My friend Liz Callaway sent me this email. I wept when I read it, wept more when I watched the video. Trust me (as you always do) on this . . .
Dear Alan:
After the horrific violence in Orlando earlier this month, the Broadway community got together and recorded a single of the beautiful Bacharach/David song “What the World We Needs Now is Love” to benefit the victims and their families. I am very proud to be a part of this recording along with Hamilton‘s Lin-Manuel Miranda, Idina Menzel, Audra McDonald, Bernadette Peters, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Sarah Bareilles, Carole King, Billy Porter, my sister Ann Hampton Callaway and so many more.
If you’d like to contribute, you can purchase the song on iTunes, gift it to your friends, or order hard copies and/or MP3s at www.broadwayrecords.com. 100% all of the proceeds will benefit the LGBT Community Center of Central Florida.
TV’s greatest newscaster? In honor of the home entertainment debut of the smart and satirical comedy Whiskey Tango Foxtrot starring Tina Fey as a broadcast journalist, the National Research Group (a Stagwell Company) conducted an online survey on behalf of Paramount Pictures among a nationally representative sample of U.S. residents to elicit opinions about female journalists who appear on broadcast and cable news programs.
Yes, sometimes long sentences need to be long.
Respondents, all of whom watch national broadcast or cable news at least once per week, chose Diane Sawyer as their favorite on-air reporter (yes!), followed closely by Barbara Walters, Katie Couric and Robin Roberts. All four were selected as top favorites regardless of respondents’ political party affiliation; however Republicans also chose Megyn Kelly as a favorite and Democrats added Lisa Ling. All respondents considered Sawyer, Walters, Couric and Roberts the most trustworthy.
Respondents’ top picks for “great interviewer” were Diane Sawyer and Barbara Walters. Those surveyed also described Walters, Sawyer, Lisa Ling, Rachel Maddow and Christiane Amanpour as “intelligent.”
The “classiest” broadcast journalists were Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric and Barbara Walters, while the “sassiest” was Megyn Kelly and the most “down to earth” was Robin Roberts.
Most often described as “brave” were Robin Roberts, Lisa Ling, Christiane Amanpour and Lara Logan. Respondents most often cited Megyn Kelly, Greta Van Susteren and Rachel Maddow as “opinionated.”
Based on real-life reporter Kim Barker’s revealing and funny memoir about covering the war beat in the Middle East, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is a sharp and savvy take on combat journalists as well as an illuminating story of self-discovery. The film follows Kim (Tina Fey) as she decides to shake things up by taking a dangerous assignment in Afghanistan.
There, in the midst of chaos, Kim discovers her true strength as she risks it all to find the next big story. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot has arrived on Digital HD and on Blu-ray Combo Pack. No, none of TV’s “winners” make an appearance.
The curtain continues to go up as Masterworks Broadway announces its Summer 2016 releases, including three classic albums from the archives:Sid and Marty Krofft’s Les Poupees de Paris – 1964 World Fair Recording, I’m Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road: Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording and Alice Through the Looking Glass–1966 Television Soundtrack Recording.Upon release, each title will beaccompanied by new album pages and photos on MasterworksBroadway.com.
Sid and Marty Krofft’s Les Poupees de Paris is the Grammy-nominated soundtrack from an elaborate puppet show performed on tour and at the 1964 World’s Fair. With the voices of Pearl Bailey, Milton Berle, Cyd Charisse, Annie Fargé, Gene Kelly, Liberace, Jayne Mansfield, Tony Martin, Phil Silvers, Loretta Young and Edie Adams, the score features music and lyrics by Sammy Cahn and James Van Heusen. Known for bringing a psychedelic sensibility to children’s TV with shows like The Banana Splits Adventure Hour, H.R. Pufnstuf and Land of the Lost, the Krofft’s got their start with similar puppet shows performed in nightclubs. Sammy Cahn and James Van Heusen, the multi award-winning Songwriter’s Hall of Fame duo, are known as the team behind some of Frank Sinatra’s most famous hits including “Come Fly with Me,” “Only the Lonely,” and “Come Dance with Me.” Sid and Marty Krofft’s Les Poupees de Paris will be officially released for the first time on CD in the U.S. July 8, with streaming and downloads available the same day.
Originally produced by Joseph Papp for the New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theater, I’m Getting My Act Together and Taking it on the Road, was a milestone in the integration of rock-and-roll and musical theater. It opened June 14, 1978 at the Public Theater and later moved to the Circle in the Square for a total of 1,165 performances, making it one of the most successful Off-Broadway musicals of all time. The book and lyrics are by Gretchen Cryer, who also starred as the lead character Heather Jones in the original production, with music by Nancy Ford. The show follows Jones as she puts together her new cabaret act featuring songs about her own empowerment (she’s just been through a bitter divorce), much to the dismay of her director who tries to convince her to go back to her old act. The show was nominated for Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Music and Outstanding Lyrics, and its cast album received a Grammy nomination. Recordings of Cryer and Ford’s Off-Broadway musicals Now Is the Time for All Good Men (1967) and The Last Sweet Days of Isaac (1970) are also available from Masterworks Broadway. I’m Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road: Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording will be released on August 8, with streaming and downloads available the same day.
In Alice Through The Looking Glass,Elsie Simmons and Moose Charlap set Lewis Carroll’s timeless classic to music for the NBC television special. First aired November 6, 1966, the star-studded production included Ricardo Montalban, Agnes Moorehead, Jack Palance, Jimmy Durante and the Smothers Brothers. The Television Soundtrack of Alice Through The Looking Glasswill be officially released for the first time on CD in the U.S. September 9, with streaming and downloads available the same day.
Not everyone deserves being called a “genius.” So we introduce you to The Man Who Knew Infinity. Dev Patel stars as Srinivasa Ramanujan, a self-taught Indian mathematics genius. In 1913, he traveled to Trinity College, Cambridge, where over the course of five years, he forged a bond with his mentor, the brilliant and eccentric professor, G.H. Hardy (played by Jeremy Irons), while fighting against prejudice to reveal his mathematic genius to the world. As the Chicago Sun-Times raved, the film “is not so much a film about understanding the numbers, but understanding the men who made us see their merit, and the passion that drives each of us to find the true meaning in our lives.”
The Man Who Knew Infinity arrives on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD August 23 from Paramount Home Media Distribution. The film will also be available for sale or rental from cable, satellite and telco providers through IFC Films.
A great film that adds up to a most entertaining adventure!
