Seven two-bedroom two baths and a one bed one bath below market-rate rental units available at Five Points Lakeview, 3605 N Ravenswood!
Five Points Lakeview is a new construction rental building that features 52 residential units; a rooftop patio, gym, bike storage, and outdoor parking is available. Trader Joes, Loba Cafe, and the CTA Brown Line are within blocks of the property! The property is located within the Hamilton CPS School District
Affordable rents range from $849.00 to $1,659.00 a month. Must be income eligible. Households must earn no more than the maximum income levels below:
Unit 508, One Bedroom One Bath, 80% of Area Median Income: One person - $67,150; 2 persons -$76,750
Units 403 + 407, Two Bedrooms Two Baths, 70% of Area Median Income: 2 persons -$67,200; 3 persons - $75,600; 4 persons - $83,930
Units 303 + 307, Two Bedrooms Two Baths, 60% of Area Median Income: 2 persons -$57,600; 3 persons - $64,800; 4 persons - $71,940
Units 202 + 207, Two Bedrooms Two Baths, 50% of Area Median Income: 2 persons -$48,000; 3 persons - $54000; 4 persons - $59,950
Unit 203, Two Bedrooms Two Baths, 40% of Area Median Income: 2 persons -$38,400; 3 persons - $43,200; 4 persons - $47,960
Please contact the Five Points Lakeview for an application and more information at 773-308-6806 or info@fivepointslakeview.com or https://fivepointslakeview.com/
Applicants with vouchers or other third-party subsidies are welcome to apply. These units are subject to monitoring, compliance, and other restrictions by the City of Chicago’s Department of Housing. For more information visit https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/sites/affordable-requirements-ordinance/home.html
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Arts & Entertainment Event highlights of the week!
SportsWise
The SportsWise team looks ahead to the the Major League Baseball season.
Cover Story: The Muppets
The most sensational, inspirational, celebrational and Muppetational show was originally rejected by all the big US TV networks. Now it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
From the streets
Sarah's on Sunnyside, a seven-story building with 54 units of permanent supportive housing (PSH) being developed by nonprofit Sarah's Circle at 4458 N. Clarendon Ave., was approved by the Chicagdo Plan Commission February 19.
The Playground
ON THE COVER: Kermit the Frog on "The Muppets Show Special" (Mitch Haaseth / Disney photo). THIS PAGE: Miss Piggy at the premiere screening of "The Muppet Show" (D23 / Disney photo). DISCLAIMER: The views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by the authors and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or positions of StreetWise.
Dave Hamilton, Creative Director/Publisher dhamilton@streetwise.org
Julie Youngquist, Executive director jyoungquist@streetwise.org
Ph: 773-334-6600 Office: 2009 S. State St., Chicago, IL, 60616
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT RECOMMENDATIONS
Compiled by Dave Hamilton
Strategic Dancing!
‘LXIV (six.four)’
Premiering to a sold-out audience in 2025, "LXIV (six.four)" is an electrifying fusion of chess, dance, and storytell ing that brings the game’s strategic brilliance to life. Chicago Dance Crash artists use the structure of a chess board to frame human relationships, hierarchy, and pressure. Part battle tactics, part storytelling, this work introduces the players and transforms the chessboard into a human landscape, revealing how we are born into uneven power, enter systems already in motion, and make choices that carry lasting consequences. In Act II, “Immortal Games” dives into the strategic brilliance of chess and the intensity of dance battles. Inspired by the legendary 1851 Immortal Chess Game, the work explores themes of risk, sacrifice, and calculation through raw athleticism and real-time decision making. The sound score was composed using a custom-built MIDI chessboard that generates sound in response to each moving chess piece. Playing March 14 & 15, 7:30 p.m., at Visceral Dance Center, 3121 N. Rockwell St. Tickets are $28.52 at Eventbrite.com
Facing the Truth!
'Poor Poor Lear'
In this original dark comedy, 36-year-old actress Nina Sallinen portrays a 90 year-old Grande Dame (also named Nina Sallinen) of the Scandinavian Theater. The old actress has brazenly chosen Shakespeare’s “King Lear” as the material for her farewell performance. She has a special interest in the theme as she believes her own two daughters to be just as greedy and neglectful as King Lear’s. The performance, which she stages in her own apartment, unintentionally highlights the artist’s own life story, as she gradually becomes cognizant of the deeper parallels between her life and that of King Lear. Her priorities and past choices come into question. Playing March 12 - 14 at 7 p.m. & March 15 at 3 p.m. at Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division St. Tickets are $20 at ChopinTheatre.com
An Immersive Experience!
