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Broadway: Sting Sails “The Last Ship” One More Time in Joyous Show for Actors Fund

Roger Friedman
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Broadway: Sting Sails “The Last Ship” One More Time in Joyous Show for Actors Fund

Sting is back from his world tour with Paul Simon, which followed his run as actor/composer of Broadway’s “The Last Ship.” So what did he do last night? Perform most of the songs in a pared down version of the show, two performances, for The Actors Fund at the McKittrick Hotel (home of “Sleep no More”).

The rocker turned Broadway composer has a Tony nomination for Best Score of a Musical, and could actually win– and should. He’s up against the fun but “Spamalot”-like “Something Rotten” (funny songs, but no keepers), and “Fun Home” (sad songs that sound like Sondheim-lite).

Hearing the songs from “The Last Ship” a few months after it closed was like meeting up with old friends. The title song is so catchy you can’t get it out of your head. Same for the great stomping “What Have You Got?” (not the real title, but that’s what I call it). The lush ballads are just gorgeous– from “What Say You Meg” to “The Night the Pugilist Learned How to Dance.”

Sting– with the eminently agreeable Jimmy Nail performing, and singing siren Jo Lawry– also added back “And Yet,” a beautiful samba number that was cut after the run in Chicago a year ago. The audience, knowing it from Sting’s album of the show’s songs, cheered when they heard it.

There were two shows last night at the McKittrick. The first one was precise and studied, as musical director Rob Mathes had rearranged the music to fit the small combo on the intimate stage. In between shows, Sting and wife Trudie Styler and a few friends were packed into a small dressing room where they dined on cold chicken and spicy pieces of steak on skewers. Jazz trumpet star Chris Botti stopped by. Hot tea with honey was made with an electric pot and poured into Dixie cups. “The glamorous rock life,” someone quipped.

The second show proved a joyous rave as a gang of “Last Ship” cast members showed up and joined in from the back of the small room as if they were still in the Wallsend bar on the stage of the Neil Simon Theater. The cast is still devoted to the show, even as they look for new jobs. They knew all the words, and sang them with gusto. A couple– husband and wife– just got in as the doors closed. They stood in the back, among the rousing cast. “We thought this would be a bad spot,” the husband observed. He was beaming. “But now we’re in the middle of everything!”

Regis Philbin Says Goodbye to David Letterman, And Show Runs an In Memoriam (Watch Classic Video from 1986)

Roger Friedman
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Regis Philbin Says Goodbye to David Letterman, And Show Runs an In Memoriam (Watch Classic Video from 1986)

David Letterman hosted Bill Murray and Bob Dylan tonight. Just in case Wednesday night’s finale runs over, the show ran its In Memoriam Tuesday night that included Larry “Bud” Melman and Bill Wendell, plus names of others who expired during the 33 year run.

Regis Philbin made his final appearance on the show, his 136th or 150th time on the show. It was very moving.

 

On Tuesday, Dylan didn’t sit with Dave. After 20 years, he appeared and croaked out a song from his current album of standards, “The Night We Called it a Day.” Humorless Dylan looked constipated and unsure of why he was even there. He could have sung “You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go.” But that would have made sense. We wouldn’t want that.

Murray was funny and touching, popping out of a real cake, with hot girls in tow, and getting the cake all over Dave. Murray had been Letterman’s first guest on his NBC and CBS shows. It was a nice touch.

Tonight, we say goodbye to David Letterman. I’ve been to his show many times over the 33 years. Once I sat in the green room with Ed Koch, but I don’t remember why. Last fall, I went with Aretha Franklin. I was there with Sam Moore and Wynonna Judd in 2006. When Letterman was on NBC, I was there a lot as a book publicist. In 1986 I brought the great Peter Ustinov, who was promoting a book for UNICEF. The episode became legendary because it ‘revolved’– at Ustinov’s point in the show, it was ‘upside down.’ Peter had a ball with it, as you’ll see in the clip below.

The amazingly talented Paul Shaffer has always been a great friend. He married the lovely Cathy Vasapoli, who was a booker when I brought guests. They are still married. Sheila Rogers started booking the musical guests in 1996, and had the absolute best taste in the world. When the show was at NBC , until 1996 at CBS, Robert “Morty” Morton was the executive producer. He was a great friend, also with terrific taste. He made the show what it was.

