Okay, so I admit, I attended Catholic schools beyond graduate school. This is one of a series of…read moreBingo, 2-act plays that all started with "Late Night Catechism". I won't spoil it, but I was trying to figure out how the bible questions would transfer to bingo numbers. However, for those of us who are not of the Bingo Denomination, we must learn the 10 commandments of Bingo. The prizes for each individual game of Bingo were classics. A glow in the dark rosary was highly coveted when I was in grammar school and there was a minor scuffle over one of the holy cards. It is interactive and much more fun if you volunteer, quick, get your hand up. Unfortunately, I am not named AFTER a saint, but rather will be the first when I finally get to heaven. LOL Just know, that some of the questions are reeeeeeeeeeeally hard, even if you were paying close attention in school. Personally, I will be on the lookout for the other plays in the Bingo series. They are performed as fund raisers.

I felt very disappointed in this "show." There was only one actress in the entire performance…read more She was dressed in street clothes - so, NOT as a nun. I thought this was going to be a scripted theatrical production with perhaps, OTHER ACTORS, mixed into the audience or perhaps OTHER ACTORS INTERACTING with the crowd. Nope. It was just one likable lady primarily running bingo games, and talking to/with the audience. Occasionally she would tell a story about a saint, the pope, or Mary. "Interactive" in this show means you will be playing bingo. There is also a lot of "audience work." In other words, tons of show time is gobbled up with the one actress asking audience members, "What's your name? Where are you from?" Also, if you were not raised Catholic, seriously think twice about coming. EVERYTHING in this "show" is geared towards people of the catholic faith. Prizes are almost all catholic/Jesus related. In my show they even had an audience quiz about Mary and Joseph. And it wasn't funny. I chose this show to be entertained, not to be seriously educated in religion. Then, to top it off, at the very end of the show... the one actress asks the audience for donations/MONEY to help pay for real nuns who are retired. Huh? The CATHOLIC CHURCH is loaded with bazillions of dollars. If they aren't taking care of retired nuns... then that's a bigger problem. I feel incredibly misled by the advertising for this show. I was expecting something more like "Tony and Tina's wedding." If you are a hardcore Catholic, with a Catholic school education, perhaps you will find this show somewhat entertaining.

We've been extremely impressed with Skokie Kids Art. Our two kids have been attending for nearly…read morethree years, and the impact on their creativity has been remarkable. The program strikes a rare balance between teaching art techniques and giving our kids freedom to experiment on their own. Mr. Leo and Mrs. Sonja are both deeply involved and truly understand how to structure sessions in a way that challenges our kids while keeping them engaged, inspired and confident. This isn't a commercial, one-size-fits-all art class--there's a level of personalization and care here that really sets it apart - which is what we appreciate the most. Over time, our kids haven't just "taken art classes"--they've become real 'creators'. They've had their own community exhibitions and are frequently praised by their school teachers for their creativity and skill (and even won a few prizes). Skokie Kids Art is not just an art class--it's a place where our kids learn how to think creatively and take pride in their work. We couldn't recommend it more highly.

My kids went to Sonya and Leonid Osseniy for 5 marvelous years - great teaching, attention to…read moredetails, personal involvement, inspiration with classical approach in its best. I highly recommended this school! Ella Epton

Small and intimate theater with a variety of performances. No complaints. Support the talented…read moreactors and production staff at this local gem.

Come on people!! This is a great theater!! The DCA (Chicago Dept. of Cultural Affair) company each…read moreseason picks multiple proposals from Chicago's emerging and developing theater companies who wish to bring their innovative productions downtown to the Storefront Theater. They are quickly becoming one of my favorites, if anything solely in the performances and cultural diversity. This time I had the pleasure of seeing "Mi Familia/ My Dance", only running for three shows this Latin dance with a contemporary flair was nothing short of HOT!!! Each dancer told a story and when they came together you couldn't help but want to shake it yourself. Great dancers, great choreographer, and great crowd interaction. What was really unique was that the director/ choreographer can out before hand to explain his vision in the beginning, the middle to talk about the rhythm that's involved in choreographing something like this, and at the end to give us all a little salsa lesson.... what fun!!! The Quinceañera was probably my favorite part of this hour long show. And for only $10.00 a ticket, it was more then worth it. To learn more about the Luna Negra Dance Theater check them out at http://lunanegra.org/ And please support the arts!!

What an awesome theater in the "hustle bustle" part of Chi-town! Upon walking in, you are welcomed…read morewith various types of art displayed (art classes are offered here too) and have the opportunity to appreciate students' work. As for the theater, I give it two enthusiastic thumbs up! I have been here a few times over the past several years, and have finally realized that they have the opportunity to switch-up the stage. I have entered the stage area at different junctures, which adds to the felling fresh concept. You never know what the stage is going to look like! The performances tend to be very emotional and always suck me in. Most recently, my friend and I saw a trilogy of plays (Gjenganger). We didn't realize all three plays were were almost two hours each. Holy plays, Batman!! I couldn't believe the emotion that oozed from the actors and imbibed by all the theater goers. I was drained at the end of the experience and enjoyed every minute of it. You don't want to miss out on this hidden "arts" establishment!

