Today @ American Theater Company
American Theater Company and About Face take on Jonathan Larson's watershed musical Rent, about New York's East Village and its artistic community in the early '90s. "Intimacy" is the word in David Cromer's alley-style staging; with only a few rows on either side, you're never far from the action, engulfed by a closeness that is Rent as it has long begged to be seen. Cromer's thoughtful production is full of surprises, even for the biggest Rent devotee, and affirms, over and over again, that Jonathan left us with something incredible — and more importantly, enduring.
Coming Up
Today @ Quimby's Bookstore
If you know Dylan Hicks, you probably know him as a musician (he released a string of solo indie-pop albums in the '90s) or as a music critic/journalist (he wrote for City Pages in Minneapolis; and one of his pieces for The Rake made Da Capo's Best Music Writing 2007). His latest endeavor, fiction writing, is both a return and a departure: his debut novel, Boarded Windows, is accompanied by a new album, Dylan Hicks Sings Bolling Greene, named for a fictional country-singer character from the story. Hear a reading from the book — a father-son odyssey between a down-at-heel record geek and a fading music-industry sideman — and maybe some theme-appropriate tunes at this Quimby's appearance.
Today @ The Empty Bottle
A night for those who like their rock 'n' roll with an extra side of raw, Mark Sultan has been a garage-rock stalwart since the later part of the 1990s and seems to get better and better with every album he puts out, either with a band or under one of his solo monikers. His latest tour brings him through Chicago, and a night celebrating the release of new comp Shimby Presents: Live at the Empty Bottle with local troublemakers Outer Minds and Magic Milk....
Today @ American Theater Company
American Theater Company and About Face take on Jonathan Larson's watershed musical Rent, about New York's East Village and its artistic community in the early '90s. "Intimacy" is the word in David Cromer's alley-style staging; with only a few rows on either side, you're never far from the action, engulfed by a closeness that is Rent as it has long begged to be seen. Cromer's thoughtful production is full of surprises, even for the biggest Rent devotee, and affirms, over and over again, that Jonathan left us with something incredible — and more importantly, enduring.
Today @ Landmark Century Centre Cinema
The Philip Glass of the raw-fish world, 86-year-old Japanese sushi culinist, Jiro Ono, is the subject of David Gelb's well-sliced documentary feature debut, Jiro Dreams of Sushi. Owner of Sukiyabashi Jiro, a pint-size sushi-only restaurant located in a Tokyo subway station, Jiro's reputation, buoyed by his three-star Michelin rating, reels in sushi lovers from all corners of the plant. Through tours of fish markets and interviews with fans, family members, work associates, and the maestro himself, Gelb provides a fully formed portrait of an understated genius obsessed with the preparation of octopus. Jiro is not a film to be consumed on an empty stomach.
