Results tagged “chicago”

Thornton Wilder's groundbreaking 1938 play Our Town has been almost irreparably scarred by unbearably earnest high school drama club productions over the years. So it came as a bit of a surprise that Chicago director David Cromer—who won an OBIE for his rather sensational adaptation of The Adding Machine last season—would be reviving this old relic here in New York. But since opening Off Broadway all the way back in March, the production, night after night, has been eradicating any misconceptions that Our Town is just a hokey, Norman Rockwell Hallmark card to small town America.

The Taxi and Limousine Commission says two pilot programs encouraging New Yorkers to share the back seats of cabs with perfect strangers would free up more cabs, reduce traffic congestion, and cut carbon emissions. Before voting to approve the experiment yesterday, TLC official David Kahr said another bonus is that "you'll save a little money, and maybe you'll meet someone new who's interesting." That's right, ladies! TAXI! Oh hello there, do you come to this back seat often? You know, we have so much in common, living in the same neighborhood and all. Say, why don't we drop you off next? Ladies first—it'll be fun to finally see where you live, anyway.

Most of us associate Our Town with unbearably earnest high school drama club productions, or reruns of that very special "Growing Pains" episode in which Mike and Boner get cast in the play and Mike decides he wants to be a professional actor while wearing a regrettable vest. But Chicago director David Cromer, who won an OBIE for last year's Adding Machine, has come to wrest Thornton Wilder's 1938 play back from the tween stage hogs. His inspired interpretation remains faithful to Wilder's intriguing blend of naturalism and formal deconstruction, while also eschewing the hokey, Norman Rockwell sentimentality that's de rigueur for amateur productions.

New reports coming out of Chicago indicate that Knicks center Eddy Curry is entrenched even deeper into the tragic double murder of his ex-girlfriend Nova Henry and her 10-month-old infant Ava. The Chicago Sun-Times reported last night that DNA tests had determined that Curry was Ava's father. A spokesman for the Henry family told the press, “The family never had a doubt of who the father is.”

Days after his three-year-old son Noah most likely witnessed his mother's and baby sister's murders, Knicks player Eddy Curry was getting ready to fly to Chicago last night and will likely take a leave of absence. Curry's ex-girlfriend Nova Henry and her 9-month-old daughter Ava were both shot many times in their Chicago home. When her daughter didn't arrive for an appointment, Henry's mother went to the house and found little Noah "sleeping on a chair with blood on his hands and feet"; police also suspect Noah may have witnessed the murders. Knicks president Donnie Walsh said he spoke to Curry and that the team "told him to take all the time he needs. We support him." Curry's teammate Quentin Richardson told the Post, "It's crazy. For any person, one of those things he's been through the last few months"—referring to a lawsuit against Curry—"it's a lot to deal with."

Knicks injured center Eddy Curry's 3-year-old son Noah remains in the care of his maternal grandmother two days after the murders of his infant sister Ava and his mother Nova Henry, Curry's ex-girlfriend. A source tells the News that "the [boy] was found in a pool of blood" in what the paper calls "every parent's nightmare." Curry was told of the murders after Saturday's Knicks loss in Philadelphia. Though his lawyer said the player considered going to Chicago, he is expected to be supporting the team on their bench tonight against Houston. After a season of injuries and conditioning problems, he is not expected back any time soon. One former coach of his told the News, "Eddy has zero mental toughness. He doesn't love the game and he hasn't taken pride in his conditioning."

Curry is married and his four children with his wife, Patrice. Despite claims by Nova Henry that the now deceased infant was his, Curry has continually denied paternity. However, a close source to Henry told the Chicago Tribune that he is an active part of 3-year-old boy's life.

The allegations against Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (a Democrat; pictured), who is now in federal custody, are stunning. Trying to sell or trade President-elect Obama's Senate seat? Check. Shaking down a hospital for sick children? Check. Trying to influence the Tribune's editorial board? Check!

