A film festival exploring the range of queer life will launch Sunday.
PrideArts, a Chicago-based LGBTQ+ theater and film company, announced its four-week streaming festival consisting of 28 short films — and a feature film — from eight different countries. They’ll be shown over three separate programs of approximately two hours per program, with each program streaming for one week.
The festival, which takes place July 18-Aug. 14, will include themes in drama, comedy, online dating, dance, and Star Trek fandom, among others.
“God’s Daughter Dances,” “As Simple As That,” and “Roadkill” are among the festival’s highlighted short films, along with “Boy Meets Boy,” the feature film.
“What’s interesting about the three short programs is that each of them is quite a mix of things that are either family stories or uplifting stories, or gay stories, or lesbian stories. In some ways, you want the label to go away,” said David Zak, the festival’s curator. “You just want to have a really, really interesting story that’s well told in 20 minutes or less.”
“As Simple As That,” is one of the 28 short films that’s a part of the PrideArts International Queer Film Festival.Provided Photo
Zak says PrideArts’ version of a film festival will be different than most.
“Unlike a lot of film festivals our films are all up online for a week,” said Zak. “In this format, you have all week to see the different programs; there’s three different short film programs. … There have been queer films for decades, but there are some themes that come back more regularly than others. We’re trying to find new voices, new artists, new countries in some instances that are sharing their own particular story.
“And we’re excited to be able to show Chicago and the world that people can watch from wherever they are in the world. That’s an interesting thing about being online. If you’re a filmmaker in Korea, or in Brazil, or Germany, or Mexico, you can still sign in and watch your film as part of this festival.”
Since the Portland Trail Blazers were bounced from the 2021 NBA Playoffs, the basketball world has become ablaze (pun intended) with rumors in regards to Damian Lillard’s future. With the Chicago Bulls needing a point guard, this topic immediately becomes relevant.
Even recently, the rumors have not stopped. One of the more notable ones to pop up this week is the whispers around the Golden State Warriors “internally discussing” Lillard and a potential deal for him.
While it’s no surprise the Warriors would pursue a splash deal to get themselves back on a championship road, the Blazers would obviously want a hefty package for the All Star guard.
The Bulls may not have the best possible assets to get a deal done for Lillard, but if they enlisted the help from a third team, it then could become a possibility.
The Chicago Bulls should do whatever it takes to land Damian Lillard in a trade.
Right now, the Bulls would be an instant contender if they added Lillard to their core of Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic. Lillard would give Chicago a dynamic “big three” and the Bulls would undoubtedly be able to compete with some of the best teams in the Eastern Conference.
Chicago gave up a lot to land Vucevic last year, but at this point that proves they are more likely to make additional big moves than to stand pat. Arturas Karnisovas means business, and he knows that right now the Bulls will not contend, but one more significant move could be the key.
If the Bulls wanted a little help in trading for Lillard, the following trade packages might make sense.
Sometimes if a movie’s dialogue is particularly good it’s described as poetic.
In the case of “Summertime,” it really is. Carlos Lopez Estrada’s feature follow-up to his powerful “Blindspotting” uses poetry and spoken-word performances, along with a little dance and music, to stitch together — albeit loosely — a day in the life of Los Angeles.
The 25 performers, some first-time actors, wrote their own pieces, so naturally, there is a tonal shift that can’t be fully smoothed out. Which is a good thing.
Good Deed Entertainment presents a film directed by Carlos Lopez Estrada. Rated R (for language throughout and sexual references). Running time: 90 minutes. Now showing at Landmark Century Centre.
It’s experimental in the best way; Estrada takes chances, and not every segment works. But pieced together they tell a full and rich tale of a city and the people who live there, and the diversity of their stories. Estrada hasn’t set out to tell the ultimate LA tale (there are many). Yet by going small, he’s made a big film that’s richly rewarding.
The film takes place in July 2019.
