Day: May 11, 2022

Stories

Richie savors a life of music and history

Right now, Lionel Richie (shown here) seems to be in his happy place.
Then again, he sort of lives there; that’s what his adoptive daughter keeps telling people. “Nicole always says I’m the happiest guy in the world,” he said, without disputing it. And now he has extra reasons for joy, with:
— The finals for “American Idol,” which he judges alongside Katy Perry and Luke Bryan. At 8 p.m. Sunday (May 15) on ABC, the final five perform; a week later, the show has its 20th winner.
— The Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, at 9 p.m. Tuesday (May 17) on PBS. He’s the 13th annual winner, putting him alongside such people as Paul McCartney, Billy Joel, Gloria Estefan, Garth Brooks and two of his old Motown colleagues, Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 11, 2022
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for May 13: musicals, great and not

1) “Great Performances: Anything Goes,” 9 p.m., PBS. Last summer – before Broadway began its comeback – Sutton Foster (shown here) and director/choreographer Kathleen Marshall did this show in London. They had done it on Broadway a decade earlier, winning Tonys; now they triumphed again. The plot is way too silly, but the Cole Porter songs ripple with wit and zest. Foster is superb in Marshall’s epic song-and-dance numbers.
Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 11, 2022
Stories

Time-travel can be tough on romance

Time-travel is always kind of complicated. As humans, we like to know where we are and when we are.
But it’s infinitely tougher when you can’t control it. And you’re in love. And you’re naked.
That happens in “The Time Traveler’s Wife” (shown here) now in its third incarnation. It’s been a 2003 novel that sold 2.5 million copies in its first six year. … a 2009 movie that did fairly well, drawing $101 million worldwide …and now a six-part series on HBO — starting at 9 p.m. Sunday, May 15 — and HBO Max.
The longer format gave writer Steven Moffat room to play with the story, but he says he used restraint. “Everybody loves the book,” he told the Television Critics Association, “so there’s no messing around with the stuff that matters.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 11, 2022