The Monthly — May 2019

May 2019

Renaissance Man

After the Final Rose

Eddie George goes from running plays to running lines p.5

Inside Bachelor Nation’s diversity problem p.10

Moving the Chains

Beyond Hollywood

NU football rock band Foster Revival learns to keep rhythm on and off the field p.8

Open Television gives a platform to intersectional stories in the Chicago film scene p.12

THE MONTHLY Contents

Renaissance Man

Eddie George goes from running plays to running lines

Moving the Chains

NU football rock band Foster Revival learns to keep rhythm on and off the field

After the Final Rose

Inside Bachelor Nation’s diversity problem

Beyond Hollywood

Open Television gives a platform to intersectional stories in the Chicago film scene

Reel Thoughts

“Avengers: Endgame” brings a satisfying end to a pop culture phenomenon

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Staff of The Monthly Issue 20

Charlotte Walsh The Monthly Editor

Catherine Buchaniec Roxanne Panas Designers

Emily Chaiet Wilson Chapman Owen Stidman Crystal Wall Janea Wilson Writers

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Editor: T

his Monthly, my staff and I dove into an entirely new, completely alien realm: football. I know, I know, I was scared too. Two of our stories this month involve football players — a new record for us (thank you Ella for the many Sports x Monthly crossovers). But I like looking at these intersections of artists and athletes: a Pro Bowler who performs “Razzle Dazzle” from the hit musical “Chicago” (in addition to embarking on a gazillion other ventures) and a band of football players who play pop-punk show the multiple interests we all have. I, for one, love marine biology, but I went to school in the Midwest and am bad at math. #Medill There are surprise stories like these everywhere. Someone proposed in front of me on Sunday as I lovingly whipped out my phone and photographed the happy couple. A U.S. veteran switched careers to save bald eagles. Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner eloped last week. The royal baby was born on the day of the Met Gala, and it was an incredible day for your local arts and entertainment journalist (me).

The majority of good surprises are covered sparingly in favor of the more demoralizing — albeit newsworthy — stories. One student died and seven were wounded in a shooting in a Denver suburb Tuesday. On Easter, Sri Lankans were rocked by multiple church bombings. Notre Dame unexpectedly caught fire, shocking millions who had connected with the monument.

But these good surprises, although less newsworthy, are what give people hope for change. Eddie George shows that it’s never too late to change your career path. Foster Revival shows you’re never pigeonholed into just one stereotype. And that’s what I hope The Monthly can be for — covering stories that bring people hope.

In my last editor’s letter, I reflected on The Monthly’s two year anniversary. Of all the incredible stories we’ve covered, we’ve definitely been lacking too, especially when covering issues of diversity and inclusion. I hope we improve on this in the future, and hopefully we have already made steps towards doing so. But I’m also excited to continue covering the surprising feature stories that bring joy to people, especially myself on long nights like this, when we’re editing The Monthly. That’s why I love creating this magazine, and why I hope you like reading it too.

So stick around for the long haul and take a respite from the bad surprises for a bit. Hopefully you’ll hear about some good.

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by Janea Wilson

renaissance man Eddie George goes from running plays to running lines

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t ’s not every day a former NFL player graces the musical theater scene, but this is the life of Eddie George (Kellogg ‘09). From starting as a running back for the Tennessee Titans to filling the role of Billy Flynn in “Chicago,” George has made a name for himself as a renaissance man.

George has had many careers — college and pro football player, entrepreneur and, most recently, actor in the national Broadway tour of the hit musical “Chicago.” Nearing the end of its eight-week run, the show will be featured in Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theatre from May 7-12 and will then continue to the rest of the country.

Before beginning his acting career, George attended Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Business, saying he did so because he wanted to be able to better understand the business aspects of his career ventures. George is putting these skills to use. Along with acting, George owns a restaurant called Eddie George’s Grille 27 in Columbus, Ohio, as well a landscape architect and development firm. He also owns and runs the Edward George Wealth Management Group, a firm that helps athletes to manage their money.

Additionally, he is a yoga instructor with a workout DVD called “Eddie George Yoga For Strength,” which is available on iTunes.

George started his career at Ohio State University where he studied landscape architecture and played on the football team. After fumbling a few times his freshman year, George didn’t get much playing time until senior year, when he began gaining notoriety and eventually won the 1995 Heisman Trophy, an award given to the most

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Photo by Jeremy Daniel/Courtesy of Natalie Terchek

outstanding college football player.

