#music teachers in Chicago ridge

[mcmusiclessons]

Music teachers in Palos Hills, Illinois provide music lessons for children and adults on a pay as you go basis with options to prepay for discounted rates. Online music lessons via live video chat followed by custom video examples of songs and exercises are available to all locations. Discounts are based on the amount of time purchased with music lessons offered on the acoustic guitar, electric guitar, classical guitar, bass guitar, and ukulele. Click the link below to learn more about McMusic Lessons & Performances Google verified businesses

[mcmusiclessons]

Music teacher in Palos Hills, IL. provides guitar and piano lessons for children and adults on a pay as you go basis with options to prepay for discounted rates. Rates are based on the mount of lesson time purchased with discounts as low as $18/0.5 HR or $30/HR. Take guitar or piano lessons at home or in studio at McMusic Lessons & Performances.  House call music lessons are available to Palos Hills and surrounding areas. Online music lessons via live video chat are available to any location. Click to learn more or register for trial music lesson before purchase. Meet the music instructor in studio or online to sample a lesson. House call music lessons are available with enrollment.

[keystonewarrior]

Actually Older Than Dirt

Actually Older than Dirt

They called themself Vajra Tiglitolf these days. They had slipped into the United States in 1946 along with countless other Europeans, unheralded, unnoticed.  It was actually their second time in North America (third if you counted living underwater on the continental shelf), having resided with coastal communities stretching from modern day British Columbia south to Sinaloa, but that was when there was still a land bridge to Asia and long before the Spanish arrived on the continent.

They worked quietly at a deli in Princeton, NJ until 1961, then moved over to Philadelphia where they bagged groceries at an A&P and later attended classes as a liberal arts history major at Temple until 1968.  They always enjoyed the liberal arts classes more than the technical coursework, science and math just weren’t their thing.  Art courses were nice reminders of what they had seen and done over the millennia and they often thought it was a shame that nobody would ever see any of Leonardo’s really good stuff.  The original three-panel cartoonist, the church meticulously destroyed every last copy of those satirical hit-jobs while he was still under house arrest.  Music appreciation always took them back to the times and places where they first heard many of those stirring performances, sometimes overcome with emotion at the memory of being in the same room as the great composers.  Nakisha was little remembered among music historians and was a more accomplished harpist than anything else but as rock and roll grew in popularity in the US in the 50s they could almost hear her singing and playing, and then stopping to take her notes.  The hippies sounded a lot like Nakisha’s less serious work, the stuff she played for crowds in the market instead of the Persian palaces.  Literature classes were always fun but they often felt Chaucer would get more credit if they understood the man better and Shakespeare less credit if they’d really known him.  The most amusing classes were the history classes, especially when publishers, professors, and students got almost everything wrong and left out some of the critical tipping points and most hilarious details about so-called important people and places.  Egypt was terribly misunderstood and India all but forgotten.  But Vajra could not provide any evidence, and had spent intermittent and sporadic decades in each region and travelling between them for three thousand years, so mostly they simply asked questions about details they knew nobody could respond to and provoking debate.

The most memorable detail about those four years at Temple was the accounting class where a football player would crack jokes and hassle the TA, openly - if jokingly - copying answers from other students’ tests in class.  Vajra felt bad for the little TA but if she was ever going to make it as a mathematician she had better toughen up.  In the arts, you can often make up for a little talent with a lot of panache, but in math you have to prove it or you’re less than zero.  Zero was probably the thing historians never really got right about math - people died for zero.

There was tension in the American air as Vajra moved towns and changed careers again that summer.  Vajra had a nose now for avoiding war, but this didn’t quite feel that bad.  When the Democratic Convention in Chicago went down Vajra was working at a high school near Washington DC.  They were active in the environmental movement, civil rights movement, equal rights movement, but mostly ardently against the draft.

Vajra hated the draft most of all and when that came to an end they spent a few more years involved in various movements but saw the wind going out of the sails.  Without any skin in the game in the draft, most of the white, suburban US mosied out of protest movements and into adult family life.  The environmentalists couldn’t see the climate change writing on the wall, a few could but they didn’t have the data needed to really fight that battle even though Arrhenius had made everything very clear eighty years earlier.  Vajra was back in Europe in the late nineteenth century and had read Arrhenius’ work.  After Angstrom had argued against the climate change model, Vajra had gone to work with the Swedish physicist because (while they weren’t particularly talented at math and science) they had personally endured hundreds of environmental transformations and could see the path humanity was on.  Far too many in the environmental community thought they had essentially won the war and had the corporate polluters on the ropes.  Vajra knew how persistent - like mold inside the walls of a house - money and wealth could be, but nobody was willing to listen to a high school history teacher and low-level staffer working part-time and voluntarily across multiple national movements who actually liked disco.  When the Equal Rights Amendment fell short and Reagan and the NeoCons came to DC, Tiglitolf moved to Kissimmee, FL.  It was actually their second time in FL, but their previous abode had been underwater.

They had been to Disney twice before on summer working-vacations and decided it was a good enough place to work and hideout for maybe even several decades before having to move on again.  That was the trouble with dwelling within a body that could self-heal, it also maintained the same age and appearance if no changes were demanded of it.  There were subroutines in core memory Vajra could activate to simulate aging and to make changes to their physical form in different environmental and battlefield conditions.  A few were near-instantaneous (response to a chemical attack) while others took time and resources to manifest (changing from male to female).  The worst had been the years watching the dinosaurs die.  That particular rock had been a visible comet for weeks prior to impact and Vajra’s were the only intelligent eyes on the planet to see it coming.  A military draftee, a slave really, their body and mind had been laid open to the foundation - while they were aware and conscious - and rebuilt as the ultimate weapon.  They felt forced to fire up old diagnostics and activate telescopic sights and telemetry trackers.  Of course the computers immediately sought connection to higher headquarters, but Vajra kept shutting them down almost as soon as they booted up, but they were also distracted by the impending doom and the changes they were making to their body to survive the impact event.  Back then they looked more like a dinosaur.  Hey, above a certain size a reptile has no natural predators, except for big rocks from space.  The comet calved.  As it broke up it was clear one of the smaller pieces was going to hit the planet now, followed by a second larger impact a few weeks later as the comet’s orbit and the orbit of the Earth met again.  In the end there were essentially millions of impacts.  Rocks and ice hit the moon and the Earth and smaller rocks got pulled into other radical orbits and scattered around the solar system.  The millions of little ones might have been enough to kick the dinosaurs into the ditch along the evolutionary roadside, but it was the capital letter impact at the beginning of that death sentence followed by the exclamation point at the end that sealed the fate of almost every life on the planet.  Fourteen years later, resting in an ice-free estuary, quietly photosynthesizing and chewing on whatever corpse happened to float by, Vajra felt the tickle of communications programs being queried by a robot probe passing through the mesosphere overhead.  They had mercifully, if painfully, ripped out their IFF antenna a billion years earlier, so the communications and slave-chain programs could not be remotely activated, but Vajra nervously sat in that pond as glaciers crept closer for seventeen years before the probe finally exited the system.  They crept out of there and swam and crawled to the sea, then made their way around the planet closer to the second impact site.  The shallow seas in the area that would later become the Lake Wales Ridge on the Florida peninsula made for an excellent place to shake off this boring semi-plant existence and start eating food again.

Their first job in modern Florida was actually at Circus World.  They worked part-time there and at the Magic Kingdom waiting for Epcot to open.  They painted faces, told children the same silly jokes children had laughed at in Mesopotamia, and dropped agonizing puns on the parents.  Disney was going to be a beast, with thousands of anonymous employees, and every few months Tiglitolf could change jobs and nobody would ever say, “You haven’t aged a day” while they hid unnoticed and unheralded among the masses of workers.  Epcot ended up Vajra’s favorite park, even though between 1981 and today they had worked in almost every guest area.  Epcot ended up nice, but hardly a world’s fair, and Vajra had worked at three - Paris and Brussels in the late nineteenth century and Barcelona thirty years later.  World War One had been a disaster but they had weathered that shitstorm in Tunisia.  Nursing experience helping as a volunteer during the flu pandemic 1918-1920 led to work in Portugal through the 20s and when the Germans practiced mechanized warfare in Spain in the 30s Vajra quietly moved back to Egypt and reopened their old bakery and brewery almost on the same spot it had been over a century earlier.

Of course their name had not been Vajra Tiglitolf back then.  They’d had hundreds of names ever since that sort of thing had been important among people, but every name had been some variant of their name as a slave-soldier: Diamond Twelve.

[toomanysurveys9]

What do you believe happens to us after death? you’re just gone.. which sucks.. since my uncle is actively dying.

