Queen of the Big Time by Adriana Trigiani (2004); Author To Speak In Scranton Thursday, April 18th

Bestselling author Adriana Trigiani will be the first speaker in the 2013 Matthew F. Flynn Library Lecture Series on Thursday, April 18th at 7 PM at the Scranton Cultural Center.  Tickets are free with your library card and are available at all member libraries in the Lackawanna County Library System.

Her novel Queen of the Big Time is set in Roseto, Pennsylvania (Northampton County) and tells the decade spanning story of a Italian-American farming family.  Middle daughter Nella dreams of becoming a teacher, but circumstances in her life take her on a different path.

The novel features numerous references to Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton; however, the novel also includes references to a university in our neck of the woods as well:

P. 217: 'She (Celeste, Nella's daughter) is far too young to get married, I think, but this is her choice.  She was in her first year of college at Marywood and decided it wasn't for her."

p. 218: "'Mom, this isn't about what you had, this is about me.  You were never there, which is why I left Marywood."

Also of note is the film makes a passing reference to the 1931 Pre-Code Joan Crawford film Dance Fools Dance, which revolves around the murder of a reporter named Bert Scranton.

Click here to place a hold.

Check out the video below, which is an except from a hilarious lecture Adriana Trigiani gave in March 2010 at Palm Beach County Library.  At the 3:42 spot, Trigiani discusses a hilarious exchange with her best friend, Scranton native Michael Patrick King (Sex and the City), regarding the naming of her child.

http://adrianatrigiani.com/

Long Gone Daddies by David Wesley Williams (2013)

 

Barb Williams, who has regularly contributed Scranton references to the blog, emailed me recently to tell me her husband David Wesley Williams has just published his debut novel titled Long Gone Daddies, and it is FILLED with Scranton references, included two chapters set in Scranton itself.

Below is a description of the book from the publisher's page, John. F. Blair:


"All his life, Luther Gaunt has heard songs in his head songs of sweet evil and blue ruckus, odes to ghosts, drinking hymns. In search of his past, he hits the road with his band, the Long Gone Daddies, and his grandfather's cursed guitar, Cassie.

While his band mates just want to make it big when they get to Memphis, Luther retraces the steps of his father and grandfather, who each made the same journey with the same guitar years earlier. Malcolm Gaunt could have been Elvis that white man who could sing black except his rounder's ways got him shot before he could strike that first note for Sam Phillips at Sun Records. At least that's what Luther's father Malcolm's son always told him before he made like smoke when fame came calling and disappeared down south, too.

As Luther discovers the truth about the two generations of musicians that came before him, he must face the ghosts of history, the temptations of the road, and the fame cravings of a seriously treacherous woman named Delia, who, it turns out, can sing like an angel forsaken.

Long Gone Daddies is lyrically written and accessible as a hook-filled favorite song and proves that the people who struggle the most are invariably the most interesting the most noble whether they succeed or not."

Below is a Scranton reference from David's novel that is included in the Amazon.com preview of the book:

Page 10:

"Some things I know for sure: Malcolm left a wife back home in Pennsylvania, in the coal-dusted city of Scranton."

Click here to purchase a copy of Long Gone Daddies from Amazon.

For a recently recorded podcast with David Wesley Williams discussing his book, click here.

Much thanks to Barb Williams for this reference.

http://www.davidwilliamsauthor.com/

Wilkes-Barre Native Douglas Carter Beane Writes Two Broadway Shows Opening Spring 2013

Wilkes-Barre native and two-time Tony nominee Douglas Carter Beane will be having a busy Spring, as two shows penned by Beane (a musical and a play) will be opening on Broadway within the next 3 months.

Beane wrote the new book for the Broadway revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, now in previews and opening Sunday, March 3, 20013 at the Broadway Theatre (which recently housed the Broadway debut of Sister Act, also written by Beane). Click here for tickets. 

Beane also wrote the new play The Nance starring Nathan Lane, which opens Monday, April 15, 2013 at the Lyceum Theatre (previews begin Thursday, March 21, 2013).  Click here for tickets.

Click here for a list of previous blog entries on Douglas Carter Beane.

John Henry Hopkins, Jr, Composer (1820 - 1891)

In addition of Winter Wonderland by Honesdale native Richard B. Smith, I've recently learned that another traditional Christmas carol has its origins in Northeastern/Central Pennsylvania.