George said he hadn’t gained attention from professional scouts until the Buckeyes battled Notre Dame in the fourth game of his extraordinary 1995 season.

“We hadn’t played them in almost 40 years at that point,” George said. “To pull off a victory in grand fashion had to be one of my better days running the football and that really put me on the radar for winning the Heisman of the year.”

In 1996, he was drafted in the first round by the Houston Oilers, which moved to Tennessee in 1997. He played with the franchise for nine seasons, becoming a four-time Pro Bowler, joining the 10,000 yard rushing club and earning election to the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame, which is where he grew up.

During this time, George started to dabble in acting but decided to take his passion seriously once he finished playing football. To do so, he sought an acting coach and has since appeared in “NCIS: LA”, “Run the Race” and “Ballers.”

“I wasn’t good, so I thought if I wanted to get into acting I really needed to take it serious and learn the fundamentals,” he said.

George said his coach, Anna Maria Franzella, introduced him to the world of musical theater. One of the first songs George and his coach worked on together was “All I Care About ” from “Chicago,” bringing his coach to suggest he play the role of Billy Flynn.

At the time, George only wanted to focus on acting, and was worried he didn’t have the skills to take on a such a big role.

“I’m like, ‘Anna, please. I’m just trying to use this as a way to get my voice ready for speaking,’” he said. “She said, ‘No. You have a really good singing

voice. Watch, I’m going to turn you into a singer.’”

Now, George performs that song for an audience eight times a week for Broadway’s “Chicago.” As Flynn, George plays a hot-shot lawyer who’s never lost a case and represents the show’s murderesses.

This is the biggest role George has had thus far, and he said it was a challenge to adapt to the show’s vigorous singing and dancing. But despite the differences in his careers, George said his background in football has helped him keep up in rehearsals and prepare for the role.

“I would definitely say my time playing ball has helped prepare me for the rigorous schedule and the demanding stress that it puts on your body,” George said. “It ’s very comparable because you’re going 12 hour days in rehearsal ... it can be very taxing — mentally, emotionally and physically.”

In his eight-week stint playing the conniving lawyer, he said he has worked hard to keep his performance fresh everytime he goes on stage. When he first began performing, he focused a lot on simply remembering lines and timing, but now that he’s more comfortable, George finds ways to make every performance different. He said he wants to make sure that if someone saw the show on a Friday night, they wouldn’t see the same show Sunday afternoon.

“I’m always searching,” George said.

“That ’s the challenge of it because doing it so many times — you can’t fall asleep on it or take anything for granted.”

Castmate Dylis Croman, who plays one of the women Flynn represents, agreed with the sentiment, saying George does a good job of keeping thing fresh every night. Lana Gordon, another castmate said this is her favorite part about working with George.

Gordon, who plays another one of the murderesses, said she finds George’s charismatic energy engaging in scenes.

She said when they’re on stage, they play around with each other instead of getting wrapped up in doing their lines a certain way every time.

“The great thing about working with Eddie George is I give him something and he gives me something,” Gordon said “We have this beautiful back and forth banter with our scenes which makes it come alive each time we do it.”

Although playing Flynn is difficult,

George said he loves the role because it pushes him to work harder — something he aspires to achieve in all of his different career paths. And although they may seem random, George said he pursues ventures that are a part

of his “three Es” — entertainment, entrepreneurship and education — values he feels passionate about.

“It’s understanding that it’s not just picking things you like to do, it all has a rhyme and a reason,” he said. “It’s all geared toward helping others. It can appear to be scattered, but everything falls under one of those three E’s.” ◊

It’s understanding that it’s not just picking things you like to do, it all has a rhyme and a reason. It’s all geared toward helping others.

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year ago, SESP juniors Cam Kolwich and Riley Lees and Medill junior Jake Saunders jumped into a car for an impromptu Walmart trip after a nostalgic craving to play the video game “Rock Band” — only to find out the store was sold out of the game. They then tried their luck at Best Buy but eventually, they couldn’t take it anymore.

“We were out for like an hour-and-ahalf, two hours looking for ‘Rock Band.’

We couldn’t find it,” Saunders said.

“Then Cam, just out of nowhere, was just like, ‘Screw it, let’s just get a real guitar.’ So we drove him to Guitar Center and he got his first guitar named Diamond.”

