Theatre Pick: The Artistic Home Presents Cut to the Chase at The Den Theatre (Through May 4, 2025)

Cut to the Chase is a short play festival presented by The Artistic Home. This year it features six short plays that fall into different genres including drama, sci-fi, and dark comedy. It’s a showcase of playwrights (Will Dunne, Siah Berlatsky, Jillian Blevins, Nina Dellaria, Chelyn Cousar, Greg A. Smith) and actors. The festival has been specifically programmed with plays that have the theme of “What is real?” that helps tie them together into one show.

Check out our review of The Artistic Home’s production of Hedda Gabler here.

Cost of a ticket: $28

Get tickets now for Cut to the Chase through May 5th.

Concert Pick: Mungion with Consider the Source at Martyrs’ (May 3, 2025)

Listen to the latest album from Consider the Source, The Stare. 

Cost of a ticket: $24

Get tickets here. 

Quinn Delaney

A family is watching a police encounter from their balcony. It starts to escalate as the man gets very angry and the cop pulls out his gun. Suddenly, there is a bright white flash and the man is gone without a trace. 

Zora Howard has written a thought-provoking and hilarious play. The characters and situations are so real while the flash is surreal. Afrocurrentism is like Afrofuturism, but instead of imagining a future in which black people have full agency, it asserts that they have it now. 

The world premiere of this play took place on February 13th at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. This is the same production now on stage at the Goodman.  The set design by Matt Saunders is truly impressive. Full multi-level sets slide in and out with such grace. 

The cast is fantastic. It consists of Mark Bedard, Cecil Blutcher, Renika Williams-Blutcher, Caroline Stefanie Clay, Bernard Gilbert, Caitlin Hargraves, Jorge Luna, Victoria Omoregie, Keith Randolph Smith, Ray Anthony Thomas, and Ivan Cecil Walks. The understudies include Jodi Gage, Cory Hardin, Gabrielle Lott-Rogers, Vernon Mina, Patrick Newson, Jr., Joseph Primes and Jazzy Rush.

The audience will be quoting this play, “It’s not an afterlife, it’s more life”, and processing it for days afterwards. It has a bright future which will likely include a Broadway run.  

Cost of a ticket: $45

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Exceptional Value +

Rating Scale: Exceptional Value > Worth It > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Get tickets now for BUST through May 18th! 

Quinn Delaney

This is night two of Howie Day at the City Winery. “I played all the good songs last night”, he jokes in a great example of his sense of humor. 

Late in the night, he plays “Bunnies”. This is one of his more experimental songs. It features a lot of loops and improvisations. Also, it stretches out to about 10 minutes. 

“I think I need to play ‘Longest Night’ or else she will have a nervous breakdown!”  So, he plays this song from 2009’s Sound The Alarm. “Is it dark where you are?
Can you count the stars where you are?” Technically, you can count the stars from anywhere. Sometimes, the count might be zero. 

Instead of the normal cheering for an encore, he requests that the audience be as quiet as possible and then he will return. The result is some quiet talking with others saying “Shhhhh”. The crowd erupts when he returns. 

Howie says that sometimes when he’s in a bad mood, he doesn’t play “Collide”. Luckily, this isn’t one of those nights and he does play his biggest hit, from the 2003 album, Stop All The World Now. “But it won’t be the last song,” he says. “Because that would be too cliche”. This song has over 480 million streams on Spotify.  “Even the best fall down sometimes / Even the wrong words seem to rhyme / Out of the doubt that fills your mind / You finally find / You and I collide”. 

To close out the night, he plays “Treetops” from his 2015 album, Lanterns. “Cause we’re dancing on the treetops tonight / We’re hiding from the people and the lights”. It’s a great joyful song to end on and it sends the audience out with smiles on their faces. 

Cost of a ticket: $54

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It

Rating Scale: Exceptional Value > Worth It > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Quinn Delaney

Ben Kweller takes the stage and sits down at his keyboard. The audience immediately quiets down as he plays “Thirteen”. “Had passionate makeouts and passionate freakouts / We built this world of our own / It was in the back of a taxi when you told me you loved me / And that I wasn’t alone”. It’s a beautiful start to the show. Afterwards he says how he always feels the love in Chicago. “You’ve always been there for me”, he says. “It’s going to be a sing-along tonight!” 

Later in the night, he plays “In Other Words”. “The butterflies are passive aggressive / And put their problems on the shelf but they’re beautiful”. This is such a gorgeous song and it sounds great tonight.

On bass today is Christopher Mintz-Plasse. He plays a right handed bass upside down. Many fans recognize him as an actor from Superbad and Kick-Ass. He is resistant to take a shot of Malort, which he did not enjoy the last time they were at Lincoln Hall. But eventually, he relents when they learn the venue doesn’t have Jager. 

