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Director Dusty Brown, who makes their Chicago directing debut with Three Crows Theatre’s storefront staging of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, has trimmed the tragedy down to a fast-paced, intermissionless 105 minutes of blood-drenched storytelling. (“Macbeth has sword/dagger violence, onstage murder, and discussions of murder. Recommended for children 12+ due to all the murder happening onstage,” reads a content advisory on Three Crows’s website.) This intimate, economical production boasts spooky visual design by Kellian Keeler (set) and Piper Kirchhofer (lights), who together transform the intimate Redtwist Theatre space into a dungeon-like hellhole well suited to this classic tale of dark supernatural deeds. There’s even an onstage cistern filled with water, from which a macabre apparition or two may arise—or in which a guilt-maddened murderer or two may try, in vain, to wash the blood from their hands.

MacbethThrough 10/30: Thu-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 3 PM; also Mon 10/24 7:30 PM, Redtwist Theatre, 1044 W. Bryn Mawr, threecrowstheatre.com, pay what you can

But Brown’s editing of the text lessens the moral impact of a drama grounded in Christian notions of free will. Having been promised by three prophetic witches that he will become king, Macbeth, a heroic military leader in 11th-century Scotland, caves in to his wife’s manipulative tactics and resorts to murder (including murder for hire), thereby sullying both his manhood and his immortal soul. By trimming seemingly repetitive arguments between the spouses—and rushing the final action as Macbeth approaches his duel to the death with arch-enemy Macduff—Brown turns Macbeth into a tale signifying, if not nothing, then at least less than it should.

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Playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury had too many things in mind when she wrote this play about Mary Seacole, a real-life Jamaican-born healer who improbably served in the 19th-century Crimean War. Drury wanted to tell the story of this indomitable woman who wouldn’t take no for an answer, even from the equally implacable Florence Nightingale. She wanted to draw parallels between Seacole and modern-day healers, hence the title’s plural “Marys.” She also wanted to explore motherhood and the original meaning of the word “nurse,” comparing Seacole’s choice not to have children to those of the invented characters around her. Drury also wanted to explore the racism that shaped Seacole, including the self-hatred which caused her to emphasize the “good Scotch blood running through my veins” rather than her heritage of healing from her Jamaican mother.   

Marys SeacoleThrough 11/6: Thu-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 3 PM, Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark, 773-338-2177, griffintheatre.com, $40 ($15 students, veterans, and active military)

Despite a powerhouse performance by Stephanie Mattos as Mary, there is simply too much going on here in Griffin’s production (directed by Jerrell L. Henderson and Hannah Todd) to form a coherent play. Further, the actresses’ frequent full-bore use of Jamaican dialect meant that much of the dialogue was lost to the ear of this middle-aged white lady, at least. And the final sequence, in which the cast members speak in unison about the fragility of the maternal body, would be very powerful if the play had clearly focused on that subject. Instead, Marys Seacole is a puzzlement, a series of missed opportunities to explore a range of interesting topics.

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Director Dusty Brown, who makes their Chicago directing debut with Three Crows Theatre’s storefront staging of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, has trimmed the tragedy down to a fast-paced, intermissionless 105 minutes of blood-drenched storytelling. (“Macbeth has sword/dagger violence, onstage murder, and discussions of murder. Recommended for children 12+ due to all the murder happening onstage,” reads a content advisory on Three Crows’s website.) This intimate, economical production boasts spooky visual design by Kellian Keeler (set) and Piper Kirchhofer (lights), who together transform the intimate Redtwist Theatre space into a dungeon-like hellhole well suited to this classic tale of dark supernatural deeds. There’s even an onstage cistern filled with water, from which a macabre apparition or two may arise—or in which a guilt-maddened murderer or two may try, in vain, to wash the blood from their hands.

