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NYC Thursday Night: Mark Rylance Conquers Broadway (Again)

Roger Friedman
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NYC Thursday Night: Mark Rylance Conquers Broadway (Again)

I can’t really tell from Ben Brantley‘s review in the New York Times whether he liked “La Bete” or not. But the sizzling play opened on Broadway last night and Mark Rylance gave a tour de force performance. He is just sensational as Valere, and audiences will love David Hyde Pierce and Joanna Lumley (famous from “Absolutely Fabulous”).

Early on in David Hirson‘s 1991 play, Rylance makes his appearance and gives what amounts to a 30 minute comic monologue. It only seems like a dialogue because Hyde Pierce, who is with him on the scene, manages to take his character’s stunned silence and turn it into conversation. By the time Lumley enters–and she has some spectacular entry–the audience is mesmerized and exhausted.

It’s the second time in a row for Rylance and director Matthew Warchus. Their last hit was “Boeing Boeing” in 2008.

In last night’s audience were Angela Lansbury, Marian Seldes, Matthew Broderick, Christine Baranski, Kathleen Marshall, and Cynthia Nixon at least. Not bad for a very rainy night on Broadway. And the set for this show is so compelling, there were lots of stragglers hanging around the stage after the curtain fell. I caught Victor Garber (from “Alias” and so many other things) in deep conversation with Seldes.

“La Bete” only runs through February, so catch it as soon as possible. This is the kind of Broadway show where you’ll want to be able to say you saw it, and impress the people who missed it or couldn’t get in.

Bill O’Reilly Gets His Comeuppance on “The View”

Roger Friedman
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Bill O’Reilly Gets His Comeuppance on “The View”

Bill O’Reilly–who really sounds completely nuts sometimes–got his due on “The View” today.

Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar got up and walked off the set during an interview that all the ladies were having with O’Reilly. He said that Muslims caused 9-11.

He didn’t say extremists. And he stuck to his guns. “Muslims killed us on 9-11.”

Whoopi said, “Bullshit.” And left. Joy went with her.

Barbara Walters then chastised O’Reilly and told him to apologize to the Muslim community. He did, but he didn’t mean it. He’s really an oaf and a boor. When I made occasional appearances on his show, he used to just yell questions that he didn’t really want the answers to. Roger Ailes has empowered him, despite all his scandals. Yikes.

One more thing, Bill: your assertion about “70 percent of Americans don’t want the Mosque”–is a tired, pointless, divisive argument. I live two miles from the Ground Zero and watched the events of 9-11 from my living room. Two of my friends were missing all day. The husband of a friend died in the collapse of the towers. Hundreds of grieving people wandered this neighborhood for two weeks passing out fliers and hoping to see their loved ones. This is not a national referendum. It’s up to New Yorkers, if anyone, to voice an opinion about the Mosque. All these other opinions are nice but they are irrelevant.

Anyway, Whoopi and Joy returned. But good for them. It’s enough already. Peace.

Chairman of the Board Member General Johnson Dies at 69

Roger Friedman
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Chairman of the Board Member General Johnson Dies at 69

Just a day after celebrating Sam Moore‘s 75th birthday, and a few days after the passing of Solomon Burke, General Johnson has died.

He was the writer and often lead singer for a group called Chairmen of the Board. Their hits included “Pay to the Piper,” “Give Me Just a Little More Time,” “Finders Keepers,” and “You’ve Got Me Dangling on a String.”

Chairmen of the Board was really supposed to be what the Temptations were to Motown for Invictus Records circa 1970. That was the label started by legendary Motown/Four Tops writers Holland, Dozier, Holland after they split from Motown. Johnson wrote hits for other Invictus acts, notably “Bring the Boys Home” and a trio of hits for the Honey Cone: “Want Ads,” “Stick Up (Highway Robbery),” and the essential–my favorite– “One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show.”  He also had a hit on “Patches” for singer Clarence Carter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfJT4GwWzKU

Johnson came from Raleigh, North Carolina, where he and the band were into what they called Beach Music. HDH lured them to Detroit, where they had their big success with those singles. Here’s what Johnson says on his website:

“In 1968, 1 moved to Detroit, Michigan to further my career with Invictus Records. As a member of The Chairmen of the Board, I experienced and enjoyed international success as a songwriter and an artist. My success in such a short period of time magnified the business dealings with my recording and management companies. Soon, business disagreements deteriorated our musical relationship and eventually terminated our successful venture. In 1974, 1 left Invictus.”

His singing was a little like that of my old favorite Billy Stewart. He used kind of a stutter and a staccato phrasing to make the songs stand out. It worked. Thanks, General, for leaving those little masterpieces behind.

Colbert-Stewart Rallies Want Cat Stevens

Roger Friedman
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7
Colbert-Stewart Rallies Want Cat Stevens

The Jon Stewart-Stephen Colbert rallies in Washington DC are starting to pick up musical artists.

