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THEATER Kokandy's 'Sweeney Todd' running Sept. 8-Nov. 6
Kokandy Productions will continue its 10th-anniversary season with a revival of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street that will run Sept. 8-Nov. 6. The production will feature music and lyrics by Sondheim, ...
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COMEDY Talking with 'World' traveler Annick Adelle
Bay Area attorney Annick Adelle has decided to face one of her biggest fears: stand-up comedy. After starting in 2016, she is releasing her own album and touring throughout the United States. ...
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Congo Square Theatre's 'What to Send Up When It Goes Down' at Lookingglass on Sept. 24-Oct. 16
-- From a press release
CHICAGO (Aug. 10, 2022)—Congo Square Theatre Company, one of the nation's premier African American ensemble theater companies, and Lookingglass Theatre Company announce that single tickets are now on sale for ...
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Dance for Life 2022 taking place Aug. 13 at the Auditorium Theatre
-- From a press release
Chicago Dancers United (CDU), which supports the health and wellness of Chicago's professional dance community, presents seven companies and a world premiere finale for its 31st annual fundraiser, Dance for Life 2022. The event takes place ...
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Market Days marks 40 years
The Northalsted Market Days street festival returned to the Halsted Street area for its 40th anniversary on Aug. 6 -7. Running from Belmont Avenue to Addison Street, a $15 suggested donation greeted attendees as they entered ...
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Haven Chicago presenting first-ever Festival Au Cinema on Aug. 26-28
-- From a press release
CHICAGO (August 8, 2022) — Haven Chicago is pleased to present its first annual Festival au Cinéma, the company's new platform for visionary and innovative filmmakers and media artists staking their claim in the future of ...
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Chicago filmmaker releases documentary about activist, writer Joseph Beam
A Chicago filmmaker's desire to learn more about the quote "Black men loving Black men is a revolutionary act" led him to a community of writers and activists who helped tell the story of the man ...
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Billy Masters
"I wasn't trying to have his career because he sings, he dances. I'm barely a single threat. I'm just an actor."—Tuc Watkins, explaining how he emulated the career trajectory of Kevin Kline— to the best of ...
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SHOWBIZ Jane Lynch, Dwayne Johnson, 'Star Trek,' Beyonce, Shea Coulee
NBC has renewed the Jane Lynch-hosted game show Weakest Link for a third season, Variety noted. Season three will run for 20 episodes. The series is based on a British format distributed by BBC Studios that ...
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TELEVISION 'They/Them' cast members reflect on making the film
They/Them (pronounced "They-slash-Them") is a new 2022 film from Blumhouse Productions in which the terrors of an LGBTQ+ conversion camp invade the lives of a diverse group of young people who spend a summer together. The ...
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Casting announced for queer-centered play 'St. Sebastian'
Refracted Theatre Company announced casting for its world premiere of Andrew Kramer's dark comedy St. Sebastian, directed by Artistic Director Graham Miller. The play features Nolan Robinson, Mack Spotts and ...
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Angelica Ross to be first trans lead in Broadway's 'Chicago'
Trans actors have made all sorts of impressions on Broadway, but former Chicagoan Angelica Ross has set a precedent. Next month, the leading role of fame-hungry murderess Roxie Hart will be played by Angelica Ross. Ross ...
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TELEVISION Darwin Del Fabro ('They/Them') talks horror, love scenes and inner strength
Queer Brazilian singer/actor Darwin Del Fabro is one of the cast members of the horror movie They/Them (pronounced "they-SLASH-them")—a slasher movie (get it?) set ...
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Hollywood medium Tyler Henry at Hard Rock Live on Nov. 17
-- From a press release
Medium Tyler Henry—the openly gay star of the NETFLIX series Life After Death with Tyler Henry and E! Entertainment's megahit television show Hollywood Medium with Tyler Henry—will bring his national live show to Hard Rock Casino ...
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Lollapalooza lit up with LGBTQ+ acts in 2022
The annual outdoor festival Lollapalooza ran July 28-31 in Chicago, displaying a wide spectrum of talentincluding many LGBTQ+ actsthis year on nine stages. The music carnival began as an eclectic ...
