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Don’t call the new “Candyman” film a sequel.

A reboot? A remake?

Not in the least bit — try again.

The film’s director, Nia DaCosta, a Harlem, New York, native who grew up across the street from public housing, says she wanted to “reimagine” the legend of the original 1992 film. Widely regarded as one of the best horror movies of all time, it’s told from the perspective of graduate student Helen Lyle (played by Virginia Madsen), who went to the Cabrini-Green Homes, a housing project known for heartbreaking violence, neglect and gentrification, for her thesis research.

“It really started with” co-writers Jordan Peele and Win Rosenfeld, DaCosta said. “They had a very strong idea that they wanted the film to be more expansive than a reboot or remake. If we’re going to do ‘Candyman,’ we should do more than just copy what was there before.

“When I came on, it was really important to me that we do more with the legend, and make it expansive. I think it was fun to me that we shoot the POV with less Helen, but a lot more of the Black experience.”

Children run along the Cabrini-Green Homes six months after Mayor Jane Byrne briefly moved in there in 1981 to bring attention to Cabrini’s troubles. John H. White/Sun-Times

“Candyman,” which opens Thursday in theaters, has themes encompassing race, police brutality, gentrification, cultural appropriation and the responsibility institutions have when it comes to public housing blight.

In one scene, an art director explaining the type of content audiences are interested in tells Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s character: “The South Side is played.”

The film also mentions the horrific 1997 case of a 9-year-old girl, then known as “Girl X,” who was raped, strangled, poisoned, and left for dead in a Cabrini-Green stairwell. Two months after the original film’s debut, 7-year-old Dantrell Davis was shot and killed by a sniper’s stray bullet as he walked to school with his mother.

“That line of exploiting racial pain in order to make art for white people was really what that was all about,” said DaCosta. “But also struggling with your own history, and how as an artist — or a person — do you reconcile it?”

While filming in Chicago, DaCosta took a walk around the area where the sprawling housing project once stood, and took in the fact that a Target now sits on the land.

“You’d see yuppies walking their dogs, and then a little further up a Target,” said DaCosta. “It is really interesting the amount of development that’s happened around the community that didn’t seem to be able to get into the community, which is part of what the movie is about.

“I think it informs why we knew it was imperative that we expand this beyond ‘Oh, this is one sort of evil demonic killer and his story happens in the 1800s.’ We just talked about the systemic issues. … It’s cyclical and every generation we have this violence, and it changes and it warps, and it shifts so it looks differently. It’s all part of our history. So it definitely informed why we said, ‘OK, we’re going to take this ‘Candyman’ legend and make it work for us a little bit more.’ “

Anthony (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) walks through the Cabrini Rowhouses in “Candyman.”Universal Pictures

DaCosta, who says Near North’s Marina City apartment buildings/condos are her favorite local filming location, also states the importance of surrounding the main cast — Emmy winner Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, and Colman Domingo — with local actors.

She says local actors Rebecca Spence (of Steppenwolf’s “Mary Page Marlowe”), and Carl Clemons-Hopkins (“Hacks” on HBO Max) are standout performers in the film.

“Chicago has a great wall of talent, and I was so impressed with everyone,” said DaCosta. “I think for me the [Chicago cast] added a certain level of authenticity because they were like if there’s something felt lost, they would correct it. That was so useful to have in the cast. … I think that’s a better way to do it.”

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Moon Alert

There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions. The moon is in Pisces.

Aries (March 21-April 19)

You’re going to bust your buns getting organized in the next few weeks. This will even encompass issues in your personal life including your health. Yes, you want it all! “Every day, in every way, I’m getting better and better.”

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

It’s play city for you for the next few weeks! Accept all invitations to party and extend a few yourself. Enjoy social outings, sports events, fun activities with kids as well as making new, saucy romantic connections. (Be still my beating heart.)

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

For the next four weeks, your attention will turn to home, family and your private life. Many of you will tackle home repairs, renovations and redecorating projects. Naturally, you might want to entertain and show off your achievements!

