Open Thread

The Tampa Bay Times reports: A Florida man was arrested Tuesday after police said he “dry humped” multiple stuffed animals at the Park Place Target, including Olaf, the snowman from the wildly successful Disney film Frozen. The other victim was a large stuffed unicorn. Police said Cody Meader, 20, of St. Petersburg, entered the store around 2 p.m. Tuesday. He …

Rolling Stone reports: Dolly Parton joins Mr. Probz on Galantis’ uplifting new song “Faith.” This is Parton’s first foray into EDM; the song will be featured on Galantis’ upcoming third album Church. “Faith” is a reworking of John Hiatt’s 1987 single “Have A Little Faith in Me.” Parton appears as the driver on a bus that suddenly breaks down. The …

Playbill reports: In honor of the launch of the West End production of Dear Evan Hansen—the fourth staging of the Tony Award-winning musical—the four actors who lead or have led as Evan Hansen on Broadway, on tour, in Toronto, and in London gathered for a special quartet version of “For Forever.” Written by Tony-, Grammy-, and Oscar-winning songwriters Benj Pasek …

Playbill reports: The international hit musical Wicked plays its 6,681st Broadway performance October 28 at 7 PM at the Gershwin Theatre, surpassing Les Misérables to become the fifth longest-running production in Broadway history. This milestone takes place two nights before the musical celebrates its 16th anniversary on Broadway. The Broadway cast is currently headed by Hannah Corneau as Elphaba, Ginna …

UPI reports: A Hong Kong businessman set a new record for the city when he sold a coveted downtown parking space for a total $969,000. Johnny Cheung, who formerly owned four parking spaces in front of the 79-story office tower The Center, previously sold three spaces for sums in the high six digits, but the final spot ended up fetching …

UPI reports: Teams of hotel workers gathered in a Las Vegas resort to pit their skills against each other in the annual Las Vegas Housekeeping Olympics. The ninth annual competition Wednesday at the Mandalay Bay resort featured teams representing hotels and resorts around Las Vegas competing in events including bed-making contests, confetti vacuum races and a toilet paper toss. The …

Playbill reports: Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS’ fall fundraiser has begun its six-week drive, leading up to the annual Red Bucket Follies presentation, with performances taking place at 4:30 PM on December 9 and 2 PM on December 10. Throughout the fundraising period, cast members will collect money after show performances in the signature red buckets at Broadway, Off-Broadway and national …

Billboard Magazine reports: Darren Criss has come on board to complete the cast of the upcoming Broadway revival of David Mamet’s American Buffalo, joining previously announced co-stars Laurence Fishburne and Sam Rockwell in the modern classic about three smalltime hustlers. The project marks Criss’ return to Broadway for the first time since his breakout success as Andrew Cunanan in FX’s …

Billboard Magazine reports: After touring arenas and stadiums for much of the last four decades, Madonna is experimenting with a new format for her live shows, playing mini-residencies in theaters around the world. The Madame X Tour kicked off with a sold-out 16-show run at Brooklyn’s Howard Gilman Opera House (the theater is one of many facilities at BAM, the …

Playbill reports: While the Netflix series The Politician focused on the aspiring government career of Payton Hobart, played by Ben Platt, show creator Ryan Murphy ensured that fans got what they wanted: the Dear Evan Hansen Tony winner singing. Platt crooned several times throughout the series—the complete context of which would give away some major spoilers, but one number took …

UPI reports: A California man is drawing crowds to his neighborhood with an elaborate Halloween light display featuring ghosts and gravestones. Tom BetGeorge decorated his Tracy home with spooky decorations and a series of lights that illuminate in conjunction with various songs, including Skrillix’s Bangarang, System of a Down’s Chop Suey and the theme from Ghostbusters by Ray Parker Jr. …

UPI reports: A real-life Barbie Malibu Dreamhouse is being listed on Airbnb for a special once-only event in celebration of the fashion doll’s 60th anniversary. The Barbie Malibu Dreamhouse, listed for a single $60 stay, includes several of the amenities from the smaller, plastic version, including a pink Jeep, a hot pink waterslide from a balcony to the pool and …

Billboard Magazine reports: French duo Justice made an appearance Thursday night in New York City as the surprise headliners of Frank Ocean’s Prep+ launch party. Taking place at Basement, Knockdown Center’s underground venue, the event was the first in a series of queer club nights described as an “homage to what could have been of the 1980s’ NYC club scene …

The Wrap reports: Forest Whitaker, Marlon Wayans, Audra McDonald and Mary J. Blige have all joined the ensemble cast of MGM’s Aretha Franklin biopic “Respect” starring Jennifer Hudson, the studio announced Friday. Tituss Burgess, Tate Donovan and Marc Maron are also joining the life story of the queen of soul, as are Broadway stars Saycon Sengbloh, Hailey Kilgore, Heather Headley …

Playbill reports: An October 31 #HAM4HAM performance of Broadway’s Hamilton will offer every seat for $10 for the second year in a row. Tickets are available through a digital lottery, now open through October 25 at 8 AM ET via the official app. Beginning October 25, winners will be notified if they have won the lottery. A credit card is …

Billboard Magazine reports: Nevermind the film’s controversial plot. Joker, the R-rated box office smash about one socially isolated man’s descent into violence, recently came under fire for including a song by convicted pedophile Gary Glitter in its soundtrack. Much of the public outcry has centered on whether Glitter — who is currently serving a 16-year jail sentence for sexually abusing …

The Associated Press reports: Authorities say a Florida man repeatedly called 911 to report that his roommate had stolen his marijuana. A deputy for the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office posted a Twitter response to the man’s calls Saturday night: Stop calling. Deputy Neal Zalva says in the Twitter video that he called the man back to tell him to quit …

Playbill reports: The trailer for Season 3 of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel shows Midge on the road as she travels on her first tour with singer Shy Baldwin, set to a brand-new recording of “Perfectly Marvelous” from Cabaret, sung by two-time Tony winner Sutton Foster. The Amazon series returns December 6, reuniting a cast featuring Emmy winners Rachel Brosnahan as …

Deadline reports: Billy Porter has confirmed he’ll be joining Sony’s upcoming adaptation of Cinderella. In a Q&A Saturday evening at the New Yorker Festival, Porter told attendees he’ll play the Fairy Godmother opposite Camila Cabello, who’s set to star as the glass slipper-wearing lead character. As Deadline reported earlier this week, Porter had been in talks to join the film …

Playbill reports: Julie Andrews sat down with Diane Sawyer to discuss her career and personal life ahead of the release of her new book, Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years, out October 15. The three-time Tony nominee talks about the life-changing surgery that ended her singing career in the clip above, which aired on Good Morning America. Andrews …