s cold outside." This and many other insights can be found in The Greenroom, the "improvisationally-slanted digital literary magazine" at ChicagoImprov.org.
Thursday January 13 2005 Found on the Web

Help Wanted: Editor-in-Chief
The Sun-Times will be looking for a new editor-in-chief—in a not-unexpected turn of events, Michael Cooke is leaving for the NY Daily News. The Sun-Times is promising to name a new EIC within six months; polish up those resumes, kids!
Friday January 7 2005 Print/Magazines

Anticipaaation
Chicago blogger and friend of GB Wendy McClure's forthcoming book I'm Not the New Me, based partly on her web journal, has a brand new promo site of its own. And she got blurbed by Jennifer Weiner! The book arrives April 26.
Wednesday January 5 2005 Books/Authors

Rock the cradle of Cubs
The Cubs have found a new way to recruit young fans before anyone else can get to them. Starting New Year's Day, babies born at Northwestern Memorial, St. Joseph, and Illinois Masonic hospitals will get a Cubs-logo knit newborn hat provided by the club. The team has purchased more than 10,000 hats for the hospitals. The first baby born at each hospital Saturday morning will also receive a gift basket of baby clothes from the team.
Thursday December 30 2004 Sports/Recreation

Sleep-deprived improv? Sweet.
Looking for something to do next Tuesday, for oh, say, twenty-four hours? The Second City is presenting its third annual benefit performance, "The Second City That Never Sleeps: Letters To Santa." Beginning at 8:30 Tuesday night, a group of Second City all-stars takes the stage—and doesn't leave it until 8:30 the next night. Proceeds go to gifts for needy Chicago-area kids. (If improv isn't your bag, you might be enticed by the prospect of Jeff Tweedy in your living room. The Wilco frontman does a guest spot during the evening, and there'll be a silent auction to win a private performance for you and twenty of your friends.) Further details in Slowdown.
Thursday December 16 2004 Theatre/Dance

Spamalot Around Town
As the Christmas-week premiere of Monty Python's Spamalot approaches, we're starting to get sightings of the show's stars. GB staff members have spotted Hank Azaria and David Hyde Pierce at Monday's showtune night at Sidetrack, and Tim Curry at the Art Institute. Now who's seen Mike Nichols?
Friday December 10 2004 People/Sightings

Don't throw Santa from the train
Two days ago we were mourning the loss of the CTA Holiday Train due to the transit authority's well-known budget issues. Turns out that if you threaten Santa, CTA board president Carole Brown gets pissed. Thanks to Brown's intervention, the holiday train is back on track. Apparently threatening to lay off 1,200 employees and to cut bus routes and overnight train service is all cool, but Santa? Don't f$ck with Santa!
Friday December 3 2004 Transportation

Yeah, they're just t-shirts, but they're really hip t-shirts
According to this profile of the brand in the New York Times, American Apparel will open its first Chicago retail store on Friday. Where? Wicker Park, where else? Future outlets of the Gap For Hipsters will follow in Evanston and the Gold Coast.
Wednesday November 24 2004 Business/Shopping

A Christmas (Tree Ship) Story
The Weather Channel will feature Chicago in a holiday edition of its Storm Stories premiering this weekend. It's the story of the wreck of the Rouse Simmons, the "Christmas Tree ship" that brought trees across Lake Michigan to Chicago and was lost in a storm in 1912. (Incidentally, Storm Stories is produced in Chicago.) "The Christmas Tree Ship: A Holiday Storm Story" premieres Sunday at 8:00pm (CT).
Tuesday November 23 2004 History

Attention SearsMart Shoppers
Kmart and Sears announced today that Kmart would buy the 118-year-old Chicago company, creating the world's third-largest retailer. The newly merged entity will use the Sears name, as Sears Holdings Company, and will be headquartered at Sears' current digs in suburban Hoffman Estates. Kmart's recent bankruptcy was handled by the Chicago-based corporate restructuring practice of Skadden, Arps. For more Sears history, visit the Sears Archive (which we told you about just last week).
Wednesday November 17 2004 Business/Shopping

Amateur night
The always entertaining Chicagomuzik brings us an early guide to "where not to be" on New Year's Eve.
Friday November 12 2004 Music/Clubs

Find that ballot receipt!
At least something good can come out of this election (besides Barack Obama, of course). ShoreBank is apparently donating one dollar to Chicago schools for every ballot receipt they receive by Friday. Take your receipts to their Nonprofit Service Center at the Music Mart, 333 S. State.
Wednesday November 3 2004 Politics/Activism

The controversial Judge
The Reader and I are thinking alike today. We both wrote about a Cook County election issue that's been getting an underground push lately: judicial retention and circuit court Judge Susan McDunn. Since the Reader's story isn't online, you can check out my summary of the issues to see why you might want to consider voting "no" on Judge McDunn. As we told you a few weeks ago, you can go to VoteForJudges.org for more information on judicial retention candidates and evaluations in Cook County.
Friday October 29 2004 Radio/TV

Second Cubs broadcaster leaves
Speaking of baseball, Cubs broadcast analyst Steve Stone announced his resignation last night; it follows his former partner Chip Caray's resignation earlier this month. Both broadcasters were well-liked by fans and respected in the industry—except, that is, by certain Cubs players and management. Sentiment seems to be running with the broadcasters and against the organization both in the papers and online.
Friday October 29 2004 Sports/Recreation

Only We Who Guard the Mystery Shall Be Unhappy
Playwright Tony Kushner won two Obies, two Tonys, the Pulitzer, and, last month, an Emmy for his brilliant play "Angels in America." In his new play-in-progress, "Only We Who Guard the Mystery Shall Be Unhappy," Kushner explores the mystery of the mistress of beige, First Lady Laura Bush. In the first scene of the new work, Mrs. Bush goes to heaven to read the Grand Inquisitor segment of "The Brothers Karamazov" to dead Iraqi children; in scene two, she argues with Kushner himself about the place of politics in art. The play gets an election-weekend reading this Friday evening at Next Theatre. See details in Slowdown.
Tuesday October 26 2004 Theatre/Dance

Driving Votes in WI & OH
The Chicago chapter of Driving Votes has a big GOTV push planned for Madison this weekend. Trips leave every morning Friday through Tuesday; there's also a Friday-to-Sunday Cleveland trip. If a canvassing road trip sounds like your idea of a good time, contact the trip leader for the day you'd like to leave and let them know if you can drive, your cell number, and your t-shirt size (t-shirts! yay!).
Monday October 25 2004 Politics/Activism