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

Your daily pace will accelerate in the next few weeks because you have places to go, things to do and people to see! This is an excellent window of time to learn something new. Expect short trips and increased conversations with siblings, relatives and neighbors.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)

Your focus on money, earnings, cash flow as well as your possessions will be very strong in the next few weeks. You might look for a new job? You might look for ways to make money on the side? You might sort through your possessions and get better organized. Possibly, you’re planning a big purchase?

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

Holy Cannoli! For the next few weeks, it’s all about you because the sun, your ruler Mercury, Venus and Mars are all in your sign. Yes, the world will feel this Virgo Attack! Meanwhile, you will be energized, proactive and dazzling. (Can I have your autograph?)

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

Your personal year is ending; however, your new year will not yet begin until your birthday arrives. Therefore, the next four weeks are the perfect opportunity for you to define some goals for your new year ahead. Goals help to keep you focused and on track. Ideas?

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

Your popularity rating will soar in the next four weeks because four planets will be sitting in your House of Friendships. This will increase your desire to interact with friends and groups. It will also attract people to you, especially younger people and some who are creative and artistic.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

Ole! For the next four weeks, the sun will be at the top of your chart casting you in a flattering spotlight. This means bosses, parents and VIPs are impressed with you. They will listen to you. Meanwhile, your ambition is aroused, and Venus might attract a romance with someone important.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

You dearly want to blow town in the next four weeks — no question. Do whatever you can to travel or get a change of scenery, even if it’s just is a quick weekend getaway. You want adventure and stimulation! You also want to learn something, which is why you might sign up for a course.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

Financial matters, inheritances, taxes, debt and the wealth of your partner are your focus for the next few weeks. (Ka-ching!) No matter what happens, you will come out smelling like a rose because money and gifts will come your way. Sweet!

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)

Four planets are sitting opposite your sign now, and the sun is going to stay there for four weeks. This will heighten your focus on partnerships and close friendships. It’s also an opportunity to learn about how you relate to others.

If Your Birthday Is Today

Actor Scott Caan (1976) shares your birthday. You’re an idea person who loves to talk. You are generous, creative, warm-hearted and sincere. People are attracted to you because you are a fascinating conversationalist. This year is your last year of a nine-year cycle, which means it’s the perfect time to wrap up business that you’ve been involved with for the last nine years. Time to lighten your load.

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Two men were killed and another was wounded in a shooting Sunday morning on the Eisenhower Expressway.

The men were traveling west on I-290 about 2:30 a.m. when someone fired shots in the direction of their vehicle, causing the driver to crash near Kostner Avenue , Illinois State Police said.

The driver, a 29-year-old man, was suffered gunshot wounds and was taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead, state police said. He hasn’t been identified.

Kenneth Owens, 30– who was sitting in the back seat — suffered fatal injuries caused by the crash and was pronounced dead at the scene, state police said.

The front-seat passenger, also 30, was transported to an area hospital with non life-threatening injuries caused by the crash, according to state police.

All westbound lanes at Kostner Avenue were closed until 8:45 a.m.

Illinois State Police are investigating.

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A body was recovered from Lake Michigan Sunday morning in Rogers Park in the North Side.

Firefighters responded to a call or a person in distress who had fallen in the water about 7:45 a.m. near the 1000 block of West Pratt Avenue, according to a Chicago Fire Department spokesperson.

After nearly an hour of searching, firefighters pulled out the body of a man in his 30s, fire officials said.

He hasn’t been identified.

No other details were immediately available.

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Fans dance and cheer as Waka Flocka Flame performs on day three of the Summer Smash Festival in Douglass Park, Sunday, Aug. 22, 2021. Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

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Deeply Rooted Dance Theater likes to tell stories, and what story is bigger or better known than the Exodus, the biblical saga of the escape of the Israelites from their Egyptian captors, complete with the parting of the Red Sea?

A contemporary reinterpretation of that ancient tale is at the heart of “Goshen,” an in-development dance-theater work created by Donald Lawrence, a Grammy Award-winning producer, songwriter and gospel artist based in Chicago.

