Music Box’s New Theater Opens | Steppenwolf’s “Topdog/Underdog”

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ART

Jordan Martins Paints On The Forest Floor

Tiger Strikes Asteroid Chicago presents “On the Forest Floor,” “a solo exhibition of new paintings by Chicago-based artist Jordan Martins. Co-curated by Jaclyn Jacunski and Teresa Silva, the exhibition brings together a body of work that spans Martins’ ongoing series of Sottobosco paintings, large-scale collaged canvases unfolding across the gallery as a sustained meditation on perception, abundance and what it means to be immersed rather than oriented. The sottobosco, Italian for ‘undergrowth,’ was a minor genre of seventeenth-century Dutch still life painting in which the forest floor replaced the table: mossy ground, fallen branches, fungi, nesting birds and creeping insects arranged with the same loving attention previously reserved for fruit and flowers in still lifes.” Opening June 27, 1-4pm. More here.

The Ren Receives Climate-Oriented Grant For Facilities

The Renaissance Society has received an award from the “Frankenthaler Climate Initiative, a grantmaking program established by the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation in collaboration with Environment & Culture Partners to catalyze climate action in the visual arts. The grant supports ‘A Sustainable Future for the Renaissance Society: Assessing Energy and Building Performance at Historic Cobb Hall,’ a scoping study that will investigate HVAC system performance, building envelope integrity and humidity control in [their] gallery space.” More here.

DESIGN

A Rare Unit In The Art Moderne Theophil Studios Is For Sale

“Owners of twenty-five years are selling a one-bedroom unit that has many of its 1940 finishes intact, including stained glass in a rare modern style,” reports Crain’s. The residential building is part of the West Burton Place Historic District, which also features the nearby Carl Street Studios, which artist Edgar Miller collaborated on with developer Sol Kogen. Theophil Studios was “heavily influenced by Miller’s design work, especially the stained glass windows,” writes the Edgar Miller Legacy. “Even some of Edgar Miller’s relief sculptures and painted tiles were incorporated into sections of its front wall. This likely happened by Kogen selling pieces of Edgar’s work that had been left at the Studios.” View the listing here.

Neglected Frank Lloyd Wright House Sold To Neighborhood Nonprofit

Nonprofit community group Austin Coming Together has purchased the vacant Wright-designed J.J. Walser Jr. House and intends to restore the building, writes Lee Bey at the Sun-Times. “Built in 1903, the buff-colored wood-and-stucco Prairie School design is among a set of circa 1900 residences along Central Avenue that mark the Austin’s early years as a Chicago neighborhood.” While they purchased the building for $125,000, the group expects it could take at least $3 million to rehab the home, which is a city landmark.

Chicago Designers’ Home Bedecked With Contemporary Art

A red brick and limestone structure in Lakeview “cuts a stately, purposely demure profile,” writes Robb Report, but “from the moment you step inside, the residence opens into a welcoming, modern mix of rich color and pattern, anchored by the owners’ contemporary art collection. To highlight the artwork, which includes works by Banksy, Damien Hirst and Roy Lichtenstein, James Dolenc and Tom Riker, co-founder of the interiors firm James Thomas, designed a comfortable and refined family home that allows it to stand out. The firm had worked with the clients on several other properties, and for this one they pursued a layered aesthetic focused on textured materials, contemporary forms and soft colors.”

DINING & DRINKING

Behind The Reopening Of Beaumont’s

“Opened in late May, Beaumont’s, at 2020 North Halsted, is a 200-seat tavern-driven American restaurant. Upstairs is The Bull Moose, a boutique steakhouse that will debut on July 1,” writes Lisa Shames at The Hunger. “Heading up the kitchen for both restaurants is executive chef Johnny Besch, who most recently was at the Loop’s Bistro Monadnock and the West Loop’s BLVD Steakhouse before that.”

Among the dishes, “there’s the coal-roasted rainbow trout paired with an absinthe cream sauce and topped with shaved fennel and herbs. The shrimp and grits features a Spence Farms grits cake paired with smoked ham hock, prawns and creamed sherry and topped with caramelized raclette cheese. ‘It eats very Southern and French Creole, so there’s that through-line back to my cooking pedigree of mostly French cuisine,’ says Besch.”

Tzuco And Ummo Collaborate With The MCA On “Dancing The Revolution” Dishes

The MCA and Somos Hospitality have announced a “new collaboration in celebration of the MCA’s exhibition ‘Dancing the Revolution: From Dancehall to Reggaetón.’ As a part of the collaboration, made in consultation with Chef Carlos Gaytán, Somos restaurants Tzuco and Ummo will present signature dishes and cocktails inspired by dancehall, reggaetón and the Caribbean. At Tzuco, guests can enjoy a lobster tostada and The Old Cuban cocktail. At Ummo, visitors can order the Tamarind Martini. After purchasing signature collaboration items, guests will receive two-for-one admission to ‘Dancing the Revolution.’” The special cocktails and dishes will be available beginning July 1.