Vote early, then pARTicipate
Schubas has just announced an addition to their election-night programming. "A Night of Apocalyptic Possibilities" will now kick off at 6pm with the premiere screening of "pARTicipation," a documentary filmed during August's Interchange music-and-voter-registration festival, featuring performances by Andrew Bird, Bobby Conn, Tortoise, the M's and more. That's still followed by a screening of "Fahrenheit 9/11" at 7:30 and live band karaoke at 10, and it's still all free.
Monday October 25 2004 Music/Clubs

Wheatpaste for liberty!
Our friends at Punk Planet and In These Times are two of the sponsors behind the November 1 Swing State poster project, which will paper the streets of swing states on Election Eve with poster designs contributed by artists including locals Lynda Barry and Josh MacPhee. Click over to the site to make a donation or download some posters for yourself in PDF; if you wanted to spend the evening hanging posters in, say, southern Wisconsin, that'd be cool too. Email swingstate@punkplanet.com to volunteer.
Saturday October 23 2004 Politics/Activism

Gory garage sale
As Defiant Theatre staggers toward the grave—the company's final and well-received production, "A Clockwork Orange", closes this Saturday—they're getting rid of their inventory with a "Graverobbing Sale." They promise to have "tons of costumes, props, office equipment, phalli, and much, much more" on the cheap. The sale is Saturday, 10am-4pm at Defiant's warehouse space at 3711 N. Ravenswood.
Tuesday October 12 2004 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Last chance for suffrage!
Today, October 5, is the last day to register to vote in Illinois. You can register with a mail-in form if it's postmarked today, or (your best bet) register in person: at the Chicago Board of Elections for city residents and the Cook County Clerk's office for suburbans, both at 69 W. Washington; at any branch of the Chicago Public Library; at suburban Cook County courthouses; and via deputy registrars at outreach tables across the city today. See Alice's current Ask the Librarian column for further resources.
Tuesday October 5 2004 Politics/Activism

Baseball wrapup
Chicago's baseball season officially ended this weekend: the White Sox clinched their fate two weeks ago when they ceded the AL Central to the Twins, while the Cubs preferred a slow, agonizing slide to futility, keeping within reach of the NL wild card until Saturday. Both teams ended the year with wins yesterday and winning records overall; that and five bucks will get them a cup of Starbucks. Cubs play-by-play man Chip Caray announced yesterday he's joining his dad in the Braves booth (the Tribune has an early list of possible replacements), and his partner Steve Stone may or may not be sticking around. The Cubs and Sox both will move their cable games from Fox to the new Comcast SportsNet, which debuted this weekend.
Monday October 4 2004 Sports/Recreation

Obama overkill?
Presumptive Senator Barack Obama gets the benefit of a fundraiser this Friday at the Park West featuring Robin Williams, Stevie Wonder and the Ramsey Lewis Trio ($350 for the nosebleeds), to be followed by a $2500-a-head dinner at Christie Hefner's place. Not that we begrudge him the attention, but with a 51-point polling lead over Alan Keyes, does Obama really need the money at this point?
Tuesday September 28 2004 Politics/Activism

Early and often
You want a little multitasking with your GB Get-Together tonight? Come on by, and if you're a city resident I'll get you registered to vote. How 'bout that?
Friday September 24 2004 Politics/Activism

Rhinoceros Theater Fest
The 16th Rhino Theater Fest begins tonight. The last gasp in their current space for the Curious Theater Branch, the Rhino Fest features a scattered schedule of 17 programs of music, performance, and fringe theatre, stretched from here through November 20. We've added each event to our Slowdown calendar; for a full schedule at-a-glance, click here for a PDF.
Friday September 17 2004 Theatre/Dance

Luminosity
Lumino Magazine is an "entertainment centered" web publication for young adults, based in the Chicago suburbs. They have stories of national interest, like the current interviews with the cast of Revenge of the Nerds, as well as a Midwest focus, with features and concert calendars for Chicago, Milwaukee and Des Moines (Indianapolis will be added next month). Check out the recent story on Mark Prior.
Thursday September 16 2004 Found on the Web

CST dominates Jeff noms
The nominations for the 2004 Joseph Jefferson Awards were announced this afternoon. The Jeffs recognize achievement by Chicago-area Equity theatres. Chicago Shakespeare Theater leads the pack by a long run with 25 nominations for six shows; six noms are for Rose Rage, the marathon adaptation of Henry VI, which opens a New York run next week.
Thursday September 9 2004 Theatre/Dance

Summer days, drifting away...
As the screaming children outside my window can attest, today's the first day of classes for Chicago Public Schools. This year the school district set up a Back to School website, with information on enrollment options, lists of school supplies, and other crucial stuff for kids and parents, as part of the ongoing campaign to increase first-day attendance, which hit an all-time high of 89 percent last year.
Tuesday September 7 2004 Schools/Education

Color and Light
"The painting last left home in 1958, when it traveled to the Museum of Modern Art in New York and narrowly escaped a fire. Now it stays in Chicago, making the current show a one-stop-only event, unlikely to be repeated anytime soon." The New York Times reviews the Art Institute's current exhibit, "Seurat and the Making of La Grande Jatte."
Friday August 20 2004 Arts/Architecture

We report, you decide on a showtime
Outfoxed, the anti-FoxNews film that became a DVD hit thanks to a push from MoveOn.org, gets a theatrical release in Chicago today. It's playing at the Loews Esquire on Oak Street, which also still has F9/11. You can make it a Republican-hating double feature! Get tix at Fandango, if you like.
Friday August 20 2004 Film

Steal This Theatre Fest
Abbie Hoffman Died For Our Sins, Mary-Arrchie Theatre Co.'s annual theatrical celebration of the spirit of Woodstock, gets under way tonight at Strawdog Theatre. The Abbie fest is a marathon of short pieces by Chicago's smaller companies and solo artists, starting at 7pm and ending sometime late Sunday night (or early Monday morning). It's a very relaxed, slightly loopy environment of performers and audience bonding together over beer and sleep deprivation. The Reader has an annotated schedule; trust me, times are approximate.
Friday August 20 2004 Theatre/Dance

Defiant to the end
You heard it here... well, not quite first. At the end of this, their eleventh season, Defiant Theatre will be disbanding. The company that was founded in 1993 by a group of U of I grads and quickly attracted young audiences with its provocative, "dangerous" style, has decided to pull the plug with most of the founding members having moved on. They'll finish out the run of their current production of The Pyrates (p.s., I'm in it) and conclude with A Clockwork Orange, currently in rehearsals for a September opening. Full story at PerformInk.
Friday August 6 2004 Theatre/Dance

Wrigleyville community meeting
The Cubs, along with aldermen Tunney, Shiller, Schulter and Matlak, are holding a community meeting tonight for midseason review of the Wrigleyville Neighborhood Protection Plan agreed to by the Cubs in exchange for an increase in night games. Residents with questions about traffic management, litter, or other such considerations might want to attend. Questions like "Don't you think Nomar is too little, too late?" probably should be reserved for another forum.
Tuesday August 3 2004 City Life/Cultural