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THEATER 'Cabaret' coming to Metropolis Arts on Sept. 15
Musical Broadway classic and hit film Cabaret re-creates the decadent and complicated world of 1929 Berlin at the Arlington Heights venue Metropolis Performing Arts Centre on Sept. 15-Oct. 22. Cabaret is Kander and Ebb's legendary musical ...
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Oak Park Festival Theatre's 'The Winter's Tale' running thru Aug. 20
Oak Park Festival Theatre's The Winter's Tale will run at Austin Gardens (167 Forest Ave., Oak Park) through Sunday, Aug. 20. The Winter's Tale marks Oak Park Festival Theatre's return to the stage after a devastating ...
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Chalk Howard Street outdoors for the first time since 2019 on Aug. 27
-- From a press release
CHICAGO, IL (Aug. 1, 2022)—Chicago's only chalk art festival, Chalk Howard Street, announced its entertainment programming and vendors list, as it makes a full return outdoor and in person for the first time since 2019. National ...
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Billy Masters
"Mike, you's in danger, man."Whoopi Goldberg paraphrases her line from Ghost (or, as Barbara Walters always called it, The Ghost) in response to Pence's former aide Marc Short revealing what almost happened to the VP on ...
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Lollapalooza to be in Chicago for at least the next 10 years
Get ready to see a lot more musical acts, crop tops and (mostly younger) people in Grant Park for at least the next decade of summers. Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot announced July 31 that the ...
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SHOWBIZ Comic Con, WNBA player, Timothee Chalamet, Kate McKinnon
Out Magazine listed at least seven LGBTQ+-related characters and projects that were unveiled at San Diego Comic Con. Some of them include Michaela Coel (from TV's I May Destroy You) as a queer character in the ...
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Gene Siskel Film Center running 'Pioneers of Queer Cinema'
In partnership with the UCLA Film & Television Archive, the Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. Clark St., presents differing, often radical explorations of sexual orientation and gender identity in the series "Pioneers of Queer Cinema." ...
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Chicago announces lineups for Marquee Fall Music Festivals
-- From a press release
CHICAGO—Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot and the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) announced today music lineups and expanded date information for three of the City of Chicago's most ...
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Show about trans+ women models to debut Aug. 5 on Here TV
The Here TV docuseries Road to the Runway—which focuses on trans+ women models—will debut Friday, Aug. 5. The series profiles the 20 hopefuls competing in this year's annual Slay Model search. Cameras follow the women to ...
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MCA Chicago announces Chicago Performs, which focuses on contemporary, POC and queer artists
-- From a press release
CHICAGO— The Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Chicago, with the support of Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot, the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), and Choose Chicago, announced the ...
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Story Jam and Cerqua Rivera collaboration on July 27 at Artifact Events
Story Jam's next storytelling show—in a series of monthly shows at Artifact Events —will take place Wed., July 27, at 7:30 p.m. at 4325 N. Ravenswood Ave. "Living Truth: True Stories" is a storytelling collaboration with ...
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Billy Masters
"First of all, I'm glad to have a president who can ride a bicycle."—Pete Buttigieg's response to Rep. Troy Nehls' quip that Biden "falls off bicycles." Anyone can sue over anything. There is no guilt or ...
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Live music returns to Touche starting July 30 with 'Bear All'
After a nearly three-year hiatus due to COVID-related interruptions, Touche, 6412 N. Clark St., is reviving the bar's live music series "Bear All" at 9 p.m. on Saturday, July 30. Begun in 2011 and produced by ...
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SHOWBIZ Broadway, 'Game of Thrones' prequel, Dexter Mayfield, Shania Twain
The Broadway League announced that theaters will continue their recently adopted mask-optional policy for audiences at least through August, Deadline reported. The mask-optional policy—in which audiences are encouraged but not ...
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Local queer icon DJ's event
Darrell Gordon was the guest presenter for the Lunch Bunch at Third Space at Lakeview Presbyterian on June 1 and 30—the beginning and end of both Pride Month and Black Music Month. ...
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TELEVISION In the kitchen with Kristen Kish, newest host of 'Iron Chef'
Iron Chef premiered on Japanese television in October 1993. This over-the-top culinary competition took the world by storm. Over the course of seven seasons and 309 episodes, viewers were wowed by renowned chefs facing off against ...
