Entertainment category, Page 419
Rap artists, women take center stage at Grammys
LOS ANGELES — Rap artists and women have felt shunned by the Grammy Awards in recent years. But this year, they both took center stage. Childish Gambino’s disturbing look at race relations, “This is America,” won record and song of the year on Sunday’s telecast. It was the first time...
Grammys: Kacey Musgraves wins album of the year; Childish Gambino makes history
LOS ANGELES — Women returned at the Grammys on Sunday as female acts won album of the year and best new artist, while rap also triumphed, with Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” becoming the first rap-based song to win record and song of the year. Kacey Musgraves’ “Golden Hour” picked...
TV show ‘Extra’ suspends host A.J. Calloway to investigate misconduct
PASADENA, Calif. — A.J. Calloway, a host on the syndicated entertainment news show “Extra,” was suspended Saturday as his parent company investigates sexual misconduct allegations. The company said it had investigated prior accusations against Calloway and found no suggestion of workplace misconduct. But he was suspended after Warner Brothers became...
CIA may have used contractor who inspired ‘Mission: Impossible’ to kill RFK, book alleges
Robert Maheu was such a colorful character that it’s widely believed the television show “Mission: Impossible” was based on him and his private investigative agency. As an ex-FBI agent, the CIA asked him to handle jobs it wanted to steer clear of, such as lining up prostitutes for a foreign...
Ariana Grande releases new album, leaves fans speculating about meaning of lyrics
Fans won’t see Ariana Grande at the Grammys this weekend, but they’ve got plenty of new music from the pop star to fill the void. Grande released her latest album “thank u, next” at midnight on Friday, and people are already speculating about the meaning of some of her fresh...
1 ticket, 4 rock shows at KeyBank Pavilion summer line-up
Live Nation’s 2019 “Ticket to Rock” one-ticket deal gives purchasers admission to a four-show summer concert package at KeyBank Pavilion in Burgettstown. Artists who will perform as part of this year’s package include Alice in Chains, Breaking Benjamin, Behemoth, Chevelle, Gojira, Korn, Skipknot, Underoath, Volbeat and more. Shinedown will be...
Grammys swag bag to include breath mints developed in Pittsburgh
A Pittsburgh breath mints company will be part of the Grammy Awards on Sunday. Movemints LLC, based in Aspinwall, was invited to share its breath mints in the Grammy gift bags distributed to all the award ceremony’s guests. The music awards ceremony will air at 8 p.m. Feb. 10 on...
Community leaders to sing at Westmoreland Diversity Coalition fundraiser
Did you ever wonder if state Sen. Kim Ward can carry a tune? Or if Westmoreland County Commissioner Ted Kopas sings tenor or bass? Now you have a chance to find out. Westmoreland Diversity Coalition is hosting a “Westmoreland Has Talent” karaoke fundraiser at 5 p.m. March 2 at Ferrante’s...
‘Big Bang Theory’ gets honor as series nears its end
BURBANK, Calif. (AP) — Champagne briefly replaced scripts Thursday for a ceremony renaming the nondescript Stage 25 on the sprawling Warner Bros. production lot after the sitcom “The Big Bang Theory.” Still television’s most popular comedy, the show will exit the airwaves and the studio it has called home for...
Pittsburgh jazz documentary ‘We Knew What We Had’ returning to WQEDVideo
A locally produced documentary on Pittsburgh’s rich jazz music history is airing again nationally, with a special airing scheduled at 8 p.m. Feb. 28 on WQED, Pittsburgh’s PBS member station. Produced by MCG Jazz, the 60-minute documentary, “We Knew What We Had: The Greatest Jazz Story Never Told,” explores social...
British actor Albert Finney dies at 82
LONDON — British actor Albert Finney, the Academy Award-nominated star of films from “Tom Jones” to “Skyfall,” has died at the age of 82. Finney’s family said Friday that he “passed away peacefully after a short illness with those closest to him by his side.” Finney was a rare star...
‘Giselle’ opens Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s 50th anniversary season
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s 50th Anniversary Celebration will include five major programs offering a wide range of dance from Romantic era mainstays to new works by choreographers with strong ties to Pittsburgh. Artistic director Terrance Orr says the company is doing well, and boasts an exceptional roster of dancers and a...
‘Pet Sematary’ remake updates Stephen King’s classic horror novel
“Sometimes dead is better.” That’s the tagline for the remake of Stephen King’s seminal 1983 horror novel “Pet Sematary.” After Dr. Louis Creed (Jason Clarke) and his family relocate from Boston to rural Maine, the doctor discovers a strange burial ground hidden deep in the woods. When tragedy strikes the...
