Broadway To Vegas

Copyright: April 5, 2020
By: Laura Deni
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RAGS PARKLAND SINGS THE SONGS OF THE FUTURE BECOMES RELEVANT

Andrew R. Butler

Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future is a science fiction concert folk musical with lyrics, music, and book by Andrew R. Butler, a writer, composer, and performer based in Brooklyn, NY and hailing from the Florida Panhandle. As a composer/lyricist he holds an BFA from Tisch School of the Arts Experimental Theatre Wing and received the 2018 Jonathan Larson Grant. The show premiered October 8, 2018 Off-Broadway at Ars Nova where it ran for about a month winning the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Musical.

Released by Broadway Records, this Original Cast Recording doubles as a sci-fi concept album. This is an unusual listening experience, which needs to be explained before you discover that you have been intriguingly captivated into the experience.

"The intercutting of fictional live recordings of two concerts - one that resurrects the folk music of the 23rd century's century's civil rights movement - and one that places the listener in the heart of that life or death struggle, at the underground concert of blues-rock rebels (and constructed humans) Beaux Weathers & The Future. The never before heard audio of the band's final performance is framed by the return-to-earth concert of The Future's only human-born member, Rags Parkland (Andrew R. Butler), a veteran of several space missions who suffers from PTSD and survivor’s guilt.

"Combined, they paint an all too familiar picture of perseverance in the face of persecution - a rallying cry for vigilance against the hatred that fuels human evil as we turn the corner into the 24th century.

"Set 250 years in the future, the sci-fi musical follows the rebels of a dystopian world where humans are built in black market labs, and Mars is a forced labor camp where underground outlaws are planning a rebellion."

Performers include: vocalist Beaux Weathers (Stacey Sargeant,) whose vocal equipment permits her to effectively sings both velvet and sandpapper. Bass Saxophonist/Tenor Clarinet Gill Sivraj (Tony Jarvis) accordionist/vocals Rick Burkhardt, Devo on drums. Ess Pinvint on bass and vocals. Jessie Linden and Debbie Christine Tjon holding down the rhythm section.

The recording opens with Rags banjo plucking the country roots Apocalypse In Tennessee. conveying the poignant recollection of how things used to be, which wasn't always warm and fuzzy. Life has changed and the new normal had a steep learning curve.

"Some folks live a few lives
And some people barely live one
Youe brain is a map of the memories you make> . . . "

It a musical fusion which shouldn't work - but does - brilliantly.

Its structure enables attachment to the listener's emotional underpinnings, controlling, manipulating the heartstrings of loss, memory, desire, frustration - and hope. A powerful recording sent in the future which is emblematic of today.

"I have held a million hopes
I'll never hope again
So many things I sought to start
will never now begin
Time will heal your wounds they say
but she won't tell you when.

The recording ends with Delilah in the Rubble

"The demagogues are still orating
Separating us from them
Falsely delineating
What was the same when it began . . .

. . . And I realize we're making
the same old mistakes again."

Sometimes the most powerful political messages are delivered not by screaming late night talk show hosts but by quiet whispers.

The creative team included music director Madeline Smith, sound designer Mikaal Sulaiman. The original cast recording from Broadway Records is produced by David Treatman and Tony Maimone.

Engineered and mixed by Tonel M. and Elbme Surfeit. Mastering by Odet Gibson. Mixed and mastered at Dobbins Sound in New Charleston, CL.

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Thank you for your interest.

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This is not your typical, totally boring textbook.

In the pages of How To Earn A Living As A Freelance Writer (the first to be lied to and the last to be paid) you'll find sex, celebrities, violence, threats, unethical editors, scummy managers and lawyers, treacherous press agents, sex discrimination; as well as a how-to for earning money by writing down words.

ART AND ABOUT

GRAMMY MUSEUM IN LOS ANGELES has announced their next round of never-before-released free digital content from their archive while the Grammy Museum is closed until further notice in light of COVID-19. The Museum's Public Programs digital series features intimate sit-down interviews with artists and musicians in its 200-seat Clive Davis Theater.

DIGITAL PUBLIC PROGRAMS

4/6 – Kool And The Gang
4/8 – Andrea Bocelli with Matteo Bocelli and Bob Ezrin
4/11 – Tanya Tucker with Brandi Carlile & Shooter Jennings
4/13 – Common
4/15 – Alice Merton
4/18 – Los Tigres del Norte
4/20 – Richard Marx
4/22 – Courtney Barnett
4/25 – Ben Platt
4/27 – Sabrina Carpenter
4/29 – Brett Young

DIGITAL EXHIBIT SERIES

4/10 – Whitney!
4/17 – Sinatra: An American Icon
4/24 – Ella at 100: Celebrating the Artistry of Ella Fitzgerald

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SWEET CHARITY

THE BRET ADAMS AND PAUL REISCH FOUNDATION in response to the recent closure of theaters due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has announced its decision to reinvent the means by which it will distribute the funds for their 2020 Idea Award for Theatre. This spring, the foundation will offer up to 40 emergency grants of $2,500 each to playwrights, composers, lyricists and librettists who have had a full professional production cancelled, closed, or indefinitely postponed due to the COVID-19 closures. A total of $100,000 will be distributed to theatre writers.