John Henry Hopkins, Jr. (October 28, 1820 – August 14, 1891) was an American clergyman and hymnist.  Born in Pittsburgh, Hopkins served as rector of Christ Episcopal Church in Williamsport, Pennsylvania; he delivered the eulogy at the funeral of President Ulysses S Grant in 1885.

In 1857 in Williamsport, Hopkins composed the words and music of We Three Kings (Of Orient Are) as part of a Christmas pageant for his nephews and nieces.The hymn has since become a traditional holiday carol recoded by musical legends such as The Beach Boys, Ella Fitzgerald, Neil Diamond, Bing Crosby and many others.

Much thanks to Deborah L. for this reference.

Argo (2012)

Brian Fulton, Librarian at The Times-Tribune and all-around groovy guy, went to see Argo, the critically-acclaimed movie directed by and starring Ben Affleck that is generating a lot of awards buzz.


Based on real events, the dramatic thriller Argo chronicles the life-or-death covert operation to rescue six Americans, which unfolded behind the scenes of the Iran hostage crisis, focusing on the little-known role that the CIA and Hollywood played—information that was not declassified until many years after the event.

At one point in the film, President Jimmy Carter's Chief of Staff Hamilton Jordan (played by Kyle Chandler) states that "some guy in Scranton is planting a flag a day."

Argo is now playing at Cinemark in Moosic, Marquee Cinemas at Steamtown, and Great Escape IMAX 14 in Dickson City.

Much thanks to the ever-awesome Brian Fulton for this reference.

http://argothemovie.warnerbros.com/

Saturday Night Live (Saturday, October 13, 2012)

Four years ago, Saturday Night Live presented a hilarious skewering of the Vice-Presidential debate between Joe Biden (Jason Sudeikis) and Sarah Palin (Tina Fey), in which Biden ripped into the "hellhole" of his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Four years later, he does it again.

Last night's SNL once again presented a hilarious parody of the Vice-Presidential Debate.  This time Republican nominee Paul Ryan (Taram Killam) is on the listening end of Joe Biden's (Jason Sudeikis) tearing into Scranton.  

The following exchange begins at around the 1:55 mark in the clip below, where moderator Martha Raddatz (Kate McKinnon) questions each candidate on getting the unemployment rate to under 6 percent and how long it will take.

Paul Ryan: 

Martha, Vice-President Biden and I come from very similar places.  I’m from Janesville, Wisconsin and he’s from Scranton, Pennsylvania.  Do you know what the unemployment rate in Scranton is right now? 

Joe Biden:  

Sure do. 

Paul Ryan:  

It’s 10 percent.  And I just wonder what the Vice-President would say to the hardworking people of towns like Janesville and Scranton. 

Joe Biden: 

Well, I’d know what I’d say to my friend AND the people of Janesville.  Things may be bad where you live, but I guarantee you it is a paradise next to the burning coal heap that is Scranton, Pennsylvania.  Do you know that show Walking Dead, The Walking Dead?  It would make a good tourism ad for Scranton.  I mean, if you went to the lowest circle of hell, you’d STILL be 45 minutes outside of Scranton.  And I grew up there.  I love it.  It’s the single worst place on Earth.

Atlas Shrugged Part II Opens Friday; Will It Mention Scranton?

Part II of the Atlas Shrugged film adaptation opens Friday, October 12th at Cinemark in Moosic.  The novel includes a brief Scranton reference on page 836.  I'm curious if the intended film trilogy will include the reference.

www.atlasshruggedmovie.com

Scranton Natives Amy Wilson and Julie Kramer Write, Produce and Star in "The Best of Everything" in NYC

Opening tonight in New York is the theatrical adaptation of the 1958 Rona Jaffe novel The Best of Everything (later adapted into a film starring Joan Crawford).  Julie Kramer and Amy Wilson are Scranton natives who previously collaborated on Amy's one-woman show The Mother Load which has played both off-Broadway and Scranton.  Julie is the writer and director of the new production(which runs through October 20th at the HERE Arts Centre--145 6th Street; click here to purchase tickets), and Amy is playing one of the lead roles.   


Amy Wilson is also the author of the 2010 book When Did I Get Like This? (which features numerous references to Scranton).

Julie and Amy were recently profiled in The Times-Tribune.  Click here to read the full article.

Click here for an article from Playbill.com about the adaptation and opening of the new play.


Much thanks to Peter Cupple for this reference.

