Taryn Allen

Chicago

Culture Editor at Chicago Reader

she/her | culture editor @chicago_reader | proud member @reader_union

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Articles

Review: My Spy the Eternal City

Jul 17, 2024 | chicagoreader.com | Taryn Allen

Peter Segal’s My Spy (2020) was a close-to-perfect, mindless, kid-friendly action-comedy. Dave Bautista as CIA superspy J.J. and Chloe Coleman as precocious preteen terror Sophie multiplied their goofy, cutesy charisma, and the surveillance-gone-wrong plot held together just enough to not distract from the main point, which was seeing Bautista fall on his butt while trying to navigate ice skates.
Lemon cake bites at Middle East Bakery & Grocery

Jun 18, 2024 | chicagoreader.com | Taryn Allen

Reader Bites celebrates dishes, drinks, and atmospheres from the Chicagoland food scene. Have you had a recent food or drink experience that you can’t stop thinking about? Share it with us at [email protected]. Don’t hate me, but it’s possible that at the time of publication, these lemon cakes might not be available at Middle East Bakery & Grocery.
Kitcha fitfit (chechebsa) at Mella Cafe

May 29, 2024 | chicagoreader.com | Taryn Allen

Reader Bites celebrates dishes, drinks, and atmospheres from the Chicagoland food scene. Have you had a recent food or drink experience that you can’t stop thinking about? Share it with us at [email protected]. Most people unfamiliar with Ethiopian cuisine probably first approach it for dinner, as I did: sour, spongy injera on a round platter made for sharing, with a variety of colorful dishes ready to be eaten by hand.
Next to Normal gets a South Asian perspective

May 22, 2024 | chicagoreader.com | Taryn Allen

Sixteen years after the premiere of the original Tony Award–winning musical Next to Normal (book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and music by Tom Kitt), Pop Up! Productions presents a South Asian rendition to Chicago audiences at the South Asia Institute. Next to NormalThrough 5/26: Thu-Fri 7 PM, Sat-Sun 2 and 7 PM; South Asia Institute, 1925 S.
Spring Theater & Arts: A Big Screen Bounty

Mar 25, 2024 | chicagoreader.com | Taryn Allen

There’s something a little different in this issue’s film section. Usually, when these quarterly arts issues roll around, I as the film editor peruse pitches from a handful of writers and choose just two or three upcoming events in Chicago’s film scene for the Reader to preview. There’s often an anniversary that stands out or a program that deserves extra coverage (like last year’s feature on the tenth anniversary of the Chicago Critics Film Festival).
Best Chicago comedian documenting their cancer journey on TikTok

Feb 22, 2024 | chicagoreader.com | Taryn Allen

If a TikTok from Toeknee hit your “For You” page within the last year or so, it was probably a video of actor and comedian Anthony “Toeknee” Corrado expressively dancing in his northwest-side apartment, or maybe causing mild chaos around Chicago from “acting up” and “just playin’” too much. It might’ve been a skit in which he’s your awkward first date, or your best friend crushing on your brother. Or, it could’ve been a hilarious and bittersweet documentation of his cancer journey.
Review: Bleeding Love

Feb 12, 2024 | chicagoreader.com | Taryn Allen

Critics love to lambaste franchise action/superhero films for their formulaic predictability. And those critics have a point. But there’s nothing like a formulaic, predictable Serious Human Indie Drama to remind you just how unsurprising films can really be. Emma Westenberg’s directorial debut Bleeding Love is made up almost entirely of tropes, twists, plots, and characterization we have seen over and over and over again.
Justin Cooper: The Accessibility Advocate

Dec 25, 2023 | chicagoreader.com | Taryn Allen

Justin Cooper, 41, is a Black disabled photographer and filmmaker. Fueled by his experiences of living with a disability—including discovering in his 30s that he’d been misdiagnosed—and a family full of activists, he’s a staunch, longtime advocate for disability communities. Cooper also produces and cohosts a podcast at Crip Crap, a disability media company created by and for disabled people. He was born in Chicago, spent his longest stint in Uptown, and currently resides in Old Town.
Chicago Reader’s Nonprofit Guide for 2023

Dec 5, 2023 | chicagoreader.com | Taryn Allen

Around this time of the year you’ll begin to hear the phrase “the giving season.” It’s the moment when donation-dependent organizations ramp up their campaigns in the hopes of being included in the gifting air that comes in on a wind of mailers, calls, and fundraisers. For the Nonprofit Issue, we thought it would be valuable to talk about nonprofits, not-for-profits, community groups, and mutual aid organizations that Reader staff members donate their money, time, or goods to on a regular basis.
Amy Matheny, author at Chicago Reader

Dec 5, 2023 | chicagoreader.com | Taryn Allen

Posted inCity Life Around this time of the year you’ll begin to hear the phrase “the giving season.” It’s the moment when donation-dependent organizations ramp up their campaigns in the hopes of being included in the gifting air that comes in on a wind of mailers, calls, and fundraisers.