Year: 2000

“The Scarlet Pimpernel”

Jae-Ha Kim

Fop by day, dashing hero by night, Sir Percy is the central character in “The Scarlet Pimpernel,” a swashbuckling musical comedy set during the French Revolution. That’s right. Swashbuckling. Musical. Comedy. Of the three elements, the comedy works best in this play, where the generic music does little to set the tone. The production–which opened Wednesday night at the Shubert Theatre–comes courtesy of Frank Wildhorn, whose other weird musicals include “Jekyll & Hyde” and “Civil War.” His musicals have a strong pop edge that don’t fit the period pieces he’s trying to create.

Catching up to Keanu

Jae-Ha Kim

If you think that cute guy you saw heading into Tempo last week looked a lot like Keanu Reeves, there’s a good chance that it was. Reeves has returned to Chicago to film “Hardball.” He first made his presence in the Windy City known four years ago when he shot “Chain Reaction.” You can bet that he’ll be out and about in the city this time around, too.

‘N Sync’s formula pays off

Jae-Ha Kim

Let’s get this out in the open now: I am three times older and twice as tall as many of the ‘N Sync fans who attended the band’s sold-out show Tuesday night at the Route 66 Raceway in Joliet. I do not listen to their records at home. Nor do I own any of their collectible dolls, T-shirts or posters. But once or twice a year, when the Sun-Times sends me out to review their concerts, darned if I don’t end up having a good time.

Take a seat, Slim

Jae-Ha Kim

Will the real Slim Shady please shut up? That’s the request a Christina Aguilera clone raps on “No Reply.” Sung from Aguilera’s perspective, the parody of Eminem’s hit single “Real Slim Shady” is enjoying its 15 minutes of fame, thanks to a singer who sounds young enough to be Aguilera and some funny lyrics that mock the controversial rap star.

My quest for the `Millionaire’ hot seat

Jae-Ha Kim

It’s time to finalize phone-a-friend lifelines. We get to name up to five people, and may use one if we get to the hot seat and are stuck on a question. On the day I qualified, I’d asked Phil Blanchard, the Sun-Times telegraph editor on whom I plan to lean for geography, current events and general arcane knowledge. My others will be Darel Jevens and Jae-Ha Kim from the Sun-Times features staff, John Lavalie, a librarian friend in Des Plaines, and George Vass, an author and retired sportswriter and copy editor who is my backup on classical music, literature and history.

No Authority

Jae-Ha Kim

Before No Authority, there was “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.” For Ricky G., anyhow. The 19-year-old member of the boy band No Authority had an acting career going for him before he decided to concentrate solely on the group. Under the stage name Ricky Felix (his mother’s maiden name), Ricky G. danced opposite Mike Myers in “Austin Powers” and appeared in Natalie Portman’s film “Anywhere But Here.”