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Artemis Singers workshop Oct. 30
As part of its 40th anniversary celebration, Artemis Singers will hold a free workshop at the Harold Washington Library, 400 S. State St., on Wed., Oct. 30, 5-7 p.m., to collect stories from women in the ...
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Ravinia president/CEO leaving post in 2020
Ravinia President and CEO Well Kauffman announced Oct. 19 that he will depart the festival upon completing his 20th anniversary year at its helm, following the 2020 season and the opening of the RaviniaMusicBox experience center. ...
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Story Jam features local celebs in a show to raise money for immigrant youth
Chicago, IL November 17th, 2019—Story Jam, a show that is part live-lit and part music concert combining storytellers and songwriters with a rocking band, will return to City Winery on Sunday, November 17th at 12pm for ...
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Karen Mason to perform Nov. 14
Singer and Chicago native Karen Mason—star of musicals Love Never Dies, Mamma Mia!, Hairspray!, Wonderland and Sunset Boulevard—will perform Thursday, Nov. 14,, at 7:30 p.m. at the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington ...
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SHOWBIZ 'Transparent,' Tyler Perry, 'Drag Race,' singer Halsey
The soundtrack to Amazon Prime Video's The Transparent Musicale Finale—the movie musical fantasia of Jill Soloway's series Transparent—is available for streaming and digital purchase in conjunction with the finale premiere on Amazon Prime Video, a press ...
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Mixtape coincides with Warhol exhibit
As the Warhol exhibit comes to the Art Institute of Chicago this October, DJ Heaven Malone is releasing a mixtape, Factory Girls, honoring the women throughout the decades of The Factory, Warhol's studio. Malone is an ...
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'Activists and Icons' to end Oct. 27
"Activists and Icons: The Photographs of Steve Schapiro," an exhibit at Skokie's Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, will close Sunday, Oct. 27. It was originally slated to close June 23. Schapiro, a Chicago-based photographer, has ...
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Oct. 21 benefit for homeless at Metro
More than 40 Chicago punk, prog, noise, rock and surf musicians—including current and former members of PiL, Naked Raygun and Local H—will perform at a benefit concert to raise money for the Chicago Coalition for the ...
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Chicago's queer hip-hop scene: Visibility, evolution and culture
Chicago has long been known as a mecca for hip-hop culture. Within recent years, however, there's been a rise in queer and gender non-conforming hip-hop artists in the city. From Kidd Kenn, who recently signed to ...
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Simply Sensational Benefit to salute Music Director Robert Ollis Nov. 4
Pride Films and Plays' annual fall benefit, SIMPLY SENSATIONAL, celebrates theater artists who have had a tremendous impact on all they work with. This year's event will honor a beloved figure in the Chicago theater scene ...
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SHOWBIZ Trans actor, 'Judy,' 'Concert for America,' Dolly Parton
Trans actor Brian Michael Smith was one of three casting announcements made ahead of Fox's 9-1-1 spinoff, Lone Star, which debuts in January, Out.com noted. This next installment in Ryan Murphy's burgeoning franchise will take place ...
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Ladysmith Black Mambazo returns to Steppenwolf
Steppenwolf Theatre will hold its world premiere production of Lindiwe—featuring music written and performed by the five-time Grammy winning group Ladysmith Black Mambazo—Nov. 7, 2019-Jan. 5, 2020 in the Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St. Written ...
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Madonna at Chicago Theatre now Oct. 16-28 (UPDATE)
In what is being billed as a series of intimate concert experiences, Madonna will perform seven shows on select dates between Oct. 16-28 at the Chicago Theatre, 175 N. State St. (The show previously scheduled for ...
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Mark Farris at Drew's Oct. 4-5
Vocalist/musician Mark Farris—who has performed in piano bars and cabaret lounges throughout the world—will return to Chicago cabaret at Drew's On Halsted, 3201 N. Halsted St., on Oct. 4-5 at 8:30 p.m. Farris debuted in 2000 ...
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Don't lose the magic: Checking out the Chicago Magic Lounge
When Joey Cranford's wife jokingly bought him a magic kit as a Christmas present, she had no idea what she had unleashed. "There was an especially good trick in there," he said, one that spurred the ...
