Clips
Morton’s Restaurant Group Inc. reported record first-quarter revenue, swinging the company to a profit of $5 million or 29 cents per diluted share from a loss of $21.6 million or $1.57 per diluted share a year earlier. The company met analysts’ expectations.
Chicago-based Morton’s, a steakhouse chain with 75 locations in the U.S., Canada and Asia, reported revenues of $88.9 million for the quarter ended April 1, up from $83.1 million a year earlier, a 7 percent increase.
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Originally published April 25, 2007, Medill Reports.
Anixter International Inc. reported a 71 percent increase in first quarter profits on higher copper prices, acquisitions and favorable foreign exchange rates. First-quarter earnings soundly beat analysts’ expectation, and the stock rose 4.5 percent Tuesday.
Glenview-based Anixter, a leading global distributor of communications infrastructure products and industrial wire and cable, earned $53.6 million or $1.27 per diluted share in the first quarter ended March 30, compared with $31.3 million or 74 cents per diluted share for the year-earlier period.
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Originally published April 24, 2007, Medill Reports.
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Two versions of history lay claim to the creation of eggs benedict, that classic breakfast staple of poached eggs and Canadian bacon on a toasted English muffin, topped with hollandaise sauce. In one version, the dish dates back to the 1860s, when Mrs. LeGrand Benedict wanted something new for lunch at Delmonico's. In another, Lemuel Benedict, a Wall Street broker with a fierce hangover, custom-ordered the dish at the Waldorf Hotel in 1894, which so impressed the chef that he added it to the menu...
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Originally published April 4, 2007, Centerstage Chicago
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Those familiar with "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" Edward Albee's evisceration of self-delusion and marital co-dependency, might knowingly brace themselves as they settle in to watch the latest revival. But Anthony Page's production, which has brought the original Broadway stars to Chicago for a scant two weeks as part of a national tour, forgoes the usual endless screeching and emotional roiling audience members have endured in the 45 years since the play was first written. Instead, Page creates a subtler, leaner look at Albee's masterpiece, in which the intimate lacerations are quick but quiet. That is to say, the blows to the audience are a little softer, but the pain on stage goes no less deep...
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With a title like "The Sparrow," there are a half-dozen cutesy ways one could say House Theatre's latest production soars, but let's keep it clear and crisp: "The Sparrow" rocks, and if it's the one play you see this spring, you'll have no regrets. This refreshing, vivacious bit of homespun theater recently transferred its run from the Viaduct to the sparse, cozy space at the Steppenwolf Garage Theatre...
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Originally published March 30, 2007, Centerstage Chicago
In partnering with Milan-based marionette company Colla e Figli, the Chicago Shakespeare Theater has married two of the most classic components of theater: the text of Shakespeare's "Macbeth" with beautifully materialized and skillfully maneuvered marionettes. The result, "Marionette Macbeth," which opened in Chicago and will continue on to New York, is a visually powerful production but not without glitches...
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Originally published March 21, 2007, Centerstage Chicago
"Flyin' West," directed by Ron OJ Parson at the Court Theater, has all the components of a feel-good, feminist play about embracing one's identity and empowering oneself. There's the classic trio of fiercely dedicated sisters: gun-toting Sophie, sweet-faced Fannie and woefully vulnerable Minnie, as well as the mesmerizing matriarch, Miss Leah, and the balanced male perspectives, self-loathing mulatto Frank, and the easy-tempered and always honorable Will...
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Originally published March 19, 2007, Centerstage Chicago
In the first act of "The Wooden Breeks," the post-modern tragicomedy by Glen Berger currently playing at Lookingglass Theatre, it's hard not to let oneself get caught up in the Scottish banter and heath-strewn set. Toss in a kilt, a bit of mysticism and more than one limerick and you could almost mistake the play for Brigadoon—with less song and more sting, of course...
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Originally published February 12, 2007, Centerstage Chicago
Between living and working on the North Side and zipping down to the South Side to visit friends, I can go months without actually setting foot in the Loop. Good news if the thought of the financial district makes you itchy; bad news if you happen to love scoping out clusters of drop-dead gorgeous buildings...
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Originally published February 12, 2007, Centerstage Chicago
If you're getting a tax refund this year, odds are strong that your mind is still spinning with 1040s and W-2s. So the thought of dealing with more money management is less than appealing. You've earned a fancy dinner out (or a vacation or a flat-screen television), you tell yourself. After all, it's money that you weren't expecting. It's almost like it's a gift. Hold on, Daddy Warbucks...
Originally published April 22, 2007, Times of Northwest Indiana
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