W-B Native Douglas Carter Beane's Hit Off-Broadway Play Lysistrata Jones May Transfer to Broadway

Three-time Tony nominee and Wilkes-Barre native Douglas Carter Beane may soon have another show on Broadway.

Beane, whose previous theater writing credits include Xanadu, The Little Dog Laughed, and Sister Act, recently wrote the book of the new musical Lysistrata Jones, a modern day take on the classic Aristophanes play. The update, currently playing Off-Broadway at the Gym at Judson in New York City, tells the story of Lysistrata Jones, a spunky transfer student at the University of Athens, whose basketball team hasn't won a game in 30 years. In the name of team spirit, Jones dares the squad's fed-up girlfriends to stop "giving it up" to their boyfriends until they win a game so their legendary losing streak can come to an end.

Lysistrata Jones has recently been extended Off-Broadway and is now set to close on June 24th (for tickets, click here). However, according to Playbill.com, the show is looking at a possible Broadway transfer and "is currently looking for a suitable Broadway theatre to house the production; possibilities include the Broadhurst or the Walter Kerr."

Let's keep our fingers crossed for one of our own.

For a previous blog entry on Douglas Carter Beane, click here.

Bottom of the 33rd: Hope, Redemption, and Baseball's Longest Game by Dan Barry (2011)

Bob Nicoteri, the eagle-eyed groovy former Scrantonian and writer of the Scrantonicity column on the Life in the Office website, Facebooked me this past week to tell me about a local reference he discovered in a new book he randomly found on the "Interesting New Reading" shelf of his local library in Seattle. The book is Bottom of the 33rd: Hope, Redemption and Baseball's Longest Game by Dan Barry.

Bob wrote me the following:

"Hey Bill! Here's a nice coincidence, ever since I discovered your "NEPA in entertainment" blog; I just finished reading a good non-fiction book called 'The Bottom of the 33rd.' It's about an utterly inconsequential minor league baseball game that turned out to be the longest professional game in history. The author weaves fascinating stories about the now mostly-forgotten players and their wives into the narrative. One of the riveting stories involves a player's wive, who was born and raised in...ta-DA!...Tunkhannock, PA!"

Bottom of the 33rd is now available to borrow from Albright Memorial Library; to place a hold, click here.

Thanks again to the ever-awesome Bob Nicoteri for this reference!

Fundraiser to Produce Jason Miller Documentary "Miller's Tale" on DVD & How You Can Help

This past March, PBS aired the excellent documentary Miller's Tale. Filmed over seven years, Miller's Tale told the story of Scranton's Jason Miller, Tony- and Pulitzer-Prize winning playwright of That Championship Season and Oscar nominee for The Exorcist. The film follows Miller's journey through Broadway and Hollywood, and his subsequent move back to Scranton, PA--where he continued to work in local theater and film.

Director Rebecca Marshall Ferris has been getting tons of request to release Miller's Tale on DVD, and our library is dying to add a copy or two to our Circulation Collection. However, this will not be possible without raising $5,000 to cover expenses to both produce and release the DVD.

Rebecca plans to include a whole slew of DVD extras to accompany the film--such as a director's commentary, several deleted scenes, her student film Birthday (which captures Jason Miller in one of his final performances on film), and more.

In order to reach their fundraising goal of $5,000, the filmmakers are offering a number of groovy goodies to anyone who makes a donation to make the DVD release a reality--ranging from $25 (which will actually get you a copy of Miller's Tale on DVD once it is released) to $250 (which will get you eight--YES, EIGHT--signed Miller's Tale DVDs and tickets to an upcoming screening of Miller's Tale in either Scranton or New Orleans.

For more information or to make a contribution, click here.

Let's get Miller's Tale released on DVD!!!!!!

www.indiegogo.com/Millers-Tale-DVDs

www.itvs.org/films/millers-tale

Miller's Tale - Trailer from Cottage Films on Vimeo.

Must-Read: "Scrantonicity" Column on "Life in The Office" Website by Scranton Native Bob Nicoteri

I recently received an email from all-around groovy guy and Scranton native Bob Nicoteri. Bob now lives in Seattle, but he stays close to Scranton by comprehensively documenting every local references featured on NBC's The Office for the past two years.

Titled Scrantonicity, Nicoteri's column has appeared for the show's last two seasons on the website Life in the Office (which was started in January 2006, a handful of episodes into the show's second season), documenting every single reference to the Electric City and surrounding areas. His column is really great and a lot of fun to read, and the details Bob catches with his eagle eyes are absolutely amazing.

