This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The world has changed dramatically for people with disabilities since the landmark legislation was passed in 1990. Today, access continues to expand for people with all kinds of special needs. The newest group seeing doors open for them? People on the autism spectrum. […]
In 1988, Frank Galati’s adaptation of “The Grapes of Wrath” hit the Steppenwolf Theatre Company stage before going on to win two Tony Awards. Now, Steppenwolf once again turns to Galati and a John Steinbeck classic to open their 40th anniversary season. Make It Better spoke with Galati about “East of Eden,” being reunited with […]
The fall season gets into full swing with some promising premieres. “East of Eden” Sept. 17 – Nov. 15 Back in 1988, “The Grapes of Wrath” became one of Steppenwolf’s most successful shows ever. Frank Galati, who wrote the script for that groundbreaking Tony Award winner, is now adapting another classic book by John Steinbeck, […]
Make It Better’s Best of 2015 drew more than 105,000 verified votes across 10 categories. Share your thoughts with us on social media using the hashtag #MIBBestof2015. Live Music Venue Ravinia (North Shore) This winner came as no surprise: You’ve chosen this outdoor music venue every year since 2012. 200 Ravinia Park Road, Highland Park, 847-266-5000 […]
Young people can be so puzzling to older generations. Countless articles have asked, “What’s up with millennials, anyway?” And several recent plays at Steppenwolf Theatre, including “The Night Alive” and “Airline Highway,” zeroed in on this struggle for comprehension across the generational divide. In each of these plays, the story is propelled by the arrival […]
I wept and sniffled my way through much of the 1985 novel “Beaches” by Iris Rainer Dart, and again through the 1988 film of the same name, which starred Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey in a tale of opposites attract and a great friendship is born. When I heard that a pre-Broadway run of “Beaches” […]
Witty comebacks and laughable moments run throughout director Steve Scott’s production of “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” now at the Goodman Theatre. The play first appeared on Broadway in 2013 and received the Tony Award for Best Play, among others. Based off the comedy play written by Christopher Durang, the story centers on the […]
It’s an epic adventure that takes place on the vast, merciless sea. It’s a tale about camaraderie, sacrifice, danger and the deepest, darkest revenge. It’s “Moby Dick.” The famous “Great American Novel,” written by Herman Melville in 1851, has been adapted into a thrilling theatrical production at Chicago’s Lookingglass Theatre. Directed by David Catlin, “Moby […]
The future, or at least the kind of future we have imagined with artificial intelligence, holograms, time and space travel, and microchips inserted into our brains, seems very far away. And no matter how we envision that future in movies like “I, Robot,” “Gattaca,” and “Transcendence,” there are deep-rooted problems with morality, humanity and the […]
It’s 1922 in Ottawa, Ill., when Catherine Donohue begins working at the Radium Dial Company at the age of 19 to help support her family. She learns how to paint numbers on the faces of wristwatches and pocket watches and soon forms a strong friendship with three other women, Charlotte, Pearl and Frances. The four […]
