Gee, we hope the Queen doesn’t show up on “Star” this way . . .
A star is born. Well at least not until December 14, when Star, a new series featuring original music and stunning music performances, set for a special premiere on FOX. Republic Records and Twentieth Century Fox Television have entereda partnership to present music from the show.
Created by Academy Award and Golden Globe nominee Lee Daniels, co-creator and executive producer of Empire, and Tom Donaghy, Star follows three talented singers–running from their pasts and desperate for a new start–with ambitions of stardom, as they navigate the cut-throat music business on their road to success. But reality soon dawns on the girls’ fantasies, and they start to learn that ambition often comes at a cost.
“Monte Lipman and his team at Republic Records continue to be at the forefront of what’s new and evolving in today’s current music scene,” says Daniels. “They know how to push boundaries and take risks–which is the essence of this new series and our group of girls. We’re looking forward to what is going to be a beautiful collaboration.”
Adds Mark Pearson, Executive Vice President, Brand Management and Digital, TCFTV: “Monte, Tom and everyone at Republic demonstrated a passion for STAR that impressed us all. They understood the show, they had a vision for what to do with our performers and they offered really innovative A&R and marketing ideas. Republic is the perfect musical partner for Lee and Tom’s inspired new series.”
So what the fuss? Meet Star (played by newcomer Jude Demorest), a tough-as-nails young woman, who came up in the foster care system and decides one day to take control of her destiny. Star tracks down her sister, Simone (second newcomer Brittany O’Grady), and her Instagrambestie, Alexandra (third newcomer Ryan Destiny), and together, the trio journeys to Atlanta with the hope of becoming music superstars.
Queen Latifah stars as Carlotta, a surrogate mother to the young crew; the series will also feature guest star Lenny Kravitz.
Once again, Masterworks Broadway has raised the curtain on a triumvirate of classic albums from the archives. Each CD is accompanied by new album pages and photos. Brava!
Claudia McNeill rehearsing “Simply Heaven,” May 19, 1958
Starring Claudia McNeil and Melvin Stewart, Simply Heavenly was written by Harlem renaissance poet Langston Hughes based on his novel “Simple Takes a Wife and Other Simple Stories.” With music by David Martin, Simply Heavenly was originally produced for the Off-Broadway 85th Street Playhouse. The show transferred to Broadway’s Playhouse Theatre on August 20, 1957, when fire violations forced the closure of the original venue. Hughes continually looked to the musical stage for success following the groundbreaking 1947 original production of Kurt Weill and Elmer Rice’s StreetScene for which he wrote lyrics. Set in Harlem of the ‘50s, Simply Heavenly follows Jess Simple as he tries to raise enough money for a divorce so he can marry his new love and eloquently captures the color, humor and poetry of that time and place.
McNeil had made her Broadway debut as a replacement cast member in the groundbreaking original Broadway production of Arthur Miller’s TheCrucible. She would later originate the role of Lena Younger in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun both on Broadway and in the feature film.
Based on Charles Dickens’ 1843 classic novella, A Christmas Carolwas presented annually at New York City’s Paramount Theatre in Madison Square Garden from 1994 through 2003.
Over its nine years, A Christmas Carol featured a slew of notable actors as “Scrooge” including F. Murray Abraham, Tim Curry, Tony Randall, Roddy McDowall (in his final role), Frank Langella, Tony Roberts, Jim Dale and Roger Daltrey.
The cast of “Spoon River Anthology”; Joyce Van Patten (left) and Betty Garrett (center) . . . their backs, at least!
Charles Aidman adapted and starred in Spoon River Anthology, a play with music based on Edgar Lee Masters’ renowned collection of short free-form poems. With music by Naomi Caryl Hirshhorn and Hal Lynch,Spoon River Anthologyweaves the epitaphs of the residents of fictional small town Spoon River into a chilling history of turn-of-the century America. Also starring Betty Garrett, Joyce Van Patten and Robert Elston, the show opened at the Booth Theatre on September 29, 1963 and ran for 111 performances. This original Broadway cast recording of Spoon River Anthology is making its CD debut.
We’ll make it fast. Wes D. Gehring makes it funny.