Have you ever cheated on someone? i would never do that.

What are your plans for this weekend? depends on uncle sam.

Does the thought of growing old frighten you? kind of. the thought of dying scares me, especially watching my uncle die in hospice.

What is the best movie you’ve ever seen? hacksaw ridge.

Have you ever hurt someone for your own entertainment? no.

What is your favorite song of all time? i named a couple in the last survey i did, so feel free to look there if you really want to know. it’s one of the first few questions i think.

Has anyone you’ve known died on a holiday? not that i can think of.

If you could write a book, what would it be about? it’d probably be a fantasy romance.

Do you think most people understand you? not really.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? lose like 150 pounds (that’s probably not all that realistic). ha.

What are some lyrics that speak to your soul? i can’t right now.

Are you in love with anyone at the moment? well, yeah.

Have you ever been in love with more than one person at the same time? nope.

What is your favorite time of year? early fall or spring.

What is your ideal first date? i don’t really have an ideal first date...

What is the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to you? that i’m a good momma.

Do you have any taboo fetishes or preferences? i do not.

What is the thing you are most ashamed of? my teeth/gums and weight.

What is the emotion you seem to feel most strongly? depressed.

Do you think of yourself as a unique person? not really.

What is a movie from childhood that you loved? the lion king. milo and otis.

Are you afraid of death? i am.

What are your top three biggest fears, actually? failing, losing loved ones, and dying.

Do you have an accent of any kind? i don’t think so.

What do you want to be remembered for? being the best momma i could.

What is your favorite number? don’t have one.

Do you have a favorite television show? If so, what is it? the chicago shows.

Are you currently sad about anything? my uncle is dying.

What was your first job? mcdonald’s if you don’t count babysitting.

And what job do you have now? registered behavior technician.

Have you ever changed your spiritual beliefs? yeah. i guess so.

What is your favorite alcoholic drink? fruity mixed drinks.

Do you ever talk to yourself? sometimes i guess.

Have you ever cried yourself to sleep in your adult life? many times.

What do you think is the meanest thing you’ve ever said to someone? probably that i hated them when i don’t because i knew it would hurt them.

How do you celebrate your favorite holiday? with my family.

Do you have a favorite book? If so, how many times have you read it? i have a few i’ve read a lot.

Do you have any teachers from the past who inspired you? a couple from high school.

Do you prefer sad or happy music? depends on the day.

Speaking of which, what is your favorite genre? country.

What is your best talent? singing i guess.

Have you ever wished you were from another country? nope.

What are you thinking about currently? sam.

What is the closest red thing to your body? toy.

What is a subject that makes you uncomfortable to speak about? sex.

What is your favorite clothing store to shop at? osh kosh and carter’s for my kids.

Do you have anything you are extremely particular about? my books. lol. how my kids are cared for.

Have you ever seen the ocean? yeah. i get to see it again in december (hopefully).

What is your most fond memory of your current S.O, if applicable? our wedding day i suppose.

Do you find yourself confused often? not really.

What is your dream career? i still don’t know.

What was the best time of your life? currently, because i’m a mom. 

Have you ever been on a cruise? nope. probably never will either.

Do you miss any of your exes? not even a little.

Who would you like to say something to? my uncle. but while we were gone getting everyone lunch, they decided no one is allowed to talk or touch him. which is bullshit because several of us didn’t get to say last goodbyes.

Are you religious? no.

Do you think you are attractive? i know i’m not.

How many people have you slept with? willingly, one.

Do you consider yourself a catch? lmfao. no. i don’t know why jacob stays with me.

Do you enjoy naps? i love naps and miss taking naps with my babies.

What kind of sauce do you eat your chicken nuggets with? depends on my mood and what i have available.

Are you happy? not even close.

What do you think you could do to improve your life? work.

[asiantheatre]

Under the list are all the confirmed, announced shows in the 2018-2019 season featuring Asian writers, actors, designers, directors, etc in New York, London, and International. Listed are the dates for first previews, the theater it’s performed in, and a summary of the show. 

This list isn’t 100% comprehensive and will be updated as time goes on. If we missed a show, please let us know!

Make sure to tune in and give these shows your love! 

BROADWAY (source)

Straight White Men

Until September 9, Hayes Theater

“It’s Christmas Eve, and Ed has gathered his three adult sons to celebrate with matching pajamas, trash-talking, and Chinese takeout. But when a question they can’t answer interrupts their holiday cheer, they are forced to confront their own identities. Obie Award-winning playwright Young Jean Lee takes a hilariously ruthless look at the classic American father-son drama. This is one white Christmas like you’ve never seen before.”

Getting the Band Back Together

August 19, 2018; Belasco Theatre

“The musical comedy follows 40-year-old out-of-work banker Mitch who moves back in with his mother and decides to reunite his old high school band, Juggernaut.”

King Kong

October 2018

This show reimagines the famous movie King Kong into a story about fame, greed, and manipulation within the original framework of a young actress and film maker finding their way to Skull Island, the home of a 2000 pound monkey.

Tootsie

March 29, 2019; Marriott Marquis

“Based on the film, Tootsie tells the story of a talented but difficult actor who struggles to find work until an audacious, desperate stunt lands him the role of a lifetime.”

Hadestown

Walter Kerr; March 22, 2019

Info in the west end section

Be More Chill

Lyceum Theater; February 13, 2019

Info in the offbway section

Chicago

July 1–14; Ambassador Theatre

Japanese star Ryoko Yonekura will make a limited run engagement as Roxie Hart before transferring over to Japan for the national tour.

OFF BROADWAY (source / 2)

Be More Chill

August 9, 2018;  Pershing Square Signature Center

Based on Ned Vizzini’s novel, the show tells the story of an average teenager who takes a pill purported to make people more—you guessed it—chill.

Henry VI

August 21, 2018 - NAATCO 

“Shakespeare’s Henry VI is the story of a great nation’s decent into barbarism and cruelty. It is a study of how the experience of a problematic foreign war erodes civil discourse at home, and how that erosion allows political self-interests to take hold and send a country hurtling into civil war.” 

Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future

September 25, 2018; Ars Nova

 “250 years from now, constructed humans are built in black market labs, Mars is a forced labor camp and underground outlaws are brewing rebellion. You might not remember how Beaux Weathers and her band of “illegal intelligences” fought for the right to exist, but Rags Parkland does. Back on Earth for the first time in 10 years, Rags plays the music that carried us to where we are today. But on this planet, the more things change, the more we stay the same.”

India Pale Ale

October 2, 2018; Manhattan Theatre Club

“In a small Wisconsin town, a tight-knit Punjabi community gathers to celebrate the wedding of a traditional family’s only son, just as their strong-willed daughter announces her plans to move away and open a bar. As they come together for feasts filled with singing and dancing, one generation’s cherished customs clash with another’s modern-day aspirations, and ghosts and pirates from the family’s past linger in everyone’s thoughts – until one sudden event changes everything.”

Wild Goose Dreams

October 30, 2018; The Public Theatre

“Minsung is a “goose father,” a South Korean man whose wife and daughter have moved to America for a better life. Deeply lonely, he escapes onto the internet and meets Nanhee, a young defector forced to leave her family behind in North Korea. Amidst the endless noise of the modern world, where likes and shares have taken the place of love and touch, Minsung and Nanhee try their best to be real for each other. But after a lifetime of division and separation, is connection possible?“

The Resistable Rise or Arturo Ui

October 30- December 22, 2018; Classic Stage Company

The political allegory shows a Depression-era Chicago mobster, who, with the help of his henchmen, manipulates and murders his way to totalitarian rule of the cauliflower trade. The play uses a vaudevillian portrayal of American mafia culture to parallel events that brought the Third Reich to power.

A Chorus Line

November 14, 2018; New York City Center

“A Chorus Line, the 2018 New York City Center Annual Gala Presentation, is a joyous celebration of dance and musical theater—two art forms that City Center has been bringing to New York audiences for 75 years. In 1975, the stories of seventeen Broadway dancers were brought to life when A Chorus Line opened Off-Broadway. The musical was born of workshop sessions with actual Broadway dancers (eight of whom appeared in the original cast) who laid bare their personal stories and the challenges they faced in pursuit of their dreams.“

The Prisoner

November 24, 2018; Theatre for a New Audience/Polonsky Shakespeare Center

“The Prisoner examines the complexities of crime, justice, and compassion in a breathtaking new international production. A man sits alone outside a prison. Who is he, and what is he doing there? Is he free, or is he the prisoner?“

Noura

November 27, 2018; Playwrights Horizons

Noura and her husband have a successful life in New York, and, eight years after having fled their home in Iraq, they’ve finally gained citizen status—which Noura, as an Iraqi Christian, is celebrating by planning the perfect Christmas dinner. But when the arrival of a visitor stirs up long-buried memories, Noura and her husband are forced to confront the cost of their choices, and retrace the past they left behind.