Midway into the set, Ben talks about how his son, Dorian, who passed in February 2023 at the age of 16 (He died in a freak car accident), had started to write a song called “Trapped”. In a tribute, he finsihed writing it and they go on to play it. It’s a very heartfelt moment. The song will be on their upcoming album, Covering the Mirrors, which be released on May 30th, Dorian’s birthday. 

To close out the set, they play “Penny on the Train Track” from his self titled 2006 album.  “I’m just a penny on the train track / Waitin’ for my judgement day / Come on baby girl let me see those legs / Before I get flattened away”. This is such a great song with a driving beat. The energy in the room is fantastic.

To end the night, he thanks a few people in the audience including a local radio DJ who always played his music. He promises they will returns soon, possibly in 12 months, and then jumps into “Wasted and Ready”. This song is his most popular on Spotify with over 4.3 million streams. “She is a slut but ex thinks it’s sexy / Sex reminds her of eating spaghetti”.  He plays it with great passion and makes it a perfect finale.

See the full setlist here.

Cost of a ticket: $43

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Exceptional Value –

Rating Scale: Exceptional Value > Worth It > Half Price > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Quinn Delaney

Ok Go takes the stage and jumps into “This Too Shall Pass” from their 2010 album Of the Blue Colour of the Sky. They made a fantastic video for this song featuring a very elaborate Rube Goldberg Machine. During the video, you can see the band members covered in paint, which makes it clear this was not the first attempt at filming. 

Next up is “Get Over It” from their 2002 self titled album. This was their first big hit which came out while they were living in Chicago. They talked about traveling around the city eating ribs at every restaurant that had them on the menu until their doctor said they should stop. 

They follow this with “I Won’t Let You Down”. This is their most popular video on youtube with 51 million views. This impressive video was filmed in Japan, just outside of Tokyo. 

Later on they play “Love” from their latest album, And the Adjacent Possible. The video is full of moving mirrors that creates a kalideoscope of a video. They also showed off the new vinyl, which features a pop-up sphere when opened.  

Afterwards, they play “Upside Down & Inside Out” from their 2014 album, Hungry Ghosts. This video was shot in zero gravity in a plane taking nose dives. To find dancers for the video, they hired aerialists, who were the most comfortable being in the air. 

This live performance was a celebration of their music. During almost every song, they shoot an enormous amount of confetti into the audience. Whether they meant to or not, most of the audience likely took some home with them. 

See the full setlist here. 

Cost of a ticket: $59

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It –

Rating Scale: Exceptional Value > Worth It > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Quinn Delaney

James Bay takes the stage with his band and jumps right into “Up All Night” from his 2024 album, “Changes All The Time”. He recorded this track with The Lumineers and Noah Kahan. “Let’s talk about dreams, let’s talk about lies / Let’s talk about all the things that keep us up all night”. This joyful upbeat song sets a great tone for the night. The lyrics remind many of “Let’s Talk About Sex” by Salt-N-Pepa. “Let’s talk about sex, baby / Let’s talk about you and me / Let’s talk about all the good things / And the bad things that may be”. 

Soon afterwards, they play “If You Ever Want To Be In Love” from the 2015 album, Chaos And The Calm. The crowd erupts after recognizing the song from the first few piano notes. “I’ll come around / If you ever want to be in love / I’m not waiting, but I’m willing if you call me up”. This is such a beautiful song and it makes for a great sing-a-long. 

A few songs later, they play the opening of “Let It Go” and the audience screams. This is his most popular song on Spotify with over 1.29 billion streams. “So come on, let it go / Just let it be / Why don’t you be you / And I’ll be me?” The riff along with the lyrics make this an masterful breakup song. 

For the final song of the encore, they play “Hold Back The River”, which was nominated for “Best Rock Song” at the Grammys. The opening sounds similar to “Let It Go”, which makes sense because they are both on the same album.  “Hold back the river, let me look in your eyes / Hold back the river, so I / Can stop for a minute and be by your side”. It’s a fantastic song to end a superb night of live music. 

See a similar setlist here. 

Cost of a ticket: $60

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It +

Rating Scale: Exceptional Value > Worth It > Half Price > Go for Free > Don t Bother

Quinn Delaney

Kishi Bashi first played with the Chicago Philharmonic on April 15, 2023 at the Harris Theatre. They invited him back this year, and he happily accepted. 

Late in the set, they play “Icarus IV” from last year’s album, Kantos. It sounds much different with an orchestra than on the album, but it’s still a great performance. “I want to fly a littler higher, a little lighter, I want run away / I want to float a little farther, a little faster with you”. It’s an epic journey song that would fit right in on a video game soundtrack. 

They didn’t play the best song from his new album, “Lilliputian Chop”. Here’s hoping that he plays it the next time he is in Chicago. 

