Sunday, July 7, 2024
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Author: David Henley

Flyover-Chicago-at-Navy-Pier
ArtsSpring 2024

Chicago Flyover is an Amazing Navy Pier’s Experience You Won’t Want to Pass On

David Henley

Just imagine soaring over Chicago’s stunning skyline, from the heights of the sprawling skyscrapers above Michigan Avenue down through the streets of the city’s expansive neighborhoods. Imagine being able to scale the city’s enormous footprint and at once zoom down through the open doors of one of it’s most iconic venues, zipping in and out of corridors and walkways, spying a concert performance at stage level just before dashing up to the balcony and out the doors again, skimming across Lake Michigan just inches from its surface. This kind of first-person, birds-eye-view of Chicago has never before been possible, at least for those of us without wings.

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June-Squibb-and-Fred-Hechinger-in-Josh-Margolin-Film-Thelma
FilmSpring 2024Sundance

Josh Margolin’s “Thelma” is the Hard-Driving Action Film We Never Knew We Needed

David Henley , 

As action movies go, we Americans like ours high octane, with pyrotechnics-a-plenty and full of young Hollywood stars to get the blood pumping and juices flowing. This winter at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, writer/director Josh Margolin unveiled an action thriller that breaks all those rules yet gets us to a satisfying finish, all the same.

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Jay-Will-in-the-Titular-Role-as-Rob-Peace
FilmSundance

Chiwetel Ejiofor’s “Rob Peace” Avoids the Heavy Hand of Cliché, Yet Still Misses the Delicate Balance the Film’s Subject Deserved

David Henley , 

The thing you have to know about storytelling is perspective makes all the difference. One vantage point can tell a completely different story from another. So when telling the true story of a real life character, it’s important to get it right. But what’s the right perspective when it comes to exploring the complicated life of a brilliant, young African American scholar whose heart clearly lies in the troubled, depressed Orange, New Jersey community from which he emerged?

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Sundance-Film-Festival-Marquee
FilmSpring 2024Sundance

Sundance Film Festival Kicks Off its 40th Anniversary Edition

David Henley

The Sundance Film Festival kicked off its 40th anniversary celebration on Wednesday, January 18th with a riveting Q&A tapping into the insights of Sundance leadership. The event was, moderated by film producer Jason Blum, CEO & founder of Blumhouse Studios, and Sundance Institute Board Trustee. With 40 years in its rear window, the festival celebrates several notable achievements that have catapulted it to what is arguably one of the most prestigious forums for the creation of film on the planet. 

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Chicago-Opera-Theater-General-Director-Ashley-Magnus
Classical MusicMusic

Chicago Opera Theater Launches Search to Replace General Director Ashley Magnus

David Henley

The Board of Directors of Chicago Opera Theater (COT), Chicago’s foremost producer of contemporary and re-imagined opera, announced recently that it will launch a national search to replace Ashley Magnus, Stefan Edlis and Gael Neeson General Director, who departed the company effective Friday, March 3, 2023.  Magnus leaves the Chicago area to unite her family in Southwest Michigan, where she and her husband opened the River Trade Brewing Company in Constantine, MI. She has served Chicago Opera Theater for 7 ½ years, including as General Director since January 2019.  Chicago Opera Theater Director of Development Meaghan Stainback Smallwood has been named the Interim General Director.

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door-county-wisconsin
ArtsAutumn 2022Travel

Travel & Culture: Exploring Door County

David Henley

Amidst an uncharacteristically frosty Chicago fall, and a bustling holiday cultural calendar that proffers more familiar fair than not, one might be forgiven if the mind wanders to less acquainted shores. In fact, a brief getaway is often the answer to what ails this time of year. But who wants the kind of anguish holiday season air travel can inflict? And, truthfully, a staycation simply defeats the purpose. For harried Chicagoans looking for a quick restorative escape, a fresh dose of culture, cuisine and amiable hospitality rests comfortably a short drive north of the Illinois border. It’s scenic, placid and secluded—just enough to be recuperative. It’s a community inspired with artistry and ingenuity, and it’s a haven for foodies across the strata of culinary appreciation. It’s Door County, Wisconsin, and it just may be the ticket you need this fall.

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