iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Frank Sennett @sennettreport.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

My review of the North American premiere of Brokeback Mountain at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, the tragic love story of two men in an impossible situation they can't manage to quit: chicagocultureauthority.com/2026/06/06/b...

chicagocultureauthority.com

Brokeback Mountain scales the heights of forbidden love at Chicago Shakes

During Thursday’s opening of the North American premiere of Brokeback Mountain at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, my mind flashed to the chorus of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here.&#…

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petefrommanhattan.bsky.social @petefrommanhattan.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

“During his managing career, Mr. Cox was ejected from 162 games, by far the most in baseball history. ‘The umpire who gave Mr. Cox the heave-ho most often — 6 times — was Bob Davidson. Even he admired Mr. Cox. “If I was a ballplayer,…I’d want to play for Bobby Cox.”’ wapo.st/4uBdsfg

wapo.st

Bobby Cox, Hall of Fame manager of Atlanta Braves, dies at 84

He built a dynasty in Atlanta while winning more than 2,500 games during a 29-year managerial career.

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Frank Sennett @sennettreport.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

I just thought you had moved to Old English.

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Frank Sennett @sennettreport.bsky.social · 14/02/2026

The Royal Shakespeare Company's Hamnet at Chicago Shakes centers fierce maternal love and the indescribable anguish of losing a child. Kemi-Bo Jacobs's performance as Agnes Shakespeare packs such emotional punch that one worries about the toll it might take. This is acting with a capital everything.

chicagocultureauthority.com

A mother’s love and anguish drive Hamnet to stunning emotional heights at Chicago Shakes

In the fall of 2024, the Royal Shakespeare Company brought Pericles to Chicago Shakespeare Theater, marking a triumphant return after a 30-year absence. Less than two years later, the RSC is back t…

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Frank Sennett @sennettreport.bsky.social · 14/02/2026

Pro tip for Chicago visitors and residents alike: You cannot go wrong with a late-night steak sandwich and a mug of Billy Goat Dark off Lower Michigan Avenue.

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Frank Sennett @sennettreport.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

Best Musical Tony-winning The Outsiders opened at Broadway in Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Wednesday night for a brief visit. A slick combination of Grease and West Side Story, this saga pitting outcast teens against their affluent classmates in late-60s Tulsa proves a natural for the musical stage.

chicagocultureauthority.com

The Outsiders delivers tuneful teen turmoil at the Cadillac Palace

Like a lot of Gen Xers, I read The Outsiders in school when I was a kid. When I heard there was a musical in the works based on S.E. Hinton’s gritty 1967 YA novel a few years back, I was perp…

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Frank Sennett @sennettreport.bsky.social · 08/02/2026

When I say that Jeff Perry’s singular portrayal of Edgar was like watching Mr. Furley-era Don Knotts wreaking havoc on this grotesquely comic spiritual precursor to Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? please know that’s not a condemnation. chicagocultureauthority.com/2026/02/08/j...

chicagocultureauthority.com

Jeff Perry gets his freak on in The Dance of Death at Steppenwolf

No sooner did Ian Barford lay claim to most distinctive lead performance in Steppenwolf’s 50th season than Jeff Perry said, Hold my schnapps! Perry’s offbeat take on the mercurial Capta…

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Frank Sennett @sennettreport.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

Free Super Bowl ad concept: Kim DoorDashian.

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Frank Sennett @sennettreport.bsky.social · 18/01/2026

An agent's guide to NEVER THE BRIDE, a psychological thriller #agentsguide #agentguide #thriller

Picture of a woman in Western garb, playing an acoustic guitar and singing onstage in a honky-tonk.

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Frank Sennett @sennettreport.bsky.social · 04/01/2026

I’ve always been a Twizzlers guy, but Red Vines are the value option. I do wonder about the quality control. You get the big bag and there’s jaggedly broken off pieces like someone on the line was sneaking bites and dropping licorice back onto the belt.

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whet moser @whetmoser.com · 02/01/2026

people act like driving out very rich people with extremely high marginal tax rates is bad but it’s why we have “exile on main street,” so

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Dan Hinkel @danhinkel.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

Would you like to be my boss?