With his new book Movie Comedians of the 1950s: Defining a New Era of Big Screen Comedy (McFarland, $39.95), Gehring takes a detailed look at just how the ’50s were a transitional period for film comedians; for example, the artistic suppression of the McCarthy era and the advent of television often resulted in a dumbing down of motion pictures. Cartoonist-turned-director Frank Tashlin contributed funny, but cartoonish, effects through his work with Jerry Lewis and Bob Hope. A new vanguard of comedians appeared without the stock comic garb or make-up-fresh faces not easily pigeonholed as merely comedians, such as Tony Randall, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis. Some traditional comedians, like Charlie Chaplin, Red Skelton and Danny Kaye, continued their shtick, though with some evident tweaking.
The book provides insight into a misunderstood decade of film history with an examination of the “personality comedians.” The talents of Martin and Hope are reappraised and the “dumb blonde” stereotype, as applied to Judy Holliday and Marilyn Monroe, is deconstructed.
“Beyond a general revisionist look at 1950s film comedy, the goals of the work were to knock down Lewis’ perspective that Martin was just a straight man, to undercut the dumb blonde stereotype, and to examine game-changing TV, often via the neglected Frank Tashlin” says Gehring. “I really think I provided important new insight on Tashlin by reading his films through his children’s books.”
The underrated Holliday. Begin a new chapter in your film fandom and read about her genius.
Those born yesterday and the some who like it hot will enjoy the the introductions to the funny girls and boys.
We have always thought Julie Newmar to be the cat’s meow. Those of a certain age cherish her role as Stupifying Jones in the Broadway musical Lil’ Abner (it was a non-speaking role she would go on to reprise in the 1959 film). We still cherish her role as Swedish vixen Katrin Sveg in Broadway’s tasty The Marriage-Go-Round (1958). Three years later, she reprised that role for the big-screen. We could go on and on. Remember her May 1968 spread in Playboy? And then, of course, is the historic era when she donned the feline ears that would forever etch her name in fanboy history.
The 83-year-old Newmar gives voice to Catwoman in the all-new, feature length animated film Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders. It’s now available via Digital HD, and will be released on Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD on November 1.
Our pal at Warner Bros. Home Entertainment shared some wonderful inside info from the Catwoman herself . . . purr-fect bites from a purr-fect villian! We’ll give you a purr-fect present if you can name the other two actresses who played the villainess.
We have always been spreading the news that Tracy Brigden is a major force in Pittsburgh . . . and that City Theatre (of which TB is Artistic Director) is right next to her. We are now pleased that a new chapter joins their stages: City Theatre and Classic Lines Bookstore will be hosting Bryan Cranston in Conversation with Tracy Brigden. The afternoon with the acclaimed Emmy and Tony Award-winning actor (his portrayals of LBJ and Trumbo remain forever etched in our minds) is on November 20, beginning at 4 p.m. Expect he and she to have a conversation about art, his life and career.
Tickets for Bryan Cranston in Conversation with Tracy Brigden go on sale, October 31, at 10 a.m. and are $35. Each ticket includes a copy of Cranston’s autobiography A Life in Partssigned by the author. Seating is general admission. City Theatre season subscribers can save on per-ticket fees by calling the box office to order. Tickets can be purchased by calling 412-431-2489 or at CityTheatreCompany.org.
His memoir is riveting memoir. The actor traces his zigzag journey from his chaotic childhood to mega stardom by vividly revisiting the many parts he’s played, on camera (think astronaut, dentist, detective, candy bar spokesperson, President of the United States) and off (paperboy, farmhand, security guard, dating consultant, murder suspect, dock loader, son, brother, lover, husband, father).
Discussing his failures as few men do, describing his work as few actors can, Cranston has much to say about innate talent, its benefits, challenges and proper maintenance, but ultimately A Life in Parts is about the necessity and transformative power of hard work. Savor that during his preteen years, he encountered a young Charles Manson while riding a horse at the Spahn Ranch. (This happened about a year before the nightmare.)
Expect a Sunday with Bryan in the Theatre to be blessing . . and not because Cranston was ordained as a minister by the Universal Life Church, performing weddings at $150 a pop to help his income.
More information to remember: Classic Lines is an independent bookstore located at 5825 Forbes Avenue in Squirrel Hill. Owned by Dan Iddings, a former librarian, the bookstore welcomes readers of all ages, from babies to baby-boomers, with a selection of books that cross all borders, in a cozy, casual setting.
I remember spending Christmas one year with Dolly Parton, just in time for yet another Redbook cover story about the holidays. I wondered how someone who grew up so dirt-poor could be happy if the Jolly Fat Man never showed to Pigeon Forge? Dolly’s favorite present . . . the “corn cob dolls Mama made.”
