Entertainment category, Page 279
Luke Bryan: ‘There’ll always be people who say I ruined country music’Video
This wasn’t Luke Bryan’s first rodeo. “Am I too backlit? Hold on,” the country star said the other day as he picked up a video call at his home in Nashville. Dressed in a golf shirt and ball cap, sunglasses dangling from a cord around his neck, he stood and...
Zelienople native writes, directs, scores 1st filmVideo
When he was growing up in Zelienople, Nathan Brewer performed in Bible-based musicals written by his father and staged at Camp Lutherlyn in Prospect. When Brewer noticed the stage at his father’s Lutheran church was not being used, he begged his father to let him direct one of the musicals....
Coroner: British TV host Caroline Flack killed herself before assault trial
A British coroner ruled Thursday that reality TV host Caroline Flack killed herself while facing an assault trial she feared would end her career and bring unbearable media scrutiny. Flack, the former host of “Love Island,” was found dead at her London apartment in February, weeks before she was due...
Animals in motel rooms star in Carnegie’s next online exhibitionVideo
The Carnegie Museum of Art’s next online exhibition will feature video vignettes of “wild North American migratory animals relocated from their natural habitats to vacant motel rooms.” Launching Aug. 19, the unusual work is “migration (empire),” a 24-minute video by multidisciplinary artist Doug Aitken. The film was exhibited on the...
Kaley Cuoco takes to skies in ‘The Flight Attendant’
Kaley Cuoco was looking for her next project three years before “The Big Bang Theory” ended. She found it reading a snippet about a book on Amazon. “The Flight Attendant” is a dark thriller with comedic overtones, letting Cuoco employ the love of laughter she honed for 12 seasons on...
‘Ren & Stimpy’ to make TV comeback in new Comedy Central show
The brazen humor of “The Ren & Stimpy Show” will be revisited in a new Comedy Central version of the animated series. The original program that was a hit for Nickelodeon will be reimagined in partnership with Nickelodeon Animation Studio, Comedy Central said Wednesday. Ren, a psychologically challenged Chihuahua, and...
The Westmoreland reopens: A safe space to contemplate art in the midst of pandemicVideo
Doug and Connie Clutter of Washington, Pa., were the first guests through the door when The Westmoreland Museum of American Art reopened Wednesday. A watercolor painter, Connie said she was in need of some inspiration for her work. “We needed an outing, too,” her husband said. “I just missed art...
For Liam Neeson and son, ‘Made in Italy’ was a family affairVideo
When Liam Neeson sits down with a script, he usually knows within five pages whether he wants to do it. He calls it his “cup of tea” test. If he finds himself eager to get one, it’s not a good sign. But he found himself unable to break away from...
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust continues online programs, reopening plans
When will patrons be able to return to Pittsburgh’s Cultural District for live music, theater and other entertainment? While the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust does not have a date to resume in-person programs, it is “working with national tours and presenters to realign all 2020 season programs into the 2021 calendar...
Disney to release ‘Mulan’ on streaming service, for a price
“Mulan” is no longer headed for a major theatrical release. The Walt Disney Co. said Tuesday that it will debut its live-action blockbuster on its subscription streaming service, Disney+, on Sept. 4. But this is no “Hamilton”: Customers will have to pay an additional $29.99 on top of the cost...
Heinz History Center is part of national collaboration for ‘Made By Us’ initiative
When Senator John Heinz History Center learned about the chance to collaborate with other museums to present U.S. history — geared to the younger generation, giving them a platform to express their thoughts — the center’s president and CEO, Andy Masich, jumped at the opportunity. The history center has teamed...
Teen pens musical adaptation for Diamond Theatre of Ligonier
While some teens have been busy during the pandemic shutdown recording TikTok videos, a 15-year-old from Laughlintown has gone a big step further. Lanigan McCulty created “Greece Lightning the Musical,” which will be staged this weekend at the Diamond Theatre of Ligonier. Granted, he might have an advantage over the...
Review: Sweet fable in Seth Rogen’s Pittsburgh-filmed ‘An American Pickle’Video
The funniest part of ” An American Pickle ” isn’t even really in the movie. It’s a little scene in the middle of the credits in which Seth Rogen’s Herschel Greenbaum, a 1920s laborer who wakes up 100 years after falling into a vat of pickle juice, watches “Yentl” with...
