The Hanslick Girls

March 12, 2018

Give Your Faults: Madeleine L’Engle’s “Time Quintet” Series

Dania’s mind was racing at high-octane speed as she exited the theater. Visions of dark matter swirling around Storm Reid as she vaulted through otherworldly planets merged with her acute vision of what she had envisioned when reading the same scene on the page. It was a close approximation, though not perfect. She would do her best, in the coming weeks, not to lose her original vision of the novel.

“Holy cow,” Gwen said, gripping her coat as they passed though the front door of the building. “That was weird.”

March 5, 2018

Eat Your Heart Out: Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives”

Dania was sitting at her desk, working intently in one of the many spreadsheets her job saddled her with, when she was reflexively drawn up from her chair by a familiar scent.

“Plantain?” she asked herself.

She stood slowly, wanting to be sure that she didn’t disrupt her focus with a false alarm. But it was unmistakable – plantain, and what seemed like horseradish and sweet chilies.

February 26, 2018

Beyond Binary Choice: Sally Potter’s “Orlando”

As soon as the scroll of credits began across the blackened screen, Eleanor and Dania heard a sound from Gwen they had never heard before: genuine giddiness.

“Ohhhhhh it’s so weird!” Gwen squealed, clutching her knees. She leaned back into the cushion of the couch. “I have so many thoughts. So many. There are so many angles to take! The transgender reading, the cultural shift reading, the adaptation reading…”

Gwen proceeded to list several alternate readings under which the film could be understood, while Dania and Eleanor, who had been lobbing apprehensive looks at each other during the film’s entire duration, sent one final silent glance to each other.

February 19, 2018

Desire To See: Hedy Weiss’ “Pass Over” Review

PART OF CHICAGO THEATRE WEEK 2018

“I’ve always left “Ragtime” infused with renewed optimism…This time I felt quite sad. That’s a perfectly legitimate thing to wish might happen to an audience in the theater, and Bowling is a very capable and often-compelling director of musicals; I am just not convinced it is fair to this piece.”

Gwen stopped on that line in Chris Jones’ review of Ragtime at the Marriott. She considered what the context of that criticism really was – Jones’ disappointment that a musical that typically left him hopeful was given a less optimistic makeover.