A few characters serve as a sort of through line. There’s Tyris (Tyris Winter), who wields Yelp reviews like a dagger on his surprisingly difficult search for a cheeseburger. But his quest also serves to illustrate the perils of gentrification, as well as the vulnerability beneath his swagger.
There’s also Anewbyss (Bryce Banks) and Rah (Austin Antoine), rappers who start the day performing on the street selling homemade CDs and end it absurdly successful and burned out on fame, offering their limo to the put-upon manager of the burger joint they wander into. Clearly, a strict adherence to realism isn’t what’s being offered here.
Sophia (Maia Mayor) can’t shake her ex-boyfriend and basically stalks him in an attempt to mend her broken heart — an exercise that, predictably, only makes things worse. She winds up meeting Marquesha (Marquesha Babers), who is reading a book her therapist recommended — written by her therapist.
Marquesha has the most intense and moving piece in the film when she confronts (at the suggestion of the therapist’s book) her ex-boyfriend, a real lout who body-shamed her. She starts out slowly, then becomes more intense, building her power bit by bit — reclaiming her power. It is a stunning performance, full of pain and anger and ultimately redemption.
Also moving is the last piece, performed by Raul (Raul Herrera), the limo driver. He spends time tooling around the city, an affable tour guide and host. He ends the trip with his limo perched on a hill above the city — the most conventionally touristy shot Estrada uses in the film, though plenty of others offer their own beauty.
He will give them his love and his time, he says, but must follow their dreams in return. “All I ask in return is that you fly.”
It’s a moving moment, the perfect cap to what is at heart a journey through parts of the city not always seen on film, a journey fueled by language — language that is spoken, sung, spat, whatever it takes to get the meaning across.
Estrada’s approach to uniting the stories is informal. Often the transition from one scene to the next is his camera following the person talking, who talks past someone else and then the focus is on them. Inelegant at times, but effective.
Some of the performances — Babers’ and Herrera’s in particular, but others, too — stand alone as individual stories. But together they’re much more powerful. It does take a little time to hook into the movie’s rhythms. Once you do, however, you’re hooked for the duration.
The Chicago Cubs firesale has officially begun! They have traded Joc Pederson to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Bryce Ball. It is an interesting trade from a Major League Baseball perspective for a few reasons but it is big for the Chicago Cubs organization. It is the first stone to fall in what is sure to be a big trade deadline for that organization. There are a lot more moving parts to come.
The Chicago Cubs traded Joc Pederson which means the big moves are coming next.
First off, Pederson was decent during his time with the Cubs but he certainly wasn’t good enough to keep him around. More importantly, the Cubs are so far out of it that they felt he wasn’t worth keeping at this point. He was brought in to replace Kyle Schwarber and that experiment is now looking terrible as Schwarber was an All-Star.
Bryce Ball is now listed as the Cubs’ number 29 prospect and should be on their A+ team in short order. He has a long way to go before he ever reaches Major League Baseball. You might see the Cubs take lots of chances on players like this throughout their upcoming rebuild.
Pederson signed with the Cubs in February and had 11 home runs and 39 RBIs to go with his .230 average in 73 games. He pretty much was exactly what you would expect from a player like him but they felt like it was time to let go. Getting Ball doesn’t sound like a lot but they were never going to get much more than that.
The Atlanta Braves have acquired outfielder Joc Pederson from the Chicago Cubs.
Pederson or Ball has little to do with this trade’s importance. It is all about what is next for them now that Pederson is gone. Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, Anthony Rizzo, Willson Contreras, and Craig Kimbrel could all be next. That would mean that they are breaking up what has been a really nice core for a variety of different reasons. In the case of Bryant, Rizzo, and Baez, they are all on expiring deals right now as the faces of the franchise.
Fans can only hope that Jed Hoyer is able to get decent returns for them. It is going to be tough. Seeing what Pederson landed them isn’t encouraging in terms of the market right now but that isn’t an accurate barometer right now. The “big three” are all significantly more impactful than Pederson so, in theory, they should return a lot more. It is going to get messy as the month goes on so it is time for people to brace themselves because the rebuild is coming.
