WBEZ 91.5 Chicago

Most Americans know the major stories that have shaped our history. But few realize that many of these moments involved underappreciated animals.

"Behind most historical figures at key points in American history are the animals that planted the ideas that changed our society forever," explains comedian Steve Waltien. At The Paper Machete's special All-American show, Waltien and associate Katie Rich embodied, among others, Declaration of Independence scribe Thomas Jefferson and his little-known pet cat Brown Sugar. Read an excerpt below or listen below:

Steve: Good afternoon. Katie and I are actors in Chicago and we've come here to do what we do best.

Katie: Pay tribute to American history.

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- Promethean Theatre's 2012-13 season includes several classics, like Black Magic: An Evening of Shakespeare, Bertolt Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle, and A Study in Scarlet, an adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes mystery.

- And Strangeloop Theatre's 5th season includes Loopshop, which is a series of workshops by local playwrights like Anthony Ellison, David Clark, Maria Bunham, Keith Gatchel, Scott A. Miller and Darrin Luginski. They each get two performances only, each performed at Chemically Imbalanced Theater.   

- The Goodman is calling Iceman Cometh their most successful production ever.

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- "When it comes to using the stage to mythologize its own unique stories, is there any city that can claim more success than Chicago?" asks Toronto Star reviewer Martin Knelman, who waxes on about Eastland, Clybourne Park and Immediate Family.

- Victory Gardens has announced their line-up for this summer's Ignition play festival. They've chosen Seven Spots on the Sun by Martín Zimmerman; The Shotgun Message by A. Rey Pamatmat; Samsara by Lauren Yee; Appropriate by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and The Curious Walk of the Salamander by Kirsten Greenidge. They've also announced that their ensemble member Marcus Gardley will become a playwright-in-residence, who is working on an original play entitled Chicago is Burning.

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As far as topics of conversation go, immigration in America has had a dramatic few weeks; first, President Obama granted leniency to young illegal immigrants living in the United States.; next, the Supreme Court struck down much of Arizona's immigration legislation.

All of this has led some to feel that as a nation, we're more than a little obsessed with the issue. "There are many people with addictions," performer Ricardo Gamboa argued at The Paper Machete. "They will tell you that eerily resonant with internet definitions, this country seems addicted to crack. Immigrant crack. But be careful, because, you know, as they say, eventually, 'crack kills.'" Read an excerpt below or listen above:

This decade has seen Black become the new President. Likewise, it has seen immigrants become the new crack. Yes. Immigrants are crack. Si, es cierto. And, America is a fiend for crack--Immigrant crack.

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- Pop Uprights to Play is a new thing coming from the Village of Homewood (where is that? Southwest of Chicago). Their website is worth a look, if only for the URL. "Local artists and service groups are painting murals on donated pianos to be placed around Homewood with an invitation for anyone to tickle the ivories regardless of musical talent. Pop Uprights to Play will be unveiled during the 4th of July parade and be available at the Family Fun Fest at the Izaak Walton Preserve immediately following the parade at 12 a.m. Pianos will appear around Homewood throughout the summer until Homewood's annual Fall Fest and Chili Cook Off on September 15, 2012."

- The Chicago Theatre Off Book Bowling Party has added a few teams, including Strawdog, Stage Door Johnnies...Ball Scratchers and Daddy-o's. Now's the time for you to create your own ridiculous name.

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Muzak — the catch-all name for bland soothing, elevator music — gets a bad wrap. Comedian Chad Briggs recently gave it another shot and it shook up his listening-view a little bit. Read an excerpt below or listen above:

Summer of course, is the time of the outdoor music festival and any number of overblown and overpriced touring shows.

Last week, a blog post by a 22-year-old NPR intern kicked yet off another round in the debate on the ethics of paying for versus pirating music.

I had become mired in ambivalence about illegally downloading music and attending festivals, both of which I’ve done with trepidation in the past.

I wasn’t sure how to feel. I needed something to deliver me from my musical morass. And it was coming. I was soon to discover two acts that would shatter everything I thought I knew about music.

It all started a few weeks ago with the return of warm temperatures.

That’s when I discovered Ice Cream Truck, an avant garde DJ who parks his canary yellow rig right under my open window.

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Editor's note: Scientists at Northwestern University have designed an artificial intelligence program that generates a virtual news show. On its own, it collects the news from online sources, writes a script, then animates cartoon-style avatars to deliver the show. The program, called News at Seven, is a project of the Intelligent Information Lab, co-directed by professors Kristian Hammond and Larry Birnbaum.

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