Illinois - Newslocker

Art isn’t easy, but Kokandy frames it well with Sunday in the Park With George

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 19:31:00 +0200

Sunday in the Park With George, through 11/1, Kokandy Productions at Chopin Theatre
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Joan Crawford Goes to Hell is devilishly fun

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 19:05:00 +0200

Joan Crawford Goes to Hell, through 9/27, Hell in a Handbag Productions at the Clutch
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Elephant in the Womb is an in utero clown show

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 18:39:00 +0200

Elephant in the Womb, through 9/13, Black Cat Theatre at Theater Wit
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The Missing Piece looks at the end of the world through the eyes of two clowns

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 18:08:00 +0200

The Missing Piece, through 9/20, Silent Theatre Company at Visceral Adventure Lounge
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Shane at City Lit centers the violence and beauty of the American west

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 17:46:00 +0200

Shane, through 10/4 at City Lit Theater
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J’Uncle lacks dramatic connections

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 17:29:00 +0200

J'Uncle, through 9/13, Simple Theatre at Jarvis Square Theater
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Record scratching breaks containment again

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 17:23:00 +0200

In spring 2025, Henry Stoehr and Emily Massey of Chicago indie-rock band Slow Pulp started working on material for their next album. They’d spent much of the previous year and a half touring to support their breakout second full-length, Yard, released in September 2023 by big-name indie label Anti-. Slow Pulp formed in Madison in […]
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Chicago Reader Volume 55, Number 20

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 17:13:00 +0200

Chicago Reader Volume 55, No. 20. September 2026. The Fall Arts Issue.
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For the love of the game

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 16:43:00 +0200

How do art exhibitions get made? For major institutions like the Art Institute of Chicago, entire teams of people can spend months or years putting a show together. From the ideation phase to the time an exhibition opens, the work must be transported and installed, programming has to be planned, materials have to be written, […]
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Seeding the Chicago theater field with new productions and companies

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 16:00:00 +0200

In July, Oskar Eustis, the celebrated longtime artistic director of New York’s Public Theater (the venue where both A Chorus Line and Hamilton were birthed), announced he would be leaving his position in two years. In an interview with Michael Paulson of the New York Times, Eustis, while declaring the state of the Public itself […]
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Microcinemas and movie clubs are thriving in Chicago

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 16:00:00 +0200

Many movies are made to be seen on big silver screens; all movies are made to be seen sitting alongside others. Chicago has long been the midwestern movie mecca for audiences and filmmakers alike, and while there is no shortage of multiplex and independent theaters for folks to visit, many of which have lounges to […]
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How comedians eat it before and after grabbing the mike

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 16:00:00 +0200

On performance days, Jordan Wilson likes to caffeine- and carb-load. “Today I woke up and made my quad-shot oat latte, then for lunch I had a jerky stick and a plain bagel,” he says. “I really like raw-dogging bagels. Often I have two bagels for lunch just raw, or four slices of wheat toast to […]
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Southeast Spotlight: Smoke’s Bistro

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 15:00:00 +0200

Smoke’s Bistro1225 E. 87th St., Mon, Wed, Thu, and Fri, 4 PM–9PM, Sat 3 PM–9 PM, Sun 11 AM–6 PM, Closed Tuesdays (773) 708-1606, smokesbistro.com, Email chefsmoke@smokesbistro.com, Instagram @smokes_bistro, Facebook @Smoke’s Bistro Some people find their calling. Avneel Williams, better known as Chef Smoke, built his from the ground up, one dish at a time. With […]
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Inside Tuley Park’s community darkroom

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 15:00:00 +0200

The Darkroom Chicago began with my belief that adults deserve more places to be curious. There are not many spaces where we can explore a new interest without enrolling in a class, paying for a membership, committing to a long-term program, or already knowing what we are doing. I wanted to create a different kind […]
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Every month, every day, every hour

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 14:00:00 +0200

Content note: This story discusses attempted suicide. Prison conditions emphasize power structures that exist in society, further harming the most vulnerable among us. After serving almost 20 years in prison, I am now observing a new generation of young people enter the carceral system and struggle to hold on to their existence. There are no […]
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The Bridgeport Records crew launches a new shop in West Town

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 01:04:00 +0200

Two weekends from now, Chicago will welcome its newest music store: Onion City Records. Bridgeport Records co-owners Vick Lavender and Jerry Morrison soft launched a new brick-and-mortar shop at 1812 W. Chicago during West Fest in mid-July. “We’ve been popping up on the weekends over there, just so we can get a sense of what […]
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Icons, up-and-comers, and William Shatner converge at Riot Fest 2026

Tue, 01 Sep 2026 15:00:00 +0200

Riot Fest Fri 9/18-Sun 9/20 at Douglass Park
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Busy Madison musician Graham Hunt makes indie rock feel new again

Tue, 01 Sep 2026 15:00:00 +0200

Graham Hunt Mon 9/21 at Subterranean
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Time stops at Pueblo Unido Gallery

Tue, 01 Sep 2026 14:00:00 +0200

“NEPO" through 10/1 at Pueblo Unido Gallery
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City of Lights is a true crime podcast that tells the truth

Mon, 31 Aug 2026 23:21:00 +0200

Often, in true crime stories, there’s a narrative urge to make something of the terrible experience endured by the people at the story’s heart. As the reader (or listener, in the case of podcasts), we can’t help but hope for catharsis; if the life can’t be saved, the child found, or the murder solved, we’ll […]
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