Flower Drum Song’s 60th Anniversary Gala

December 2, 2018 - NAAP

The gala will begin at 5:30 PM with cocktails, followed by a 6:30 PM dinner (a traditional eight-course Chinese banquet). Throughout the evening will be entertainment informed by the history of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Flower Drum Song.

Nassim

December 10, 2018; New York City Center

In his latest work, Nassim Soleimanpour explores the power of language to unite us in these uncertain times. No rehearsals. A different guest actor at every performance. A sealed envelope. Oh, and some surprises.

Blue Ridge

December 12, 2018; Atlantic Theater Company

“A progressive high-school teacher with a rage problem retaliates against her unscrupulous boss and is sentenced to six months at a church-sponsored halfway house, where she attends to everyone's recovery but her own. Set in Southern Appalachia, Blue Ridge is a pitch-dark comedy about heartbreak, hell-raising and healing.“

Merrily We Roll Along

January 12, 2019; Roundabout Theatre

Roundabout’s company in residence, Fiasco Theater, reimagines its next Stephen Sondheim creation. With Fiasco’s one-of-a-kind imagination, this audacious musical about a trio of showbiz friends who fall apart and come together over 20 years emerges as newly personal and passionate.

Superhero

January 31, 2019; Second Stage Theatre

Before we can save the world, we have to save each other. From the Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer of Next to Normal and the Tony Award-winning writer of Red comes a deeply human new musical about a fractured family, the mysterious stranger in apartment 4-B, and the unexpected hero who just might save the day.

Anne of Green Gables: Part 1

The Royal Family Performing Arts Space; January 24-February 11

An adaptation of the book with the same title.

God Said This

Cherry Lane Theater; January 29-February 15

God Said This paints a portrait of five Kentuckians facing mortality in very different ways. With her mom undergoing chemotherapy, Hiro returns home, struggling to let go of the demons she inherited. Sophie, her born-again Christian sister, confronts her faith while tackling inevitable adversity. James, their recovering alcoholic father, wants to repair his fractured relationship with his daughters. And, John, an old classmate and thirty-something single dad, worries about leaving a lasting legacy for his only son.

Alice By Heart

MCC Theater; January 30-March 30

The show, by Waitress scribe Jessie Nelson and Spring Awakening duo Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater, adapts Lewis Carroll’s famed fantasy into a London-set tale against the backdrop of World War II, as Alice and her friend Alfred journey down a rabbit hole to find love, loss, and the courage to move forward despite harsh circumstances.

REGIONAL / US TOURS (source)

Man of God

January 31 - February 24, 2019; East West Players

A hidden discovery in a hotel bathroom changes the lives of four Korean Christian girls on a mission trip to Thailand. Samantha is hurt that someone she trusted could betray her. Jen is worried about how this might affect her college applications. Kyung-Hwa thinks everyone should adjust their expectations. Mimi’s out for blood. Amid the neon lights and go go bars in Bangkok, the girls plot revenge in this funny, feminist thriller.  

Mamma Mia

May 9 - June 9, 2019; East West Players 

On the eve of her wedding, a daughter’s quest to discover the identity of her father brings three men from her mother’s past back to the Greek island they last visited 20 years ago. The storytelling magic of ABBA’s timeless hits sets the scene for this infectious tale of love and frolicking fun, creating an unforgettable musical experience that will leave you dancing in the aisles!

Tours - Dates are subject to region

Aladdin

Hamilton

Miss Saigon

Hello Dolly

Falsettos

Lea Salonga’s Human Heart Tour

Rent

TV special live on Fox tells the story of the AIDS epidemic in New York City

WEST END/LONDON (source)

The King and I

Until September 29, 2018

Set in 1860s Bangkok, the musical tells the story of the unconventional and tempestuous relationship that develops between the King of Siam and Anna, a British schoolteacher whom the modernist King, in an imperialistic world, brings to Siam to teach his many wives and children.

Love’s Labor’s Lost

August 23, 2018; Shakespeare's Globe Theatre

“Self-denial is in fashion at the court of Navarre where the young king and three of his courtiers solemnly forswear all pleasures in favour of serious study. But when the Princess of France and her entourage arrive, it isn’t long before the all-male ‘academe’ have broken every one of their self-imposed rules. Shakespeare’s boisterous send-up of all those who try to turn their back on life is a dazzling parade of every weapon in the youthful playwright’s arsenal, from excruciating cross-purposes and impersonations to drunkenness and bust-ups. It’s a banquet of language, groaning with puns, rhymes and grotesque coinages“

Dance Nation

August 27, 2018; Almeida Theatre

“Somewhere in America, a revolution is coming. An army of competitive dancers is ready to take over the world, one routine at a time. With a pre-teen battle for power and perfection raging on and off stage, Dance Nation is a ferocious exploration of youth, ambition and self-discovery.“

The Humans

August 30, 2018; Hampstead Theatre

“Hampstead Theatre is proud to present the Broadway production of The Humans by Stephen Karam, the winner of four 2016 Tony Awards including Best Play. Three generations of the Blake family have assembled for Thanksgiving in Brigid and Richard’s ramshackle pre-war apartment in Lower Manhattan. Whilst the event may have a slightly improvised air, the family is determined to make the best of its time together. As they attempt to focus on the traditional festivities, fears of the past and pressures of the future seep into the reunion and the precariousness of their position becomes increasingly evident.”

The Village

September 7, 2018; Theatre Royal Stratford East

“The Village transports the Lope de Vega’s Spanish play, Fuenteovejuna to contemporary India. It’s a powerful story of community and solidarity, and the lengths a person will go to protect themselves from tyranny. In Jyoti’s village, life is simple. People work and sing while living off the land. And finding a partner is far from her mind. She’d much prefer a delicious meal. Things are happy until the Inspector and his men come back to town. But when the tyrannical Inspector has his eye on Jyoti and he commits unspeakable acts against the village, everyone is pushed to breaking point. Will Jyoti dare turn him down despite what it may mean for her village?”

White Teeth

October 26, 2018; Kiln Theatre

“Rosie Jones, the Iqbal twins, their parents, their grandparents, Mad Mary and an avalanche of other characters who make up the everyday chaos of Kilburn High Road come together in an extraordinary revelry of NW6. An epic comedy with music and dance, this theatrical rollercoaster takes us on a fast-paced journey through history, different cultures and chance encounters. Zadie Smith’s breakthrough novel is adapted for stage by acclaimed playwright Stephen Sharkey and directed by Artistic Director Indhu Rubasingham in a major world premiere.”

Hadestown

November 2, 2018; National Theater

“In the warmth of summertime, songwriter Orpheus and his muse Eurydice are living it up and falling in love. But as winter approaches, reality sets in: these young dreamers can’t survive on songs alone. Tempted by the promise of plenty, Eurydice is lured to the depths of industrial Hadestown. On a quest to save her, Orpheus journeys to the underworld where their trust is put to a final test.”

INTERNATIONAL

Philippines 

Side Show - August 31, 2018

M. Butterfly - September 13, 2018

A Doll’s House Part 2 - September 15, 2018

Waitress - November 2018

Angels in America Spring 2019

Beautiful: the Carole King Musical Spring 2019

Korea

Matilda - September 8, 2018

The Greatest Showman - August 7, 2018

Bridges of Madison County - August 11, 2018

Jungle Book - closing August 26, 2018

Singapore

Peter and the Star Catcher - September 28, 2018 

Other Local Shows

Japan

Fiddler on the Roof - December 16, 2018

Something Rotten - December 31, 2018

CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG - May 16, 2018

Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 - January 5, 2019

Chicago - Osaka (August 1-4 at the Orix Theater) and in Tokyo (August 7-18 at the Tokyu Theatre Orb).

Full list of shows in Japan (translated)

Other Local Shows

China

Rent - August 30, 2018

Les Mis - September 27, 2018

Hamlet - November 28, 2018

Chicago - December 20, 2018

Other Local Shows

Canada

Come From Away (until June 30, 2019)

Next to Normal Toronto (April 26-May 19)

Dear Evan Hansen 

New Zealand

If/Then - November 29-December 8, 2018

[mcmusiclessons]

Register for a trial music lesson with music teacher in Palos Hills, IL. Try out guitar lessons or piano lessons before purchase with options to continue on a pay as you go basis or prepay for discounted rates. https://www.mcmusiclessons.com

[love-ndletter]

♡ the super sweet @helianthical tagged me (forever ago lol) for this! tysm! ♡

Rules: Answer these 92 statements and tag 20 people. (im tagging mutuals id like to get to know better, whether we’ve talked before or not!)

tagging: @fxprettygirl, @goldenseoulss, @jajajaebum, @1wnwu, @beijingbabes, @sooyounqster, @fensi, @sungwoonsgf, @wu-yi-man, @whist1e, @lovelyzc, @xuanyisgfriend, @ppj, @kuwuhn, @wjsoobin, @twiceoficial, @milkjoons, @2monstax, @mortisgenesis, and @oos4n! feel free to opt out!

