Chicago Sun-Times

‘Glad’ tidings — Diana Krall’s latest CD a labor of love 40 years in the making

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 17:40:01 -0500

NEW YORK — Diana Krall says she felt reinvigorated making her latest CD, “Glad Rag Doll,” which gave her a chance to escape the comfort zone of Great American Songbook standards on which the singer-pianist has built her reputation. “It’s always exciting to do something where you surprise yourself and it’s like, ‘Wow, I didn’t expect that,’” said Krall. “I felt it was time for me to do something which is about what I hear and I like, not a tribute to Nat Cole.” On the CD (released in October), Krall reimagines mostly vintage songs from the 1920s and ’30s …

The Mix — Cool Things to Do 04.26.13

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 11:18:01 -0500

JOSH, BY GOSH Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band on tour in support of the band’s new album “The Beast” performs at 8 p.m. April 27 at the Vic, 3145 N. Sheffield. Tickets are $29. Sea Wolf Solo Acoustic opens. Visit www.etix.com or www.jamusa.com . SPRING ANTIQUES FAIR More than 100 art and antiques dealers from around the world will be in attendance at the Merchandise Mart International Antiques Fair, which opens at 11 a.m. April 26 at the Mart, 222 W. Merchandise Mart Plaza. Admission is $15. Hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. April 26-April 27; 11 …

What’s in a name? For Ivan & Alyosha, watch words are seasoned, sunny

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 17:42:00 -0500

They’ve made me write the column of criticism and so life was made possible. —from “The Brothers Karamazov” First things first: The band name is Ivan & Alyosha, but it’s a quartet, not a duo. “It’s been a bit confusing,” says Tim Wilson, Ivan & Alyosha’s singer-guitarist, not seeming too worried. “Journalists are usually, like, ‘Which one’s the atheist? I wanna talk to that one!’” The slightly esoteric moniker stems from Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s classic novel, “The Brothers Karamazov,” which chronicles a lifelong philosophical debate between Russian siblings — two of them named, you guessed it — one of whom is …

C2E2 celebrates, Chicago-style

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:45:04 -0500

Holy relocation, Batman! Nightwing (aka Dick Grayson, the original Robin) has left Gotham and is currently fighting crime in the Windy City. “Dick’s just learned that Tony Zucco, the mobster who murdered his parents, is in fact very much alive and living under an alias in Chicago,” says book writer Kyle Higgins. “So Dick takes a sublet apartment in Wicker Park and begins to hunt for him.” Higgins is a New York Times best-selling author, who grew up in the southwest suburb of Homer Glen. He’ll be talking with fans and signing autographs all weekend long at the Chicago Comic …

Must-sees at C2E2

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 17:02:01 -0500

Five other things not to miss at this year’s C2E2: ◆ “Game of Thornes” Q&A Panel. Natalie Dormer (Margaery Tyrell) and James Cosmo (Jeor Mormont) will be taking all your questions about the hit HBO series from 4-5 p.m. April 28 in room W471. ◆ Hungering for more of “The Hunger Games?” The Hunger Games costume exhibit features more than 200 costumes worn by “The Hunger Games” cast including Josh Hutcherson and Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence. Booth #1209. ◆ Holy Bat-reunion! Adam West, Burt Ward and Julie Newmar (Batman, Robin and Catwoman, respectively) will reminisce about the 1960s Batman” TV …

Sam Huntington set for C2E2 and fourth season of ‘Being Human’

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 17:00:01 -0500

Syfy’s hit series “Being Human” has a premise that almost sounds like a joke: A werewolf, a vampire and a ghost all share a flat in Boston. The show, which just wrapped up its third season and has already been renewed for a fourth, is no laughing matter, though. Sam Huntington, who plays Jewish werewolf Josh Levison on the show, will be answering fans question on a panel at C2E2 April 26th at 8:15 p.m. and signing autographs all weekend at the convention. He spoke to us about the show: Question:What were your thoughts when you first saw the script? …

Cluchey, Beckett — unlikely collaborators forge friendship, stage works

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 02:28:10 -0500

This is the story of an inquisitive prisoner and a legendary playwright who would become unlikely friends and collaborators. San Quentin State Prison seems the last place one would expect the avant-garde plays of Samuel Beckett to be appreciated. But Rick Cluchey is living proof that they were. He first encountered the Irish playwright’s classic “Waiting for Godot” in the mid-1950s as a 23-year-old inmate serving time for robbery and kidnapping. It was the first play Cluchey had ever seen, and it changed his life. Performed before an audience of inmates by the San Francisco Actors Workshop, it inspired Cluchey …

‘Super WHY!’ live show set for Chicago tour stop

Wed, 01 May 2013 15:58:56 -0500

For years one of the most popular shows on PBS has been Angela Santomero’s Emmy-nominated, interactive, reading-centric “Super WHY!” On April 26, she and her sizeable team of animators, actors, costumers, lighting experts and musicians will bring her beloved interactive kids program to life at the Chicago Theatre for a one-night-only production of “Super WHY! Live,” which began a 27-city tour earlier this month in Seattle. Staged by the developers/producers of Broadway’s “Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark,” it’s directed by Glenn Orsher (a “Spider-Man” executive producer) and soundtracked by the Grammy-winning band fun. “It’s almost like making a baby,” Santomero …

Chicago Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble turns up the heat with ecelectic mix