Bob works for the Hilton Corporation as a bartender, and his name tag proudly displays his hometown of Scranton, PA; he told me via email, "What a conversation starter that has been these past few years! I've met guests in our hotel from all over the world that LIGHT UP when they see I'm from Scranton, PA, 'home to Dunder-Mifflin.' How cool is that?"

Bob told me he became aware of this blog when one of my colleagues, Michele L., left a message on one of his Scrantonicitiy articles about the Lackawanna County Library System library card appearing in one of the episodes; she, in turn, sent him a link to this blog.

Bob also devoted a column of Scrantonicity to some of his memories of the Albright Memorial Library, which is quite terrific.

When Season 8 of The Office premieres this Fall, I have a new favorite "first-website-to-check-on-Friday" site.

www.lifeintheoffice.com/category/scrantonicity/

Children's Song Robin in the Rain; WHO Wrote It? Was It a Scranton Native? I Need Your Help!

"Robin in the Rain" sung by Raffi
Written by Claire Senior Burke...
OR was it Brychan B. Powell of Scranton, PA?

A few days ago I received an email from a school board member in Toronto about the true authorship of the children's song titled Robin in the Rain, which became popular by singer Raffi. 99% of the websites and resources I've researched (including Popular Song Index, as well as the CD booklets of CDs in the Lackawanna County Children's Library that feature the song) credit the sole authorship of the song to Claire Senior Burke.

HOWEVER, my patron told me she found an obscure reference online credited to a book The ASCAP Biographical Dictionary: Composers, Authors and Publishers (Second Edition), edited by Daniel I. McNamara, published in 1952 (the complete book is available online by clicking here).

Page 393 of this book features an entry about Brychan B. Powell (born 8/24/1896), a native of Scranton, PA and member of the ASCAP who also served as managing editor of The Scranton Tribune and The Scrantonian from 1938 until at least the early 1950s. Powell's entry (image above) credits him as the author of the song Robin in the Rain.

Does anyone know the true songwriter of Robin in the Rain, or can anyone provide me with any additional information? If so, please email me by clicking here or leave a comment below.


Listen to Raffi's recording of Robin in the Rain below:

NCIS Los Angeles: Season 2, Episode 23: Imposters (May 10, 2011)

My colleague Martina Soden recently told me about a reference to Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania on last week's episode of CBS's NCIS: Los Angeles, titled Imposters (episode 23 of the show's second season).

After a Navy SEAL imposter is set ablaze, NCIS obtains new information regarding the whereabouts of the stolen Brachytherapy canister from a previous case that could be used to make a deadly bomb.

About 20 minutes into the episode, Kensi Blye (Daniela Ruah) and Marty Deeks (Eric Christian Olsen) are walking along the beach interviewing Starr (Kristen Hager), a waitress and possible suspect in the murder. When the discussion turns to aliases and changing identities, Starr tells Kensi and Marty the following:

STARR:

A lot of people want a better life for themselves and dream of being someone they’re not. Starr sounds a little better than Sarah Ann Shulman from Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania.

To watch the full episode of NCIS: Los Angeles, click here.

Much thanks to Martina Soden for this reference.

The Office's Ed Helms Discusses His Experience at The Office Convention in Scranton in May 2011 Playboy

Scranton references can come from the most unlikely of places...even Playboy Magazine.

The May 2011 issue of Playboy (Karina Smirnoff cover) features a 20 Question interview with actor Ed Helms (Andy Bernard on The Office, and star of the upcoming The Hangover II) written by Eric Spitznagel (pp. 86-87; 116-119). Check out question 12 (page 188) below, in which Helms discusses one of his experiences at The Office Convention in Scranton in 2008:

PLAYBOY:
A few years ago, you attended an Office convention in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where your fictional Dunder Mifflin paper company office is located. What are the hardcore fans really like?

HELMS:
They're pretty extreme, man. At that convention we were like The Beatles for a weekend. We had a police escort just to get around town, and everywhere we went there was a round of applause. At one point I was in a car with [Office co-star] Angela Kinsey in downtown Scranton, and we passed a model-train store. I asked the driver to stop so we could go in. And before we knew it, fans were starting to pour in. A cop eventually showed up and said, "Everyone out." And they shut down this store so Angela and I could walk around and look at model trains. That was just crazy to me. I thought that shit only happened to Justin Bieber.

