Jam-packed with comedy, musical performances and commentary, CHICAGO LIVE!
returns this fall with its fifth season of headline making interviews and performances. A weekly live stage show taped for WGN Radio and carried online at chicagolive.com, CHICAGO LIVE! brings the Chicago Tribune to life, showcasing who and what is making news today. The fall season takes place at The Chicago Theatre Downstairs, 175 N. State Street, Thursday evenings at 6:30pm beginning October 13 and running through November 17. Following each show is a reception for audience, cast, and crew.
Beginning its second year this Fall, CHICAGO LIVE! is produced by the Chicago Tribune for WGN-AM Radio, in partnership with The Second City. It's a fast-paced 60-minute program featuring comedy sketches, interviews with newsmakers and athletes, and rare, up-close performances by talent typically headlining theater and music club stages. Hosted by Rick Kogan, a veteran Chicago Tribune reporter, author and WGN radio personality, CHICAGO LIVE! highlights the journalists, columnists and personalities of three Chicago institutions: WGN-AM Radio, the Chicago Tribune, and The Second City. Thursday night live shows are taped for broadcast on WGN Radio (720AM) Saturdays at 11 pm. Show recaps, podcasts, photos and behind-the-scenes footage are also available at www.chicagolive.com.
"Being on Chicago Live! brought me back to a time when radio was once at its best; the mix of a live audience and its subject subjected to the curious and unpredictable, engaging the imagination of the listener," said Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan who was a guest this past July.
"Chicago Live! is the only place you can find a politician, a comedian, a rapper and a reverend all in one place. Chicago Live! is a living example of one Chicago," said rapper, politician and former Chicago Live! guest Che "Rhymefest" Smith.
A sampling of the guests confirmed for the fall season include: Chicago Public Library Commissioner Mary Dempsey, musician Jon Langford, and Director of Chicago Architecture Foundation Bastiaan Bouma (October 13); Illinois Senate President John Cullerton and a performance by singer/songwriter Bonnie Koloc with guitarist Chris Siebold (October 20); Bela Gandhi, founder of The Smart Dating Academy, and a performance by Les Guitarras de Espana, a Spanish guitar ensemble (October 27); Tribune cartoonist Scott Stantis, John Wayne Gacy's defense attorney Sam Amirante, and a performance from the Human Rhythm Project (November 3); co-founder of Louder Than A Bomb poetry slam festival and author Kevin Coval and organizer of Chicago PechaKucha Night Peter Exley (November 10); a Chicago Movies Show with Chicago Tribune film critic Michael Phillips (November 17); and more to be announced. Each show features Rick Kogan's "Chicago Almanac," which spotlights a significant year in Chicago history. Through words, images and music, the "Chicago Almanac" is an entertaining and enlightening time-trip. It is also featured on http://www.chicagotribune.com with an interactive Chicago history quiz
every weekend.
Highlights from past seasons include appearances by local politicians John Fritchey, Susana Mendoza, and Joe Moreno, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Mayor Rahm Emanuel; authors Scott Turow, Gillian Flynn and James Keene; filmmakers Melissa Pierce, Steve James and Alex Kotlowitz; celebrity chefs Graham Elliot, Stephanie Izard, Paul Kahan, Grant Achatz and Rick Tramonto; actors and comedians Tim Kazurinsky, Greg Proops, Aisha Tyler, Michael Shannon, and Michael Patrick Thornton; Chicago sports figures such as Steve "Mongo" McMichael from the Bears '85 Super Bowl team, Blackhawks Head Coach Joel Quenneville, Chicago Bear tight end Desmond Clark, and White Sox great Ron Kittle; musical performances by Psalm One, Tammi McCann, Ava Logan and the Chicago Children's Choir; plus ticket giveaways to the Chicago Auto Show, Arlington Park and more.
CHICAGO LIVE! is just one part of Trib Nation; other Trib Nation Events include Chicago Forward:
Conversations About the Future, panel discussions with newsmakers, leaders and policymakers exploring important issues; TribU, a multi-platform content program focusing on personal and professional enrichment; Press Pass, programs by Chicago Tribune columnists and personalities; and a robust variety of literary events including the Printers Row Lit Fest, Tribune literary prizes and monthly AuthorTalks.
For its entire history, the Chicago Tribune has been a market-leading publication serving its community. Reaching 3 million readers each week in print and over 10 million online monthly, the Chicago Tribune is known for its award-winning journalism. The Tribune's news focus is centered on the Chicago experience, community issues and government, business, plus entertainment, culture and sports. For more information, please visit www.tribnation.com/events.
The Second City is the nation's premier developer of improv-based comedy and home to generations of the comedy world's most influential artists. Additionally, The Second City is a diverse entertainment company that operates the largest school of improvisation in the country, a corporate communications division that brings improv training to a wide array of businesses and a new media division that leverages the legendary company's expertise in topical, short form content across a variety of platforms.
Tickets for CHICAGO LIVE! are on sale now and priced at $20 and include a reception (with cash bar) following each taping. Tickets are available at The Chicago Theatre box office, 175 N. State Street, all Ticketmaster outlets, and Ticketmaster phone charge (1.800.745.3000) or can be purchased online at www.thechicagotheatre.com and www.ticketmaster.com. For more information or to download a podcast of all CHICAGO LIVE! programs, please visit www.chicagolive.com.
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