Here’s Bob Dylan’s Nobel speech:
Jimmy Buffet Musical “Escape to Margaritaville” Coming to Broadway Next March
Broadway news– we’re wasting away again in Margaritaville. Jimmy Buffet’s classic pop song is becoming a whole Broadway show. Expect a lot of parrots. And a great bar scene at the theater! No casting yet or too much other info except Chris Ashley, who did such a great job with “Come from Away,” will direct.
Here’s the release:
Producers Frank Marshall, Mindy Rich, Anita Waxman, and Beth Williams announced today that Escape to Margaritaville, the new musical featuring the songs of iconic singer-songwriter-author Jimmy Buffett, will begin previews at the Marquis Theatre (210 West 46th Street) on Friday, February 16, 2018, with the official Broadway Opening Night on Thursday, March 15. Tickets for Broadway and all pre-Broadway engagements begin pre-sales today. For more information, please visit www.EscapeToMargaritavilleMusical.com
“Well, going to Broadway is a dream come true, but to be coming to the Marquis is like having a great margarita with a tequila floater. If we are going to turn the island of Manhattan into Margaritaville, Times Square seems the perfect place to drop anchor after our voyage from La Jolla, New Orleans, Houston and Chicago,” said Jimmy Buffett. “I am grateful to all the wonderful people at all levels who participated in the hard work of turning a dream into reality. It’s going to be a tropical season in New York. Fins Up!!!!”
“We’ve had such a fantastic adventure at La Jolla Playhouse bringing this production – filled with Jimmy Buffett’s iconic music – to theatrical life, with such a terrific team of artists,” said director Christopher Ashley. “We’re in the midst of an amazing run here, and I’ve rarely seen such an enthusiastic response to a show. As a now official Parrot Head, I am overjoyed to continue the journey of Escape to Margaritaville across the country – and on to Broadway.”
Trump Issues Inappropriate Tweet Criticizing London Mayor for Statements After London Bridge Attack
Donald Trump has issued a bunch of hysterical (not funny, the insane kind) Tweets this morning. The worst of them is one criticizing London mayor Sadiq Khan for a statement he made after the London Bridge attacks. This is just my opinion– Trump would never dare say such things if the mayor were white. And not a member of the Muslim faith. Boris Johnson? Kenneth Livingstone? Trump would have rushed to kiss their sticky wickets.
This is simply unacceptable. Imagine the head of another country speaking out against an American mayor after a terrorist attack. Trump is the most embarrassing American who’s ever held an elected office– and that’s saying a lot.
In other news, Trump also declared his Travel Ban to be a “Travel Ban” in several messages. Previously, he denied it was a Travel Ban.
Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his "no reason to be alarmed" statement. MSM is working hard to sell it!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017
Oscar Winner Cuba Gooding Jr. Will Make Directing Debut with Sexy “Louisiana Caviar”
EXCLUSIVE The casting call for Cuba Gooding Jr.’s directorial debut calls for nudity, so let’s hope it’s a sexy movie and not dismemberment or something.
“Louisiana Caviar” is the title of the film, to be directed by Gooding and starring him and Famke Janssen. Shooting starts at the end of this month for four weeks in the humid state. Hilary Shor, Steve Straka, Peter Toumbekis and Anjul Nigam are producing.
The story: Gooding plays Rodney, a former boxing champ now a nightclub bouncer, who gets mixed up in a thriller involving a sex tape. The screenplay is by Eitan Gorlin and Owen Templeton.
It’s about time Cuba made his directing debut. And now he’s got time as he waits to start Ryan Murphy’s “American Horror Story” about Hurricane Katrina.
After Ariana Grande’s Beautiful Manchester Concert, Oasis’s Liam Gallagher Attacks Brother on Twitter
Wasn’t Ariana Grande’s Manchester concert filled with love? You bet. Except for Manchester’s own Liam Gallagher, half of the warring brothers from Oasis. There was some speculation that the Manchester tragedy would ignite an Oasis reunion between Liam and Noel. No such luck. Liam appeared with Chris Martin of Coldplay. Noel was nowhere to be found. And now thanks to Twitter we know how Liam felt about that. At least he’s consistent in his hatred of his brother. Oasis’s last actual hit was in 1996. PS Back then I actually witnessed these two brawling on the stage. They stopped a show. Good times!
“Twin Peaks” Reveals that Don Murray (Age 87) Is Still Alive and Tom Sizemore Isn’t in Jail
“Twin Peaks: The Return” episode 5 was obtuse and unforgiving, just the like the four previous hours. The show has no plot or purpose. I think I’m done now.
I think what’s really interesting is that there are no opening actor credits. This reflects that there is no structure to this thing. It’s just a free for fall. Occasionally we get cameos from old cast members, but they’re meaningless.
Yes, you could make a list of oddities and questions left hanging, but what’s the purpose?
