Arts & Entertainment

/

Dr. Phil Shows his Anti-LGBT Stripes Once Again

,

Dr. Phil is in the hot seat following an episode of his talk show featuring conservative blogger and podcaster/anti-trans activist Matt Walsh. The episode aired on January 19 and featured Walsh, a self-described “fascist,” debating a non-binary couple. Over the course of the conversation, the couple, identified as “Ethan” and “Addison”, argued with Walsh about what constitutes a woman as he accused them of “appropriating womanhood.” “This is one of the problems with left-wing gender ideology,” Walsh ranted. “No one who espouses it can even tell you what these words mean. What is a woman?” Later in the exchange, words got especially […]

/

Stephane Wrembel Band at Occidental Center for the Arts Sat. Jan. 22

Saturday January 22 @ 7:30 pm. Stephane Wrembel Band. Occidental Center for the Arts is proud to presentthe world renowned French composer (theme song for ‘Midnight in Paris’) and dazzling Gypsy jazz guitarist Stephane Wrembel !  Wrembel brings his superb band, unique multi-faceted style and his dazzling Django-inspired guitar techniques to OCA for the third time. Wrembel’s stellar band includes long-time collaborators Thor Jensen (guitar), Ari Folman Cohen (bass),and Nick Anderson (drums). Don’t miss one of the finest guitar players in the world  with his band on our stage! $30 General/$25 OCA Members. www.occidentalcenterforthearts.org. Masks are required. Fine refreshments available, Art Gallery open. OCA is accessible to people with disabilities. […]

/

Trans-inclusive TV dominates GLAAD Media Award nominations

TV shows featuring transgender and nonbinary people dominated the media award nominations released Wednesday by the LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD. Every year since 1990, GLAAD has honored films, television shows, musicians, journalists and other media figures for fair, accurate and inclusive representations of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people.  Of the 30 television shows nominated in three categories — outstanding comedy series, outstanding drama series and outstanding new TV series — 18 feature transgender and/or nonbinary characters, including “Pose,” “9-1-1: Lone Star,” “Good Trouble,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “The L Word: Generation Q,” “Star Trek: Discovery” and “The Sex Lives of […]

/

‘Jeopardy!’ champ Amy Schneider becomes show’s top female earner

“Jeopardy!” champion Amy Schneider made history again on Friday, becoming the highest-earning female contestant in the game show’s nearly 57-year run. The engineering manager’s 18th consecutive win brought her total earnings to $706,800, bumping her above Larissa Kelly to become the show’s top-earning female player. Kelly, a science fiction writer and academic who built up a record $655,930 through regular season play and tournament competitions, applauded Schneider’s historic win on Twitter. “Well, it was fun to hold a Jeopardy record for a few years…but it’s been even more fun to watch @Jeopardamy set new standards for excellence, on the show and off. Congratulations to […]

/

Joey Abrego on The Art of Drag and Transformation & Starring in 6th Street Playhouse January Production

6th Street Playhouse is anticipating our upcoming production of The Legend of Georgia McBride, running Jan 6-30 on the Monroe Stage. More info at: https://6thstreetplayhouse.com/show/the-legend-of-georgia-mcbride/ This cast of five features Alexander Howard as Casey, the Elvis impersonator whose career goes awry, whose life falls apart, and who ends up needing to learn how to work in drag. Joey Abrego is the fabulous Miss Tracy Mills, who teaches Casey how to do it. The following is a slightly edited interview I conducted with Joey, who arrives next week from LA to begin rehearsals on the show. CK – In The Legend […]

/

The Creative Brilliance of Louise Fitzhugh: On Sometimes You Have to Lie by Leslie Brody

Harriet M. Welch, the titular character of Louise Fitzhugh’s iconic children’s book Harriet the Spy is eleven years old and determined to write everything down. As training for one day becoming a famous novelist, she ventures on a daily “spy route,” stalking a handful of brownstones on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, secretly watching her friends and neighbors, chronicling their business in a private notebook using a tone so deadpan and factual it borders on cruel. Readers young and old, however, sixty years ago as much as today, find in Harriet a cathartic release and creative permission. Now Harriet’s author, Louise Fitzhugh, is […]

/

Steve Bronski, co-founder of pioneering gay band Bronski Beat, dies aged 61

Steve Bronski of Bronski Beat has died at the age of 61 (Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) Steve Bronski, co-founder and keyboard player of pop group Bronski Beat, has died. Bronski, best-known for the LGBT+ anthem “Smalltown Boy”, passed away at 61-years-old. No cause of death has been given. Jimmy Somerville, who formed Bronski Beat alongside Bronski and Larry Steinbachek, led tributes on Twitter, calling the late star a “very melodic man”.  “Sad to hear Steve Bronski has died,” he wrote on Twitter.  “Working with him on songs and the one song that changed our lives and touched so many […]

/

Poland’s own “Stonewall” and how the Polish LGBTQ community are fighting back

This new powerful I-D Video from director/producer Isolde Penwarden takes us inside the very unsettling situation of the LGBTQ community in Poland which over the past two years has seen its rights stripped away.  In the east of the country, their very existence is outlawed with the creation of so many official LGBTQ-free zones.  In early 2020 ILGA-Europe, a Brussels-based NGO Human Rights Organisation ranked Poland as the most homophobic country in the European Union. However simply complying with all this authoritarian oppression is not an option for Poland’s queer generation Z, and they’re moving forth more powerfully than ever. This summer protests against the anti-LGBT sentiment spreading […]

/

Benjamin Alire Sáenz: “I am the luckiest.” On Writing Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World

Since its publication nearly a decade ago, Benjamin Alire Sáenz’s Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe has been widely regarded and accepted as a seminal young adult novel in the queer literary canon. Sáenz’s lyrical and beautiful novel about two Latinx boys becoming best friends and falling in love has been beloved among queer readers of all ages in the years since, prompting a sequel that released October 15, 2021, Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World. I spoke with Sáenz via email about the new novel, his unique writing style, and what readers can expect from […]

/ /

Rainbow Railroad Hosts ‘When I Am Free’ Benefit Concert To Get LGBTQI+ Individuals To Safety

The annual Chicago 5 Lives Fundraiser hosted by Rainbow Railroad is proud to return this year with “When I Am Free”, a benefit concert offering attendees a premier evening of classical music from esteemed young musicians. Hosts will include U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky and Chicago Reader publisher Tracy Baim. The concert will be held on Friday December 3rd from 7:30-9pm at the Hoover-Leppen Theatre and will also be livestreamed. Tickets are $100 and all proceeds go directly to Rainbow Railroad to support its mission to assist LGBTQI+ refugees fleeing persecution. The Chicago 5 Lives Campaign will aim to raise $50,000 – enough […]

«‹ 31 32 33 34›»