Dolly Parton as Painted Lady (Photo by Quantrell Colbert/NBC)
This year, the 40DD-17-36 star “stars” in yet another Christmas special, one that went straight to DVD by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. The Big Names include Jennifer Nettles, Ricky Schroder and Gerald McRaney. Dolly introduces Dolly Parton’s Christmas of Many Colors – Circle of Love film and serves as narrator. The DVD, and also contains deleted scenes and three brand new featurettes including behind-the-scenes interviews. Dolly Parton’s Christmas of Many Colors – Circle of Love will premiere this holiday season on NBC.
We always knew Claire Danes was a work of art. Now she paints broader strokes by narrating ART 21: Art in the Twenty-First Century: Season 8, coming out on DVD on October 18. Get inspired by today’s most compelling artists and discover the stories, ideas and methods behind their work in the ART21 documentary series Art in the Twenty-First Century. This Peabody Award-winning series takes viewers behind the scenes into artists’ studios, homes, and communities to provide intimate access to their lives, creative processes and sources of inspiration.
Season 8 reveals how artists today simultaneously draw inspiration from and influence their immediate surroundings, while engaging far-flung communities from all over the world—Amsterdam, Aspen, Basel, Bloomfield Hills, Bregenz, Brussels, Chiapas, Cuernavaca, Denver, Detroit, Istanbul, La Porte, Lisbon, London, Milan, New York City, Okanagan, Pasadena, Philadelphia, Puebla, San Francisco, Sinaloa, and Toronto. Through their work, artists participate in global conversations about the pressing issues of our time: from terrorism to environmental crises to the struggle for civil rights.
Artists and cities featured on the DVD are listed below.
Chicago: Nick Cave, Theaster Gates, Barbara Kasten, Chris Ware
Los Angeles: Edgar Arceneaux, Liz Larner, Tala Madani, Diana Thater
Mexico City: Natalia Almada, Minerva Cuevas, Damián Ortega, Pedro Reyes
Vancouver: Stan Douglas, Brian Jungen, Liz Magor, Jeff Wall
As gifted author Anne Lamott has said: “You will lose someone you can’t live without,and your heart will be badly broken, and the bad news is that you never completely get over the loss of your beloved. But this is also the good news. They live forever in your broken heart that doesn’t seal back up. And you come through. It’s like having a broken leg that never heals perfectly—that still hurts when the weather gets cold, but you learn to dance with the limp.”
Loss causes intense feeling of being lost. The pain seems endless. The darkness seems to shroud the heart. Olivia Newton-John, Beth Nielsen Chapman and Amy Sky have teamed to lend vocal and songwriting talents to createLiv On, (UMe), a collaborative, newly recorded 11-song collection intended for those who wish to transcend loss while walking a journey toward new-found meaning and hope. This powerful new album, now available through all digital partners, emerges on CD on October 14.
This inspiring new project grew out of the trio’s personal experiences with loss and illness, which they all survived to Liv On and celebrate each day with a depth of gratitude. This labor of love stemmed from the trio sharing their stories together and expressing their deepest feelings from the most difficult to the most celebratory. It’s the hope that this music can uplift hearts burdened by grief while at the same time bring comfort to the listener.
“As a group, it’s our intention with this album to create songs with a message of compassion and hope,” says Newton-John. “They are for anyone facing a time of challenge in their life, whether it is grieving a loss—or on the journey to health and recovery.”
Liv On–means “to thrive, to have hope and to remember.” The message is clear in the lyrics of the album’s title song:
Live on, Live on Brighter skies will come again Cry the tears you cry And then live on, live on Love is all we leave when we are gone . . . Live on
Loss and grief occur for many reasons—whether it’s losing a loved one, a relationship, one’s health, a pet or a job. It’s important to remember that each person’s grief is as individual as his or her DNA—and there truly is no timeline for healing from loss.
With the fast-paced society we live in, we are often forced to “get over things.” However, for every individual, grief has its own clock. Olivia, Beth and Amy called upon their personal experiences in creating this collection of songs which will aid, uplift and comfort those working their way through the maze of grief and loss. While taking into consideration the many causes of grief, they hope to provide the unique ability for those in need of support to heal through this music.
