Arts & Entertainment | The Daily Illini

Pygmalion festival announces lineup, ticket sales

June 28, 2018

Filed under Around Campus, Arts & Entertainment, Champaign-Urbana, Life & Culture, News, Top Stories

The lineup for the 14th annual Pygmalion festival was announced Thursday afternoon and tickets are to go on sale Friday. The four-day festival is bringing in headliners like rapper Playboi Carti, Chicago-based Post Animal and indie artist Clairo to perform around Champaign-Urbana from Sept. 26 t...

Allerton Park receives donation from alumna turned author

By Vishesh Anand, Staff Writer

June 22, 2018

Filed under Arts & Entertainment, Life & Culture

The aftereffects of the tragic Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York were far-reaching. Nandita Godbole, University alumna, was working as a landscape architect in Ann Arbor, Michigan, at the time but was abruptly bounced into a different life. Godbole, a native of Bombay, India, said she...

A night at the “Cabaret:” Broadway show comes to State Farm Center

By Sidney Madden, Staff Writer

May 1, 2018

Filed under Arts & Entertainment, Life & Culture, Top Stories

Saturday night, community members shuffled into the State Farm Center to watch the musical, “Cabaret.” Old friends greeted each other, catching up as musical theater fans donned their Broadway shirts, eagerly searching for their seats. The chatter was silenced as the lights dimmed, signaling the sho...

T-Pain swings big on the hits, loses steam on Main Quad

By Thomas Block, Staff Writer

April 30, 2018

Filed under Arts & Entertainment, Life & Culture

As strobe lights blared ahead of him, branding a path onto the stage as if it were a landing strip, rapper T-Pain dashed out from behind the curtains to face an unsurprisingly enthusiastic crowd of students huddled by the front of the Union. To say that he merely dashed, however, would be incomplete; the ...

CU theaters try to gain public interest

By Eli Schuster, Sports Editor

April 25, 2018

Filed under Arts & Entertainment, Life & Culture, Top Stories

No bright lights. No big signs. No skyscrapers. The twin cities of Champaign-Urbana meet in central Illinois, surrounded by corn and soybeans. If you walk down Broadway in New York City, you’ll pass four historic theaters, surrounded by more than 40 others. If you walk down Broadway in Urbana, you’ll pa...

Play brings student’s work to stage

By Megan Bradley, Staff Writer

April 16, 2018

Filed under Arts & Entertainment, Life & Culture

One University graduate student has been given the chance to see his script come to life on stage. Written and co-directed by Xavier Retana, graduate student studying molecular and cellular biology, "Sign Here, Please" is a completely student-written play that is opening on Friday at the Community Un...

Exhibit presents the intersection of art, science

By Thomas Block, Staff writer

April 13, 2018

Filed under Arts & Entertainment, Life & Culture

Creativity can sprout from whatever fresh and exciting wonder the mind happens to stumble upon, whether it be a cherry-colored leaf clinging to a scraggly branch, a thin blade of grass drifting in the breeze or a fluffy cloud tumbling through the sky. However, inspiration is often constrained to what can be seen, h...

The ‘Cherry D’ on top: former University student, professional backup singer

By Sidney Madden, Staff Writer

April 12, 2018

Filed under Arts & Entertainment, Life & Culture, Top Stories

When Charity Davis was in elementary school, she was always singing. Her classmates even complained her constant humming was distracting during instructional time. At home, though, she was free to belt as loud as she pleased. Today, Charity, under the stage name Cherry D, is a professional backup sin...

Local festival brings art and business together

By Megan Bradley, Staff Writer

April 9, 2018

Filed under Arts & Entertainment, Life & Culture, Top Stories

People who attend art festivals may be used to walking up and down street blocks and looking at art housed in white tents. One local art festival happening this weekend brings a unique twist to the traditional art festival. The Boneyard Arts Festival is from Thursday-Sunday and takes place in over ...

CU comedian discusses passion for performing

By Eli Schuster, Sports Editor

April 9, 2018

Filed under Arts & Entertainment, Life & Culture

Clay Foley is 41 years old and in a mid-life crisis. In May 2016, Foley decided to do something he never considered doing before. He didn’t buy a motorcycle. He didn’t get a tattoo. Instead, he got on stage at a local open mic and performed stand-up comedy. Foley described himself as a la...

Hasan Minhaj, comedy king, performs at Illini Union

By Sam Schrage, Staff Writer

April 5, 2018

Filed under Arts & Entertainment, Life & Culture

Over 1,000 students stood in line for hours on Monday to see comedian Hasan Minhaj perform at the Illini Union. Minhaj is most known for his role as a senior correspondent at “The Daily Show” and his performance at the 2017 White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Minhaj also wrote and starred in h...

Krannert’s latest play brings satire to domestic issues

By Paige Blanzy, Staff Writer

April 4, 2018

Filed under Arts & Entertainment, Life & Culture, Top Stories

"Barbecue," a production currently playing at the Krannert Center, deals with family problems, such as addiction and anger, while still bringing a satirical, comedic tone to these issues. The production originally premiered at the Public Theater in New York City on Oct. 8, 2015, where it was dire...