1. Chicago Magazine talks to the director of Court Theatre’s upcoming Invisible Man, Christopher McElroen, and the University of Chicago’s resident Ellison scholar Kenneth Warren. “As excited as I was when I heard Court was doing this project, I was also dismayed, because how in the world could you pull it off? asked Warren. “But I’ve been surprised and impressed by how much the script manages to get in while maintaining a clear dramatic arc.”

2. “A gala reunion is being held for those who worked at America’s first Dinner Theater, Candlelight Dinner Playhouse on Saturday, Feb. 4, from 6:30pm to 12:30am at the European Chalet.” Where is the European Chalet, that place sounds amazing. $50 admission, but it includes dinner, an open bar, and no embarassing wedding toasts (but a commorative gift). Candlelight closed in 1997; does anyone remember it? 

3. Cirque du Soleil’s Quidan hits Hoffman Estates, IL and the Sears Centre Arena on February 8.

4. Have you seen the show Clutter? Sun-Times critic Hedy Weiss felt like it was a little bit too close to home. “Full disclosure: On some level I fully empathize with the Collyer brothers, those fabled New York siblings from a well-to-do family who, over the course of several decades, engaged in compulsive hoarding, filling to capacity the Fifth Avenue brownstone home in Harlem where they were found dead in 1947.Like many writers, even in this cyberspace age, I have a serious paper problem. Newspapers, magazines, books, press kits, programs and printouts pile up with astonishing speed.” Hedy, I feel you.

5. Timothy Douglas has resigned as Artistic Director of Remy Bumpo — at least, he did two months ago. In a conversation with TimeOut‘s Kris Vire, Douglas said, “What I came to realize was that in this wonderful experiment that we all decided to do, the company had not seen my work and I had never seen anything that Remy Bumppo had done before I agreed to come on as artistic director.” In a letter to the Remy Bumppo board of directors, Douglas said that he thought he was “ultimately not a good match for the organization.” But Board President Karen Randolph wrote “Over the course of several meetings we hoped to find a solution for keeping Timothy successfully and confidently engaged, but his resignation was ultimately accepted.” When Douglas was hired, Kelly Kleiman wrote that he was “the first African-American to run a mainstream–that is, white–theater company in Chicago.” He’s being replaced with Nick Sandys, a member of the ensemble. 

Questions? Tips? Email kdries@wbez.org.