A study published in USA Today reveals that 47% of people say the first thing they notice about a person is their smile. Are you happy to show yours? When we watch movies, the actors’ pearly whites glisten on the big screen. I’m going to let you in on their porcelain-covered secret– many celebrities rely on veneers to get their camera-worthy smile.
I caught up with Dr. Nihal Bicakci B.D.S., D.D.S. to learn more about finding the right dentist, the process of getting veneers, as well as a new minimally-invasive technique that will preserve more of your natural smile.
What Are Veneers?
First things first, let’s define veneers. Veneers are a layer of material placed over a tooth to cover problems with a person’s natural teeth. Porcelain is the most common, and most effective material in dentistry.
While many dentists market themselves as cosmetic dentists, cosmetic dentistry isn’t actually a recognized specialty of the ADA. General dentists can take a few specialty courses to perform cosmetic procedures– a process of six months to a year. Prosthodontics, on the other hand, is an ADA-recognized specialty earned through a 3-4 year course after receiving a degree in general dentistry.
Who Is A Good Candidate For Veneers?
People with mild-to-moderate cosmetic issues are a good fit for veneers. You’re a good fit if you experience:
Stains
Chips
Worn-down teeth
Gaps
Mild/moderate misalignment
Who Is NOT A Good Candidate For Veneers?
While veneers can fix a variety of issues, some people are not a good fit:
Heavy grinders
Those with severe misalignment
If you suffer from these issues, an orthodontist will need to fix your bite before you visit a prosthodontist to fix your smile.
What Can I Expect?
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Dr. Nihal, a practicing dentist for 23+ years and a prosthodontist for 10+ years, shared her process with us:
1.Initial consultation
Dr. Nihal takes photos and videos, listens to the patient’s goals, sets realistic expectations, and takes the first diagnostic models.
2. Impressions, wax-up, and silicone copy
A mock-up in wax shows the new shape of your teeth in 3D to envision your new smile. At this appointment, Dr. Nihal makes a recommendation for how many restorations/veneers are needed. Wondering what you can expect financially? Minimally-invasive veneers range from $2,000-3,000/tooth, while more invasive veneers range from $1,400-1,500/tooth.
At Dr. Nihal’s practice, Chicago Dental Solutions, she works with her husband, Dr. Hirat Bicakci to provide minimally invasive veneer solutions wherever possible in order to preserve as much of the natural tooth as possible. If crowding is minor or staining isn’t too deep or dark, they are able to shave .3-.8mm (as thick as a fingernail) to change the tooth shape and make them longer, shorter, whiter, and/or brighter.
3. Diagnostic mock-up (try on smile)
This 4-5 hour appointment (for 8-12 teeth) is the prep appointment, where temporary veneers are applied. This isn’t the end though! The temporary veneers can chip or come off.
4. Delivery
In the final appointment, the veneers are cemented onto the tooth, excess material is removed, and the bite is checked.
Dangers Of Using An At-Home Service
Prosthodontics is a compendium of comprehensive exams, functional analysis, and facial analysis. When it comes to your smile, don’t negotiate on quality. At-home solutions can lead to TMJ problems and damage to natural teeth due to grinding or chewing.
What are alternative treatments to veneers for a better smile?
If finances are tight, but your smile needs an upgrade now, there’s another option for you! While porcelain veneers reflect light like enamel, tooth-colored bonding is an alternative choice.
How to find a reputable prosthodontist?
Ready to take the next step toward a better smile? Here are a few things to consider:
Share your concerns with your prosthodontist and ask “How can I fix or improve my smile?”
Check reviews, social media, and qualifications. Drs. Nihal and Hirant are two of only 3,000 prosthodontists in the US and are the only specialists trained to place, restore, and rehabilitate dental implants.
Consider whether your doctor is listening to your aesthetic and financial concerns.
Ask your doctor about their continuing education in the latest, minimally-invasive techniques.
