Gapers Block published from April 22, 2003 to Jan. 1, 2016. The site will remain up in archive form. Please visit Third Coast Review, a new site by several GB alumni.
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Friday, December 13
As part of the Chicago Book Festival, Gregory Maguire, author of the novel Wicked, which inspired the hit musical of the same title, will appear at Barbara’s Bookstore this evening at 7:30 PM. He’ll read from his new novel Son of a Witch, sequel to Wicked. 1218 S. Halsted Street. For more information, call 312-413-2665 or visit the website.
WNEP Theater is presenting a free staged reading of The Lost Shakespeare Play at the Theatre Building Chicago, 1225 W. Belmont. Written by Dave Stinton, the play "chronicles the deceit of William Henry Ireland, a 19-year-old who convinced London's Drury Lane Theatre to perform a play he discovered in a trunk, supposedly written by William Shakespeare." The show starts at 8pm, with a repeat performance tomorrow. Call 773-755-1693 for more information.
Tonight the Metro holds its own benefit concert for Hurricane Katrina. Titled "Rock and Rebuild," the concert's proceeds will benefit the Hurricane Katrina Relief Campaign of the McCormick Tribune Foundation, providing short- and long-term aid to those affected by the hurricane. Bands slated to perform include the Redwalls, Bumpus and Abstract Giants. Tickets are $20 and can be bought at the Metro box office, by phone at 773-549-1212, and through ticketmaster. Doors open at 6pm and the show goes on at 6:30pm. All are ages welcome to come.
I know you've been wondering -- where are all the good local gay rubgy teams? I'm here to tell you exactly that. The Chicago Dragons Rugby Football Club is a gay-friendly rugby team that is looking to recruit players. They're having an informational session tonight at Big Chicks, 5024 N. Sheridan Rd. Swing by at 7:30pm to learn more about the team and meet some of the players. The meeting is free and, if free isn't good enough for you, it falls on Big Chick's Burger Night, which means that you can get your burger for just one dollar. One dollar! If you have questions about the team or are interested in playing, email Eric Breese at recruiting[at]chicagodragons[dot]org or call the info line at 773-347-1240.
This month's meeting of the Gapers Block Book Club takes place tonight at The Book Cellar at 4736 N. Lincoln Ave., where we will be discussing Nowhere Man by Aleksandar Hemon. The meeting begins at 7:30pm. And, join the book club email list for news, updates and alerts about future meetings. [We are experiencing technical difficulties with the email list at the moment, and we hope to have it restored as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the book club meeting is taking place as scheduled. Hope to see you there! --Ed.]