For these Northwestern football players, this spontaneous hunt for the video game led to an unexpected team of their own — their own rock band, Foster Revival. The band features Saunders as lead vocalist, Kolwich and Communication junior Gunnar Vogel as guitarists, McCormick junior Jesse Brown on bass and Lees on the drums.

After that night, the stars started to align for the five athletes. Saunders had experience singing from his years in show choir. Vogel was already learning the guitar.

Brown bought his bass three days after he agreed to be in the band. And after Lees claimed his title of drummer, they found a drum set in the basement of BobbMcCulloch Hall.

That room, soundproofed and equipped with a full set of drums, became the athletes’ learning space. However, it took awhile for the new musicians to learn how to play their instruments.

“It was real slow. We really sucked,” Kolwich said. “It took us like two months at least to learn one of the simplest songs.”

Previously, Kolwich’s only experience playing music was when he picked up his

grandma’s guitars to play for short periods.

Facing a steep learning curve, the group practiced their instruments individually, with Kolwich learning from Youtube videos.

Early on, the group practiced rock hits like “Fortunate Son” by Creedence Clearwater Revival and “Holiday” by Green Day. After a lot of practice, Saunders said it started to click for the bandmates.

“After we had been practicing for a couple weeks, we finally got the first 30 seconds of ‘Fortunate Son,’” Saunders said. “And once that finally came together, we kind of had a moment where we were like, ‘Oh wait, that kind of sounded OK.’” While the group was trying to find their footing as musicians during their sophomore year, they were also figuring out what kind of sound they wanted to have.

At first, they thought they would play their favorite classic rock hits. But after trial and error, Saunders said they learned the easiest route for beginners is relatively simple poppunk songs. Despite their initial hesitancy to move in that direction, the band started learning songs from bands like Green Day and Blink-182 — the kind of music that would bring you back to an eighth grade dance.

Even as their sound shifted, the group’s roots still stayed the same — the first song they learned, the Creedence Clearwater Revival song “Fortunate Son,” is memorialized in the band’s name, along with an allude to Foster Street, where four of the five bandmates currently live together.

Even when their sophomore years ended, their work wasn’t over. Throughout the summer and into Fall Quarter, they tried to keep up with rehearsing while juggling practices and games — a challenge for the band.

“Now we have a lot more free time because we’re not in season, but in season we were practicing maybe once a week,” Lees said. “We were too tired or didn’t have time.”

Despite their busy schedules, the bandmates still found time to showcase their hard work. So far, the band has

held two concerts in the basement of their Foster Street house.

The first, Saunders said, was after the Nebraska game in October that went into overtime, eventually ending in a Wildcats victory.

Afterwards, he said, the basement was packed wall-towall with people.

“In the house (there was) at least two hundred people and you couldn’t move in the basement,” Saunders said. “We had eight songs, but we got to our fifth song and the cops came and shut it down.”

To minimize the crowd and actually finish their set, the group decided to keep their next concert a little more under the radar.

Saunders described it as “a last minute thing” — they didn’t spread the word too much and they held it in their basement again. The band ended up playing through almost a dozen songs.

While all of the songs played in their two concerts so far have been covers, the band said they are slowly working on writing some original pieces, which Saunders said is no easy feat.

“It’s tough because the only one who really knows anything about music is Jesse,” Saunders.

“So, attempting to write music without being able to read music is kind of a difficult task.”

Nonetheless, some of the members are making an effort to learn the basics of songwriting. Saunders said learning the skill is similar to starting over again, like when the band first tried to play songs.

As for the future, Foster Revival will continuing playing, but exact events are still up in the air — potential shows include a backyard Dillo Day performance or an eventual concert at La Macchina Cafe. But wherever the venue, the group plans to keep growing.

“We always said that if we played La Macc that would be our peak.”

Saunders joked. “So, I don’t know, maybe we’re going to peak pretty soon.” ◊ Photo: Crystal Wall