Deeply Rooted and 17 onstage singers will present a free preview — a 45-minute version of what is ultimately expected to be a 90-minute work — on Aug. 25 at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park.

The presentation is titled “A Deeply Rooted Evening for Chicago’s Healing: GOSHEN (preview),” a nod to the show’s timing a few months after the coronavirus shutdown as arts organizations begin returning to live performances.

“It’s about persevering and making it through difficult times and healing, so we wanted to do it as a gift to Chicago,” Kevin Iega Jeff said of “Goshen.” He is Deeply Rooted’s co-founder and creative/executive director and director of this project.

Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, which melds ballet, modern and African-based techniques, performs a scene from “Goshen.”Ken Carl

Lawrence conceived “Goshen” around 2016 as a recording for his gospel choir, the Tri-City Singers (from three cities in the Carolinas), as a way to mark its 25th anniversary, but he thought of the project from the start as the nucleus for a dance-theater piece.

The album, which was released in February 2019, received a Grammy nomination in the gospel category, and its hit single, “Deliver Me. This Is My Exodus”, was named Billboard’s most played gospel song of that year.

Goshen is named in the Bible as the place in Egypt where Joseph, a cast-out Israelite who rose to become second only to the pharaoh, invited his fellow countrymen to live following a severe famine. Much later, the Israelite descendants were enslaved, ultimately leading to the Exodus.

“Goshen was considered God’s protected place,” Lawrence said, “but if you want to use more spiritual-psychological wisdom, it’s like this place of peace and safety no matter what is happening around you, and it’s all inward.”

While gospel is the base of Lawrence’s musical language, other styles appear as well. He studied musical theater at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music and has coached En Vogue, a superstar R&B and pop vocal group.

“When you hear my music,” he said, “it shows you the places I’ve lived musically, whether it’s urban music and R&B, whether it’s gospel, whether it’s musical theater or jazz or swing. I just kind of throw it all into a bowl and see what art happens.”

After the album’s debut, Lawrence began working on transforming “Goshen” into a dance-theater work and reached out to Deeply Rooted, a company that melds multiple dance styles, including ballet, modern (Lester Horton and Martha Graham) and African-based techniques.

Grammy Award winner Donald Lawrence’s piece “Goshen” will be previewed Wednesday night at the Pritzker Pavilion by Deeply Rooted Dance Theater.Provided

The project made sense for the African American company, said Nicole Clarke-Springer, who is in her second season as artistic director, in part because of the central place of gospel music in the Black tradition. “It’s really integral to who we are and how we communicate and have communicated throughout history,” she said.

In preparation for a workshop production of “Goshen” in December 2019 (the upcoming performance marking Deeply Rooted’s 25th anniversary is a repeat of that presentation with a few tweaks), five choreographers teamed to create the dance, each taking different sections. In addition to Jeff and Clarke-Singer, they were Gary Abbott, Deeply Rooted’s co-founder and associate director; Joshua L. Ishmon, rehearsal director and longtime dancer, and guest choreographer Tshediso Kabulu from South Africa.

“We have a wide variety of styles that are incorporated in this that flow and mesh,” said Clarke-Springer. “We all have a common thread as choreographers — an understanding of the music, the story and what needs to have happen inside each movement.”

Certainly dance for dance’s sake can be effective, Ishmon said, but allowing audiences to invest in a storyline makes for a more profound experience. “I think we do it well,” he said. “Even in an abstract work like ‘Goshen,’ the journey you go through visually and sonically, it still resonates with people strongly.”

Deeply Rooted’s 10 company dancers and two apprentices will join 12 choral singers from The NuXperience, who will be integrated into the movement. Also appearing will be gospel singer Le’Andria Johnson and lead singers from the Tri-City Singers.

The full-length version of “Goshen” was supposed to be presented in May 2020 under the auspices of Broadway in Chicago, but it was canceled because of the coronavirus shutdown. With the help of this second preview performance, Lawrence and his collaborators hope to get the project back on track.

“It’s a beautiful journey of a show to dance in, to watch, to hear,” Ishmon said. “It appeals to all your senses.”

Kyle MacMillan is a local freelance writer.

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