Stay tuned…
Pop And Fizzle: Madonna’s Fans Didn’t Show Up For “Medellin,” Total Sales Came to 16,000 Including Streaming
Madonna’s fans send me nasty tweets, claiming that I’m bashing the Queen of Pop for no sales on her new single, “Medellin.”
This morning, BuzzAngle reports that “Medellin” has 16,000 copies including all streaming since its release one week ago, last Wednesday.
The fact is, Madonna’s fans– while they love her– did not show up for “Medellin.” Unfortunately, most former pop divas– including Mariah Carey and Jennifer Lopez– are in the same boat. Their fans adore them but are not interested in paying for new music. The fans want to hear the hits and that’s that.
Mariah Carey, for example, according to Buzz Angle, sold just 66,000 copies of her album, “Caution,” since last November, with 30,000 more in sales from streaming. And that’s a lot these days. But it’s a far cry from her sales of 4 million for albums from the 90s.
Alas, it’s a new generation, kids. We are in the world of Beyonce, Pink, Ariana Grande, Kacey Mugraves, and so on. And it’s not easy for them, either. Concert tours are where the money is. When Madonna hits the road as Madame X, she’ll sell out arenas. But it won’t be songs from “Madame X” that will fuel those audiences. It will be “Ray of Light” and “Like a Virgin.”
Broadway Triumph: Annette Bening, Tracey Letts, Benjamin Walker On Fire in Sensational New Production of Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons”
What a relief to see a real play. Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons” is back, directed with new insights by Jack O’Brien, and with sensational performances from Annette Bening, Tracey Letts, and Benjamin Walker, not to mention a newcomer named Hampton Fluker, as well as Michael Hayden.
Last night, opening night, the main performers were on fire. I really thought Tracey Letts was going to self-immolate. Annette Bening, too long not on Broadway, will now be welcomed back constantly. Ben Walker really comes into his own in this presentation. And so on.
So I was quite surprised to see Jesse Green (whom I don’t know) from the New York Times give this show a negative review. He is the only main theater critic who didn’t love it. On the other hand, he loved the grossly awful “Gary” with Nathan Lane. It maybe time for a vacation. The Times is not giving its readers accurate criticism.
“All My Sons” could not be more timely or topical, even though it was published in 1947 and refers to World War II. Joe Keller (Letts) has let his partner in a munitions factory go to jail after 21 pilots died from faulty manufacture. In fact, it was Joe who was responsible. Now the son (Fluker) of his imprisoned partner has come to seek revenge, while Joe’s family– purposely ignorant of his guilt– must grapple with his crime.
Sound like Boeing and their new 737? Or Volkswagen? Or Amtrak? Yep. It couldn’t be more relevant. Want to Make America Great Again? Well, Miller took his story from 1946 headlines, when America was supposedly “great.” People have always been flawed, and self deluded in how they rationalize poor behavior. Joe Keller is at the top of the list.
To make things worse, though, the Kellers lost a son, Larry, in the War. He plane was shot down, but his mother, Kate Keller (Bening) would prefer to believe he may come home again. For Miller, this was his 11th play, his first hit, and preceded his masterwork, “Death of a Salesman,” by two years. In many ways you can see “All My Sons” as a precursor to “Salesman,” a notebook. The play is a little on the nose, but then far superior to anything else of the time.
The first act is the set up (there are three acts). By the second act, we’re moving, pieces of the backstory are peeled back like an onion skin, the audience is learning what the characters know: they should not be in the same room together. After what’s already occurred, they should remain at a great distance. Instead, it’s like their drawn back to a flame to see if it will kill them. It’s almost like Russian Roulette. And the closer they get to their emotional crisis, you want to jump on stage and advise them to leave.
Again, I loved Bryan Cranston in “Network” and Jeff Daniels in “Mockingbird.” So we’ll add Tracey Letts to the Best Actor in a Play category. He is remarkable. Annette Bening may be a slam dunk for Best Actress. All those Oscar nominations, and now finally she’s back. She’s given Kate her first real, understood delivery maybe ever. Bening is so good, and her show is current, that I do think The Tony Committee should give Elaine May a special Tony for “Waverly Gallery.” (And Joel Grey one for directing “Fiddler” in Yiddish.)
What a night! Bryan Cranston was there. So was Bening’s husband, Warren Beatty, front and center and backstage. Many stars showed up including Miller’s daughter Rebecca (writer and director) with her son Ronan Day-Lewis, Celia Weston, Annaleigh Ashford and actor husband Joe Tapper, Ben Platt, Bill Irwin, Bobby Cannavale, and my old friend Warren Leight, who had great news. After four years away he’s going to back be Executive Producer of “Law & Order: SVU.” His five years there were legendary. Now Dick Wolf is going to have him do seasons 21 through 25, at least. Bravo !
It’s Good to Be King! Mel Brooks is Coming to Broadway for Two Nights in June, And I’m Kvelling
Mel Brooks is coming to Broadway. Two nights– June 17th and 18th at the Lunt Fontanne Theater.