[[READ MORE BELOW]]

THE LAST:

1. Drink: water! 2. Phone call: i checked my phone and it was my mom 3. Text message: checked as well, my last message was from @poking-dimples 4. Song you listened to: my moms playing the radio out back and i can hear it from the front of the house so the song currently playing is katy perry’s wide awake?? i think thats the name 5. Time you cried: last night cause i was really upset lol

HAVE YOU: 6. Dated someone twice: no 7. Kissed someone and regretted it: no 8. Been cheated on: no 9. Lost someone special: yeah 10. Been depressed: yes 11. Gotten drunk and thrown up: no njasnfjka i cant stand alcohol to the point even talking to people about it makes me uncomfortable

LIST 3 FAVORITE COLORS: 12-14: light grey, pastels, white

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU: 15. Made new friends: yes!! ♡ 16. Fallen out of love: no 17. Laughed until you cried: yes 18. Found out someone was talking about you: yes 19. Met someone who changed you: yes 20. Found out who your friends are: yes 21. Kissed someone on your Facebook list: no lol

GENERAL: 22. How many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: like 99%. i dont accept people i dont know irl unless theyre close internet friends (aka just @moonske) 23. Do you have any pets: i currently have 5 cats (2 are foster cats) and 1 dog ♡♡ 24. Do you want to change your name: full name, yeah. my nickname, no. 25. What did you do for your last Birthday: i cant really remember?? i think we went down to the beach and just hung out at my house lmaoo. thats usually what we do for my birthday since the beach is free.  26. What time did you wake up: i woke up at 7am because of an alarm but i didnt have nything to do for the day so i passed out until 10:53 when i just woke up 27. What were you doing at midnight last night: washing my face and applying aloe lotion to my sunburn 28. Name something you can’t wait for: all the music thats going to come out within the next few weeks im so pumped!! 29. When was the last time you saw your mom: maybe 10 minutes ago? i saw her ordering dinner and then she went to the backyard to finish burning stuff in the fire pit 30. What is one thing you wish you could change in your life: i wish i didnt procrastinate so much 31. What are you listening right now: a person playing a game on youtube because the idle sound of others talking helps me focus. 32. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: i have 2 uncles name tom and i used to have a good friend from elementary names tom but he always pinched me  33. Something that is getting on your nerves: the fact that i keep putting off my summer rope stuff 34. Most visited Website: probably youtube and then tumblr even though ive been pretty absent lately

LOST QUESTIONS. I JUST PUT IN RANDOM INFO ABOUT ME

35. Mole/s: yeah ive got quite a few and i have a super raised one on my neck but its not an issue 36. Mark/s: yeah! most recently i busted up my knee from the lake so theres lots of scratches and cuts on my left knee and i also have uncountable freckles and just recently got a lot more across my nose and cheeks from sunburn. i also have some scars and birthmarks  37. Childhood dream: i wanted to be- very specifically, my mom can verify- a part-time teacher, part-time pharmacist lmaooo 38. Haircolor: its just brown. 39. Long or short hair: its shorter i guess??? its like-when straight and if you pull it taunt to see the actual length- just past my shoulders 40. Do you have a crush on someone:  nope.  41. What do you like about yourself: i like how im really accepting of people and that when i have negative thoughts about people based on first appearance i feel bad and try to correct myself from thinking so negatively about people before i even know them 42. Piercings: the basic earlobes 43. Bloodtype: O+!! i found out after donating blood at school. the red cross sent me a thank you letter and it had a card with my blood information on it so i can keep it on me! i was really excited ajskfnajk im excited to be 17 so i can sign up for the blood donation red cross app so i can donate more often too! 44. Nickname: sav. my parents still call me vanna sometimes 45. Relationship status: single 46. Zodiac: leo 47. Pronouns: she/her 48. Favorite TV Show: twd, untold stories of the er, theres probably more but i cant remember any :( 49. Tattoos: no 50. Right or left hand: right handed?? is that what this means lmao 51. Surgery: i got my tonsils removed when i was really young but thats it 52. Hair dyed in different color: the only (basic) colors my hair hasnt been is orange, white, and grey.  53. Sport: i never was on a team or anything but my mom encouraged me to sign up for baseball when i was younger because i had a really good arm  where is question 54 ajsbfjkasfnjk what the 55. Vacation: ive been to chicago a few times for a family vacation and once i went to a hotel in milwaukee  56. Pair of trainers: do i?? own trainers??? i own one pair of sneakers nd theyre actually defective 

MORE GENERAL: 57. Eating: dad just brought pizza home  58. Drinking: water 59. I’m about to: eat and then finish this 61. Waiting for: myself to finish this last batch of questions 62. Want: to finish my autobiography 63. Get married: ehhh maybe one day  64. Career: not sure..... i can only seem to think of cons for jobs id be interested in and never the pros. 

WHICH IS BETTER 65. Hugs or kisses: i rlly dont like being hugged like 87% of the time but i also dont rlly like being kissed like nywhere so lmaoo 66. Lips or eyes: eyes! ♡♡♡ 67. Shorter or taller: taller....  68. Older or younger: older 70. Nice arms or nice stomach: no preference 71. Sensitive or loud: no preference                                                            72. Hook up or relationship: relationship 73. Troublemaker or hesitant: no preference

HAVE YOU EVER: 74. Kissed a stranger: no 75. Drank hard liquor: no 76. Lost glasses/contact lenses: no 77. Turned someone down: yes 78. Sex on the first date: no 79. Broken someone’s heart: yeah  80. Had your heart broken: not in a romantic way  81. Been arrested: no 82. Cried when someone died: yes, every time 83. Fallen for a friend: nope

DO YOU BELIEVE IN: 84. Yourself: not really 85. Miracles: yeah 86. Love at first sight: kind of? its complicated 87. Santa Claus: no ha ha  88. Kiss in the first date: maybe???  89. Angels: yes

OTHER: 90. Current best friends name: sammy ♡♡♡ my fkn queen shell never see this 91. Eye color: i have brown eyes  92. Favorite movie: Train to Busan, The Breakfast Club, Stand by Me, Zombieland, Hush, Alien, Schindler’s List, 28 Days/Weeks Later, Shaun of the Dead, DUFF, BGF, Mean Girls, Saving Private Ryan, Get Out, Ju:On, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Hacksaw Ridge, The Ring, others....

[toldnews-blog]

New Post has been published on https://toldnews.com/technology/entertainment/mini-vows-everyone-assumed-they-were-a-couple-except-them/

Mini-Vows: Everyone Assumed They Were a Couple, Except Them

Susannah Leigh Steele and David Anderson Weigel are to be married April 28 in Greenville, S.C. The Rev. Robert J. Reuss, an Episcopal priest, is to perform the ceremony, with the Rev. Patricia A. Reuss, also an Episcopal priest, taking part, at the chapel of Furman University.

The bride and groom, who met when she was a teacher and he a student at Furman, each also received a bachelor’s degree from the university. Both did graduate work at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro; she received a doctorate in piano performance and he received a master’s degree in vocal performance.

Ms. Steele, 38, is a pianist, who offers private lessons and also teaches early childhood music with the Musikgarten curriculum, all in Chicago.

She is a daughter of Barbara Pilloud Steele and Robert S. Steele Jr. of Oak Ridge, Tenn.

Mr. Weigel, 31, is an opera singer and a member of the ensemble in the program for young artists at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. He earned a professional artist certificate from the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute at the North Carolina School of the Arts, and in May, is to receive a doctoral degree in vocal performance from the University of Michigan.

He is a son of Jayne L. Anderson and Larry N. Weigel of Asheville, N.C. The groom and his parents are the trustees of the Eric Anderson Weigel Memorial Fund, which was established after the groom’s younger brother died in a kayaking accident in 2013.

The couple met in 2009 at Furman, though each remembers the time he approached her about the graduate program at U.N.C. Greensboro, which he was then considering for his master’s work, as the only personal conversation they had there.

It was several years later, after his brother had died and she had become a foster parent, that the two became close. They were both working at the Music Academy of North Carolina in Greensboro.

“She was by far my closest friend and the person I could rely up on for support,” he said.