The gripping saga of the giant truffle that came to New York City from Italy with stars in its eyes has come to a modest end in the Second City. After being jerked around by just about every hot shot restaurateur in town, the massive 2.15 lbs white truffle packed its bags and set sights on Chicago, where the Four Seasons decided to give the kid a shot. Tyler Gray, the truffle's business manager, tells us he inked a contract last week for "our regular price for large truffles, $3,200 per pound." We hear the talented tuber is really making a go of it over there, and was recently spotted canoodling with Oprah Winfrey's noodles.

             

If there was ever a time to open a glamorous new bi-level restaurant in midtown, this ain't it. But you've got to admire restaurateur Rohini Dey for going through with this NYC outpost of her acclaimed Indian-Latin American restaurant, called Vermilion in Chicago and At Vermilion here. If you build "At," they will come—and hopefully they'll still have a line of credit available. Her ambitious new location features a double-height water curtain, a 22-foot metal mesh chandelier, and huge black and white photographs taken by Indian fashion photographer Farrokh Chothia. The lower level is a spacious bar/lounge with communal dining; the upstairs dining room can accommodate 200.

While Senator Barack Obama awaits to see how the election turns out, he'll be headed to Chicago's Grant Park to see tens of thousands of supporters at what Chicagoist calls Obamapalooza. The event is ticketed (with 60,000-70,000 tickets handed out), but Mayor Daley told, well, everybody to head to the park for the festivities. Chicagoist has contributors at the event who say "The crowd is all atwit that Oprah is going to come out." And for you worrywarts, CNN is reporting Obama will be speaking from behind glass plates onstage.

Earlier this morning the body of a boy believed to be 7-year-old Julian King, Jennifer Hudson's nephew, was found in a vehicle now being identified as the 1994 white Chevrolet Suburban that was tied with the shooting of Hudson's mother and brother last week. The Chicago Tribune has more details--and while an official ID hasn't been made, TMZ notes that the Amber Alert for King has been called off. This weekend Hudson had offered up a $100K reward for anyone finding the boy, but now it appears that he will be "the third member of her family killed since Friday." UPDATE: TMZ has it that Jennifer Hudson is on her way to/at the ME's office to ID the body. [Photo cred.]

Yesterday afternoon, a relative discovered the bodies of Oscar-winning actress and singer Jennifer Hudson's mother and brother in their Chicago home. Both died from gunshot wounds. The Chicago police have a suspect in custody--William Balfour, who is believed to be married to Hudson's older sister Julia--but have not charged him with any crime yet. And Hudson's 7-year-old nephew, son of Julia Hudson, is missing; authorities have issued an Amber alert for him. Balfour is currently on parole, after serving time for attempted murder, vehicular hijacking, and receiving stolen property; his mother told reporters, "My son had nothing to do with this... and I'm very upset with the police because they are refusing to let me see my son." The Chicago police are reportedly investigating whether a dispute over a car led to the killings (Julia Hudson has a photograph on her MySpace page, noting that "William bitch ass sold my car").

Today's weather is a winner! Sunny and warm with a high in the mid-50s. Enjoy it if you can as tomorrow and Wednesday will feature varying degrees of wetness.

Art is often accused of being contrived, especially in comparison to nature. But some of New York's most well-loved natural landscapes are themselves largely artificial, so it's interesting to see an artist like a photographer double-back on a landscaper's craft. Photographer Lee Friedlander did exactly that with with a lens pointed at the work of Frederick Law Olmsted, the co-designer of Manhattan's Central Park and Brooklyn's Prospect Park.

At the 1968 Democratic Convention, anti-war activists were denied permits to demonstrate by the city and spent most of the week getting their skulls cracked courtesy of the Chicago Police Department, witnessed by a television audience of over 50 million. A year later, eight of the most high profile radicals – guys like Abbie Hoffman and the Black Panthers' Bobby Seale – were tried on charges of conspiracy and inciting riots. The courtroom was a circus, with Seale gagged to silence his outbursts and ultimately sentenced to four years for contempt, while testimony from counterculture icons such as Phil Ochs, Arlo Guthrie, Norman Mailer and Timothy Leary drew massive crowds for the National Guard to disperse.

