Who’s Piloting These Airwaves Anyway?
New TV episodes finally returned this week—and yet we’re still hankering for so much as an ounce of creativity on camera. The Neo-Futurists to the rescue; the performance troupe puts its own spin on TV pilots with the debut of its six-week Picked Up series, 8 p.m. Friday the 11th and Saturday the 12th. Each week the troupe will tackle a different pilot idea; we’re looking forward to “Office Prison Break,” April 24th through 26th, a mash-up inspired by...

" /> Who’s Piloting These Airwaves Anyway?
New TV episodes finally returned this week—and yet we’re still hankering for so much as an ounce of creativity on camera. The Neo-Futurists to the rescue; the performance troupe puts its own spin on TV pilots with the debut of its six-week Picked Up series, 8 p.m. Friday the 11th and Saturday the 12th. Each week the troupe will tackle a different pilot idea; we’re looking forward to “Office Prison Break,” April 24th through 26th, a mash-up inspired by...

" /> Who’s Piloting These Airwaves Anyway?
New TV episodes finally returned this week—and yet we’re still hankering for so much as an ounce of creativity on camera. The Neo-Futurists to the rescue; the performance troupe puts its own spin on TV pilots with the debut of its six-week Picked Up series, 8 p.m. Friday the 11th and Saturday the 12th. Each week the troupe will tackle a different pilot idea; we’re looking forward to “Office Prison Break,” April 24th through 26th, a mash-up inspired by...

" />
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Rebecca Little
Kill Your Television
By Rebecca Little

Who’s Piloting These Airwaves Anyway?
New TV episodes finally returned this week—and yet we’re still hankering for so much as an ounce of creativity on camera. The Neo-Futurists to the rescue; the performance troupe puts its own spin on TV pilots with the debut of its six-week Picked Up series, 8 p.m. Friday the 11th and Saturday the 12th. Each week the troupe will tackle a different pilot idea; we’re looking forward to “Office Prison Break,” April 24th through 26th, a mash-up inspired by...

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Down and Dirty
By Rebecca Little

Talking Trash

April is Earth month, which means the onslaught of green talk has just begun. But don’t turn a deaf ear yet; amid the lip service and Al Gore sightings comes a truly inventive show examining society’s wastefulness. Dance troupe The Seldoms performs Monument, inspired by Staten Island’s Fresh Kills landfill—a site taller than the Statue of Liberty and visible from space. This inauspicious human “monument” served as...

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Shopper: Pivot
By Rebecca Little
Owner Jessa Brinkmeyer discusses the city's first—and only—eco-friendly clothing boutique. Read more
Green Goods in Oak Park
By Rebecca Little

The Home Is Always Greener. . .

It’s much easier to pay lip service to being green than to seek out the products, but Green Home Experts (823 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park; 708-937-5403, ghexperts.com) has made it a little bit easier. The new shop specializes in eco-friendly building supplies, cleaning products, and other day-to-day goods, essentially a “green alternative to...

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Goats, Syrup, and Other Natural Wonders
By Rebecca Little

The Late Show

A few months back, we shared a tip on a staged reading of Better Late, starring Frasier’s John Mahoney and Mamet regular Mike Nussbaum. For folks who missed that gem, we’ve got another heads-up, now that the play—a December-December-December love triangle, by the May-December writing team of Larry Gelbart (M*A*S*H), 80, and Craig Wright (Six Feet Under), 42—is in production. Gelbart, whose credits also include Tootsie, takes the stage to talk about his career following the...

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Outlet Shopping in Lincoln Park
By Rebecca Little

Need an Outlet?
The owners of Madison and Friends (43 E. Oak St., 312-642-6403; 720 Waukegan Rd., Deerfield, 847-236-4131) and The Denim Lounge (2004 W. Roscoe St., 773-935-2820; 43 E. Oak St., 312-642-6403) have replaced the standalone Tween store in Lincoln Park with a new Madison and Friends Outlet (1963 N. Halsted St.; 312-943-0436). Co-owner David Shelist says out-of-town customers, who were less willing to make the trip up north, were disappointed that the tween...

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Romancing the Stony
By Rebecca Little

Fresh Eyre
How is it that the spinster Brontë sisters managed to write such passionate bodice rippers—for Victorian England, at least—despite a life of domestic doldrums on the Yorkshire moors? That’s the fundamental question British playwright Polly Teale aims to answer in Brontë, her imaginative blend of biography and fiction, presented by Remy Bumppo Theatre Company. The show previews 7:30 p.m. Friday the 21st and Saturday the 22nd, 2:30 p.m. Sunday the 23rd, and opens 7 p.m. Monday the 24th at Victory Gardens Greenhouse Theater (2257 N. Lincoln Ave.; 773-871-3000). Previews are $24 to $30; regular run is $35 to $40.
Best Bets for Things to Do This Week...

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A Boutique Pops Up in the Loop
By Rebecca Little

See More, Spend More?

SeeMore Shopping Chicago Boutique (175 W. Jackson Blvd.; 312-360-1344)—the event organizer, shopping tour operator, and shopping site dedicated to promoting Chicago shopping—has opened a “pop-up” boutique exclusively featuring Chicago-based designers in the atrium lobby of the office building. The mix ranges from clothes and jewelry to specialty food items, with prices ranging from $7 to $550. Find items from designer Cyndi Chan, whose clothing line Ori’en was featured in the Macy’s Fashion show in October; beautiful silver...

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The Green Machine
By Rebecca Little
Easy Being Green

The South Side Irish Parade took place on the 9th, and the weekend ahead is riddled with green beer drink-offs. Isn’t there anything authentic left to celebrate on St. Patrick’s Day? It’s FitzGerald’s (6615 Roosevelt Rd., Berwyn; 708-788-2118) to the rescue when the nightclub hosts its annual féile (that’s Gaelic for “festival”) on Monday the 17th. The merriment includes ten hours of music and dancing, 2 p.m. to midnight, with headliners the Dooley Brothers back for the band’s 26th year of playing its signature Irish-folk-meets-rock-n-roll. Other performers include the multitasking dancing/fiddler April Verch, and Kevin Flynn and the Avondale Ramblers, whose rock repertoire is...

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