‘Theater of the Mind’
Co-created by Academy, Grammy, and Tony Award-winning artist David Byrne and writer Mala Gaonkar, "Theater of the Mind" is a new theatrical experience you’ll see, feel, taste and hear. Inspired by both historical and current neuroscience research, the show takes you on an immersive journey inside how we see and create our worlds. Peer behind the curtain of the physical realm and marvel at the wonders of your mind. Follow your Guide as they revisit key moments in their life in a surreal, 15,000-square-foot installation with a group of just 16 audience members. Over 75 minutes, you’ll move through a series of rooms where you’ll participate in thought-provoking neuroscience experiences. You’ll learn how easily your own senses can deceive you. If perception and memory are both malleable, then perhaps even your identity is less fixed than you think… You may not be who you think you are, but we’re all in it together. Playing March 11 - May 31 at the Reid Murdoch Building, 333 N. LaSalle St. Tickets are $66-$96 at TheaterOfTheMindChicago.com
New Works!
‘Beyond the Art of Measures’
Nova Linea Musica’s Artist-in-Residence series presents “Beyond the Art of Measures,” an evening that celebrates the artistic journey from idea to realization. Violinist Rabia Brooke and pianist Nathaneal Canfield give the world premiere of “Art Measures for Violin and Piano,” a Nova Linea Musica commission by Jennifer Higdon (pictured), one of America’s most acclaimed composers and a three-time GRAMMY Award and Pulitzer Prize winner. The work traces the evolution of a creative idea—from the first spark of inspiration through the shaping and refinement of form—capturing both the mystery and physicality of the artistic process. Higdon honors the vital role performers play in bringing new music to life, measure by measure. The program also includes nine additional compositions. March 11, 6:30 p.m., at Guarneri Hall, 11 E. Adams St. Tickets are $40, and include a pre-concert panel discussion at 5:45 p.m. and a catered post-concert reception at novalineamusica.org.
You're A Winner, Baby!
Winning Works
The Grainger Academy of The Joffrey Ballet presents five world premieres in the culmination of Joffrey's national call for emerging artists to submit applications for the Winning Works Choreographic Competition. This year's Competition winners—Fran Diaz, Julia Feldman, DaYoung Jung, Daniel Ojeda, and Alexandra Schooling (Recipient of the Zach Lazar Winning Works Fellowship) — will each choreograph an original work created for the Grainger Academy of The Joffrey Ballet Conservatory, trainees, and Joffrey Studio Company. At the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago’s Edlis Neeson Theater (220 E. Chicago Avenue) in nine performances March 13 - 22. Learn more and purchase tickets ($35) at joffrey.org/winningworks
And the Award Goes To. . .
‘Grelley Duvall Best Actress’
“Grelley Duvall Best Actress” is an all new two-act revue bringing together live music, heart-pumping choreography, Oscar-worthy acting and a slew of puppets. Hollywood legends light up the stage for a star-studded evening that is part tear-jerker, part adrenaline rush, part whimsy and all Actress. "Best Actress" Playing March 12 - April 12 at the Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division St. Tickets are $25+ at ChopinTheatre.com
Go With the Floe!
The Seldoms present ‘Floe’ “Floe” is a dance theater work about the climate crisis: vanishing polar ice, rising sea levels, extreme weather, forced migration, the tension between denial and evidence, and adaptation and resilience. The work embodies the fragmentation of the global conversation on climate change as it veers from anti-science conspiracy theories to the very real and urgent impacts of global warming. Playing March 12 & 13, 7:30 p.m., at the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, 1306 S. Michigan Ave. Tickets are $35 at dance.colum.edu
Past Meets Future
‘Mudra’
Interdisciplinary Asian-American dance artist Shalaka Kulkarni creates experiences that bridge the ancient and contemporary. In this piece featuring guest artist Yoshinojo Fujima (aka Rika Lin), Kulkarni illuminates a dance-theatre journey through sand, water and the language of gestures. March 13 & 14, 7:30 p.m., at Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St. Tickets are $23 at steppenwolf.org
Fly, You Fools!