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Takei, Elling at Oct. 14 'Galaxy' concert
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra's spectacle "The Galaxy's Greatest Hits"—which will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing—will take place Monday, Oct. 14, at 7:30 p.m. at the Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave. ...
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SHOWBIZ Ricky Martin, Tina Fey, Lee Daniels, Megan Fox
The Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ) will honor singer and actor Ricky Martin with the HRC National Visibility Award at HRC's 23rd Annual National Dinner in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 28, a press release noted. ...
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Girlpool dives into a tour around the world
Los Angeles band Girlpool is made up of only two members, Harmony Tividad and Cleo Tucker. Both sing vocals with Tucker playing guitar and Tividad playing bass. On their second album, Powerplant, Miles Wintner was added ...
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Samantha Sidley--Out jazz singer engages in 'Girl' talk
Samantha Sidley is an out jazz vocalist from Los Angeles. Her debut album Interior Person was just released by Me Records—and the lead single from it, "I Like Girls," already makes her a standout from many ...
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PERFORMANCE Johnny Bash talks career, partner, upcoming show
Performing has been a part of Johnny Bash's life since he was a child growing up in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. Since then, Bash has parlayed that into a decade's long career as a singer and entertainer at ...
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MUSIC Looking back at this year's Riot Fest
The 14th Annual Riot Fest invaded Douglas Park in west Pilsen Sept. 13-15 and proved that you can please all of the people all of the time. The hard rock/heavy metal/punk festival didn't actually offer anything ...
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Operas of the fall
The fall 2019 opera season is already in full swing. There is plenty to take in from the tiniest of fringe companies to the most lavish spectacles filling the stage of the 3,563-seat Civic Opera House. ...
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LGBTQ ally Amy Armstrong talks cancer, giving back, 'Amy and Freddy'
When LGBTQ ally Amy Armstrong was growing up in Detroit and later Camden, Michigan she dreamed of becoming a performer. Since graduating from Henry Ford Community College and Wayne State University, she has parlayed that into ...
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SHOWBIZ Brandi Carlile, Karamo Brown, campy classic films, Cara Delevingne
Out Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and performer Brandi Carlile won Artist of the Year at the Americana Music Association Honors & Awards, a press release noted. Carlile also performed "The Mother" at the awards ceremony, which will ...
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NUNN ON ONE Lance Bass, Baptists, Broadway and 'The Boy Band Con'
Popular performer Lance Bass wears many hats these days. After rising to fame in the boy band NSYNC, he moved into working in movies and television. Along the way, the Mississippi native even became certified to ...
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'Get Out composer talks career, race and LGBT developments
In advance of its 2019-20 season, the Chicago Sinfonietta will perform a live concert screening of Jordan Peele's smash hit film Get Out—conducted by openly gay score composer Michael Abels—at the Auditorium Theatre. Life has taken ...
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Opera Tunes at Sidetrack Oct. 6 to benefit AIDS Foundation of Chicago
CHICAGO ( Sept. 12, 2019 ) — Join us for an encore of Opera Tunes at Sidetrack, 3349 N. Halsted St., Chicago. This fundraiser benefiting the AIDS Foundation of Chicago is a spinoff of the video ...
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Seventh annual Edgewater Arts Festival features 100+ artisans
CHICAGO, IL — Edgewater Arts Festival http://www.edgewaterartists.com/ is the premier art-focused, neighborhood festival occurring in the diverse Edgewater neighborhood of Chicago. The seventh annual festival will happen on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 28 and 29, 2019, ...
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City Winery to present Syleena Johnson, Shemekia Copeland, Levi Kreis
CHICAGO ( Sept. 10, 2019 ) — City Winery Chicago, 1200 W. Randolph Street, announces Grammy-nominated R&B artist Syleena Johnson, Chicago's own Queen of the Blues Shemekia Copeland and more. The show goes on sale to ...
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City to honor Ralphi Rosario on Sept. 14
The city will honor house music DJ/producer Ralphi Rosario Saturday, Sept. 14, when the street sign at Boystown's Halsted and Cornelia intersection becomes "Honorary Ralphi 'The Razz' Rosario Blvd." Rosario continues to work as a DJ ...