I’m told that the rallies, set for October 30th, have already booked Jeff Tweedy of Wilco.

More names are coming. But the organizers also have asked for Cat Stevens, aka Yusuf Islam. The famed 70s pop singer is deciding whether or not to accept the invitation.

Toby Keith and the magnificent Mavis Staples are also said to be on the list for both rallies, which will be on the Mall in Washington DC and are semi serious send ups of the idiotic Sarah Palin-Glenn Beck rally of a few weeks ago.

Ozzy Osbourne’s Surprising John Lennon Video Tribute

Roger Friedman
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Ozzy Osbourne’s Surprising John Lennon Video Tribute

Ozzy Osbourne turns out to be a rabid John Lennon fan. Who knew?

Last week, Ozzy recorded the less well known song “How?” for Amnesty International. Then, he and director Ernie Fritz made this video in four hours on the streets of Manhattan.

The project was shepherded of course by Martin Lewis, our reliable Beatles macher. Lewis picked up the phone and called Sharon Osbourne, who, he says, was “amazingly gracious and cooperative.”

Sharon, I see, is being used as the main draw for CBS’s likely to be awful rip off of “The View” coming next week. It’s a smart move. She’s the only one of those women I actually would tune in for. When the show is cancelled, Sharon should move over to “The View” and spice things up!

Anyway, here’s “How.” Good work, Ozzy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awOcbVoS4yE

Katie Holmes’s Summer Box Office: $550,000

Roger Friedman
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1
Katie Holmes’s Summer Box Office: $550,000

Katie Holmes’s ascent as a movie star isn’t going too well. Her latest wrapped film, “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark,” is in limbo with the newest version of Miramax as they try to get organized under Neverland Ranch co-owner Tom Barrack.

It’s not like Barrack is in any rush to capitalize on Katie’s draw.
Holmes’ total box office take for this year comes to roughly $550,000–and that’s for two movies.

“The Extra Man,” released last summer, took in a total of $442,718.
“The Romantics,” which came out on September 10th, is even a worse saga: $106,524.

What makes “The Romantics” even more of a flop is that its cast had name brand recognition: Josh Duhamel, formerly of “Vegas” and “All My Children,” and now in the number 2 film of the week, “Life as We Know It,” was Katie’s costar. Elijah Wood and Anna Paquin are also in the film.

But “The Romantics” was a bust coming out of Sundance. No name distributors wanted it, so Ron Stein’s Four of a Kind Productions, which also made “The Kids Are All Right,” self-disributed. And that rarely works out well.

Before Holmes hooked up with Tom Cruise in their strange and sudden courtship of April 2005, she was on track for a movie career. Holmes appeared to good notices in “Pieces of April.” Then she had sizeable roles in “Batman Begins” and “Thank You for Smoking.” In early April 2005 I met her at a Broadway opening. She’d just moved to New York and was all set to become something.

Marrying Cruise was a great pr move, but hasn’t done much for her career. She mysteriously opted not to do the Batman sequel, which turned out to be “The Dark Knight.” She made the miserable “Mad Money,” a mostly unwatchable female heist film. On Broadway, she was stilted in a small role in a revival of Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons.” And now, 2010 has seen her in two releases that will go to DVD faster than “Dawson’s Creek.”

Her next big move: playing Jackie Kennedy in one episode of a series about the Kennedy family for…HBO? Showtime? No: the History Channel.

Katie. we hardly knew ye.

Mariah May Have to Fess Up on October 20th

Roger Friedman
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Mariah May Have to Fess Up on October 20th

Mariah Carey‘s cat and mouse game–is she pregnant or just really enjoying lasagna?–may soon be over.

Invites have gone out for an October 20th listening session in New York for Carey’s new holiday album, “Merry Christmas II You.”

Island Def Jam chief L.A. Reid is hosting the event, and Carey will be there to meet and greet friends, family, and radio types.

Unless she’s hidden, or a hologram, or sits behind a large pocket book all night, there are undoubtedly going to be questions. And maybe an answer. Recent pictures indicate that our lovely Mariah looks very little like the photo on the invite itself right now.

Remember: Mariah told us through her rep a few weeks ago that she was very “superstitious” about discussing such matters.

Meantime, Mariah’s first single from the new album, “Oh Santa,” is pretty catchy. Expect to hear it four times a day between Thanksgiving and Christmas!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMi6Ox1Irz4

Happy 75th Birthday to the Original Soul Man, Sam Moore

Roger Friedman
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0
Happy 75th Birthday to the Original Soul Man, Sam Moore

Well, it’s a tough week. We lost Solomon Burke, one of the great R&B legends.