‘The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring’ In Concert Experience Howard Shore’s epic Academy and Grammy Award winning score performed live by 238 musicians as the complete epic motion picture is projected on a 60-foot screen. Playing March 13 at 7:30 p.m. & March 14 at 2 & 7:30 p.m. at The Auditorium, 30 E. Ida B. Wells Drive. Tickets start at $99 at auditoriumtheatre.org
A Classic ReImagined!
‘Madama Butterfly’ Lyric Opera of Chicago (20 N. Wacker Drive) presents Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly,” on stage March 14 –April 12, in a production that dares to ask: what if everything we think we know about this classic opera is only half the story? Director Matthew Ozawa, Lyric's chief artistic officer, reimagines Puccini’s masterpiece by embracing what has always been hidden in plain sight: this isn't Japan. It's a fantasy of Japan, seen entirely through Western eyes. The result is a bold, visually stunning production that honors Puccini's grand and beloved score while revealing layers of meaning that have been waiting more than a century to be discovered. Tickets start at $47 at Lyricopera.org/butterfly
Getting excited for baseball!
John: We are excited about baseball season: the weather will be warmer and people more excited to be outdoors. Russell, what will infielder Munetaka Murakami bring to the White Sox?
Russell: I call him MM. They need all the help they can get and he will help them a lot. These guys come from Japan to Major League Baseball and do good. The Sox can use a left-hand bat like him in the lineup. I don’t know if he will be like Shohei Ohtani with the Dodgers, but if so, the Sox will have an MVP. I support both my Chicago teams.
As far as the Cubs’ Alex Bregman, this guy can really hit. He has a nice swing, .273 average, 64 Runs, 118 hits and 62 RBIs last year with Boston. Guys always come to Wrigley Field and improve because the fans are great.
Allen: The White Sox are improved, due to their youth movement featuring key rookies like Colson Montgomery. In the second
half of the 2025 season, they were at near-playoff levels. They have 11 different players making their Big-League debuts. A lot are under 25. If not this year, they have plenty of years to go. The Cubs are Chicago too, but I always go with the South Side White Sox!
Percy : The Cubs already have an outstanding team: the same team as last year that made it to the playoffs, but I think they have a better chance with this one piece. This is a huge addition. The White Sox have a serious chance to surprise everybody this year. When you add pieces, it encourages the chemistry.
John: I think Bregman, a 31-year-old third baseman who has played with the Boston Red Sox and the Houston Astros, brings an impressive bat to the Cubs. I think this makes the Cubs trade bait.
Should they stay in contention -- and I believe they will -- they could trade utility player/third base/outfielder Matt Shaw to a team that is not contending for a veteran pitcher who could bring the Cubs closer to a World Series -- or at least the NLCS.
As far as MM, he will bring a lot of power to the White Sox. You also have Colson Montgomery, who hit 21 homers in 71 games. The White Sox could very well craft 200 to 250 home runs in 2026.
As far as contention, I think we could see playoffs on the North Side and the World Series.
Russell: The American League has always been tough on our Sox. They can’t seem to get past Minnesota and the Guardians. As far as the Cubs, they should contend this year. Stop being scared of the Dodgers.
John: Minnesota is not the team the White Sox need to fear. The team this year is Detroit.
Russell: I know. The whole league has improved except for the White Sox.
Allen: I am still going for the underdog, the White Sox. They have 11 new players, I am looking for them to do great things, more than in the last two years.
Percy : Go Cubs and Go Sox, because they definitely have some great additions.
John: The White Sox have an outside chance. All they gotta do is stay healthy. The Cubs have just as good a chance as the Dodgers and the Phillies.
Any comments, suggestions or topic ideas for the SportsWise team? Email StreetWise Editor Suzanne Hanney at suzannestreetwise@yahoo.com
Vendors John Hagan, Percy Butler, Russell Adams, and A. Allen chat about the world of sports.
It's Easy making green: Muppets continue to make a profit 50 years into their run
by Jared Bahir Browsh
A variety show that’s still revered for its absurdist, slapstick humor debuted 50 years ago. It starred an irreverent band of characters made of foam and fleece.
Long after “The Muppet Show”‘s original 120-episode run ended in 1981, the legend and legacy of Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo and other creations concocted by puppeteer and TV producer Jim Henson have kept on growing. Thanks to the Muppets’ film franchise and the wonders of YouTube, the wacky gang is still delighting, and expanding, its fan base.
As a scholar of popular culture, I believe that the Muppets’ reign, which began in the 1950s, has helped shape global culture, including educational television. Along the way, the puppets and the people who bring them to life have earned billions in revenue.
