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“Jeopardy!” Jumps Back to Decent Ratings with Mayim Bialik Hosting and Matt Amodio Winning Every Night

Roger Friedman
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“Jeopardy!” Jumps Back to Decent Ratings with Mayim Bialik Hosting and Matt Amodio Winning Every Night

“Jeopardy!” is back.

The beleaguered game managed to kick up its ratings to 5.4 million viewers for the last week of September. That’s the best it’s done since last April when Aaron Rodgers was the host.

Mayim Bialik is the current host, taking over for fired producer Mike Richards. Bialik exits on November 5th to return to her Fox sitcom. That’s when Ken Jennings returns.

Bialik has been helped by contestant Matt Amodio, who has won has won $1,400,801 in 35 appearances on the show. He is third behind Jennings and James Holzhauer. The Yale PhD student seems unstoppable as he continues to rake in the dough.

“Jeopardy!” had bottomed out around 4.7 million viewers this year, far below the 6 million legacy left behind by Alex Trebek and maintained by Jennings. We’ll see where it goes from here.

Broadway’s First Ever Revival of “Funny Girl” Adds Jane Lynch, Ramin Karimloo to Beanie Feldstein’s Cast

Roger Friedman
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Broadway’s First Ever Revival of “Funny Girl” Adds Jane Lynch, Ramin Karimloo to Beanie Feldstein’s Cast

This is going to be interesting.

Emmy winner Jane Lynch can do anything, she’s a comic genius. Now we’ll find out if she can sing. Lynch has been announced to play Fanny Brice’s mother in the first ever Broadway revival of “Funny Girl.”

Lynch will play Fanny’s mother. Of course, she and star Beanie Feldstein look nothing alike. But who knows? On stage, everything is possible.

Ramin Karimloo, who’s made a good career out of “Les Miserables” and other musicals here and in the West End, will play Nicky Arnstein, who courts Fanny and produces her shows. Jared Grimes will play her stage agent, Eddie Ryan.

“Funny Girl” is coming to Broadway for previews on Saturday, March 26, 2022, and officially opens on Sunday, April 24, 2022 at Broadway’s August Wilson Theatre. Hot ticket? Absolutely!

 

RIP Cynthia Harris, Veteran Character Actress was 87, Played Paul Reiser’s Mom on “Mad About You”

Roger Friedman
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RIP Cynthia Harris, Veteran Character Actress was 87, Played Paul Reiser’s Mom on “Mad About You”

Cynthia Harris’s family has posted an obit in the New York Times. The veteran character actress was 87 years old.

Harris was best known to TV audiences as Paul Reiser’s mom, Sylvia Buchman, on “Mad About You.” But she had a long resume and was a well known New York actress. She was also my neighbor in Greenwich Village for a long time and was a welcome presence everywhere she went.

Harris’s credits included five Broadway productions including Stephen Sondheim’s “Company” in 1970.

On television, Harris was nominated for a BAFTA award for playing Wallis Simpson in the prestigious “Edward & Mrs. Simpson” opposite Edward Fox. Her many other credits included “L.A. Law,” “Sirota’s Court,” and “All My Children,” among others. On the big screen, her movie appearances were solid roles with Barbra Streisand in “Up the Sandbox” and with Tom Conti in “Reuben, Reuben.”

According to her obit, Harris “devoted her life to the theater she was active in many philanthropic causes. Most recently she was an artistic director of the Actors Company Theater (TACT). Cynthia is survived by her loving partner Nathan Silverstein, her devoted assistant Terrence Mintern, her brother Dr. Matthew Harris (Frances), her sister-in-law Maryjane Harris (brother David predeceased her) and many nieces and nephews. Cynthia’s passing is a great loss for the dramatic arts and for all of us.”

Condolences to her family and friends. Our neighborhood will be a lot less interesting without Cynthia Harris.

Broadway: Will “Diana: The Musical” Actually Open? Reviews are Scathing, Sales are Minimal

Roger Friedman
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Broadway: Will “Diana: The Musical” Actually Open? Reviews are Scathing, Sales are Minimal

A lot of really smart, good people are involved in “Diana: The Musical.” So I’m hesitant to say this:

Will this show really open on November 17th? Only to close the next day?

In an odd twist to this delayed show, “Diana” is currently on Netflix, filmed for TV before it opens. No one likes it. On Rotten Tomatoes the score fluctuates between an 8 and 13. And that’s being kind.

Rotten Tomatoes doesn’t account for all the reviews, as many others across the internet are just as scathing but those critics aren’t party of the online platform. The New York Post, which doesn’t have the highest standards, compared it to”Moose Murders,” an infamous show that closed as soon as it opened years ago. It was that bad.