The Bret Adams & Paul Reisch Foundation's mission as a charitable foundation is to give money to writers to write plays with 'big ideas.' This year, our 'big idea' is our declaration that we must help those who have had productions cancelled," says Bruce Ostler, V.P. and Board Member of The Bret Adams and Paul Reisch Foundation. "The economic model of theatre in the 21st century works much like it did in the 16th century, in that a playwright receives a percentage of the box office sales; without an audience, the box office receipts and royalty to playwrights dry up. In no uncertain terms, the business of theatre today has ground to a shocking halt due to the pandemic. Playwrights are not salaried workers and therefore are NOT eligible for unemployment for a cancelled production. That is the harsh reality of theatre today."

Theatrical Agent Bret Adams and his partner Dr. Paul Reisch loved the theatre with great passion. As a theatrical agent, Bret shepherded the careers of many actors, writers and directors and designers, including Phylicia Rashad, Judy Kaye, Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, Sherman Helmsley, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Eve Arden, Christine Ebersole, Kathleen Marshall, Jayne Wyman, Andre DeShields, Kathy Bates, Susan H. Schulman, Jack Heifner, Philip McKinley and Robert Harling, among many others. After Bret and Paul's passing, in 2006 and 2015 respectively, their eponymous foundation was created at their bequest. The Bret Adams and Paul Reisch Foundation champions visionary playwrights in their creation of expansive, illuminating, and idea-driven theatre. Embracing diversity in all its forms, The Foundation encourages artists with fresh perspectives - particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds - to create idea-driven new plays and musicals reflecting on multivalent themes including science, history, philosophy, gender, race, politics, sexual orientation, technology, religion, money, global warming, and medicine, among others.

THE CARAVAN OF ANGELS FOUNDATION is now offering elderly hospital patients and nursing home residents much-needed social interaction in the form of virtual concerts available for free and via a “pay-what-you-wish” donation option.

Many of today’s top Broadway talent have committed to providing at-home content for the program including:

Two-time Tony Award nominee Laura Osnes, Kerry Butler, Hannah Shankman, Natasha Yvette Williams, Gisela Adisa and Emmy Award winner Aintone L. Smith.

The Caravan of Angels is a 501c3 non-profit organization based in New York City that brings the theater to those who aren’t able to attend. The foundation’s goal is to enlighten the lives of children and elderly people in hospitals, senior centers and nursing homes through shows, concerts and entertainment by professional performers.

Founded in early 2019 by Italian singer and Off-Broadway performer Francesca Capetta, The Caravan of Angels gained national attention following a live performance on ABC TV. The Board of Directors includes Angelina Fiordellisi (Tony Winner Producer and Broadway Actress) KT Sullivan (Broadway singer and Artistic Director of The Mabel Mercer Foundation), Cav. Josephine A. Maietta, Neil Alumkal, Annalisa Conti and Elisabetta Calello.

KAHWA COFFEE ROASTERS the largest independent coffee roaster in the state of Florida, has entered into a strategic partnership with kathy ireland Worldwide (kiWW). The partnership and proceeds from all Kahwa coffee product sales will help serve and support the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation (NPCF), a national nonprofit organization which funds lifesaving research of pediatric cancer.

SPREADING THE WORD

IF THE WORLD IS A STAGE I WANT BETTER LIGHTING is a popular phrase found on shirts sold at many Broadway area souvenir shops. Since the world has shifted to one of live streaming from home - video streamers need to use that phrase as their mantra.

Even some professionals streaming from home look aged, tired and distorted. It's all in the lighting and make-up. Lighting designers and make up artists need to step up and offer instructions on how to light for internet streaming. Celebrities are putting thought into what room or location to use, where to sit or stand. Whether you are a regular or a guest on a show, put as much thought (if not more) into how to light the space. Too many of you don't look your best.

STREAMING MUSICALS offers a special free live streaming event: on Friday, April 10, when the site will host a ‘virtual opening night’ for the debut of Pride and Prejudice, in a new musical adaptation by Tony Award nominee Paul Gordon.

