Good afternoon, Chicago. ✶
Chicago’s storied and complicated improv theater legacy is entering another chapter, thanks to new theaters in the South Loop and Lake View.
In today’s newsletter, we’ll look into how the scene is growing.
Plus, we’ve got reporting on negotiations between University of Chicago leaders and protesters, why the ACLU of Illinois is suing the city and more community news you need to know below. 👇
⏱️: A 7-minute read
— Matt Moore, newsletter reporter (@MattKenMoore)
TODAY’S TOP STORY
Chicago improv scene grows with new theaters in South Loop, Lake View
Reporting by Steve Heisler | For the Sun-Times
Back on stage: Two improv comedy venues opening soon in Chicago — one new, one relocated — reflect their names quite well: The Revival and The Home Comedy Theater. Both are the culmination of planning that started during the tumult of the COVID-19 lockdown.
Improv scene reckoning: In 2020, Chicago’s two main improv outlets, Second City and iO, endured a theater-closing pandemic and faced accusations of racist practices. Their longtime leaders stepped down, and both institutions went up for sale.
Smaller theater stages revival: Almost 10 years after he founded The Revival in Hyde Park, John Stoops’ improv theater is reopening in the South Loop in a bigger venue for a “more polished experience,” according to Stoops. The initial slate of shows, kicking off May 9, features some heavy hitters. Dave Pasquesi (“Veep,” “TJ & Dave”), Sue Gillan (“Shrink”) and Mike Brunlieb (“South Side”) unite as a trio for the first time in an improv ensemble called Unsend.
Making space: The Home Comedy Theater, conceived by a collective of iO and Second City veterans, is building out a space in Lake View as an artistic residence for long-form improvisers. Co-founder Cesar Jaime found a building and plans to begin scheduling classes and shows that reflect the diversity of Chicago. “I don’t think enough effort was put into the bigger theaters,” he told the Sun-Times.
WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
- ‘Impasse’ at U of C: University of Chicago students and school officials have reached an “impasse” during talks about the encampment on campus, protest organizers announced Friday.
- How police found their suspect: A relative’s bank card was crucial to tracking down the man charged with killing Chicago Police Officer Luis Huesca as he returned home from work late last month in Gage Park, officials disclosed Friday.
- CFD staffing criticized: Livid that Fire Commissioner Annette Holt and two other department heads were told to stay away, a City Council committee forged ahead with a hearing Thursday on a sore subject: discrimination in hiring and promotions in the Chicago Fire Department.
- ACLU sues Chicago: The ACLU of Illinois filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a left-leaning activist group whose preferred protest route on the Magnificent Mile during the Democratic National Convention was shot down by the city. The city has been so vague about its security plan for the convention that it may be unprepared, the group said Thursday.
- CPS support staff reach contract: Service Employees International Union Local 73 reached a four-year deal earlier this week that is highlighted by a base salary of $40,000, as well as 4% raises for workers in the first two years.
- Remembering Jay Robert Nash: The prolific Chicago author, who penned about 70 books, was a literary fireball — “5 foot 6 inches of mustachioed dynamite,” Sun-Times columnist Tom Fitzpatrick said in 1972. He died April 22 at age 86.
- Breland comes to Chicago: The platinum-selling artist is bringing his blend of country, R&B, hip-hop and pop to the Windy City on Saturday. He spoke with the Sun-Times ahead of his gig here.
- 2 stars for ‘Judgment Day’: Starring Jason Alexander, this play is a mildly amusing 30-minute sitcom inflated to fill two hours’ traffic on the stage and gilded with a wafer-thin exploration of some of life’s greatest moral conundrums, writes Catey Sullivan in a review for the Sun-Times.
WEEKEND PLANS 🎉
🇲🇽 Mexico Fest
Friday-Sunday
📍Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand Ave.
This celebration features music and dance performances, workshops and more than 30 vendors. Performers include Mariachi Estrellas de Chicago, Ballet Folklorico Sones Mexicano and more.
Admission: Free
🎥 Chicago Critics Film Festival
Friday-May 9
📍Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave.
This fest features a selection of the most sought-after and anticipated films of the year chosen by members of the Chicago Film Critics Association. Find the full schedule of movies here.
Admission: Ticket prices vary, fest passes are $200.
🇵🇱 Polish Constitution Day Parade
Saturday, 11:30 a.m.
📍Balbo and Columbus, headed north
Celebrate Polish pride with a parade followed by a concert in Grant Park, courtesy of the Chicago Chopin Foundation.
Admission: Free
🎤 Celebrate Her: Women in the Arts
Saturday, 4-6:30 p.m.
📍Ka’Lab, 501 1/2 East 47th St.
See poets, rappers, singers, drag artists and composers perform in this showcase. Performing artists include Juliette Gardinier, Luna Diamond, Lady Lombre and more.
Admission: $15
🌸 Cherry Blossom Festival
Sunday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
📍Garden of the Phoenix, Jackson Park, 6300 S. Cornell Ave.
The annual Hanami, or cherry blossom viewing festival, will include performances, origami folding, activities for children and more.
Admission: Free
🎨 Mother’s Day Art and Gift Market
Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
📍 American Indian Center, 3401 W. Ainslie St.
Find a gift for the mother in your life, enjoy delicious food, and see dance and drum performances at this community event.
Admission: Free
BRIGHT ONE ✨
Paleontologist Paul Sereno’s Fossil Lab moves to Washington Park, opens doors to community
Reporting by Mariah Rush
Paleontologist Paul Sereno lit up during a tour Thursday when he talked about remains of the largest crocodile in the world. It was 40 feet long, he said at his new Fossil Lab in Washington Park, and it surely ate dinosaurs.
Sereno used terms like “jaw-dropping” to describe the specimen that can now be found in Washington Park’s new Fossil Lab, which opened to the public Thursday.
Visitors can travel back eons and play “Jurassic Park” at the lab at 5437 S. Wabash Ave., which was previously housed at the University of Chicago but split into separate rooms. Sereno, a renowned professor at the university, is a National Geographic “explorer-in-residence” who discovers dinosaur fossils through his own expeditions.
The 6,000-square-foot facility will also display “mummified dinosaurs” and many of his life-size and lifelike 3D renderings of dinosaurs, other prehistoric animals and Homo sapiens — humans.
Fossil Lab also includes a fossil preparation space and multipurpose areas for community programs in which school students and others can learn more about the fossils and the innovative projects Sereno and his team have worked on. The building, built in 1921, used to be a warehouse.
"[The building] is not as old as the dinosaurs, but it nearly is,” Sereno said with a chuckle.
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
What’s the most memorable Chicago improv performance you’ve seen?
Email us (please include your first and last name). To see the answers to this question, check our Morning Edition newsletter. Not subscribed to Morning Edition? Sign up here so you won’t miss a thing!
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Editor: Satchel Price
Newsletter reporter: Matt Moore
Copy editor: Chris Woldt
