Entertainment category, Page 352
Willie Nelson cancels tour, cites ‘breathing problem’
NEW YORK — Willie Nelson has canceled his tour because of a “breathing problem.” The 86-year-old singer apologized on Twitter late Wednesday, writing “I need to have my doctor check out.” Nelson had just finished performing with Alison Krauss in Toledo, Ohio, and he was next scheduled to appear Friday...
Entertainment planner: Aug. 8-21
Thursday Aug. 8 The Bricks, TGIS free concert, The Palace Theatre, Greensburg. 724-836-8000 or thepalacetheatre.org “Cabaret,” Little Lake Theatre, Canonsburg. Through Aug. 24. 724-745-7300 or littlelake.org “Violeta,” Quantum Theatre production, Frick Park lawn bowling greens, Pittsburgh. Through Aug. 25. 412-362-1713 or quantumtheatre.com Friday Aug. 9 500 Miles to Memphis, The...
Bryan Adams ‘shines a light’ on 4 decades of musicVideo
“Shine A Light,” the title track of Bryan Adams’ new album, was co-written with prolific collaborator, English musician Ed Sheeran. “I met Ed in Dublin this year at one of his shows and we kept in touch,” Adams said in a tour press release. “One day I sent him a...
Freeport Theatre Festival performs classic ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’
“Arsenic and Old Lace” is one of those killer classics. Written by Joseph Kesselring, two maiden aunts, Abby and Martha Brewster, have a curious charity. They poison lonely, elderly gentlemen with homemade elderberry wine spiked with arsenic, in order to put them out of their misery. Set in 1941, the...
‘Grease’ is the word at Scottdale’s Geyer
Actors and Artists of Fayette County takes audiences back to those fabulous ‘50s with its production of the popular Broadway musical “Grease” Aug. 15-18 at Geyer Performing Arts Center in Scottdale. Will Dixon of Greensburg is directing the 1971 musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey that made John Travolta...
Ladies who lunch — err, sip — take center stage at Apple HIll Playhouse
It’s amazing what determination and the occasional liquid refreshment can do to successfully make friends from strangers. Apple Hill Playhouse’s production of “The Savannah Sipping Society” Aug. 15-25 at the Delmont theater brings together four middle-aged Southern women with very little in common who in six months turn their lives...
Stage Right to host auditions for 2019-20 professional season
In its 2019-20 performance season, Stage Right’s Greensburg theater company will have audiences partying under the sea, doing a dance called the “Time Warp” and delivering newspapers in turn-of-the-century New York City. But first, they’ll need some actors. Auditions for the upcoming season will take place Aug. 24 at the...
Fox: Jussie Smollett won’t be on final season on ‘Empire’
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Fox Entertainment chief Charlie Collier says Jussie Smollett won’t be back on “Empire.” Collier, speaking to TV critics Wednesday, affirmed series co-creator Lee Daniels’ decision to drop Smollett from the drama’s upcoming final season. Daniels had initially supported Smollett after the actor claimed he suffered a...
Fox chief says Emmy Awards won’t have a host this year
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — The Oscars did it, and now the Emmys will too. There will be no host at the ceremony honoring TV’s best next month. Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier said Wednesday that going hostless allows more time to salute departing shows, including “Game of Thrones.” The HBO...
Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival ranks high for vendor profit
The Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival has been ranked as the nation’s 15th most profitable classic and contemporary craft show for 2018 by “Sunshine Artist” magazine, a leading publication for art and craft show exhibitors, promoters and patrons. The magazine’s 27th annual “200 Best” list, released today, says it was...
Fans launch ‘Save The OA’ campaign hours after Netflix pulls the plugVideo
“The OA” is officially DOA but its devoted fan base refuses to let it die. Hours after the sci-fi thriller — Netflix’s creepier, weirder cousin of “Stranger Things” — was canceled, “OA” devotees on Twitter launched a “Save the OA” campaign. The streaming service pulled the plug on the Brit...
‘The Rookie’ star Afton Williamson identifies actor she says harassed her
One day after Afton Williamson abruptly announced she had quit the “The Rookie” due to sexual harassment, she turned to social media Tuesday to urge other victims of abuse to speak out. Monday, Williamson, 34, claimed costar Demetrius Grosse, who plays Detective Kevin Wolfe on the ABC cop drama, had...