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Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra performing historic concert on Aug. 6
The National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture announced a once-in-a-lifetime concert event featuring the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra to be held Saturday, Aug. 6, at Chicago's Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave. The performance, ...
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MUSIC Hulu to stream Lollapalooza
Hulu announced that it would serve as the official streaming destination for three of C3 Presents' biggest music festivalsBonnaroo, Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits Music Festivalin 2022 and 2023. To that end, Hulu announced the streami ...
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THEATER 'The Mamalogues' in Evanston on July 23-Aug. 7
The Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre will present Lisa B. Thompson's The Mamaloguesan evening of monologues about the experience of parenting while Black, unmarried and middle-class in the age of anxietyfrom July 23 to Aug. 7 at the Noyes ...
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Band featuring actor Michael C. Hall in Chicago on July 24
Princess Goes to the Butterfly Museuma band that features Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning and Emmy-nominated actor/musician Michael C. Hall (TV's Six Feet Under and Dexter) as well ...
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Pitchfork Music Festival faces a few pitfalls due to the weather
Pitchfork Music Festival faced some tough challenges this year, with unpredictable weather over the weekend of July 15-17. Held in Union Park annually, this gathering to hear a multitude of types of music usually is packed; ...
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Billy Masters
"You ain't never seen shade like gay man shade!"—Ana Navarro when discussing Chasten Buttigieg's tweet about U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh sneaking out of a restaurant to avoid people staging a peaceful pro-choice demonstratio ...
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THEATER 'The Devil Wears Prada' cast members dish about musical's Chicago debut
"All right, everyone! Gird your loins" as a stage musical version of The Devil Wears Prada is set for a world premiere in the Windy City this July as part of the lineup for Broadway in Chicago. Tony Award winner Beth ...
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SHOWBIZ Warhol/Basquiat, 'Raven's Home,' Jonathan Bailey, Broadway, Ricky Martin
Video below
The Collaboration—Anthony McCarten's hit London play about artists Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat—will make its U.S. premiere on Broadway this fall, with Paul Bettany and Jeremy Pope as the two ...
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'A Midsummer Night's Dream' in Chicago parks through Aug. 21
For Midsommer Flight's annual summer production of Shakespeare in Chicago parks, the company will celebrate its 10th anniversary by revisiting the play that in 2012 began the company's 10-year run as an arts partner with Chicago ...
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Streisand interpreter Steven Brinberg at The Acorn on July 31
Celebrating Barbra Streisand's 80th birthday, Steven Brinberg will perform the live musical performance "Simply Barbra" on Sunday, July 31, at The Acorn, 107 Generation Dr., Three Oaks, Michigan (approximately 70 miles from Chicago). ...
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THEATER Lookingglass event 'Sunset 1919' taking place July 27
Lookingglass Theatre Company begins its 35th season with "Sunset 1919: A Ritual" on Wed., July 27, at the Eugene Williams Memorial Marker, 125 Ft. Dearborn Dr., at 7 p.m. The location is near 29th Street, on ...
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THEATER REVIEW A Fine Feathered Murder: A Miss Marbled Mystery
A Fine Feathered Murder: A Miss Marbled Mystery. Playwright: David Cerda At: Hell In a Handbag Productions at the Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division St. Tickets: $29-$65. Runs through: July 31 If your source material is ...
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'Dance Divas' on July 31-Aug. 1 at the Baton
Showcasing Chicago dancers with performances of music, dance and laughter, Chicago Dancers United will present Dance Divas 2022 on Sunday, July 31, at 6 p.m.; and Monday, Aug. 1, at 7 and 9 p.m. Performances will ...
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'Ted Lasso,' 'Succession' lead Emmy noms; LGBTQ+s represented
On July 12, the nominations for the 74th Emmy Awards were announced. Succession earned the most nominations of any show, earning a total of 25 nods, including one for outstanding drama, as well as outstanding lead ...
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Billy Masters
"Wait a minute. Okay. Hold on a second here. You complain about me. I'm too weird. I'm too dark, and then you put nipples on the costume? Go fuck yourself!"Tim Burton explains how he dealt with ...