Dinner and a show
Centerstage has a neat "dinner and a play" feature up pairing current shows to see with worthwhile restaurants near the theatres. (One of them is, ahem, my current show.) The Latino Theater Festival and the Artistic Home's "Street Scene" both ended last week, but all of the other shows listed can still be seen, and of course the resturant reviews stand.
Thursday July 29 2004 Theatre/Dance

Obama in the spotlight
Barack Obama gets another glowing profile, this one in the New York Times, on the eve of his keynote address to the Democratic National Convention. Sadly, the keynote speech is one of many convention highlights the networks have elected not to cover, so you'll have to turn to PBS or cable tomorrow night to see how Obama fares on the national stage.
Monday July 26 2004 Politics/Activism

Millennium Park burnout, anyone?
Are you sick of hearing about Millennium Park yet? I know, me too! Seriously, it's terrific that it's there and it's open, nothing but civic pride here, but can we stop talking about it now? Until we can all agree on that, you might as well take a look at the New York Times' take, which includes a nice slideshow with quotes from the designers.
Monday July 19 2004 City Life/Cultural

Art Chicago trashed in NYT
The New York Times has a story today on the decline of Art Chicago that seems determined to drive the final nail in the coffin. As an aside, the piece also mentions the opening of Millennium Park.
Saturday July 17 2004 Arts/Architecture

Vive la revolution
The new young theatre company Les Sansculottes are hosting, appropriately enough, a Bastille Day show tonight at the Hideout. Sansculottes and Electrorange present Rock the Bastille, featuring Menthol, The Wes Hollywood Show and the Specs. Proceeds go to Sansculottes' fall production.
Wednesday July 14 2004 Music/Clubs

Theatre capital of America? Sweet.
Last month, the Guardian's longtime theatre critic Michael Billington spent a week here, seeing eight shows at several Chicago theatres (as documented in Hedy Weiss's Sun-Times column). His report upon returning to London names us "the current theatre capital of America." "While New York, with its suffocating commercialism, seems increasingly hidebound, it is to Chicago that the true theatregoer now avidly looks," he wrote, noting the city's 156 primarily non-profit theatre companies spread through every neighborhood. "It's a city that embraces the classics as well as contemporary work, that regards theatre as a source of delight rather than an instrument of profit and that has a midwestern openness to new experience."
Wednesday July 7 2004 Theatre/Dance

Frankie and Johnny and Austin
Spotted last night: actor Austin Pendleton at Sidetrack. The Steppenwolf ensemble member is directing their highly anticipated mainstage—oops, sorry, "Downstairs"—production of "Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune" with Laurie Metcalf, opening this Friday.
Tuesday July 6 2004 People/Sightings

Another Lakeview man murdered in his home
A man's body was found dead in his Boystown apartment yesterday morning, and this afternoon police ruled it a homicide. Forest Cowley, a businessman who ran Cubs souvenir stands in Wrigleyville and had recently opened a storefront in Century Centre, had been missing for two weeks before his body was discovered in his apartment at Cornelia and Broadway. Police aren't necessarily linking Cowley's murder to that of Kevin Clewer, who was stabbed to death in his apartment on Elaine Place, a block away, in March, or to Brad Winters, who was killed in his Lincoln Park apartment last August, but it's hard to resist making a connection. Both Clewer and Winters were gay men who brought home a stranger from a Boystown bar before they were found murdered; police are still searching for the main suspect in Clewer's murder, and Winters' death remains unsolved. Whether Cowley's death is related or not, you might want to be careful who you bring home.

Originally, the last line of this post read, "Whether Cowley's death is related or not, gay men, you might want to rethink your one-night stands." We received a couple of e-mails of complaint in , accusing me and/or Gapers Block of being "presumptuous," "insulting," and "possibl[y] homophobic." If I may, I'd like to respond.

This is the sort of thing I'd post on my own blog and no one would bat an eye—in fact, I did post it on my blog, and no one batted an eye—but I should have realized that GB readers don't all know me that well. I am myself a gay man who lives in Lakeview/Boystown. My exhortation to "reconsider your one-night stands" was intended as a humorous way of saying, "be careful who you bring home." Here's what I wrote to the first respondent Wednesday night:

"It’s true that there’s no hard evidence that the Clewer case was a hookup gone wrong. But the 'person of interest' the Chicago PD has been looking for in that case, the one whose sketch you see posted all over the neighborhood, was upgraded to 'prime suspect' last week. Clewer was not just seen talking to the suspect; two witnesses told police that Clewer and the suspect left the bar together and headed in the direction of Clewer’s home. Several news stories have also noted that the suspect is known to work as a hustler, although police have stressed that this was not *necessarily* the case that night. All of this information can be found in this story at NBC5 and this one at the Trib.

"Police have also stressed that there is no physical evidence linking Clewer’s murder with Brad Winters’, but there is a perception in the community that the deaths were certainly similar, in that both men were found dead in their own apartments, naked, with multiple stab wounds, and no evidence of forced entry (link).

"After some community activists drew attention to the similarities, the CPD met with community leaders and 'issued community alert warnings against taking strangers home,' as recounted in Laura Washington’s Sun-Times column here.

"I’ll grant you that very little information has been released yet regarding Forest Cowley’s murder, but given the proximity and surface similarities to Clewer’s death, my thoughts went immediately to a connection. I’m not alone, in fact; I made the post on GB after overhearing a conversation this afternoon on the very subject, and some gay media outlets are making the connection as well, as in the headline 'Has Gay Man’s Killer Struck Again?' here.

"Also, for what it’s worth, I’m a gay man myself. I’m not trying to hide behind some double standard of 'I can say it but they can’t,' but I would like you to know that what I wrote came from being a part of the community concerned by this. While I certainly didn’t want to be seen as insulting, I realized I was walking a fine line of stereotyping with what I said. But stereotypes do come from somewhere, as they say; I decided 'better safe than sorry' was the way to go.

"I hope I’ve answered some of your concerns. Thanks so much for taking the time to write us about this. It’s great to know we have readers who care so deeply about what we say."

