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Chicago Tribune
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
100 years of glory and decay
Before the Uptown Theatre opened its doors to the public on Aug. 18, 1925, advertisements in the Chicago Daily Tribune overflowed with hype for the city's newest and biggest movie palace. 'It will hush and thrill you,' one ad promised. 'It throbs with beauty.' 'It is one of the great art buildings of the world,' the Uptown's owners, Balaban & Katz, asserted in another ad. 'You have never seen such dignified luxury, such exquisite elegance as lives in its towering pillars, its mountainous ceilings, glowing colors, stately promenades, lounges, cosmetic rooms and smoking rooms.' The grand opening was touted as 'an event you will remember all your life.' It wasn't mere hyperbole. This was one of the largest and most elaborately decorated movie theaters ever constructed. The morning after the Uptown opened at 4816 N. Broadway, a Tribune movie critic reported that the 4,320-seat Uptown was even grander than downtown's 3,861-seat Chicago Theatre, which Balaban & Katz had opened four years earlier. 'It's a splendiferous palace of a place — the Chicago's dressy sister,' wrote Mae Tinée (a jokey pseudonym used at the time by Tribune critics). 'Don't ask me about the architecture because I don't know anything about architecture. But I do know that Sister Uptown … is lavish of space, decoration and comfort, is sumptuously furnished and is beautifully and softly lighted inside.' The North Side's Uptown neighborhood held a festival to celebrate. Bands played on street corners, trapeze artists twirled overhead, and a daredevil set himself on fire before diving into a pool of water. Over six days, more than 500,000 people flocked to the streets around Broadway and Lawrence Avenue, according to the Tribune. (Another publication pegged the attendance at 750,000.) Those crowds included an estimated 150,000 people who went inside the movie palace that week. Balaban & Katz, a chain owned by two families from Chicago's West Side, had been building bigger and bigger theaters as Americans spent an increasing amount of their leisure time at the movies. After constructing the Central Park Theatre on the West Side in 1917, B&K had opened the Riviera on the North Side, the Tivoli on the South Side and the Chicago Theatre in the Loop. Then the company spent $4 million (roughly $73 million in today's money) creating the mammoth Uptown right across the street from the Riviera — motivated, apparently, by the desire to open an even bigger theater. The Chicago architectural firm Rapp & Rapp designed all of the movie palaces for B&K. As architect George Leslie Rapp explained, the ornate buildings gave everyone a chance to experience what it was like to step inside a European castle. The Uptown cast a spell on visitors with giant chandeliers, colored glass windows, tapestries and bronze clocks, to name just a few of its countless decorative touches. 'The fanciful heads of Renaissance Cupids, fantastic gargoyles, griffins, the laughing heads of mythological gods and jolly demons grimace in friendly humor,' according to a promotional Balaban & Katz magazine. 'These are not impractical attempts at showing off,' architect George Leslie Rapp said. 'Here is a shrine to democracy where there are no privileged patrons. The wealthy rub elbows with the poor — and are better for this contact.' A.J. Balaban, one of B&K's owners, said he envisioned the theaters as a 'meeting place of the aristocrat and humble worker.' The company's movie palaces, including the Uptown, were among the first theaters anywhere equipped with air conditioning — a major attraction during an era when people didn't have AC in their homes. B&K's magazine said the Uptown contained 'complex yet never failing machinery that you never see, shining engines that change the air in the theatre every two minutes, wash the air, cool the air, rewash the air, temper it exactly to your comfort.' The Uptown's lobbies, filled with sculptures, paintings and fancy furniture, were vast enough to hold thousands of people waiting for the next show. The Uptown's staff of 131 employees included 23 uniformed ushers working with military precision as they guided audience members to seats. Movies were just one portion of the show. At the Uptown's grand opening, classical musicians performed on an elevator platform that rose out of the basement. The Oriole Orchestra got things jumping with some jazz. Spanish dancers graced the stage. And the popular organist Jesse Crawford played the Uptown's giant Wurlitzer. When it was finally time for the feature film, a silent romance and adventure called 'The Lady Who Lied,' the orchestra provided a live soundtrack. The Tribune's Mae Tinée didn't care much for the film, complaining that 'it drags interminably,' but as the Chicago Daily News observed: 'The throngs paid more attention to the theater than to the picture.' In an Aug. 19 ad, Balaban & Katz proclaimed: 'All Chicago stormed the Uptown Theatre yesterday. Its opening was the