APRIL
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Author Frank Robinson had a three-year stint as the Playboy Adviser, and his novel The Glass Inferno was the source for The Towering Inferno. He’s also an authority on the pulp magazines where he got his start and learned that “good writing will seldom sell a bad story, but a good story will frequently sell bad writing.” He’s a guest speaker at this weekend’s third annual Windy City Pulp & Paperback Convention, which includes wares from 100 dealers, an auction, a film festival, and an appearance by horror master Hugh B. Cave. It runs from 7 PM to midnight tonight (registration starts at noon); 9 AM to 11 PM Saturday, April 5; and 9 to 4 Sunday, April 6, at the Radisson Lincolnwood, 4500 W. Touhy in Lincolnwood. Robinson speaks at the opening event at 7 tonight. Admission is $10, $25 for a weekend pass; kids 13 and under get in free with an adult. See www.pulpshow.com or call 847-217-4241 for more information.
Based on a holdup by four members of Butch Cassidy’s gang, Edwin S. Porter’s revolutionary 1903 one-reeler The Great Train Robbery was the first film to use camera movement, editing, dramatic close-ups, and crosscutting–between the bandits and the posse chasing them–to move the story along. The 100-year-old short will be shown tonight on a century-old hand-cranked projector as part of the Silent Film Society of Chicago’s annual gala benefit, which will also include screenings of Porter’s 1902 short Life of an American Fireman and the 1920 feature The Toll Gate, with live piano accompaniment by David Drazin. The event starts at 7 with a buffet, wine, and dessert, and the films begin at 8:15 at the Society for Arts 1112 Gallery, 1112 N. Milwaukee, Chicago. Tickets are $60; call 773-205-7372 for reservations.
Here’s dinner theater at its most literal: in his new comedy show, Frankie J Supper-Star, Frank Janisch, the former CEO of ImprovOlympic and a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, lampoons cooking-show conventions while concocting a four-course dinner in an open kitchen. The show also features songs from Jesus Christ Superstar and waiters dressed as apostles to dish up the results. In addition, each week Janisch will demonstrate how to use a different kitchen utensil that diners will get to take home. “The idea is to come religiously and build your own kitchen,” says the show’s manager. It opens tonight at 6:30 and continues Sunday nights in an open-ended run at Frankie J’s on Broadway, 4437 N. Broadway, Chicago. The $42.50 ticket includes food, tax, tip, and the implement of the week. For reservations call 773-769-2959.
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