- (KV)

Wednesday June 30 2004 In the News

Cheap books!
Who likes books? I bet you do. This weekend, you're in luck in Lakeview, as you'll find a used book sale going on at the Second Unitarian Church at 656 W. Barry. 10:00 to 4:30 Saturday, Noon to 4:30 Sunday. Go find some bargains!
Friday June 18 2004 Books/Authors

Outdoor Theater (in a good way)
The Chicago Park District's Theater on the Lake season opens tonight. Every summer, the Park District invites a group of local theatre companies to remount one of the past season's productions at the open-air theater on the lakeshore at Fullerton Ave. It's a great way to catch a show you may have missed. The season kicks off with Griffin's production of Picnic; later you'll find offerings from the Neo-Futurists, Second City, The House, and Teatro Luna, among others. Full schedule here.
Wednesday June 16 2004 Theatre/Dance

Jeff Citations issued
The Chicago theatre community's Jeff Citations were awarded last night in a ceremony at Park West. The Citations wing awards of the Joseph Jefferson Committee honor achievement among the city's numerous non-union theatres. This year's big winner was Bailiwick Repertory Theatre, which took eleven awards for three productions, including best musical for "Dr. Sex." TimeLine's "Hannah and Martin" and Strawdog's "Detective Story" shared the award for best play—unlike the Equity Jeffs, Citations are non-competitive and there are often multiple winners in a category.
Tuesday June 8 2004 Theatre/Dance

Dear Mary, won't you come out to play
Dear Mary is a project of DontAmend.com, the national effort against the proposed federal anti-same-sex-marriage amendment. Dear Mary focuses that effort through public letters to Mary Cheney, the vice president's openly gay daughter and campaign manager. Tonight at the Hideout is a benefit concert for Dear Mary, featuring a quartet of queer Chicago musicians. Christopher Becerra, Ellen Rosner, Dylan Rice and Scott Free will perform at 10pm, with DJ hb rayker spinning after midnight. Great acoustic music for a great cause.
Friday June 4 2004 Music/Clubs

Sing the Body Electric
Body Electric is a student-edited literary journal presenting work by the students, faculty and staff of UIC's College of Medicine, "based on the experiences of medical education and practice." Although the College of Medicine's website says the journal is still published annually, the online version hasn't been updated in five years, so while you're perusing the fifteen years' worth of material that's there you can experience the height of web design like it's 1999.
Tuesday May 25 2004 Print/Magazines

We have a winner
Veteran Chicago actress Irma P. Hall was awarded the special jury prize at Cannes this weekend for her performance in the Coen brothers' The Ladykillers. She won in a tie with Apichatpong Weerasethakul, director of the first Thai film to compete at the festival. Hall was unable to attend as she continues to recover from a January car accident here.
Monday May 24 2004 Film

Toronto has a crush on us
We missed this at first (thanks go to PerformInk's Ben Winters for highlighting it), but last month the Toronto Star's theatre critic Richard Ouzounian wrote a love letter to Chicago's theatre industry, and to Mayor Daley for his support of it. "While Toronto has long considered itself 'Broadway North,'" he writes, "it is now outshone by a burgeoning 'Broadway West.'"
Wednesday May 19 2004 Theatre/Dance

Unhand that candy!
A Northwestern student is facing misdemeanor charges today for eating 41 cents' worth of bulk candy at a White Hen Pantry store without paying for it first. Allison Baenen told the Daily Northwestern, "I'm not what you really call reckless or a danger to society."
Wednesday May 19 2004 In the News

Queer Is Folk
This Saturday, May 22, the Old Town School features the fourth annual Queer Is Folk Festival, featuring music and spoken word performances by LGBT artists. Conceived and hosted by Chicago musician Mr. Scott Free (also sponsor of Homolatte Thursdays at the No Exit Cafe), Queer Is Folk's goal "is to help foster the idea of inclusiveness that has always been an important part of the folk tradition." This year's performance is headlined by Melissa Ferrick.
Wednesday May 19 2004 Music/Clubs

Belmont-Sheffield Fest
The lineup for this year's Belmont-Sheffield Music Festival has been announced. The headliners are jam band Umphrey's McGee, the Von Bondies [Flash with sound], and some angst-metal band with the hilariously LiveJournal-esque name Smile Empty Soul [Flash with sound and cliches]. After seeing Interpol for five bucks last year, we find this a little disappointing.
Friday May 14 2004 Music/Clubs

Chicago directors in NJ
The New York Times profiles Chicagoans Gary Griffin and Thomas Murray, as they remount their version of "My Fair Lady" in Princeton, New Jersey. Their production first played the Court Theatre in 2002; Chicago actress Kate Fry is reprising her role as Eliza Doolittle. Griffin is expected to stage another musical at Chicago Shakespeare at the end of the year.
Friday May 14 2004 Theatre/Dance

Chicago Mag gets props
Chicago Magazine took the award for General Excellence in its circulation category at the National Magazine Awards yesterday. The judges, apparently Gilbert & Sullivan fans, called it "the very model of a modern major city magazine." Esquire won the profile writing award for its piece on the downfall of former Trib columnist Bob Greene.
Thursday May 6 2004 Print/Magazines

Name-Brand Chicago Stories
Victory Gardens Theater has turned three prominent Chicagoans into amateur playwrights for its annual Chicago Stories benefit this Friday. Queer Eye's Ted Allen, Illinois Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka, and philanthropist Susan Pritzker have each written one-act plays to be performed at the gala at the Four Seasons. Past celebrity playwrights for the annual event include Roger Ebert, Carol Moseley Braun, Jesse Jackson, and Stedman Graham. With tickets starting at $250, most of us will just have to imagine the scenes being set.
Monday May 3 2004 Theatre/Dance

Noble Fool's noble effort ends
Hedy Weiss reports in the Sun-Times that the Noble Fool comedy theater is closing its doors, just two years after moving into its home on Randolph Street. Given that Noble Fool announced its 2004-05 season just last week, this comes as a bit of a surprise. The company's move to the Loop location, part of the School of the Art Institute's dorm development, was partially funded by a $1 million grant from the city.
Friday April 30 2004 Theatre/Dance

And how would you spend $100 million?
The New York Times today has a profile of the new president of the Poetry Foundation, John W. Barr, and his thoughts on managing the foundation's famously large gift from Ruth Lilly.
Monday April 19 2004 Books/Authors

"Sin" Wagon to Boston
Bailiwick Repertory's production of Sin: A Cardinal Deposed will travel to Boston in June. After Wellesley College reneged on an offer to bring the play, based on public-record depositions by Cardinal Bernard Law in the Catholic Church's sex-abuse scandal, to Boston, Bailiwick decided to produce the Boston run itself. The company is looking for donors and sponsors for the endeavor; those interested can contact Mark Steel at mark@bailiwick.org.
Friday April 16 2004 Theatre/Dance

NYT likes Letts
We pointed out last week that Steppenwolf's Tracy Letts is the man of the hour in the theatre world. Today, the Times' Bruce Weber does the same.
Wednesday April 14 2004 Theatre/Dance