most gigantic thing since Armistice Day. From North Side, South Side, West Side, and far, far up the North Shore, they came and couldn't believe their eyes. … The new theatre swept the entire city off its feet.' But just a few years later, the movie business faced major upheaval, as 1927's 'The Jazz Singer' ushered in the era of sound films. Soon, there was no need for an orchestra or organist to play during screenings. The Uptown continued presenting live entertainment for a while — including the Marx Brothers in 1928 and Duke Ellington in 1931 — but that became less common after the Great Depression hurt ticket sales in the early 1930s. Amid the economic devastation, Balaban & Katz and other theater chains stopped building movie palaces. By the 1950s, as movie attendance plummeted and Americans spent more time watching television, huge theaters like the Uptown seemed like relics. Looking for new ways to attract audiences, the Uptown added closed-circuit television equipment in 1951, occasionally showing special events such as operas and boxing matches. And the theater installed a 70-foot-wide CinemaScope screen in 1954, turning movies into panoramic spectacles. But when a Tribune reporter visited the Uptown in 1968, it was looking dingy. 'Dust now covers peeling gold wallpaper in the quiet balconies, and bits of cracked plaster have fallen on once colorful tapestry rugs,' reporter Edith Herman wrote. The theater's glamour faded further when many of its artworks and furnishings were auctioned off in 1969 and 1970. Things started to look up in 1975 when Jam Productions began presenting rock concerts there, starting with the Tubes on Oct. 31. Over the next six years, the Uptown hosted the era's most popular musicians, from Bruce Springsteen and Rod Stewart to the Grateful Dead, who played there 17 times. And yet, the theater continued to fall into disrepair. Its final show, a concert by the J. Geils Band, was on Dec. 19, 1981. It has been closed ever since. In the early 1980s, some of the building's pipes burst, damaging portions of interior walls. Volunteers pitched in to prevent further deterioration. After the Uptown passed through several owners, it was purchased in 2008 by a partnership led by Jerry Mickelson of Jam Productions. In 2018, then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced a $75 million plan to reopen the Uptown, but the project faltered as Mickelson tried to line up investors. As the Uptown's 100th birthday approached, Mickelson said he's seeking the city's commitment to support renovations with tax increment financing or other funding and incentives. 'The Uptown Theatre must be saved because it's one of the most extraordinary and historically significant movie palaces ever built — not just in Chicago, but anywhere in the United States,' Mickelson said in a July 31 email. 'Saving the Uptown is about more than saving bricks, plaster and history. It's about creating jobs and opportunities at the theatre for our youth. … It's about honoring Chicago's place as a birthplace of movie palaces. And it's about choosing hope over cynicism. Letting it rot would be easy. Bringing it back to life will be bold — and deeply worth it.'
Chicago Tribune
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
What to do in Chicago: Bud Billiken Parade, a fest for Beatles fans and Northalsted Market Days
Our picks for events in and around Chicago this weekend. Touted as the largest Black parade, the 96th annual Bud Billiken Parade will march through Bronzeville this weekend. Led by this year's grand marshal, 'Chicago P.D.' star and Harvey native LaRoyce Hawkins, the two-mile parade features more than 200 bands, dance teams and performers from across the country. After the parade, check out the It Takes a Village Back to School Festival in Washington Park, featuring free hairstyling, health screenings and live performances. Bud Billiken events support $25,000 in scholarships and thousands of free school wrap up summer without another Northalsted party. Entertainment spans across four stages, more than 250 vendors line the streets and, of course, there's food, drink and 20 years on the scene — no longer Young — the Georgia trap star rolls into the Chicago Theatre with a live performance of his debut album. Backed by the Color of Noize Orchestra and DJ Drama, Jeezy will play 'Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101.' It's the album that put him — and hit song 'Soul Survivor' — on the beloved Chicago band plays two sets with an intermission at The Salt Shed. As you'd expect, it's long sold out … but where there's a Wilco, there's a way? You could also consider grabbing tickets to Jeff Tweedy's solo show on Sept. 7 at Gallagher Way or his full band show with Macie Stewart on Nov. 1 back at The Salt comedy? You've got plenty to see this weekend. Kerryn Feehan and Dwayne Kennedy top the lineup at this weekend's Windy City Comedy Fest. Dozens of comics from Chicago and beyond will perform at a series of showcases across the city, culminating in an installment of Roast Battle Chicago at the Den Theatre on