Wilkes-Barre Native Douglas Carter Beane Recieves Tony Writing Nod for Broadway's Sister Act

We would like to wish a big congratulations and good luck to Wilkes-Barre native Douglas Carter Beane, who received a Tony nomination (his 3rd) this past Monday for Best Book of a Musical (shared with authors Cheri Steinkellner and Bill Steinkellner) for the new Broadway musical Sister Act. Beane contributed additional text to the original book of the show, which originally debuted on London's West End in 2009.

Beane was previously nominated twice for Tony awards -- 2007's Best Play for The Little Dog Laughed and 2008's Best Book of a Musical for Xanadu.

The Tony Awards will air live on CBS on Sunday, June 12th at 8 PM.

For a complete list of this year's Tony nominees, click here.

For a previous blog entry on Douglas Carter Beane, click here.

www.tonys.org
www.SisterActBroadway.com

Phoebe Snow (1952-2011)

Sadly, singer Phoebe Snow passed away on April 26th, 2011 at the age of 58. Her soulful voice enveloped classic songs from the 1970s and 1980s, such as Poetry Man and If I Can Just Get Through The Night.

But did you know Phoebe Snow was actually born Phoebe Ann Laub, and she took her stage name from an Erie Lackawanna passenger train called the Phoebe Snow?

My colleague Martina S. discovered this when reading Phoebe's obituary on People.com

For more on the Phoebe Snow passenger train, click here. For information on the fictional character Phoebe Snow, click here.

In the meantime, enjoy two of Phoebe Snow's greatest tunes below.

Kill the Irishman (2011), Produced By Scranton Native Eugene Musso, Opens at Cinemark; On DVD and Blu Ray June 14th

Monday's Times-Tribune (April 25, 2011, page C1) featured an article written by Josh McAuliffe titled "Scranton Native's New Film 'Kill the Irishman; Opens Friday at Cinemark". The article features an interview with Scranton native and part-time Lake Wallenpaupack resident Eugene Musso, who served as one of the producers of the film.

Based on the book To Kill an Irishman: The War That Crippled the Mafia by Rick Porrello, Kill the Irishman tells the story of Danny Greene's (Ray Stevenson) battle to break the Italian stranglehold on organized crime in Cleveland, Ohio in the 1970s. The film co-stars Christopher Walken, Val Kilmer, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Paul Sorvino.

Eugene Musso's previous production credits include the 2000 comedy Drowning Mona (with Bette Midler) and the 2006 critically-acclaimed horror film Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon.

To read the full article, click here.

Kill the Irishman is now playing at Cinemark in Moosic; click here for showtimes. The film will also be released on DVD and Blu-Ray June 14th.

To place a hold on the book To Kill an Irishman by Rick Porrello, click here.

UPDATE: Aug. 10, 2011 The DVD of Kill The Irishman is available to borrow from the Lackawanna County Library System. To place a hold, click here.

www.killtheirishman.com

Wilkes-Barre Native Douglas Carter Beane Contributes Writing to Broadway's Sister Act

Douglas Carter Beane, two-time Tony nominated playwright (Xanadu, The Little Dog Laughed) and native of Wilkes-Barre, PA, is listed in the credits of the new Broadway hit musical Sister Act (based on the 1992 hit film starring Whoopi Goldberg) as "Additional Text By." The musical recently transferred from London's West End and officially opened at the Broadway Theatre in NYC on April 20th, 2011.

For a previous blog entry on Douglas Carter Beane, click here.

www.sisteractthemusical.com

Atlas Shrugged Now Playing at Great Escape IMAX in Dickson City

Though it remains in limited release, the film version of Atlas Shrugged Part 1 is now playing locally (starting today, April 22nd), only at the Great Escape Theatres in Dickson City.

The film is based on the world renowned novel by Ayn Rand, which features a blink-and-you'll-miss-it reference to Scranton.

For showtimes, click here.

www.AtlasShruggedPart1.com

Bossypants by Tina Fey (2011)

On page 219 of Tina Fey's hilarious new memoir Bossypants, the comedienne discusses her Emmy-winning impersonations of Sarah Palin during the 2008 election on Saturday Night Live; and Fey mentions the mock Vice-Presidential Debate of Sarah Palin (Fey) and Joe Biden (Jason Sudeikis), with Queen Latifah as moderator, as her favorite of all the sketches she did:

Three, I thought the speeches that Jim Downey wrote for Jason Sudeikis as Joe Biden was brilliant. Especially the stuff where Biden is trying to prove he's not some Washington elite by talking about how he's from Scranton, Pennsylvania, "the most godforsaken place on earth." I thought that was ingenious , because not only was the ad hominem attack on Scranton a hilarious comedy left turn, it also exemplified what the election had become. Instead of talking about issues, everyone was trying to prove how "down-home" they were. "I'm just like you" was the subtext of every speech.

