Chicago Broadcasting Network

Author Barbara Barnett talks about and reads from her book "Apothecary's Curse" set partly in the Chicago area and partly in Victorian London.

Bob (H.B. Ward) and Jennifer (Linda Reiter) Jones are surprised to meet their new neighbors who also share the same last name. In the end, the two couples have an ongoing series of absurd conversations that actually do get to the core of what they want to express while avoiding or at least minimizing any straightforward communication. Review by Reno Lovison (Photo by Evan Hanover)

In this podcast I give two recent Chicago theater reviews including "Dead Man's Cell Phone" and "Brooke Astor's Last Affair" which is part of the Chicago Musical Theater Festival.

“Photograph 51” written by Anna Ziegler and Directed by Vanessa Stalling at the Court Theatre, Chicago is a snapshot of the life of chemist Rosalind Franklin who had gone virtually un-credited for her contribution to the discovery revealing the structure of DNA to be a double helix. Theater review by Reno Lovison. (Photo credit Brosilow)

“Something Wonderful Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway Revolution” book by Todd Purdum. Reno Lovison theater reviewer and executive producer at ChicagoBroadcastingNetwork.com provides a book review with a Chicago spin as well as his personal connection to the works for Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Hear my thoughts on the attractively updated version of “La Boheme” currently being presented at the Lyric Opera House, Chicago, through January 31, 2019.

The world premiere of “La Ruta” at the Steppenwolf Theater, Chicago by playwright Isaac Gomez who has figuratively commandeered a bus transporting “maquila” workers to and from their jobs in Juarez, then pointed its headlights into the vast darkness exposing the despair and anguish of the mothers and sisters of hundreds of young women kidnapped, used as sex slaves, murdered and disposed of in the...

Music Theater Works in Evanston, IL (just outside Chicago) has put together a visually stunning production of Stephen Sondheim’s fairytale musical mashup “Into the Woods.”

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at the Shakespeare Theatre on Chicago’s Navy Pier puts a slightly modern twist to an old favorite. Review by Reno Lovison Executive Producer at ChicagoBroadcastingNetwork.com and theater reviewer for Chicagotheaterandarts.com

This popular play by Will Kern is comprised of a number of vignettes all taking place within the confines of a cab trolling the streets of Chicago during an evening leading up to the Christmas holiday. There are highs and lows, happiness and sadness, violence and love. Some people are in good cheer, others not so much. Through each experience, the stoic cabbie (in this case played by Regina Linn)...

If you are ready to get into the Christmas spirit you can’t do much better than the American Blues Theater’s staged radio show version of Frank Capra’s classic “It’s a Wonderful Life.” In this production, the theater is set up to give the illusion that you are part of the studio audience for a live radio broadcast in 1944 at WABT Studio on Belmont Avenue in Chicago. This is indeed a bon a fide rad...

This world premiere slice of life drama is sure to strike close to home. For many, the place they have lived and raised a family is more than an assembly of bricks and wood, it is a repository of memories and the physical manifestation of a life’s work. When it comes time to consider leaving it behind there are more considerations than a change of address. Review by Reno Lovison Executive Producer...

At its core, this is a comedic drawing room mystery, but it is also a thought-provoking exploration of humanity through concepts of truth, chaos versus order, discovery and rediscovery, the meaning of time, and our desire to improve on an already perfect universe. Performances at Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago runs through December 16, 2018. Review by Reno Lovison for C...

Manual Cinema’s homage to the 100th anniversary of Mary Shelley's gothic classic “Frankenstein” is a singular theatrical experience that mixes live action, silhouettes, puppets, shadow puppetry, masks, video, slide projection and all manner of theatrical techniques, ancient and modern to create a captivating monochromatic video mash-up. At the Court Theater on the campus of the University of Chica...

Firebrand Theatre's production of “Caroline, or Change” playing at the Den Theater in Chicago is an emotionally charged story about the power of money and fear of change. Podcast by Reno Lovison, Executive Producer at ChicagoBroadcastingNetwork.com and reviewer for ChicagoTheaterandArts.com Photo credit: Front, Rashada Dawan, Back left to right Emma Sipora Tyler and Tyler Symone. (Photo by Marisa...

A quest for success, what is legal, what is fair and ultimately, what is right and what is wrong. Real estate developer Harmond Wilks who has aspirations of becoming mayor finds himself at odds with his wife and his business partner after encountering a couple of guys from his old neighborhood who bring him closer to his own history and the roots of his community. Great theater skillfully written...

The “Taste of Polonia” mega-event held over the Labor Day weekend at the Copernicus Center on Milwaukee Avenue in the Jefferson Park neighborhood of Chicago is an annual ritual gathering of the area’s Polish diaspora. Featuring food and entertainment by Gentlemen of Leisure, Andrzej Rosiewicz, and pianists Pawel Checinski and Piotr Pawlak. Also films “The Fourth Partition" and Polish language indi...

Reno Lovison of Reno Lovison Marketing, author of "Turn Your Business Card Into Business" speaks with Jeff Williams of Bizstarters who specializes in assisting individuals interested in starting a business over the age of 50. In this episode of Jeff's podcast "Running a Great Business After 50" the two speak about using face-to-face networking to expand your sphere of influence and grow your busin...

Self publishing has put the decision of whether a book is published into the hands of the author. Similarly media distribution options such as Youtube, digital TV and video-podcasting give authors and other content creator the ability to self broadcast. Take control of your message. Audio article written and narrated by Reno Lovison, Executive Producer at AuthorsBroadcast.com