Onstage/Backstage

Daily Rehearsal: Victory Garden's Executive Director Jan Kallish moves on

By: Kate Dries | Oct. 25, 2012

Oct. 25, 2012

- The Goodman has cast Other Desert Cities, with Tracy Michelle Arnold (A Midsummer Night's Dream at CST), Tony-winner Deanna Dunagan (August: Osage County), John Hoogenakker (The Iceman Cometh), Linda Kimbrough and Chelcie Ross (Conrad Hilton on Mad Men) starring. Tickets go on sale December 7.

- Zac Thompson recaps a few famous people sightings that have occurred in his life in and around the theater recently, including Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Harvey Fierstein and Cyndi Lauper, and Michael Shannon.

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Drama from the '80s – but which century?

Kelly Kleiman and Jonathan Abarbanel | Oct. 25, 2012

Oct. 25, 2012

Burn This, Shattered Globe Theatre at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont; 773-975-8150; opens Thursday and runs through November 18; $32.

Lanford Wilson’s play is very much of its time, the ‘80s, in that it features not one but two gay characters whose sole function is to make sure straight people find happiness. OK, so one of them is dead; still. Nonetheless, his study of four people looking for love in all the wrong places retains its full vigor in Linda Gillum's muscular production. It’s intimate, funny and ultimately deeply romantic. See it with someone you love. (KK)

The Father, Rendition Theatre at the Swedish American Museum, 5211 N. Clark, 773-728-8111; opens Thursday and runs through November 17; $15-$20

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Top Halloween costumes for 2012

By: Kate Dries | Oct. 25, 2012

Oct. 25, 2012

Stuck trying to figure out what to be for Halloween? Don't want to try being a binder full of women? Reading at The Paper Machete, comedian Ken Barnard has some ideas for you.

Read an excerpt below or listen to more picks above:

All Hallows Eve is almost upon us, and the only thing more embarrassing than showing up to a Halloween party without a costume is showing up with a costume that someone is already wearing. So I've taken all of the guesswork out of Devil's Night for you guys this year and researched the top costumes of 2012.

Top Scary Costumes

1) Devil

2) Southwest Airlines flight attendant
3) Penn State Defensive Coordinator
4) Scary Spider-Man
5) President-elect Mitt Romney

Top Pet Costumes
1) Cat costume (for a dog)
2) Dog costume (for a cat)
3) Dog costume (for a dog)
4) Spider-Man dog
5) Dog in a cage on top of a car

Top Plus-size Costumes
1) Bulging Hulk
2) Fat Ninja
3) Overweight Spider-Man
4) Diabetic Pirate

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'Sweet Bird' performance canceled

By: Kate Dries | Oct. 24, 2012

Oct. 24, 2012

- People are still loving Too Much Light... so a reminder: go see it!

- David Mamet's The Woods is being put up by Mechanical Advantage: "At a New England lake house, Ruth and Nick spend their first weekend together as a couple. Isolated in the woods, these two lovers inhabit a world that feels like our own but is also magical and otherworldly.

During their time in the woods, away from the city, Ruth and Nick tell stories to one another about the animals who live in the lake, the history of their families, martians, and a mysterious brown bear who may be living under the house.

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What Romney, Obama can learn from television

By: Kate Dries | Oct. 24, 2012

Oct. 24, 2012

Being the leader of the free world doesn't leave a lot of free time, but President's still manage to participate in the great American past time of plopping down in front of the television and being whisked away to a fantasy land.

Along those lines, "I think it's pretty funny that Barack Obama loves combating terror so much that even when he goes home at night, he watches a show about it," said New York magazine television critic Margaret Lyons at The Paper Machete, on the President's admitted love of Showtime's Homeland. However, Lyons thinks Mitt Romney might want to check out Parenthood to "examine his white privilege." And both candidates should reevaluate their love for Modern Family, because "I hope they don't think that's an average family."

Read an excerpt below or listen above:

Mitt Romney came under fire[last week] for co-opting the Friday Night Lights slogan "Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose." If you've ever watched Friday Night Lights you know that it's completely antithetical to everything Mitt Romney represents.

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Daily Rehearsal: How are paywalls changing who sees arts coverage?

By: Kate Dries | Oct. 23, 2012

Oct. 23, 2012

- Backstage with John Judd, courtesy of the Goodman, who is currently performing in Sweet Bird of Youth. He says he fears he'll never get to George in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, says every word he has to say in the play before he goes on, and has perhaps invented the new catchphrase for the city of Chicago: "In Chicago we do it from the heart."

- Something I've been wondering about has apparently bothered others as well; as many papers switch to paywalls, a great deal of arts coverage is being moved behind them.

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3Arts Awards winners are...

By: Kate Dries | Oct. 22, 2012

Oct. 22, 2012

- 3Arts has announced the ten local recipients of their 3Arts Awards, all of whom will receive $15,000 to use on their own projects. The chosen few are: choreographers Monique Haley and Nejla Yatkin; vocalist Dee Alexander and instrumentalist Lanialoha Lee; teaching artists Miguel Aguilar and Avery Young; lighting designer Heather Gilbert and director Halena Kays; and visual artists Harold Mendez and Maria Vergara. They'll get their awards Monday night at the Museum of Contemporary Art. "As we unveil the 2012 3Arts awardees, we also celebrate a major milestone for our organization," said 3Arts Executive Director Esther Grimm in a statement.

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A memo to Chicago men: Wear more suits

By: Kate Dries | Oct. 19, 2012

Oct. 19, 2012

"We may not be able to topple New York with it’s prominence as a port of textiles and trade. We may not be able to overshadow L.A.’s fashion scene with its scientifically and artificially enhanced people and superstars," said writer Shannon Cason at a special Paper Machete at the Green Mill. But he has one idea to spice up Chicago: The men should wear more suits. Read an excerpt below or listen above: 

New York has Fashion Week, a week-long extravaganza, sponsored by Mercedes-Benz, showcasing the world’s top design house selections for the upcoming season. Chicago has Fashion Focus, a week-long celebration in its eighth year highlighting Chicago’s thriving fashion industry, sponsored by Dunkin Donuts. (Naw...it’s not sponsored by Dunkin Donuts...I said that to be funny.)

But Chicago has lagged behind other major cities on the fashion-conscious index. In a recent Huffington Post ranking of The Most Fashionable Cities, Chicago placed 6th. Not bad, but behind: New York; Los Angeles; Irvine, California; Miami; and Dallas.

F***ing Dallas man . . .

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