“David and I were not dating — we had different relationships through that time,” the bride said. “But we spent so much time together, we looked like a family.”

After her first foster child went back to his biological family, Ms. Steele took in a toddler, whom they call Pip and whom she eventually adopted.

“He and David had a connection immediately,” she said. “As long as David was holding his hand, he was fine.”

When the groom left for Michigan, to complete his graduate studies, his relationship with Ms. Steele continued. The two watched television shows and “Game of Thrones” together on FaceTime, and his parents regularly visited Ms. Steele and Pip, whom they had grown to love. When Mr. Weigel had vacation, he would head back to visit.

Mr. Weigel and his parents went to the home of Ms. Steele’s parents to spend the Christmas holiday in 2017, and he said it was then that he realized his feelings for her and Pip ran deeper than he had previously acknowledged.

“They inspired me to be the man that I wanted to be, that I had been working toward, and that’s when I really fell in love with her,” he said. “I think it was very natural for us. It had been underneath for such a long time.”

But Ms. Steele didn’t recognize the shift in their relationship until Mr. Weigel asked her to move to Chicago with him in spring 2018. “I was shocked,” she said.

After he explained the evolution of his feelings, they kissed and immediately commenced acting like the couple that everyone had always assumed they were.

“I think I was sort of wanting that question but not admitting it to myself,” she said. “I’m more of the romantic, so I was not holding out, but I didn’t think he was interested. And it turns out he was! We just took for-EVER to get there.”

[mcmusiclessons]

McMusic Lessons & Performances provides classical guitar lessons for children and adults. Register for a trial music lesson before purchase without you is to continue on a pay-as-you-go basis or prepay for discounted rates. No payment information is required to register and there is no obligation to continue. Music lessons are provided in Palos Hills, Illinois with house call music lessons available to all surrounding locations. Online music lessons are provided to any location using Skype.

[the-record-columns]

October 31, 2018

A timely story worth retelling...

By KEN WELBORN

Record Publisher

As I have noted many times in this column, Lewis Grizzard (1946-1994), a southern humorist and writer, is my all-time hero of writers.

He could make you laugh, make you cry, or even make you mad. He wrote without fear of political correctness, of feminists, of Yankees, the Junior League of Atlanta, of editors -- of anyone. And he loved dogs. 

He was born in Fort Benning, Ga., to a school teacher mother and a war hero father, who fought in World War II and in Korea. 

It is his dad, Lewis McDonald Grizzard, Sr., who is on my mind today.

Lewis’ dad was captured while in Korea after practically his entire platoon was wiped out by the Chinese and, while in captivity, nearly froze to death. When he returned from Korea he was never quite the same, and struggled with an alcohol problem as long as he lived. In time his demons proved to be more than Lewis’ mother could stand and they divorced. From that time on, Lewis and his mother, Christine lived, in Moreland, Ga., with her parents until he left for his beloved University of Georgia as a young man. 

After his parents separated, Lewis’ visits with his father were erratic at best, but Lewis always looked forward to them.  He most especially enjoyed his trips with his dad across the border from Georgia to Jacksonville, Fla., to watch the baseball pros in spring training. These trips with his father and his father’s love of baseball affected Lewis all his life.  In fact, as many of you may already know, Lewis Grizzard began his journalism career as a sportswriter, at 23, being the sports editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and once even being the sports editor of The Chicago Sun-Times.  That job was a time of which he would refer to as his years of “captivity” in the frozen tundra of Chicago. 

It is one of those baseball trips with his father that I want to recount to you today.

The spring training games were an inexpensive form of entertainment for Lewis and his dad, a huge baseball fan. When he was about 10 years old, he and his dad were at a game, which was very sparsely attended — with only small huddles of fans in the stands.   

There was no marching band that day, and, when it came time for the playing of The Star Spangled Banner, our National Anthem, the song was played from a record in the press box through loud speakers mounted on poles around the ball field.

The folks in the group where Lewis and his father were seated all stood up, AS DID EVERYONE ELSE IN ATTENDANCE AT THE GAME. Lewis’ father took off his ball cap and held it over his heart as he sang the Star Spangled Banner along with the recorded version being played.  He sang well — loudly and with gusto — as Lewis would remember.

Shortly after, as the game was about to start, Lewis tugged at his daddy’s sleeve. His dad looked over at him and said, “Yes, son.”  Lewis began. “Dad, when you sang out loud like that along with the music a few minutes ago, it kind of embarrassed me.”

Lewis said his father looked down at him with something of a combination of sadness and disgust on his face and said, “Yes son, I know exactly how you feel.  I was embarrassed that you didn't.”

Lewis Grizzard said the look from his dad that day stayed with him the rest of his life.

Indeed, it is a timely story worth retelling.

Getting Past the Hurt

By LAURA WELBORN

As we learn about the Catholic Church’s extensive cover up of sexual abuse of others long lasting suffering from past trauma, I began to wonder what happens to people left in the wake of abuse?  

Richard Rohr, Center for Action and Contemplation says, “Trauma is the experience of being powerless to establish a boundary between our self and that which is about to inflict, or is already inflicting, serious harm. It is one of the most acute forms of suffering that a human being can know.”

I found the writings of James Finley an inspiring guide to dealing with the suffering and trauma that life can inflict:

“We are encouraged not to lose heart when we are passing through our own hardships, but rather to have faith in knowing and trusting that no matter what might be happening and no matter how painful it might be, we are sustained in ways we cannot understand. We learn that being patiently transformed in this dark place we come to discover we are being sustained by God and will find a way to peace within ourselves.  

We can learn to sink the taproot of our heart into that invincible love and draw out from it resources of courage, patience, and tenderness to touch the hurting places with love, so they might dissolve in love until only love is left.

Our practice is to become present to that infinite flow of compassion and love and bring it to bear in a tender-hearted and sincere manner in our very presence to the painful situation. We do this knowing that God is sustaining and guiding us all in unexplainable ways that are not dependent on how the painful situation might turn out.  James Finley with the Center for Action and Contemplation:

In the end you can only lead people as far as you have gone. Transformed people transform people. When you can be healed yourself and not just talk about healing, you are, as Henri Nouwen said, a “wounded healer.”  We start to heal when we learn how to be vulnerable and safe at the same time in the heartfelt presence of a trustworthy guide. I found the words of this song seemed to say it all:

I don’t know where to start.

Or how to bare this heart.

But I fear I’ve become what’s been done to me.

Move slowly, move slowly,

move slowly into deep water.

You are safe with me,

no longer thrown out to sea.

Now it’s time to breathe.  

James Finley and Alana Levandoski, Sanctuary: Exploring the Healing Path

Laura Welborn, LCAS- counselor at Donlin Counseling Services.  www.donlincounseling.com

  The story of the Buddy Poppy

To the editor:

The Apple Festival Saturday October 6 enabled the Blue Ridge Mountain VFW Post 1142 to distribute several thousand “Buddy Poppies.”

Your question might be – What is a “Buddy Poppy?”

So, Little Chloe asked her mother, “Mommy, why did the nice man give us those little red flowers in the grocery store yesterday.”

“It’s a very interesting story, Chloe. Your great-great grandfather served in WWI and before then, in 1915, Col. John McCrae of the Canadian Forces wrote a lively poem titled, ‘In Flanders Field.’ The poppy later became a flower that was given for the benefit of children in devastated areas of Belgium and France.”

No definite organized distribution of poppies on a nationwide scare was conducted in American until 1921, when the France-American Children’s League distributes poppies ostensibly for the benefit of children in the devastated areas of France and Belgium.

Madam Guerin, who was recognized as “The Poppy Lady from France,” sought and received the cooperation of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. early in 1922 after the Franco-American Children’s League was dissolved. The VFW conducted a poppy campaign prior to Memorial Day 1922 using only poppies made in France. In the 1923 poppy campaign, due to the difficulty and delay in getting poppies from France, the VFW made use of the surplus of French poppies that were on hand and the balance was provided by a firm in New York City manufacturing artificial flowers.

In 1923, the VFW evolved the idea which resulted in the VFW “Buddy Poppy” fashioned by disabled and needy veterans who were paid for their work as a practical means of providing assistance for these veterans.

Today, VFW “Buddy Poppies” are assembled by disabled, needy, and aging veterans in VA hospitals, state veterans homes and domiciliaries across the country. The majority of the proceeds derived from each campaign conducted by VFW posts and their auxiliaries are retained locally to provide for veterans services and welfare. The minimal assessment (cost of Buddy Poppies) to VFW units provides compensation to the veterans who assemble the poppies, provides financial assistance in maintaining state and national veterans rehabilitation and service programs and partially supports the VFW National Home for Orphans and Windows of our nation’s veterans.

