Today In The Culture, March 9, 2023: Why Sleeping Village Canceled Film Series
Former Kendall College Building At Goose Island Bought By BA Investment Advisors
“A Chicago real estate firm that has invested heavily in suburban office buildings since the start of the pandemic” is “betting on the future of Goose Island and a boost that may come from a planned Bally’s casino complex,” reports Crain’s. “Chicago-based BA Investment Advisors is under contract to buy the eight-story former Kendall College building… The vacant Goose Island brick-and-timber property was home to the for-profit culinary arts and hospitality management school from 2005 until 2018, when its degree programs were acquired by National Louis University and relocated.”
DINING & DRINKING
Michelin Adds Seven Chicago Restaurants
Seven restaurants are added to the Michelin Guide, reports Crain’s: Avli on the Park, Indienne, Roux, Suenos, The Izakaya at Momotaro, Union and Pompette.
Taste Of Chicago Goes Around Town, If That Taste Is Jeppson’s Malört
A range of restaurants are tinkering with the herbal essence of Chicago, via Malört cocktails, and have passed along their concoctions: Jinsei Motto, the sushi and omakase restaurant in the West Loop inside CH Distillery, fashioned the Bitter Blossom, made with Malört, barrel-aged cherry brandy and orange. Traditional tavern The Dearborn offers At The End of the Day: made with sloe gin, blood orange liqueur, Malört, sherry demerara and yuzu juice. Speakeasy-style Watershed, dedicated to local beer, artisanal spirits, craft cocktails and wines makes two swings: the Remedial Chaos Theory, made with Pepperoni Combos, Malört, thyme, tomato, vinegar, bitters and port; and the Basic Sandwich, a Mexican lager and Malört. And Wieners Circle volleys the Hemingway’s Revenge, made with rum, grapefruit, Malört, lime and maraschino liqueur.
FILM & TELEVISION
Sleeping Village Addresses Film Series Cancellation
“We want to address the recent decision not to go forward with a film series at Sleeping Village,” the establishment posts on Instagram. “The event was initially welcomed as an experimental film series featuring queer erotica. Once it was discovered that it contained X-rated content, we did not move forward with the series, as showing X-rated films in our venue would be in violation of Chicago’s municipal code and possibly jeopardize our business licenses. The decision was in no way related to the queer themes being presented… We will always be a committed ally of the LGBTQIA+ community. It is important to us to have created and continue to provide a safe and accessible space for all… and we remain steadfast in our commitment to supporting and celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community and being good stewards of our venue.”
LIT
Gillian Flynn Founds Gillian Flynn Books While Not Finishing Gillian Flynn Book
A hard-boiled nun is the protagonist of “the first title for Gillian Flynn Books, a new imprint by independent publisher Zando Projects—which also created Hillman Grad Books, an imprint for Lena Waithe, the Chicago screenwriter, producer, actress and creator of ‘The Chi,'” reports Christopher Borrelli at the Trib. “The second Gillian Flynn Books title arrives in July… Not all will be mysteries… A few enigmas persist… Is Gillian Flynn more of a publisher and screenwriter now? And when is that next book coming?” (It’s in first draft.) Why the time elapsed? “I enjoyed writing films. I wrote (the screenplay for) ‘Gone Girl,’ then ‘Sharp Objects,’ which I wrote a lot of. I did ‘Widows.’ The series ‘Utopia’ for Amazon… It was thrilling to be part of it and it was doing something different. I just got swept up. But you can’t do both (writing novels and film) at once. Studio deadlines don’t provide the same luxury as a publisher… At a certain point, I told my agents: ‘Don’t send me any offers. I am going to finish this book.’ … I love the collaborative side of film, but I am also enjoying being in charge of my own world, without having to read notes from studios or worry about budgets and locations. When I write, it’s entirely what I want.”
Semicolon Bookstore Popup At Kimpton Gray Extended For Women’s History Month
In honor of Women’s History Month, the Kimpton Gray Hotel will continue “Narrative—A Semicolon Concept” through March. “In line with Semicolon Bookstore owner Danielle Mullen’s vision, the room has been transformed into a girl’s dream space, featuring colorful books surrounding a bed to make visitors feel like they are part of a literary dream.” The curated collection features all-BIPOC and women authors to celebrate their stories. The bookstore is open Tuesdays- Saturdays, noon-6pm.
The Battle For Books
“Facing smear campaigns and death threats, librarians are on the front lines of what they call an urgent battle for intellectual freedom,” writes Hannah Allam at the Washington Post. “It’s time to understand that they’re serious about suppressing information and taking away people’s civil liberties based on their identity and race. They want to go back to 1952,” Deborah Caldwell-Stone, the director of the American Library Association’s intellectual freedom office, told the paper about the groups that are behind censorship efforts. “We’re being confronted with the potential for another McCarthy era, where people’s lives are ruined simply because of what they believe or who they are.”
MEDIA
Daily Mail Wails “Fail”
The Daily Mail, which has increased its U.S. footprint to provide expansive muck and mire of the scandalous and the scurrilous, is firing an unspecified number of employees as the British print edition loses readers, reports the Guardian. Editor Ted Verity “said newspaper, sister title Mail on Sunday and MailOnline would be brought ‘much closer together.'”
MUSIC
Pitchfork Dates: July 21-23
The bill of fare is promised soon, via text or email, if you provide your data.