Latrobe Art Center has fall classes for all ages, skill levels
The fall lineup of art classes for all ages and skill levels will begin in September at the Latrobe Art Center. Two new classes are designed to create more interest in art among middle to high school students. Instructor Sharon Coons was an art teacher for 30 years, says center...
The Regrettes bring fun power punk to Pittsburgh
Lydia Night was just a toddler when it became obvious that she was destined to be a rock singer. At the age of 2, she was singing the Ramones song “Beat on the Brat” for the soundcheck at her father’s nightclub in New Orleans, where she was born. By 6,...
Artists converge in You Are Here ‘Bat Country’ exhibit
Three regional artists, along with a West Coast artist, will exhibit some unusual and eye-popping creations in an upcoming show at You Are Here, 406 Clay Ave., Jeannette. Participating in the joint and a “little off kilter” exhibit, “Bat Country,” are artists Nora Thompson, Brian McCall, Johnny Dismal and Dominic...
‘Where’d You Go, Bernadette,’ filmed in New Kensington and Pittsburgh, coming to theatersVideo
After several delays, a movie filmed in New Kensington and other Pittsburgh-area locations two years ago is coming to theaters. ”Where’d You Go, Bernadette” is being released Aug. 16 but will hit area theaters — including Cinemark at the Pittsburgh Mills, AMC at the Waterfront in West Homestead, and Regal...
The Clarks to play annual Big Brothers Big Sisters benefitVideo
The Clarks will take the stage at Greensburg’s Palace Theatre on Oct. 19 for the band’s annual benefit concert for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Laurel Region. The band’s latest release came in May — “Between Now and Then, Volume 2,” featuring all of the original members, is a...
Gordon Ramsay charts new ground with ‘Uncharted’Video
You don’t thrive in the restaurant business the way Gordon Ramsay has without developing a thick skin. That’s not to say a bad review doesn’t sting, but he can at least understand such evaluations are made by sampling his product. That was not the case with the initial reaction to...
River City Brass director honored with ‘Dr. James Gourlay Day’
Recognizing James Gourlay’s 10th season as River City Brass artistic and general director, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto is declaring Sept. 5 as “Dr. James Gourlay Day.” Sept. 5 is opening day for River City Brass’s new season. A copy of the proclamation notes Gourlay’s expansion of the band’s audience and...
Review: Dog’s-eye view wears thin in ‘Art of Racing in the Rain’
The film adaptation of “The Art of Racing in the Rain” seems to have been designed by algorithm to maximize appeal for a certain demographic of women aged around 30 and up. Let’s take the lovable dad from “This is Us” (Milo Ventimiglia, who happens to have some lasting goodwill...
Singer Ben Folds talks about his new book, playing in PittsburghVideo
Ben Folds is not only a prolific songwriter and performer, he is also an author. Folds has just written his first book, a memoir called “A Dream About Lightning Bugs.” Of course he is also a singer and musician who has recorded many memorable songs including “Brick,” “Landed,” “Song for...
Singer-songwriter Natasha Bedingfield announces Pittsburgh-area show
Singer-songwriter Natasha Bedingfield will perform at the Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall on Oct. 20. The artist, best known for her song “Unwritten,” will hit the stage two months after her latest album release, which is expected later in August. The song, released in 2004, garnered several award nominations and...
Nobel laureate Toni Morrison dead at 88
NEW YORK — Nobel laureate Toni Morrison, a pioneer and reigning giant of modern literature whose imaginative power in “Beloved,” ”Song of Solomon” and other works transformed American letters by dramatizing the pursuit of freedom within the boundaries of race, has died at age 88. Publisher Alfred A. Knopf announced...
Vocal Confluence expands repertoire, performancesVideo
A cappella men’s group Vocal Confluence is prepping its pipes for an upcoming concert at Rodef Shalom Congregation, 4905 Fifth Ave., Pittsburgh. “’Til I Hear You Sing: An Afternoon with Vocal Confluence,” will begin at 3 p.m. Aug. 25, featuring a “potpourri” of favorites including jazz standards, Broadway hits and...
Oh my! George Takei highlights upcoming Steel City show
Two of the all-time greatest science fiction franchises — “Star Trek” and “Star Wars” — will be represented at the upcoming Steel City Con. George Takei (Hikaru Sulu, “Star Trek”), Ray Park (Darth Maul, “Star Wars”) and the original “Hellboy” himself, Ron Perlman are the featured celebrities. Takei just published...
