Entertainment Columns
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'Devotion' a handsomely produced, anti-white savior dramaNov 22, 2022 5:00 am - “Devotion” - ★ ★ ★ Ever since I began writing about Hollywood's white savior syndrome in 1986, I have seen only one movie that rejected the genre's implicit white suprem...
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It's (holiday) show time: Suburban, city theaters rebound from the pandemic with a plethora of seasonal offeringsNov 20, 2022 6:30 am - If Christmas 2021 saw Chicago-area theaters beginning to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic, Christmas 2022 suggests it's about complete, with many companies producing a...
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Spotlight: Buffalo Theatre Ensemble, Laugh Out Loud bring out the holiday humorNov 18, 2022 5:00 am - Holiday farce Buffalo Theatre Ensemble revives Alan Ayckbourn's farcical "Season's Greetings" about a dysfunctional family's disastrous holiday reunion. Mayhem ensues a...
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How former St. Charles mayor, Geneva lawyer joined forces for 'Just a Coupla Guys' podcastNov 18, 2022 5:00 am - After years of teaching business classes at St. Charles (East) High School and later serving as mayor of St. Charles from 2013 to 2021, Ray Rogina has built a reputation...
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Abundance of enthusiasm makes up for so-so material in Drury Lane's 'Elf- The Musical'Nov 17, 2022 10:00 pm - "Elf the Musical" -- ★ ★ ★ The four girls sitting in front of me Thursday night at Drury Lane Theatre's opening of “Elf - The Musical” were absolutely giddy during “Happ...
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On 'The Menu,' black comedy, conformity and death blend in a sumptuous cinematic stewNov 17, 2022 5:00 am - “The Menu” - ★ ★ ★ ★ By now, we can assume that the majority of America's film critics have exhausted all the truly clever, extremely good and moderately mediocre food ...
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'She Said' a fact-based journalism drama with a distinctive, strong feminine voiceNov 16, 2022 10:00 pm - “She Said” - ★ ★ ★ ★ Maria Schrader's “She Said” belongs among the top three fact-based journalism movies showcasing investigative reporters, but with a significant dif...
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Widescreen: A free sample of 'Andor,' del Toro Q&A and a new theater opens in GlenviewNov 16, 2022 10:00 pm - "Star Wars" fans who don't subscribe to Disney+ will get a chance next week to see the first two episodes of "Andor," the space-bound spycraft drama from "Michael Clayto...
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Marriott's merry 'Christmas Story' a heartwarming tribute to a family's loveNov 11, 2022 1:15 pm - “A Christmas Story, The Musical” - ★ ★ ★ ½ “From then on, things were different between me and my mother.” Halfway through the second act of “A Christmas Story, The Mus...
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Flair for farce: Oak Brook's First Folio revisits delightful 'Jeeves Intervenes'Nov 10, 2022 5:45 am - “Jeeves Intervenes” - ★ ★ ★ ½ In my 2008 review of First Folio Theatre's hugely entertaining “Jeeves Intervenes” - the first in a wonderful series of P.G. Wodehouse tale...