This page: The artists and crew behind the ‘The Muppet Show,’ including Muppet creator Jim Henson, third from right in the front row, gather for the camera (Nancy Moran / Sygma photo). Opposite page: The new set of "The Muppet Show." (Mitch Haaseth / Disney photo).
Kermit’s origin story
From ‘Sesame Street’ to ‘SNL’
runMuppets, a portmanteau of marionette and puppet, first appeared on TV in the Washington, D.C., region in 1955, when Henson and his future wife, Jane Nebel, created a short sketch show called “Sam and Friends.”
Their motley cast of puppets, including a lizardlike character named Kermit, sang parody songs and performed comedy sketches.
Henson’s creations were soon popping up in segments on other TV shows, including “Today” and late-night programs. Rowlf the Dog appeared in Canadian dog food commercials before joining “The Jimmy Dean Show” as the host’s sidekick.
After that show ended, Rowlf and Dean performed on the “Ed Sullivan Show,” where Kermit had occasionally appeared since 1961.
As Rowlf and Kermit made the rounds on variety shows, journalist Joan Ganz Cooney and psychologist Lloyd Morrisett were creating a new educational program. They invited Henson to provide a Muppet ensemble for the show.
Henson waived his performance fee to maintain rights over the characters who became the most famous residents of “Sesame Street.” The likes of Oscar the Grouch, Cookie Monster and Big Bird were joined by Kermit who, by the time the show premiered in 1969, was identified as a frog.
When “Sesame Street” became a hit, Henson worried that his Muppets would be typecast as children’s entertainment. Another groundbreaking show, aimed at young adults, offered him a chance to avoid that.
“Saturday Night Live’s” debut on NBC in 1975 – when the show was called “Saturday Night” – included a segment called “The Land of Gorch,” in which Henson’s grotesque creatures drank, smoked and cracked crass jokes.
“The Land of Gorch” segments ended after “Saturday Night Live’s” first season.
Miss Piggy gets her closeup
“The Muppet Show” was years in the making. ABC eventually aired two TV specials in 1974 and 1975 that were meant to be pilots for a U.S.-produced “Muppet Show.”
After no American network picked up his quirky series, Henson partnered with British entertainment entrepreneur Lew Grade to produce a series for ATV, a British network, that featured Kermit and other Muppets. The new ensemble included Fozzie Bear, Animal and Miss Piggy – Muppets originally performed by frequent Henson collaborator Frank Oz.
“The Muppet Show” parodied variety shows on which Henson had appeared. Connections he’d made along the way paid off: Many celebrities he met on those shows’ sets would guest star on “The Muppet Show,” including everyone from Rita Moreno and Lena Horne to Joan Baez and Johnny Cash.
“The Muppet Show,” which was staged and shot at a studio near London, debuted on Sept. 5, 1976, in the U.K, before airing in syndication in the United States on stations like New York’s WCBS.
The Muppets hit the big screen
“The Muppet Show” was a hit, amassing a global audience of over 200 million. It won many awards, including a Primetime Emmy for outstanding comedy-variety or music series – for which it beat “Saturday Night Live” – in 1978.
While his TV show was on the air, Henson worked on the franchise’s first film, “The Muppet Movie.” The road film, released in 1979, was another hit: It earned more than US$76 million at the box office.
“The Muppet Movie” garnered two Academy Award nominations for its music, including best song for “Rainbow Connection.” It won a Grammy for best album for children.
The next two films, “The Great Muppet Caper,” which premiered in 1981, and “The Muppets Take Manhattan,” released in 1984, also garnered Oscar nominations for their music.
‘Fraggle Rock’ and the Disney deal
The cast of “The Muppet Show” and the three films took a break from Hollywood while Henson focused on “Fraggle Rock,” a TV show for kids that aired from 1983-1987 on HBO.
Like Henson’s other productions, “Fraggle Rock” featured absurdist humor – but its puppets aren’t considered part of the standard Muppets gang. This co-production between Henson, Canadian Broadcast Corporation and British producers was aimed at international markets.
The quickly conglomerating media industry led Henson to consider corporate partnerships to assist with his goal of further expanding the Muppet media universe.
In August 1989, he negotiated a deal with Michael Eisner of Disney who announced at Disney-MGM Studios an agreement in principle to acquire The Muppets, with Henson maintaining ownership of the “Sesame Street” characters.
The announcement also included plans to open Muppetthemed attractions at Disney parks.