Review: ‘The Prodigy’ is a creepy-kid horror movie done rightVideo
Creepy children are a mainstay of the horror genre. Going back to “The Bad Seed” and beyond, children have proved capable of unnerving audiences with a combination of precocious dialogue and psychopathic behavior. The chilling new horror film “The Prodigy” continues that fine tradition, with one intriguing complication: in the...
‘Don Giovanni,’ ‘Carmen’ highlight Pittsburgh Opera’s 2019-20 season
Planning a season of opera is a complex undertaking. It’s not just finding the right blend between adventurous new works that advance the artform and the established repertoire audiences already love. There’s also finding performers who will bring their roles to vivid life and choosing fresh, appealing productions. “What interesting...
Review: ‘The Lego Movie 2’ is too meta for its own goodVideo
Like a well-engineered tower of brightly colored building blocks, the Lego movie franchise, now four films strong, achieved its zenith with “The Lego Batman Movie.” The 2017 stand-alone spin-off of the excellent 2014 original that appealed to both young fans of the construction toys and grown-up aficionados of the brooding...
Review: Taraji P. Henson is the best thing about ‘What Men Want’Video
In “What Men Want,” Taraji P. Henson gains the ability to hear men’s unspoken thoughts after she (1) accidentally drinks drug-laced tea; (2) dances to 2 Live Crew’s “Hoochie Mama” during a friend’s bachelorette party; (3) is knocked over by an inflatable penis; and (4) is slammed into a nightclub...
Richard Roundtree, Samuel L. Jackson reprise iconic roles in new ‘Shaft’ film
Who is the man who would risk his neck for brother man? In June, there will be three answers to that iconic question, originally posed in the 1970s by soul singer Isaac Hayes. Both Richard Roundtree and Samuel L. Jackson — the original Detective John Shaft as well as the...
Sonic Youth founder Kim Gordon’s art coming to Warhol MuseumVideo
The first solo North American museum exhibition by Kim Gordon, co-founder of alternative rock band Sonic Youth, will open May 17 in the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. ”Kim Gordon: Lo-Fi Glamour” encompasses two separate but integrated components: a survey exhibition of Gordon’s paintings, drawings and sculpture, and a commissioned...
Keith Urban to perform at Penguins-Flyers Stadium Series gameVideo
Country music star Keith Urban will headline the entertainment for the Feb. 23 NHL Stadium Series outdoor game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers at Lincoln Financial Field, home of the NFL’s Eagles. The 2018 CMA Entertainer of the Year and four-time Grammy Award winner will perform during...
Mayim Bialik visit to offer sympathy, support to Pittsburgh’s Jewish community
Actor Mayim Bialik’s fans know her best from her current role as Amy Farrah Fowler on CBS’s hit comedy series, “The Big Bang Theory,” or her past roles in “Blossom” (1990) and the 1988 movie, “Beaches,” with Bette Midler. Many people may not be aware of her strong commitment to...
River City Brass taking show on the road to South AsiaVideo
A River City Brass ensemble is transporting a bit of Pittsburgh’s musical spunk, and looking forward to some cultural inspiration, as part of a performing and educational tour in Dhaka, Bangladesh, this week. Artistic director/conductor James Gourlay and seven musicians — Hakeem Bilal, Gabriel Colby, John Sebastian Vera, Jeffrey Nicodemus,...
Entertainment planner: Feb. 7-20
Thursday Feb. 7 “The Art of Love,” 18-artist exhibition, Greensburg Garden and Civic Center. Through Feb. 28. 724-836-8000 or thepalacetheatre.org Frank Vignola’s Hot Jazz Guitar Trio, Club Cafe, Pittsburgh. 866-468-3401 or ticketweb.com/clubcafe “Funicello’s Birthday,” Cabaret Theatre production, Olde Main Building, Latrobe. Through Feb. 16. 724-527-7775 “Run for Your Wife,” Greensburg...
Ride along with ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ in latest Split Stage show
Actor Brendan Conaway of Plum says portraying Clyde Barrow in Split Stage Productions’ musical adaptation of “Bonnie and Clyde” is the most challenging role he’s ever played. “It requires so much energy both physically and vocally,” he says. “It’s an emotional roller coaster for me and Victoria (Buchtan) from the...
‘Bubble Show’ is a fantastical, transformative journeyVideo
Enrico Pezzoli says there’s a little bit of “Mr. B” in all of us. The lead character in his “B – The Underwater Bubble Show” is a creature of modern habits who “always feels pressed by a thousand things to do in a world that seems to be moving too...
