Secluded stars: Jim Belushi hails 'The Blues Brothers;' Haley Reinhart honors dad

Jim Belushi recently took to Twitter to mark the 40th anniversary of "The Blues Brothers," the locally shot 1980 comedy classic that co-starred the former Wheaton resident's late brother, John.

"This movie meant to much to my family, happy 40th anniversary @dan_aykroyd & to Jake and Elwood. The mission continues!" Belushi tweeted.

Daddy-daughter duet

Wheeling native and former "American Idol" finalist Haley Reinhart paid tribute to her guitarist father, Harry, in a Father's Day Twitter post.

"I'll always follow your lead Dad, love you! #happyfathersday" the singer tweeted along with a childhood photo of Reinhart - microphone in hand - singing with her dad.

The Room Where it Happened

The filmed Broadway version of "Hamilton" will be available for streaming before Independence Day - fitting for Lin-Manuel Miranda's biographical musical about founding father Alexander Hamilton.

The Broadway cast was filmed at New York's Richard Rodgers Theatre back in June of 2016. And the hit musical will reach an even wider global audience once it starts streaming on Disney+ on Friday, July 3.

This gives Libertyville native Phillipa Soo a bigger chance to shine in her Tony Award-nominated performance as Eliza Hamilton. The recently released online "Hamilton" trailer shows a quick glimpse of Soo.

Broadway in Quarantine

No one knows exactly when it will be safe again for live theater to resume amid the coronavirus. In the meantime, The New York Times recently reached out to quarantining theater artists for interviews and to sing in a new series called "Opening Night: Exploring Broadway As It Was, Is and Will Be."

It's bittersweet to see former Barrington resident and Tony Award-winner Katrina Lenk as the leading lady Bobbi in a remotely produced "Company" opening number. A revival of the classic 1970 musical by Stephen Sondheim was to have opened on the venerable composer/lyricist's 90th birthday on Sunday, March 22.