“So, you see Chloe, we are very thankful for each Buddy Poppy we are able to receive. We are so very proud that we are able to support our veterans and their families.”

“Thanks, Mommy, what a wonderful story. I will be very proud to wear my Buddy Poppy. I can sleep better now. Good night, I love you.”

 Buddy Poppies are not sold – Contributions are thankfully accepted

Comrade Walter S. McSwain, Jr.

VFW Post 1142

No Apartheid in Israel

By EARL COX

Special to The Record Recently a newspaper headlined an article titled, “U.S. Representative Accuses Israel of ‘Apartheid.’” That U.S. Representative is Betty McCollum, a Democrat congresswoman who hails from Minnesota. Though largely unknown in the U.S., Congresswoman McCollum is well known to Palestinian activists and Arab-Israeli Member of the Knesset (MK) Aida Suleiman, whom McCollum identified as a Palestinian in her speech to the United States Campaign for Palestinian Rights in her congressional district.  In this speech she pronounced Israel as being an apartheid state and for this false proclamation she is being hailed a hero on social media. An “apartheid state” is one in which there is an institutional system in place for segregating, discriminating and oppressing based largely on race.  Israel has no such system or policies.  In fact, Israel upholds equal rights for all.

Before vilifying President Trump and his administration in her speech, McCollum announced that she is expected by her constituency to be a voice of progressive values for human rights. Progressives are not known to be Israel friendly. Throughout her litany against the U.S. relationship with Israel, the congresswoman spoke frequently about Palestinian rights. Included in her array of alleged lack of freedom and justice for Palestinians, she raised the issue of Israel’s recently passed “Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People.”

Here are the facts of the Basic Law. It can easily be researched in any browser and is written in surprisingly simple language for all to read. In it there is nothing new about Israel as a Jewish nation and state. This has been tacitly understood since Israel’s independence in 1948. It just took seventy years to put it in writing. If anything is new, it would be Hebrew being the de facto state language which is not surprising and makes perfect sense for a Jewish nation-state. The law further reads that Arabic has a “special-status” and therefore not likely to be withdrawn from public signage which includes English, although this is not addressed in the Basic Law.

Congresswoman McCollum is free to vent and rant but Israel’s new Basic Law does not contain any language even remotely related to that of an apartheid state. It was McCollum who added to the law by speaking of segregation and discriminatory rights of minorities. Her argument is nonsense. There is no national agenda for segregation in Israel. Furthermore, her non-sequitur from Basic Law to apartheid is ludicrous. Israel’s citizenry consists of many nationalities who are not segregated but have equal rights just the same as Jewish Israelis. Israel being an apartheid state is a myth.

Furthermore, what do Palestinians have to do with Israel? The Palestinians live in the West Bank and Gaza as well as other areas and have the Palestinian Authority and Hamas as their governing bodies with their own laws and this is where true apartheid abounds. You won’t find one Jew or Christian freely living in the West Bank, Gaza or any area controlled by the Palestinian Authority or Hamas. Yes, Israel identifies itself as the nation state of the Jewish people but it welcomes others as well. Congresswoman McCollum should be careful how she uses incendiary and inciteful terms such as “apartheid” in relation to Israel. Falsely using the term or injudiciously juxtaposing Palestinian rights and freedoms with the nation-state of Israel while speaking to a group of highly polarized people serves only to promote anger, restlessness and violence.

In a world increasingly filled with western progressives, such defaming talk combined with a lack of historical perspective will indeed bring about change but it caters to a dumbed-down society. Those who embrace democracy and freedom know that free speech cannot be separated from responsible speech. Lies should never be repeated. Our elected officials have a duty and an obligation to always tell the truth even when the truth does not fit into their personal perspectives or agendas. 

[investmart007]

NEW YORK | The Latest: 'Once On This Island' wins musical revival Tony

New Post has been published on https://is.gd/PfT79M

NEW YORK | The Latest: 'Once On This Island' wins musical revival Tony

NEW YORK — The Latest on the Tony Awards (all times local):

10:35 p.m.

“Once On This Island” has been named the best musical revival Tony Award winner.

The 1990 musical with a Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty’s calypso-infused score unfolds as a group of storytellers — caught in the midst of an unrelenting storm — recount the tale of a Caribbean island country girl in love with an aristocrat.

The revival is made to resonate deeply for today’s audiences, who are all too familiar with the devastating impact hurricanes have on a community. Many of the characters play instruments made out of found objects, including trash bins, flexible piping and more.

It stars Lea Salonga, Phillip Boykin and newcomer Hailey Kilgore.

The revival beat out “My Fair Lady” and “Carousel.”

___

10:20 p.m.

A British revival of “Angels in America,” Tony Kushner’s monumental, two-part drama about AIDS, life and love during the 1980s, has won the Tony Award for best play revival.

The show is an astonishing kaleidoscopic seven hours with an assortment of characters that includes Roy Cohn, Ethel Rosenberg, a young man living with AIDS, his cowardly ex-lover, a Mormon housewife, the world’s oldest living Bolshevik and a high-flying winged creature.

The latest version stars Nathan Lane and Andrew Garfield, and it won the best revival Olivier Award. It is directed by Marianne Elliott, a veteran of “War Horse” and “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.”

It beat out “Three Tall Women,” ”The Iceman Cometh,” ”Lobby Hero” and “Travesties.”

Both Lane and Garfield won acting Tony Awards earlier Sunday.

___

10:10 p.m.

J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” franchise has cast its spell on Broadway, winning the best new play Tony Award.

The win for “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” adds to the franchise’s haul of seven bestselling books and eight blockbuster films.

The two-part play, which picks up 19 years from where Rowling’s last novel left off and portrays Potter and his friends as grown-ups, won nine Olivier Awards in London before coming to America and bewitching critics and audiences alike.

It beat out “The Children,” ”Farinelli and The King,” ”Junk” and “Latin History for Morons.”

___

9:50 p.m.

John Tiffany has won his second directing Tony Award for his work on the two-part play “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.”

Tiffany previously won a Tony for directing the musical “Once.” He also was nominated for the 2014 revival of “The Glass Menagerie.” Tiffany won the directing Olivier Award for “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.”

Tiffany was Associate Director of the National Theatre of Scotland from 2005 to 2012. Some of his other credits include “Black Watch” and “The Ambassador.”

He beat out Marianne Elliott, Joe Mantello, Patrick Marber and George C. Wolfe.

___

9:45 p.m.

David Cromer has won his first Tony Award for directing “The Band’s Visit.”

The musical is based on a 2007 Israeli film of the same name, has songs by David Yazbek and a sardonic story by Itamar Moses. It centers on members of an Egyptian police orchestra booked to play a concert at an Israeli city who accidentally end up in the wrong town.

Cromer directed the short-lived Neil Simon revival of “Brighton Beach Memoirs” in 2009 and the 2011 revival of John Guare’s “The House of Blue Leaves.” He drew acclaim for two productions at the off-Broadway Barrow Street Theatre — “Tribes” and “Our Town,” for which played the Stage Manager in addition to directing.

He grew up outside Chicago in Skokie, Illinois, and won a MacArthur “genius” grant in 2010. He taught acting and directing at Columbia College Chicago for 15 years and has often returned to the works of Tennessee Williams.

He beat out Michael Arden, Casey Nicholaw, Tina Landau and Bartlett Sher.

___

9:30 p.m.

Glenda Jackson has added to her impressive resume with a Tony Award for best actress in a play.

The 82-year-old British actress won her first Tony for playing a flinty woman facing the end of her life in the new revival of Edward Albee’s “Three Tall Women.”

Jackson has two Academy Awards, for 1970’s “Women in Love” and 1973’s “A Touch of Class, and credits in such films as “Sunday, Bloody Sunday,” ”Mary, Queen of Scots” and “Hedda.” She won two Emmys for starring in the television miniseries “Elizabeth R.”

She stepped back from acting in the early 1990s to enter politics and is famous for a 2013 speech she gave after the death of Margaret Thatcher, bitterly decrying the late prime minister.

She beat Condola Rashad, Lauren Ridloff and Amy Schumer.

___

9:15 p.m.

A heroic drama teacher who nurtured many of the young people demanding change following the February school shooting in Parkland, Florida, has been honored from the Tony Award stage.

Melody Herzfeld, the one-woman drama department at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, was cheered by the crowd at Radio City Music Hall.

Herzfeld saved 65 lives by barricading students into a small classroom closet on Valentine’s Day when police say a former student went on a school rampage, killing 17 people.

She then later encouraged many of her pupils to lead the nationwide movement for gun reform, including organizing the March For Our Lives demonstration and the charity single “Shine.”