Hey girl, wanna be in a show?
Bailiwick Repertory Theatre will hold an open house this Sunday, April 18 starting at 11am, for anyone interested in performing in or supporting the 2004 All-Girl Revue, sponsored by Bailiwick's Lesbian Theatre Initiative. "Musicians, poets, dancers, actors, and visual artists welcome," they say. Performances are May 23 and 24; performers should bring 1-2 minutes of material on Sunday. Email AllGirlRevue@aol.com for more info.
Monday April 12 2004 Theatre/Dance

This post brought to you by the letter M
If you were disappointed you couldn't get into the sold-out record release show last night at Schubas for The M's, Chicago's latest buzz band, then you're in luck. They've added a second show tonight at the Empty Bottle, playing with the previously scheduled Gris Gris and The Latest. 10:00pm, 8 bucks.
Saturday April 10 2004 Music/Clubs

'I Am My Own Wife' back to Chicago
The Goodman Theatre has announced that they've added this year's Pulitzer Prize winner in drama, I Am My Own Wife, to their 2004-05 season. The play by Doug Wright, about the German transvestite Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, who lived through the Nazi and Communist regimes as a woman, had a pre-New York engagement here last year presented by About Face at the MCA.
Friday April 9 2004 Theatre/Dance

Downloaders with hearts of gold
After Wilco's upcoming album A Ghost is Born was leaked to the Net three months before its release date, some of the band's fans came up with a unique form of "payment." At justafan.org, downloaders can make a donation to the Wilco-selected charity Doctors Without Borders, as a "promissory note" to buy the album when it's released June 22. Over $4000 has been donated since Friday.
Tuesday April 6 2004 Music/Clubs

Steppenwolf's Letts a Pulitzer finalist
The 2004 Pulitzer Prizes were announced yesterday, revealing that Steppenwolf ensemble member Tracy Letts was a finalist for the drama prize for his play Man From Nebraska, which premiered at Steppenwolf in November. Letts, whose play Bug is enjoying a healthy off-Broadway run, is also an actor who last appeared in Steppenwolf's Homebody/Kabul last year; he'll be back there in September with John Mahoney in The Dresser. Steppenwolf's run of Nebraska was also named one of Time's best of 2003.
Tuesday April 6 2004 Theatre/Dance

What's that Sound?
In case you haven't heard, Sound-Bar is finally set to open this weekend. After a year and a half of licensing delays (perhaps Da Mayor's got something against trance music?), the mega-club promises they're going to open their doors, for real this time, no kidding, Friday night. I was lucky enough to attend the preview night in October 2002(!) and I can tell you it's worth checking out for the space alone; the design is beautiful. So good luck on the opening, but frankly we'll believe it when we see it.
Wednesday March 24 2004 Music/Clubs

Wander your eyes over here
Like rock n' roll, do ya? Like your singer-songwriter types, and you like 'em local? Then you might want to check out Dylan Rice and the Dynasties Friday at Martyrs'. Northwestern grad Rice headlines a CD release party for his excellent debut album, Wandering Eyes. KB and Bartley Fritzsche also perform. Details in Slowdown.
Wednesday March 24 2004 Music/Clubs

Seems a little sketchy
Collaboraction's fourth annual Sketchbook opens tonight at the Chopin Theatre. Sketchbook comprises 16 new short plays, performed in a different grouping of 8-10 each night. The theatre will also feature the work of 14 visual artists and 10 sonic artists as part of the sketchbook environment. The show runs 13 consecutive nights; the closing night finale, April 4, will show all 16 plays beginning at 3pm.
Tuesday March 23 2004 Theatre/Dance

Three Rings
"Clowns and Cotton Candy" is a whimsical play about class warfare among the circus people of another time and place. Playwright Tim Nordwind also happens to be the bass player for OK Go. "Clowns" receives its world premiere by Greta Mae Productions, opening at the Theatre Building Friday, March 26. Tickets are at 773-327-5252.
Friday March 19 2004 Theatre/Dance

Broadway in Chicago season
Broadway in Chicago, the producing organization that books touring shows for the Shubert, Oriental and Cadillac Palace theatres, has announced a particularly bland 2004-05 season. Aside from the pre-Broadway Monty Python musical Spamalot, which we await with cautious optimism, the season includes a revue of Disney film music, a musical built around Elvis tunes, another Jackie Mason rehash and yet another iteration of Evita, plus the frightening prospect of Sandy Duncan in The King and I. We're also getting a return engagement of the fluffy ABBA musical Mamma Mia, which played here three years ago on its way to New York.
Saturday March 13 2004 Theatre/Dance

Do you really want to hurt him?
No you don't, and you certainly don't want to make him cry, so you'll show up Friday night when Boy George DJs at Zentra. Mr. O'Dowd was originally scheduled to perform last Halloween, but some Broadway musical got in the way. Presale tickets are available by calling 312-787-0400, or you can add yourself to the second-priority guestlist at the link above.
Thursday March 11 2004 Music/Clubs

Field's on the block?
Target announced Wednesday that it's looking into selling Marshall Field's, which it's owned since 1990. No word yet on possible buyers, although some analysts have said in the past that the May Company, which runs Lord & Taylor among other chains, might be interested.
Wednesday March 10 2004 Business/Shopping

Trenyce Alert!
American Idol non-winner Trenyce stars in Not a Day Goes By, based on the novel by my homeboy E. Lynn Harris, at the Arie Crown Theatre tonight through Sunday. Bonus: the play also stars Jackée "Soooooooondra" Harry! Check out today's Sun-Times story on "the chitlin' circuit".
Tuesday March 9 2004 Theatre/Dance

Karma on two wheels
The third annual Ride for AIDS Chicago is looking for riders, crew volunteers and pledgers for a two-day, 200 mile trip between Chicago and Lake Geneva to take place the first weekend of June. Each rider is expected to raise $1000 in pledges, 100% of which is returned to Test Positive Aware Network and BEHIV.
Monday March 8 2004 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Equal marriage rally
A group calling itself Equal Marriage Now will hold a rally for same-sex marriage rights Thursday at noon. It's at 118 N. Clark (the County Building side of City Hall), across from Daley Plaza.
Tuesday March 2 2004 Politics/Activism

Comedy with PowerPoints?
What would Del Close have done with Flash animation? That's something to ask yourself, as Studio Z, "Chicago's first arts organization dedicated to integrating multimedia and Chicago-style improvisation," presents their new show File Not Found, described as "a multimedia improv review featuring digital video, graphics, and audio." What does this mean? We'll find out. It's Friday and Saturday, 8pm, at the Breadline Lab Space (1801 W Byron); $10 suggested donation.
Monday March 1 2004 Theatre/Dance