This week’s episode did answer two burning questions. One– is Don Murray alive? Yes. The celebrated theater actor, star of “Knots Landing” (he was Sid Fairgate), and 1957 Oscar nominee for “Picnic” is 87, almost 88 years old. According to the imdb he hasn’t been on screen since 2001! Well, he looks great. Good for him!
Also, we learned that Tom Sizemore is not in jail. Over the years, Sizemore has had a lot of brushes with the law, and notable problems with substance abuse. He was once engaged to Heidi Fleiss. But on “Twin Peaks” he looks pretty good. He’s survived a crazy life. Again, good for him!
The rest of it– who knows? It’s nice to see my pal, Robert Forster, who lights up every scene. But much of the show takes place away from “Twin Peaks.” This is not “Twin Peaks” but a really long David Lynch movie in which Mark Frost was sometimes allowed to insert Twin Peaks references. But you know, it’s summer, and Sunday night. So what the heck.
Megyn Kelly Debuts, and Fizzles, On New NBC Show– But We’re Relieved That Putin Thinks We’re Crazy
Megyn Kelly’s debut on NBC was a fizzle, no sizzle. Her much touted interview with Russian president Vladimir Putin had no headlines. Basically, Putin said we were all crazy to think he was close to Donald Trump, General Flynn, or Jared Kushner. Kelly nodded in assent. Russia, Putin said, had not interfered in the US election.
Yawn. Megyn Kelly came all the way from Fox to NBC to tell us this. So I guess it’s over. All the intelligence agencies are wrong. Trump and pals are right. You may return to your original program, already in progress. And that program might have been called “Dateline,” since Kelly’s new Sunday show was just “Dateline” with her as the gang leader. Wasn’t this a Brian Williams show called “30 Rock”?
It was nice to see Harry Smith and Cynthia McFadden, two really smart news correspondents whom I think would have asked Putin some follow up questions.
I got so bored I went back to “60 Minutes” and Steve Kroft’s rerun piece (excellent) on Chobani and Lara Logan with gorillas in Rwanda.
Tamron Hall, please come home.
R&B Star Bryson Tiller Has 8 of the Top 50 Streaming Singles, Number 1 Streamed Album
All Beatles celebrating aside, the biggest music act in the U.S. right is Bryson Tiller. Know who he is? He’s a modern R&B star, like Frank Orange or Chance the Rapper. He’s not just a rapper. Tiller sings. It’s rap- singing but it’s very appealing and definitely interesting.
Eight of the tracks from his “True to Self” are on the Streaming Songs chart from BuzzAngle. Eight. That’s the sign of a real hit album these days. The opposite of this is Harry Styles, a pop superstar whose self-titled album is not getting much streaming love at all.
“True to Self” is number 1 on the Sales Plus Streaming chart– a total of 116,400. Only 47,209 of that number comprises actual physical sales and paid downloads. Like Drake and Kendrick Lamar, Tiller is a streaming phenom. The urban audience doesn’t need to own the music– they just want unfettered access to it.
Tiller is worth checking out, if only because some of his album has sound effects that sound like they’re from the Beatles’ later work. He also samples a few older R&B tracks, but in a very low profile way.
TV: Leah Remini’s Chemistry With Kevin James Leads to Total Retool for “Kevin Can Wait” — Lead Actress Out
You can’t blame Leah Remini. She and Kevin James have more chemistry than one of those Scientology e-meters. When Remini appeared on the season finale of “Kevin Can Wait,” the more important meters– run by Nielsen– went crazy. Now she’s in as James’s co-star and “Kevin Can Wait” actress Erinn Hayes is out.
Remini and James, of course, had a 9 year hit run in “King of Queens” on CBS. They were like an update of “The Honeymooners” and “Roseanne” and other classic working class comedies. “Kevin Can Wait” was a hit, but not a big sustainable hit. So Remini’s arrival was watched closely. And when it hit big, that was enough for CBS.
Now Erinn Hayes, who played Kevin’s wife Donna, is out after one season. She’ll either disappear, be a dream, be killed off. Who knows? It’s sad for the actress, who probably thought she was going to be in a hit show for seven seasons. But ratings can’t wait.
Remini will return in the fall as her cop character Veronica. All summer she’ll be seen in her Scientology series on A&E, which has turned out to be a hit on its own. Scientology counted on Remini disappearing from TV and prominence. But now she’s really back, and she should only drive them crazy until they’re completely gone.
This is a double triumph for Remini at CBS, too. Remember, she was let go from “The Talk” several seasons ago after “King of Queens.” Now that she’s relocated at CBS, I’d love to see the same for Holly Robinson Peete.
As for Hayes, there is a precedent: Carla Gugino was cut from Michael J. Fox’s “Spin City” years ago. She went on to have a great career in movies, TV, and Broadway. So there’s hope yet.