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After the Final

ROSE Inside Bachelor Nation’s diversity problem

— by Charlotte Walsh

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Source: ABC/Ed Herrera

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achelor Nation is gearing up for franchise would see another African-AmerHannah B.'s Southern-belle season ican woman as the Bachelorette anytime of “The Bachelorette” on May 13 (I’m soon. predicting at least four mentions of ‘Roll “It’s not America, it’s Bachelor Nation,” Tide’ in the premiere alone), and fans have Lindsay said. started reminiscing about the last time we In the years that have followed Lindsay’s saw Hannah — as an awkward and goofy season, “Bachelor” host Chris Harrison said charmer in Colton Underwood’s season of a “concerted effort” has been made to make “The Bachelor.” As a season with many fan the cast of the show more inclusive. Howevfavorites — including Demi, Hannah G., er, the (meager) attempts at diversifying have Tayshia and Caelynn — we’ll most likely see not been reflected within fans’ engagement more of the girls on the upcoming season of with the stars, specifically on contestants’ “Bachelor in Paradise,” but as a recent Twitsocial media accounts. For example, the top ter post pointed out, Colton’s ladies of color four contestants of color from Colton’s seahave not all received the same recognition as son all have lower Instagram follower counts their white counterparts. than the white contestants. They have also Whispers about the show’s lack of supreceived some of the lowest growth in their port for diversity are not new. The franchise follow counts. Even Bachelorette Lindsay faced a class action lawsuit in 2012 after two has reduced follower counts compared to her hopefuls claimed they were turned away white counterparts. from the casting process because of their These lower follower counts can result race. It took 17 seasons of “The Bachelor” in fewer brand deals, television spots and for producers to select its first minority continuing revenue after the show for these lead — Venezuelan Juan Pablo Galavis — contestants, which can make a difference. though the choice was criticized because Mediakix estimates that, with an average of Galavis is white-passing (and also the seven to eight sponsored posts per month WOAT). In 2017 Bachelor Nation rejoiced that can earn between $5,000 to 15,000 each, the announcement of Rachel Lindsay as its Bachelor influencers with fewer followers first black showrunner in 33 seasons of “The can earn approximately $444,000 a year, Bachelor” or “The Bachelorette.” However, while those with higher numbers can rake in her run was supposedly announced earlier between $888,000 and $1.33 million per year. than usual so she could get more Instagram The Bachelor is massively popular — followers and the show could get attention season finales regularly garner millions for its “diverse” pick — to no advantage, con- of viewers, even after 23 seasons of “The sidering her season’s ratings were lower than Bachelor,” soon-to-be 15 seasons of “The those of former white counterparts.

Bachelorette” and countless other spin-offs.

Lindsay acknowledged this phenomThis is a huge platform for the show’s proenon when speaking to Us Weekly about ducers, and they could be using this audience Monday’s Bachelorette contestant reunion to promote and inspire diversity and special, which featured 12 of the show’s 14 inclusion across Bachelor previous stars. She said she was saddened by Nation. But they the lack of diversity in past seasons, which haven’t, en pT o was reflected in her being the only woman T 's of color in the room. She told the lton o C magazine last year she for nts u does not think o er C the low

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and therefore fans haven’t either. And these lower social media followings aren’t just virtual meaninglessness — they’re warnings that tell the show’s producers contestants of color just aren’t popular. Does it mean women like Rachel, Tayshia, Kirpa, Katie and Sydney were all somehow less likable, intelligent or beautiful than the other contestants? No, of course not.

It’s clear Bachelor Nation has a diversity problem. In recent years, the show has tried to diversify — some say not enough — but fans have not lauded this effort. And it shows in how producers have selected this spring’s men: on Hannah B.’s upcoming season, only seven of 30 contestants are men of color. If there is not a loud conversation happening amongst all viewers, not just those who hold marginalized identities themselves, the show has no incentive to diversify their casting. And so the cycle continues.

Although — and because — the show means a lot to fans, members of Bachelor Nation, myself included, need to uplift contestants of color who are just as likable, intelligent and beautiful as their white counterparts. We should reward them for putting themselves out there and looking for love on the show. At the same time, we should vocally encourage showrunners to prioritize inclusion when choosing new contestants, or else the problem will never be solved.

So go follow your favorite hunk on Hannah B.’s upcoming season of The Bachelor, because it matters more than you know. ◊

BEYOND

OLLY OOD

by WILSON CHAPMAN

Open Television gives a platform to intersectional stories in the Chicago film scene

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hree years ago, Communication Prof.

Aymar Jean Christian was conducting research on the distribution of original web series. Through his interviews with independent artists, Christian saw the innovative, experimental and inclusive work of these creators struggle to find an audience. By the time his book, “Open TV: Innovation Beyond Hollywood and the Rise of Web Television” was published in 2018, most of the over 100 creators he spoke to had had their series shuttered.