Aug. authors and celebrate Black literature at the Soulful Chicago Book Fair. Music, storytelling, poetry and more will be on offer. Bring the whole family: Children's books are part of the you always wished you could visit a Beatles Ashram? Now's your chance. You just have to go to the Hyatt Regency O'Hare. You'll be surrounded by fellow Beatlemaniacs and have the opportunity to hear from the likes of producer Peter Asher, The Yardbirds' Jim McCarty, Bad Company's Simon Kirke and tour manager and 'Miss O'Dell' inspiration Chris O'Dell. (Or, as the fest's website states, 'Worked at Apple, was at Rooftop Concert.') WXRT's Terri Hemmert serves as master of ceremonies, as she has since you have a giant TV, but nothing compares to the big-ness of experiencing a 70mm film in the theater. See for yourself through Aug. 21 as the Music Box Theatre has put together a lineup of films deserving of the format's grandeur. There's something here for nearly every moviegoer. Yes, 'Lawrence of Arabia' and 'Cleopatra,' but also Ryan Coogler's 'Sinners.' Rounding out the lineup: 'It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World,' 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,' 'Dunkirk,' '2001: A Space Odyssey,' 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind,' 'Sleeping Beauty' and 'The Dark Crystal.'Looking for a messy challenge? Women of all ages and fitness levels are invited to participate in MudGirl Run, a three-mile course featuring 17 obstacles and a whole lot of mud. It promises a day of empowerment and aims to raise money for the Pink Army Foundation, a charity supporting breast cancer summertime! Specifically, the Summer of Sue, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Field Museum's beloved T. rex. So skip work and head down to Museum Campus. The Field offers free basic admission to Illinois residents every Wednesday this month. Be sure to bring proof of residency.
Chicago Tribune
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Review: Alabama Shakes is back, reuniting for a Chicago audience outdoors at Salt Shed
Why rush the pace on a warm, humid evening? Alabama Shakes eased into its first scheduled show in eight years Tuesday at the outside Fairgrounds at Salt Shed. Performing the opening of a two-night stand and their first local gig since 2016, the reunited rock 'n' roll band received a warm welcome from a packed crowd. It returned the favor throughout a 90-minute concert that contained a few surprises sprinkled amid the familiar. In news that will shock no one, vocalist-guitarist Brittany Howard led the way. Wearing a smart pair of glasses and a hybrid overalls-dress ensemble, she flashed an ear-to-ear smile and openly channeled enthusiasm. And while the 36-year-old belter largely skipped the banter, she expressed gratitude in multiple ways, from blowing kisses to taking formal bows. Happy to be playing with her old friends, she evoked a small-town native who, after moving to the big city for a stretch as a young adult, gladly returned home to comfortable surroundings. While she's been receiving critical acclaim for her solo excursions, Howard looked jazzed to re-engage with her former mates and resurrect long-dormant songs. Save for a surprise one-off event in Alabama last December, the group has been on indefinite hiatus since early 2018. During the break, the two other current permanent members maintained a low profile. But former drummer Steve Johnson dealt with domestic violence issues and was arrested for suspicion of child abuse, a charge subsequently dropped. He's no longer with the band. Alabama Shakes keeps picking Chicago for key stops. During a spring 2015 tour well in advance of its sophomore 'Sound & Color' LP, the band previewed all the album's songs in a Chicago Theatre show for an audience unacquainted with the material. Months later, the group upped the ante with a celebrated set at Lollapalooza. Howard later chose the city to launch her 2024 tour at Thalia Hall with a pair of winter concerts that preceded the release of her most recent effort, the Grammy-nominated 'What Now.' 'What now' for Alabama Shakes is the past, and a small taste of the future. At this show, with pressure and anticipations at a peak, some spots of rust understandably emerged. Ditto a handful of pragmatic choices that can easily be amended and improved as things evolve. Namely, the flow of the set, which at times sagged, and the arrangement of the band onstage. The interplay between Howard and guitarist Heath Fogg helps separate the Alabama Shakes from many lesser bands. But by placing the primarily immobile Fogg behind and to the side of her front-and-center position, the group shut itself off from some spontaneous opportunities. Often, Alabama Shakes Version 2.0 bordered on being too cautious for a band that last issued new original music a decade ago. Chalk up the buttoned-down tactics to nerves, perhaps, or the simple desire to get their sea legs back. Whatever the reason, Howard and company never worked their fare into a sweaty lather or sustained any explosive energy longer than one