Wonderful place to take a class. I'm learning so much and having a great time. It doesn't matter…read moreif you are new to art or have previous experience, Michael meets you where you're at and helps you reach your potential

Mr Shegan is AWESOME! His way of handling stressed parent minutes before the big show, his way of…read moreengaging kids VIRTUALLY during the shows, my kid and her friends had a great time celebrating my daughter's birthday virtually. Mr Shegan called the day before to walk me through what would happened, so I appreciated the walk-through and gave me a level of comfort despite the backoffice chaos i experienced the last couple weeks. What's really dampening the supposingly-stress-free experience is the back-office arrangement. Some of the highlights below - So the zoom info was given to me when I booked the party back in May. I called a few times to confirm the zoom info a couple weeks prior to the party to make sure what I had on the invite was still correct. What really caused me a bit anxiety is that when they did "confirm" the zoom info with me over on email, the info sent over contains a couple other kids names and one of their party information. Granted nothing really personal was shared, but this made me wonder how they handles guest information in general. The day of the party, apparently, the guests and I were in a different zoom room from Mr Shegan's, the "registration" page we were sent to had a different party date/time options to pick from, which confused a lot of us. Many parents were texting me just few mins before the party while I was confused myself, and not sure what happened since it was slightly different from what Mr Shegan told me the day before. I think there's a change of personnel post-sales coz I couldn't reach the person who I contacted during the sales to confirm all the logistics. Everytime I contacted KSL, I reached the voicemail, emails were unanswered. Granted they did call you back rather quickly. But that's kinda annoying and added extra layer of stress to a planner like me. And suburb buyers be aware - if you want virtual party, kits pick up time is 9-4 in LP. During sales time, the lady told me that they could arrange weekend pickup given I live in the burbs and DO work regular 9-5. But obviously, this didn't happen. We had to make an arrangement for a quick trip to the city. All in all, the experience was 5+ star DURING the party time, but it was less than desired during the planning phase post-sales. Mr Shegan is def. the saving grace.

My son has spent countless hours at KSL Lincoln Park and has loved every minute. We began when he…read morewas three, and he's now six. We have utilized almost every service they have - weekly classes, winter/out of school camps/ summer camps and even the virtual summer camp! We obviously love this place. Post-COVID, he has participated in virtual and in-person camp. The virtual camp exceeded my expectations. I was afraid I'd have to spend the entire time helping him with experiments etc. Not at all. All the materials were shipped to my house and more detailed instructions (really expectations) emailed a few days prior. Really, I just put all the materials they shipped in a container, made sure the computer was plugged in and left him to it. He LOVED it! The entire week my kiddo maybe interrupted me once for work. Usually it was me sneaking downstairs to see what was happening bc I could hear him laughing or music (there's a 10 min snack break after an hour, one kid gets to pick a song - they dance/snack etc). I had my reservations about the virtual camp, but only have great things to say about it. My kitchen is a mess afterwards, but that happens anyway. In-person has also been good - temperature checks, masks, kids spaced out at tables. Everyone is obviously taken whatever precautions they can. Also, I appreciate everyone's flexibility. We had some last minute scheduling changes, but Keith and his team were beyond helpful and accomodating. KSL has given my son some sense of normalcy the past few months and it's very much appreciated.

I just want to add that after re-opening during this time of COVID-19, they have done a great job…read moremitigating infection risk at their summer camps. They require the kids to wear their own masks, provide shoe covers and face shields, put up walls between computers and spread them out, limit class sizes, check temperatures on arrival, require parents to fill out a form asserting their child is not infected or exposed to infected people (to their knowledge), and keep parents outside during pick-up/drop-off. Also, my son said they made him wash his hands 5 times today haha. They are doing everything I could think of and more to help us feel safer and prevent the spread of coronavirus. Oh, and my son still likes the classes too.

My son loved digital adventures! For a long time I've wanted my son to get out of the consumer…read moremindset and shift to the developer mindset. I believe that shift is now underway D.A. does a phenomenal job of integrating the fundamentals of coding with his favorite video games, Roblox and Minecraft. The prices are also quite reasonable. I was very impressed with my son's progress and we were looking to give him a more specialized focus in terms of his interests and strengths with the classes they offer. I was so impressed seeing the 4th graders code full robotics applications after only 1 year of these classes. My son also enjoyed bonding with the kids there, and seem to enjoy working with them more than the kids at his school. He made some friends. I highly recommend this place.

Jeanie B. performs music for kids, and she's well worth checking out. For one thing, it's not…read moresaccharine, dumbed-down kiddie songs (like Barney and too many to list). She plays an acoustic guitar and her songs rock. It's a folksy vibe and her act is designed to get kids up and moving. I saw her perform a free concert in Glenview (after reading about it in Chicago Parents magazine), and also ran into cool Yelper mom Giselle S. with her kids. On this day it was around 90 degrees, but that didn't deter throngs of young 'uns from dancing, singing, clapping. At one point, Jeanie handed out music makers for kids to shake/rattle. Before another song, she rolled out sheets of bubble wrap and invited kids to come up on stage to stomp on them. Boy they loved that! It is a good time for kids and I think parents will enjoy the music, too. The songs are melodic and catchy, and slip in some education (like the song about Mommy Knows Best - and for equal time, a song about Daddio). As a side note, once we got there, I realized I knew her from my former job (Jeanie used to work in the advertising industry), so that was a nice surprise. I talked to her briefly after the show, and she said she's been performing all around the area - she's off to Naperville tomorrow, and is playing Millenium Park Aug. 26. She has two CDs, and a third one about to be released. She also teaches music classes around town. You can check her out at www.jeanieBmusic.com.