Is it a man's man's man's world?
Annika Sorenstam, Billy Bean, Lindsy McLean, Katie Hnida: just a few people who might have something to say on the subject of Erin McCarthy's lecture this week. Dr. McCarthy, a history lecturer at Columbia College, will present Sport and Sexuality: (Nearly) the Last Bastion of Sexism and Homophobia at 6pm Thursday at the Chicago Cultural Center. It's part of the Intersections series presented by Columbia and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. Admission is free.
Monday March 1 2004 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Who wants to write a musical?
The ASCAP Foundation and Disney, in association with the city's Department of Cultural Affairs, are holding a musical theatre workshop, and they're seeking submissions. The workshop, to take place in late April, will be conducted by theatrical composers Stephen Schwartz and Craig Carnelia. Submission deadline is March 19, so get composing!
Thursday February 26 2004 Theatre/Dance

Meet your local music critic
The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop 2003 critics' poll has been released. In the spirit of Brandon's rock crit essay, I thought it might be educational to learn something about the tastes of our local critics by viewing their ballots: Jim DeRogatis and Lloyd Sachs (Sun-Times); Greg Kot (Tribune) and regular Trib freelancers Allison Stewart and Rick Reger; Kiki Yablon, Keith Harris and Peter Margasak (Reader); Keith Phipps (Onion AV Club); and Steve Forstneger (Illinois Entertainer).
Wednesday February 11 2004 Music/Clubs

Chico stands alone
Responding to a Tribune inquiry, all five major Democratic Senate candidates said they'd oppose a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, but only Gery Chico actually supports implementing marriage for same-sex couples. The rest all support the civil-union model.
Friday February 6 2004 Politics/Activism

Theatre is big business
The League of Chicago Theatres recently released an economic impact study on live theatre in the Chicago area. Among the League's findings: member theatres had a total economic output of $347 million in 2002, the most recent year in the study; 2.4 million area residents attended at least one live theatre performance in that year; Chicago theatre audiences are 72% caucasian, with a mean age of 47.14; and the city is home to about 1400 professional actors and 500 behind-the-scenes artists.
Thursday February 5 2004 Theatre/Dance

Terra's slow goodbye
You have only nine more months to visit the always enjoyable Terra Museum of American Art, which will close its doors on Michigan Avenue at the end of October. The museum is currently featuring a terrific collection of New York Times photographs from the 1950's; that exhibit closes this Sunday to make way for what will be the final exhibition, which looks to be a "greatest hits" of the Terra collection. A Narrative of American Art opens on Valentine's Day. Admission is always free. (See ArtNet for another opinion on Terra's downfall.)
Tuesday February 3 2004 Arts/Architecture

Get your red carpet on!
If the Oscars at the MSI (and Bill Murray's Golden Globe win) have you jazzed for the red carpet, mark your calendar for Oscar night. The Gene Siskel Film Center is hosting Chicago's only official, AMPAS-sanctioned Oscar party. The soiree, featuring complimentary cocktails and buffet, silent auctions, and a red carpet with—no kidding—a Joan Rivers impersonator, benefits the Siskel Center and the Chicago Academy for the Arts; tickets are, ahem, accordingly priced. Oscar nominations will be announced Tuesday morning.
Sunday January 25 2004 Film

Chicago Works
Bailiwick Repertory Theatre opens the second segment of its 16th annual Directors' Festival next week. "Chicago Works" features new works or Midwest premieres by Chicago playwrights. This segment of the fest runs January 26-28 and February 2-4, at 7:30 each night. See Slowdown listings for each night's program and ticket info.
Wednesday January 21 2004 Theatre/Dance

Not your mama's showtunes
Looking for the (potential) next big thing? This Monday, Theatre Building Chicago will host a one-night-only concert reading of Wild Goat, a new musical collaboration between Urinetown composer and Cardiff Giant alum Mark Hollman and Reader theatre critic and playwright Jack Helbig. It's part of TBC's Monday Night Musicals concert series. See Slowdown for ticket info.
Friday January 16 2004 Theatre/Dance

Free stuff!
The Playground Theater is moving into the Halsted Street space recently vacated by WNEP, and they're having a moving give-away. They say: "We've got beat-up couches, we've got beat-up lamps, we've got telephones, we've got a piano, we've got seven banks of movie seats (four to a bank) we're willing to part with. Plus more stuff I can't even think of right now!" It's free for the taking from their old space at 3341 N. Lincoln this Saturday from noon to 5, as long as you bring a crew to move it yourself. E-mail mark@markthenderson.com for more info.
Thursday January 15 2004 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Bad News Cubs
Baseball's Hall of Fame inductions were announced this afternoon, and once again former Cub greats Ryne Sandberg and Andre Dawson didn't quite make it to Cooperstown. [Trib login: gapers/gapers]
Tuesday January 6 2004 Sports/Recreation

Now that's dedication
ESPN Magazine mentions in its 2003 wrapup that Chicagoan and serious Cubs fan Bill Murray, who was in Italy filming the next Wes Anderson movie during the October baseball playoffs, had it written into his contract that he'd get a satellite feed of the Cubs.
Tuesday January 6 2004 Sports/Recreation

Happy freakin' New Year
Hope you enjoyed the penny fares overnight; as of six a.m., CTA fares go up to $1.75 per standard ride.
Thursday January 1 2004 Transportation

Ross' Mythology
Wilmette resident Alex Ross paints comic-book characters so lifelike that they look like your next-door neighbor—if your neighbor wore spandex and had heat vision. Ross and graphic designer/author Chip Kidd will be signing their new book, Mythology: The DC Comics Art of Alex Ross, this Saturday at Chicago Comics from 3 to 6 pm.
Monday December 8 2003 Books/Authors

A Gift from About Face
About Face Theatre presents their holiday offering, The Gift and Other Stories, this Friday and Saturday at the Museum of Contemporary Art. The show features About Face artistic director Eric Rosen's retelling of "The Gift of the Magi," a cabaret performance by Alexandra Billings, true-life holiday stories from About Face Youth Theatre, and more. Check Slowdown for full info.
Monday December 8 2003 Theatre/Dance

Pinewood Derby!
Am I the only former Cub Scout with fond memories of the Pinewood Derby races? Yeah, I didn't think so. Artist John Wanzel has organized an exhibition in honor of the Derby's 50th anniversary, featuring cars made by 55 local artists. Fast Track: Race Day 2003 is at the 1/Quarterly space in Wicker Park through January 17.
Saturday December 6 2003 Arts/Architecture

Redmoon Winter Pageant
Redmoon Theatre's annual Winter Pageant opens tonight in their new space at 1463 W. Hubbard. The pageant is a unique work of spectacle theatre, involving art installations and scenic contributions from several community groups; the cast of 60 includes many community members as well, with only 15 professional actors. This year's pageant has a Western theme, following a cowboy named Old Pete as he searches for his missing horse. Tomorrow's benefit performance features a backstage picnic with the artists. For ticket information, call 312-850-8440 x111, or order online.
Saturday December 6 2003 Theatre/Dance

