“On July 5, 1955, in a long-gone tavern once located just off campus, improvisational comedy was born,” wrote Jennifer Carnig in 2005 from the news office of The University Chicago Chronicle. Paul Shepherd left NYC for the Midwest where he co-founded the Compass Players with Paul Sills who fostered many of the company’s most famous Read more…

Getting a late start to her career at 40 years old hasn’t lessened her significance in contemporary American jazz music. A caged domestic life and abusive marriage spurred a blues career carrying on the lineage of Billie Holiday and Nina Simone. Since the millennium, Marie has been called to sing about the Jena Six Case Read more…

Hell in a Handbag Productions, lead by Artistic Director and co-founder, David Cerda, seems to have its hands in everything camp and film in Chicagoland. Handbag “is dedicated to the preservation, exploration, and celebration of works ingrained in the realm of popular culture via theatrical productions through parody, music, and homage.” My first introduction to Read more…