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Tony Frankel
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Theater Review: THE JEWELRY BOX (San Francisco Playhouse)
A JEWEL OF A PLAY Forgive me dear reader for the terse review, but I discovered something yesterday that turned out to be the holiday present you never expected but later realized it was something you needed quite badly. In this case, it’s a one-man show offered by The San Francisco Playhouse through December 25, 2020….
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Theater Preview: STORAGE RUN (Rogue Artists Ensemble)
STORAGE RUN = VIRTUAL FUN Pee-Wee’s Playhouse meets Choose Your Own Adventure meets classic holiday fare in this new, interactive holiday experience from Rogue Artists Ensemble, one of the cleverest and most inventive theater companies nationwide. The Rogues create “Hyper-theater”: original, immersive, multi-dimensional experiences that celebrate the complexity and diversity of Los Angeles. Thankfully, virtual…
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Theater Review: A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (Williamstown Theatre Festival on Audible starring Audra McDonald)
THIS STREETCAR ROLLS AND HUMS WITH AUTHENTICITY Since struggle for power among the classes is one of the main themes in Tennessee Williams’ still-shocking A Streetcar Named Desire, it makes perfect sense that director Robert O’Hara would choose to update the Pulitzer Prize winner for modern times with a multicultural cast, including Audra McDonald as…
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Film and Zoom Event: THE BOWMAKERS (Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra)
BOWMAKERS, TAKE A BOW Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) is currently hosting the Midwest premiere of the new, feature-length documentary The Bowmakers, through December 6, 2020, only. Ward Serrill’s film has at its center Charles Espey — considered the most important bowmaker of his generation — so we can learn about the bow from start to…
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Album Review: THE QUEEN OF BAROQUE (Cecilia Bartoli)
YES, QUEEN OK, it may be a tag line, but I promise you that Cecilia Bartoli IS the “Queen of Baroque.” And this sentiment coming from someone who can take only so many malismas. Her strength and passion are awesome, her diction stunning, her emotion undeniable, and her range seemingly endless. Her first compilation album…
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Album Review: THINK OF SPRING (M. Ward)
JUST TRY GETTING ALONG WITHOUT THIS ALBUM Ah, songs. You know, with melody and lyrics and accessible sentiment. Prolific songwriter M. Ward brings us his new album Think of Spring, a collection of songs originally recorded by Billie Holiday – a muse to Ward and many others. But don’t expect literal translations like the way…
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Film Review: MODERN PERSUASION (directed by Alex Appel & Jonathan Lisecki)
PERSUADED JUST ENOUGH Especially in a year like 2020, we can always use Jane Austen to lighten our mood. Now, a modern film re-telling of her Persuasion, starring Alicia Witt, has been picked up by Samuel Goldwyn Films. After so much negativity this year, I was far more capable of handling this low-budget cream puff…
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Theater Review: CITIZEN DETECTIVE (Geffen Playhouse)
THE BIG SLEEP No crime is as duplicitous as The Geffen’s latest zoom-as-theater project Citizen Detective. This is the point that I say “spoiler alert” but a) nothing I do can spoil this interactive 85 minutes any more than its shoddy execution already has, and b) I can’t spoil who murdered Silent-era Hollywood director William…
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Album Review: BEAUTIFUL SOUVENIRS (Bidi Dworkin)
BIDI DWORKIN’S NEW ALBUM IS A BEAUTIFUL SOUVENIR IN ITSELF So, you probably know that Stage and Cinema receives hundreds of albums a month to review, and many more since COVID kept CDs from arriving in our snail-mailbox. We have decided therefore to review only those that knock our socks off on the first hearing….
