Barbara Vitello
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Best Bets: ‘Forbidden Forest’ welcomes Harry Potter fans and Naper Settlement celebrates OktoberfestOct 01, 2025 9:41 am - “Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience” thrills fans starting this weekend, Naper Settlement hosts Oktoberfest, Karen Mason headlines a special tribute to Davenport’s at the Skokie Theatre, and “Carmina Burana” comes to the MAC.
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Spotlight: ‘Revolution(s)’ by Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello premieres at GoodmanSep 30, 2025 12:34 pm - Premieres of the punk/metal/hip-hop tuner “Revolution(s)” at Goodman and Sandra Delgado’s “Hundreds and Hundreds of Stars” at TimeLine open this week. Plus, Morton Arboretum’s Walking Hikes series salutes Edgar Allan Poe and “The Lion King” returns to Chicago for a brief run.
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Writers’ exquisite ‘Comet of 1812’ is Jeff Awards’ most honored productionSep 29, 2025 11:15 pm - Writers Theatre’s “Natasha, Pierre & the Comet of 1812” was the most honored single production during this year’s Joseph Jefferson Award ceremony honoring excellence in Chicago and suburban equity theater. Paramount, Drury Lane, Northlight and Marriott theaters were also recognized during the 57th celebration.
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‘A sense of comfort and peace’: How some suburban care facilities are using doll therapy for dementia and Alzheimer’s patientsSep 28, 2025 4:00 am - About a month after her mother moved into an Elmhurst memory care facility, Gail Bekin bought her a doll. “She never put it down,” said Bekin. For decades, health care providers have incorporated certain techniques — music, art and pet therapy as well as caring for baby dolls — to help treat people with dementia or Alzheimer’s.
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Lost and found: Steppenwolf’s ‘Mr. Wolf’ a tense, emotionally charged look at trauma, survivalSep 24, 2025 5:11 pm - Every parent’s nightmare, the loss of a child, animates Rajiv Joseph’s “Mr. Wolf,” an unsettling but ultimately hopeful examination of post-trauma survival in its Chicago premiere at Steppenwolf Theatre.
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Best Bets: Virtual reality EXP opens, Cirque Italia extravaganza and moreSep 24, 2025 8:51 am - Immerse yourself in ancient Egypt when the new virtual reality venue EXP opens in Rosemont, be wowed by Cirque Italia, and laugh along with comedians Paula Poundstone, Doug Benson and Steve Solomon this week.
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Spotlight: ‘Drunk Dracula’ monster mashup and Elgin’s Fringe Fest continuesSep 23, 2025 10:46 am - The monster mashup “Drunk Dracula” opens, Elgin’s Fringe Festival continues, Oil Lamp Theater revives the 1938 suspense drama “Gaslight,” and Iambe Theatre stages an all-female production of Shakespeare’s comedy “Love’s Labour’s Lost.”
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American Airlines pilot whose grounded flight on 9/11 inspired musical plans to attend Paramount’s productionSep 19, 2025 6:39 pm - Beverley Bass, the retired American Airlines pilot who inspired one of the characters in the Tony Award-winning “Come From Away” will be a special guest of the Paramount Theatre at Saturday’s performance of the heartwarming tuner about the residents of a small town in Canada who welcomed some 7,000 stranded airline passengers following the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
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Almost golden: Goodman Theatre’s ‘Ashland Avenue’ needs a little polishSep 17, 2025 4:45 pm - Goodman Theatre marks the beginning of its centennial with the premiere of the Chicago-set “Ashland Avenue,” starring Francis Guinan as a TV shop owner struggling to keep his business afloat.
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Best Bets: Cantigny’s First Division Museum salutes Bob HopeSep 17, 2025 9:38 am - Cantigny’s First Division Museum examines the legacy of comedian Bob Hope, Buddy Guy plays a free concert during Chicago Live! at Navy Pier, comedians host a fundraiser at Zanies Rosemont, and it’s the last weekend for Cleve Carney Museum of Art’s “Hokusai and Ukiyo-e: The Floating World.”