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iSick: Apple Closes All NYC Stores Because of COVID, No Re-Opening Announced

Roger Friedman
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iSick: Apple Closes All NYC Stores Because of COVID, No Re-Opening Announced

Apple has closed all its stores in New York City because of COVID. There’s no date given for re-opening.

“We regularly monitor conditions and we will adjust our health measures to support the well-being of customers and employees,” the company said in a statement Monday. “We remain committed to a comprehensive approach for our teams that combines regular testing with daily health checks, employee and customer masking, deep cleaning and paid sick leave.”

Here are the stores. You can still order online or go to the suburbs. Apple sent reviewers AirPods this week, version 3. I am not much of an Apple customer, but I wanted to give these a try. I had to order for $10 a pair of white plastic ear hooks so they didn’t fall out of my ears. But even paired with a Samsung S21, the AirPods are pretty great. The sound is rich and detailed in ways I didn’t expect. So, thanks, Apple.

NYC Locations

  • Apple World Trade Center: 185 Greenwich Street
  • Apple SoHo: 103 Prince Street
  • Apple West 14th Street: 401 West 14th Street
  • Apple Williamsburg: 247 Bedford Avenue
  • Apple Downtown Brooklyn: 123 Flatbush Avenue
  • Apple Grand Central: 45 Grand Central Terminal
  • Apple Fifth Avenue: 767 Fifth Avenue
  • Apple Upper West Side: 1981 Broadway
  • Apple Upper East Side: 940 Madison Avenue
  • Apple Queens Center: 90-15 Queens Boulevard
  • Apple State Island: 2655 Richmond Avenue
  • Apple The Mall at Bay Plaza: 200 Baychester Avenue

Broadway: “Ain’t Too Proud” Closing January 16th (Sniff!), “American Utopia” Downsizing to Keep Going (See Videos)

Roger Friedman
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Broadway: “Ain’t Too Proud” Closing January 16th (Sniff!), “American Utopia” Downsizing to Keep Going (See Videos)

COVID is really wrecking havoc on Broadway, as we know.

Sad news this morning that “Ain’t Too Proud,” the Temptations musical, will close on January 16th after 488 performances (pending any additional COVID cancellations) and 21 previews.

I loved this show, and will try and see it again in the next couple of weeks. The casts have been amazing. Dominique Morrisseau did such a good job with original Temptations singer Otis Williams’ book. Just hearing these songs live on stage, and seeing the original Motown dance moves, is exhilarating. we can only hope that down the line, “Ain’t Too Proud” will return once this whole COVID mess is over!

Performances resume tonight for three weeks on Broadway and in Washington at the Kennedy Center. There;s a national tour underway — don’t miss it!

The other news is that David Byrne’s “American Utopia” returns tonight, but downsized so the show can go on. That remarkable cast has been hit by COVID. So David is reconfiguring and playing some songs from his solo career that don’t require as many performers.

Byrne says: “What we are doing could be called Unplugged, or maybe Unchained. We are adding some songs by Talking Heads as well as songs from my solo catalog, that will supplement songs already in American Utopia. I know it’s going to be a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience, that will only be seen for a few performances. We are ready to have a good time!”

I’m going to see that one, too. If you’re a Byrne or Talking Heads fan, again, don’t miss this!

During New Year’s Week, “American Utopia” offers performances December 28 at 8 PM, December 29 at 8 PM, December 30 at 5 PM and 9 PM, January 1, 2022, at 5 PM, and January 2 at 3 PM.

See the videos below:

RIP Jean Marc Vallee, 58, Directed Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto, Nicole Kidman Others to Awards

Roger Friedman
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RIP Jean Marc Vallee, 58, Directed Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto, Nicole Kidman Others to Awards

The actors who Jean Marc Vallee directed to awards are lamenting his untimely passing on social media today.

Vallee, 58, died from a suffering a reported heart attack at his home in Canada. He directed Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto to Oscars in the “Dallas Buyers Club,” Valle also directed Nicole Kidman to an Emmy in “Big Little Lies,” a series for which there were 8 Emmy wins including Best Supporting Actor and Actress, respectively, for Alexander Skarsgaard and Laura Dern.

Reese Witherspoon, a producer on “Big Little Lies,” was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Vallee also directed her to an Oscar nomination for “Wild.” Laura Dern was nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

Vallee made several other excellent pictures including the very underrated “Demolition” with Jake Gyllenhaal. He directed Amy Adams’ Emmy nominated “Sharp Objects” for HBO as well.

Witherspoon, who produced and starred in two projects with Vallee, is devastated. Kidman, Adams, NcConaughey are all sending messages. What a shame. Condolences to Jean Marc’s family.

