The Life of Reilly, an adaptation of the late Charles Nelson Reilly’s one-man stage show, is finally screening in Chicago. After making the rounds on the film festival circuit, a limited theatrical release run began last November, hitting Austin, New York City and Washington D.C., and eliciting very positive reviews along the way. Directors Barry Poltermann and Frank Anderson championed the idea for the movie, convinced Reilly to perform his retired stage act a final......

Since the 1986 release of his debut album Guitar Town, Chicago has long been home to one of Steve Earle's strongest fan bases. He's such a gifted songwriter that fans often overlook the fact that he's essentially made the same record since 1996, right down to the obligatory duet with a female singer, "state of my life" liner notes and beautiful artwork by his good friend, the local artist and noted unemployed film-goer Tony Fitzpatrick.......

The listed events were chosen by the editors of Chicagoist and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla. Theater Tonight is the premiere for Lincoln Square Theatre's production of Ray Bradbury's "Martian Chronicles." Adapted from Bradbury's seminal 1950 novel, the play tells of the tensions between native aboriginal Martians and new colonists fleeing a troubled Earth as an allegory for Old World colonialism. Bradbury was inspired to write his novel equally by Steinbeck's......

Chicagoist has a list of places to visit and experiences we'd like to have before we die. We've hopefully got a few decades left to keep checking these items off, but some are certainly a bit more improbable than others -- like our dream of owning and living in a Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece. The Arthur Heurtley house -- just down the street from Wright's own home and studio in suburban Oak Park --......

We’ve read (and cried through) her diary and now we get a glimpse into her family photo album. “Anne Frank: A Photo Album” is on display at Ela Area Public Library in Lake Zurich. Funded from a state grant and brought in from the Anne Frank Center in New York, the exhibit features over 70 black and white photos taken by Anne’s father, Otto Frank, who was a talented amateur photographer. The exhibit chronicles......

McDonald's is giving away free McSkillet Burritos today and tomorrow, which elicited responses from Yumsugar readers ranging from "Yuck! No way." to "Do they come with chorizo?" We say "eat at your own risk." Who knew Dolly Parton had a fucking cookbook? Proceeds from sales of Dolly's Dixie Fixins support her Dollywood Foundation's Imagination Library, which distributes free books to preschoolers in 43 states and Canada. Parton told Dave Hoekstra, "These are recipes of......

Photo by Deltaspy The Sun-Times takes a look at "elimination communication," a technique some parents are using to toilet train their very young children. Perhaps you read about it. In the New York Times. In 2005. [S-T, NYT.] Police are investigating the human remains discovered in Downers Grove but so far can't establish age, race, or how long ago the man died. [Trib] Alinea won Restaurants & Institutions magazine’s Ivy Award, which is a......

Cubs third baseman Aramis Remirez finally arrived at Spring Training on Tuesday, but when asked by reporters what he did on his winter vacation, he refused to answer. In fact, he wouldn't even allow for the reporter to finish asking the question. Of course, we all know what he was up to back home this off-season. Last week, the New York Times profiled cockfighting and its popularity in a land known for its prolific export......

This city is at no loss for South American steakhouses. From smaller, long-running establishments like Tango Sur to newer downtown concepts like Brazzaz, there's a choice for any taste. One of our favorites for ordering a sizzling plate of churrasco or some steaming and fluffy empanadas is the Six Corners location of Las Tablas. In fifteen years Jorge and Soraya Suarez have managed to take Las Tablas from a small storefront in North Center......

In just a few short weeks, Top Chef Chicago will hit the airwaves and we're counting down the days to the March 12 season premiere. In addition to placing the city's restaurant scene at the forefront of the series and the backdrop for the competition, there are three chefs with local ties competing for the title of "Top Chef." Chicago native Dale Talde is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and trained......

