Kimberly Katz
Backstage with the Bulls
Just before tip off, the singing of the national anthem takes on a more meaningful feeling during wartime. I notice a feeling of pride and determination especially during the last few bars when Bulls fans’ cheers drown out the rest of the song.
Thank You for Not Telling Me to Stop Smoking
Of course one of my New Year’s resolutions was to cut down on my smoking - it’s the same resolution I make every year! And I have cut down, I probably smoke half what I used to. I hate that sometimes my mind is telling me it doesn’t want to smoke right now, even as my hand is reaching in my purse to light another cigarette.
A Katz' Life - 2008: A Magic Year
What an amazing and miraculous year we’ve had here at Buzz in Chicago! First we went to Las Vegas for the Cinevegas film festival where I got to interview great stars on the red carpet like Robert Duvall, Viggo Mortensen, Dwayne Johnson, Jane Lynch, Rainn Wilson and Emma Stone.
Merry Christmasukah and Happy Hanukahmas!
Christmasukah also brings out the best and worst memories for every dysfunctional family (is there any other kind?), so I have learned to rely on my good friends for comic relief during the holidays to keep the good times feeling good. And with funny new friends like Scott Thompson and Taylor Negron...
Happy New Year!
Well, 2007 flew by and had lots of amazing developments for us here at Buzz, including our brand new partnership with NBC5.com’s “Chi Town After Dark”. The New Year always makes me wonder what the numbers mean so I looked it up and it turns out the number seven is the number of investigation...
Happy Valentine’s Day?
I used to love Valentine’s Day. I remember in grade school buying boxes of those cute little cards and candies that said “ I Love You” and “U R the 1” and excitedly giving them to everyone in my class, including the girls. I always got at least as many as I handed out and felt a little sorry for the kids who only got one or two...
Happy Birthday to Me
Wow! What is it about my birthday (March 5th) that brings up such conflicting emotions for me? Even more than New Year’s, birthdays make me feel that I must take stock of my life and somehow give it thumbs up or thumbs down and make life-changing resolutions to affect my future...
Assault with a deadly cellphone
Since its invention, the telephone has always been a favorite way for lovers to connect. How exciting it must have been for couples to stop relying on mail carriers whose message took days or weeks to arrive, or the telegraph, which delivered your brief but urgent message dictated through the chilly third person of a telegraph operator - I love you - stop - see you in New York - stop - kisses and hugs - stop.
I can't dream about you
During sleep your soul is free to roam the planet and visit places and people that your waking life won't allow.
I think my dream weaver is on the fritz because I just can't dream the things I want to! For years I was actually afraid to dream because nightmares about work and people I loved would make me wake up more tired and upset than when I went to bed.
Kevin Costner to the rescue!
Last month my column was about the lame quality of my dreams at night and how I seem to be unable to dream about anything with more than a PG-13 rating. Well, this month I get to write about a dream that came true, literally. Harris Theater Presents return of Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project, Aug. 28
16 July 2026 in Upcoming DanceFollowing last year’s smashing sold-out engagement, the Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater for Music and Dance proudly presents the return…
Oil Lamp Theater Announces its New Home
15 July 2026 in Theatre BuzzOil Lamp Theater, currently at 1723 Glenview Road, announces its new future home will be at the former Ten Ninety Brewing Co.…
Nothing Without a Company presents The Trouble With My Hair: Coloring, Cutting, and Coming into Who I Am - Five Performances across Chicago, August 21st-30th
15 July 2026 in Upcoming TheatreNothing Without a Company (NWaC) is proud to announce five performances of The Trouble With My Hair: Coloring, Cutting, and…
Theater Wit presents the Chicago premiere of Adolescent Salvation, August 14-October 3
15 July 2026 in Upcoming TheatreOver the course of one night, through a haze of tequila, texting, and Taylor Swift, three teenagers banter, bicker, and…