One more note about Paul Shaffer: using this platform he personally educated each new generation about the history of pop, soul, and blues. Without him, and Sheila, a lot of brilliant stars would have gone forgotten on late night TV. We owe them an incredible amount of thanks.

Letterman first started in the morning, then moved to late late night, and then to his current show. He had a terrible publicist all those years who kept him apart from everyone. You never ever saw David Letterman in public, at a movie or theater premiere, and rarely at a charity. He was simply not accessible in person.

But on TV he was a genius who weathered everything, even open heart surgery and blackmail. We kind of loved all his speeding tickets and his stalker. We loved his mom. And the top 10 list, and all the segments, and the way he sneaked his politics into the show. I am really, really going to miss, and I know you are, too.

Thanks for everything, Dave.

 

“I Love Lucy” was Sunday Night’s Number 1 Scripted Show, Nearly Twice as Many Viewers as “Mad Men” Finale

Roger Friedman
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“I Love Lucy” was Sunday Night’s Number 1 Scripted Show, Nearly Twice as Many Viewers as “Mad Men” Finale

Sunday night: Two reruns of “I Love Lucy” from the 1950s, colorized (objectionable, but ok whatever) scored the highest total viewers of all scripted shows that night.

“Lucy” had 6.4 million total viewers. That’s almost twice the very high “Mad Men” score of 3.3 million viewers on Sunday. That’s shows with scripts. The Billboard Music Awards had 11 million, and “60 Minutes” had 9 million.

But of all the other shows on TV Sunday night– Dateline, The Simpsons, Battle Creek– Lucy prevailed.

“Lucy” scored twice as many total viewers as Andy Samberg in “Brooklyn Nine Nine.”

The two episodes of “Lucy” looked terrible, I thought. The beautiful original black and white looked garish and Crayola like. But “Lucy” is the Shakespeare of television comedy. A few others come close, but Lucy, Desi, Vivian Vance and William Frawley were in a league of their own. All their writers and directors were, too.

David Letterman’s Most Revealing Interview (Watch Video) Conducted by Howard Stern

Roger Friedman
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David Letterman’s Most Revealing Interview (Watch Video) Conducted by Howard Stern

David Letterman is mostly an enigma. He doesn’t socialize, is never seen on the New York circuit at movie premieres or even charity events. His wife, Regina, is not mentioned by him and rarely seen as well. There is exactly one photo of her on WireImage, for example. The best interview he ever did about himself was last year with Howard Stern. It lasted 27 minutes and was extraordinary for Letterman, who trusts Stern. Here it is:

Jane Fonda Scores On “W” Magazine at 77, Oldest Ever to Appear on Cover (And Sensational)

Roger Friedman
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Jane Fonda Scores On “W” Magazine at 77, Oldest Ever to Appear on Cover (And Sensational)

Jane Fonda — wise and wonderful– gives a super interview to my pal Lynn Hirschberg for the cover of this month’s W magazine. And the photo is by Steven Meisel, you can’t do better. Jane is sexy, smart, and sensation. She’s also the oldest person, at 77, ever to appear on W or maybe any celebrity magazine. Brava! I’ve known Jane for 3o years; she can do anything.

Right now the two time Oscar winner (and many more noms) is the belle of Ball in Cannes, where she’s appearing for L’Oreal and in a new movie there called, of course, “Youth,” directed by Paolo Sorrentino. She’s also going to share an Emmy with Lily Tomlin for their TV series, “Grace and Frankie.” Otherwise, the Emmys had better give up.

Jane also 400 other projects cooking, plus she lives with the great legendary record producer Richard Perry, has a big family including actor son Troy Garity and daughter Vanessa. Go back and read her autobiography from 2005. She tells like it is, always. Only the strong survive, and that’s Jane Fonda. It doesn’t hurt that she’s gorgeous, too!

Kudos to Lynn and her editor Stefano Tonchi for putting Fonda on that cover.

Rebel Wilson Age Doesn’t Matter, But She’s Not Alone When it Comes to Changing Back Story

Roger Friedman
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Rebel Wilson Age Doesn’t Matter, But She’s Not Alone When it Comes to Changing Back Story

Rebel Wilson– who’s very funny and now a star from “Bridesmaids” and the “Pitch Perfect” movies–has a jealous frenemy back home in Australia. Someone she went to school with has declared that she’s 7 years older than she’s claimed in the press, that she changed her name, and — this is the worst– “wasn’t funny”– back in high school.