Book, music and lyrics by Tony Award nominee Paul Gordon. Based on the novel by Jane Austen. Directed by Robert Kelley.

The April 10 streaming event will be hosted by Tony Award winner Beth Leavel and SiriusXM’s Julie James. They will introduce the production and interview creative team members during intermission.

The production will be streamed at 6:30 PM ET, with an encore presentation at 10:00 PM ET/7:00 PT.

Pride and Prejudice, based on the classic novel by Jane Austen, was filmed at the Tony Award-winning TheatreWorks Silicon Valley in Palo Alto, CA., where it played its world premiere from December 4, 2019 to January 4, 2020 and established an all-time box office record. The production was directed by TheatreWorks’ Founding Artistic Director Robert Kelley and choreographed by Dottie Lester-White.

Sparks fly when spirited Elizabeth Bennet (Mary Mattison) meets single, rich, and proud Mr. Darcy (Justin Mortelliti). But Mr. Darcy reluctantly finds himself falling in love with a woman beneath his class. Can each overcome their own pride and prejudice?

The production also features Monique Hafen Adams (Miss Caroline Bingley), Samantha James Ayoob (Lady’s Maid/Townsperson), Seton Chiang (Footman/Townsperson), Lucinda Hitchcock Cone (Lady Catherine), Taylor Crousore (Mr. Wickham), Sean Fenton (Captain Denny/Col. Fitzwilliam), Brian Herndon (Mr. Collins), Tara Kostmayer (Linda Bennet), Dani Marcus (Charlotte Lucas), Heather Orth (Mrs. Bennet), Sharon Rietkerk (Jane Bennet), Michelle Skinner (Lady’s Maid/Townsperson), Heather Mae Steffen (Lady’s Maid/Townsperson), Chanel Tilghman (Kitty Bennet), Christopher Vettel (Mr. Bennet) and Melissa WolfKlain (Mary Bennet).

Scenic design is by Joe Ragey, costume design is by Fumiko Bielefeldt, lighting design is by Pamila Z. Gray, sound design is by Brendan Ames, and wig design is by Roxie Johnson. Dialect coach is Kimberly Mohne Hill. William Liberatore serves as musical director, with orchestrations by Conor Keelan.

Pride and Prejudice is produced for Streaming Musicals by Tom Polum and Stacia Fernandez.

Celebrating its 50th Anniversary Season, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley is the recipient of the 2019 Regional Theatre Tony Award.

The two-year-old Streaming Musicals is dedicated to presenting new, original musical theatre content, bringing live theatre to international audiences. The productions are filmed on theatrical and sound stages in high definition video and sound. Streaming Musicals has also instituted a revolutionary profit-sharing model to support the creative artists who provide the site’s content.

L.A. THEATRE WORKS will offer free streaming access to its recording of Lips Together, Teeth Apart from now through the end of April as a posthumous tribute to playwright Terrence McNally, who died on March 24.

“It was with great sadness that we learned of Terrence McNally’s passing,” says LATW producing director Susan Loewenberg. “It’s an honor to be able to acknowledge his legacy, even in this small way. In addition to streaming the play, we’ll be linking to other sites that are featuring articles and interviews.”

In Lips Together, Teeth Apart, McNally walks a fine line between laugh-out-loud comedy and truth-telling drama, masterfully bringing to life ghosts of the past as he lays bare secrets of the heart. It’s set in a Fire Island beach house, where a brother and sister have gotten together, along with their spouses, to celebrate the Fourth of July. With food, cocktails, fireworks and stinging barbs, the four fortify themselves against their individual anxieties — and their gay neighbors partying in the houses on either side.

L.A. Theatre Works recorded Lips Together, Teeth Apart before a live audience at UCLA’s James Bridges Theater in December, 2012. Directed by Bart DeLorenzo, it stars two-time Emmy Award winner Kristen Johnston as Chloe; Steven Weber as John; Missy Yager as Sally; and Ovation Award-winning actor Hugo Armstrong as Sam.

JAMES CORDEN'S GARAGE SPECIAL which aired last Monday night on CBS set the bar high for at home transmissions. The show was extremely well thought out and expertly presented. The show had something for everyone - including two puppies. Corden was funny, sensitive, topical yet non political. The technical aspects of the show were gold standard "from home" shows - or in Corden's case - from his garage.

Broadway To Vegas first fell in love with Corden's talents when he starred on Broadway. Since then he has seamlessly transferred to late night talk show host, invented Carpool Karoke and his special with Paul McCartney was top notch splendid. Corden has established himself as a name you can take to the bank.

THE ELECTRIC DAISY CARNIVAL expected to have been attended in May by 600,000 joyful music goers in Las Vegas has been postponed until October 2-4.

LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE

Jazzman Slim Man, who is based in Palm Springs, CA, answered the call to provide some laughs.

I Googled "funniest joke in the world." And here it is...

Two hunters are in the woods. One of them collapses, passes out cold. The other guy panics and calls 911. He screams, "I think my friend is dead!"
The operator says, "Calm down. I can help. Let's make sure he's dead."
There's a silence, and then a gunshot. Then the guy says, "OK. Now what?"

That's the funniest joke in the world, according to Wikipedia. A psychologist named Richard Wiseman ran an extensive experiment. He launched a website, people submitted jokes--41,000 of them--and 1.5 million people voted. And that joke was the big winner. But not according to Oxford University. They did a study, and here are their Top 3 jokes...

I went into the doctor's office. I told him, "I can't stop singing 'What's New Pussycat'! What's wrong with me?"
The doctor said, "You have Tom Jones Syndrome."
I asked him if it was common.
He said, "It's not unusual."

Three guys are stranded for years on a desert island. They find a magic lantern. They rub it and a genie appears. He grants them each one wish.
The first guy wants to go back home. Poof! He vanishes. The second guy wishes for the same thing. Poof! He vanishes.
The third guy looks at the genie and says, "I'm so lonely. I wish my friends were back here."

A man goes to the Super Bowl. It's jam-packed, sold-out. He fights his way to his seat and notices an empty seat next to his. He asks the guy on the other side why the seat is empty.
The guy says, "It's my wife's seat. She passed away. This is my first Super Bowl without her."
The other guy says, "I'm so sorry. Couldn't you find a friend or relative or neighbor to go with you?"
And the guy says, "No. They're all at the funeral."

Those are the Top 3, according to the Oxford study.

But what about the world's funniest jokes here at Slim's Shady Trailer Park in Palm Springs, California?

Well, here they are, the Top 3 jokes, according to Selma Krapoff, Head of Slim Merchandise, Kenny B. Morpoplar, Head of Slim Marketing, and Anita Lickenschtamp, Postmistress General.

I went into the doctor's office. I said, "Doc! I can't remember what I did last week. I can't remember what I did yesterday. I can't even remember what I did an hour ago!"
The doc asked me, "How long have you had this problem?"
I said, "What problem?"

I was walking down the street with my friend. We saw a dog laying on the sidewalk, licking himself. My friend said, "I'd love to be able to do that."
I said, "You might have to pet him first. He looks a little mean."

A man is speeding down the highway. In the back of his car, he has a bunch of penguins. A cop pulls him over, looks inside the car, and says, "Slow down! And take those penguins to the zoo! I'm warning you!"
The next day, the guy speeds down the same highway with the penguins in the back of the car. This time they all have sunglasses on. The same cop pulls him over. He says, "I thought I told you to take those penguins to the zoo!"
The guy says, "I did! And today we're going to the beach!"

When Slim Man isn't cobbling jokes, he performs in a three-times weekly 5@5 Facebook podcast. Called 5@5 because on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays he sings 5 Frank, Dino and Slim Songs at 5PM PT. A following day YouTube repeat also takes place.

COVID-19 EXPERIMENTAL TESTING

The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is a world-leading centre for research and postgraduate education in public and global health, with over 4000 students and more than 1000 staff working in over 100 countries across the world. Recently the institution taught a 3-week course on COVID-19.

Since the effects of COVID-19 are affecting everyone, some readers of Broadway To Vegas might be interested in the results of a drug trial.

A Trial of Lopinavir–Ritonavir in Adults Hospitalized with Severe Covid-19 was reported on March 18, 2020, and updated on March 20, 2020, by the New England Journal of Medicine.

The entire article was used as a class teaching tool. Part of the article stated:

Methods

We conducted a randomized, controlled, open-label trial involving hospitalized adult patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, which causes the respiratory illness Covid-19, and an oxygen saturation (Sao2) of 94% or less while they were breathing ambient air or a ratio of the partial pressure of oxygen (Pao2) to the fraction of inspired oxygen (Fio2) of less than 300 mm Hg. Patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive either lopinavir–ritonavir (400 mg and 100 mg, respectively) twice a day for 14 days, in addition to standard care, or standard care alone. The primary end point was the time to clinical improvement, defined as the time from randomization to either an improvement of two points on a seven-category ordinal scale or discharge from the hospital, whichever came first.

