Culture | Oct. 2026
THE BUZZ: OCTOBER 2026
By Contributor
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFF SCIORTINO
SHAKESPEARE SWINGS
Shakespeare meets Duke Ellington. Chicago Shakespeare Theater launches its landmark 40th anniversary season with Play On!, a sultry, jazz-soaked spin on Twelfth Night that’s equal parts romance and rhythm. Director Sheldon Epps returns to his own three-time Tony-nominated musical after 20 years away, with a freshly polished book by Cheryl L. West. Broadway heavy-hitters Hailee Kaleem Wright, Krystal Joy Brown, and Alan H Green lead the ensemble. Grab your seat in The Yard, now through October 18. chicagoshakes.com
A STIRLING LEGACY
Few people have left a more lasting mark on Lake Forest than Ellen Stirling. Threads of Time: The Lake Forest Shop and the Women Who Wove Its Legacy by Kraig Moreland and Leslie Stirling Basedow is a warm, richly illustrated tribute to Stirling, her family’s remarkable retail legacy, and the community she embraced so generously. From The Lake Forest Shop’s beginnings in 1922 to Stirling’s decades of leadership—and her beloved Shop Your Cause events—the book captures the style, spirit, and philanthropy that made her such a cherished figure. All proceeds benefit Lake Forest Open Lands Association, a cause close to Stirling’s heart. To purchase Threads of Time: The Lake Forest Shop and the Women Who Wove Its Legacy, visit lfola.org.