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Megan Abbott @meganabbott.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

A New Year's Toast from Patricia Highsmith (and me) 🥂🥂

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Frank Sennett @sennettreport.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

Publishers Marketplace, an incredibly useful resource for authors along with everyone else in publishing, is offering a rare free preview on its subscription. If you subscribe and cancel before Jan. 3, they will not charge the fee. Worth exploring. www.publishersmarketplace.com/register/%EF...

publishersmarketplace.com

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Frank Sennett @sennettreport.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

And The Secret of the Old Clock! Look for the first in my series of Sam Spade-Nancy Drew mysteries next year… Need some title help, though. Thoughts?

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Frank Sennett @sennettreport.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

Tell me you’re GenX without telling me you’re GenX. Best laugh I’ve had all day, @aslpinnacle.bsky.social. Well done.

Threads user making an insensitive comment about watching TV with subtitles followed by an amusing clap-back from a Deaf educator.

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Frank Sennett @sennettreport.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

If you get any presents in the mail with no gift giver identified, those are from me.

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Frank Sennett @sennettreport.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

Townes may be Steve Earle’s best album.

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Frank Sennett @sennettreport.bsky.social · 07/12/2025

All Her Fault on Peacock features a marketing exec at a major publisher in Chicago (sure?) pitching a best-selling author on switching publishers because she believes she can open him up to a whole new audience if she can help him win… an Edgar Award! And he signs with her.

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Frank Sennett @sennettreport.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

@bencollins.bsky.social Can’t wait to see the visual for your Gehry coverage.

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Frank Sennett @sennettreport.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

New Stranger Things cast photo dropped.

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Frank Sennett @sennettreport.bsky.social · 24/11/2025

Yes. And any such list with more Mike Myers than Albert Brooks entries, and that skips The Blues Brothers, is fatally deficient.

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Frank Sennett @sennettreport.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

More than 200 years before the term “frenemy” was coined, Salieri & Mozart embodied it. Amadeus @steppenwolfthtr.bsky.social, directed w aplomb by @robertfalls.bsky.social, is smart, funny & assured. Ian Barford’s dynamic, empathetic Salieri is a triumph. chicagocultureauthority.com/2025/11/17/i...

chicagocultureauthority.com

Ian Barford and Robert Falls rock Amadeus at Steppenwolf

I can’t remember the last time I’ve heard an ovation as celebratory and raucous in Steppenwolf’s upstairs ensemble theater as the one at the curtain call of Sunday’s opening…

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Rex Huppke @rexhuppke.bsky.social · 18/11/2025

Jesus Christ. This is monstrous. Absolutely sickening. The journalists in that room should walk out en masse.

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Frank Sennett @sennettreport.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

It’a not a free market when bot armies ace regular fans out of the chance to purchase during the regular onsale period. Time for the U.S. to follow suit. Squeeze the parasites out of business.

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Frank Sennett @sennettreport.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

“There are elements here of the ambiguous apocalypse of Lindelof’s ‘The Leftovers’ and the comic dystopia of ‘Mrs. Davis.’”

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Frank Sennett @sennettreport.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

Thune was backed into a corner by refusing to negotiate ACA until government reopens. Ok, now he must negotiate in good faith and Ds have to insist on a full extension or no additional CR. Still a disaster.

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Frank Sennett @sennettreport.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

This capitulation is going to cause a firestorm. The only way it possibly works out for the Democrats is if they a) put a marker down that they are giving Republicans a chance to do the right thing while easing the immediate crisis and b) absent an ACA extension by end of January, shutdown is back.

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Frank Sennett @sennettreport.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

I want to play poker with the Senate Democratic caucus…

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Neil Steinberg @neilsteinberg.bsky.social · 08/11/2025

I've been on staff for ... 38 years, and I don't remember ever feeling the paper is as focused and consequential as I do now. I can't speak to the effect, but as T.S. Eliot said, "For us there is only the trying. The rest is not our business."

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Matt Zoller Seitz @mattzollerseitz.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

Every company website is so desperate. You're on their page for five seconds and they want to send you notifications for the rest of your life. It's like if you asked somebody at an airport how to get to Terminal D and they told you, then got down on one knee and proposed.