"Remembering the Scranton Sirens" Documentary Wins Emmy

Congratulations to the creative team behind the documentary Remembering the Scranton Sirens, which recently won an Emmy award for Best Documentary.  The documentary, produced by WVIA and directed by Scranton native Gregory Matkosky (Stories From the Mines), won the award at the 30th Annual Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Ceremony, held in Philadelphia on Saturday, September 22nd in Philadelphia.

Click here for more information on The Scranton Sirens.

Click here to read more about the Emmy win.

Much thanks to Evelyn Gibbons for this reference.

Pittston/Scranton Native Jay Parini To Sign Books at University of Scranton Saturday, September 29th

The University of Scranton’s Friends of the Weinberg Memorial Library will present the 2012 Royden B. Davis, S.J., Distinguished Author Award to Jay Parini, an award winning poet, biographer, fiction writer and educator. This ceremony is one of a series of events planned throughout 2012 in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Weinberg Memorial Library.

The award ceremony will be held on Saturday, Sept. 29, in the Rev. Bernard R. McIlhenny, S.J., Ballroom of the Patrick and Margaret DeNaples Center. The reception begins at 5 p.m. with dinner and the award ceremony following at 6:30 p.m. Reservations are required to attend the ceremony.

In addition, a book signing which is open to the public, free of charge, will take place on Sept. 29 from 4 to 5 p.m. on the fourth floor reception area of the DeNaples Center.

For further information or to reserve a ticket for the award event, contact Kym Fetsko at The University of Scranton at (570) 941-7816 or kym.fetsko@scranton.edu.

Jay Parini was born in 1948 in Pittston, Pennsylvania and raised in Scranton. His novel The Last Station was adapted into an Oscar-nominated film with Christopher Plummer and Helen Mirren.

Click here to read previous blog entries on Jay Parini.

I Hate Everyone...Starting With Me by Joan Rivers (2012)

It's weird how these things happen.

Last night I was reading Joan Rivers's new book and randomly thought, "I haven't updated the Entertainment blog in over a month, and my Wilkes-Barre/Scranton references have run dry."  Then, out of the blue, I came across a Wilkes-Barre reference on page 153 of the book.

I Hate Everyone...Starting With Me is the hilariously offensive (or is it offensively hilarious?) new book by Joan Rivers in which she comically details what annoys her about every conceivable type of person and situation.  A New York Times Bestseller, the book was also banned from sale by retail chain Costco due to profanity on the book's back cover (on August 8th, Rivers staged a media coup by handcuffing herself to a shopping cart at Costco and selling her book in the parking lot).

Page 153 of the book details why Joan Rivers hates private planes:

"...because I'm a guest that means whoever owns the jet is a lot more rich and famous than I am and if that private jet goes down, the obituary in The New York Times will read: INTERNATIONAL OIL MAGNATE SHEIK ABDULLAH MUCKETY MUCK AND FOUR OTHER (POORER) PEOPLE DIE IN PLANE CRASH.  I haven't spent forty years playing one-nighters in Wilkes-Barre to die as an 'other.'"

Joan Rivers will next be appearing in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday, April 27th at The F.M Kirby Center. Click here for more information on her upcoming appearance. 

Click here to place a hold on I Hate Everyone...Starting With Me.

http://www.joan.co/

Free Tickets Now Available For Upcoming Library Lecture Tuesday, August 7th

Free tickets for the next Library Lecture are now available at all Lackawanna County Libraries.

John Anthony Gilvey, author of "Jerry Orbach: Prince of the City," will be the next presenter at the Matthew F. Flynn Library Lecture Series Tuesday, August 7th at 7 PM at the Scranton Cultural Center. 

Actor Jerry Orbach (1935-2004) was Baby's father in 1987's Dirty Dancing and the voice of candlestick Lumiere in Disney's Oscar-nominated Beauty and the Beast.  He was Detective Lennie Briscoe on TV's Law & Order.  And he was a Tony Award-winning Broadway star whose roles include Billy Flynn in 1975's original Broadway production of Chicago.

But did you also know his mother was a native of Plymouth, PA and he spent part of his childhood living in Scranton?

Gilvey's multimedia presentation will include clips and photos of Orbach's work on stage, screen and television, as well as information on Orbach's roots in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Hope to see you there. 

In the meantime, check out this wonderful essay by Dr. Gilvey about Jerry Orbach's childhood in NEPA.


Click here to place a hold on the book Jerry Orbach: Prince of the City.

Click here for a previous blog entry on the book Jerry Orbach: Prince of the City. 


Click here to like the Library Lecture Series on Facebook.