Barbara Vitello
-
How Paramount’s shows, including boffo ‘Million Dollar Quartet,’ help boost Aurora’s economyJul 19, 2025 1:58 pm - Before Aurora’s Stolp Island Theatre opened a year ago, Paramount Theatre president and CEO Tim Rater predicted it would contribute more than $3 million to the economy annually. So far, the venue’s acclaimed production of “Million Dollar Quartet” has generated more than $2.5 million in ticket sales alone, which doesn’t include the impact the near daily sell-out performances have on the local economy.
-
Chicago man killed in I-94 crash in NorthbrookJul 18, 2025 3:44 pm - A fatal single-vehicle crash on Interstate 94 Wednesday morning killed a 60-year-old passenger.
-
‘Whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on’: Stolp Island’s ‘Million Dollar Quartet’ celebrates 1st anniversaryJul 18, 2025 11:14 am - Paramount Theatre wanted the best of the best for its open-end revival of “Million Dollar Quartet” and they got it, said Bill Scott Sheets, who plays Johnny Cash in oft-extended production, which runs at Aurora’s Stolp Island through January 2026.
-
Woman who performed unlicensed dental work in Schaumburg gets probation, home confinementJul 17, 2025 2:25 pm - A Rockford-area woman who pleaded guilty to illegally performing dental work at a Schaumburg practice was sentenced Wednesday to two years probation and three months home confinement.
-
Making the world better: Glenview native earns starring role in Kokandy’s premiere of ‘Amélie’Jul 15, 2025 3:50 pm - A longtime fan of Kokandy Productions, Glenview native Aurora Penepacker is finally making her debut with the theater company as the titular do-gooder determined to improve the lives of others in the regional premiere of “Amélie.”
-
‘Reopened wounds’: Fourteen years after murder conviction, Marni Yang returns to courtJul 14, 2025 4:18 pm - The lawyer for Marni Yang, convicted in the 2007 shooting death of Rhoni Reuter and her unborn child in Reuter’s Deerfield home, argues for a new trial citing DNA and other crime scene evidence which he says exonerates his client.
-
Spotlight: Metropolis revives epistolary love story ‘Dear Jack, Dear Louise’Jul 14, 2025 2:48 pm - The Metropolis Performing Arts Centre stages Ken Ludwig’s “Dear Jack, Dear Louise,” Chicago Shakespeare Theater premieres Lauren Gunderson’s new play “Billie Jean,” and long-form improvisers TJ Jagodowski and Dave Pasquesi return to Goodman Theatre.
-
Best Bets: Comedian shares his life’s stories, Cantigny fetes French cultureJul 14, 2025 12:48 pm - Comedian Steve Solomon shares his life stories in Skokie, Cantigny celebrates French culture in Wheaton and Chicago’s iO Theater welcomes sketch-comedy troupes from around the country.
-
Carpentersville, Huntley, Palatine among school districts receiving grants for new electric busesJul 11, 2025 6:06 pm - School districts in Cook, Kane, McHenry and other counties will receive grants totaling more than $13 million to pay for 46 new electric school buses, Gov. JB Pritzker announced Friday.
-
Musicians, mutts scheduled to perform at Schaumburg’s Prairie Center for the ArtsJul 11, 2025 4:13 pm - Tickets are on sale for fall performances — including concerts, holiday and family-friendly events — at Schaumburg’s Al Larson Prairie Center for the Arts.