To aid in his research, Christian decided to create an alternative distribution site for web series. His project, Open Television, has since become a platform for talented, diverse creators in the Chicago independent film scene, bringing attention to unheard voices and creating major success stories out of small-scale shows.

“The work I do is really about showing how much cultural capital there is amongst people that we haven’t historically viewed as having

cultural capital,” Christian said. “And I think that matters for our culture — that we allow these stories to be told.”

OpenTV is a website that distributes web series from Chicago filmmakers, with specific emphasis on promoting the work of intersectional artists and telling stories about intersectional identities.

The channel has distributed over 40 series, all of which Christian describes as “his children.”

Series from its 4th season recently premiered in April at an event hosted by the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.

Christian describes OpenTV’s process as “totally organic.” He meets with anyone interested in getting distributed by the platform, as long as they either have intersectional identities or are creating a story dealing with themes of intersectionality. During the initial meeting, he sees where they are in the process of creating the series, and points them towards resources such as grants or crowdfunding

workshops.

When a project is completed, the show premieres on the platform, and OpenTV offers social media consultations to help the creators get traction online. OpenTV also holds screenings in Chicago, during which the audience is surveyed — both so the creators can get feedback and to help with Christian’s research.

“It really is totally bottom-up, it’s really just me connecting people to other people, to workshops and resources to help them make their way,” Christian said.

Since its creation, OpenTV has seen several breakout shows, most notably “Brown Girls”

by Fatimah Asghar and Sam Bailey. The series, about the friendship between a queer South Asian woman and a black woman in Chicago, received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series, and the creators received an HBO deal to develop the series into a full-length show. Bailey, who also

created the very first OpenTV show “You’re So Talented,” has found success as a mainstream TV director, recently working on the Freeform TV series “Grown-ish.”

Besides “Brown Girls,” Christian says there are many other notable success stories from OpenTV creators.

Some of the most notable include Dewayne Perkins, who has written for the Netflix sketch comedy series “The Break with Michelle Wolf;” Fawzia Mirza, who wrote for Ava DuVernay’s currentlyairing series “The Red Line” and premiered a feature film at SXSW Film Festival; “Transparent” producer Zackary Drucker; and “RuPaul’s Drag Race” contestant Shea Couleé.

“It just goes on and on and on,” Christian said.“It’s been really remarkable to me how much talent comes out of Chicago. And of course we’ve known this, with Tiny Fey, Amy Poehler, Second City … we’ve known that talent comes from Chicago, but I think we’ve tapped into untapped sources of talent that maybe have been historically overlooked by the industry but we’ve put them all in one place and said ‘Look, there is this work happening in the city of Chicago right now. You’re going to want to sweep these people up because they are going to go on to do amazing things.”

Many of the creators Christian has worked with through OpenTV have been Northwestern alums, including the creators of “The Right Swipe,” a show from Northwestern alums Kyra Jones (Communication ’14) and Juli Del Prete (Communication ’14), which was featured at the MCA premiere this year. The two brainstormed the idea for the series one night when, after cancelling plans to go out due to cold weather, they swiped through dating app Bumble for fun and noticed how lackluster many men’s profiles were. They came up with a business idea that fixed people’s dating profiles for them, then decided to make this idea the premise of a web series when they realized the business would require them to actually talk to men. The friends mapped out the entire first season of the show that night and began production on it shortly after.

Del Prete said the series plays with conventions of romantic comedies — rather than men learning to pick up girls like in

many matchmaker comedies, the series follows women teaching men how to be worthy of girls.

The series defies another romcom convention, she said, by focusing on the difficulties of dating for people of marginalized identities. Over the course of the series, the two main characters, played by Del Prete and Jones, work with clients, like trans men and Asian men, who face

traditionally seen as desirable and loveable,” Del Prete said.

Jones said she previously knew about OpenTV through acting gigs, so when the two came up with the idea for “The Right Swipe,” she knew she wanted to bring it to the site.

Having “The Right Swipe” on OpenTV was great exposure for the show, Jones said, in part because of the screening at the MCA, which sold out and allowed many people to see the series. Jones said OpenTV has many initiatives to help creators, such as workshops and programs to place alumni in LA with writing jobs.

“It’s really hard to build an audience by yourself,” Jones said. “To just put something on YouTube or put something on Vimeo and be like ‘hope that people watch it.’ So to be on a platform that has already built an audience that is looking for the content you’re creating is really great … it’s not just the exposure of having it on the site, but also the resources and the community that OTV provides.”