The New York Times Magazine ran an interesting interview yesterday with Frontera Grill's Rick Bayless, with accompanying photos taken at his Bucktown home. Bayless cops to not cooking Mexican at home, which makes sense since he's around it five days a week at Frontera and Topobolampo. Bayless also grows a substantial amount of the produce for Frontera - about $25,000 worth - in his backyard, which is in line with his localvore sensibilities. We couldn't......

The Spice Girls are in town tonight at the United Center for the Chicago stop of their reunion tour. Originally Chicago tour dates were scheduled for both the February 15 and the 16, but management moved Saturday’s show over to Detroit. Tickets are still available for tonight’s show. The tour schedule is already relentless, with the Spice Girls also hitting New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. this week. The demanding schedule and personal......

Had he moved to New York to seek his fame and fortune, Oscar Brown, Jr. would have been a superstar. Instead, the wildly talented singer, songwriter, poet, playwright, and activist stayed in Bronzeville, married, raised a family, and charted his own course. Anyone who had the honor of speaking with the man, however brief, left with a renewed sense of hope. Still, Mr. Brown's influence crossed lines of race and gender, and even musical style;......

New York magazine got their hands on a copy of this year's James Beard award ballots (check it out for yourself here) and as usual, our city's restaurants are well-represented. Lettuce Entertain You jefe Rich Melman is in the running for "Outstanding Restaurateur," while Grant Achatz and Everest's Jean Joho are in the running for "Outstanding Chef." Arun's is the only local restaurant nominated for the coveted "Outstanding Restaurant" category, and Sepia was nominated for......

Screw Valentine's Day...let's think of tomorrow as Palentine's Day instead. High fives and paper airplanes for everyone! Daley's plans to privatize Midway is forging ahead, with five of the seven carriers who fly into Midway agreeing to the proposal. [Crain's] Anthony Abbate may plead guilty to aggravated battery. [S-T] Illinois lawmakers have accepted $83,000 from tobacco companies in the four weeks before the primaries. Is there such a thing as "small" tobacco, or is it......

Happy Valentine's Day, Barack! Obama hasn't yet snagged the Democratic nomination. But already, like John Kerry before him, he's about to become the target of an "exposé film." As reported in the New York Times, the conservative group Citizens United has budgeted about $1 million to produce the film, which they plan to distribute this summer. The group and its president have previously released such creatively-titled valentines as Hillary, the Movie (a love song......

We're celebrating by making you a list of things that are awesome. What's the difference between MySpace blue, Facebook blue and Twitter blue? Better consult the Web 2.0 Colours of 2007. Can this really be the first half-goat, half-sheep? The SciTech Hands-On Museum in Aurora has a new director, 1999 genius grant winner Shawn Carlson. Carlson created the Labrats program to encourage and nurture kids' interest in science. Mr. Landocalrissian Butler led police in a......

Love him or hate him, you can't deny Kanye West has a certain flare. Proving himself to a more prolific blogger than Steve Johnson (and more entertaining, too), Kanye has dropped a few details about an upcoming tour. He'll be touring with fellow Chicago MC Lupe Fiasco, supporting his recently released (and excellent record The Cool), along with Rihanna, and Neptunes side project N.E.R.D. Whatever you think of Mr. West, that lineup is nothing to......

An unrelated mystery has been solved as police investigate the Tinley Park murders. A con woman, evading police for years, was apprehended this weekend because police tracked down the owners of the cars parked near the Lane Bryant, where the fugitive Esther Reed had left her car, which was registered under an assumed identity. Reed, aka Brooke Henson among other names, disappeared from Washington State in 1999, and over the next eight years went through......

Pantagrapher has it in the bag Surprise, surprise: Chicago will not be banning retail stores from distributing plastic bags anytime soon, but steps are being taken to institute a plastic bag recycling program. According to the Sun-Times, Alderman Ed Burke from the 14th Ward proposed a "San Francisco-style ban on non-compostable plastic bags" last May, but he was ultimately forced to compromise. Now, Burke is joining Economic Development Committee Chairman Marge Laurino from the......