MacbethThrough 10/30: Thu-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 3 PM; also Mon 10/24 7:30 PM, Redtwist Theatre, 1044 W. Bryn Mawr, threecrowstheatre.com, pay what you can

But Brown’s editing of the text lessens the moral impact of a drama grounded in Christian notions of free will. Having been promised by three prophetic witches that he will become king, Macbeth, a heroic military leader in 11th-century Scotland, caves in to his wife’s manipulative tactics and resorts to murder (including murder for hire), thereby sullying both his manhood and his immortal soul. By trimming seemingly repetitive arguments between the spouses—and rushing the final action as Macbeth approaches his duel to the death with arch-enemy Macduff—Brown turns Macbeth into a tale signifying, if not nothing, then at least less than it should.

Read More

Playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury had too many things in mind when she wrote this play about Mary Seacole, a real-life Jamaican-born healer who improbably served in the 19th-century Crimean War. Drury wanted to tell the story of this indomitable woman who wouldn’t take no for an answer, even from the equally implacable Florence Nightingale. She wanted to draw parallels between Seacole and modern-day healers, hence the title’s plural “Marys.” She also wanted to explore motherhood and the original meaning of the word “nurse,” comparing Seacole’s choice not to have children to those of the invented characters around her. Drury also wanted to explore the racism that shaped Seacole, including the self-hatred which caused her to emphasize the “good Scotch blood running through my veins” rather than her heritage of healing from her Jamaican mother.   

Marys SeacoleThrough 11/6: Thu-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 3 PM, Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark, 773-338-2177, griffintheatre.com, $40 ($15 students, veterans, and active military)

Despite a powerhouse performance by Stephanie Mattos as Mary, there is simply too much going on here in Griffin’s production (directed by Jerrell L. Henderson and Hannah Todd) to form a coherent play. Further, the actresses’ frequent full-bore use of Jamaican dialect meant that much of the dialogue was lost to the ear of this middle-aged white lady, at least. And the final sequence, in which the cast members speak in unison about the fragility of the maternal body, would be very powerful if the play had clearly focused on that subject. Instead, Marys Seacole is a puzzlement, a series of missed opportunities to explore a range of interesting topics.

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The Chicago Bears have a big game tonight against the Washington Commanders. It is a Thursday Night Football game that will have the entire country watching. Neither of these two teams really has aspirations of winning the Super Bowl this year but they are building.

When it comes to the opponent, the Chicago Bears have an interesting test with the Washington Commanders. They have plenty going on off the field but that is not for the Bears to be concerned about. They have to worry about what makes them succeed on the field.

It starts with the head coach that Chicago Bears fans know well, Ron Rivera. He is a great coach that is just waiting for this Washington team around him to have the talent that it needs to take the next step. Right now, up to this point, he hasn’t had that as he has in other jobs.

He was given a talented quarterback during the offseason named Carson Wentz. Of course, Wentz was the second overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. Early on with the Philadelphia Eagles, he had a lot of success playing well with that team.

Wentz was so good at one point that it looked like he was going to be the MVP of the league. Then, he suffered an injury that caused Nick Foles to replace him. Following that, Foles took that team to the Super Bowl and won it. From there, it was never the same for Wentz.

Now, after a quick stop with the Indianapolis Colts, he has made his way to Washington where he is trying to regain that magic. He is a talented guy that just can’t seem to be consistent anymore. There are times when he is great and there are times when he looks lost.

The Chicago Bears should be able to handle the Washington Commanders.

He has some decent weapons around him including running back Antonio Gibson and wide receivers like Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson. The Bears need to be wary of these guys on defense otherwise they will burn them.

This is a 1-4 Commanders team that hasn’t found a stride yet this season and we don’t know if they will. This is a game that the Bears should win as long as they see the best out of Justin Fields.

Washington’s offense has some players that have been good in the past but there is no doubt that the Bears can shut them down. On defense, Washington isn’t amazing and could allow Fields to do his thing.

Losing this game would be a bad look as the Commanders are one of the only teams that have been worse than them so far this season. No matter what though, the most important thing is seeing Justin Fields continue to grow against that Commander’s defense.

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JOBS

Caregiver Responsibilities:Assisting with personal care, Following a prescribed healthcare plan, Ensuring my Mother home is organized according to her needs. Providing mobility assistance may be required, for example helping my Mother with her motorized wheelchair, appointments, grocery. Meal and watch over. Work Schedule is 5 days a week and 5 hours per day. Salary is $26/hr. Contact by email Daniel ([email protected]) for more details.