Christian said he is passionate about OpenTV because he sees it as an opportunity to do right where the mainstream TV media has mostly failed, to start conversations about identity and to help bridge social divides.

“It’s important that these stories are told because we need to value everyone in American culture. Period,” Christian said. “America is a big complex diverse country, and if we don’t hear from every kind of experience, we’re not going to know how to make society better.” ◊

The work I do is really about showing how much cultural capital there is amongst people that we haven’t historically viewed as having cultural capital. And I think that matters for our culture — that we allow these stories to be told. obstacles on dating apps. According to Del Prete, Asian men in particular get the lowest swipes of anyone on dating apps such as Tinder. Del Prete said they wanted to reject the traditional white, heteronormative view of love that romantic comedies usually portray.

“Something we wanted to do was (to show) that everyone is worthy of love and belonging, even if you’re on the fringes of what society has

Photos: Justin Barbin, Ally Almore

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Chicago Magic Lounge mystifies patrons while delivering eerily-good bites and brews When first I approached the Chicago Magic Lounge, I thought I had arrived at the wrong place. Instead of the entrance to a fantastical magic show, I was met with the door to a rather dingy laundromat. Had I gotten the address wrong? I checked the “Maps” app on my phone another time, only to find I was in fact at the right place.

I walked into the shop to see nothing but washers and dryers. But this was a magic lounge after all, and what is more magical than a secret entrance? After opening one of the door-sized washers, I walked inside the dimly-lit room.

Inside, posters of famous magicians filled the walls. To my right was a library full of red velvet chairs and bookshelves stacked with magic books; to my left was a crowded bar where a magician was performing live magic. The crowd sipped on drinks (with charming names like “How Houdini Died”) as they laughed, gasped and clapped.

Being a magic fan myself, I needed to see how good this bar magician truly was. He had a thick mustache and slicked-back hair, matching the vintage vibe of the bar and lounge. The magician cracked joke after joke, drank beer from a minuscule mug and performed tricks right on the bar. The tricks were simple — this was only the “appetizer” to the real show — but still impressive. For example, he asked me to hold my hand out and placed a small, plush bunny in it. He asked me to squeeze tight before telling me he would make the bunny travel from my hand to his. Feeling the bunny still in my fist, I thought the trick had failed. When I opened my hand, however, 10 smaller bunnies popped out, revealing its true purpose — another tease typical of a good magician. When it comes to the Chicago Magic Lounge, what you see is not what you get.

Finally, it was time to enter the actual show, where patrons had to purchase tickets. We stood in line waiting, but no door could be found until the host grabbed a book from a shelf and suddenly, the fireplace revealed a hidden door. Beyond it was a lounge, which, with its small space and Art Deco architecture, looked like a speakeasy.

The room was small and intimate,

with tables surrounded by four chairs. Any seat provided a perfect view of the curtain-drawn stage.

There was still an hour till the show began, but we would not be waiting unentertained.

As I ordered food and drinks, magicians came to perform up-close magic, also known as “Chicago-style” magic, at my table.This style first became popular in 1915 when magic bars began opening in Chicago. Although the last magic bar in Chicago closed in 1999, The Chicago Magic Lounge opened in 2015 to bring this style of magic back to where it first originated.

The lights dimmed and the pianist began playing, cueing the beginning of the show. The first act was mentalist Jason Suran, who was one of the most talented magicians I have ever seen.

The intimate space made audience members an integral part of the show, including myself. I was called up on stage during his final act, along with a woman sitting at the table next to me. I stepped on the stage, glaring into the bright lights until he told me to close my eyes.

As Suran began the act, I felt a touch on my arm and the audience gasped, but I didn’t know why. He shook my arm and again the audience gasped, but I was still left in the dark. When I opened my eyes, Suran revealed the trick to myself and the other woman on stage: he had been touching and moving only my arm, yet the other woman felt the touch and moved her arm as well. Wondering how he performed that trick still keeps me up at night.

The headlining act was Ran’D Shine, a wellknown magician who had once performed in front of former president Barack Obama. He Photos: Emily Chaiet

— by Emily Chaiet constantly made the audience a part of the act, inviting multiple people on stage, interacting with viewers and making plenty of jokes. He was the most stereotypical magician out of all of them, performing more stage-style tricks — like turning a $100 bill into a $1 bill. His best trick, however, was stealing someone’s credit card while his fingers were cuffed together.