No Dogs’ Delivers an Unfamiliar Earnest
15 July 2026 in Theatre in ReviewOscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is one of the greatest farces ever written. His wordplay caricatured high society,…
Northlight Theatre inaugurates the first season in its new home in Evanston with the World Premiere of Jeffrey Hatcher's new adaptation of The Front Page
14 July 2026 in Upcoming TheatreNorthlight Theatre, under the direction of Artistic Director BJ Jones and Executive Director Timothy J. Evans, opens its new theater in Evanston with The Front…
TimeLine Theatre announces cast & production team for world premiere THE BIRTH OF THE PILL
14 July 2026 in Upcoming TheatreA bold story about the controversial creation that reshaped women’s lives is the focus of The Birth of the Pill,…
City Lit announces World Premiere adaptation of SHANE, playing August 21 – October 4
13 July 2026 in Upcoming TheatreFull cast and production team have been announced for City Lit's season-opening production of SHANE, Mark Pracht's World Premiere adaptation…
PrideArts' World Premiere of WINDOWS, August 7 – 23
13 July 2026 in Theatre in ReviewPrideArts' 2026-27 season will open in August with the world premiere of Chicago-based playwright Matt Schutz's WINDOWS, a comedy of LGBT…
Steppenwolf Presents ALEX EDELMAN: WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO - August 12 – 16, 2026
13 July 2026 in Upcoming TheatreFollowing a critically-acclaimed, sell-out run of Just For Us at Steppenwolf Theatre and around the globe, Tony and Emmy Award-winning comedian Alex Edelman returns…
DIRTY DANCING: the MUSICAL WILL PLAY BROADWAY IN CHICAGO’S JAMES M. NEDERLANDER THEATRE SEPTEMBER 9 – 20
13 July 2026 in Upcoming TheatreGet ready to have the time of your life! Broadway In Chicago is pleased to announce that single tickets for DIRTY DANCING:…
A Thoughtful Evolution of Her Own Making: Overshadowed Theatrical Productions’ My Fair Lady
12 July 2026 in Theatre in ReviewOvershadowed Theatre Productions brings fresh energy to one of musical theatre’s most enduring classics, offering a spirited and thoughtful take…
A Legendary Transformation: John Mulaney’s Historic Night at Wrigley Field
12 July 2026 in Theatre in ReviewJohn Mulaney didn’t just perform at Wrigley Field. He made history there. In a venue synonymous with baseball legends, rock…
Powerhouse Performances on Display in Gwydion's Dry Powder
11 July 2026 in Theatre in ReviewIn the sharp-tongued world of Sarah Burgess’s Dry Powder, presented by Gwydion Theatre Company at the Greenhouse Theater Center, the…
The Beautiful Overthinking of Gary Gulman’s 7th Hour
10 July 2026 in Theatre in ReviewGary Gulman brings his new tour, 7th Hour: An All New Standup Show, to The Den Theatre, offering Chicago audiences…
Production of THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST Does Not Fully Recognize Its Importance at Oak Park Festival
09 July 2026 in Theatre in ReviewIt is possible that Oak Park Festival Theatre’s production of Oscar Wilde’s 1895 “trivial comedy for serious people,” The Importance…
Suffs and the Women Who Refused to Wait
09 July 2026 in Theatre in ReviewSuffs is a musical about history, yes, but more importantly, it is a musical about momentum: who creates it, who…
Court Theatre presents the Spotlight Reading Series A Century of Black Progress August 7 – 22
09 July 2026 in Upcoming TheatreUnder the leadership of Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director Avery Willis Hoffman and Executive Director Angel Ysaguirre, Court Theatre proudly presents the Spotlight Reading…
Great Lakes Operetta presents Orpheus in the Underworld at Bramble Arts Loft July 10-19
08 July 2026 in Upcoming TheatreGreat Lakes Operetta is delighted to present its first full-length, fully-staged operetta, Jacques Offenbach’s seminal work, Orpheus in the Underworld! Originally…
Nonesuch Releases Natalie Merchant’s Cabinet of Wonder, Music from Singer-Songwriter’s Collaboration with Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chicago Children’s Theatre, August 21
08 July 2026 in Theatre BuzzNonesuch Records releases Natalie Merchant’s Cabinet of Wonder—a digital collection of seventeen songs and accompanying videos from the acclaimed singer-songwriter’s…
Oil Lamp Theatre to present I Love You Because August 14 - September 13