Who cares, really? But Rebel isn’t alone when it comes to Hollywood stars who’ve changed their back stories on their rise to fame.

I went to college with a comedian/actor who wasn’t humorous at all when I knew him on campus. But he found a gimmick that finally brought him to New York, and fame, about 15 years after I’d last seen him. I knew we were the same age, but suddenly this guy was several years younger. And people were laughing at his jokes! I still can’t understand it.

For a while he got away with the age change. They always do at the start. Then time catches up, or as in Rebel’s case, an old classmate speaks up. Now, of course, the internet provides a rude reminder. Before the web, a celebrity could easily cover up their past. Now it’s a little trickier.

Back in 1995, when I was at New York Magazine, a popular girl on the town was giving a lowball number for her years on Earth. She was also tied to a hit TV series about younger gals. Someone tipped me off, which resulted in a phone call for proof. The lady in question faxed (that’s what we did then) over her passport page– and clearly the year of birth had been “whited out” and replaced with a new one– different font! LOL, I might have said, had we known how! Now that was funny!

I don’t blame Rebel Wilson at all for changing her age. First of all, she came here from Australia. How long does that take? Like, years. It’s really far away. Second, she knows America embraces youth. Getting a late start around here is not appreciated. So, whatevuh. She’s lovely, and funny. Age is a number, but it’s not a state of mind. And remember, everyone loves Tony Bennett and Betty White.

PS I had lunch last Friday with the legendary Liz Smith and her friend (my friend, too) the famous archeologist Iris Love. Liz is 92, Iris is “of an age.” We had such a good time, laughing for two hours. There aren’t two sharper or more up to date women in New York. They like their margaritas, too!

Here’s Mariah Carey Hitting All the Right Notes on “Vision of Love” and “Infinity” Last Night

Roger Friedman
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Here’s Mariah Carey Hitting All the Right Notes on “Vision of Love” and “Infinity” Last Night

Mariah Carey pulled off a home run version of “Vision of Love” and “Infinity” last night on Jimmy Kimmel. I read a quote from L.A. Reid, the head of her record label, that no legacy artist will get a number 1 single again because of their age and radio’s insistence on only playing “young” people. But Clear Channel-I Heart Radio should rethink that policy. “Infinity” is so catchy, and it would be fun to hear it on places like Z100 among the shrieking and babbling that accounts for 90% of today’s chart hits. I heard one guy on top 40 radio the other day who sounded like a goose honking before the foie gras man came.

Hollywood Journalist Nikki Finke Offers Photo, Starting Website for Tinseltown Fiction– Yes, Fiction

Roger Friedman
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Hollywood Journalist Nikki Finke Offers Photo, Starting Website for Tinseltown Fiction– Yes, Fiction

Nikki Finke is starting a website called HollywoodDementia.com. It’s going to feature fiction. Yes, Fiction. Short stories, movie scripts, I don’t know. Isn’t everything in Hollywood fiction?

from the site

“Hollywood Dementia: noun. Deterioration of intellectual faculties, such as memory, concentration, and judgment, sometimes accompanied by emotional disturbance and personality changes, resulting from an organic disease or a disorder of the brain acquired while working in the entertainment industry that causes someone to be unable to think clearly or to understand what is real and what is not real.”

I’m told Nikki is prevented from writing journalism about Hollywood forever after her deal with Penske Media. We’ll see how this develops. She should have called the site Roman a Clef.
NF-HD-New-Nikki-photo-450-large

Nikki Finke photo by Jen Rosenstein copyrighted 2015

Exclusive: Janet Jackson Has Had Talks with LiveNation for U2-Like Deal, Album Included

Roger Friedman
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Exclusive: Janet Jackson Has Had Talks with LiveNation for U2-Like Deal, Album Included

Janet Jackson’s new album. We think it’s called “Conversations in a Cafe.” We know it’s produced by Jimmy Jam Harris and Terry Lewis of FlyteTime, her long time musical collaborators. We also know it’s NOT with L.A. Reid at Epic, or at Atlantic Records. It’s probably not ready for July 10th, I’ve heard. It’s still being worked on.