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Frank Sennett @sennettreport.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

Definitely a good spot. The list of great venues is so long. Had great nights at Jazz Showcase, Andy’s, Pritzker Pavilion, Bottom Lounge, Auditorium, Constellation, Judson & Moore, City Winery, Beat Kitchen, Cobra Lounge, Carol’s. Have not been to Concord Hall or Ramova but hear good things.

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Frank Sennett @sennettreport.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

And what’s crazy is my next favorite 10 Chicago music venues would easily be cream of the crop almost anywhere else: Northerly Island, the brawlroom, The Riv, Rosa’s, Kingston Mines, Martyr’s, Thalia Hall, Lincoln Hall, Buddy Guy’s Legends, Park West. Absolutely hate United Center, though.

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Frank Sennett @sennettreport.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

In the suburbs, it’s Fitzgerald’s (maybe my favorite spot in the metro area), Evanston Space, Ravinia, Rosemont Horizon (or whatever they call it now), Genesee, Des Plaines Theatre, Arcada, Rialto Square, Horseshoe Hammond, Hard Rock NW Indiana. Never been to Hey Nonny.

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Frank Sennett @sennettreport.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

Good list, but I have never enjoyed Chicago Theatre as a concert venue. Musical theatre, yes, and maybe a theatrical show like David Byrne’s, which worked well at the Auditorium. My top 10: Maurer, The Vic, Metro, Hideout, Empty Bottle, House of Blues, Green Mill, Schubas, Reggie’s, Salt Shed.

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Frank Sennett @sennettreport.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

The Diplomat on Netflix has hit its stride with season three. A gripping depiction of the trials, tribulations and triumphs of a high-powered marriage. Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell are superb.

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Frank Sennett @sennettreport.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

I asked David Byrne today about what draws him to creative projects like Theater of the Mind, which he’s bringing to Chicago with the @goodmantheatre.bsky.social #chicagotheater #DavidByrne #TalkingHeads #TheaterOfTheMind #GoodmanTheatre

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Frank Sennett @sennettreport.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

I resent that you forced me to read this psychotic list.

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MisterJayEm @misterjayem.bsky.social · 26/10/2025

Cap knows the score.

Captain America standing in a blazing battlefield: "I've known GOOD vampires. People who never asked for this curse, who don't inflict their pain and hunger on others.

"But I've never known a good NAZI."

Be like Cap!

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Frank Sennett @sennettreport.bsky.social · 24/10/2025

If there’s a better analog for 2025 America than 1938 Austria during the anschluss, I can’t think of what it is. So it’s timely to have The Sound of Music at the Nederlander dispensing lessons in moral courage with a classic Rodgers & Hammerstein score. chicagocultureauthority.com/2025/10/23/t...

chicagocultureauthority.com

The Sound of Music brings a timely message with timeless songs to the Nederlander

An authoritarian leader casts a dark shadow across the land, employing intimidation to silence dissent while too many citizens stay quiet and hope for the best. If there’s a better analog for…

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Frank Sennett @sennettreport.bsky.social · 19/10/2025

I’m so proud of my fellow Americans today. This country’s immune system rejects authoritarianism.

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Frank Sennett @sennettreport.bsky.social · 19/10/2025

If you’re looking for a seasonally appropriate outing for little ones, Frederick, the first production of Chicago Children’s Theatre’s 20th anniversary season, is a good bet. chicagocultureauthority.com/2025/10/07/f...

chicagocultureauthority.com

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Frank Sennett @sennettreport.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

Why would a theater called Chicago Shakespeare produce a play based on a horror film franchise? The audience at Thursday’s opening of Paranormal Activity got a definitive answer: This taut and terrifying show gives you the willies, maybe even the shakes. chicagocultureauthority.com/2025/10/17/w...

chicagocultureauthority.com

With Paranormal Activity, Chicago Shakes serves up a fright feast

You might ask why a theater called Chicago Shakespeare would produce a play based on a horror film franchise. The audience at Thursday’s opening of Paranormal Activity got a definitive answer…

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Frank Sennett @sennettreport.bsky.social · 16/10/2025

It was blackjack he won the money at but he also plays poker.

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