Entertainment category, Page 270
Stephen King’s thriller ‘Mr. Mercedes’ gets another chance
NEW YORK — One of Stephen King’s most creepy and tense stories was hiding in plain sight. “Mr. Mercedes” started life in 2017 as a broadcast offering on the AT&T-owned, DirecTV-exclusive Audience Network, only to be left marooned with an uncertain future after the obscure channel was shut down. The...
‘Jagged Little Pill’ leads Tony Awards nominations with 15
NEW YORK — The sobering musical “Jagged Little Pill,” which plumbs Alanis Morissette’s 1995 breakthrough album to tell a story of an American family spiraling out of control, earned a leading 15 Tony Award nominations Thursday, as the Broadway community took the first steps to celebrate a pandemic-shortened season that...
Rudolph and his nose-so-bright into auction will take flight
Rudolph and his still-shiny nose are getting a new home, and it’s bound to be a lot nicer than the Island of Misfit Toys. The soaring reindeer and Santa Claus figures who starred in in the perennially beloved stop-motion animation Christmas special “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” are going up...
Post Malone owns Billboard Awards, John Legend shines onstage
NEW YORK — Walking into the show with 16 nominations, Post Malone won nine honors at the 2020 Billboard Music Awards, where John Legend gave a heartfelt performance that was dedicated to his wife. With his voice aching as he sang passionately from the piano, Legend told viewers “this is...
TV Talk: ‘Supermarket Sweep’ returns on ABC
Game show “Supermarket Sweep” has been a TV staple with versions popping up in the 1960s, 1990s, early 2000s and now again in 2020 as ABC resurrects the franchise at 8 p.m. Sunday with new host Leslie Jones (“Saturday Night Live”). The ‘90s version of the show gained cachet with...
Stage Right plans outdoor, circus sideshow-inspired ‘Rocky Horror Show Live’
Get ready to do the time warp again. Stage Right Theatre Company will stage “The Rocky Horror Show Live” under a big top tent on Oct. 23-24 and 30-31. There will be a few pandemic-driven changes to the company’s long-running Halloween season production, including the outdoor venue, said director and...
Freshen up your fall reading list with 6 new paperbacks
The leaves are turning, the air is crisper, the bookstores are open … and you need a new paperback, don’t you? Here are six freshly minted ones for fall reading. “No Stopping Us Now: The Adventures of Older Women in American History” by Gail Collins (Little, Brown, $18.99). Collins, a...
TV Q&A: How did Hallmark Channel make Christmas movies in a pandemic?
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review. Q: How does Hallmark Channel make about 40 new Christmas movies during a pandemic? Were some movies made prior to March 2020? - Elaine via email...
‘Two and a Half Men’ star Conchata Ferrell dies at 77
LOS ANGELES — Conchata Ferrell, who became known for her role as Berta the housekeeper on TV’s “Two and a Half Men” after a long career as a character actor on stage and in movies, including “Mystic Pizza” and “Network,” has died. She was 77. Ferrell died Monday at Sherman...
TV Talk: Disney Channel hosts chat with Pittsburgh group’s co-founders
Two local teens will be featured in a recurring Disney Channel segment, “Kudos and Kudon’ts,” for their creation of the Pittsburgh organization Black, Young & Educated. Disney Channel’s Ariel Martin and Trevor Tordjman (“Zombies 2”) chat with B.Y.E. co-founders Nicholas Anglin and Treasure Palmer in the two-minute segment, which also...
Steelers, Penguins fan Steve Byrne drops Pittsburgh references into directorial film debut
It’s natural for any filmmaker, right? You’re a week away from your first written and directed big-screen release. You’re worrying about how the premiere will be staged. You have press lined up all week. You’re coordinating with producers, actors and family. Above all else, though, one thing is weighing on...
Westmoreland Symphony’s virtual season opener features ‘the other Bach’Video
Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra’s virtual concert season opens Oct. 24 with “Back to Bach,” streaming live at 7:30 p.m. from the stage of Greensburg’s The Palace Theatre. The Bach listed in the program is not Johann Sebastian, but rather Carl Philipp Emanuel, son of the renowned composer and also a musician...