tune. Three auxiliary instrumentalists (drummer Noah Bond, organist Ben Tanner, keyboardist Paul Horton) and a trio of backing vocalists fleshed out the arrangements, yet this inaugural showing favored restored symmetry over reignited chemistry. An abundance of diligent textures and delicate balladry, a shortage of let-it-all-hang-out looseness and fiery intensity. Of course, with Howard as the center of attention, sparks still flew. Present her a song and she'll stamp it with sincerity, personality and soul. Make that an extra helping of the latter. In complete control, Howard demonstrated a mega-watt range that veered from a quiet, ultra-high register only canines might detect to low, throaty howls that would command the respect of a street tough. She appreciated the role of subtlety, and the rule of 'less is more.' Howard preferred simmer to boil, sugar to sass, and never lacked spunk. Her alteration of one syllable in a verse or chorus usually changed the temperature of the song, and prompted the rhythms to follow suit. Bond and bassist Zac Cockrell held down the low end with workmanlike aptitude, leaving plenty of room for bluesy fills, fuzz-distortion accents and pregnant pauses to enter undetected. For all their graduate-level knowledge of roots rock, vintage R&B and Southern boogie, Alabama Shakes served notice they're just as much students of the art of the build — and of how tension inherently begets deeper grooves. Howard essentially narrated the approach on 'Hold On,' whose steady purr, knee-bending flexibility and slight funkiness contributed to its fabulous sense of restraint — to say nothing of its verbal push-pull tug between patience and pleasure, increasingly relevant in an age where instant gratification reigns supreme. Indicative of the title, 'Dunes' rose and fell akin to a coastal landscape, its ebbing melody threatening to drift away and requiring the band to reel it back as the three-piece vocal choir repeated the refrain. At other times, Howard pushed her singing until it teetered on an imaginary ledge, peering over precipices at once exhilarating and dangerous. Delivered in a scratchy tone, 'Don't Wanna Fight' strutted and swaggered even as it briefly snuck inside a disco club. Framed as a sentimental hymn, 'This Feeling' floated through static-charged air as Howard's soft, breathy shiver twined with minimalist percussion and twinkling keys. A waltzing 'Gimme All Your Love' found the singer begging and demanding, and tempos that bounced between similar extremes. The Alabama Shakes chased synesthesia on the big-sky shimmer of 'Sound & Color,' yet the brand-new 'Another Life' registered a more formidable impression. Its slinky, stacked-block architecture ultimately gave way to Howard testifying and a stomping outro. Another apparent debut, the haunted 'American Dream,' waded into psychedelic territories via dissonant elements and clashing themes. All told, a solid start to an Act 2 that needs a few tweaks — including the exchange of some mellow fare ('Someday,' 'Over My Head') for a couple of garage-rock howlers sitting on the shelf ('Heavy Chevy,' 'The Greatest'). Or an occasional stab at a rollicking cover or an attempt at a cut from Howard's side-project hardcore band, Kumite. Those shifts would grant Howard extra chances to turn her head from side to side, throw her head back and visibly vibrate with excitement. All signs of an impending eruption of uncontainable emotion and fierce determination. In the world of Alabama Shakes, that's always from the Salt Shed Fairgrounds on July 15: 'Future People' 'Don't Wanna Fight' 'I Ain't the Same' 'I Found You' 'Guess Who' 'Hang Loose' 'Hold On' 'This Feeling' 'Dunes' 'Another Life' (unreleased) 'Gimme All Your Love' 'Over My Head' 'Rise to the Sun' 'Shoegaze' 'Drive By Baby' 'Be Mine' 'American Dream' (unreleased) 'Gemini' Encore 'Sound & Color' 'Someday' 'Always Alright'
Chicago Tribune
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Live at the Chicago Theatre: Francis Ford Coppola, ‘Megalopolis' and your questions
Want a better America? A very famous filmmaker would like your thoughts on that one. Hiding in plain sight, 'Megalopolis' is no longer streaming anywhere (it was available, briefly, as a digital download) and it's not on DVD. There's a reason. Its writer-director prefers that you experience his long-brewing, half-mad argument for democracy, aesthetics and a brighter future in a big way. Not a small, pauseable one. In July, one of modern cinema's towering figures will embark on a multi-city tour of 'An Evening with Francis Ford Coppola and 'Megalopolis' Screening.' The film presentation will be followed by Coppola's discussion, built around questions from the audience, on the topic 'How to Change Our Future.' The July 25 Chicago Theatre event follows engagements in Red Bank, New Jersey, and Port Chester, New York. After Chicago, Coppola and 'Megalopolis' move on to Denver, Dallas and San Francisco; Live Nation presents five of the six tour stops, with the Texas Theatre handling the Dallas engagement. 