Medici dynasty art comes to Chicago

It’s the Rosetta Stone of the art world: a piece valued at more than $12 million that has been buried for some half a century. Better yet, the uncovered artifact’s creator is none other than Michelangelo Buonarroti, the Italian Renaissance artist extraordinaire best known for painting the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling, circa 1508. And although that objet d’art remains discreetly in Rome, Chicago art lovers have the prospect glimpsing Michelangelo’s previously hidden sketch at the Art Institute’s newest exhibit, "The Medici, Michelangelo and the Art of Late Renaissance Florence" through February.
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C’est La Vie troupe explores desperation

A young and upcoming theater production company is getting some help from Columbia students and alumni. C’est La Vie Drama Group was founded in January 2001, and is hosting its third theater production, "The Bound Trilogy."
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Midwood returns to city of influence

Like an aged whiskey, Ramsay Midwood’s music supplies a mixture of warmth, comfort and an attraction to the senses with his debut album Shoot Out at the OK Chinese Restaurant. The combination of blues, bluegrass and Midwood’s voice, similar to that of Bob Dylan, provides a sense of wisdom and experience to his lyrics.
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Behind the art: Hokin history revealed

Walking through the halls of Columbia, students cannot pass by without noticing original artwork, posters and flyers inviting them to exhibitions, screenings and live performances. What the Columbia community may not know, however, is that the Center for Visual Arts and Performance—the many buildings on campus that display student and faculty work—started almost 15 years ago as a big idea called the Hokin Center.
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‘Who was Hokin?

What’s in a name? For the Hokin Center, a name means cash—and that points to a big donor: Myron Hokin.
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Harry Potter parody causes concern

MOSCOW—After spending years looking for a surefire protagonist who clicks with children, Russian writer Dmitry Yemets finally has found one: an 11-year-old orphan who wields magical powers, casts spells to vanquish the chief villain, attends a school for young witches and wears glasses.
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Tribune buys out Printers Row Book Fair

In an effort to boost its presence on the literary front, the Chicago Tribune announced last week that it has purchased the Printers Row Book Fair, the largest free event of its kind in the Midwest. Columbia’s Book and Paper Arts Center, a participant in last year’s fair, said the company’s acquisition of the fair would not diminish the center’s attendance in next year’s festival.
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Dinner, movie and culture

It’s the standby of dating: dinner and a movie. But it’s also the basis for a successful program at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St. International Dinner and a Movie, a program that pairs foreign films with ethnic cuisine from the countries of the films’ origin, happens on the second Tuesday of each month, September through May.
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James Joyce’s ‘The Dead’ not to die for

The Court Theatre’s musical adaptation of James Joyce’s "The Dead" is full of good Irish folk music, patriotic songs and decent acting. Sadly, that is not enough to make up for its confusing story line and awkward set.
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Go Mario! It’s your birthday!

Mario wasn’t always the good guy. He wasn’t always the positive role-model plumbing entrepreneur that America knows today. First introduced as Jumpman in the original Donkey Kong, Mario made his first appearance as himself as a carpenter/ape captor in the 1982 arcade game Donkey Kong Jr.
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Hip-hop pioneers return with ‘Phrenology’

In The Loop

Over the short holiday, I stumbled upon a forgotten gem nestled neatly among cable television’s monotony of CNN en EspaÔol and TLC’s marathon of "Trading Spaces"—1987’s Planes, Trains and Automobiles follows the efforts of Neal Page (Steve Martin) and his quest to return home for the family Thanksgiving in Chicago. In true John Hughes style, each of Page’s transportation modes fail—his plane is delayed out of La Guardia, trains are congested, etc.
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