07 July 2026 in Upcoming TheatreOil Lamp Theater, currently presenting The Last Five Years, now extended through July 19, is proud to announce the cast and creative…
Sandbox Theatre Collective to Stage HENRY IV, PART 1 at North Center Irish Pub
07 July 2026 in Upcoming TheatreSandbox Theatre Collective has announced their production of William Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part 1. Directed by Alex Albrecht and running…
Making its Broadway in Chicago debut, Jekyll & Hyde will play a limited engagement at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place
02 July 2026 in Upcoming TheatreBroadway In Chicago announced today that tickets for Kokandy Productions’ critically acclaimed, multi-award-winning revival of JEKYLL & HYDE will go on sale…
Absurdist Satire ‘Do You Feel Anger?’ Captures Toxicity in Workplace Today
01 July 2026 in Theatre in ReviewSet in a debt collection call center, Do You Feel Anger? captures how a toxic workplace manifests itself in today’s…
Uptown Music Theater of Highland Park presents Disney’s The Little Mermaid
01 July 2026 in Upcoming TheatreThe Broadway musical - Disney's The Little Mermaid - will hit the Uptown Music Theater stage this summer in Deerfield,…
Collaboraction Theatre announces July shows and events in its new House of Belonging in Humboldt Park
01 July 2026 in Upcoming TheatreCollaboraction Theatre Company’s new House of Belonging is now fully activated in the Kimball Arts Center, 1757 N. Kimball Ave…
Babes with Blades Presents the World Premiere of the Queer Pirate Joy play, YO HO. Beginning Saturday, July 25th
01 July 2026 in Upcoming TheatreBabes With Blades Theatre Company's (BWBTC) 2026 season opens with a world premiere, yo ho., by playwright SMJ, directed by…
Goodman’s Iceboy! Is a Full‑Tilt Blast of Comic Mayhem
30 June 2026 in Theatre in ReviewGoodman Theatre’s Iceboy! arrives as a gleefully off the rails musical that blends Broadway glamour, Neanderthal chaos, and theatrical myth…
Collaboraction’s The Light Youth Ensemble, 19 Chicago teens intent on careers in the arts, each passionate about positive social change, announce 2026 Summer Tour
30 June 2026 in Upcoming TheatreWhat’s on the minds of Chicago’s youth?Find out when Collaboraction Theatre’s 2026 The Light Youth Ensemble brings their talent, fused…
All The World's a Stage and Chicago Merely The Best Player: 'As You Like It' in Chicago Parks this summer
30 June 2026 in Theatre in ReviewIs there anything more alluring than a summer night in Chicago? The lakefront beaches, the meandering pathways, the festivals and…
Latest Articles
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TimeLine Theatre announces cast & production team for world premiere THE BIRTH OF THE PILL
Written by Buzz Center StageA bold story about the controversial creation that reshaped women’s lives is the focus of The Birth of the Pill, a world premiere play launching TimeLine Theatre’s 30th Anniversary season in September. The Birth of the Pill —by playwright Jessica… -
Nothing Without a Company presents The Trouble With My Hair: Coloring, Cutting, and Coming into Who I Am - Five Performances across Chicago, August 21st-30th
Written by Buzz Center StageNothing Without a Company (NWaC) is proud to announce five performances of The Trouble With My Hair: Coloring, Cutting, and Coming into Who I Am. This is a solo performance, written and performed by award-winning storyteller Ada Cheng, which intimately…
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Theater Wit presents the Chicago premiere of Adolescent Salvation, August 14-October 3
Written by Buzz Center StageOver the course of one night, through a haze of tequila, texting, and Taylor Swift, three teenagers banter, bicker, and push each other to the edge of danger — with consequences that could prove lethal. Theater Wit presents the Chicago…
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Harris Theater Presents return of Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project, Aug. 28
Written by Buzz Center StageFollowing last year’s smashing sold-out engagement, the Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater for Music and Dance proudly presents the return of Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project in a one-night-only performance themed Dancing the Archive: Embodied Histories, Collective Power. As performed by ten extraordinary…
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