Frankenstein

CHICAGO – Call me an Ismael puppet. We’ll never know if that was the opening line Herman Melville intended for his classic “Moby Dick,” but the 5th Chicago International Puppet Festival presents their Opening Night marionette version on January 18th, 2023 (7:30p), and the fest runs through January 29th. For tickets and info, click 5TH PUPPET FEST.

CHICAGO – The immersion that is possible in modern animated films is so rich now that it is practically reality. “Frankenweenie,” the newest puppetry-style film from director Tim Burton, is heroically painted onto the screen’s canvas, but the limp retelling of the Frankenstein movie myth doesn’t live up to the visual tone.

CHICAGO – It’s incredible to think about the influence of the wave of Universal monsters movies released by the studio in the ’30s and ’40s and recently collected in a gorgeous box set titled “Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection.” Sure, several of the iconic characters like Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Mummy had source material to draw from but it really is the way that the Universal films, their directors, and the actors cast in them brought them to life that really defined them.

CHICAGO – Mary Shelley’s infamous monster is alive and well in Nick Dear’s acclaimed new stage adaptation set to be screened worldwide. It’s the latest installment of National Theatre Live, a series of high definition filmed performances released theatrically, courtesy of Britain’s National Theatre.