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Deadline reports: Aaron Sorkin’s To Kill A Mockingbird has smashed its own box office record, securing its place in the Broadway history books yet again with the highest weekly gross ever for an American play: $1,718,215. The $1.718M take for the week ending March 31 also is the highest weekly gross of any play in the Shubert Organization’s history. Mockingbird …

The Guardian reports: Elton John has joined George Clooney in calling for a boycott of nine Brunei-owned hotels over the sultanate’s new death penalty laws for gay sex and adultery. “I commend my friend, George Clooney, for taking a stand against the anti-gay discrimination and bigotry taking place in the nation of Brunei – a place where gay people are …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Law & Order: SVU and its star Mariska Hargitay have cemented their places in television history. NBC has renewed Dick Wolf’s series for a record-setting 21st season, making it TV’s longest-running primetime live-action series, surpassing the previous mark of 20 seasons set by mothership series Law & Order (1990-2010) and Gunsmoke (1955-75). The renewal also marks a …

Tampa’s ABC affiliate reports: A Florida woman arguably took a lovers’ quarrel too far when she got law enforcement involved. She called 911 multiple times to complain about her boyfriend being mean, according to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office. Mary Ann Parrish of Ocala apparently had enough of her boyfriend Monday, so the 40-year-old called law enforcement six times to …

ABC News reports: A Florida man has been arrested after he reportedly called 911 and claimed he was robbed, all so that he could get out of going to work for the day. Brian Anderson, 32, of Dundee, called 911 to report an armed robbery near the intersection of Highway 27 and Lincoln Avenue. He told 911 dispatchers that two …

Detroit’s Fox affiliate reports: The staff at a Downriver pet store are asking for help identifying a man who stole a python. On Wednesday, March 20, someone wandered into the I Love My Pets store in Rockwood, Mich. and scooped up the 4-foot adult ball python out of its case. In a story full of euphemisms, there’s a video to …

Fort Lauderdale’s ABC affiliate reports: A Florida man was arrested Monday after he attacked his mother who refused to dress his mannequin, beating her with a kitchen stool and shoving dumplings into her mouth, deputies said. Dankner and his mother were in their backyard when he asked her to dress his mannequin. After she refused to do so, Dankner stood …

New from our pal Matt Baume: In the early 1990s, something about gay characters on television changed. And this episode of Roc was a big part of it. The show featured the first same-sex commitment ceremony ever shown on American primetime TV, plus a gay character played by Richard Roundtree — also known as Shaft — and it came at …

Deadline reports: Patti LuPone is set to appear in the second season of the FX series Pose. Creator Ryan Murphy made the announcement at PaleyFest March 23, surprising both the audience and the show’s cast, including stage alums Billy Porter and Mj Rodriguez. No word yet on who LuPone will play, but Murphy did reveal that the second season will …

Playbill reports: Ben Platt heads to the small screen this fall, leading the cast of the upcoming Netflix series The Politician. The Dear Evan Hansen star will play Payton, a Santa Barbara student with lofty political aspirations. Among those joining him are fellow Tony Award winner Jessica Lange, his Dear Evan Hansen mate Laura Dreyfuss, and Gwyneth Paltrow. The Politican …

USA Today reports: Let’s face it: There’s a little bit of “Florida Man” in all of us. At least, that’s the idea behind the Florida Man Challenge, a viral social media joke that plays upon the plight of Florida residents who find themselves in strange predicaments – and sometimes in handcuffs. The challenge started with a simple game: Google “Florida …

Playbill reports: Manhattan Theatre Club, which recently revealed the bulk of its 2019–2020 season, has added three additional world-premiere plays to its upcoming season. Newly announced for their Off-Broadway slate are Bella Bella, a solo show written and performed by Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein, Richard Greenberg’s comedy-drama The Perplexed, and The Best We Could (a family tragedy) by Emily …

The Gainesville Sun reports: A Florida man playing policeman caught up to a real one and used an illegal public address system and lights to warn a sheriff’s sergeant driving an unmarked vehicle in Pierson, Volusia sheriff’s officials said. Shortly after that, Sgt. Todd Smith turned on his real blue lights and pulled over Thomas Farmer, 64. Farmer was arrested …

The Associated Press reports: A 45-year-old Florida man is accused of throwing a bowl of pancake batter at a woman who was making dinner. An arrest report says Dwayne Zimmerman was drunk on Friday night when he went onto the porch of a home where the woman was making pancakes. The woman told deputies that Zimmerman insulted her and then …

Last night was the first anniversary of our overnight open thread and the 365th appearance of the beloved Blue Bear reminded me that it’s also time for our annual refresher on JMG commenting policies, which can always be found at the About link above. Commenting Rules Even the most idle and “jokey” threats of physical harm to any person or …

Pink News reports: Conchita Wurst has revealed a drastic transformation in a new music video for “Hit Me” and fans are shook. The Austrian drag star, whose real name is Tom Neuwirth, won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2014 with “Rise Like a Phoenix.” But five years later, Conchita has revealed a surprising new look in the video for new …

Rolling Stone reports: America’s infamously gaffe-prone former vice president, Joe Biden, signaled he is likely running for president in 2020 in the most characteristically Biden-esque way. He accidentally announced he was running before quickly correcting himself at a dinner in Dover, Delaware on Saturday night. “I know I get criticized. I’m told I get criticized by the new left,” Biden …

Playbill reports: Performances begin March 16 at the John Golden Theatre for the Broadway premiere of Hillary and Clinton, a new play by Tony-nominated playwright Lucas Hnath (A Doll’s House, Part 2), directed by two-time Tony Award winner Joe Mantello. Starring in the title roles are two-time Tony Award and three-time Emmy winner Laurie Metcalf as Hillary, alongside two-time Tony …

Billboard Magazine reports: Carly Rae Jepsen celebrates her love of cats in the new music video for her dance-pop banger “Now That I Found You,” released on Thursday (March 14). With an unmistakable tribute to the classic dramedy Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Jepsen gives her own rendition of Audrey Hepburn’s Holly Golightly and her dear companion, “Cat.” After finding a fluffy …

Billboard Magazine reports: Buried within the news that the Jonas Brothers had managed a triumphant bow at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week with their reunion single “Sucker” — a historic occasion for a number of reasons — was a revelation that took many pop fans by surprise: The song was the first No. 1 hit from …