However: the word is that Janet may be making a 360 deal with LiveNation, a la Madonna or U2 or Nickelback. In that case, LiveNation would handle the tour and license “Conversations.” Janet’s tour is going to be key to the whole thing. I think it could be HUGE. She cooled off a few years ago, got married, took time off. People miss her. With the right music– no sex talk stuff, please, Janet– adult R&B, but the sexiness as part of the vibe– she can make a big comeback now.

Why LiveNation? Let’s be reasonable. Janet’s not doing a deal with AEGLive, after Michael’s death etc. Right? And after album crashes from JLO, Mariah, and others, someone has explained to her that albums by artists of a certain age are not going to sell 1 million copies. So a 360 deal is just right.

Harris and Jackson have been dropping clues for weeks, on Twitter.

And which label? I could see Warner Bros., which also brought back Prince this year. And you could see Janet’s catalogue going there since it’s spread out everywhere. But remember– Virgin EMI was where Janet made her biggest deal in 1996. Virgin is now part of Capitol Records, which is Universal Music. That would be a natural fit for the LiveNation deal. We’ll see.

“Mad Men” Finale: “People just come and go and no one says goodbye”

Roger Friedman
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“Mad Men” Finale: “People just come and go and no one says goodbye”

My vote for best line from the “Mad Men” finale: “People just come and go and no one says goodbye.” Don says it to the girl at the desk at Esalen right before his breakdown outside by the phone booth. In an episode of many classic lines (the rich little bastard line, Joan’s boyfriend comparing her life to real estate, etc) this wasn’t just clever, it summed up the whole show.

It certainly embraced everything that had happened to Dick Whitman from childhood through Korea to the rat race of advertising and Don Draper’s parade of women. And the parade ends with Betty’s warning to him not to come back home.

At first I thought the end of the show– let’s cut to the chase– was a little cheesy. But it turns out it was Matt Weiner playing with us right through the episode. References to Don possibly being dead, in “a better place,” the Charlie Manson line, and then finally Don’s suicidal sounding call to Peggy, followed by him standing on the cliff at sunset– all of it little zetzes, little “pokes” at the fans who’d written reams about their theories concerning Don Draper’s fate. Stan said it: “He’s a survivor.”

Any man who can actually ignore his children even when their mother is dying is too egotistical to commit suicide, folks.

Just about everyone got a happy ending in “Mad Men” except Betty Draper Francis, who continued to smoke like a chimney even as she was dying of lung cancer. Inexplicably cold, Betty remains the enigma of all the characters. She thinks she learned something about life, but she learned nothing. Cancer made her no better a mother, no warmer a human being.

Weiner did the audience a favor by wrapping up most everything else. Yes, we wanted Roger and Joan to get together and raise the kid. At least he might have given Joan the rich husband. But Weiner did something so much better– he gave us Joan uniquely happy as a successful career woman. With those looks, Joan could have been married three times already to guys like Richard. But the fact was, she wanted something else. Richard was right when he said to her, “You act like this is happening to you. But it’s your choice.” So true.

By the way, if Christina Hendricks doesn’t get an Emmy for this episode, forget about it. Twice she burst out in laughter, and each time it was marvelous. First when Ken made a joke about his kid, second when Roger told her he was marrying Megan’s mother. They were the most spontaneous, warm laughs I’ve ever heard on a television set.

What happened to Harry? It was flashed in one scene: did you see the ridiculous coat he was wearing? He turned out to be a pretentious Bozo.

So that’s it. Don goes back to New York with the “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke.” In real like McCann Erickson was the agency in 1971 that launched that ad via creative director Bill Backer. It was such a huge success it spawned a hit single on the radio– “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing.” The singers on the hillside became iconic. It’s Coke’s biggest hit. In the penultimate episode, Don is asked to fix a Coke machine. Peggy asks him in the finale, “Don’t you want to work on Coke?” (Reference back several scenes to Joan and Richard doing coke.) It was the perfect end for a show about advertising– which, if you recall, was the point of this show.

My guess: a sweep at the Emmys this year, finally. If not, the Emmys are completely and irrevocably pointless.

MeetJohnDoeGaryCooperPS Jon Hamm, though much of the episode, looked so much like Gary Cooper in “Meet John Doe,” it was uncanny. And not a coincidence. Brav-oh.

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