But less than a year later, on May 16, 1990, Henson died from a rare and serious bacterial infection. He was 53.
Of Muppets and mergers
Henson’s death led to the Disney deal’s collapse. But the company did license The Muppets to Disney, which coproduced “The Muppet Christmas Carol” in 1992 and “Muppet Treasure Island” in 1996 with Jim Henson Productions, which was then run by Jim’s son, Brian Henson.
In 2000, the Henson family sold the Muppet properties to German media company EM.TV & Merchandising AG for $680 million. That company ran into financial trouble soon after, then sold the Sesame Street characters to Sesame Workshop for $180 million in late 2000. The Jim Henson Company bought back the remaining Muppet properties for $84 million in 2003.
In 2004, Disney finally acquired The Muppets and most of the media library associated with the characters.
Disney continued to produce Muppet content, including “The Muppet’s Wizard of Oz” in 2005. Its biggest success came with the 2011 film “The Muppets,” which earned over $165 million at the box office and won the Oscar for best original song “Man or Muppet.”
“Muppets Most Wanted,” released in 2014, earned another $80 million worldwide, bringing total global box office receipts to over $458 million across eight theatrical Muppets movies.
The ‘Muppet Show’ goes on
The Muppets continue to expand their fandom across generations and genres by performing at live concerts and appearing in several series and films.
Through these many hits and occasional bombs, and the Jim Henson Company’s personnel changes, the Muppets
have adapted to changes in technology and tastes, making it possible for them to remain relevant to new generations.
That cast of characters made of felt and foam continue to entertain fans of all ages. Although many people remain nostalgic over “The Muppet Show,” two prior efforts to reboot the show proved short-lived.
But when Disney aired its “The Muppet Show” anniversary special to high ratings on February 4, maybe more people got hooked as Disney looks to reboot the series.
Jared Bahir Browsh is Assistant Teaching Professor of Critical Sports Studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Cortesy of The Conversation (www.theconversation. com) Used by permission.
Above: Disney's "The Muppet Show" stars Sabrina Carpenter and the original Muppet cast. Opposite page: Stills from "The Muppet Show" featuring: Zelda Rose, Janice, Camilla the Chicken, Miss Mousey, Scooter, Gonzo, Fozzie Bear, Wanda, Scotter, Wayne, Lew Zealand, Rowlf the Dog, and Kermit. (All photos by Mitch Haaseth / Disney).
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Plan Commission OKs Sarah's Circle's 4th building in Uptown
Sarah's on Sunnyside, a seven-story building with 54 units of permanent supportive housing (PSH) for women being developed by Sarah's Circle at 4458 N. Clarendon Ave., was approved by the Chicago Plan Commission February 19. Approval was required because the site was in a Lakefront Protection Ordinance area. Located across the street from the new Clarendon Fieldhouse, the lot had been vacant for decades.
Construction is estimated to begin in 2027 and take roughly 18 months, Sarah’s Circle Executive Director Kathy Ragnar said earlier.
Sarah’s on Sunnyside will be targeted to women earning no more than 30 percent of Area Median Income, or about $25,000 a year. Each studio will have a defined bedroom area, small kitchen and private bathroom; there will be a laundry room on each floor. The ground floor will contain a large community space with kitchenette, sensory room, space for 24-hour security and offices for on-site services.
Bound by West Sunnyside Avenue to the north and West Agatite Avenue to the south, the site will include a small paved patio and green space. Phase 2 will be a mid-rise in the middle of the site, parallel to Clarendon. Phase 3 land
will be sold to a developer for affordable family housing, a Sarah’s Circle official said.
It is the nonprofit’s fourth project in Uptown targeted to women who are unhoused. Like the three previous buildings by Perkins & Will, Sarah’s on Sunnyside will be constructed in a mix of red brick and precast concrete panels.
The nonprofit’s other buildings include:
• Sarah’s on Lakeside, 4737 N. Sheridan Road, 28 units of PSH opened in November 2024;
• Sarah’s on Leland, 1005 W. Leland, 38 units of PSH opened in January 2021 with improved space for its 50bed interim housing, including clinical and group activities, laundry, showers and private storage for the women. In order to keep the spirit of Uptown alive, architectural elements from the original building – terra cotta Viking heads or “Sarah Cotta” – have been installed.
• Sarah’s on Sheridan, 4838 N. Sheridan Road, a daytime center for meals, showers, laundry, administration offices and case management, and 10 units of PSH.