“The Bear” Leaves Its Mark On Chicago Dining

“From Mr. Beef to Avec and Kasama, tourists ‘make a pilgrimage’ to spots seen in ‘The Bear,’” surveys the Sun-Times. “It’s just become a part of the food culture,” Publican Quality Meats chef and butcher Rob Levitt said. “People are constantly talking about, is it a good representation of the industry? But I think the one thing that I love is that everybody agrees that it is a love letter to Chicago.” Donnie Madia, the Chicago restaurateur behind One Off Hospitality, “which owns the Publican brand of restaurants, plus Avec and other concepts, has also appeared in the show, playing himself…’All the actors have put another spotlight on this city, letting everyone know that this city is the culinary destination, not of the universe, but in the nation. There’s a heightened awareness, and also a spotlight.’”

FILM & TELEVISION

The Music Box Shows Off Its New Theater

The latest Instagram post from the Music Box shows off Theater 3, opening today: “Featuring ninety-eight European-style seats, a design and color scheme inspired by our original auditorium (plus replicas of our inner lobby columns!), a new NEC Laser Digital projector, state-of-the-art ribbon-based sound system by Alcons Audio, accessibility devices for the hearing and vision impaired and coming soon—two Norelco 35mm projectors rebuilt and installed by Kinora.”

AI24 Knows You’re Disappointed With Their Google Deal

“Indie movie fans are upset about Google DeepMind’s $75 million investment in A24, which comes as AI companies are deepening their influence in Hollywood,” writes Wired. Google “is teaming up with A24 to create new filmmaking ‘tools,’ as part of A24’s technology startup, A24 Labs, overseen by cofounder Scott Belsky.” “This is a research partnership,” Sophia Shin, who handles communications at A24, writes. “We’re working side-by-side with DeepMind’s researchers to learn, iterate and build, having an active hand in shaping new tools and workflows.”

STAGE

Steppenwolf Will Open Its Season With “Topdog/Underdog”

Steppenwolf Theatre Company will launch its fifty-first season with Suzan-Lori Parks’ Pulitzer Prize-winning drama “Topdog/Underdog,” directed by Tony Award-winning director Kenny Leon, who returns to Steppenwolf after his production of “King James.” Ensemble members Glenn Davis and Namir Smallwood go head-to-head in this revival, more than two decades after the company’s 2003 production. “Topdog/Underdog” will play a limited engagement September 17-November 1 in Steppenwolf’s Downstairs Theater. Single tickets go on sale Thursday, July 9, 2026 here.

Ari Emanuel In Talks To Acquire Broadway-West End Theater Giant

Ari Emanuel’s live events group is exploring a $6 billion takeover of the theater owner and operator ATG, writes the Hollywood Reporter. “ATG has ten theaters on the West End, including the Lyceum, home to long-running hit ‘The Lion King’ and the Savoy Theatre, where the box office hit ‘Paddington the Musical’ is playing. It has seven Broadway theaters, after acquiring a majority stake in Jujamcyn Theaters in 2023, as well as the Lyric Theatre, which is home to ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.’ The company owns, operates or programs seventy venues across Britain, the U.S., Germany, Austria and Spain.” The Chicago-area native and brother of the former mayor also owns Frieze, the parent company of Expo Chicago.

Remy Bumppo Announces The Season Ahead

Remy Bumppo Theatre Company has announced its next season, which will feature the return of founding artistic director James Bohnen. Productions planned for the season include Dominique Morisseau’s “Mud Row,” running October 15-November 15, directed by Malkia Stampley; “Marjorie Prime,” by Jordan Harrison, directed by Bohnen, running April 29-May 30, 2027; and the fourth edition of its reading series, “Readings on Ravenswood” in winter 2027. Subscriptions ($55-$115) here.

ARTS & CULTURE & ETC.

The Arts Are Chicago’s Third-Largest Industry

The new report from Arts Alliance Illinois “measures the sector’s economic impact in a moment when the creative field has faced funding cuts across levels of government,” reports the Sun-Times. “The creative sector is Chicago’s third-largest industry and accounts for nearly 213,000 jobs, according to a new economic impact study released by Arts Alliance Illinois, a statewide advocacy organization.” That makes it “a larger workforce than educational services, retail or manufacturing.” The Arts Alliance’s report and asset map is here.

Tourism Grows, But Still Below Pre-Pandemic Totals

Choose Chicago announced that “visitation to the city grew by 2.6 percent last year to 56.8 million people. The total still trails the record-high 61.6 million tourists the city welcomed in 2019,” reports Crain’s. “At about ninety-two percent of its pre-pandemic tourism activity, Chicago isn’t the only major U.S. city still trying to recover lost business,” with New York and San Francisco still trailing their 2019 visitor totals. In Chicago, “domestic leisure travelers grew by 4.8 percent last year to 40.7 million visitors,” which was “largely offset by an eight percent drop in international travelers to a total of 1.9 million, the agency said. That decrease aligned with reduced foreign tourism nationwide, a trend fueled by the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown efforts, trade wars and moves to block tourists from several countries.”

Nine Key LGBTQ+ Chicago Historical Sites

“Chicago has played a critical role in LGBTQ+ history,” tallies Block Club. The Illinois Office of Tourism has highlighted landmarks in Chicago “that many queer Chicagoans enjoy. These buildings, parks and places, found all across the city, represent important chapters of queer history.”

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