Members of Herzfeld’s drama department then took the stage to sing “Seasons of Love” from “Rent.”

___

9 p.m.

Nathan Lane has won the Tony Award for best featured actor in a play for his role in “Angels in America.”

Laurie Metcalf won best featured actress in a play earlier Sunday for her role in Edward Albee’s “Three Tall Women.” It is Metcalf’s second Tony win — she won best actress last year for “A Doll’s House, Part 2.”

Lane’s win is the second of the evening for an “Angels in America” actor. Andrew Garfield won for best leading actor earlier in the evening.

___

8:10 p.m.

Andrew Garfield has won the Tony Award for best leading actor in a play for his work in “Angels in America,” Tony Kushner’s monumental drama about life and love during the 1980s.

Garfield plays a young gay man living with AIDS in the sprawling, seven-hour revival opposite Nathan Lane.

He previously was nominated for a featured role in “Death of a Salesman” opposite Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Garfield has been nominated for an Oscar for his work in “Hacksaw Ridge.” His other film work includes “The Social Network” in 2010 and the 2012 superhero film “The Amazing Spider-Man” and its 2014 sequel.

He beat out Tom Hollander, Jamie Parker, Mark Rylance and Denzel Washington.

___

8:05 p.m.

Tony Award co-hosts Josh Groban and Sara Bareilles have gotten the show started with a self-parodying duet on piano for all the losers out there — including them.

Neither Bareilles nor Groban have won a Grammy or a Tony despite selling millions of albums and appearing on Broadway in hit shows. They turned that into a playful song.

“Let’s not forget that 90 percent of us leave empty-handed tonight. So this is for the people who lose/Most of us have been in your shoes,” they sang in the upbeat opening number. “This one’s for the loser inside of you.”

The co-hosts then noted that such noted shows like “Hair” and “Into the Woods” didn’t win the best musical prize. Nor did “Waitress,” the show Bareilles wrote music for.

At the end of the song, the pair were joined by over a dozen members of the ensemble from each this year’s nominated musicals.

___

7:55 p.m.

Condola Rashad has a special reason to celebrate on the Tony Award red carpet Sunday. She also just closed her show, “Saint Joan.”

The actress says she has “a lot of emotions today.”  She likened it to the last day of school mixed with prom and graduation at the same time. She says: “It’s a celebration.”

The daughter of Phylicia Rashad and sportscaster Ahmad Rashad earned a best actress in a play nomination for playing Joan of Arc in the play by George Bernard Shaw, which ended its run with Sunday’s matinee. Her dad and sisters were her dates to the Tonys.

She says “it’s been a really great opportunity for us to come together.”

Rashad also earned a 2012 Tony nomination for “Stick Fly” and plays a district attorney on the Showtime series “Billions.”

___

7:45 p.m.

Broadway’s SpongeBob, Ethan Slater, has walked the red carpet with a ribbon supporting the American Civil Liberties Union pinned to one lapel.

He says the organization is “incredibly important to our country” when it comes to guarding civil liberties. He called his show “aligned with the values of the ACLU.”

How exactly? Well, in terms of diversity, for one.

The “SpongeBob SquarePants” musical includes Sandy the squirrel, a scapegoat for Bikini Bottom’s problems who is targeted for banishment.

Slater calls the story line “really relevant to the Muslim ban” in the United States and the way he says that “Muslim-Americans have been treated.”

___

7:25 p.m.

Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has no problem with nerves as he heads into the Tony Awards. His accolade to come once inside is all sewn up as an honorary tribute.

The musical theater legend says the feeling is wonderful: “I don’t have to worry about it.” He says all he has to do is “just go and get it.”

Webber says this season on Broadway is exciting, in particular amid musicals with many fine new writers. He also praised the night’s co-host, Sara Bareilles, for her work in the recently televised rock opera he co-created back in 1970, “Jesus Christ Superstar.”

Webber describes Bareilles as an “extraordinary actress,” especially through music.

___

6:50 p.m.

Andrew Garfield says the social message of “Angels in America” is a huge part of why he agreed to star as Pryor Walter.

The nominee says on the Tony red carpet that he doesn’t want to “tell a story unless it has the potential to change people.”

The British actor says the eight-hour play is as relevant today as it was 25 years ago, when Tony Kushner first staged it and won a Pulitzer Prize for his trouble.

Garfield says theater must be political and mirror the times we’re in. Otherwise, he says, “we’re wasting everyone’s time.”

___

6:20 p.m.

Josh Groban is promising “a really fun” Tony Awards.

Says the first-time co-host: “I feel really excited about the show we have ready for everybody tonight.” He says it’s been a fun season and he called co-host Sara Bareilles “brilliant.”

He says the chance to collaborate and bounce ideas off her has been “nothing less than a dream come true.”

He adds “We’re just going to go out and be ourselves.” Groban promises the show will be a combination of slick and two musical theater geeks being “total weirdos.”

For her part, Bareilles says she “just wants to stay present.” She added that her job is to make sure everyone else is having a good time, saying “that’s the goal — people pleasing.”

___

6:10 p.m.

Cynthia Erivo and Brian Tyree Henry say the theater is a perfect place to deal with social issues.

Says Henry, who is nominated for his work in “Lobby Hero”: “It’s happening right in front of your face.” He adds that something about the stage encourages tough issues to be worked on by strangers.

He says the cast and audience of a show go on a ride together and hopefully it creates a platform for discussion.

Erivo, winner of the best actress in a musical award for her work in “The Color Purple” in 2016, agreed: “People can see themselves live.” She says theater gives people a chance to express themselves freely.

John Leguizamo adds there are no “gatekeepers” in theater, which allows many points of view to emerge.

___

5:45 p.m.

“Frozen” songwriters Robert Lopez and his wife, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, walked the red carpet at the Tony Awards on Sunday for the first time as equal nominees.

Robert Lopez co-conceived and co-wrote the smash-hit musicals “Avenue Q” and “The Book of Mormon,” both earning him Tony Awards. “Frozen” marks Kristen Anderson-Lopez’s first nomination.

“I’m so proud of her,” her husband said. “She’s been here before as my plus-one.” His advice to her was “enjoy this thing.” It might be scary, but he calls it like a “prom.”

Anderson-Lopez acknowledged she was going to be nervous for the cast of “Frozen” and suspected that she would share their butterflies. Joked her husband: “She’ll be mouthing every word along with them.”

___

2:45 p.m.

The Tony Awards dress rehearsal — normally with few actual stars in attendance — got a shock of A-listers this year, including Tina Fey, Kelli O’Hara, Andrew Lloyd Webber, John Leguizamo, Tituss Burgess — and Bruce Springsteen.

The four-hour rehearsal at Radio City Music Hall allows producers to go through the show from start to finish before the Sunday telecast. Usually, stand-ins are used for Hollywood presenters, who prefer to hit the snooze button.

But the audience this time cheered loudly when Patti Lupone, Uzo Aduba, Ming-Na Wen, Melissa Benoist, Tatiana Maslany, Christopher Jackson, James Monroe Iglehart and Rachel Brosnahan showed up in the flesh.

The highlight was Springsteen, who walked onstage in a T-shirt and jeans, performed one song on the piano from his sold-out one-man show and departed to a standing ovation.

___

12:15 a.m.

The Tony Awards kick off on Sunday night with a pair of first-time hosts, no clear juggernaut like “Hamilton” to cheer for, but a likely assist by Bruce Springsteen.

Josh Groban and Sara Bareilles face their biggest audience yet and a careful political balancing act when they co-host the CBS telecast from the massive 6,000-seat Radio City Music Hall.

Getting buzz from appearing on the telecast can dictate a show’s future, both on Broadway and on tour. Broadway producers will be thankful this year that the telecast won’t compete with any NBA Finals or Stanley Cup playoff games.

__

By Associated Press

___

[visagesphotography]

Pictures: Pantagraph news Pictures of This year

DAVID PROEBER, THE PANTAGRAPH

May 25, 2017

Tyler Wilson of Bloomington place his weight into placing a U.S. flag on a veteran’s grave May 25, 2017 at East Lawn Memorial Gardens, Bloomington. He was among volunteers assisting members of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 454 place 1,000 flags at East Lawn at observance of Memorial Day. Tyler was helping his uncle, Randy Wilcox, a U.S. Air Force veteran, set the flags.

DAVID PROEBER, THE PANTAGRAPH

Jan 11, 2017

Protesters for and against Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan, D-Chicago, collect at the University of Illinois-Springfield where members of the 100th General Assembly were sworn in Jan. 11, 2017 at Sangamon Auditorium.