Loyalhanna Watershed art auction features online bidding, in-person viewing
Loyalhanna Watershed Association is going online with its 36th annual art auction, a major fundraiser for the organization based near Ligonier. The benefit event, slated Saturday through Oct. 24, features 24 nationally known and local artists. In recent years, it has drawn close to 200 people to the Latrobe Country...
Review: New thriller ‘Goodnight Beautiful’ tweaks the ‘unreliable female narrator’
Early on in the deliciously twisty “Goodnight Beautiful,” one of the main characters, a charismatic guy who we’re getting the sense is being stalked by a fan, is reading Stephen King’s “Misery.” His wife, meanwhile, is reading “that thriller everyone’s talking about” with an unreliable female narrator. (Think “Gone Girl”...
Greensburg Civic Theatre will play to live, virtual audiences
Doing live theater demands that everyone involved adapt quickly to changing conditions. Greensburg Civic Theatre is proving its adaptability as it prepares to stage “Almost, Maine,” a John Cariani play opening the troupe’s 69th season on Thursday. Each member of the cast of five will play numerous roles. “One thing...
TV Talk: McMurray native helps bring ‘Helpsters’ alive on Apple TV+
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Western Pennsylvania native Stephanie D’Abruzzo has operated puppets on Broadway (“Avenue Q”) and in children’s programming (“Sesame Street”) and she’s appeared in prime time (“Scrubs”). She can trace a theme in her latest project, educational...
Pittsburgh artist curates art project with safety messages that go round and roundVideo
Looking for circles has become a daily search. We spot round shapes on the ground that help us remain 6 feet apart for social distancing during the pandemic. Artist Janel Young is making those marks easier to see. The Beltzhoover resident collaborated with fellow artists to bring vibrant color, combined...
Paris Hilton protest calls for closure of Utah school
PROVO, Utah — Paris Hilton has been speaking out about abuse she said she suffered at a boarding school in Utah, and on Friday she took her push nearly to the school’s front doors. Hilton organized a protest in a park near Provo Canyon School, along with several hundreds of...
Pittsburgh Opera to host live, in-person audiences for ‘Cosi fan tutte’
Mozart may not have envisioned singers wearing masks when he created “Cosi fan tutte,” but that’s the plan when the Pittsburgh Opera performs it in front of a live audience. The opera, which revolves around the theme of fiancée swapping, is the opera’s opening production of its modified 2020-21 season....
Grab bags available for Jeannette gallery’s upcycled art contest
You Are Here art center and gallery in Jeannette is out to prove that one person’s junk is another one’s treasure, with the Upcycle Challenge ‘20, an art competition using recycled and reused materials. For a $10 entry fee, participants receive a package of miscellaneous arts and crafts materials from...
Jack White to replace Morgan Wallen as ‘SNL’ musical guest
NEW YORK — Jack White will be the last-minute replacement musical guest on “Saturday Night Live” after country singer Morgan Wallen was dropped for breaking covid-19 protocols. Wallen was removed as musical guest on Thursday after TikTok videos showed him partying last weekend without a mask on among a large...
Broadway shutdown due to virus extended again until May 30
NEW YORK — Fans of Broadway will have to wait a little longer for shows to resume — until at least late May. Although an exact date for various performances to resume has yet to be determined, Broadway producers are now offering refunds and exchanges for tickets purchased for shows...
Rapper Tory Lanez charged with shooting Megan Thee Stallion
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles prosecutors on Thursday charged rapper Tory Lanez with shooting artist Megan Thee Stallion during an argument earlier this year. Lanez is accused of shooting at Megan Thee Stallion’s feet, hitting her, after she left a SUV during a fight in the Hollywood Hills on July...
Pittsburgh gallery opens with a pop-up exhibition for all
An art gallery in Downtown Pittsburgh will debut with a welcoming exhibition. “This gallery is about unity,” said Cynthia Kenderson, who co-owns Blaqk House Collections with Nicky Jo Dawson. “It will showcase artists of all races. Our logo is the rainbow, so this gallery is inclusive for everyone. I am...
Pittsburgh Opera productions to have small, live audiences
Pittsburgh Opera will welcome small, live audiences back to productions of its modified 2020-21 season, in addition to livestreaming all performances. First up is Mozart’s “Così fan tutte,” opening Oct. 17 for six performances in front of socially distant audiences at its headquarters in Pittsburgh’s Strip District. Stage director Crystal...