In addition, Fey also includes a reference to Hazleton (page 250) when describing her many adventures traveling over the Christmas holidays:

...It got even more magical and glamorous when the baby became a toddler. One year, I believe, she screamed all the way from Hazleton to the Moshannon State Forest.

Bossypants by Tina Fey is available to borrow from the Lackawanna County Library System; to place a hold, click here.

To watch the original SNL sketch that aired October 4, 2008, click here or view the video below.

Three Screenings of Blue Valentine Scheduled for 2011 Dietrich Film Festival

The schedule for the 2011 Dietrich Film Festival in Tunkhannock has been announced, and the film Blue Valentine (filmed in and around the Scranton area--including the Reference Department at Scranton Public Library) will be screen three times. So if you didn't have the opportunity to see it on the big screen when it played in Moosic or Wilkes-Barre, this will be your last chance to see it locally.

Blue Valentine will be shown at the festival:

Saturday, April 9th at 9:30 PM
Wednesday, April 13th at 4:30 PM
Thursday, April 21st at 2:15 PM

Information on prices and purchasing tickets online can be found here.

Blue Valentine will be released on DVD and Blu Ray on May 10th. Albright Memorial Library will have copies of the film in both format to borrow. To place a hold on the DVD, click here.

www.DietrichTheater.com

Atlas Shrugged: Part 1 Official Movie Poster and Trailer

Check out the official theatrical trailer and movie poster for Atlas Shrugged Part 1.

Atlas Shrugged will be released in multiple parts. The first installment, Atlas Shrugged, Part 1, is rated PG-13 and will be released April 15th, 2011.

Being that the film will be released in multiple parts, it's now quite possible that the Scranton reference will be included (it appears on page 836 out of 1168 pages of Ayn Rand's novel), but you never know.

www.AtlasShruggedPart1.com

Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011)

Yes, even the late, great Dame Elizabeth Taylor, who passed away yesterday, visited the NEPA/Central PA area. On May 23, 1988, she visited Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg, PA.

Read more about her visit in today's Times-Tribune by clicking here.

"Star-Studded Cast Revives 'That Championship Season'" From CBS News (March 20, 2011)

Check out this video that was posted yesterday on CBSNews.com yesterday morning. It features a group interview of the the five stars of the Broadway revival of Jason Miller's That Championship Season. It also features Jason Patric, Miller's son and co-star in the revival) being interviewed strolling down the streets of Scranton, even visiting his father's bust on Courthouse Square.

"You & Me" Video from Blue Valentine Features Scene Shot at Scranton Public Library

The makers of Blue Valentine released the official video for You & Me by Penny & the Quarters, a classic song that the characters Cindy (Michelle Williams) and Dean (Ryan Gosling) pick as "their song."

1:09-1:14 of the video features the scene filmed in the Reference Department at Albright Memorial Library in May 2009.

Unfortunately, the film will finish its local run at Cinemark on Thursday, March 3rd, but it will be released on DVD and Blu Ray on May 10th (the library is getting both formats to check out).

For more on the video and the song's usage in Blue Valentine, click here.

ALSO, if you got to the 1:47 mark of this Blue Valentine fan video, you will see a scene where Michelle Williams is riding a bus as Albright Memorial Library passes in the background.

Miller's Tale, A Documentary on Jason Miller, Will Air Wednesday, March 2nd, on WVIA

Miller's Tale, an hour-long documentary on the late Jason Miller, will premiere on PBS/WVIA this Wednesday, March 2nd at 8 PM.

From the WVIA website:

Recalling Jason Miller (1939-2001), a playwright ("That Championship Season") and actor ("The Exorcist") who made Scranton, Pa., his home base for most of his career. Filmmaker Rebecca Marshall focuses on Miller's relationship with his hometown as she delves into his troubled personal life.

For more information on the film, click here.

Blue Valentine To Be Released on DVD and Blu-Ray May 10, 2011

According to Blu-Ray.com, the film Blue Valentine (filmed in Carbondale and Scranton, with a scene filmed in the Reference Department at Albright Memorial Library, will be released on DVD and Blu Ray on May 10, 2011. Albright Memorial Library will carry both formats in the circulating collection.