Post-Tribune

Jennifer Hudson to do tribute to Whitney Houston at Grammys

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 03:23:28 -0600

Whitney Houston, who reigned as pop music’s queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, was found dead of unknown causes Saturday in a Beverly Hills hotel room. Chicago singer Jennifer Hudson will perform a tribute to Houston, 48, at Sunday’s Grammys.

No holds barred for ‘Shameless’ writers, star Macy

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 23:40:23 -0600

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Here’s an assignment for the screenwriters behind “Shameless” and its eye-popping stories: Discuss what the heck you’ve wrought, and how. “No moral judgments,” Mike O’Malley offers, citing a crucial principle from executive producer and fellow scribe John Wells. And keep digging until a nerve is struck. “It’s the most outrageous writers’ room. We don’t say we need to go back to work. We say we need to go deeper,” O’Malley observed during a filmed round-table chat to be included on a December DVD of season two (now unfolding at 8 p.m. Sunday on Showtime.). How deep? …

Forget fast food toys: ‘Lorax’ gets green tie-ins

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:30:25 -0600

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Lorax, perhaps the most famous anti-industrial crusader from children’s literature, is getting support from companies that are willing to go green. With a host of commercial tie-ins — albeit for eco-friendly products — Universal Pictures will begin promoting “Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax” this month. The animated movie, set for release March 2 in North America, is about a creature who “speaks for the trees” and fights rampant industrialism in a retelling of the Dr. Seuss children’s book first published in 1971. The studio’s nearly 70 launch partners — including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and …

Katy Perry, Russell Brand finalize divorce

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:28:15 -0600

A judge has granted Katy Perry and Russell Brand a divorce, although the pair won’t be legally split up until July. Superior Court Judge Marc Marmaro signed the judgment Wednesday, less than six weeks after Brand filed for divorce and one day after Perry filed paperwork stating that she and Brand have agreed on all financial issues. The exact terms of the breakup are confidential. Brand, Perry and Marmaro all signed the judgment Wednesday, court records show. The couple will become legally single again on July 14 because California law requires that couples wait at least six months after filing …

‘Bachelor’ news: Casey’s old (and current?) flame is Chicago trader

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 02:18:35 -0600

Admitting she’s still in love with Michael Patak, Casey Shteamer left the race for Ben’s roses.

‘Pygmalion’ comes to Hammond stage Feb. 24-March 11

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:10:28 -0600

Hammond’s Genesius Guild will present its production of the musical theater classic “My Fair Lady” from Feb. 24-March 11. The show is based on George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion,” the musical story of Professor Henry Higgins and his student Eliza Doolittle. Directed by David Long with musical direction by David Markley, the Genesius Guild production’s cast includes Grant Fitch, Betsy Archer, Gary J. Mion, Chuckles C.L. Brady, Leslie Evans, Kay Wagmen, Dan Ball, Phillip Culbertson, Pat Pohrte, Lisa Remmers, Andy Leahy, Pamela Mitchell, Angie Lowe, Larry Hinken, Ed Griffith and Andy Leahy. “My Fair Lady” will be presented at the First …

See ‘Sordid Lives’ on Hammond stage

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:09:20 -0600

Del Shores loves to skewer Southern stereotypes. The Hammond Community Theatre’s production of his play “Sordid Lives” is no exception. “I like comedies geared toward an adult audience,” said director Dale Kelley. “Especially if the humor is dark and just a little off the wall.” Shores, the author of “Daddy’s Dyin’ (Who’s Got the Will?)” and “Southern Baptist Sissies” has found his greatest success with “Sordid Lives.” “Sordid Lives” was made into a film in 2000 and ran one season as a series on the LOGO station in 2008 with a cast that featured Olivia Newton-John, Rue McClanahan, Caroline Rhea …

‘The River’ on ABC: Boredom runs through it

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:53:53 -0600

LORI RACKL: Trying to be “Paranormal Activity,” the shaky-camera horror show is pretty inactive.

