Open Thread

Playbill reports: Daniel Fish’s reimagined revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! officially opens on Broadway today at the Circle in the Square Theatre, where it has been in preview performance since March 19. The cast is led by Rebecca Naomi Jones (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Significant Other) as Laurey and Damon Daunno (Brief Encounter) as Curly. Helmed by Fish, …

Playbill reports: Before Fosse/Verdon premieres April 9, FX offers a longer inside look at the limited series. Featuring scenes, songs, and new interviews with stars Sam Rockwell and Michelle Williams (who play Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon, respectively), plus showrunner Steven Levenson (Dear Evan Hansen) and director Thomas Kail (Hamilton), the new video takes viewers behind the scenes as the …

Orlando’s ABC News affiliate reports: A 45-year-old Florida man was more than three times over the legal limit while driving a golf cart on a road in The Villages on Thursday evening, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office said. Deputies said they were called shortly before 7:45 p.m. to East County Road 466 and Morse Boulevard after a passerby saw Dean …

The Miami Herald reports: Sometimes a Florida man makes it so easy for law enforcement. In this particular instance, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said that Ronnie Dillon Willis, 25, returned to the Winter Haven home of a woman who was being interviewed by officers. Marta Diaz had called deputies to report that her 2009 Jeep Patriot had been stolen …

Deadline reports: The seriously creepy teaser for Warner Bros’ Joker starring Joaquin Phoenix has landed, and you don’t need to be clown-phobic to get the heebie-jeebies. Set to the strains of Jimmy Durante’s “Smile,” the ultra-dark teaser begins with a voice-over from Phoenix’s Arthur, who says his mother “told me I had a purpose to bring laughter and joy to …

Deadline reports: Piece by piece, the clearances for The Kelly Clarkson Show have come in. Today, NBC Universal said the syndicated talk show set to launch in the fall is set for 99% of the country. The hour-long talker has been sold to 200-plus stations, including the top 165 markets, ahead of its September 9 kickoff, said Tracie Wilson, EVP …

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 …