For a camera-ready smile, veneers might be a great fit for you! Here in the Chicago area, Dr. Nihal has helped hundreds discover the internal confidence that comes from a perfect smile.
About The Writer
Brittany Kulick
Brittany Kulick is a freelance copywriter and the founder of The Sweet Wanderlust, a travel blog for people with a sweet tooth and a taste for adventure.
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Nekia Nichelle
Nekia Nichelle is a digital and broadcast journalist covering entertainment, lifestyle, beauty, and pinch of fashion.
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Nekia’s background in journalism includes working as an on-air traffic reporter for iHeart Radio & News Anchor for ABC/FOX affiliate.
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Jun 26, 2021; Los Angeles, California, USA; Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo (44) reacts after striking out to end the top of the first innng against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
The Chicago Cubs are on the verge of reconstructing their roster and the core that has been in place since the 2015 season is about to be torn down. Between now and the Major League Baseball trade deadline on July 30, there is a strong chance that one if not two of Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, or Javier Baez will be traded.
For the first time since 2015, the Cubs are in a position where it is clear that they will not be making the post-season and that the best baseball decision would be to retool, if not, rebuild entirely.
That is why the Cubs will likely be the most active seller as team approach the trade deadline. Bryant, Rizzo, and Baez have been popular names brought up in trade rumors but the sell off could also include Craig Kimbrel, Joc Pederson, Zach Davies, and Willson Contreras if the right deal materializes.
When examining the Cubs roster and who should be the first player to be traded, the answer is very clear. Rizzo, without a doubt, is the player that the Cubs should trade first. Rizzo is the symbol for everything that has gone wrong with the Cubs’ contention window.
Before we dive too deep into the rabbit hole of why Rizzo is a failing leader for the Cubs’ organization, let’s first acknowledge his accomplishments. Since the 2015 season, Rizzo has been a perennial 25-home run, 100-RBI player for the Cubs. Throughout the Cubs’ contending years, it was Rizzo’s performance on the field that energized the team. Chicago will forever be grateful for Rizzo and his efforts.
The issue for Rizzo, much like the Cubs’ organization as a whole, is that he has failed to adapt in his role of a leader. Given the current State of the Cubs, the team is in need of a leader that is willing to say the uncomfortable things. That is why Conteras should be applauded for his recent comments regarding the Cubs’ efforts. Rizzo, meanwhile, has been silent in the midst of the Cubs’ struggles this season.
Between Rizzo publicly embracing the idea that he chose not to be vaccinated from COVID-19 or his refusal to speak with the Cubs’ front office regarding his contract status during the season, the Cubs’ first baseman has failed to be a true leader for a team that is in desperate need of a slap in the face. That slap was provided by Contreras while Rizzo was no where to be seen.
This is not the same Rizzo that Cubs’ fans saw at the end of Game 7 of the 2016 World Series when he stuffed the game ball in his back pocket after Bryant made the final out of the game. This Rizzo is afraid to confront the harsh realties facing this organization. As the Cubs begin to deconstruct their current core and build a new core, Rizzo should be the first position player that the Cubs are willing to part with.
Looking beyond his lack of leadership, Rizzo, as a baseball player, is no longer the first base cornerstone that he once was. Rizzo is hitting .247/.342/.429/.771 this season with 10 home runs and 33 RBIs. The lack of power can be attributed to the chronic back issues that Rizzo has had this season and those back issues are reason why he has missed 11 games throughout the first half of the season. Rizzo will be 32 in August and chances are that his back issues will continue diminish his power for the rest of his career.
Rizzo’s infectious smile is not going to cure Cubs’ woes this season. Rizzo’s fun walk-up music is not going to cure the fact that he has failed to develop as leader. All good things must to an end, and for Anthony Rizzo, the end of his time with the Chicago Cubs’ organization can not come soon enough.
Like every major city, Los Angeles has a major problem with homelessness. The numbers there are daunting. Almost sixty thousand people experience homelessness in L.A.