 

Album Sales 2021: Morgan Wallen Was Number 1, Adele Down 82% from 2015, Fleetwood Mac 41 Year Old Smash Hit

Roger Friedman
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Album Sales 2021: Morgan Wallen Was Number 1, Adele Down 82% from 2015, Fleetwood Mac 41 Year Old Smash Hit

Some numbers are out for 2021 record sales and they are revealing a lot.

The number 1 album in 2021 was from Morgan Wallen, his “Dangerous: The Double Album” sold a total 3,091,000 copies including streaming. Wallen was ‘canceled’ after it was discovered in a home video he’d used the ‘n’ word. His fans didn’t care. Although Wallen was banned from awards shows, and dropped (not really) by his agents and managers, he was the king of popular music sales in 2021.

Adele was the big story because her “30” album was supposed to be a monster. As it turns out, it was a mini-monster. “30” sold 1.4 million copies from its release on November 19th. For comparison: her previous album, “25,” sold 3.8 million in its first week, the same week in 2015. By the end of the year it was up over 8 million copies. So while “30” has been a hit, it’s a far cry from its predecessor. “30{ sales are down 82% from “25.”

One issue might be that “30” has had just one big hit single, “Easy On Me,” and no follow up. The “25” album started with “Hello,” and had several singles subsequently including “Send My Love (to Your Lover)” and “When We Were Young.” Right now on iTunes, “Easy On Me” is number 2, and only one  other track from the album, “Oh My God,” charts at 64. But a track from the “25” album, “Water Under the Bridge,” is at 72 now, six years later.

Other end of the year info: Taylor Swift has issued so many albums that she wins over all. She sold about 4 million albums in 2021. Kanye West’s “Donda” didn’t make the 1 million mark coming in at 918,000.

Among the legacy performers, Fleetwood Mac is really the success story of the year. They sold 848,000 copies including streaming of “Rumours,” an album released in 1977! Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow, indeed! Queen sold 918K copies of their greatest hits. And Elton John, the legacy winner in singles and albums, sold 687,000 copies of his “Diamonds” box set, plus he had three top 10 hits including “Cold Heart.”

The Beatles also came in hot with over 500,000 total sales. More numbers coming in the next week or so…

PS This is a great time to hunt Amazon for deals on box sets from 2021. The best ones were the Billy Joel vinyl set, the Beatles “Let it Be Super Deluxe,” the Rolling Stones “Tattoo You,” sets from Joni Mitchell, Aretha Franklin, David Bowie, Curtis Mayfield.

My own favorite record from 2021 by contemporary artists? The Weeknd and Ariana Grande singing “Save Your Tears” to what sounds like a track from an old Orchestral Manouevers in the Dark album. I love it when Ariana Grande just sings, doesn’t yodel or sing loop-de-loops. She has a knockout voice. Best song of the whole year? Sting’s “The Bridge.”

 

Trump Govt Whistleblower Alexander Vindman Scores in Acting Debut on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” Finale

Roger Friedman
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Trump Govt Whistleblower Alexander Vindman Scores in Acting Debut on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” Finale

The Emmy for Guest Appearance in a comedy goes to… Alexander Vindman. The Trump whistleblower in real life made his acting debut in the season finale of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and walked away with the episode.

In the show, Vindman is having a book party at the LA Holocaust Museum. Larry agrees to host a reception at his home. Many of the season’s plot lines are played out there including Vindman overhearing Larry on the phone and announcing he’s going to transcribe it and send it to the head of the Santa Monica City Council. In real life, Vindman’s testimony about Trump’s phone call to the president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky was incendiary and helped unravel Trump’s criminal presidency.

Vindman — “call me colonel” — gets the last laugh when he snatches Leon’s date, Mary Ferguson (a long story) — for a romantic liaison on a flight to Asia.

The episode was typical Larry David genius, with Tracey Ullman actually probably snaring an Emmy for her work, and the writers pulling off a signature “Curb’/”Seinfeld” type sequence of unlikely connected calamities including Larry stealing a pair of shoes from an exhibit in the Holocaust museum.

Vindman was forced to retire from the Army after outing Trump in front of Congress. But now he has a new, unexpected career. The whole season 21 of “Curb” on HBO for viewing pleasure.

Broadway Star Patti Lupone Says It’s the “Rotavirus,” Not COVID, That’s Kept “Company” Down

Roger Friedman
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Broadway Star Patti Lupone Says It’s the “Rotavirus,” Not COVID, That’s Kept “Company” Down

Whatever you do, don’t say Patti Lupone has COVID. She has the runs. That’s right. stomach virus, diarrhea, or as she calls it, the “rotavirus.”

In a scathing social media post this evening, Lupone, star of “Company” on Broadway, explains why the show has been in so much distress lately. They’ve canceled a number of performances.

Lupone writes that two other actors also got the stomach virus. She says of her own case: “My toilet can confirm this.”