Today's the big day. Along with 24 other states, we're voting in Super Duper Tuesday. Up for grabs are 1688 pledged Democratic delegates, and 900 Republican delegates. Delegate-heavy states such as California, New Jersey, New York, Illinois and Georgia could play a deciding role in the outcome of both races. But with polling showing a tight Democratic race, and Obama working overtime to split votes in odd-numbered districts, tonight's results won't produce a nominee for......

With the race for the Democratic nomination showdown just days away, and polls showing Obama closing in on Clinton in key Super Duper Tuesday states, the Obama campaign made a huge ad buy during the Super Bowl in the Super Tuesday states, including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Washington, (but,......

SFist worried over drugstore chain Walgreens celebration of Black History Month.Gothamist was surprised that apparently New York City is the fourth most miserable city in the country, after Detroit, Stockton, CA, and Flint, MI.Shanghaiist finds out what the Chinese think of Hilary and Obama.It was with a healthy amount of schadenfreude that Phillyist reported that former Eagle, and now Cowboy (ew), Terrell Owens owes the Eagles a significant wad of cash.Torontoist is two weeks......

Since 1940, two Major League Baseball teams have been honored each year with an invitation to play in the Hall of Fame Game -- an in-season exhibition game held in Cooperstown, New York. But because of the increasing complexity of fitting the "off day" game into teams' schedules, the 2008 game will be the final one. The Cubs -- who also played in that first 1940 game -- were chosen to play in the final......

The Gawker-affiliated travel site Gridskipper took a look at the local dining scene yesterday. Laura pointed out to us - and after reading the post we concur - that the tone of the post strikes the balance between "yeah, that's about right" and "this is why people in New York shouldn't write about Chicago." Seriously, they consider moto to be overrated, when we found it to be the most fun we've had in a restaurant......

Ira Glass wasn’t so popular with Chicagoans in 2006, when he announced that he would be moving production of This American Life from Chicago to New York. Showtime had approached Glass and his production staff with a television deal, but the budget just couldn’t work without a New York transplant, so the deal was sealed. Glass has publicly addressed this issue, saying “I’ve always said that because I end up working, like, 70 or 80......

The Adalberto United Methodist Church and its leader Reverend "Slim" Coleman have returned to the forefront of the immigration debate. You might remember them as the church who gave refuge for a year to Elvira Arellano, an illegal immigrant facing deportation for falsifying documents in order to secure employment at O'Hare. Arellano left the church last August and was subsequently arrested in Los Angeles and escorted to the Mexico border. Since Immigration and Customs......

Photograph of memorial outside Heath Ledger's NYC apartment Gothamist learned that actor Heath Ledger was found dead in his SoHo apartment, cause of death unknown so far (but apparently the masseuse who found him called Mary-Kate Olsen before 911).Bostonist considered sending a link about the Super Bowl, but damn! The New Kids are reuniting!Although Sylvester Stallone is a native of New York City, his Rocky character lets many Philadelphians consider him a native son......

It's been a hard week for Oprah. Seems some peeps are mad that Oprah signed Rabbi Shmuley Boteach (mouthful of a name) to her Oprah and Friends XM radio station. They're questioning how Oprah could sign someone who backs Giuliani when her support is so strong for Obama. Wah? This is why we don't wish for fame. Oh, and this reason: one of the other news stories this week is how Oprah is a......

First things first: If you haven't read about it elsewhere, Anthony Bourdain taped an appearance on Sound Opinions when he was in town in November. The episode airs this evening at 8 p.m. The Artisan Cellar in the Merchandise Mart is hosting an appearance by Evert Nijzink, head winemaker of Paritua winery, makers of Stone Paddock wines. The meet-and-greet runs from 3-6 this afternoon. ChicaGourmets and the local chapter of Les Dames d'Escoffier is......