One reason for the high number of homeless there is the winter weather. It’s much easier to live on the streets of southern California from November through March than most other major U.S. cities. That’s why you can drive around and be surrounded by many tent villages.
One community has come up with an idea to help people escape from living on the streets. The city of Tarzana, in the San Fernando Valley, is building a tiny home village. There will be seventy-five small homes, each measuring sixty-four square feet. Each home will be furnished with two beds. They will also have electrical outlets and wi-fi. The village will also have ten bathrooms with ten showers.
Living in a tiny space sounds tough, but it’s safer than living in a tent, a car or in an alley. The small living conditions will start to lead to living a larger and fuller life for the people who escape homelessness.
Getting less than two hundred people off the street may seem like a drop in the bucket when you consider how many are still homeless in Los Angeles. But, solving the issue of homelessness one person at a time is a good thing. The tiny home village in Tarzana is a good start.
My so called friends think it’s time to edit this section. After four years, they may be right, but don’t tell them that. I’ll deny it until they die!
I can’t believe I’ve been writing this blog for four years.
It started as a health/wellness thing and over the years has morphed to include so many things that I don’t know how to describe it anymore.
I really thought this was going to be the final year of the blog but then Donald Trump came along. It looks like we’re good for four more years..God help us all!
Oh yeah…the biographical stuff. I’m not 60 anymore. The rest you can read about in the blog.
As the B-17 bomber lumbered toward the west coast of France, Jim Wilschke crouched in the plane’s plexiglass nose, preparing to drop a 5,000-pound payload on a pen of Nazi U-boats — including one that would become a star attraction at the Museum of Science and Industry.
The Flying Fortress was at the rear of the U.S. air squadron. It was a precarious position to be in even in the best of times because it made it an easy target for German fighter planes.
Then, one of the aircraft’s four engines died. The plane began to lag behind.
Like jackals pouncing on a wounded antelope, the Germans swooped in. Machine-gun fire and cannon shells tore through the fuselage, the plane filled with smoke, and soon the bailout alarm sounded.
Wilschke, a native South Sider, grabbed his parachute. He squeezed through an escape hatch. And he jumped.
The story of what happened during the next six months — of Wilschke’s and another American airman’s life on the run in Nazi-occupied France — was one that almost no one heard. These were Wilschke’s secrets, tucked away in a “big mystery box” and rarely spoken of, maybe for the same reason it took him nearly 40 years to board another plane.
Now, that long-secret story has been turned into a book, “Bud’s Jacket,” written by his niece Barbara Wojcik, originally from Hinsdale and now living in Minnesota.
Wojcik traveled to France to meet many of the families who concealed her uncle — in the back of a hay wagon, in attics, barns and a dugout hidden deep in the woods.
Barbara Wojcik with her husband Jim Wojcik, who helped her finish the book after her cancer spread.Provided
And she did so just after she’d been diagnosed with breast cancer, which since has spread to her brain and lungs. The cancer spurred her to finish the book, which she did with the help of her husband Jim Wojcik.
“I wouldn’t say it was a good thing, but it really did say, ‘Hey, we’ve got to get this thing out the door, or it’s never going to get done,’ ” she says.
James “Bud” Wilschke was a stocky kid who played center on the Hirsch High School football team. He spent summers flipping hamburgers and working as a Chicago parks lifeguard on Lake Michigan.
A young James “Bud” Wilschke in his summer days as a lifeguard.Provided
And he danced the jitterbug with Rosemary Crandell, his sweetheart.
Before leaving for Europe and the war, he proposed. But they didn’t get married, according to Wojcik, because he worried about leaving his young bride a widow.
Young Rosemary and James “Bud” Wilschke in 1944.Provided
Wojcik unearthed Wilschke’s story — much of it, anyway — from the box that the war hero left his son Jim when he died in 2001.
“I never heard a thing about it,” says Jim Wilschke, 74, who lives in Geneva.