Results

A total of 199 patients with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection underwent randomization; 99 were assigned to the lopinavir–ritonavir group, and 100 to the standard-care group. Treatment with lopinavir–ritonavir was not associated with a difference from standard care in the time to clinical improvement (hazard ratio for clinical improvement, 1.24; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.90 to 1.72). Mortality at 28 days was similar in the lopinavir–ritonavir group and the standard-care group (19.2% vs. 25.0%; difference, -5.8 percentage points; 95% CI, -17.3 to 5.7). Lopinavir–ritonavir treatment was stopped early in 13 patients (13.8%) because of adverse events.

Conclusions

In hospitalized adult patients with severe Covid-19, no benefit was observed with lopinavir–ritonavir treatment beyond standard care. Future trials in patients with severe illness may help to confirm or exclude the possibility of a treatment benefit.

Funded by Major Projects of National Science and Technology on New Drug Creation and Development and others; Chinese Clinical Trial Register number, ChiCTR2000029308.) Introduction. Supported by grants from Major Projects of National Science and Technology on New Drug Creation and Development (2020ZX09201001) and (2020ZX09201012); the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS) Emergency Project of Covid-19 (2020HY320001); and a National Science Grant for Distinguished Young Scholars (81425001/H0104). Dr. Jaki is a recipient of a National Institute for Health Research Senior Research Fellowship (2015-08-001). Dr. Horby reports receiving funding from the Wellcome Trust, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the United Kingdom Department of Health and Social Care.

OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY

THE KENNEDY CENTER in Washington, DC will begin to furlough 60% of its administrative staff beginning April 6, 2020.

The staff reduction is in addition to previously announced cutbacks to full and part-time staff, as well as the furlough of the 94-member National Symphony Orchestra.

LEE IACOCCA'S LONGTIME MANSION FOR SALE considered America’s favorite business leader from the 1960s to the ‘90s, one of the many things Lee Iacocca was known for were his famous quotes including “In times of great stress or adversity, it's always best to keep busy, to plow your anger and your energy into something positive.” Also, “If you can find a better car, buy it.”

Iacocca, the longtime president of Ford Motor Company and chairman of Chrysler Corporation, could switch from engineering to sales, marketing, CEO, charity fundraising and politics with little effort. After introducing the Ford Mustang, Lee jumped over to Chrysler where he launched the minivan concept, convinced the U.S. government to loan Chrysler $1.5 billion, and saved the company from collapse. He was well paid for his talent and by the time he died in 2019, Iacocca was worth $150 million. His beautiful home in Los Angeles, where he lived out his retirement before succumbing to Parkinson’s disease, is for sale at $29.9 million.

Iacocca’s Tuscan-style mansion includes 10,682 square feet with five bedrooms and eight baths on over an acre near the Bel Air Country Club. There are four ensuite guest rooms, a staff apartment, formal living and dining rooms, paneled library and five fireplaces. Huge open-plan rooms that spill out onto lovely terraces are perfect for large-scale entertaining while other spaces invite intimate gatherings. Crafted of luscious materials and craftsmanship, the home is bright and cheerful while retaining an elegant vibe. Immaculate grounds contain mature landscaping with outdoor living areas accented with topiary. A chef’s kitchen is ready for enjoying family or guests. The master suite has a living area larger than many mansions' formal living rooms on a scale reminiscent of historical times when the aristocracy entertained guests in their private chambers. Outdoor recreation includes a swimming pool, spa and tennis courts.

After his death in 2019, automotive-pioneer Lee Iococca’s estate, where he entertained Bob and Dolores Hope, Frank and Barbara Sinatra, Priscilla Presley and Betty White, is now for sale at $29.9 million. The listing agents are David Kramer and Rick Hilton of Hilton & Hyland, Beverly Hills.

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This is not your typical, totally boring textbook.

In the pages of How To Earn A Living As A Freelance Writer (the first to be lied to and the last to be paid) you'll find sex, celebrities, violence, threats, unethical editors, scummy managers and lawyers, treacherous press agents, sex discrimination; as well as a how-to for earning money by writing down words.

FINAL OVATION

RUTH APPELHOF Executive Director Emeritus of Guild Hall, died April 2, 2020 at her home in The Hamptons, NY. Her death was leukemia-related.

Ruth was Guild Hall’s Executive Director for 17 years from 1999 to 2016, and her meaningful contributions to the institution, including the renovation completed in 2010, reverberate today.

Ruth earned her Ph. D. from Syracuse University having written her dissertation on American Modernism. Her museum career started at the Whitney Museum of American Art as a Helena Rubenstein Fellow. She went on to direct museums across the country. She was the Chief Curator of the Lowe Art Gallery at Syracuse University followed by the Birmingham Museum where she was instrumental in developing an important contemporary art collection as well as one of the most comprehensive holdings in photography in the south. As a professor at the State University of New York in Auburn and then at Syracuse University, Ruth taught art history, museum management, curatorial methodology and collections development at undergraduate and graduate levels. In 2017, Ruth was a Visiting Scholar at the American Academy in Rome, and from 2017 to 2019, she was a Fellow at the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center. Since retiring from Guild Hall in 2016, she worked tirelessly on her 192-page book Lee & Me: An Intimate Portrait of Lee Krasner (Officina Libraria, May 2020).