So far February has been off to a rousingly warm start. The average temperature has been 10.64 degrees Fahrenheit above normal, including a record-setting, nay record-blasting, high of 68 degrees on Wednesday. The recent warm stretch, today is the 13th straight warmer-than-normal day, will continue only through tomorrow. Today will be sort of cloudy, sort of sunny with a high around 45. We may see a litttle snow early tomorrow and a little rain later in the day. The high tomorrow may sneak up to the upper 40s.

Last year, the federal authorities had been looking for Esther Elizabeth Reed, a woman who faked her way into attending Harvard, Cal State and most recently Columbia University, by using a dead woman's identity. Reed was on the lam, but this past weekend's murders at a mall outside Chicago led the police to Reed, who had been living in the very same town the killings occurred.

Slice took the photo here and wondered what the story was behind this sign, which is part of a series of alternating signs in the window of a Union Street home in Park slope. Well, our buddy at the NSA owed us a favor, and we tracked down the man behind the cryptic signage.

It's pretty safe to say many New Yorkers are aligned with the Democratic party, but it's unclear who NYC's registered Democrats will vote for on primary day - Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. Though in the highly unscientific survey of sights around the city over the past week (and year), it seems the senator representing Illinois has an edge.

Whoosh! That's the sound of today's weather. The skies may be gloomy this morning but, whoosh, a cold front will bring us abundant sunshine this afternoon. Along with clearing skies will be a much cooler air mass. Look at those crazy temperature drops across the Midwest yesterday. While our temperature drop won't be as extreme as in Chicago, we expect the proverbial mercury to drop into the mid-30s by the time we go home this evening. With that much change there's bound to be wind. The National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory through five o'clock. Winds will pick up to between 20 and 30 miles and hour during the day. Gusts of 45-50 mph are not out of the question.

Brilliant, reclusive and eccentric, Chicago-born and Brooklyn-bred Bobby Fischer died at age 64 in Iceland. His spokesman said the cause was kidney failure, after a long illness.

Former Mets pitcher Don Cardwell died yesterday at the age of 72 in North Carolina. Traded to the Lovable Loser Mets in 1966, Cardwell's performance during 1969 mirrored that of the team itself and helped the Mets win the their division title on the way to their first World Series Championship. Like the Mets, Cardwell started the '69 season in a lackluster manner, posting a 3-9 win-loss record through the first four months of the season. The Mets were 10 games behind the Chicago Cubs heading into August.

Ooof. Talk about insulting. In today's Times, Clyde Haberman goes so far as to compare the Dolan clan to the Mario Puzo's Corleone family from his Godfather series of books. That comparison to the Dolans is clearly a slap in the face to the Corleones. Haberman says that any "enormously rich and influential business family would do as a replacement" and casts Jim Dolan, Chairman of Madison Square Garden, as "the hapless Fredo Corleone." If Jim is Fredo, where is Michael - and the kiss of death? There's gotta be some other unscrupulous families that to which the Dolans can compare (Spears family, anyone?).

That’s where things stood well into the third period. The Rangers thought they had tied the game when Fedor Tutyin’s wrist shot was ruled a goal on the ice, but video replay overturned it. A few minutes later Chris Drury tied things up with a great effort. And, Drury figured in the overtime winner. After Montreal turned the puck over, Girardi made a brilliant pass to Drury who led Brendan Shanahan perfectly and Shanahan deposited the puck into the net for a very satisfying end to 2007.

By the end of next year, downtown Brooklyn will have a new upscale steakhouse to rival Peter Luger in Williamsburg; it was recently announced that Morton’s will be occupying the ground floor of a new Marriott annex tower on Adams Street. The Chicago-based restaurant chain will dish out their beef, seafood and sandwiches in a 300 seat restaurant near the Brooklyn Bridge.

We checked in with some folks recently for a little end of '07 "exit interview" before we enter a new year. Next up is Nick Kroll, actor, caveman and one of our favorite comedians of '07...and probably '08.

While it may be beautiful now, yesterday's weather was awful enough to cause some holiday travel headaches for those flying out of area airports. Winds were gusting up to 47 MPH, and travelers arriving at LaGuardia had two hour delays, which wasn't bad considering arrivals at Kennedy and Newark had delays of four to four-and-a-half hours.