The son was only too happy to hand over the box for Wojcik to root through. In it, she found old wartime photographs and newspaper clippings from the era, among things.
She also found the long-held secrets of how he nearly died and of how he survived.
After Bud Wilschke bailed out of the burning plane on May 17, 1943, he dropped into a field in northern France, hit his head on a fence post and passed out. When he came to, he found himself staring down the barrel of a shotgun.
“He asked me whether I was German or English,” Wilschke wrote in the official “escape and evasion” report he would later file for the U.S. government. “When I told him that I was American, he seemed very happy. … He led me to a barn some distance away and gave me some cider. Then he put me in a wagon, covered me with straw and left.”
Of the 10 crew members aboard Wilschke’s B-17, just four survived. Two were immediately captured by German soldiers. They were held for the rest of the war in prisoner-of-war camps.
A plaque in France listing who from James “Bud” Wilschke’s squadron were killed, got captured or avoided capture.Provided
The French farmer who discovered Wilschke exchanged his American flight uniform for civilian clothes.
Over time, through whispered conversations, Wilschke learned that Bob Neil, the aircraft’s radio man, also survived. The French helpers brought the two men together again, fed them and kept them hidden from the Germans — aid that put them at great risk.
A French farmhouse where James “Bud” Wilschke hid in a loft after he bailed from his B-17 bomber on May 17, 1943.Provided
“All males who come to the aid, either directly or indirectly, of the crews or enemy aircraft coming down in parachutes, or having made a forced landing, helps in their escape, hides them or comes to their aid in any fashion, will be shot on the spot,” read a German notice posted around France at the time.
Wilschke and Neil spent the next six months trekking across France, often at night — sometimes walking 20 miles or more in a day.
Neil spoke a little French. So it was his job to find food.
Wilschke read maps. So he helped them on their journey south in search of the Pyrenees, where they hoped to cross into neutral Spain.
“To the best of my recollection, we stayed with 27 families during our six-month stay,” Wilschke wrote.
The Americans were frequently right under the Nazis’ noses. One time, Wojcik writes, they were hiding in a hay cart when a German officer stopped the driver and asked for a ride. He was about to hop in the back when the driver urged him to come up front because, he said, the hay was full of spiders.
Back in Chicago, Wilschke’s fiancee received a letter about the B-17 bailout from an officer in Wilschke’s squadron.
“This is a hard letter for me to write and I know just as hard for you to receive. … I know all ten parachutes opened, which means all the crew got down to the ground alright,” Allan P. Walker wrote.
A newspaper report listed James Wilschke among the missing in action in World War II.
Officially considered missing in action, Wilschke couldn’t risk writing to his fiancee to let her know he was alive.
“The chance of that being intercepted [made it] too dangerous,” Wojcik said.
In November 1943, Wilschke and Neil — along with four other Americans, some Jewish, some French soldiers — hiked the ice-scabbed trails of the Pyrenees and on into Spain, where they were jailed for several weeks before being released and making it to England.
Wilschke sent Rosemary a telegraph. It read simply: “Write me at my old APO” — Army Post Office address — “and set the wedding for February — Jim.”
James “Bud” Wilschke (left) and Bob Neil.Provided
Wilschke and Neil, who was from Providence, Rhode Island, each returned to a hero’s welcome. In a city desperate for some good news, Wilschke’s imminent wedding made all of the Chicago newspapers.
“Air Hero Returns to Get his Girl,” read The Chicago Sun headline Jan. 17, 1944.
This photo from the wedding of Lt. James “Bud” Wilschke and Rosemary Crandall made the front page of The Chicago Sun on Jan. 17, 1944.
Rosemary and James “Bud” Wilschke.Provided
The couple raised five children on the South Side and later in Clarendon Hills. Wilschke went to work for Illinois Bell, staying with the phone company for 30 years.
After his own personal tickertape parade, Neil was at a bar in Rhode Island, where he made a vow, according to his daughter Linda Hollis, 74, who lives in Cape Coral, Florida.
