Entertainment category, Page 280
Penn-Trafford Community Band plays on during pandemic, new shows planned
Despite the covid-19 pandemic, the Penn Trafford Community Band is rehearsing again and planning at least four concerts for August and September, while following social distancing guidelines, the band manager said. The 65-member community band will play concerts at nursing homes and assisted living facilities, including one in Fox Chapel,...
Ellen DeGeneres apologizes to show’s staff amid workplace inquiry
LOS ANGELES — Ellen DeGeneres apologized to the staff of her daytime TV talk show amid an internal company investigation of complaints of a difficult and unfair workplace. “On day one of our show, I told everyone in our first meeting that ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ would be a place...
Alicia Keys producing PBS documentary on legendary Black female entertainers
Alicia Keys will do her part in paying homage to legendary Black female entertainers who came before her in an upcoming PBS documentary. The 15-time Grammy Award winning singer and actress has been tapped to executive-produce “American Masters: How It Feels to Be Free” for PBS. Based on historian Ruth...
Malik B, founding member of The Roots, has died at 47
LOS ANGELES — Malik B, a rapper and founding member of The Roots, has died. He was 47. The group announced the death of the Philadelphia-born emcee in a social media post Wednesday. The cause of death was not released. Malik B, whose real name is Malik Abdul Basit, was...
Free children’s admission at Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village
August is a good time to take the children to the Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village, in Avella, Washington County. Kids 17 and under will be admitted free courtesy of UPMC. The museum, which is part of the Senator John Heinz History Center’s family of museums, was designated a National...
Pittsburgh playwrights produce new works for online performance
Five Pittsburgh-area playwrights have written 10-minute plays responding to the current state of the world. A one-night-only digital reading of the resulting works, entitled “Homegrown Stories,” is planned for 7:30 p.m. Aug. 6 as part of City of Asylum’s The Show Must Go On(line) Series. The initiative is a collaboration...
Garth Brooks doesn’t want to win CMA entertainer award againVideo
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Country superstar Garth Brooks says he is pulling himself out of nominations for the Country Music Association’s entertainer of the year award, saying it’s time for someone else to win the top prize. Brooks, who won the top prize in November, said during an online press conference...
Movie review: ‘Summerland’ a refreshing take on the cozy WWII-era English seaside village dramaVideo
Filmmaker Jessica Swale makes her directorial debut with the poignant “Summerland,” a tale of love and loss, motherhood and myth, set against the sweeping backdrop of Kent, England, and the White Cliffs of Dover during World War II. Gemma Arterton delivers one of her best performances as prickly writer Alice...
Kennedy Township girl set to debut new song after ending run on ‘America’s Got Talent’Video
Ashley Marina Yankello’s run on “America’s Got Talent” came to an end Tuesday night when judge Howie Mandel delivered the news by video link that the Kennedy Township singer would not be advancing to the quarterfinals of the NBC-TV competition. According to Mandel, the decision to eliminate the youth from...
Westmoreland Symphony musicians plan ‘Live on the Lawn’ concert
A quartet of Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra string musicians will be “Live on the Lawn” Friday on the grounds of the Greensburg Garden and Civic Center. The concert, beginning at 7 p.m., features the WSO String Quartet — violinists Dena Miller and Samantha Nelson, Sarah Ferrell on cello and Sasha Shapiro...
‘Watchmen,’ ‘Mrs. Maisel,’ ‘Ozark’ lead Emmy nominees
LOS ANGELES — “Watchmen,” cloaked in superhero mythology and grounded in real-world racism, received a leading 26 nominations Tuesday for the prime-time Emmy Awards. The series, which captured America’s unease as it faces racial clashes amid a pandemic, was nominated as best limited series and received bids for cast members...
Moon teen’s debut record will be released FridayVideo
After winning a national songwriting competition for a Colorado nonprofit, Moon singer-songwriter Maleena Dominick is preparing to release her first record, “Bruises to Prove It,” on July 31. Dominick, 18, a Moon Area High School graduate this year, said writing the album was an emotional process, and a conversation with...
