NEW YORK — Playwright Paula Vogel has written a deeply personal play about life with one’s mother, and her late mom, Phyllis Rita, would surely have been delighted to have her Broadway appearance played by no less than Jessica Lange, an actress fully capable of turning her into a boozy but sympathetic hybrid of Mama Rose in “Gypsy,” Joan Crawford in “Mommie Dearest” and Tennessee Williams’ Amanda Wingfield. Like Amanda in “The Glass Menagerie,” Phyllis has been abandoned by a man and is mostly disappointed in her children, in this case because they are both growing up gay. As a single mother o ..read more

NEW YORK — “The Great Gatsby: A New Musical” still is what many people think of when they ponder a big Broadway night out: A familiar yet glamorous title from the Jazz Age; a star tenor like Jeremy Jordan; lush, string-heavy orchestrations; songs of passion, obsession and resolve, and a massive art deco set from Paul Tate dePoo III cascading off the stage of the Broadway Theatre, which has decor to match. Those old-fashioned components might be enough for this title (now helpfully in the public domain) to find a warm-weather audience. There’s an unceasing public appetite for the characters in ..read more

The Chicago Bears drafted a wide receiver to pair with their new quarterback with the ninth pick Thursday night. After selecting USC quarterback Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick, Bears general manager Ryan Poles chose Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze at No. 9. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Odunze had 92 catches for an FBS-best 1,640 yards and 13 touchdowns in an All-America senior season in 2023. Over a four-year career, he had 214 catches for 3,272 yards with 24 touchdowns. He joins a wide receivers room that includes DJ Moore and Keenan Allen. Williams held a throwing session in Los Angeles ..read more

Gov. J.B. Pritzker used the release of a report on Black homelessness in Illinois to press the case for his proposal to increase funding on efforts to address the issue in next year’s budget by $50 million, which would go toward additional rental assistance, legal aid and new programs. The report, a collaboration between the state’s Office to Prevent and End Homelessness and the University of Illinois Chicago’s Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy, found that Black people are about eight times as likely as white people to experience homelessness in Illinois. The report include ..read more

Chicago Bears history is intertwined with so much that is great about the tapestry of professional football. The evolution of the middle linebacker position can be traced back more than seven decades through some of the greatest to play it: from Bill George to Dick Butkus to Mike Singletary to Brian Urlacher. Three of the game’s most electric running backs — Walter Payton, Gale Sayers and Red Grange — starred for the organization. Owner George Halas had his fingerprints on much of what helped the NFL develop in its formative stages. One of his final acts was hiring Mike Ditka as Bears coach in ..read more

DETROIT — It’s official: Caleb Williams is a Chicago Bear as the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft. Football’s worst-kept secret became public a few minutes after 7 p.m. CDT Thursday when the Bears, from their draft room at team headquarters in Lake Forest, sent an electronic message to Hart Plaza 326 miles away. Once that alert was received and the decision transcribed onto a card that was handed to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Williams’ long-awaited moment arrived. The goal he set at age 10 of becoming the top pick in the draft was realized. And Bears fans’ recurring dream of finding a franchis ..read more

“Where’s the phenom?” coach Willie Harris yelled outside the Chicago Cubs clubhouse Thursday morning. Moments later, Pete Crow-Armstrong appeared from out of the blue and followed Harris down the tunnel toward the cages. One of the most touted Cubs prospects in a room increasingly full of them, Crow-Armstrong went hitless in 14 at-bats last season after his Sept. 11 debut, then struck out in his first two plate appearances Thursday against Houston Astros legend Justin Verlander, making it 0-for-16. But 7½ months after that heralded debut, Crow-Armstrong made his first major-league hit a memora ..read more

The ex-publisher of the National Enquirer tabloid testified during former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial Thursday that in the run-up to Rahm Emanuel’s first run for Chicago mayor, the publisher helped quash a story about an alleged affair Emanuel had. David Pecker, who has had a long relationship with Emanuel and has contributed tens of thousands of dollars to his political campaigns over the years, testified he paid $20,000 for a story about an alleged Emanuel affair before Emanuel’s Chicago mayoral campaign kicked off in 2010, according to testimony reported by Politico. The Enqui ..read more

Photos from the Chicago Cubs’ 3-1 victory against the Houston Astros on Thursday at Wrigley Field. Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong drops the bat after connecting on a two-run home run against the Astros in the sixth inning on April 25, 2024, at Wrigley Field. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong celebrates a two-run home run against the Astros in the sixth inning on April 25, 2024, at Wrigley Field. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune) Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong celebrates a two-run home run against the Astros in the sixth inning on Thursday, Ap ..read more

The Palestinian fighter group Hamas has said for more than 15 years that it could accept a two-state compromise with Israel — at least, a temporary one. But Hamas has also refused to say that it would recognize Israel or renounce its armed fight against it. For Israel and many others, especially in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that spurred the latest war in Gaza, that’s proof that Hamas is still irrevocably bent on destroying Israel. The United States and European countries have joined Israel in shunning the group they have labeled a terrorist organization. For some observers, Hamas has si ..read more