Joe Piscopo's music, comedy shows at Woodstock Opera House to benefit veterans
Joe Piscopo is about to have a bit more in common with Bill Murray than SNL alum status, and members of the McHenry American Legion post can't wait. A Saturday Night Live cast member from 1980 to 1984 who also starred in 1980s films including "Johnny Dangerously," "Dead Heat," and "Wise Guys," Piscopo will perform stand-up comedy and music in two s...
Detroit Opera to present 'La Bohème' backward, giving audience totally new experience
The premise seems simple: take a beloved, classic opera and perform it backward. But the execution, it turns out, offers an entirely new experience. Detroit Opera on April 2, 6 and 10 will present Giacomo Puccini’s “La Bohème” as it’s never been seen before — beginning with the final scene and working backward, ending with the first scene. It’s a c...
Marco Micaletto is humbled to be Crew 2’s first-ever captain
With the introduction of Crew 2, the Columbus Crew’s reserve team playing in MLS’s brand-new MLS NEXT Pro league, there have been a lot of firsts. Corey Wray was announced as the team’s first General Manager. Frenchman, and former professional soccer player, Laurent Courtois as the team’s first head coach. Crew Academy product Aidan Wolf was signed...
Pop-opera superstar Pasquale Esposito
He was born in Naples, Italy, but has become a favorite son of Americans from all ethnic backgrounds. Pasquale Esposito is a pop-opera tenor, a PBS superstar, and a successful recording and touring artist. For more than two decades, he has kept the classic songs of Italy and the nation’s vocal icons relevant and exciting for today’s audiences. The...
Com.It.Es ready to roll up its sleeves
Longtime community activist Carlo Vaniglia has been elected president of Comitato per gli Italiani all’Estero (The Committee for Italians Living Abroad). Joining Vaniglia on Com.It.Es are Vice President Pietro Lorenzini; Secretary Cristina Gorizio; Treasurer Ivana Di Piero; executives Michelangelo Gianpaoli and Francesco DiMaggio; and members Stefa...
Between Elite Styles and Mass Appeal: The Nondescript Imperial Woman of the Roman High Empire
When: Thursday, April 14 at 6:00pm CT - Where: Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Chicago, 500 N Michigan Ave, Suite 1450, Chicago, IL - Entrance : Free The Roman imperial women of the High Empire (from the late first through mid-second centuries C.E.) recede from view in the ancient written sources. The emperors’ wives, mothers, sisters, and daughter...
Webinar: "A Walk into the Italian World: the Use of Current Events and Social Media in the Italian Class"
A webinar entitled "A walk into the Italian World: the Use of Current Events and Social Media in the Italian Class" will be held on March 26th, organized by the Consulate General of Italy in Chicago, in collaboration with the Consulate of Italy in Detroit and NOI Foundation Detroit. The session aims to give participating teachers practical ideas on...
Bentornato! A Taste of Italy returns after two-year pause
After being paused for two years due to Covid, the Italian Community Center's A Taste of Italy fundraiser returns for 2022. This longstanding tradition at the ICC, 631 E. Chicago Ave., takes place Sunday, May 1, from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. A Taste of Italy is run entirely by ICC volunteers. As always there will be a 50/50 raffle and musical entert...
Shooting Star: Hank Luisetti scored big, and changed the game.
On January 1, 1938, in a Cleveland gymnasium, Stanford forward Hank Luisetti did what no college basketball player had ever done. The box score from that game, simple and succinct, tells the story. Luisetti’s 23 field goals and four free throws against an overmatched Duquesne team made him the first 50-point scorer in history. Sixty-five years late...
CIAO of Lima members hope to reboot Italian cultural events
A local organization dedicated to celebrating and honoring the Italian-American community in Lima and surrounding counties hopes to reboot and restart activities after nearly two years of pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Charitable Italian American Organization of Lima — known to many around the region as CIAO of Lima — was founded decades a...
Local comic makes the most of his moment
Nick Smeriglio’s career has taken off since his TikTok impersonation of Sebastian Maniscalco blew up the internet in September 2020. Back then, he earned reviews from Maniscalco himself plus invaluable screen time when the fellow Arlington Heights native spotlighted Smeriglio’s video on the Jimmy Kimmel show. In October 2021, Smeriglio packed his b...
Cleveland Italian Ancestry Organization (CIAO) to Host Genealogy Webinar
Join the Cleveland Italian Ancestry Organization (CIAO) on Saturday, March 19, 2022 for a virtual, all-day session exploring different topics related to Italian genealogy. Whether you’re just starting out with your Italian family history research, or you’ve been doing it for years, you will learn something new from attending this webinar. National...