Entertainment Columns
-
Spotlight: Kokandy Productions revives 'The SpongeBob Musical'Jun 22, 2023 6:00 am - Welcome to Bikini Bottom Frankie Leo Bennett plays plucky sea sponge SpongeBob in Kokandy Productions' revival of the exuberant tuner "Nickelodeon's The SpongeBob Musica...
-
Bold, bawdy 'No Hard Feelings' blends laughs with lessons in forgivenessJun 22, 2023 6:00 am - “No Hard Feelings” - ★ ★ ½ I went into a press screening of “No Hard Feelings” expecting something crass and bawdy. After all, the story concerns a young woman who acce...
-
Country-spanning library inspires Writers Theatre's 'A Distinct Society'Jun 21, 2023 11:00 pm - In 2018, a Reuters article about the Haskell Free Library and Opera House, a small-town library straddling the U.S.-Canada border, caught the attention of writer/novelis...
-
Widescreen: How Disney+ created Pixar's 'Elemental' box office woesJun 21, 2023 11:00 pm - Pixar's "Elemental" hit theaters last week with a resounding thud - the latest high-concept animated film from the Disney division debuted with a $29 million opening wee...
-
Good News Sunday: How a Des Plaines resident's own experience inspired her to found Cards for Hospitalized KidsJun 18, 2023 6:00 am - Good News Sunday: How a Des Plaines resident's own experience inspired her to found Cards for Hospitalized Kids
-
Timing is key to mastering animated characters, 'Elemental' star Wendi McLendon-Covey saysJun 18, 2023 6:00 am - Actress Wendi McLendon-Covey burst on to the media scene with a breakout performance in the 2011 comedy film “Bridesmaids” before landing a dream job playing family matr...
-
Spotlight: Steppenwolf co-founder directs world premiere of relationship drama 'Another Marriage'Jun 16, 2023 6:00 am - Steppenwolf premiere Steppenwolf Theatre co-founder Terry Kinney returns to Chicago to helm the premiere of “Another Marriage” by fellow ensemble member and first-time p...
-
Widescreen: Vivien Leigh, Pete Davidson and the weirdest double feature everJun 15, 2023 6:00 am - As someone who professes to be a film lover, I am embarrassed to admit I had never seen the 1951 Tennessee Williams classic “A Streetcar Named Desire” until this past Tu...
-
Western Springs home cook brings local flavor to PBS' 'The Great American Recipe' challengeJun 15, 2023 6:00 am - Season two of “The Great American Recipe” premieres Monday, June 19, on PBS, and Ted Pappas, a semiretired architect from Western Springs, is one of the cooks chosen to ...
-
'Tommy' returns: Original director expands on stage adaptation of The Who's opus 30 years later for the GoodmanJun 15, 2023 6:00 am - “Re-imagined” doesn't adequately describe Goodman Theatre's production of “The Who's Tommy,” says writer/director Des McAnuff, of the revival that comes 30 years after c...