Ruth lived with her adoring husband of 22 years, Gary Adamek, in Springs, East Hampton.

JOE DIFFIE Grammy winning country music star and long time member of the Grand Ole Opry died March 29, 2020 from Coronavirus. He was 61.

He had been diagnosed on Friday, March 27, 2020.

Between 1990 and 2004, Diffie charted 35 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, five of which peaked at number one. From 1992 to the early 2000s, Diffie held a charity concert and golf tournament benefiting First Steps, a nonprofit organization for the education of mentally and physically impaired children. His contributions to this organization won him a Humanitarian Award from the Country Radio Broadcasters in 1997. He was a native of Oklahoma and a member of the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame.

Diffie has been married four times. His first wife was Janise Parker, whom he married while in college. The couple had two children, Parker and Kara, then divorced in 1986. Parker later worked as Diffie's on-road manager in the mid-2000s, and in mid-2010, Kara and he auditioned for American Idol. Two years after divorcing Janise, Diffie married Debbie Jones, a nurse technician. They had two sons, Drew and Tyler, the latter of whom was born with Down syndrome and nearly died in 1991 following complications from a tonsillectomy. Diffie began an affair with Liz Allison, the widow of NASCAR driver Davey Allison, in 1993. In 1994, a judge ordered Diffie to pay Jones $3,000 per month towards their pending divorce settlement, and not to allow Drew and Tyler to be in the presence of any girlfriend. He divorced Jones in 1996. In 2000, Diffie married the former Theresa Crump, whom he met at a concert, at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville. They have one daughter, Kylie Tarissa, born in 2004.

GERALD FREEDMAN theatre director and writer died March 17, 2020 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina from kidney failure. He was 91.

Throughout his life, the artist helmed over a dozen productions on Broadway, including The School for Scandal, The Grand Tour, and The Robber Bridegroom. Freedman served as the artistic director of Joseph Papp’s New York Shakespeare Festival from 1967 to 1971. While serving as leader in the ‘60s, he mounted the original Off-Broadway production of Hair at what is now the Papp-founded Public Theater.

In addition to his work on Broadway, Freedman directed productions with the Acting Company at Juilliard and New York City Opera throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s. He ran the Great Lakes Theatre Festival from 1985 to 1997 and was one of the first American directors to mount a show at The Globe Theatre in London.

ELLIS MARSALIS was an American jazz pianist and educator. Active since the late 1940s, Marsalis came to greater attention in the 1980s and 1990s as the patriarch of a musical family, with sons Branford and Wynton rising to international acclaim died in New Orleans, LA April 1, 2020 from complications from Covid-19. He was 85.

"Ellis Marsalis was a legend. He was the prototype of what we mean when we talk about New Orleans jazz," New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said in a statement Wednesday night. "He was a teacher, a father, and an icon -- and words aren't sufficient to describe the art, the joy and the wonder he showed the world." In addition to his own storied career as a jazz pianist and composer, Ellis Marsalis was also the first jazz instructor at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts, and the first chair of the jazz studies program at the University of New Orleans.

The National Endowment for the Arts in 2011 named Mr. Marsalis and his musician sons as N.E.A. Jazz Masters. It is considered the highest honor for an American jazz musician, and until then it had been awarded only on an individual basis.

He is survived by his wife Dolores Marsalis and their children Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Delfeayo Marsalis, Jason Marsalis, Ellis Marsalis III, Mboya Kenyatta Marsalis.

Four of Marsalis' six sons followed in his musical footsteps, and established their own lasting careers in the industry. His son Wynton is managing and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, and winner of multiple awards. His son Branford is a jazz saxophonist who has recorded albums with Sting, among others.

ALAN MERRILL singer/songwriter died of Coronavirus on March 29, 2020 at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. He was 69.

The Bronx native wrote I Love Rock N’ Roll with band-mate Jake Hooker when they were in The Arrows in 1975. Rock star Joan Jett saw him perform the iconic song on a British TV show the following year and she ended up recording her own version, which became an instant hit that helped define an era and was the No. 1 song in the U.S. for eight weeks in 1982.

Merrill, who was also an actor and guitarist, started his musical career in Japan and had hits in both English and Japanese over the years, according to his official website. He was also a member of Meat Loaf’s band for about four years in the late 1980s.