” ‘I’m going to marry the first girl I dance with,’ which happened to be my mother,” Hollis says.
He spent the rest of his life dealing with “survivor’s guilt,” according to Hollis. Only when he’d had a drink or two did the story about his time in France trickle out, she says.
James “Bud” Wilschke and Rosemary Wilschke.Provided
In May 1983, Wilschke finally got on a plane, with his wife, to go to France for the 40th anniversary of his year in hiding.
He returned to the places he’d once known.
To the field where he’d landed after bailing out.
To the place where he’d been hidden in a cart, where he’d had a shotgun pointed at his face.
The farmer he met that day was no longer alive.
But his son still lived in the farmhouse. He told Wilschke he had a surprise gift for him.
The son handed Wilschke, who was in his 60s then, his original flight jacket.
James “Bud” Wilschke’s original flight jacket was lost for decades after the South Side airman bailed out of his burning B-17 bomber and hid from the Nazis for six months during World War II. When he finally returned to France and to the farm where he was rescued, the son of the farmer had a surprise waiting for him: his jacket.Provided
It brought Wilschke to tears, Wojcik writes.
Wilschke moved in retirement to Pompano Beach, Florida, north of Fort Lauderdale. He died at his home there on Oct. 1, 2001.
No matter how beloved or acclaimed the movie, the self-proclaimed “Usual Gang of Idiots” at Mad Magazine always had a silly parody at the ready, whether it was “The Seven Itchy Years,” “The Sound of Money,” “The Oddfather,” “The Great Gasbag” “Harry Plodder and the Lamest of Sequels” or “The ScAvengers.”
If they had lampooned the Lerner and Loewe musical “Brigadoon,” they might well have called it “Schmigadoon!” Which is the corny/funny title of a six-episode musical comedy parody starring the eminently likable duo of Keegan-Michael Key and Cecily Strong as a modern-day couple who find themselves trapped in an old-fashioned, early 20th century town where everything looks like a Broadway set, and the locals will break into song at the drop of a hat.
First two episodes available now on Apple TV+ with a new episode premiering each Friday through Aug. 13.
Series creators Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio (“Despicable Me,” “The Secret Life of Pets”) have fashioned a slyly funny, sometimes sticky sweet and exceedingly charming endeavor that pokes fun at old-school musicals such as “Oklahoma!”, “The Music Man,” “Carousel” and “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” while also paying tribute to the genre. It’s reminiscent of Christopher Guest films such as “A Mighty Wind” and “Waiting for Guffman,” where there’s great affection for the very conventions that are being mined for comedy and social commentary.
Strong’s Melissa and Key’s Josh are woke, culturally sensitive, accomplished physicians who live in New York City and have reached that point in their relationship where one of them (Melissa) is ready for the next level of commitment, while the other (Josh) says things are just fine, and why don’t we just continue coasting along?
No chance. Melissa talks Josh into a couples retreat deep in the woods, where things go from unpromising to bad to worse as they bicker in the rain and get separated from the group and find themselves totally lost — at which point they stumble upon the town of Schmigadoon, a brightly colored, artificial-looking enclave where you can practically see the paint drying on the trees and the sky. Is this for real? Well, yes, in a “Pleasantville” kind of way.
The locals greet Melissa and Josh with a rousing, toe-tapping musical number, and Melissa voices her approval at the color-blind “casting.” (At this point, Melissa and Josh figure they’ve wandered into some sort of interactive-theater theme park attraction.)
Things get weirder when Melissa and Josh get to know the townsfolk, who certainly don’t seem to think they’re professional entertainers, and they start to wonder if they’ve passed through the portal into some sort of “Finian’s Rainbow” version of “The Twilight Zone” — but when they try to leave this cheerful but disturbingly odd place, they learn you can cross the bridge only with your one true love. When Josh and Melissa give it a go, they find themselves right back in the town of Schmigadoon.
Is it possible they’re not meant to be together? Can either or both find their one true love among the residents of this town?