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SHOWBIZ Queen + Adam Lambert, Spider-Man, 'Victoria's Secret,' 'Friends'
Queen + Adam Lambert announced details of "Rhapsody Over London"an exclusive concert spectacular filmed live at London's O2 Arena during their current sold-out European tour that will premiere live on July 24 via Kiswe's global streaming ...
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Wicker Park Fest announces complete music lineup, will take place July 22-24
-- From a press release
CHICAGO—Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce is thrilled to announce the complete lineup, schedule, additional programming, and festival perks for Wicker Park Fest, one of Chicago's most anticipated summer events. Returning on July 22-24 fo ...
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Hubbard Street Dance Chicago announces 'Sapphire' season
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (HSDC) Artistic Director Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell announced the company's 45th-anniversary "sapphire" season: a mix of world premieres and revivals of company and audience favorites. The 2022-23 Season ...
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THEATER August Wilson's 'Fences' running through Aug. 6 at Theater Wit
American Blues Theater is running Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson's Fences at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., through Saturday, Aug. 6. This drama is about Troy Maxson, a former star of the Negro Baseball League ...
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Hannah Gadsby at Chicago Theatre on July 13
Australian LGBTQ+ comedian Hannah Gadsby will bring her "Body of Work" show to The Chicago Theatre, 175 N. State St., on Wed., July 13, at 7 p.m. Gadsby took the comedy world by storm with the ...
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Billy Masters
"And this was Richard Gere in 1977. … He was so beautiful. And I'm there. My mom didn't go. It was just me and my mom's two gay friends. And I just remember being like, 'Oh my God, I'm gay. … ...
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THEATER REVIEW Hurricane Diane
Title: Hurricane Diane. Playwright: Elizabeth George At: Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave; https://www.theaterwit.org/ . Tickets: $25-$48. Runs through: July 31 If you had an exceptionally audacious lit professor, you probably read The Bacchae for your ...
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SHOWBIZ JoJo Siwa, NFL player, gay country singer, 'Bliss,' MGK
LGBTQ+ teen sensation JoJo Siwa will guest-star in the third season of Disney+'s hit series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, Out Magazine noted. She will play Madison, a Camp Shallow Lake alum. Also, Corbin ...
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Hulu's 'Love, Victor' draws to a proud conclusion with season three
Love is in the air for Pride Monthas the television show Love, Victor concludes with its third season. The gay rom-com Love, Simon came out in 2018 and inspired the Love, Victor Hulu series two years ...
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MUSIC 'All Day I Dream' festival Aug. 6 in Chicago
All Day I Dream of Chicago Shimmerpart of the global touring festival All Day I Dream (ADID)will take place on 31st Street Beach on Saturday, Aug. 6. After 10 years of producing hundreds of iconic day ...
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MUSIC Taylor Bennett announces free July 22 show at Lincoln Hall
Chicago rapper Taylor Bennettwhose year has included teaming with Champion Athletics for a clothing line and tour; dropping his new project, Coming of Age; and much moreannounced his free homecoming show on Friday, July 22, at ...
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THEATER Theo Ubique hosting production about Elizabeth Taylor
Evanston's Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre, 721 Howard St., will run Call Me Elizabethan acclaimed one-woman show about the early life of Elizabeth Tayloron Aug. 20 (at 7:30 p.m.) and 21 (at 2:30 p.m.) only. The production ...
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Production based on Larry Kramer speech at Center on July 22-31
Open Space Arts announced its inaugural production of The Kramer Project, directed and adapted by David Zak from activist Larry Kramer's watershed speech "The Tragedy of Today's Gays." This will be the first production for Open ...
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Pride in the Park pumps up the volume in 2022
From East Monroe Street to East Jackson Drive, Pride in the Park covered just the right amount of territory in the Grant Park area in downtown Chicago on June 25 and 26. Butler Field was overrun ...
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Billy Masters
"I'm not gay. I'm not straight. I don't know what I am. I love people. … I refuse to be anything, really, except for open to it all."—Kesha (without the dollar sign) makes this revelation in ...