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SHOWBIZ Designer dies, Kristen Stewart, Oprah, Freddie Mercury
Chris March—a costume designer who rose to fame after appearing on season four of Bravo's reality show Project Runway—died of a heart attack on at age 56, Deadline reported. A New York City resident, March was ...
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Janus' 'Camelot' has female-identifying Lancelot
Janus Concert Series ( with Artistic Director Kaitlin Galetti ) kicks off its sophomore season with a full concert production of Lerner and Loewe's musical Camelot. Audiences will note that the role of Lancelot is played ...
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Free Lyric Opera concert Sept. 6
Lyric Opera of Chicago launches its 65th season with the 19th annual Stars of Lyric Opera at Millennium Park concert at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion on Friday, Sept. 6, at 7 p.m. The free outdoor performance, ...
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SHOWBIZ 'Judy,' Jill Soloway, John Cameron Mitchell, Octavia Spencer
Decca and Republic Records announced the release of two star-studded duet, to appear on the brand-new album Judy ( the soundtrack to the film of the same name ), a press release noted. The original soundtrack ...
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Daryl Nitz sings the hits
There's a musical gay duo with a show in town that's celebrating over 1200 performances this year at Davenport's Piano Bar. The After Dark Award-winning Nitz/Howe Experience turns 20 in 2019 and is the longest running ...
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SHOWBIZ Matt Bomer, Todrick Hall, Chely Wright, 'Drag Race,' U.S. Open
Matt Bomer will return for the revived Will & Grace's third and final season in the recurring role of McCoy Whitman, NewNowNext.com noted, citing TheWrap. In the second season finale, he and boyfriend Will ( Eric ...
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Dozens of musicians in abortion-rights ad
A new full-page ad in Billboard features nearly 140 musicians from genres across the industry opposing restrictions to safe, legal abortion and declaring their strong support for reproductive health and rights, a statement from Planned Parenthood ...
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Rapper KC Ortiz paves a highway to heaven
A Queer Pride is starting up a weekly Friday night residency at the new nightclub Le Nocturne in Uptown. The debut event is a fundraiser for LA-based nonprofit Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement. The organization's founder ...
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SHOWBIZ Tituss Burgess, IMDb, Halsey, Stephen Colbert, 'Queer As Folk'
Quibi has greenlit Dishmantled—described as "a high-octane cooking competition that will literally blow your socks off," with Tituss Burgess ( Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt; 30 Rock ) set to host, Deadline reported. Hosted by Burgess, each episode ...
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NUNN ON ONE MUSIC Michael Feinstein, The legend returns to Ravinia
Cabaret king Michael Feinstein returns to Ravinia Festival this month with singer Haley Reinhart in her Ravinia debut. Songs will span over decades of the music Feinstein is known for playing. As the ambassador of the ...
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Maria Callas hologram performance Sept. 7
On Saturday, Sept. 7, at 7:30 p.m., legendary opera diva Maria Callas will return to the Lyric Opera House, 20 N. Upper Wacker Dr.—42 years after her death. "Callas in Concert: The Hologram Tour" will feature ...
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Muslim performers' event Aug. 30-31
On Aug. 30-31, at 8 p.m., the Muslim Writers Collective will host a program at Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St., with artists from multiple performative backgrounds. In collaboration with Steppenwolf's LookOut Series, the two-night variety ...
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Considering Matthew Shepard concert st Ravinia Festival Sept. 12
On Thursday, Sept. 12, Considering Matthew Shepard will be performed at Ravinia Festival. The concert focuses on the brutal 1998 killing of a 21 year old gay student which attracted the attention of the world for ...
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CONCERTS Activate: Green Room, Alice Cooper, Hozier, Parker Milsap, Hunx
In case you didn't get enough queer cheer in June, July and August came packed with plenty of treats for every persuasion. Fairy godmother Barbra Streisand hit the United Center on Aug. 6, just days after ...
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NUNN ON ONE CABARET Rizo's 'Chaos' theory
Teatro Zinzanni's Love, Chaos & Dinner is currently playing at the newly opened Cambria Hotel Chicago, 32 W. Randolph St., on the 14th floor in The Spiegeltent ZaZou—a Belgian mirror tent created to showcase singers, acrobats, ...