Oprah’s O Mag to end regular print editions after 20 yearsVideo
O, The Oprah Magazine is ending its regular monthly print editions with the December 2020 issue after 20 years of publication. The brand, which is among the most recognizable magazines in the United States, is not going away but will become more “more digitally-centric,” said a Hearst spokeswoman Monday. There...
‘Tenet’ to open internationally first, in US a week laterVideo
NEW YORK — In the latest plan for Hollywood’s hopeful return to moviegoing during the pandemic, Warner Bros. will release Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” in an unprecedented fashion, opening it internationally first on Aug. 26, with a U.S. release in select cities to follow over Labor Day weekend. Warner Bros. on...
Loved ‘The Kissing Booth’? Actor Joel Courtney promises ‘KB2’ is even betterVideo
Joel Courtney thinks “The Kissing Booth 2” is better than “The Kissing Booth.” “I just think that we really came into our characters in more of a powerful way in the second film, because we knew the characters, we already had history with these characters,” said the actor, who plays...
Rift between royal brothers laid bare in new book extract
LONDON — Prince William infuriated Prince Harry when he told his younger brother he should move slowly in his relationship with the former Meghan Markle, fearing that he was being “blindsided by lust,” a new book on the Windsors says. The second installment of a serialized version of the book...
Oscar-winning actress Olivia de Havilland dies at 104
PARIS — Olivia de Havilland, the doe-eyed actress beloved to millions as the sainted Melanie Wilkes of “Gone With the Wind,” but also a two-time Oscar winner and an off-screen fighter who challenged and unchained Hollywood’s contract system, died Sunday at her home in Paris. She was 104. Havilland, the...
Regis Philbin, television personality and host, dies at 88
NEW YORK — Regis Philbin, the genial host who shared his life with television viewers over morning coffee for decades and helped himself and some fans strike it rich with the game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” has died at 88. Philbin died of natural causes Friday night,...
Fleetwood Mac blues guitarist Peter Green dies at 73
LONDON — Peter Green, the dexterous blues guitarist who led the first incarnation of Fleetwood Mac in a career shortened by psychedelic drugs and mental illness, has died at 73. A law firm representing his family, Swan Turton, announced the death in a statement Saturday. It said he died “peacefully...
Pittsburgh native and former U.S. attorney Harry Litman rising in the podcast world with ‘Talking Feds’
In the crowded world of podcasting, Pittsburgh native Harry Litman is getting attention with “Talking Feds,” a weekly examination of legal and political topics with working experts in the field. Litman’s bona fides are in order: He served as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania (1998-2001) after nearly...
Penn-Trafford Drama Guild will stream showcase of spring musical tunesVideo
In early March, just a couple of weeks before the curtain was set to rise on the Penn-Trafford Drama Guild’s production of “Footloose,” musical sponsor Jen Haberberger wasn’t thinking about the coronavirus. She certainly wasn’t thinking about using pool noodles to properly social-distance students at rehearsals. “We would’ve started technical...
Kennywood to go dark Mondays, Tuesdays through the summer
Kennywood Park announced Friday it will operate only five days a week through the remainder of the 2020 season. The West Mifflin amusement park will be shut down Mondays and Tuesdays, Kennywood said via its social media. Some important calendar updates to share: Going forward, Kennywood will be closed on...
Barack Obama to appear on Michelle Obama’s podcast debut
LOS ANGELES — The first guest of Michelle Obama’s new podcast will have a familiar presidential voice: Barack Obama. The former United States president is expected to appear on “The Michelle Obama Podcast” on Spotify, the Obama’s Higher Ground and streaming service announced Friday. The podcast will debut Wednesday. In...
Sage’s Army online art auction features Western Pa. artists’ work
The work of noted area artists will be available in an online art auction to benefit Sage’s Army. Bidding will begin at noon Wednesday. Among more than two dozen artists donating work are prominent local artists including Dan Overdorff, Mary Ellen Raneri and Toni Antonucci, along with national and international...
Dearth of blockbusters amid outbreak again delays AMC theater reopenings
With Major League Baseball and the NBA resuming play — albeit with coronavirus testing and safety protocols and without fans in the stands — Americans are getting back a small slice of normalcy and something to occupy their minds other than daily covid-19 case counts. But cases are again spiking...
