EXCLUSIVE: Sirens, a rock doc about Beirut all-female thrash metal band Slave to Sirens, will get a theatrical run after Oscilloscope Laboratories bought the North American rights.
04.04.2022 - 04:27 / variety.com
Naveen Kumar The body can sometimes say more than words, but even the most expressive moves cannot make a coherent case for “Paradise Square.” The blunt and belabored history lesson of a new musical set in Manhattan’s Five Points, and produced by Garth Drabinsky, purports to be a fable of American race relations. But while conflicts between the neighborhood’s Black and Irish residents at times come thrillingly to life through dance, “Paradise Square” is wrong-footed from the jump.Named for an all-are-welcome saloon in the downtown slum, the Broadway musical presents a clash of cultures inspired by true events. Irish immigrants and Black Americans are jostling to survive in a city of harsh promises and a country on the brink of Civil War.
Two young men walk into a bar, one fresh off the boat from Ireland (A.J. Shively) and another (Sidney DuPont) who’s just escaped slavery on the Underground Railroad. And it’s showtime, fellas! Both are made to sing and dance for their room and board. Their rivalry sets up a false equivalency between the challenges of working class immigrants and those of the formerly enslaved that the story neither sufficiently complicates nor resolves.
Instead, “Paradise Square” puts a host of stock characters in a broadly sketched historical setting, piles on the plot, and hopes for contemporary resonance. The result is a tiresome mess.Supported by a formidable dance ensemble, the ongoing face-off between the two men is at least a vibrant showcase for propulsive choreography from Bill T. Jones.
EXCLUSIVE: Sirens, a rock doc about Beirut all-female thrash metal band Slave to Sirens, will get a theatrical run after Oscilloscope Laboratories bought the North American rights.
Andrew Bird has announced details of his new album ‘Inside Problems’ – you can listen to his new single ‘Underlands’ below.The US singer/songwriter will follow up his 2020 solo album ‘Hark!’ with the new record, which is set for release on June 3 via Loma Vista / Concord.Speaking about ‘Inside Problems’, which was produced by Mike Viola and recorded live by Bird and his four-piece band, Bird said: “I have so much fun taking my ideas apart before they really have defined themselves as distinct songs, when they’re still in that amoeba-like state.“I love the feeling of chasing ideas and having them split off and go hang out with another idea and then butting them up against each other to see if they talk to each other.”Bird has previewed ‘Inside Problems’ this week with the single ‘Underlands’, which you can hear above.“You just don’t know what’s under the surface, be it the land, the sea, our skin,” Bird explained in a press release about the track. “You could be whistling away, projecting contentedness, when really there’s a swirling twisted mess underneath.
It takes a lot of confidence to wear a white suit to a fight in an open-cut mine. It takes something else — maybe an Avengers-style superpower, to repel dirt — to come out of said fight still gleaming, shirt collar tidily spread across those snowy lapels, shades on. Rocky, outlaw hero of KGF, has confidence to burn, obviously: when he tells a former U.S. president that he is the CEO of India, he isn’t joking. We know that for sure because, whatever else he does — fighting off would-be assassins, staging boardroom coups, buying off every politician in the Indian legislature or mashing heads with a mallet — Rocky, like his American namesake, doesn’t joke. He’s got stuff to do.
his foundation announced on Sunday. The cause of death was not disclosed.Born Arthur Goldberg in Pittsburgh in 1917, the executive changed his name to Rupe and got his start in the music industry after working at a shipbuilding company during World War II. In 1945, he founded his record label Specialty Records, which got its start selling what were called “race records,” albums from Black gospel and R&B artists like Jimmy Liggins, Roy Milton, and the Soul Stirrers, which featured a young Sam Cooke.
latest role is a boxing trainer in “The Survivor,” which is based on the true story of Harry Haft, who survived Auschwitz by being forced to box other prisoners for the officers’ entertainment. He had a brief pugilistic career in the US and his last fight was against future champ Rocky Marciano.“Being a Latin man I understand genocide,” the Colombian-born actor said about the Holocaust.
It is a story steeped in action and intrigue, but is it true?
Selena Quintanilla! 27 years after the “Queen of Tejano music” passed, the entertainment industry continues showering her with tributes and posthumous awards, her fandom keeps her songs playing, and the Quintanilla family preserving her name and image to the core. Selena Quintanilla, one of the most celebrated Mexican-American entertainers, would have been celebrating her 51st birthday on Friday, April 16, 2022.
Gabby Barrett has the support of husband Cade Foehner at the 2022 CMT Music Awards!
The “National Treasure” Disney+ series will feature a familiar face. Disney announced on Monday that Justin Bartha will reprise his role as Riley Poole from the two “National Treasure” films in the TV series, albeit in a guest starring capacity.The upcoming live-action “National Treasure” TV series expands the franchise that was first introduced in the 2004 film starring Nicolas Cage as history buff and amateur adventurer Benjamin Gates.
Justin Bartha is bringing Riley Poole back to the small screen.
Wilson Chapman editorJustin Bartha’s getting back into the treasure hunting game. The actor will return to the “National Treasure” series for the upcoming series of the same name, Disney Plus announced Monday.Bartha starred in the two “National Treasure” films, released in 2004 and 2007 as Riley Poole, the best friend and computer expert sidekick of treasure hunting lead Benjamin Franklin Gates (Nicolas Cage).
Disney+’s National Treasure series will see a familiar face as Justin Bartha returns to reprise his role from the movie franchise. Bartha will guest star as Riley Poole and will appear opposite stars Lisette Alexis and Catherine Zeta-Jones. The series is a project from Disney Branded Television’s for Disney+ produced by ABC Signature.
Actor Kevin Spacey asked a judge Friday to throw out actor Anthony Rapp's sex abuse lawsuit, saying through his lawyers that allegations that he abused the then-teenage Rapp at a 1980s party are false. The lawyers wrote in papers filed in Manhattan federal court that the alleged events Rapp described never occurred. Rapp has appeared in "Rent" on Broadway and in "Star Trek: Discovery" on television.
NEW YORK -- Actor Kevin Spacey asked a judge Friday to throw out a sex abuse lawsuit that his lawyers say was unjustly brought by an actor who alleges he was abused when he was 14 by Spacey at a 1980s party.The lawyers wrote in papers filed in Manhattan federal court that the allegations made by Anthony Rapp are false and never occurred.
Steve Harvey,” as it also announced two new specials — including one hosted by Martha Stewart and the other centered on rescue dogs — on Thursday. The news came as ABC also shared a slew of new and returning unscripted series premiere dates for its summer 2022 lineup.The lineup kicks off on May 25 with two new back-to-back specials. At 8 p.m.
Paradise Square makes quite the reach. A musical about the build-up to New York’s horrific Draft Riots of 1863 reaches to the past to tell us about the present. It reaches across cultures to tell us about assimilation and appropriation. It reaches across styles of music and dance to celebrate diversity and commonality. It reaches to contain both epic realism and mythical nostalgia. And somewhere along the line it reaches a point of no return, when all that reaching just wears itself out.
Lady Gaga and Jessica Chastain ahead of the Academy Awards. But Kelly Ripa took a break from the Hollywood glamour on Friday, when she and her husband Mark Consuelos were spotted on a walk in New York City. The 51-year-old Live! With Kelly And Ryan star looked relaxed in a vibrant tie-dye shirt as the couple strolled past the Greenwich Hotel in Manhattan.