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Music Box calls on Parton and Poppins for 90th anniversary
An all-night Dolly Parton film festival and a Mary Poppins sing-a-long screening are among the offerings at Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave., celebrates its 90th anniversary starting Aug. 22. Festivities kick off Aug. 22 ...
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Drag-and-dining venue Lips to open Aug. 22
Lips, a drag-and-dining venue, will have a grand opening Thursday, Aug. 22, at 2229 S. Michigan Ave. Just some of the drag performers will include Mimi Marks, Shavonna B. Brooks, Ruff N' Stuff, Angel LeBare, Delilah ...
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London Gay Symphonic-Lakeside Pride Joint in concert Aug. 24
CHICAGO ( August 15, 2019 ) — Lakeside Pride Music Ensembles presents an international collaboration with London's only LGBTQ symphonic wind band, the London Gay Symphonic Winds ( LGSW ), for Aug. 24 7-9 p.m. here ...
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SHOWBIZ 'Elm Street,' 'Crime Story,' Tab Hunter, Lady Gaga
Gay actor Marc Patton is returning to the big screen, as himself, with the documentary Scream, Queen: My Nightmare On Elm Street, The Washington Blade noted. The film tells the story of how his "big break" ...
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Collaborative Works Fest to focuse on vocal chamber music of living composers
CHICAGO— Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago's 19/20 season will open with the 8th annual Collaborative Works Festival , held in venues around Chicago September 5, 7 and 8, 2019 . The 2019 Collaborative Works Festival, The ...
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Northalsted Market Days 2019 in photos
Summertime was in full bloom for Northalsted Market Days, Aug. 10-11. This year's big acts included '80s singer/percussionist Sheila E., America's Got Talent breakout star Brian Justin Crum, dance diva Deborah Cox, "Scissor Sister" Jake Shears, ...
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OPERA Singer Patricia Racette talks coming out, musical feats
Patricia Racette is an internationally acclaimed operatic soprano. Over 30 years in the industry, she has been particularly renowned for performing as Puccini's and Verdi's heroines. On a more personal level, she came out as a ...
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Rocketman on Blu-Ray, DVD Aug. 27
The Elton John biopic Rocketman—already on Digital as of Aug. 6—will be out on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD on Tuesday, Aug. 27, from Paramount Home Entertainment. Rocketman features performances of John's songs by Taron ...
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NUNN ON ONE The talented Brian Justin Crum coming for Market Days
America's Got Talent finalist Brian Justin Crum came out to audiences on national TV during season 11. He told personal stories in between classic cover songs and returned for America's Got Talent: The Champions to sing ...
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NUNN ON ONE 'A Little Night Music' with Bernadette Peters
The legendary Bernadette Peters has a career that has spanned decades thanks to her theater, television and film work over the years. She has taken home trophies along the way, including multiple Tony Awards, three Drama ...
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NUNN ON ONE Alex Newell, living outside the box
Performer Alex Newell refuses to be put in a box. Best known for the playing the character Unique Adams in the Fox series Glee, Newell competed on Oxygen's The Glee Project beforehand to eventually earn a ...
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Lollapalooza 2019: Great weather, defiant and eclectic acts
While Lollapalooza has already committed to four days again next year, it was very difficult to sustain the excitement and sell tickets for promoters with the festival this year. Four-day passes did not sell out until ...
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Janelle Monae headlines 'A Beautiful Future' at MCA
The evening before her unforgettable set at Lollapalooza music festival, performer Janelle Monae attended an event at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago on Aug. 1. The theme of the Belvedere Vodka event was "A Beautiful ...
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UPDATE Sheila E., Jake Shears, Macy Gray part of Market Days line-up
CHICAGO—The Northalsted Business Alliance ( NBA ) brings the beats to Boystown for this year's Northalsted Market Days, set for Aug. 10-11. The fest returns with five stages of non-stop entertainment, shopping, food and more. Music ...
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Artemis Singers to join Women & Children First Bookstore Block Party
CHICAGO─Artemis Singers, www.artemissingers.org, Chicago's lesbian feminist chorus, will perform songs from 2 p.m. - 2:30 p.m., Saturday, August 24, 2019 at Women & Children First 40th Anniversary Block Party, in honor of the bookstore. The nonprofit ...
