This article by Robert Loerzel originally appeared in Playbill magazine in September 2009. Theater people have a language all their own. But the lingo doesn’t always translate from house to house. Take the term “Strawberry Shortcake,” for example. It was coined at Lookingglass Theatre in 2001, when the actress Lauren Hirte needed a costume to… Continue reading Chicago theater lingo
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Classical music in Chicago
This article by Robert Loerzel originally appeared in Listen magazine’s September-October 2009 issue. When poet Carl Sandburg called Chicago “Hog Butcher for the World, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat,” he easily could have added “Music Maker” to that list. The City of the Big Shoulders forged so many of the sounds that became popular American… Continue reading Classical music in Chicago
Record review: Wildbirds & Peacedrums, ‘The Snake’
This review by Robert Loerzel originally appeared in Signal to Noise magazine’s fall 2009 issue. Wildbirds & Peacedrums The Snake Vocals and percussion are the two sounds at the core of this duo from Gothenburg, Sweden. Wildbirds & Peacedrums’ songs often consist of nothing more than Mariam Wallentin singing while her husband, Andreas Werliin, pounds… Continue reading Record review: Wildbirds & Peacedrums, ‘The Snake’
A man with a gun: A primer on John Dillinger
Randolph Street, Chicago’s theater row
This article by Robert Loerzel originally appeared in Playbill magazine in June 2009. If you took a stroll down Randolph Street in Chicago’s Loop in the early 1900s, chances were pretty good that you’d rub elbows with an actor. The sidewalks were crammed with thespians almost every afternoon on Randolph, a street with so many… Continue reading Randolph Street, Chicago’s theater row
Rocking to Warhol films at the MCA
Exploring O’Neill at the Goodman
The Huffington Post, April 10, 2009 — The Eugene O’Neill festival now in its final days at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre wasn’t exactly designed as an introduction to this great American playwright. Nor was it a celebration of his best and most famous works… Read my blog post at the Huffington Post or Underground Bee. Photo by… Continue reading Exploring O’Neill at the Goodman
Art Shay Q&A
This article by Robert Loerzel originally appeared in Pioneer Press on March 28-29, 2007. Over the last six decades, Art Shay has photographed everything from heroin addicts on Chicago streets to movie stars like Marlon Brando. Shay, a native of the Bronx who has lived in Deerfield for 53 years, captured life’s humorous little moments as… Continue reading Art Shay Q&A
When another Senate seat was up for sale
The Huffington Post, February 6, 2009 — A hundred years ago, political tensions were running high in Illinois. Everyone wanted to know the answer to one suspenseful question: Who would be the new U.S. Senator from Illinois? The struggle to answer that question would stretch on for four years, as charges of bribery and corruption rocked… Continue reading When another Senate seat was up for sale
Adele: 2009 concert review
This article by Robert Loerzel originally appeared in The Daily Southtown on January 20, 2009. The British invasion of pop music never really stopped after the Beatles set foot on these shores, but we seem to be in the midst of yet another musical attack from England. The invading troops this time are young ladies… Continue reading Adele: 2009 concert review