Public interest in “Diana” is minimal. When previews begin November 2nd, the Longacre Theater’s seat map on Telecharge is full of yellow and blue — almost the whole theater is for sale. Nothing is different on November 18th, the day after the official opening. “Diana” is available every day at every price, and will soon be on TKTS and other ticket discount platforms. Checking Saturday, November 27th — the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, same thing.

You have to feel bad for the producers, especially Frank Marshall, who never backs a loser. Long time producer of “Star Wars” films, Marshall is married to LucasFilms president Kathy Kennedy. He’s got the terrific Bee Gees documentary from HBO and lots of grade A projects. “Diana” is just something that’s gone very wrong, and it’s not going to get any better.

The only good news on the bad reviews is that those who’ve seen it, like this writer, won’t go back for more. It’s sheer torture. So the fallout on opening night will be curtailed a little bit. And hopefully the producers got some of their money back from the Netflix showings.

 

Chart Mid Week: Taylor Swift Posts 200,000 Sales of Six Month Old “Fearless” Re-record, Headed Back to Number 1

Roger Friedman
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Chart Mid Week: Taylor Swift Posts 200,000 Sales of Six Month Old “Fearless” Re-record, Headed Back to Number 1

Taylor Swift’s “Fearless” re-record album is headed back to number after six months in release.

Originally released on April 9th of this year, “Fearless” 2.0 sold about 600,000 copies, which is sort of amazing since it’s the re-recorded version of an old album. But it has lots of extras and unreleased tracks.

But this week, so far, the album has sold 200,000 copies. This is from the fulfillment of CDs and LPs signed for Taylor’s fan club customers. Wild, huh? The new “Fearless” will go back to number 1.

Taylor is in the middle of re-recording her whole catalog to re-take ownership of the new master recordings. The old ones, which she has disavowed, were sold off to a financial group by her former label owner, Scott Borchetta, and his partner, Scooter Braun, for $300 million. After “Fearless” comes “Red” on November 12th.

The other big album of the week is Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett’s “Love for Sale,”  which will have a modest sale of around 30,000. Where are all the Gaga fans? This is her passion. And her voice is a thing of beauty.

Barry Manilow Set to Break Elvis Presley’s Las Vegas Record By Booking 105 Shows Through 2023

Roger Friedman
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Barry Manilow Set to Break Elvis Presley’s Las Vegas Record By Booking 105 Shows Through 2023

Barry Manilow is set to break a long running Las Vegas record set by Elvis Presley.

But we always knew Barry, Mr. Show Man, would wind up conquering Vegas, didn’t we? From the time he hit the airwaves with “Mandy” through “Copacabana” and “I Write the Songs.”

I just had the opportunity to see Barry do a soundcheck in Central Park for the now infamous rain-drenched “Welcome Back New York” concert. Nobody does it better.

Manilow is returning to Vegas October 14th with a bunch of shows, then more in 2022 and 2023. All the shows are at the legendary Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino.

“I love it there,” Barry told me.  “Westgate Las Vegas is my home away from home and I look forward to performing there for a long, long time.”

Elvis basically lived at the Westgate after it opened in 1969. At the time, it was the largest hotel and casino in the world. Thirty days after the opening in August,  it would become home his home away from home.

Elvis performed 837 consecutive shows at the International Theater over seven years with the theater often packed with stars like Cary Grant and Carole Channing. His last show was in December of 1976. Several months later in the summer of 1977, the king of rock and roll was dead.

No performer since then has played more shows. Barry will hit that mark in 2023 with his latest commitment. If you watched “Hacks” on HBO Max, you know that a casino booking one act like this is a big deal!

Tickets are on ticketmaster.com

Here are the upcoming dates, with more to come:

UPCOMING SHOW DATES NOW ON SALE:

 October 14 – 16, 2021

October 21 – 23, 2021

November 11 – 13, 2021

December 2 – 4, 2021

February 10 – 12, 2022

February 17 – 19, 2022

March 3 – 5, 2022

April 7 – 9, 2022

April 21 – 23, 2022

Tina Turner Cashes Out Her Music Interests to BMG Including Records, Publishing, Image, Name and Likeness

Roger Friedman
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Tina Turner Cashes Out Her Music Interests to BMG Including Records, Publishing, Image, Name and Likeness

Tina Turner has sold everything to BMG. Thw whole kit and kaboodle.

According to a release, the deal means BMG will be a partner in all of Tina Turner’s music interests. The transaction includes Tina Turner’s artist’s share of her recordings, her music publishing writer’s share, neighboring rights and name, image, and likeness. Tina Turner´s solo works comprise ten studio albums, two live albums, two soundtracks, and five compilations, which together have sold over 100 million records. Warner Music continues to be her record company.