BUCKY PIZZERELLI guitarist and singer who became a mainstay of the New York jazz scene in the 1970s, and toured extinsively died on Wednesday, April 1, 2020 in Saddle River, N.J. from coronavirus. He was 94.

A master of the subtle art of rhythm guitar as well as a gifted soloist, he also toured with Benny Goodman and was a longtime member of the original Tonight Show orchestra. When Johnny Carson moved “The Tonight Show” to California from New York in 1972, Pizzarelli stayed behind. He explained at the time that he did not want to uproot his four school-age children from their home in Upper Saddle River, N.J.

His son John also gained fame. The two Pizzarellis would perform and record together many times over the years, often joined by Pizzarelli’s other son, Martin, a bassist, and the vocalist Jessica Molaskey, John’s wife. John Pizzarelli once described them as “the von Trapp family on martinis.” As John’s star ascended, he frequently employed his father as a sideman.

Pizzarelli’s sons survive him, as do his wife, Ruth (Litchult) Pizzarelli; two daughters, Anne Hymes and Mary Pizzarelli; and four grandchildren.

WALLACE RONEY a Grammy winning jazz trumpeter died March 31, 2020 at a hospital in Paterson, NJ, where he was admitted last week, for coronavirus. He was 59.

A leader in a post-bop or fusion style — trained at Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Howard University and Berklee College of Music. After working clubs in New York City, Roney was recruited by the Jazz Messengers, a famed hard bop band led by Art Blakey. He was later hired by Tony Williams, the drummer who played alongside Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter in Miles Davis’ second great quintet. Roney went on to perform with Ornette Coleman, Chick Corea, Pharoah Sanders and other jazz legends. He is survived by hiss fiancée Dawn Felice Jones and two children, Barbara and Wallace Jr., from his marriage to late pianist Geri Allen.

ADAM SCHLESINGER Tony-Nominated and Grammy and two-time Emmy- award winning composer died April 1, 2020 of COVID-19 related causes. He was 52.

He received a Tony nomination for the score of Cry-Baby (shared with David Javerbaum), for which he also penned the lyrics, At the time of his death he was working on the upcoming world-premiere adaptation of Sarah Silverman's memoir The Bedwetter, at Atlantic Theater Company (for which he wrote the music and co-wrote the lyrics with Silverman) and the Broadway-aimed The Nanny musical with the series' star Fran Drescher and frequent collaborator Rachel Bloom.

Schlesinger worked with Bloom on four seasons of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend as a songwriter, executive music producer, and music director. He and Bloom co-penned the original main title theme music, for which they shared an Emmy nomination, as well as the songs (co-written with Jack Dolgen) We Tapped That Ass; Settle for Me, and Anti-Depressants Are So Not a Big Deal, the latter winning them an Emmy Award in 2019.

He was an Academy Award nominee for the title song in Tom Hanks' 1999 film, That Thing You Do! and wrote the music and lyrics for a number of TV shows and films, among them: Ice Age: Continental Drift, Sesame Street, Music and Lyrics, Big Time Rush, Crank Yankers, The Maya Rudolph Show, and A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!, for which he won a Comedy Album Grammy Award.

He and his Cry-Baby collaborator Javerbaum also penned original songs for both the Tony and Emmy telecasts, including the 2011 Tony Awards opening number "It's Not Just for Gays Anymore." After making their joint Broadway debuts in 2008, Schlesinger and Javerbaum returned in 2015 with Act of God. Javerbaum's solo play, starring Sean Hayes, featured original music by Schlesinger. He was a founding member of the band Fountains of Wayne, for which he wrote the Grammy-nominated song Stacey's Mom.

DAVID SCHRAMM veteran stage actor best known for playing rival airline owner Roy Biggins on “Wings, died March 28, 2020 in New York. He was 73. No cause of death was given.

Over the course of four decades, Schramm appeared in multiple Broadway productions, including The Acting Company’s 1975 repertory productions of The Three Sisters; The Time of Your Life; Edward II and The Robber Bridegroom. Later, Schramm appeared in Bedroom Farce (1979); Goodbye Fidel (1980); The Misanthrope (1983); Tartuffe (1996); London Assurance (1997) and the 2009 revival of Finian’s Rainbow.

He also worked extensively in regional theaters including the Kennedy Center, Philadelphia Drama Guild, the New York Theatre Workshop, Pasadena Playhouse, George Street Playhouse, Shakespeare Theatre Company. He directed Arthur Muller’s The Price at Chicago’s American Theater Company and Ronald Ribman’s The Rug Merchants of Chaos at Pasadena Playhouse.