Mel is 92 years young. God willing he’ll turn 93 ten days later. Amazing. The brilliant and hilarious legend of everything from “Your Show of Shows” to “Blazing Saddles,” “Young Frankenstein,” and of course, “The Producers” will put on a little show. It will be glorious.
Mel’s shows are part of Live Nation’s “In Residence” series. They’re going to announce the rest of the summer line up soon. Mel Brooks is a good omen!
Ticket sales begin tomorrow, April 23, on ticketmaster.com
New Music “American Idol” Beaten by Old Music “Motown 60” Special on CBS, Even Without Michael Jackson
“American Idol” was beaten in the ratings last night by real music, and it was an irony for Lionel Richie.
“Motown 60” on CBS won the time slot from 8 to 10pm with 6.8 million vs. 6.4 million. More young people watched “Idol” but more people enjoyed Motown.
Lionel Richie, who dropped out of the Motown taping at the last minute, is a judge on “Idol.” Jennifer Lopez, who used to be an “Idol” judge, appeared on the Motown show in her dreadful Grammy medley of Motown songs. It was the same performance as from the Grammy show. It was just dropped in.
The Motown special emphasized the Motown superstars– Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, and Diana Ross. There was no mention of Michael Jackson, who I guess will now be wiped from the label’s history a la Kate Smith from the Yankees and the Philadelphia Flyers. Ridiculous.
The best part of the Motown special, aside from the performances, were the interviews. The Smokey Robinson/Mary Wilson segment was excellent. So was the one with the songwriters. Mary Wilson really got her vindication over Diana Ross. Nice work, Ken Ehrlich.
Nathan Lane, Other Actors Tortured in Simply Awful, Torturous “Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus”
I don’t blame Nathan Lane. He’s a comic giant, along with Kristine Nielsen and Julie White. They are the best actors Broadway can summon. But Taylor Mac’s “Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus” is utter crap. They are tortured on stage by a playwright who’s given them some of the worst material I’ve ever seen on a stage, Broadway or otherwise.
Do not trust the NY Times review except for one line: he doesn’t know if “Gary” will last a month. I do. It won’t. The audience fled from the performance I saw. If there had been an intermission for this 90 minute play, no one would have returned.
No one likes “Titus Andronicus.” It’s not a play that needs a sequel of any kind. Of all Shakespeare’s plays, you’d be best off to just leave it alone. But this Taylor Mac won’t do that. He thinks it’s funny that after the big battle at the end of the play, the curtain would rise on a mound of dead warriors (made from puppets) with flapping penises. Enter Nathan Lane as a former clown who is now a maid assigned to clean up the mess. Kristine Nielsen, who I adore, is already there. She’s in charge. For about ten minutes they do some shtick, they’re very funny, and you calm down. This may work out.
Nielsen is teaching Lane, who sports a Harpo Marx horn with a big red ball he can squeeze, how to remove the gas and feces from the dead bodies. That’s funny, very briefly. But then what? What is the point of this play? No one knows or cares about “Titus Andronicus.” And soon the pair are talking about absolutely nothing. Nothing. All the mugging and carrying on will not save them. Not even Julie White, who appears at midpoint, and distracts from the main problem: there is no play.
Nathan Lane has soared on Broadway. In “It’s Only a Play,” I was crying for laughing. Nielsen was a genius in “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.” Genius. Julie White can do no wrong. I felt for them on the stage at the Walter Kerr. There is just nowhere to go except in the abyss. If only they could remain on that stage and do something else. Anything else. Please. Just talk to the audience. We’d understand.
The author, Taylor Mac, has won a MacArthur Genius Grant, which puts that whole enterprise into question. He’s also won a Doris Duke Award, which I assume is named for the late, completely crazy heiress who used to give birthday parties on her front lawn for her llama. Now that would have made a great scene in “Gary.”
Want to see real play on Broadway? See “The Ferryman.”
Aretha Franklin, With Pulitzer Prize Win, Proves to be a Box Office Draw: “Lost” 1972 Gospel Concert Film “Amazing Grace” Is a Hit
She didn’t want it released. She had her reasons.
But lo and behold, Aretha Franklin’s “lost” gospel film is a hit. Fresh off her surprise Pulitzer Prize award this week, Aretha’s “Amazing Grace” is drawing nice crowds.
This week, the film made by Sydney Pollack in 1972 made $591,642. The total take so far is $1.3 million. Aretha and Sydney must be applauding from heaven.
“Amazing Grace” was bought from Pollack and freshened up by Allan Elliot, son of a former Atlantic Records executive. Then he fought and persisted to get it released. Part of that project was synching up the vocals and the video. He and his team did it, but Aretha kept saying no. Once she passed last August, her estate said yes.
The result is a document that anyone who loves R&B or gospel and especially Aretha, must see. And they’re turning out. If only Elliot had waited to let the film be eligible for this year’s Oscars. But he put it in for 2019, too late, and the film was overlooked. So it won’t win an Academy Award. But it will be a permanent testament to the power, magic, and brilliance of Aretha. Say amen, everyone.
