Arts & Entertainment
Last April the School of Communication assembled a star-studded cast for A Starry Night. The evening performance brought together some of Northwestern’s most famous entertainment alumni, including Ana Gasteyer ’89, Heather Headley ’97, Brian d’Arcy James ’90, Richard Kind ’78, Harry Lennix ’86, Tony Roberts ’61 and, of course, Stephen Colbert ’86, ’11 H, who hosted the night of merriment.
“There’s a certain symmetry between law and history,” says Sam Kleiner ’09, a New York lawyer and author of The Flying Tigers: The Untold Story of the American Pilots Who Waged a Secret War Against Japan. As a child, Kleiner had heard stories about World War II from his grandfather, who had been a navigator on a B-25.
Why has Northwestern generated such a wealth of talent in the late-night news-comedy arena? While Stephen Colbert ’86, ’11 H and Seth Meyers ’96, ’16 H cite the influence of professors, and Robin Thede gives credit to the journalism program for teaching her to write, cross-pollination of students and classes in different fields may also be key. There’s also the Chicago factor — the city is a hotbed of comedy clubs and improv, from Second City to iO Theater to Zanies.
Get ready to clutch your pearls! Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications graduate Robin Thede’s late-night show, The Rundown with Robin Thede, with its mix of political commentary, black cultural observations and a body roll or two, is quite possibly the stuff Emmys are made of.
Stephen Colbert was hosting a live TV special on Nov. 8, 2016, armed with an arsenal of jokes reflecting what nearly all of America expected — the election of the country’s first female president.
Louis Danowsky and Sam Wolsk first met in high school in the New Jersey All-State Jazz Ensemble, but their musical partnership took root at Northwestern. That partnership led to their debut album, Coalescence, and a performance at a high-profile New York club. Danowsky, a saxophonist, and Wolsk, a trumpeter, formed D.W.
Last fall, when costume designer Sanja Manakoski was charged with creating a 21st-century version of Don Quixote’s suit of armor for the Glencoe, Ill.-based Writers Theatre’s production of Quixote: On the Conquest of Self, she turned to the knight errant himself for inspiration. “Our Don Quixote is no regular knight,” explains Manakoski ’17 MFA, who recently earned a master’s degree in stage costume design.
My Northwestern Direction
Northwestern Teaches Anything Is Possible
My 18-year-old self would be shocked to see me writing this — and very relieved. You don’t outgrow Northwestern — it grows with you in unexpected and special ways, if you let it.
My Northwestern Direction
Finding Harmony in Different Voices
When I reflected on my time at Northwestern, I realized that the undergraduate experience was built on crossing paths. This was a common theme among my fellow students — creative and analytical thinkers who had diverse interests.
Mark Vadik ’89, ’04 MA has proved you can balance creative talent with a practical, business-savvy approach to life. After graduating from Northwestern with a degree in performance studies, Vadik became a lawyer and started his own entertainment law firm in Chicago.
