WBEZ 91.5 Chicago

Chicago has no shortage of writers who’ve excelled at capturing the city’s special charms. Nelson Algren, Gwendolyn Brooks, Alex Kotlowitz - their work can make any effort to portray the city from a fresh perspective, a daunting one.

One of the pioneers of Chicago Off-Loop Theater, costume designer Patricia Hart, died at dawn Sunday morning (April 10) after a two-year on-and-off battle with brain cancer. She was 64.Hart was born in St.

MC Zulu is a globe-trotting artist. He’s just back from shows in England and Zürich. His real name is Dominique Rowland, and he's the son of military parents. Zulu was born in Panama and after several hops around the world, the family settled into a predominately white Chicago suburb.

Have you ever been at an existential fork in the road? Stuck in a rut? Wondering if there’s more to life than the same-old-same-old? How do you break out of it?  And what are the consequences of a prison break – for you and those you love?

The NFL lockout could leave football fans with a little more free time during the weekends this fall. That means players might be out and about too.

Fifty years ago, hundreds of young Americans risked their lives to challenge Jim Crow travel laws of the South. Freedom Riders, a new documentary about the historic movement, premieres at the DuSable Museum of African American History on Saturday, April 9.

Let's try something new, shall we? Onstage/Backstage will give you our picks for weekend performances. Look for this new weekly feature every Thursday.