Cubs still can't win
Cubs pitcher Mark Prior came in third for the NL Cy Young award, announced today. He lost out to Dodgers closer Eric Gagne and the Giants' Jason Schmidt. He's also getting married this Saturday; I'm sure I'm not the only one a little sad about that news. [Trib login: gapers/gapers]
Thursday November 13 2003 Sports/Recreation

Attack of the 2-ft. girls
I don't know whether to be terrified of the expansion or relieved that some of the pressure is off of us: the company behind American Girl Place opened a new store in New York this weekend. According to their press release, the Chicago Avenue flagship has seen six million visitors since opening five years ago.
Monday November 10 2003 Business/Shopping

Dialectalicious
Want to hear how much a Chicago accent differs from Milwaukee or Minneapolis? The International Dialects of English Archive is a web repository of speech samples in MP3 form. The archive, hosted by the University of Kansas's theatre department and intended for use by actors, has several Chicago samples.
Friday August 29 2003 Found on the Web

Beer and Music, Music and Beer
Sure, there's the Goose Island Fest starting this Friday at the Finkl Steel plant, and sure they've got some hott acts like Guided By Voices and the Psychedelic Furs. But just imagine all of those... people! For the demophobic who'd like some live music and local brew, may I suggest singer-songwriter and Chicago magazine Hot Single Dylan Rice, performing at the Wrigleyville Goose Island brewpub Friday night.
Tuesday August 12 2003 Music/Clubs

Gold Coast NIMBYs beat reality TV
The producers of the reality show "Starting Over" have bowed to pressure from Gold Coast residents and moved to another neighborhood on the North Side, according to BackStage.
Wednesday July 16 2003 Radio/TV

Chicago Directors' Festival
The final installment of Bailiwick Repertory Theatre's annual showcase of emerging directors opened last night. This last segment focuses on "GLBT Briefs," gay- and lesbian-themed one-act pieces. Shows run Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings at 7:30; each of the four weeks features a new lineup. (Full self-promotion disclosure: I'm in one of the third week's pieces.) Tickets are ten dollars a night or $25 for a festival pass; the Reader has a full schedule.
Tuesday July 8 2003 Theatre/Dance

Go Go Gadget Speedpass
If you're so inclined, you can get your gas and your McDonald's with the new Speedpass Timex. It's like wearing your credit card on your sleeve. Takes a Big Mac and keeps on ticking. Okay, I'll stop now.
Tuesday July 8 2003 Business/Shopping

Pointless celebrity gossip
Allow me to bring the level of discourse down a few notches—it's a holiday week, why not? I hear that Renee Zellweger was in attendance at last night's White Stripes show at the Aragon. Zellweger is rumored to be dating Jack White, who played a bit of "Mister Cellophane" from Renee's movie Chicago.
Wednesday July 2 2003 People/Sightings

Poseidon! Benefit
Last winter's hit show at the Theatre Building and Bailiwick, Poseidon! An Upside-Down Musical, has been invited to the New York International Fringe Festival in August. To help pay for the trip the show's producers, Hell in a Handbag Productions, are holding a "New Year's in July" benefit Sunday, July 27th. The program includes a reception and silent auction at the High Risk Gallery, followed by a presentation of "Poseidon! Moments" at the Bailiwick. Visit Hell in a Handbag or call 312-409-4357 for tickets.
Saturday June 28 2003 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Pride Weekend
This Sunday's Chicago Pride Parade isn't the only pride-related event of the weekend. For the first time, the Northalsted Area Merchants Association, responsible for August's annual Northalsted Market Days, is sponsoring a street festival at Halsted and Waveland on Saturday. Saturday also features the Chicago Dyke March in Andersonville.
Thursday June 26 2003 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Independent Potters, Part One
Love Harry Potter but hate The Man? In addition to Barnes & Noble as Alex mentions below, many local independent booksellers will also be hosting Potter parties Friday night, including Seminary Co-op in Hyde Park, Women and Children First in Andersonville, and the web-impaired Unabridged Books in Lake View.
Wednesday June 18 2003 Books/Authors

Midsommarfest
And speaking of fests, I can't believe no one's mentioned that this weekend is Midsommarfest in Andersonville. Because every neighborhood worth its salt has a street fair. This one has good music, crafty stuff to buy, people dressed all Swedish-like, and you can't go wrong with the Jesse White Tumblers.
Friday June 13 2003 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Beer! Elgin! Come on!
If there's one thing we like besides live music, and bikes and ribs and stuff, it's Beer. So we'd be remiss if we didn't point out the 8th annual Prairie Rock Brewfest in Elgin. Beer! Lots of it! Bad suburban karaoke! Possibly even ribs and bikes!
Friday June 13 2003 Offbeat/Misc. Events

UAL stock worthless?
United Airlines told its shareholders yesterday that they can expect to lose everything they've got—it's "highly likely" shares of UAL's common stock will be cancelled when the company emerges from bankruptcy.
Wednesday June 11 2003 Business/Shopping

Baseball entendre
Headline on an ad for The Honeysuckle Shop, a Clark Street sex toy shop, in today's RedEye: "Put Some Cork In Your Bat!"
Monday June 9 2003 Business/Shopping

Chicago's Tony winners
Chicago Tony Awards roundup from last night: The Billy Joel musical Movin' Out, which was received poorly in its debut here, took home Best Choreography and Best Orchestration. Hometown boy Brian Dennehy won his second Best Actor in a Play Tony for the Goodman Theatre's Long Day's Journey Into Night, which also won Best Revival of a Play, although it didn't win Best Director for the Goodman's Bob Falls. (Vanessa Redgrave, who replaced Pamela Payton-Wright from the Goodman production, also won Best Actress.) And finally, Michele Pawk took Best Featured Actress in a Play for the Carol Burnett-authored Hollywood Arms, which also premiered at the Goodman.
Monday June 9 2003 Theatre/Dance

Chicago Comedy Association
Twenty of Chicago's comedy theatres have banded together to form the Chicago Comedy Association, according to PerformInk. The membership includes all the biggies: Second City, ImprovOlympic, ComedySportz, Noble Fool, and Free Associates, among others. "The association was created to foster awareness of Chicago's legendary comedy scene and promote Chicago comedy both locally, and nationally," reports PI's Christina Biggs. That awareness-fostering apparently doesn't include a website. Inquiring minds are directed to call 312-644-4032, which goes to the administrative office of Second City.
Friday June 6 2003 Theatre/Dance