This Week, Another Johnny Depp Movie Went Straight to Video: “The Professor” Continues Losing Streak for Former Box Office Star
This weekend, Johnny Depp opened in “The Professor,” directed by Wayne Roberts. Did you see it?
The answer, for most, is No.
“The Professor” went straight to video and Direct TV. It’s not playing in movie theaters. For Depp, this is a pretty big comedown, but not unusual of late. The star of all those “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies is now on a downward slide that shows no immediate sign of recovering.
Another recent film, “City of Lies,” was pulled from distribution last year, and remains unreleased. It may never see the light of day.
“London Fields” was finally released last year, and sank like a stone.
Depp also starred in “Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindewald,” the first Harry Potter-related film to be a relative disaster. Although “Grindewald” ground out $159 million in the US, it cost well over $200 million. Luckily, international audiences pushed its worldwide total to $654 million.
Depp is still in the middle of a scandalous divorce case with ex wife Amber Heard, lobbing accusations back and forth in court and in supermarket tabloids. He’s also been revealed to be in financially dire straits, which will push him into Nicolas Cage territory. He’s got two more films in the can, as they say, and then his future remains a mystery. A really good Peak TV series would seem like a solution, since his box office draw had dried up for the moment.
The Exclusive Inside Story of Sunday Night’s Motown 60 Special on CBS: Why JLO?, Diana Ross Says No to the Supremes, No Mention of Michael Jackson, and Mary Wilson’s Eventual Triumph
Tonight’s “Motown 60” special on CBS is a mixed bag. It’s certainly worth seeing, but what went on backstage and in the negotiations is far more interesting.
Back in 1983, the 25th anniversary of Motown was the place where Michael Jackson did his Moonwalk to “Billie Jean,” and became a monster celebrity forever. Contrast to this show, where Michael isn’t mentioned and the Jackson 5 are a footnote. It’s jaw dropping. In the Seventies, Motown lived off Michael and the Jacksons.
“Motown 60” features a repeat of Jennifer Lopez’s god awful Motown medley from the Grammy show in February. If you didn’t like it then, you won’t like it now. But to get Lopez, a “contemporary” star, on the Motown special, the producers had to give her a spot on the Grammys.
Ditto Diana Ross, who got a big spot on the Grammys and no one could figure out why. That was her trade off for doing the Motown show. Ross, even at 75, doesn’t want to seem like an oldies act– even though she is one. (A good one, mind you.) And her contribution to the Motown show was NO SUPREMES. So Diana sings from “Lady Sings the Blues.” She doesn’t go near the Supremes. (One Supremes song is sung in a medley by Meghan Trainor.)
But Ross’s NO SUPREMES decree may have backfired. During the taping, we saw clips from an interview with beloved ex-Supreme Mary Wilson. When the interviews were taped, Mary wasn’t dressed properly, had no make up or stylist. Mary, however, really knows the Motown history. Producer Ken Ehrlich saw that, and invited Mary back to L.A. from Las Vegas. Wise Ken re-interviewed Mary all dolled up, and paid all her expenses. We may see the fruit of that interview Sunday night.
What a nice thing to do considering Mary was among many Motown performers who were left out of the 60th anniversary show entirely. Some of them were in the audience– like Mary, Otis Williams of the Temptations, Scherrie Payne, who sang with the Supremes from 1973-78 — but were seated far away from Diana Ross and Motown founder Berry Gordy. Duke Fakir, the only living member of the original Four Tops, wasn’t even invited to the taping– and he was in L.A. Insane! Mary and Otis were treated very badly at the taping. They got their revenge last month when “Ain’t Too Proud,” Otis’s musical about the Temptations, opened on Broadway. Mary came in, too, and was given a huge shout out from the stage.
There’s no denying Berry Gordy’s amazing contribution to our culture with Motown. It’s astonishing. Gordy is 89, and he deserves a Kennedy Center honor. But Motown suffers from revisionist history all the time. If you want to know the real stories, you have to read out of print books like Gerri Hirshey’s “Nowhere to Run” or Mary Wilson’s “Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme.”
We’ll see what made the final cut for Sunday (tonight’s) show.
Oscar Nominee Writer-Director John Singleton Said to Suffered a “Minor Stroke,” Hospitalized and Doing Rehab in Los Angeles
John Singleton is said to have suffered a minor stroke, possibly on a flight from Costa Rica back to Los Angeles. His family says he noticed a weird weakness in his leg, and went right to Cedars Sinai Hospital, where he’s doing rehab. It sounds like he caught it in time and did all the right things. Thank goodnews.
Singleton, 51, has two Oscar nominations for writing and directing “Boyz in the Hood” in 1991. He’s been a prolific movie and TV director ever since, with credits that include “Poetic Justice” and “Shaft (2000).” He has two recent Primetime Emmy noms for directing, and he also directed a key episode of “The People vs. OJ Simpson.” He also has several important producing credits including “Hustle and Flow.”
John’s one of the good guys. So glad to hear he’s on the mend. All his friends are sending out Get Well Tweets. I’m sure he’ll bounce back fast.