We've been digging SceneUnseen's photos all week. Al fresco dining during a free Pritzker Pavilion show (a.k.a. stuffing your face while the Joffrey Ballet grooves) On any given weekend, there's always something new and worth seeing on a Chicago stage. Tried-and-true shows like Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind and Improvised Shakespeare, perfect for treating out of town guests to a laugh. Friendly, helpful people are running the tawniest art galleries. Free... more ›

Super Bowl Sunday will be a bittersweet day for Chicago actors who happen to be Chicago Bears fans … or Bears fans that happen to be in a show. They’ve been waiting over two decades for the Bears to return to The Big Game but likely have been honing their craft even longer. That conflict was too much for the Neo-Futurists, who have cancelled Sunday night’s performance of perennial favorite Too Much Light Makes the... more ›

Anyone who's seen The Neo-Futurists’ weekly show Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind knows the purveyors of this evening of rapid-fire entertainment regularly rely on the audience for seriocomic inspiration. We've seen these performers take up a collection for a poor college kid, treat random ticket holders to ice cream treats, start an impromptu dance party, and enlist the entire room in silent protest against the invasion of Iraq. The Neos also produce... more ›

Now that Santa’s returned to the North Pole and Hanukkah Harry has commenced his rounds, it’s time to focus on New Year’s Eve. Maybe you’ve already ponied up your $100 or more to celebrate that sharp new desk calendar. Or maybe you’ve sworn off Saturday night as an overblown, overhyped, overpriced holiday. If you’re in that second category, consider spending 2005’s final hours at the theater, a more reasonably priced alternative where you leave the... more ›

One of the best weekend activities in Chicago is watching experimental theatre troupe the Neo-Futurists perform their weekly, ever-evolving show Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind. With the help of some raucous (read: drunken) audience participation, they miraculously put on 30 plays – comedic, political, and dramatic sketches of varying lengths – in 60 minutes. These crazy geniuses even determine your admission price based on the roll of a die and order pizza for audiences at sold-out shows. For good reason, it’s Chicago’s longest running theatre tradition. (Late Night Catechism be damned.) more ›