Popular Pittsburgh club Brillobox closes doors for good
Brillobox, a popular Pittsburgh club offering live music, food and dance parties, is closing its doors. Owners Lou Ickes and Janessa Walter announced the closure via a Facebook post. “We are wrapping it up. We appreciate everyone that has been a part of Brillo, over the years. It’s been a...
Pittsburgh CLO postpones live shows, plans virtual ‘Christmas Carol’
Pittsburgh CLO has postponed all scheduled in-person performances until 2021, citing “uncertainties and risks related to the ongoing health crisis.” Postponed shows includes the previously scheduled fall Kara Cabaret productions of “Dixie’s Tupperware Party” and “Untitled.” The annual production of “A Musical Christmas Carol” at the Byham Theater will be...
Pittsburgh Opera hosting live, reduced audiences for 2020-21 season
Any opera buff would agree that watching a performance of “Cosi fan tutte” on a screen is nothing like hearing it live. As of Monday, fans of the Pittsburgh Opera will have a choice. The organization announced, in response to ongoing covid-19 uncertainty and concerns, four operas will be performed...
Pandemic parody of ‘Goodnight Moon’ to be released in fall
A popular online spoof of the children’s favorite “Goodnight Moon,” reworked for the coronavirus, will be published by Penguin Random House this fall. The Penguin imprint Philomel Books announced Monday that “Good Morning Zoom,” written by Lindsay Rechler and illustrated by June Park, is scheduled for Oct. 6. Currently self-published,...
Book Review: Hank Phillippi Ryan teeters on the improbable
The first liar we meet in Hank Phillippi Ryan’s “First to Lie” is Nora, a pharmaceutical representative whose job is to push Monifan, a drug that can increase fertility in women who have difficulty conceiving. But Nora is secretly pursuing her own agenda. Next come Ellie, an investigative reporter, and...
Steve McQueen sets 3 premieres at New York Film Festival
Three original films by Oscar-winner Steve McQueen will debut at the New York Film Festival this year, organizers said Monday. The “12 Years a Slave” director will get the opening night slot for the 1980s-set music romance “Lovers Rock” in addition to two other premieres for films in his anthology...
Dan + Shay release new song ‘I Should Probably Go To Bed’Video
Dan + Shay didn’t let their time in quarantine go to waste. The country pop music duo just released a new song, “I Should Probably Go To Bed,” on July 31 that was recorded during the coronavirus pandemic. Dan + Shay is comprised of Shay Mooney and Wexford native Dan...
Pittsburgh Concert Chorale partially cancels season, plans virtual performance for Pirates gameVideo
The Pittsburgh Concert Chorale performed selections from Orff’s “Carmina Burana” on March 1. When members gathered March 10 for their first Pops rehearsal, no one knew it would be the last time they’d all be together for the next six months. “Sadly, the very thing that gives our singers and...
Taylor Swift nabs 7th No.1 album with ‘folklore’
To no one’s surprise, Taylor Swift’s surprise album “folklore” is dominating the music charts. Swift’s eighth album debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s 200 albums chart this week, marking the best first-week sales of the year and giving the pop star her seventh No. 1 title on the chart. According...
Wilford Brimley, ‘Cocoon’ and ‘Natural’ actor, dies at 85
LOS ANGELES — Wilford Brimley, who worked his way up from movie stunt rider to an indelible character actor who brought gruff charm, and sometimes menace, to a range of films that included “Cocoon,” “The Natural” and “The Firm,” has died. He was 85. Brimley’s manager Lynda Bensky said the...
Pittsburgh Symphony to host virtual family concert
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra added a family concert to its “Summer with the Symphony” online series. The piece will post at 11:15 a.m. Saturday and be available through Aug. 31. The 40-minute concert will feature music from Camille Saint-Saen’s “The Carnival of the Animals,” and will have text and illustrations...
How Tyler Perry’s ‘camp quarantine’ fended off the pandemic during filming of ‘Sistas’Video
As filmmakers prepare to resume production after months of shutdown, Tyler Perry has a message for Hollywood: Shooting during a pandemic is challenging. The Atlanta-based producer was one of the first major filmmakers to power back up production in the wake of the coronavirus health crisis. He recently wrapped two...