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 02:28:33 -0500

The Chicago Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble (CALJE) presents an evening of Afro-Cuban jazz and Latin rhythms April 27 at North Central College’s Wentz Hall in Naperville. CALJE was founded by Nicaraguan pianist/composer Darwin Noguera and Mexican trumpeter/composer Victor Garcia in 2006. CALJE can perform as a duo of Noguera and Garcia, or as a full ensemble. They have performed and recorded with such artists as Grammy winners Howard Levy from Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Brian Lynch from the Eddie Palmieri group, master percussionist Paoli Mejias and legendary trombonist Steve Turre. The groupo’s debut album is called “Blueprints.” North Central audiences …

Euforquestra blends multiple genres into winning sound

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:51:44 -0500

At first glance, the Colorado-based band Euforquestra may simply seem like a bunch of guys with a bunch of musical tastes who aren’t afraid to mix it up. But listen to the band’s self-described “high intensity global dance music” and it all gets a bit more complex. Their sound is wildly genre-bending — a percussion and horn driven blend of modern beats fused with Afrobeat, reggae, dub, funk, rock, soca and highlife, along with traditional sounds from Cuba, Brazil, West Africa and beyond. It’s enough to make your head spin. Think jam band on the international stage. “We want to …

Psychological warfare runs deeps in blistering ‘Creditors’

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 02:27:38 -0500

August Strindberg’s play, “The Creditors” — now in a tightly turned Remy Bummpo Theatre production — has little to do with money. Rather, it is about the always shifting currency of sexual power, particularly as it plays itself out in classic triangular form. Adapted by David Greig (the Scottish playwright also responsible for “The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart,” the inspired production recently seen at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, as well as “Yellow Moon,” the story of a modern day Bonnie and Clyde, now at Glencoe’s Writers’ Theatre), “The Creditors” is an intriguing 90-minute talkathon that has been neatly directed …

Pope.L exhibit at Renaissance Society is a puzzling affair

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 02:29:05 -0500

Talking to William Pope.L is fun but not easy, because the interdisciplinary artist jumps from thought to another, and sometimes answers questions with just a word or two or a seemingly kidding retort. “When he reasons stuff out, there’s a kind of absurdist logic that goes along with it, but it’s still a logic,” said Hamza Walker, director of education and associate curator at the Renaissance Society. Some of the intertwined directions in Pope.L’s work will be on view there April 28-June 23 in the internationally known artist’s first solo exhibition in Chicago since joining the faculty of the University …

The Guide — Theater Listings 04.26.13

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:38:05 -0500

OPENING BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS. Raven Theatre presents Neil Simon’s semi-autobiographical story about growing up in Brooklyn in the years before World War II. Directed by Cody Estle. Previews April 30-May 4. Opens May 6. Thu-Sat, 7:30 pm; Sun, 3 pm. $22-$45. To June 29. Raven Theatre’s East Stage, 6157 N. Clark. (773) 338-2177; raventheatre.com. AN EVENING OF BECKETT: KRAPP’S LAST TAPE & SAM AND RICK. Shattered Globe Theatre presents Chicago actor/playwright and Beckett protege Rick Cluchey in two solo performances. Opens May 1. Thu-Sat, 8 pm; Sun, 3 pm. $10-$28. To May 12. Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont. (773) 327-5252; …

Flour & Stone pizzas lose something in the translation

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 17:51:14 -0500

The website of the Chicago pizza joint Flour & Stone features the phrase “made with love in the Windy City.” I’m pretty sure love doesn’t have a flavor, and even if it did, I’m guessing it would taste nothing like the experience at Flour & Stone. In fact if they were to be truly accurate, the restaurant might revise that tagline to read “made with a pinch of ‘like’ and a touch of contempt.” Let’s start with the contempt. On multiple visits, empty neighboring tables were littered with the remnants of crust and covered in sticky soda rings and were …

Side Dishes 04.26.13

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 11:30:38 -0500

Flour & Stone isn’t the only thin crust pizza game in town. Here are some other great Chicago thin crust pies: RENO, 2607 N. Milwaukee; (773) 697-4234; www.renochicago.com Vibe: Brick and rough woods, with tables built of knotty lumber and industrial black metal, this spot has a Portland, Ore., feel. Flavor: The dough on the pies rise at the edge and droops slightly under the heft of gooey cheese at the center. The best is “The Southern,” a Korean/Kentucky mash-up of salty country ham, sweet roast garlic, fiery-fizzy kimchi and juicy tendrils of spinach. MARIE’S PIZZA & LIQUORS, 4129 W. …

The Big Deals 04.26.13

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:56:01 -0500

From upscale to low-cal, the Sun-Times’ “Big Deals” column brings readers the dish on food and drink specials that will not break the bank. ‘Big Fish’ bytes Magnolia Bakery, 108 N. State. Applause for the bakery’s “Big Fish (vanilla or chocolate cupcake with vanilla buttercream topped with an edible daffodils)” cupcake, available through May 5, $3.50. Visit www.magnoliabakery.com . Tap into spring Rock Bottom Brewery, participating locations. Spring lager specials, available through May 19, include Mexican Amber Lager (downtown Chicago selection) and jalapeno poppers (grilled jalapenos stuffed with pulled pork, wrapped in bacon). Visit www.rockbottom.com . Cleetus’ creations Fountainhead, 1970 …