But on the other hand, today is Sam Moore‘s 75th birthday. He’s the only name check left from Arthur Conley’s famous song, “Sweet Soul Music.” When he sings now, he’s got the weight of pop music history on him and the legacy of his great friends like Billy Preston, Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, and Lou Rawls.

Happy Birthday, Sam!

Born in Miami, but closely identified with Memphis and Stax Records, Sam was the driving force in the famed duo Sam & Dave. Their hits of course include “Soul Man” and “Hold On! I’m Coming.” They had more than a dozen chart records with songs from Isaac Hayes and David Porter, produced by Jerry Wexler and Tom Dowd on the Atlantic and Stax labels. Dave Prater died in 1988.

Sam has never been out of the public eye. A year ago he was featured with Bruce Springsteen and brought down the house in Madison Square Garden for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 25th anniversary. His most recent album, “Overnight Sensational,” was produced by Randy Jackson and featured a dozen or more superstar guests. Sam’s famous “lost” album, his 1972 solo recording, got 4 star4 ratings when it was finally released in 2005.

Next week, Sam is the featured performer at Denise Rich‘s star studded Angel Ball for Cancer Research. In December he’ll play a bunch of shows in Tokyo at the famed Blue Note.

This week, Sam will be feted in Washington DC where his wife of 28 years, Joyce, is planning a bunch of surprises. And next up: more projects, shows and a new album.

On Inauguration Day 2009, Sam headlined the Creative Coalition’s show with Sting and Elvis Costello.

Amazingly, Sam’s honey rich voice continues to get better with age. He recently sang the “Star Spangled Banner” at the final Yankees home game with the Red Sox acappella; the Yankees won, and I attribute that to Sam.

Sam, to quote one of your songs: You got us hummin’!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhCoDd21QpE

Spider Man on Broadway: Will the Flying Pass Inspection?

Roger Friedman
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1
Spider Man on Broadway: Will the Flying Pass Inspection?

“Spider Man: Turn off the Dark” is heading toward its November 14th first preview on Broadway with just enough tsuris to throw off a little gossip.

The $52 million-plus show is one of those Broadway legends already. Some in the theater are rooting for it to fail. Others, like this column, are looking forward to a big hit.

But along the way: chaos! trouble!

First of all, I am told that the rehearsals continue apace, but slowly. “They’ve only gotten through the first act,” says a source. “It’s been very complicated. Act 2 will start this week.” That’s 30 days from the unofficial “opening” night.

More importantly: the flying that all the Spider Men do in the show is indeed holding things up. Here’s the scenario. Apparently the actors will be flying over the audience’s heads and all over the theater. This isn’t “Peter Pan” with a little onstage aerial. And the people who are flying are not from Cirque du Soleil or trained acrobats. “They’re muscular actors who got flying training and are into it,” says a source.

Hmmm. Apparently also, there are regulations about this sort of thing, unions and all that, various controls. “They’re afraid they won’t pass inspection when the flying inspectors come,” says my source.

There’s lots of good news, however. “The music is great,” my source says of the Bono-Edge score. “And the choreography and the stunts are amazing to watch. The Green Goblin and Spider Man have a fight in the sky right above the audience that will blow everyone’s minds.” Indeed. There’s no net.

And since it’s a Julie Taymor show, expect puppets. “A lot of puppets,” says my source.

The Hollywood Reporter Sheds Editor, Heads to Tabloid Land

Roger Friedman
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0
The Hollywood Reporter Sheds Editor, Heads to Tabloid Land

And so it goes: Elizabeth Guider, the editor of the Hollywood Reporter for three years, is gone. The official announcement came today.

Now the Reporter heads toward tabloidville under the guidance of Janice Min, former editor of US Weekly, and Richard “Mad Dog” Beckman. It is a sad day because once this experiment is over, a well known franchise will be gone too.

From what I’m told the Reporter goes weekly and drops its daily editions either this Friday or next. Already you can tell the changes on their website. Suddenly news of Ashton and Demi’s marital problems, Laura Dern’s divorce from Ben Harper, and Pat O’Brien’s ridiculous open letter to Lindsay Lohan, are creeping in.

The question is, how can the new Reporter combine tabloid gossip on the very low end with industry news at the top? It doesn’t seem like a natural fit. Hollywood execs looking for trade news will just use Variety. They’re certainly not going to wade through wh0-wore-what stories to find out who’s running Comcast NBC. And if your interest is in Best Abs or Celebs Caught off Guard, news of British TV sales aren’t going to float the boat. My guess is TheWrap.com will fill out the remaining trade news.

So: goodbye Hollywood Reporter. You’re about to join The Brown Derby and Schwab’s. Hello, Britney. And of course, the Kardashians (the Gabors without glamour). Yeesh.

UPDATE: They also sacked Andy Wallenstein, who’s been running the website and doing a fantastic job. He’s also been writing columns (er, blogs, whatever, on a variety of interesting subjects.)

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