Super Bowl Commercials

Does Scarlett Johansson need money?

I reverse-DVRed the Super Bowl, meaning I fast-forwarded past the game so I could watch only the commercials and the half-time show which were very telling about the state of the country. Not only were they selling beer, cars, travel services and websites, but also ideas and religions. There was more than one ad selling Jesus and another promoting Scientology as something you should check out. Never mind all those horror stories about it being a cult and mind-control, drop in and be greeted by a smiling young person. The Christian ads were advising viewers to wash the feet of someone you disagree with. There was even a campaign ad for Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. In a bizarre twist, they used footage of a commercial for RFK Jr's uncle's 1960 Presidential campaign and imposed his photo over JFK. (RFK Jr. later apologized for the ad's bad taste, explaining he had nothing to do with it. It was paid for by a Super PAC supporting his third party candidacy.) Film and TV stars like Christopher Walken, Tina Fey, Glenn Close, Anthony Hopkins, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Patrick Stewart and Arnold Schwarzenegger must need money for new wings of their houses since they appeared in spots. Also the Wicked movie looks cool. 

Roundabout to Present 'Holiday Inn' and 'Cherry Orchard'; Streaming Stars at the Drama Desk Jubilee

Holiday Inn with Bing Crosby, Marjorie Reynolds,
Fred Astaire, and Virginia Dale, will serve
as the basis of a new Broadway musical.

Roundabout Theater Company will present a new stage version of the 1942 movie musical Holiday Inn. The score features such Irving Berlin classics as "Cheek to Cheek," "Easter Parade," and "Shakin' the Blues Away." Previews begin Sept. 1, 2016 for an Oct. 13 opening. Press materials indicate the plot will follow the original film relatively closely. The story focuses on crooner Jim who wants to quit the show-biz rat race and settle down on a Connecticut farm and only do shows during the holidays from New Year's to July 4 to Christmas. He falls in love with singer Linda (Marjorie Reynolds) but fears she will be stolen away to big bad Hollywood by his former partner Ted (Fred Astaire). How will they handle the minstrel show sequence for Abraham Lincoln's birthday? In the original film, Crosby as Jim wears blackface and forces Linda to don it also so that Ted will not recognize her (Ted showed up on New Year's Eve and danced with her but was so drunk he didn't find out her name, but he would remember her face). This leads to a whole production number with Crosby, Marjorie Reynolds and the entire white chorus in blackface singing the praises of Lincoln while offstage the housekeeper Louise Beavers joins in. It's pretty offensive and indicative of the casual racism of the era. When they would show the movie on TV when I was growing up, the local Phila. station would usually cut the offending number. They'll probably cut the whole thing. This production premiered at Goodspeed in 2014.