Open Thread

Opening tonight on Broadway: The life of late disco icon Donna Summer comes to Broadway in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, which begins previews March 28 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. Summer stars Tony Award winner LaChanze (The Color Purple), Ariana DeBose (Hamilton), and newcomer Storm Lever, who portray Summer at three distinct points in her life and career. Directed by …

Another Broadway story to start you off: Stephanie J. Block will star as the title role in the Broadway-bound musical The Cher Show, the Tony nominee confirmed via Twitter. The latest in jukebox bio-musicals, the show makes its out-of-town debut at Chicago’s Oriental Theatre, beginning performances June 12 and playing through July 15. The show is slated to open on …

Some gay theater news to start you off: Sometimes, just when you need it most, a play courses into your system like a transfusion of new blood. You feel freshly awakened to the infinite possibilities not only of theater but also of the teeming world beyond. And when you hit the streets afterward, every one of your senses is singing. …

A cute item to get you started: Neil Patrick Harris and Kristen Bell really love Simon. The celebrities separately rented out theaters to provide free screenings of “Love, Simon,” the romcom about a closeted gay teenager and his coming out journey. “‘Love, Simon’ is a KNOCKOUT. There are so many important stories that don’t get made. I am so grateful …

Tonight’s item to get things started: Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) swiped at President Trump on Saturday while attending the “March for Our Lives” rally in Washington, D.C., calling for action on gun violence. Asked about estimated attendance at the rally, which was expected to draw hundreds of thousands of people, Van Hollen said, “I can tell you for sure, …

Some news about tomorrow’s big anti-gun marches: Many of the Democrats who’ve been urging stricter gun control legislation will join throngs of students Saturday as they gather in Washington and elsewhere for the “March for Our Lives” demonstration. The event is expected to the biggest yet in a string of rallies and protests nationwide since a gunman killed 17 people …

Some good news to start you off: Tony Award winners Lin-Manuel Miranda and Ben Platt will perform their recent Hamilton and Dear Evan Hansen mashup, “Found/Tonight,” at the March 24 March for Our Lives demonstration in Washington, D.C. The two shared on Twitter that they would also march in the student-led movement focused on ending gun violence and mass shootings …

Some Stormy news on a stormy day to start you off: CBS News said Wednesday evening that “60 Minutes” will indeed air the segment this Sunday, March 25, ensuring the American public will hear directly from the actress about her allegations that she had an affair with Donald Trump, now the President of the United States, in 2006 and 2007. …

Dr. Stabby and an under-the-bus wife star in tonight’s starter: Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson pointed to his wife when pressed about the purchase of a $31,000 dining set with taxpayer money, despite internal HUD emails claiming he also had a part in selecting the furniture. Carson, testifying before the House Appropriations Committee, said he left decisions with …

Some tech news to start you off: Introducing C*ckblocked, a new online tool that allows Grindr users to see everyone who has blocked them. It was developed by Trever Faden, a tech professional from Washington, D.C. “About two weeks ago I discovered that Grindr actually gives each user the profile IDs of all the users who blocked you on the …

Here’s some unsurprising news to start you off: Vladimir Putin will lead Russia for another six years, after securing an expected victory in the presidential election. With 50% of the vote counted he had received 75% of the vote, the central election commission said. The main opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, was barred from the race. Addressing a rally in Moscow …

Tonight’s starter topic is fittingly from the Irish Examiner: Mike Pence has told Leo Varadkar his partner, Matthew Barrett, would be welcome in his home next year. Asked about his meeting with Vice President Mike Pence, Mr Varadkar said: “We had a really, really good breakfast this morning with Mike Pence, his wife and his family, got to meet his …

Some good news from Maine to start you off tonight: Controversial Republican candidate Leslie Gibson, who drew fire for insulting several teen survivors of the Florida school shooting, is abandoning his effort to win a state House seat this year. Gibson said he made the decision after talking with his family, praying and discussing it with friends and colleagues, including …

Tonight’s starter topic comes from Ad Age: MoneySupermarket’s latest ad in its “Epic” series, which has previously featured He-Man and Skeletor in a “Dirty Dancing” pastiche, a break dancing bodyguard and a businessman twerking in hotpants, breaks this weekend, this time starring Action Man dancing and stripping down to his underpants in an incredibly camp striptease. The new ad, directed …

Here’s a topic to get you started tonight: A 37-year-old lawyer named Jason won the hearts of thousands of people on social media Tuesday night when he single-handedly rescued a police van from a bed of snow—while dressed as Queen Elsa from Frozen. The Queen of Arendelle, also known as Jason Triplett, told the Boston Globe he wore the iconic …

Here’s one topic for tonight: Three weeks, three winter storms. The first one blasted New England with gusts up to 97 mph and knocked out power to 2 million homes and businesses. The second dumped as much as 3 feet of heavy, wet snow from Philadelphia to Boston. This one is causing whiteout conditions in southern New England, where snowfall …

Last week our first couple of overnight threads generated about 3000 comments in total so maybe we should start doing them on weekends too, say around 5PM? As for tonight’s, JMG reader David writes to suggest photos of your pets, adding that “the love that pours out is always palpable” in our pet threads. As always, please keep your images …

For those who missed last night’s debut: As most of you here at this hour know, for years the final JMG post of the day has turned into an overnight salon (to use the 16th century definition of the word), during which our flying monkeys fold their wings and chatter about every imaginable topic, both political and highly personal. And …

As most of you here at this hour know, for years the final JMG post of the day has turned into an overnight salon (to use the 16th century definition of the word), during which our flying monkeys fold their wings and chatter about every imaginable topic, both political and highly personal. And over the years I’ve gotten regular requests …

Rachel Maddow blew up Twitter tonight with the report that her team has “Trump tax returns.” Which returns, which years, and even which Trump have not been disclosed. Sooooo, let’s all watch Rachel together tonight and use this post as an open thread. I’ve embedded a bootleg live stream below.