With songs such as “Don’t Know What To Say,” “My Heart Goes Out to You,” “Immortality” and “Stone In My Pocket,” the lyrics express different phases of the delicate recovery process while validating the experience so the listener can heal once again and soar. In addition, each artist revisits songs that have brought love and light to many of their fans. The album includes new interpretations of “Grace and Gratitude” (Newton-John), “Sand and Water” (Nielsen Chapman) and “I Will Take Care of You” (Sky).
Why is this CD important? It’s estimated that approximately 76 million Americans and tens of millions more globally are set to enter into the end of life care continuum either as patients or caregivers. At no time in our country’s history have we seen such an unprecedented need for bereavement care.
Liv On harnesses the unique talents of these three internationally-recognized artists – and showcases the transforming power of music—to heal and shed light on the fact that it’s OK to grieve—and that the process is different for everyone. The message of Liv On is clear and affirming: the reason we grieve is because we love, and therein lies the strength for healing.
“We are honored to partner with the artists and mission of this project by contributing funds for creating a unique grief outreach and educational initiative to coordinate with this inspiring music,” says Paul VerHoeve, President of the Gentiva Hospice Foundation.
Directing the outreach and educational initiative is Dianne Gray of Hospice and Healthcare Communications. Gray explains, “It’s how we grieve that asks so much of us. We have choices to make as we venture forth. ‘Liv On,’ the music and the resources, will help people do just that—live on!”
When Star Trek debuted on September 8, 1966, the world was introduced to a number of alien concepts: Think hand-held communication devices, desktop computers, space shuttles, touch screens. Star Trek’s visionary creator Gene Roddenberry conceived of a world so unique that the series would go on to have a profound legacy in television history.
Smithsonian Channel offers a behind-the-scenes look with Building Star Trek, an original special coming to DVD by PBS Distribution on November 1. The show follows the conservation team from the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, led by Dr. Margaret Weitekamp, as they attempt to restore and conserve the original 11-foot, 250-pound model of the U.S.S. Enterprise from the original series. The program also tracks the progress of Brooks Peck, the charismatic curator of Seattle’s EMP Museum, as he attempts to rebuild a model of the original U.S.S. Enterprise’s bridge by using authentic set pieces and props.
The program also profiles a new generation of engineers and scientists who are making Star Trek’s visionary technology real, pushing the boundaries of physics with inventions first conceived on the iconic series: Warp drives, medical tricorders, cloaking devices and tractor beams. Proving that one TV show has truly gone where no man has gone before, the program showcases clips from the original series that highlight each scientific innovation as well as recent technologies inspired by the series, such as flip phones and touch screens.
Hmmm, as Kirk once wondered: “Is there anyone on this ship, who even remotely, looks like Satan?”
Too many TV stations air too many turkeys on Thanksgiving. Never PBS. After your day of thanks, give your local public television thanks for airing L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables.
This is the classic Lucy Maud Montgomery story that tells the tale of Anne Shirley, a precocious young girl taken from an orphanage and placed in the care of the uptight Marilla Cuthbert and her brother, Matthew. The conservative Marilla has a profound effect on the adventurous Anne and creates a journey of learning and personal engagement that has resonated with generations since L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables was first published in 1908. The book remains an iconic work of Canadian literature and has sold more than 50 million copies worldwide and been translated into 20 languages.
Directed by John Kent Harrison and based on the original script by Susan Coyne, this adaptation, filmed in Canada, stars critically acclaimedMartin Sheen, who portrays Matthew Cuthbert, one half of the brother-sister couple who care for Anne Shirley.
Some people Anne, and not Annie, is the most famous in the world. Whatever. Ella Ballentine stars as Anne in the two-hour, made-for-TV movie. “My mom read Anne of Green Gables to me when I was younger,” Ella recalls. “And every now and then the cartoon came on TV, so I saw little bits of that. Then I did an episode of Reign on the CW, and Megan Follows is on that. I didn’t have a scene with her, but my mom was telling me, ‘Oh, you know, she played Anne of Green Gables before.’ And I thought, ‘How cool is it to be Anne of Green Gables?’ So then when there was the audition for this, I got really excited.
Is there anything specific in today’s world that she would miss if she could go back in time to the late 1800s, when Anne of Green Gables is set?
Without an eye on an iPhone: “Modern hospitals,” she says.
Maybe she knows that we will remind you the PBS film is just that the doctor ordered? Can’t wait? PBS Distribution offers it on DVD on November 8.
We’ll give you a purr-fect present if you can name the other two actresses who played the villainess.