And how long before somebody says something that acts as the cue for another musical number?
Melissa gets into the spirit and even does some dancing and singing of her own, while Josh practically injures himself rolling his eyes and represents those viewers who have little interest in musicals.
While Schmigadoon is indeed populated by a diverse group, there’s a not-so-subtle undercurrent of sexism, racism and homophobia permeating the town. Kristin Chenoweth is the powerful town prude, who heads a group of judgmental, conservative women. (Chenoweth’s “Trials and Tribulations” number is a fun takeoff on “Trouble in River City” from “The Music Man.”) Alan Cumming is Mayor Menlove, who is married but quite obviously gay. (That name might be a slight giveaway.)
Ariana DeBose is Emma Tate, a schoolteacher with a secret, while Dove Cameron is Betsy, an actual farmer’s daughter who pines for Josh even as her father skulks about while wielding his shotgun.
Oh, and here comes Jane Krakowski as the Countess, a character inspired by “The Sound of Music.”
Each episode begins with a flashback to New York City, filmed in more muted and realistic tones as learn more about the evolution of the relationship between Josh and Melissa. Then we’re once again plunged into the world of Schmigadoon, where Josh and Melissa each pursue possible new romances while wondering if they should get back together and try to figure their way out of this musical “Groundhog Day.”
Throughout the six episodes, Josh and Melissa come across as grounded characters who have no choice but to accept they’ve landed in this world of anachronistic artifice, and maybe the only way to escape is to really go with it and become part of the musical.
Two people were killed and at least six others wounded in shootings citywide Thursday.
A 27-year-old man was shot and killed while riding a Divvy bicycle in Gresham on the South Side.
A gunman approached on foot and shot the man in the 7700 Block of South Seeley Avenue around 2:40 p.m., Chicago Police said. He was struck several times and taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he died, police said.
Another man was fatally shot early Thursday in Lawndale on the West Side — the second person killed in the neighborhood in less than a day.
Officers responding to calls of gunfire found him lying next to a vehicle around 2:40 a.m. in the 1400 block of South Avers Avenue, police said.
Anthony Patrick, 25, had gunshot wounds to his chest and neck, police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
In nonfatal shootings, a 19-year-old man was wounded in an attack in Brainerd on the South Side.
The man was walking about 9:40 p.m. in the 9300 block of South Elizabeth Street when two male suspects got out of a gray Toyota and fired shots, police said. He was struck in the leg and suffered graze wounds to the face and chest, police said. Paramedics transported him to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in good condition.
A 22-year-old man was shot in Stoney Island Park on the South Side.
He was outside in the 8300 block of South Constance Avenue about 9:25 p.m. when he heard several shots and felt pain, police said. He was struck in the buttocks and taken to Trinity Hospital in good condition.
Another man was shot Friday evening near the Robert Taylor Homes.
About 7 p.m., the 20-year-old was walking outside in the 4300 block of South State Street when he was shot by someone in a dark-colored vehicle, police said. He suffered a gunshot wound to the shoulder and was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in good condition.
Thursday afternoon, a 22-year-old man was shot in Avalon Park on the South Side.
He was walking down the street about 1:30 p.m. in the 7900 block of South Kimbark Avenue when a dark-colored SUV approached, called his name, then exited and fired shots, police said. The man was struck in the right side of the body and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in good condition, police said.
Two women were shot early Thursday morning during a fight in Humboldt Park on the Northwest Side.
About 2:55 a.m., the women, 22 and 25, were at a party in the 3800 block of West Chicago Avenue when they were shot after a male fired shots during a fight, police said. One of the women was standing outside and the other was inside when shots were fired.
The 22-year-old woman was struck in the leg and the older woman was struck in the thigh, police said. They were both taken to Stroger Hospital, where they are in good condition.
Two people were killed and 27 others were wounded by gunfire in Chicago Wednesday, a day that saw two mass shootings, one in Gresham and the other in West Garfield Park.
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