Under the spell of these two magicians, I laughed, gasped and questioned just how they were able to pull off these intricate tricks. I have loved magic since I was young, and that love was revived within one night.

No other magic show I have seen is quite as intimate and entertaining as the Chicago Magic Lounge. It is not just a show, but an experience.

Magic exists in every aspect of the vintageinspired lounge, from the hidden entrances to the endless supply of performers. I’d recommend The Chicago Magic Lounge to anyone — not only has it brought magic back to Chicago, but it has made me believe in magic again. ◊

Reel Thoughts “Avengers: Endgame” brings a satisfying end to a

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pop culture phenomenon

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This piece includes spoilers for “Avengers: Endgame.”

When the first Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, “Iron Man,” was released, George W. Bush was president, Miley Cyrus was Hannah Montana and Leona Lewis’ “Bleeding Love” was one of the most popular songs in the U.S. Many current Northwestern students grew up watching MCU movies — I was nine years old when “Iron Man” came out. “Avengers: Endgame” was 10 years and 21 movies in the making.

Needless to say, many viewers had high expectations for “Endgame.” Fortunately, it meets most of them. Although it possesses many of the typical shortcomings of MCU movies, “Endgame” is a satisfying conclusion to Marvel’s Infinity Saga].

“Endgame” begins immediately after the events of “Avengers: Infinity War” before jumping five years forward in time, where we discover that Tony Stark (a.k.a. Iron Man, played by Robert Downey, Jr.) has a wife and a daughter, Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) has control over the Hulk] and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) — who now more closely resembles The Dude from “The Big Lebowski” than a Norse god — plays Fortnite. Desperately wanting to return the universe to its pre“Infinity War” state, the Avengers travel back in time to acquire the six Infinity Stones and use their power to bring back those who died in the

previous movie. Unfortunately, Thanos ( Josh Brolin finds out about the Avengers’ plan and attacks their headquarters, resulting in a battle of Tolkienian proportions and Tony Stark’s death.

In other words, a lot happens in this movie.

With a runtime of over three hours, “Endgame” is the longest MCU movie to date, but it is also the most convoluted. The amount of content in this movie justifies the three-hour runtime, but the amount of CGI-driven sensory overload detracts from its overall value. In fact, the movie’s most powerful moments are the smaller, more personal ones. During my viewing, the audience collectively gasped during the opening scene when it was revealed that Clint Barton’s (a.k.a.

Hawkeye, played by Jeremy Renner) family was killed during “Infinity War.” They collectively sniffled when Peter Parker (a.k.a. Spider-Man, played by Tom Holland ) watched Tony Stark die. And I’m sure everyone in the theater smiled when Steve Rogers (a.k.a. Captain America, played by Chris Evans) was finally able to marry Peggy Carter.

Only the final entry in a decade-long series of movies could evoke the audience reactions that “Endgame” did. My three hours in the theater were punctuated by laughs, cheers and applause.

And as I left the theater, I felt a little bit closer to everyone who had shared this experience with me. While “Endgame” is certainly not my favorite movie — or even my favorite MCU movie — the experience of seeing it in-theater, on opening weekend, is unparalleled. Even those

who aren’t Marvel fans can see that this movie is a testament to the power of fandom and cinema.

Despite living up to most of viewers’ lofty expectations, “Endgame” is not the perfect superhero movie. It’s an MCU movie in every sense of the phrase, and that means it shares many of the flaws that plagued its 21 predecessors. For instance, most of the CGIcentric battle scenes are simply excessive — it’s difficult to tell what exactly is happening during the final battle. Furthermore, the entire plot of this movie wouldn’t have happened if a rat hadn’t unintentionally walked across the control panel of a time machine inside a van (and if that sounds ridiculous, it’s because it is).

And the Thanos of “Endgame” lacks the threedimensionality of his character in “Infinity War.” Additionally, the unprecedented scale of the movie presents issues. Characters’ attempts to explain the science behind time travel are more confusing than helpful, and the sheer amount of content might be too much for more casual viewers of the franchise.

Despite some of its problems, “Endgame” is a historic cinematic achievement — its $1.2 billion worldwide opening weekend is the biggest ever. And although the movie is messy at times, it ultimately accomplishes the superhuman task of tying up the previous 21 MCU movies’ loose ends. After 11 years of viewing, two more presidents and many more pop culture phenomena, this is something nineyear-old me could not have imagined. ◊

15

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