1 week Ago By AP
Praise be, loyal ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ fans: Propulsive final season promises a satisfying catharsis Praise be! The sixth and final season of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale' is upon us. And though the Hulu drama is still a dark show — “Gilead’s gonna Gilead,” as Commander Lawrence says — this season is faster-paced and lighter, promising fans redemption and much-needed catharsis. Expect to see fewer languid closeups into June’s tear-filled eyes: there's stuff to get done.
Star, producer and sometime director Elisabeth Moss says this time, characters will be forced to choose between good and evil. Moss also says the eight-year run had a profound influence on her career. The first three episodes drop Tuesday.
Henry Louis Gates Jr. goes from host to guest on PBS' 'Finding Your Roots' NEW YORK (AP) — For 11 seasons, Henry Louis Gates Jr. has sat across from his guests on the popular PBS series “Finding Your Roots” and led them through secrets in their family tree.
On Tuesday, it’s his turn. The Harvard scholar learns a long-buried puzzle about his great-great grandmother, Jane Gates, information which scrambles his ancestry and opens up a new branch that goes back to Ireland. It took researchers four years to resolve the mystery of who was Gates’ great-great grandfather, the man who impregnated Jane Gates.
The story she told about her children’s father turned out to be not correct. Amber Ruffin, cut from White House correspondents dinner, will host PEN America gala NEW YORK (AP) — Comic Amber Ruffin has a new spring gig. PEN America told The Associated Press on Monday that Ruffin will host the free expression organization’s gala fundraiser on May 15.
The comic had been scheduled as a featured speaker April 26 at the White House Correspondents Association’s annual dinner. But the WHCA rescinded the offer to Ruffin, a blunt critic of President Donald Trump. The association says it will focus on journalistic achievement.
PEN also announced Monday that Wesleyan University President Michael Roth will receive the PEN/Benenson Courage Award for “his unwavering commitment to defending academic freedom." George M. Johnson's 'All Boys Aren't Blue' tops 2024 list of most 'challenged' US library books NEW YORK (AP) — The American Library Association has unveiled the 10 most “challenged books” of 2024.
It's led by George M. Johnson’s “All Boys Aren’t Blue” and also features Maia Kobabe's “Gender Queer,” Toni Morrison's “The Bluest Eye” and John Green’s “Looking for Alaska.” Most of the books listed have LGBTQ+ themes.
Other objections involved references to drug addiction, such as in Ellen Hopkins’ “Crank,” and to slavery and sexual abuse, including those in Patricia McCormick’s “Sold.” The list is included in the ‘State of American Libraries’ report issued Monday. The association has found more than 70% of attempted bans of a given title or titles came from organized groups and elected officials.
Music Review: On Bon Iver's 'SABLE, fABLE,' love inspires a chilly, robotic R&B patchwork “SABLE, fABLE” is the first album in six years from Justin Vernon’s project Bon Iver. It is an epilogue to his three-song EP “SABLE" released last fall. Those tunes open the album with Vernon lamenting impermanence while also seeking something new.
On the songs that follow, he finds what he’s looking for. Love. The album traces the arc of a courtship.
In his review, The Associated Press contributor Steven Wine says Vernon’s primary instrument seems to be a computer. He says the album’s techno-folk sound has an R&B aura, but the vocals often sound chilly and disembodied. “SABLE, fABLE” will be released Friday.
Denis Arndt, Tony-nominated star of ‘Heisenberg’ and veteran of David E. Kelley TV shows, dies at 86 NEW YORK (AP) — Character actor Denis Arndt, who was cast in “L.A.
Law” and other series and later earned a Tony nomination for his debut on Broadway, has died at 86. Arndt was a frequent collaborator with TV writer and producer David E. Kelley, starting with “L.
A. Law” and then “Picket Fences” over four seasons. He also had roles on “Chicago Hope,” “Ally McBeal,” “The Practice,” “Boston Public,” “Boston Legal” and “Mr.
Mercedes.” At age 77, Arndt made his only Broadway appearance opposite Mary-Louise Parker in “Heisenberg,” a play about mismatched lovers. His family says he died peacefully in his bed at his home in Oregon.
Book Review: Katie Kitamura’s new novel about an actor explores idea that 'all the world’s a stage' Katie Kitamura begins her latest novel “Audition” in a restaurant where an older woman meets a younger man for lunch. She is an actor in rehearsals for a new play. He is a student who claims to be her son.
The meal ends abruptly when her husband unexpectedly arrives. Not long after that, the trio meet again in the same restaurant to celebrate the play’s success. But unaccountably, their roles and relationships have dramatically changed.
AP reviewer Ann Levin says Kitamura has written a short, enigmatic novel that implicitly explores the Shakespearean idea that “all the world’s a stage.” Published by Riverhead, “Audition” will be released on Tuesday. Book Review: 'John & Paul' explores complex ties between Lennon and McCartney “John & Paul” takes a fresh look at the complicated relationship between John Lennon and Paul McCartney, perhaps the best songwriting team in history.
Author Ian Leslie finds compelling hints on their partnership dynamics in the song lyrics, letters and actions of the two men, especially after the band’s breakup. But as Associated Press reviewer Jeff Rowe notes, the author chose to rely almost exclusively on what already has been written about the Beatles so we have few new facts — and no McCartney interview — but rather a fresh conclusion: that Lennon and McCartney’s relationship ranged somewhere between best buddies and a bromance. Anita Rachvelishvili sues the Metropolitan Opera over her dismissal after giving birth Mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili has sued the Metropolitan Opera and the union that represented her there.
Rachvelishvili says the company unlawfully terminated her contracts because of a vocal issue that developed after she gave birth. The singer also is accusing the union of failing to pursue a grievance against the company. The 40-year-old singer from the European nation of Georgia says the Met owes her more than $400,000.
Rachvelishvili debuted at with the company in 2011. She says in the lawsuit that she “was temporarily limited in her very highest vocal range as a result of giving birth,” but that she has since recovered. Jay North, TV's mischievous Dennis the Menace, dies at 73 LAKE BUTLER, Fla.
(AP) — Jay North, who starred as the towheaded mischief maker on TV’s “Dennis the Menace” for four seasons starting in 1959, has died. He was 73. Longtime friend Laurie Jacobson and booking agent Bonnie Vent said North died Sunday at his home in Florida and had colon cancer.
North was 6 when he was cast as the smiling troublemaker in the CBS sitcom adaptation of the popular comic strip. Often wearing a striped shirt and overalls, Dennis’ antics frequently frustrated his retired neighbor George Wilson. The show ran on Sundays until 1963.
After that it was a fixture for decades in syndication..