Time honors Goodman
This week's Time magazine named the Goodman as the country's number-one regional theatre.
Thursday May 29 2003 Theatre/Dance

Real World vs. Chicago, part deux
If you think you're too cool for Elimidate (see below), the Reader reports that The Real World is holding an open casting call on Tuesday the 27th, at White Star. Only open to those between 18 and 24, because if you're 25 or older, you are dead to MTV. The new city hasn't been announced yet, but they're most likely never coming back here after people were so nice last time. If you want to audition, you masochist you, there's more info at Bunim-Murray Productions.
Thursday May 22 2003 Radio/TV

International Mr. Leather
Notice a sudden upsurge in men on leashes? Don't be alarmed, it's just International Mr. Leather weekend once again. This is the 25th year for IML in Chicago. Aside from all the partying, the schedule includes a seminar on "financial planning for alternative lifestyles" and a panel on the psychology of kink. Events will be held everywhere from the home-base Palmer House Hilton to the House of Blues to the Metro (the contest itself is at the Congress Theater, Sunday night). So remember this weekend: if someone says you really chap their hide, it might be a good thing.
Thursday May 22 2003 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Art is Everywhere, even Starbucks
Want some drama with your Frappucino this Friday? "On May 23, 2003, at exactly 5:15 p.m., in ten Chicago Starbucks, professional actors will simultaneously perform original monologues written by Chicago Public High School students in Chicago Dramatists' Outreach Program." The ~~press release~~ story in Backstage says to go to chicagodramatists.org for more info, but they don't have any.
Wednesday May 21 2003 Theatre/Dance

New plays in Chicago
Chicago's theatre scene gets a glowing review in a NYT look at a rash of world premieres happening here. Fifteen new works by twelve companies are mentioned in the Times story.
Monday May 19 2003 Theatre/Dance

Backstage Theatre rummage sale
Looking for some really interesting junk? Backstage Theatre Company is holding a rummage sale this weekend; items for sale to include old costumes, props and set pieces. Saturday and Sunday 8am-4pm, at Cornelia and Ravenswood.
Friday May 16 2003 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Architecture & Sex
Look out your window. Towards the Loop. Is that skyline getting... sexier? WBEZ says yeah, maybe it is. The report is part of 'BEZ's ongoing series, Speaking of Sex.
Thursday May 15 2003 Arts/Architecture

Tongue-splitting
Illinois State Rep. David Miller and State Sen. James Meeks, both of suburban Calumet City, have sponsored a bill in Springfield that would effectively outlaw tongue splitting as a body modification. The bill passed the House unanimously in March, and now awaits a Senate vote. The AP story also quotes piercer Scott Jania of Progressive Piercing at Clark & Belmont, who says he refuses to perform the procedure: "My career is far too important to risk it." (Aside: Rep. Miller's official site notes that his "issues agenda is three-pronged." Write your own punchline.)
Thursday May 15 2003 City Life/Cultural

Chicago Imagebase
A repository of visual materials on the "built environment" of the city: the Chicago Imagebase project at UIC.
Wednesday May 14 2003 Arts/Architecture

HealthWorks benefit
"The World Goes 'Round" is a one-night-only cabaret performance of the music of Kander & Ebb (you may have heard of them; they wrote a little show called Chicago). The May 19 show benefits HealthWorks Theatre, and features some of Chicago's best-known cabaret performers, including Alexandra Billings, Nan Mason, Tom Michael, Michael McAssey, Suzanne Palmer, Stephen Rader, and Honey West. HealthWorks is a 15-year-old company that creates educational theatre for young audiences. For tickets or more info, call 773-929-4260 or go to HealthWorks' site.
Tuesday May 13 2003 Theatre/Dance

Uncle Tupelo re-releases
Schubas is hosting a happy hour listening party for the Columbia/Legacy Uncle Tupelo re-releases, today starting at 5:30. Uncle Tupelo was the seminal alt-country band from downstate Belleville, whose breakup gave birth to Son Volt and Wilco, not to mention Jeff Tweedy's eleventy-seven side projects.
Friday May 9 2003 Music/Clubs

Hermann Zapf at UIC
Attention font geeks: famed typographic designer Hermann Zapf (as much as typographic designers can be famed, anyway) will be speaking at UIC on Tuesday, May 20. More information at Typographi.ca. Print up something in Palatino and maybe he'll autograph it for you.
Thursday May 8 2003 People/Sightings

NYT hits Milwaukee/North/Damen
"... see how some of the locals might spend the weekend." The New York Times Travel section visits Wicker Park and Bucktown.
Wednesday May 7 2003 City Life/Cultural

Gawker stalks Chicago
Hmmm, Gawker stalker is now stalking Chicago? "I saw Josh Hamilton at the 10:00 Saturday night performance of Wigfield (starring Strangers With Candy's Amy Sedaris, Steven Colbert and Paul Dinello) in Chicago. He was very cute, despite having two very dark front teeth." Hamilton, of course, is starring in Richard Greenberg's play The Violet Hour at Steppenwolf.
Wednesday May 7 2003 People/Sightings

Chicago Community Cinema
Tonight's Chicago Community Cinema event will feature a demonstration of DNA, the latest editing technology from Avid, as well as the usual screenings of locally-made short films. The event is upstairs at Excalibur; doors open at 6:00.
Tuesday May 6 2003 Film

Polish Constitution Day
It's Polish Constitution Day! The parade runs north on Columbus from Balbo to Monroe, starting at about 11:00am. ABC 7 and CBS 2 will have live coverage.
Saturday May 3 2003 Offbeat/Misc. Events

Wigfield, the Performance
Wigfield, the performance-piece-slash-book-tour by Strangers With Candy and Second City alumnae Amy Sedaris, Stephen Colbert, and Paul Dinello, kicks off its tour in Chicago this weekend. All four shows at the Chicago Center for the Performing Arts are sold out, so start praying to the scalping gods now. If you miss it, you can always catch the Roadworks production of The Book of Liz, written by Amy and her brother David Sedaris. It opens next week at the Chopin.
Wednesday April 30 2003

The New York Times mentioned
The New York Times mentioned in passing on Friday that Gary Griffin is attached to direct a musical adaptation of The Color Purple for a planned 2005 Broadway opening. Griffin is associate artistic director at Chicago Shakespeare Theater (not artistic director, as the Times reports). The show's book will be written by playwright Regina Taylor, artistic associate at the Goodman. This will be Griffin's first Broadway show, though not his New York debut; his Famous Door production of Beautiful Thing transferred off-Broadway in 1999, and last month he staged The New Moon for the City Center Encores! series. His production of Sondheim's Pacific Overtures, which first played at Chicago Shakes in 2001, will open at London's Donmar Warehouse in June.
Monday April 28 2003 Theatre/Dance

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