Technical Support Analysts, Chicago, IL: Develop Company KPI’s and a process for tracking and reporting them. Provide recommendations on consolidating, changing, or adding financial software tools. Analyze trial data and determine if there our opportunities for better conversion rates. Work from home permitted. Send res to: Barchart.com, Inc. [email protected].

Specialist w/ MCKINSEY & COMPANY, INC. US (Chicago, IL). Act as core member of the McKinsey team to shape product vision & build fully functioning web & mobile apps for clients from IT modernization & strategy to agile, cloud, cybersecurity, & digital transformation. Telecommuting permitted. Req’s Master’s degree in IT, Mgmt Info Sys, Comp Sci, or rel field or the foreign degree equiv & 2 yrs of exp working in an Agile org as s/w developer or rel occupation; OR a Bachelor’s degree in IT, Mgmt Info Sys, Comp Sci, or rel field or the foreign degree equiv & 5 yrs of progressive, post-baccalaureate, exp working in an Agile org as s/w developer or rel occupation. Exp must incl: focus on design, product or data; involvement in product design decisions across concept, prototyping, pre-production, production, testing, forecast, promotion & end-to-end support; End-to-end knowledge of product dvlpmnt & user exp; using 2 of the following apps: JavaScript, TypeScript, React, Angular, Vue, or jQuery; API: Java, Spring Boot, C#, .NET, or Node.js; databases: MySQL, SQL Server, MongoDB, or cloud-native databases; Cloud infrastructure: AWS, Azure, or GCP; DevOps: Jenkins, Docker, CircleCI, or Travis; Using Agile methodologies; Scrum framework; Design tools: InVisionApp, Miro, Balsamiq, or Zeplin. At least one of the following Workflow mgmt tools: JIRA, Confluence, or Azure boards. Domestic & int’l travel typically req. Destination & frequency impossible to predict. Email your resume to [email protected] & refer to Job # 6461992. No phone calls please. An EOE

PROFESSIONALS & SERVICES

CLEANING SERVICES CHESTNUT ORGANIZING AND CLEANING SERVICES: especially for people who need an organizing service because of depression, elderly, physical or mental challenges or other causes for your home’s clutter, disorganization, dysfunction, etc. We can organize for the downsizing of your current possessions to more easily move into a smaller home. With your help, we can help to organize your move. We can organize and clean for the deceased in lieu of having the bereaved needing to do the preparation to sell or rent the deceased’s home. We are absolutely not judgmental; we’ve seen and done “worse” than your job assignment. With your help, can we please help you? Chestnut Cleaning Service: 312-332-5575. www.ChestnutCleaning.com

Raise a Healthy FamilyAre you interested in raising vegan children but don’t know where to start? For wellness parenting and whole food plant-based coaching with a board-certified pediatrician turned wellness coach, go to www.traciwagner.com

COMMUNITY

Seeking those who empathize with menHave you been taught that “men have the power and women are the victims”? Have you ever wondered if there might be more to it than that? Are you interested in a more balanced outlook? We are a Chicago based group. We meet once a week on Zoom and, occasionally, we also meet in person. We talk about gender-related issues as they play out in the world and as they play out in our private lives. We support each other emotionally, and we take action. We reject inter-sex rage, rancor and resentment. We are an inclusive group; all who empathize with men are welcome to join. [email protected]

RESEARCH

Have you had an unwanted sexual experience since age 18?Did you tell someone in your life about it who is also willing to participate? Women ages 18+ who have someone else in their life they told about their experience also willing to participate will be paid to complete a confidential online research survey for the Women’s Dyadic Support Study. Contact Dr. Sarah Ullman of the University of Illinois at Chicago, Criminology, Law, & Justice Department at [email protected], 312-996-5508. Protocol #2021-0019.

ADULT SERVICES

Danielle’s Lip Service, Erotic Phone Chat. 24/7. Must be 21+. Credit/Debit Cards Accepted. All Fetishes and Fantasies Are Welcomed. Personal, Private and Discrete. 773-935-4995

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