'This is the way 'Megalopolis' was meant to be seen, in a large venue, with a crowd and followed by intense interactive discussions about the future,' Coppola wrote in a statement for Live Nation. Coppola has wrestled with 'Megalopolis' for nearly 50 years. Covering much of the $120 million production costs himself, with money from his celebrated winery, the filmmaker's latest premiered at last year's Cannes Film Festival to wildly mixed reactions. After several months of searching for a distributor (Lionsgate, ultimately), 'Megalopolis' grossed $14 million in theaters, making it one of modern cinema's most brazen rolls of the dice. The film stars Adam Driver as visionary architect and inventor Cesar Catilina. A few decades in the future, this idealistic savior vies for urban redevelopment and design control of the Manhattan-like city of New Rome with its weak, corrupt mayor (Giancarlo Esposito). Evoking a metropolis on the brink of total collapse, New Rome's scheming politicians and half-ruined architectural monuments also suggest ancient Rome, just before Nero started fiddling. Catilina wants something better for the people, a utopian rebuke to mediocrity. His motto is unmistakably Coppola's as well: 'When we leap into the unknown, we prove we are free.' Now 86, the director will forever be best known for his 'Godfather' trilogy, 'Apocalypse Now' and smaller-scaled masterworks such as 'The Conversation.' His latest film, he has said, may too pass the test of time, long after the memes and the financial reports have faded. As Coppola posted on Instagram earlier this year, noting that director Jacques Tati risked all he had (or nearly) on his wondrous 1967 utopian/dystopian dream 'Play Time,' now considered a classic: 'Box-office is only about money, and like war, stupidity and politics (it) has no true place in our future.'
Chicago Tribune
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
What to do in Chicago: Katy Perry, Rauw Alejandro and a monster convention in Rosemont
Katy Perry: Fresh off her voyage to outer space, Katy Perry's Lifetimes Tour touches down in Chicago. Expect her to 'Roar.' Rebecca Black will also perform. Rauw Alejandro: After selling out two shows at the United Center, Rauw Alejandro has added a third night. The Latin Grammy Award-winner and Bad Bunny collaborator is touring this time with a live band following on the release of his fifth album, 'Cosa Nuestra.' Mel Robbins: The Oprah-endorsed self-help podcaster and best-selling author of 'The Let Them Theory' rolls into town, just in time for Mother's Day. Get a dose of her motivational advice live and in person. Maggie Nelson: 'The Argonauts' author Maggie Nelson is back with a collection of essays, 'Like Love.' Lucky for us, the Chicago Humanities Festival has paired her with another fabulous genre-bending essayist — Evanston's own Eula Biss. This promises to be a stellar conversation for anyone who likes to think. Ali Siddiq: Storyteller and standup comedian Ali Siddiq takes the stage at the Chicago Theatre. Siddiq served time for dealing drugs and mines his experience to offer his take — at times absurd, at times uncomfortable — on what it's like to live day in and day out with violence. Sturgill Simpson: Following on 'Passage du Desir,' an album he released under the name Johnny Blue Skies, country music singer-songwriter Sturgill Simpson plays Allstate Arena. Expect Simpson to play music from throughout his career — not just that of his alter ego. The Newberry Consort: The Newberry Consort's upcoming concert was inspired by an Ottoman manuscript dating to about 1600 that offers an early account of the Spanish conquest of the Americas. It's designed to highlight the diverse, cosmopolitan nature of Ottoman society. 'Realm of Osman: Music from the Early Modern Ottoman Empire and Beyond' will feature music from the 17th to the 19th century as well as eight musicians on period instruments. 'At the Wake of a Dead Drag Queen': Writer-performer Terry Guest's show, inspired by the death of his uncle from AIDS at 35, 'is already attracting and exciting an audience,' according to a Tribune review. Directed by Mikael Burke, the show offers 'complex' and 'potent' performances as it explores the life of a small-town Southern drag queen. All Monsters Attack: Do you pine for the days of 'Creature Double Feature'? In a lineup, could you pick out Mothra, Ghidorah, Rodan and maybe even Hedorah? Then Rosemont is the place for you this weekend. Geek out at the All Monsters Attack convention, where Japanese kaiju and all species of sci-fi fantasy creatures will be feted. (That's feted, not fetid … though it is a monster show, so who knows?) Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago Family Day: 'Playoffs,' the museum's final installment of its Family Day series, celebrates Mexican sports. Expect family-friendly activities designed to tie into an exhibit featuring Paul Pfeiffer's work, 'Prologue to the Story of the Birth of Freedom.' Pfeiffer's multimedia pieces explore the relationship between the audience and pop culture icons. The best part? Free admission to the entire museum.