The Louisville, Ky. native took acting classes at Western Kentucky University before attending Juilliard from 1968 to 1972, when John Houseman and Harley founded the Acting Company. Besides Schramm, the historic repertory group’s original ensemble included Patti LuPone, Kevin Kline and David Ogden Stiers.

A 1988 Pasadena Playhouse production of Born Yesterday opposite Rebecca De Mornay gave Schramm’s career a boost and earned him comparisons to both Jackie Gleason and John Belushi.

Besides his eight seasons on the ‘90s NBC comedy Wings opposite Tim Daly, Steven Weber, Tony Shalhoub, Thomas Haden Church and Rebecca Schull, Schramm also appeared in the TV movie The Dreamer of Oz: The L. Frank Baum Story in 1990 and the 1983 miniseries Kennedy (as Robert McNamara).

HERB STOTT a pioneer in television commercial production, died peacefully at his home in Hollywood on February 8, 2020. He was 85.

A director and producer of TV commercials, his production companies Spungbuggy Works, Inc. and Herb Stott Films were known for their work in both animation and live action. He produced and directed the only ever non-political TV commercial for a U.S. President featuring George H.W. Bush in a campaign to bring tourism back to the country after the 1991 Gulf War.His commercials garnered numerous accolades throughout his nearly 40 years in business including the Motion Picture Screen Cartoonists Golden Award and three Clios, one for Illinois Bell, one of the many animated spots his companies produced that included such clients as Levi-Strauss, Clairol, Raid, Nestle's, Kelloggs, Mr. Clean, Tootsie Roll, United Airlines and The Grateful Dead. His live-action reels featured commercials for McDonald's, Wendy's, Little Debbie's, Doritos, Carl's Jr., Whataburger, Mattel, Yamaha, Yoplait, Mastercard, Subaru and Target, to name a few.

Noted for his work with celebrities, he directed spots starring such luminaries as Rich Little, John Wayne, John Denver, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, George Foreman, Wayne Gretzky, Avery Schreiber, Slim Pickens, George Plimpton, Sally Struthers, Peter Lawford, Charlton Heston, Henry Thomas and The Smothers Brothers.

He is survived by the love of his life, his wife of 30 years Merry Elkins Stott, his sister Janice Pate, his nephew Corey Pate, great nieces and nephews, two great grand nieces, and his dog Charlie.

BILL WITHERS Grammy award winning singer died March 30, 2020 in Los Angeles from heart complications. He was 81.

Withers performed and recorded from 1970 until 1985. He recorded several major hits, including Grandma's Hands (1971), Ain't No Sunshine (1971), Use Me (1972), Lean on Me (1972), Lovely Day (1977), and Just the Two of Us (1980). Withers won three Grammy Awards and was nominated for four more. His life was the subject of the 2009 documentary film Still Bill. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.

Withers married actress Denise Nicholas in 1973, during her stint on the sitcom Room 222. The couple divorced in 1974. In 1976, Withers married Marcia Johnson, and they had two children, Todd and Kori. Marcia eventually assumed the direct management of his Beverly Hills–based publishing companies, in which his children also became involved as they became adults.

Harvey Mason, Jr. Chair and Interim President/CEO of the Recording Academy issued the following statement: " The Recording Academy is deeply saddened by the passing of legendary singer/songwriter Bill Withers. Throughout his remarkably impactful career, Bill earned three Grammy Awards in the Best Rhythm & Blues Song category for his timeless classics Ain't No Sunshine; Just The Two Of Us, and Lean On Me. Bill's work has made a lasting impression on the music industry, with countless acclaimed artists performing renditions of his recordings, including Aretha Franklin, Paul McCartney and Barbra Streisand. His music will continue to influence the music community and be cherished by the world for years to come. Our hearts go out to his loved ones and all who were impacted by his incomparable work."

WILLIAM WOLF author, critic, and educator, William was the 22nd president of the Drama Desk. He also served a term as chair of the New York Film Critics Circle died died from complications related to COVID-19 on Saturday, March 28, 2020.

William was part of a golden age in magazine journalism in New York. Beginning in 1964, he was film critic for Cue Magazine. When Cue was absorbed into New York Magazine, he became an editor and critic there. In the 1980s, his film criticism and features were syndicated by Gannett.

William is author of The Marx Brothers (1975), a volume of the Pyramid Illustrated History of the Movies, and, with his wife, Lillian Kramer Wolf, of Landmark Films: The Cinema and Our Century (1979). As an academic, he had a long association with New York University, teaching film-related classes in multiple departments. In recent years, he conducted a popular movie preview class at Lincoln Center, where he screened and discussed soon-to-to-be-released motion pictures and interviewed filmmakers and actors.

Next Column: April 12, 2020
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