Next up, they play “Honeybody” from his 2016 album, Sonderlust. This is such a fun song that has everyone bouncing around joyfully. “Oh Honeybody whatcha doing Sunday?
maybe sipping the coca cola with me, babe.”

In the encore, they play “This Must Be the Place” by the Talking Heads from their 1983 album, Speaking in Tongues. “Hi yo, I got plenty of time / Hi yo, you got light in your eyes / And you’re standing here beside me”. This is a fantastic choice and it sounds amazing with the philharmonic. 

For the final song of the night, he plays “Violin Tsunami” from 2019’s Omoiyari. He loops his violion to create, just as the title says, a tsumani of violin! It’s a great close to an excellent night of music!  

Check out our review of Tall Tall Trees opening for Kishi Bashi in April 2022 here. 

See the full setlist here. 

Cost of a ticket: $96

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It –

Rating Scale: Exceptional Value > Worth It > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Quinn Delaney

Tonight’s headliner is San Fermin from Brooklyn, New York.  This seven piece band fills the large stage with style.  The band consists of two lead singers, a violinist, saxophone player, keyboardist, guitarist, and a drummer.

San Fermin is the creation of Brooklyn composer and songwriter Ellis Ludwig-Leone. This tour is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the release of Jackrabbit, which is their second album. It features the track “Emily”, which is the most popular song on the album. Allen Tate’s vocal performance is impressive and sounds similar to the lead singer from The National. 

The band truly fills Thalia Hall with their vibrant sounds.  Claire Wellin displays her vocal talent during “Jackrabbit”. Many songs feature fantastic brass that energizes the band and the crowd.  The rendition of “Sonsick” brought the house down.  During a lively instrumental, the saxophone player enters the opera box for a solo to the cheers of the audience. 

See a similar setlist here. 

Cost of a ticket: $33

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It +

Rating Scale: Exceptional Value > Worth It > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Quinn Delaney

“I do stand-up comedy, obviously, for the irony” says Neal, who is in a wheelchair. After his set, Lee approaches him and says she liked his set better than the headliner, Sarah Silverman. They grab drinks and she asks him for advice about standup. He directs her to a local open-mic and thus begins their friendship.

Neal says “it doesn’t matter if the audience is laughing, as long as they are listening.” The bits of humor are mixed with a lot of drama, darkness and tragedy that are riveting. For both characters, comedy is not just a passion or a profession.  It is their coping mechanism for dealing with the trauma that they have been dealt with in life. It might be the one thing keeping them going and this is something that brings them together over the course of the play.

Andrew Hinderaker has written an excellent piece of theatre that explores the world of stand-up. He specifically wrote the piece for these actors as they are all ensemble members at The Gift Theatre. His comedy knowledge is clearly displayed in the comedian references (Mitch Hedburg, Beth Stelling, Neal Brennan) and the character’s standup sets, which are absolutely hilarious. The opening set is indistinguishable from a regular standup show. The audience is really expecting Silverman to come out after his set. 

Michael Patrick Thornton (Doubt) is fantastic as Nate, who is a hilarious comedian who has been through some traumatic times. Cyd Blakewell (The Locusts) is so funny as Lee, who also has experienced dark trama, which bonds them. 

Overall, this is a fantastic blend of theatre of stand-up comedy that should not be missed!

Cost of a ticket: $40

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It +

Rating Scale: Exceptional Value > Worth It > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Get tickets now for Obliteration through May 4th!

Quinn Delaney

Henry Johnson is asking his boss to hire one of his old friends. This friend needs to get a job as a condition of his parole. The boss questions Henry as he tries to understand why he would ask such a big favor for a friend that he wasn’t that close to. The scene changes, and suddenly Henry is in prison without explanation. He’s talking with another prisoner who is warning him about the counseler that he is talking to. 

This David Mamet (Glengarry Glen Ross, Wag The Dog) play is hard to follow. A lot happens in-between scenes that is not clearly explained. Also, they have seats on the stage, but it’s not a good idea to sit there unless you like to have the actors face away from you. 

The cast is very talented. Keith Kupferer (The Great Leap, If I Forget) is superb as the blue collar prison guard with unclear intentions. Thomas Gibson (Dharma and Greg) is great as the prisoner trying to teach Henry about manipulation. Al’ Jaleel McGhee (To Catch a Fish, Breach) is very good as the skeptical boss. Lastly, Daniil Krimer is sold as the straight man of the play, Henry Johnson.

A film version starring Shia LaBeouf is planned to be released online on May 9, 2025. See the trailer here: https://youtu.be/_5u0INUpDBU?si=olNb6tjdfzymKALm

See the program here. 

Cost of a ticket: $64

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Discounted

Rating Scale: Exceptional Value > Worth It > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Get tickets now for Henry Johnson through May 4th. 

Quinn Delaney