Free Republic

The Manhattan DA’s office won’t press charges against one of the motorcycle thugs who allegedly terrorized and beat a man after a wild chase on the West Side Highway, and is reluctant to prosecute another, sources said Wednesday. Allen Edwards, 43, of Queens, who allegedly smashed Alexian Lien’s rear driver’s side window with his fist, surrendered to cops Tuesday morning but will not be charged, the sources said.

More than 50 years after the musical “West Side Story” had its original Broadway premiere, it is set to return in February in a darker, grittier, bilingual revival, the show’s producers said on Wednesday. In an element that its director, Arthur Laurents, said would heighten the passion and authenticity of the show, much of the dialogue — both spoken and sung — will be in Spanish. “They will speak Spanish where they would naturally,” Mr. Laurents said in a telephone interview from his home in Quogue, N.Y., adding that supertitles would be used to aid the audience. “The scenes with...

There are two, regular participants on Fox News who are so predictable and strident in public lying to push their political issues that the instant they appear I now hit the channel change button. I won’t name them. I’m sure all readers have their own list of talking heads on TV who are so dishonest, so obnoxious, you have the same reaction to them – turn them off immediately. Last weekend saw “Spamalot!” on Broadway. Thinking about it afterward, I realized that lyrics from one of the greatest musicals ever, explained what is happening among the talking heads recruited from...

LOS ANGELES -- Robert Wise, who won four Oscars as producer and director of the classic 1960s musicals "West Side Story" and "The Sound of Music," has died. He was 91. Wise died Wednesday of heart failure after falling ill and being rushed to the University of California, Los Angeles, Medical Center, family friend and longtime entertainment agent Lawrence Mirisch told The Associated Press. Mirisch said Wise had appeared in good health when he celebrated his 91st birthday Saturday. Wise was nominated for seven Oscars, including the four he won, during a career that spanned more than 50 years. The...