Chicago Psychfest Returns With Jeff Parker Headlining Twice
The thirteenth Chicago Psychfest is at the Hideout Friday and Saturday, March 17 and 18, write J. R. Nelson and Leor Galil at the Reader. “Friday night includes a solo headlining set from guitarist Jeff Parker, performances by the Elijah McLaughlin Ensemble and Tim Kinsella & Jenny Pulse, and DJ sets from Psyche Prissy Pie. Parker headlines again on Saturday, this time joined by Joshua Abrams of Natural Information Society; openers include Brain Waiver, DJ Sara Gossett, and [fest booker] Steve Krakow’s band Plastic Crimewave Syndicate.”
STAGE
Zephyr Dance And SITE/less To Stage Merce Cunningham Masterwork
Zephyr Dance and its space SITE/less have received permission to stage “Suite for Five,” a masterwork by legendary choreographer Merce Cunningham, reports the company, and to use that work from 1956 as a springboard for a new piece, with each movement created by one of five choreographers. It’s a rare occasion when a small, experimental dance company such as Zephyr receives permission from the Cunningham Trust to stage this work, let alone be granted permission to deconstruct and recreate the work as something new; and third, that both the original and the new works will be performed in a non-traditional, immersive space. “‘Suite for Five’ has been performed mostly in traditional proscenium theaters for at least the past forty years. SITE/less, which aims to rethink the connection between movement and architecture and deepen the relationship between the viewer and the venue beyond the typical model, invites viewers within inches of the dancers—’literally inside the dance,'” artistic director Michelle Kranicke says in a release. “The experience will be more intimate, more immersive, than a typical performance of this work.” “S45” has its world premiere October 19–22, at Zephyr’s space SITE/less on West Augusta in West Town.
Free Streaming Release Of The Lyric’s Sold-Out “The Factotum” Forthcoming
“After a critically acclaimed and sold-out run at the Harris Theater earlier this month, Lyric Opera of Chicago’s world-premiere production of ‘The Factotum,’ by Grammy award-winning baritone Will Liverman, DJ King Rico, and Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj is making a comeback,” the Lyric relays. “Due to its limited run and the high interest in the production, Lyric will release a film of ‘The Factotum,’ from Endangered Peace Productions in association with JJE Productions by Chicago filmmaker Raphael Nash, for free online viewing this April via Lyric’s YouTube channel. Beyond capturing the striking stage performances with the original cast, the film will feature behind-the-scenes glimpses on the opera’s journey from page to stage with never-before-seen cast and creative team interviews and footage.” Three other opera companies have signed on to the production: Houston Grand Opera (a co-commissioner), Portland Opera and Washington National Opera will each present “The Factotum” in future seasons, “ensuring the opera’s tributes to Black joy and to its Chicago roots extend to live audiences across the country.”
ARTS & CULTURE & ETC.
Taste Of Chicago Under The Wheels Of NASCAR; Special Events Commandeer Grant Park All Summer
The Taste of Chicago, “a city staple since 1980, was notably absent from Grant Park’s summer events schedule this year,” reports Block Club. “A planning disaster,” says Ald. Brendan Reilly. “The city had planned to host the Taste July 1-2 at Polk Brothers Park… near Navy Pier—the same weekend that NASCAR will pack Downtown streets and Grant Park.”
Additionally, they report, “Grant Park will be booked eighty-four days between May 18 and August 13 for setting up, hosting and teardown for events… Special events will dominate Grant Park [with NASCAR taking] up at least part of the park for nearly six weeks for its inaugural Chicago race… dedicated to preparing, running and cleaning up the July 1-2 NASCAR race.” The corporation “can start setting up twenty-six days in advance, and they have thirteen days to clean up.” Fran Spielman of the Sun-Times revs the drama: “Lame-duck Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan to hold Taste of Chicago on the same July 4 weekend as NASCAR’s first street-course race—but move Taste to a park near Navy Pier—hit a wall of opposition Tuesday.”
From NBC 5: The prospect is a “logistical disaster,” Reilly said. “Polk Brothers Park is very small. It’s not even close to the footprint they’re used to using, never mind the fact you have a circular driveway that goes around the park, the pedestrian issues, and the fact that Lake Shore Drive will be closed for the NASCAR race.” “Officials at Navy Pier also say that there is no agreement in place to hold the event at Polk Brothers Park.”
NYT Opinion Page Stalwarts Warn Nation About Chicago Election Results
On the New York Times editorial page, the eight-years-plus-running toe-to-toe exchange by longtime columnists Gail Collins and Bret Stephens, joins the out-of-town clamor to fear the results of the low-turnout Chicago mayoral election. Says the very conservative Stephens: “Every thriving city needs to get two basic things right: It has to be safe for people and safe for commerce… I just hope [Chicago voters] have the good sense to go with the centrist Paul Vallas in the runoff election instead of his opponent, Brandon Johnson, who may be even further to the left than Lightweight—er, Lightfoot.” Responds Collins, “Doubt there’s a Democrat in America who isn’t sensitive to the crime issue now. But as we follow this story, just want to leave you now with one thought: Getting tough on lawbreakers is not enough to make a great chief executive. Remember Rudy Giuliani.”
CDC Updates Guidance For Certifying Deaths Due To COVID-19
“Emerging evidence suggests that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes COVID-19, can have lasting effects on nearly every organ and organ system of the body weeks, months, and potentially years after infection,” the Center For Disease Control has added in its guidance to certifying deaths. “Documented serious post-COVID-19 conditions include cardiovascular, pulmonary, neurological, renal, endocrine, hematological, and gastrointestinal complications, as well as death.”