STEVE SMEDLEY, THE PANTAGRAPH

Jan 28, 2017

The Mattoon High School dance group plays during the Illinois High School Association’s Competitive Dance Competition held at U.S. Mobile Coliseum on Jan. 28, 2017.

DAVID PROEBER, PANTAGRAPH FILE PHOTO

Feb 3, 2017

Eli Exner, 14, brings a cap over the head of his brother, Evan, 1, even as they prepare to remain the night at their dad’s van through the Night in a Car homelessness awareness event on Feb. 3, 2017, outside Trinity Lutheran Church, 801 S. Madison St., Bloomington. The second Night at a Car was scheduled for overnight Feb. 2, 2018, to raise money for Home Sweet Home Ministries’ homeless shelter.

DAVID PROEBER, The Pantagraph

Feb 1, 2017

In the left, Bloomington Mayor Tari Renner, Imam Sheikh Abu Emad Al-Talla of Masjid Ibrahim and Normal Mayor Chris Koos raise their hands in unity during a rally on immigration Feb. 1, 2017 at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts.

DAVID PROEBER, THE PANTAGRAPH

Mar 7, 2017

Rivian Automotive CEO RJ Scaringe, centre, points out details of this new Rivian production facility to Gov. Bruce Rauner, left, along with State Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington, at a news conference March 7, 2017 at the plant, formerly used by Mitsubishi Motors North America. Normal Mayor Chris Koos is far right.

DAVID PROEBER, THE PANTAGRAPH

Apr 11, 2017

Normal Patrol Officer Joe Benner constituting an aggressive motorist moving toward Bloomington High School sophomore Yasimine Hamilton, 16, who was playing a patrol officer making a traffic stop through the Badge, also a Law Enforcement Expertise For the Community, April 11, 2017 at Illinois State University’s Horton Field House, Normal.   The free, public event was sponsored by local law enforcement along with the Minority and Police Partnership. Participating agencies included the Bloomington, Normal, Illinois State University and McLean County sheriff’s police departments as well as the McLean County state’s attorney’s office.

DAVID PROEBER, THE PANTAGRAPH

May 11, 2017

Larry Marxman’s wife, Jeri, allows him to shoot a back brace after a dawn of gardening at their home in rural Dawson. Larry stated his wife’s help was key to him being in a position to endure chronic pain and overcome a dependence on opioid-based painkillers.

DAVID PROEBER, THE PANTAGRAPH

May 12, 2017

Re-enactors portraying Union soldiers fire a volley through Civil War Daze on May 12, 2017 at Tri-Valley schools in Downs.   Almost 1,000 students from Central Illinois schools visited for the annual educational event.

Abraham Lincoln, depicted by Kevin Wood, walks down a flight of stairs July 15, 2017 at the McLean County Museum of History, Bloomington, during the Lincoln’s Festival on Route 66.   In the museum, visitors might dive deeper in the history of Lincoln and the way the 16th president was linked to that which became Route 66. Museum volunteers dished out facts and awards while kids created Lincoln sun catchers.

DAVID PROEBER, THE PANTAGRAPH

Jul 6, 2017

An Illinois State Police honor guard takes the body of fallen condition trooper Ryan Albin out of a funeral ceremony at Blue Ridge High School at Farmer City into his final resting spot at Bellflower Township Cemetery on July 6, 2017. Albin died June 28 following injuries suffered from a two-vehicle crash on westbound Interstate 74 at mile mark 155, only west of Farmer City.

DAVID PROEBER, THE PANTAGRAPH

Jul 18, 2017

A tearful Sarah Mellor turns to confer with the household of her husband, Mark, since she read a statement through her sentencing hearing July 18, 2017 at the Woodford County Courthouse, Eureka. The highly considered Bloomington High School teacher might serve up to eight years in prison for a knifing passing her defense asserted was unintended.

Cast members for the Miller Park Summer Theatre production “Once Upon A Mattress” collect on stage to their final rehearsal at the bandstand at Miller Park, Bloomington on July 26, 2017.   Originating at the Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department from the 1980s, the Miller Park Summer Theatre program offers an Chance for youth and adults to participate in an outdoor summer musical.

DAVID PROEBER, THE PANTAGRAPH

Jul 28, 2017

Dr. Melvin Hinton, leader of mental health and addiction agencies, clarifies the usage of desk chairs that allow patients to attend classroom sessions, even when they must be restrained, through a tour of some Behavioral Management Unit at Joliet on July 26, 2017.

DAVID PROEBER, THE PANTAGRAPH

Aug 4, 2017

Hannah Johnson, 11, also a part of this Wild Oats 4-H Club, shows her off “mop” Romo through the puppy costume judging at the McLean County Fair on Aug. 4, 2017 at the Interstate Center, Bloomington.

DAVID PROEBER, THE PANTAGRAPH

Aug 21, 2017

With no more than 1 set of special viewing glasses between these, Maurice Smith of Plainfield and Malea Holm of all Newman share a view of the solar panel Aug. 21, 2017 at Illinois State University. Pupils at basic schools and universities across Central Illinois appeared to the sky to split the once-in-a-lifetime adventure.  

Six-year-old Easton Kretschmer, right, describes what he has seen so far while his dad Stephen Kretschmer chooses a gander through the screening of this solar panel Aug. 21, 2017 at Heartland Community College in Normal.

DAVID PROEBER, THE PANTAGRAPH

Sep 14, 2017

Workers for River City Construction build steel girders as construction of the top floors of their enlarged McLean County Law and Justice Center progresses Sept. 14, 2017 in downtown Bloomington. The 79,817 square foot addition would provide room for 260 new Inmate Beds and join the present jail with a skywalk bridge.

Angie Atkins of Bloomington is infused with a kiss Sept. 9, 2017 as volunteers help give 110 dogs, originally from Houston-area shelters following Hurricane Harvey, a brand new chance at adoption from the Midwest. “I’ve always been an animal person and I really like helping puppies,” Atkins said. “It is important to help them if they can’t help themselves”

Traditional Fire Chief Mick Humer, centre, celebrates after dividing a fire hose to resemble a ribbon cutting edge, through an open house to the division’s new headquarters fire station at 606 S. Main St. on Oct. 28, 2017. Joining Humer isalso, from left, Congressman Darin LaHood, State Sen. Jason Barickman, State Rep. Dan Brady and Normal City Council member Jeff Fritzen.   Almost 150 people attended the dedication ceremony for the $4 million, also 25,000-square-foot station, with a training room that can hold 100 people, a state-of-the-art living room, a rooftop place overlooking Main Streetplus a whole industrial kitchen plus a small theater space. “It is not only a major garage with an office attached,” explained Humer. It is our residence.”

Noah Beaty, 7, of Bloomington gathers slushy snow off the trunk of his family’s van since they obtained their Thanksgiving meal components during the very first day of their annual Give Thanks distribution Nov. 18, 2017 inside the Midwest Food Bank, 2031 Warehouse Road, Normal.   Officials anticipated to hand out 2,000 meal boxes during the distribution, feeding 10,000 people.   Things and capital to help to meet the boxes were donated by the community since October.

DAVID PROEBER, THE PANTAGRAPH

Nov 27, 2017

Workers stack new cells for the expansion of the prison in the Law and Justice Center Nov. 27, 2017 in downtown Bloomington. The self-healing cells contain wiring and plumbing and are set up as modules.

DAVID PROEBER, THE PANTAGRAPH

Dec 6, 2017

Olaya Landa-Vialard, assistant professor of reduced vision and blindness at Illinois State University, holds up a signal among roughly 150 students who assembled Dec. 6, 2017 on Schroeder Plaza at the Normal campus to protest pending tax reform legislation which might have taxed pupil’s tuition waivers. In the end, the students won as the proposal has been scrapped in final legislation.

Despite sporting a Grinch-style face paint design, Elaina Lancaster, 6, of Bloomington has been still in a fantastic mood as she takes aim at the basket during a disc golf game during the 35th annual Children’s Christmas Party for Unemployed lands on Dec. 16, 2017 at Bloomington High School.   Over 350 children turned out for the action-packed party, which was sponsored by the McLean County Chamber of Commerce along with the Bloomington and Normal Trades and Labor Assembly.

DAVID PROEBER, THE PANTAGRAPH

Dec 25, 2017

Normal Community West High School junior Konnor Halsey, 16, writes music on his laptop when sitting in his favorite corner of the college’s music space.   “There are him there for three to four hours every day,” explained Lisa Preston, a Normal West group director. Halsey composed “Happy Madness,” an award winning article for woodwinds, horns and percussion, that will be performed at Carnegie Hall in nyc.

Of 25

from visagesphotography.co.uk fat burners for women that work http://www.visagesphotography.co.uk/pictures-pantagraph-news-pictures-of-this-year/