Meantime, the virus has spread to the crew and “We currently cannot field a crew of stagehands to run the show safely.”

Here’s her post:

I’m sure people will think Patti is full of you know what, but no one posts a statement like this if it’s not true. Just everyone get better at “Company,” Patti included, “Company” is a gem and audiences love it and her!

Broadway: The Show Must Go on But “Music Man” Has 7 Absences Tonight Including Sutton Foster, “Company” Still Paused

Roger Friedman
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Broadway: The Show Must Go on But “Music Man” Has 7 Absences Tonight Including Sutton Foster, “Company” Still Paused

It’s no fun at “The Music Man” tonight, at least back stage.

Seven cast members are still out sick after the musical paused for a day and a half to accomodate COVID outbreaks.

Star Sutton Foster didn’t make Sunday night’s show, replaced by her understudy Kathy Voytko. Six other actors are also out, all replaced by mighty understudies and swings who are filling in.

But audiences will be happy because Hugh Jackman is on stage and playing Harold Hill.

Things are not so good over at “Company.” They were also supposed to return tonight but couldn’t. “Company” has been dark since before Christmas. Sources told us the opening party ten days ago has become a super spreader. Last week, “food poisoning” was said to stop the show, but it’s obviously more than that. And since the musical’s show stopper is “Ladies Who Lunch,” food poisoning isn’t the best story to make up.

Broadway will survive COVID, but it may take a month of closures and pauses before all is right again.

Get well, everyone! Get vaxxed!

“Matrix Resurrections” Is the Sequel No One Wanted and No One Went to See: DOA at the Box Office

Roger Friedman
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“Matrix Resurrections” Is the Sequel No One Wanted and No One Went to See: DOA at the Box Office

Personally, I wasn’t really jonesing for another “Matrix” movie. But if you have time, and money why not make another even though the last one was 18 years ago?

So, Lana Wachowski did just that. “Matrix Resurrections” is DOA at the box office after 5 days with just $22.8 million. Maybe people are watching it at home on HBO Max, or trying to. On Rotten Tomatoes the audience interest is just 64%. The critics rating is 66. Where was the outcry for this film?

For Wachowski this is the fifth clunker in 16 years. She and her sister (formerly brother, they used to be brothers so the films have different credits) wrote and produced “V for Vendetta” in 2006. Prior to that they made the real “Matrix” movies, which were big hits. But this now is just treading water, or drowning in it.

Exclusive: Grammy Awards Are Likely Moving from January to the Spring, New Date Will Be Announced Soon

Box Office: “Spider Man” Crosses $1 Billion Worldwide, “Sing 2” Is a Real Hit, “Licorice Pizza” Serves More Slices

Roger Friedman
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Box Office: “Spider Man” Crosses $1 Billion Worldwide, “Sing 2” Is a Real Hit, “Licorice Pizza” Serves More Slices

The big box office takeaway this morning: “Spider Man” crosses $1 billion worldwide on the strength of international box office being just a little ahead of American.

In this country, “No Way Home” is about a day and a half away from hitting $500 million. It now stands at $467 million through Sunday. (MONDAY UPDATE Total is $470 million, did better than thought over weekend.)

With this money, Sony will now launch an Oscar campaign that it is a total waste of time. Why not just donate the money to Greenpeace or rebuild the town in Kentucky that was wiped out by tornados? Or buy ads on this site!

“Sing 2” from Universal has $39 million in the bank after five days. It’s a real hit. You can’t see it at home, only in theaters. And it works! Clever commercials really helped, I love those commercials.

“Licorice Pizza” — no one who sees it  knows why that’s the title. At dinner last night a friend who really enjoyed the movie came up with her own explanation. She was wrong, but she was trying to understand. Why didn’t PTA make some reference to the defunct record store chain in the movie even in passing? Nothing. But box office is good for this kind of movie, they picked up $2.3 million in wide release. If MGM gets to $20 million total they’ll be relieved.

Both “The King’s Man” and “Nightmare Alley” are dead, both at Disney left over from 20th Century Fox.

Broadway Show Changes: “Company” Cancels Today’s Matinee, “Music Man” Returns Tonight After COVID Break

Roger Friedman
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Broadway Show Changes: “Company” Cancels Today’s Matinee, “Music Man” Returns Tonight After COVID Break

Broadway continues to tough it out with COVID.

Today’s 2 pm matinee of “Company” has been cancelled due to illness. They’ll be back tonight at 7:30pm.

Meanwhile, “The Music Man” returns tonight after taking off today’s matinee and yesterday’s performances. Plus Sutton Foster posted a beautiful rendition of “Have Yourself a Merry Christmas” sung from her living room with an accompanist. So she looks very well and over whatever COVID did to her.

 

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