CBS’ Monday sitcoms ‘a little risque,’ but viewers tune in

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 19:12:00 -0600

PASADENA, Calif. — A recent Monday seemed typical for CBS’ sitcoms on television’s most popular — and raunchy — night of comedy. There was a strip club visit on “How I Met Your Mother,” lap dance included. The stars of “2 Broke Girls” mistakenly believed an upstairs neighbor ran a brothel. “Two and a Half Men” included jokes about masturbation, oral sex, sex with moms, trading cigarettes for sex and two scenes with loud noises of passion from behind closed doors. A quick count found 53 sex jokes on the network’s four comedies, which also include “Mike & Molly.” There …

Chicago museum hosting memorial for Cornelius

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 02:10:54 -0600

A downtown museum will host a public memorial Wednesday night for Don Cornelius, the South Side native who created the legendary TV show “Soul Train.” The tribute will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Museum of Broadcast Communications, 360 N. State, and will be broadcast live on WVON-1690. Doors will open at 5:15 p.m. Cornelius grew up in the Bronzeville neighborhood and graduated from DuSable High School. Cornelius, 75, died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound last week. Michael Lansu …

‘Tebowing’ Alec Baldwin hosts NFL Honors

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 23:34:00 -0600

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Trying to do his best “Tebowing,” Alec Baldwin got a bit of help on stage. The host of “NFL Honors” on NBC was kneeling down when Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow stepped up and showed Baldwin how it’s really done. “Bless you, Tim,” Baldwin responded. That capped a nearly 10-minute monologue Saturday night on the eve of the Super Bowl as The Associated Press awards for the 2011 season were announced. Baldwin started by walking into the glittery crowd, handing a football to Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers and asking the AP NFL Most Valuable Player to …

Popular character actor Ben Gazzara dies in NY

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 23:40:00 -0600

NEW YORK (AP) — Ben Gazzara, whose powerful dramatic performances brought an intensity to a variety of roles and made him a memorable presence in such iconic productions over the decades as the original “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” on Broadway and the film “The Big Lebowski,” has died at age 81. Longtime family friend Suzanne Mados said Gazzara died Friday in Manhattan. Mados, who owned the Wyndham Hotel, where celebrities such as Peter Falk and Martin Sheen stayed, said he died after being placed in hospice care for cancer. She and her husband helped marry Gazzara and his …

Son says ‘Soul Train’’s Don Cornelius called him shortly before his death

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 02:08:31 -0600

Tony Cornelius, the son of “Soul Train” creator Don Cornelius, received an urgent 3 a.m. phone call shortly before Cornelius apparently fatally shot himself in the head, Tony Cornelius said in media interviews this week.

‘Oliver!’ production strives to be familiar yet fresh

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 02:04:54 -0600

The musical “Oliver!” opened in London’s West End in 1960. It was last produced on the Memorial Opera House stage about a decade ago and another area production of the show is closing this weekend. It is fair to say that “Oliver!” is not a stranger to theater-going audiences. So, how do you make a show that most adult audience members have seen and that is based on Charles Dickens’ famous novel “Oliver Twist” memorable and original? “Putting together such a classic show that many people have seen several times can be challenging because there are expectations to meet and …

Glen Theater film festival champions African-American film-making

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 02:05:14 -0600

Vernon G. Smith said it was by chance while inside Dorsey Johnson’s salon one day that he noticed a photo of a young man on a wall. “I kept looking at the photo and thinking I know this young man and when I asked Mrs. Johnson she replied that it was a photo of her son, William,” Smith said. William L. Johnson is an actor and singer living in California with his wife and two children. Smith and Johnson eventually held a telephone conversation that will bring the Emerson School of Visual and Performing Arts alumnus to his hometown to …

Animal lover captures their essence in photography

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 02:04:49 -0600

Between co-owning a veterinary clinic and belonging to more dog rescues than a person can keep track, Sandy Starrett Turmail simply cannot get enough of animals great and small. And now that she has the right instrument — a camera — with which to capture the beauty she sees, she can’t stop. She’s collected some of her favorite photographs and put them on display at the Towle Theater through March 11. Turmail, of Munster, traces her love of animals to childhood, when she would chat with them as long-lost friends. “As a child, I kept thinking they would talk back …