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SHOWBIZ Elliot Page, NPH, Madonna, Chita Rivera, Jennifer Lopez
Elliot Page talked with talk-show host Seth Meyers about how her Netflix show The Umbrella Academy incorporated the actor's own personal transition into season three of the series, Deadline noted. "With Steve Blackman, the showrunner of ...
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How Coming Out in the 1970s Helped Me Make Brave, Life-changing Decisions
By Edith Forbes, author of Tracking A Shadow: My Lived Experiment With MS
As a child growing up in Wyoming in the 1960's, I did not know any actual person who was gay. I knew exactly one fact about gay people, a fact universally accepted but never talked about: Gay people were strange. Even ...
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Pride Live hosts NYC center groundbreaking, 'Stonewall Day'
On June 24, Pride Live held an official groundbreaking ceremony for the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center (SNMVC), which is the first LGBTQ+ visitor center within the National Park System. Slated to open on June 28, ...
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'General Hospital,' Kelly Clarkson among Daytime Emmy winners
ABC's General Hospitalalready the winningest sudser in daytime historywas named Outstanding Daytime Drama on June 24 while The Kelly Clarkson Show took home the prize for Outstanding Talk Show at the 49th annual Daytime Emmy Awards. ...
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COMEDY Hannah Einbinder to perform additional show July 16
Due to popular demand, The Den Theatre announced a third stand-up performance for comedian/actress Hannah Einbinder (the TV show Hacks) on Saturday, July 16, at 7 p.m. on The Heath Mainstage, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. The ...
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Chicago Dance Crash celebrates 20th anniversary with 'Booms Day'
Chicago Dance Crash's signature blend of concert and street dance styles paints a colorful picture of life, strife and relationship goals after the end of the world with Booms Day, a two-act, world premiere dance production ...
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'Hacks,' 'Euphoria' lead LGBTQ+ critics' Dorian TV nominations
-- From a press release
JUNE 22, 2022 - The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics—now composed of 385 professional critics and journalists covering film and television—announced its 14th Dorian TV Awards nominations for the best in all of TV, mainstream to ...
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Lynda Carter releases new single, 'Human and Divine'
Many people are familiar with actress Gal Gadot as superhero Wonder Woman. However, decades before, Lynda Carter wore the bracelets and wielded the golden lasso as the Amazon princess who set many hearts (of men and ...
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TELEVISION 'A League of Their Own' screening July 2 in Rockford
-- From a press release
ROCKFORD, Illinois — June 22, 2022 — Prime Video and the City of Rockford will team up to host a free advance screening of the upcoming Prime Video original series A League of Their Own. The ...
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Back Lot Bash taking place June 25-26
The inclusive music fest known as the Back Lot Bash will take place June 25-26 at 5238 N. Clark St., in Andersonville. Back Lot Bash started in 2004 in response to the lack of women's events and the limited presence of ...
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TELEVISION John Early and Kate Berlant discuss 'Would It Kill You to Laugh?'
Peacock is releasing a new sketch comedy show called Would It Kill You to Laugh? Starring Kate Berlant and John Early, the show debuts Friday, June 24. This one-hour special features a comedy duo who have ...
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Writers Theatre's 2022-23 season to include 'Tiger Style!,' 'Once' and other productions
-- From a press release
Glencoe, ILWriters Theatre Executive Director Kathryn M. Lipuma and Interim Artistic Director Bobby Kennedy announce the company's 2022/23 four-play season, to include Mike Lew's Tiger Style!, directed by Brian Balcom; ...
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Chicago Philharmonic launches 2022-23 season
-- From a press release
CHICAGO, IL - (June 20, 2022) Chicago Philharmonic has announced its 2022-23 symphonic season on the heels of a 2021-22 season that ended with the sold-out Chicago Premiere of Marvel Studios' Black Panther in Concert. The ...
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DANCE Chicago's Joffrey Ballet releasing Pride video filmed in NYC
The Joffrey Ballet and Action Linesa video-production company founded by Joffrey artists Xavier Nunez and Dylan Gutierrez as well as writer/producer Eric Granthave unveiled a video filmed at the FDR Four Freedoms State Park (on New ...
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