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Grant Park Music Festival includes Resurrection Symphony Aug. 16-17
CHICAGO ( July 29, 2019 ) — The 85th season of the Grant Park Music Festival, led by Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Carlos Kalmar with Chorus Director Christopher Bell, concludes in August at Millennium Park's ...
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SHOWBIZ Lil Nas X, classic TV shows, Janelle Monae, NFL player
The country-trap smash "Old Town Road" ( by out rapper/singer Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus ) has broken the record for the longest-running number-one song on Billboard's singles chart. And faced with the task ...
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THEATER REVIEW Kiss
Playwright: Guillermo Calderon At: Haven at The Den, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. Tickets: HavenChi.org; $35. Runs through: Aug. 18 Kiss wants you to think rather than feel. That doesn't make it inauthentic, but it distances the ...
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Gloria Gaynor in Chicago on Aug. 9
Legendary singer Gloria Gaynor—known for her hit "I Will Survive"—will perform at City Winery, 1200 W. Randolph St., on Friday, Aug. 9, at 7 and 10 p.m. Gaynor's career spans the past 40 years. She has ...
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Sinfonietta concert screening of 'Get Out' Sept. 21
Chicago Sinfonietta will perform a live concert screening of Jordan Peele's 2018 smash film film Get Out, conducted by score composer Michael Abels, at the Auditorium Theatre, 50 East Ida B. Wells Dr., on Saturday, Sept. ...
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Hamilton The Exhibition concludes in Chicago Aug. 25
Hamilton: The Exhibition—the large-scale immersive museum that debuted last spring in Chicago—will conclude its five-month residency on Sunday, Aug. 25, Hamilton producer Jeffrey Seller announced. Inspired by the globally known musical, Hamilton: The Exhibition takes visitors ...
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Clandestina organizers on relaunching event, future plans
After an almost three-year hiatus, Clandestina Chicago ( Clandestina ) co-promoters City Winery Chicago Riverwalk Manager Brooke Webster and Chicago PD Makeup Department Head Alma Izquierdo have announced a re-launch event Saturday, Aug. 24, 8 p.m.-12 ...
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MUSIC Hozier talks musical activism, inspiration and 'Wasteland, Baby!'
Andrew Hozier-Byrne, the Irish singer-songwriter known mononymously as Hozier, will be performing a few times in Chicago in the coming months—including at Lollapalloza on Thursday, Aug. 1. Since the 2013 release of his song, "Take Me ...
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Second City Divas In Concert for Season of Concern
In a one-night-only opportunity to see Chicago's leading ladies of musical theatre on stage together, Season of Concern ( SOC ) presents "Second City Divas—In Concert," a benefit performance Monday, September 9 at 7:30 p.m. at ...
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Artists from around the globe at World Music Fest Chicago Sept. 13-19
The world will come together for the 21ST Annual World Music Festival Chicago at 17 venues across the city from September 13 to 29. Celebrating diverse music from across the globe, this FREE festival is produced ...
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SHOWBIZ Indya Moore, Janet Jackson, Cazwell & Miss Peppermint, Andy Cohen
CAA has signed actor, model, writer and social activist Indya Moore, Deadline reported. The transgender, non-binary, Haitian-Dominician actor is part of the FX series Pose, co-created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Steven Canals, and which ...
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MUSIC Donyae Asante talks career choices, sex positivity
By Joshua Irvine
A few years back, a high school kid named Donyae Lewis portrayed Sonny in a production of In the Heights, at Governors State University. Lewis had started writing songs and poems that year to "get through ...
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Tegan and Sara in Evanston Oct. 15, tickets July 26
LGBTQ band Tegan and Sara will perform in Evanston's Cahn Auditorium, 600 Emerson St., on Tuesday, Oct. 15, at 8 p.m., as part of their "Hey, I'm Just Like You" tour. ( Doors open at 7 ...
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MUSIC Queer musician Bitch on Pride, politics and musical hiatus
L.A.-based queer musician Bitch is no stranger to thinking outside of the box. After years on hiatus, she came back with a political punch in early 2019 with her single "New Year," which is an upbeat ...
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CONCERTS Daya; Brandi Carlile; Taste of Chicago
If the Chicago area celebrations for the 50th anniversary of The Stonewall Riots toward the end of June seemed to be epic and numerous, the smaller events and aftershocks in July managed to be just as ...
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