BMG doesn’t say how much money was involved. But it had to had to have been substantial. Tina is retired, she’s not coming back, her career is over. She can just bask in the glory of an amazing life and a catalog that will live on for years.

Tina says in a statement: “Like any artist, the protection of my life’s work, my musical inheritance, is something personal. I am confident that with BMG and Warner Music my work is in professional and reliable hands.”

BMG CEO Hartwig Masuch said, “Tina Turner’s musical journey has inspired hundreds of millions of people around the world and continues to reach new audiences. We are honored to take on the job of managing Tina Turner’s musical and commercial interests. It is a responsibility we take seriously and will pursue diligently. She is truly and simply, the best.”

Tina Turner and her manager and husband Erwin Bach were advised in the transaction by the lawyers Torsten Siefert of Kiso Siefert Dropmann (Germany) and Bär & Karrer (Switzerland). BMG’s advisers included lawyers Lenz & Staehelin (Switzerland), Manatt, Phelps & Phillips (US), Simkins (UK), EY, and The Royalty Consultancy.

New York Public Library Ceases All Fines for Late Books, Clears All Fines Past and Present

Roger Friedman
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New York Public Library Ceases All Fines for Late Books, Clears All Fines Past and Present

Pigs are flying.

“The New York Public Library is proud to announce a major policy shift: Beginning October 5, 2021, all late fines have been eliminated going forward—and all existing fines and fees in patron accounts have been cleared. Learn more about this policy change and how everyone is getting a clean slate this fall.”

That’s right. Don’t bring a book back? Nothing will happen. I guess the NYPL is so desperate for people to use them that they’ve put everyone on their good honor.

They’re also giving gifts:

Say Goodbye to Late Fines…and Say Hello to Everything the Library Has to Offer!

As of October 5, 2021, everyone is getting a fresh start at the Library:

All existing fines and replacement fees in all patron accounts have been cleared and erased.

Late fines will no longer accrue on borrowed materials returned after their due date.

Please note: some replacement fees will still apply. Learn more about our new policy.

As always, e-books are easy to access and will never be overdue. Find out about the Library’s free e-reader app, SimplyE, today!

Visit during Welcome Week, October 18–23, to get a free gift and learn more about the wide array of free services and resources the Library offers for all ages!

You do remember when Jerry was tracked by the Library Cop, aka the late great Philip Baker Hall:

“SNL” Ratings UPDATE: Big Jump in Delayed Viewing for Owen Wilson-Kacey Musgraves Season Opener

Roger Friedman
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“SNL” Ratings UPDATE: Big Jump in Delayed Viewing for Owen Wilson-Kacey Musgraves Season Opener

We were right about “SNL” scoring just 3.5 million viewers Saturday night. Those were the overnight numbers from NBC, and they were half of last season’s premiere.

But…

A lot of people taped the show and watched it later. Who knew? Figures out this afternoon show the 47th season opener scored 4.9 million total viewers. Maybe those 1.4 million more were motivated by the good reviews of the show. It was a very good outing.

The early 3.5 mil guestimate didn’t take all that in. So congrats, “SNL,” on a bigger audience than thought. Seems like there’s a significant group nodding off before 11:30pm! Have some coffee, everyone!

THEATER: “Slave Play” Writer Jeremy O. Harris Wants Show Removed from LA Theater Over Gender Parity

Roger Friedman
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THEATER: “Slave Play” Writer Jeremy O. Harris Wants Show Removed from LA Theater Over Gender Parity

Jeremy O. Harris, the most recent “it” playwright, has stirred up some trouble in Los Angeles.

Harris has asked that a production of his one hit, “Slave Play.” be removed from CTG Theater Group’s schedule in Los Angeles over gender parity. He means that few female playwrights get their works produced there.

“Slave Play” was supposed to re-open the Mark Taper Forum on February 9th.  But Harris looked the schedule and didn’t like what he saw– this is despite “Blues for an Alabama Sky” written by Pearl Cleage and directed by Phylicia Rashad coming from April 6th through May 8th.

“Slave Play” is returning to Broadway for an eight week run this fall even though it failed to score a single Tony Award. It was a financial hit when it played prior to the pandemic largely because it’s gratuitous porn streamlined for a theater crowd.

I think Los Angeles has dodged a bullet, frankly; The Mark Taper Forum can do a lot better with a return show. How Harris’s financial backers will feel about not having a West Coast production remains unknown. But welcome to cancel culture, and random petulance. Theater owners have enough problems finding shows that will bring audiences, I doubt the CTG people are looking only for plays by people of a certain gender or color. They will book the most popular shows. Harris should know that. If Lynn Nottage or Suzan Lori Parks had had a hit in the previous New York season, it would undoubtedly have headed west.

And so it goes.

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