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Concert: ARTURO SANDOVAL LIVE (The Broad Stage)
ARTURO SANDOVAL’S BRAND NEW CONCERT AVAILABLE FROM THE BROAD STAGE He moves easily across many varieties of jazz and instruments ’” using his trumpet to produce a fiery assortment of resonances, interchangeably stately, amusing and starry-eyed. The mighty, vibrant, effervescent Cuban trumpet player, big band leader, and composer Arturo Sandoval ’” a protégé of Dizzy…
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Theater Preview: A CHRISTMAS CAROL (Manual Cinema)
A FEAST FOR THE IMAGINATION I have seen three shows from the Chicago-based performance collective Manual Cinema, and the theatricality is truly awesome. You wouldn’t expect this from a simple description, but you must believe me when I say that this endlessly inventive group of artists uses disarmingly simple tools ’” live music, paper puppets,…
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Dance Feature: THE SKY WAS DIFFERENT (A film by Jonathan Fredrickson; Hubbard Street Dance Chicago)
REACH FOR THE SKY Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, which began its 23rd season with a virtual new work from Rena Butler’s propulsive, truly lovely 25-minute work A Tale of Two (watch here), now presents Jonathan Fredrickson‘s The Sky Was Different, a premiere 50-minute surrealist film debuting on Thursday, December 3. 2020 on HSDC’s site. Hubbard…
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Music Review: 2AM CHRISTMAS EVE (White Owl Red)
ALL ABOUT 2AM CHRISTMAS EVE Sometimes with new Christmas music, I feel stuck between the old-fashioned, the gloopy and the irritating (anything that sounds like Disney Radio). We’ll always have the greats (Ella, Frank, Bing, Bette, Babs) singing the greats (the most popular Christmas music was written by Jewish men), but as with so much…
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Film: HOLLYWOOD HOME MOVIES: TREASURES FROM THE ACADEMY FILM ARCHIVE (Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences)
HOLLYWOOD HOME MOVIES FROM THE ACADEMY NOW AVAILABLE! Hoo-boy, is this ever fun! Unique home movies from the 30s through the 60s of not just stars but the famous folks behind the camera. This annual event is streaming online for the first time. Whether black and white or in color, these pristine moving pictures curated…
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Concert Preview: THE SORTING ROOM SESSIONS (Six-Event series from The Wallis in Beverly Hills)
EASY TO SORT THIS ONE OUT One of the benefits of events being streamed during COVID is that we get to partake in film festivals and events from around the world. And then there are programs that ARE local, but always sell-out. Such is the case with The Sorting Room Sessions, a nightclub series presented…
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Dance Feature: TURNING POINTE: THE BALLET DANCER’S ROADMAP TO AUDITIONING SUCCESSFULLY (Theresa Farrell)
MAKING HER POINTE Serious ballet dancers who are ready to get to the next level, here’s your chance to shine. The lovely Theresa Farrell, who as executive director and principal dancer of American Contemporary Ballet I have been observing for ten years, is the embodiment of professionalism, hard work, and glorious belief in ballet. Now, Ballerina…
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Theater Feature: DECOMPOSED THEATRE, OR THE HUMAN TRASHCAN (Trap Door Theatre in Chicago)
CALLING ALL HUMAN TRASHCANS!! (THAT’S YOU, BY THE WAY) Chicago’s amazing avant-garde company Trap Door Theatre is presenting a series of eight episodes adapted from Matei Vişniec’s Decomposed Theatre, or the Human Trashcan. This Romanian playwright and philosopher saw his plays banned under Romanian Communism in the 70s and 80s (gee with titles like How…
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Album Review: ON THE ROCK (Ofra Harnoy)
ON THE ROCK SOLID North America’s only known Viking settlement is also the place on our continent where the sun first rises. I’ve heard about the Canadian Province Newfoundland and Labrador mostly from cruise and land package ads. It is sold as having a reputation for people who are warm, welcoming, fun loving and “funny…
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Film Review: THE MOLE AGENT (directed by Maite Alberdi)
A MOLE IN ONE Sure to be the sentimental favorite at DOC NYC and regions beyond, The Mole Agent is a bittersweet, comical documentary that, as with any great spy story, has a terrific twist. Director Maite Alberdi puts a cute spin on from the start, where slanted blinds make a noirish presence in the…
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Film Review: WOJNAROWICZ: FUCK YOU FAGGOT FUCKER (directed by Chris McKim)
RISE OF THE RESISTANCE I relate to the howling anger of performance- and guerilla street- artist David Wojnarowitcz (pronounced voy-nah-ROH-vitch), who died of AIDS on July 22, 1992 at 37. It’s fascinating to notice how pissed off Americans are now, but this new collage-like documentary (opening March 19, 2021 on Kino Marquee) shows how the…
Theater Review: ST. NICHOLAS (Black Button Eyes / City Lit / Chicago)
by Croydon Fernandes | July 3, 2026
in Chicago, TheaterFAST PAYOUT CASINOS USA 2026 — 5 BEST INSTANT WITHDRAWAL CASINOS RANKED
by Michael Carr | July 3, 2026
in ExtrasTheater Review: MEN OF SOUL (Black Ensemble Theater / Chicago)
by Mitchell Oldham | July 1, 2026
in Chicago, Theater
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