Broadway To Vegas

Copyright: December 19, 2021
By: Laura Deni
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ESTELLA SCROOGE IS A REFRESHING TAKE ON AN OLD CLASSIC

Estella Scrooge is one of the most unique, well crafted, inventive versions of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol you'll ever have the pleasure of viewing. A must see, delightful experience with music and lyrics by Paul Gordon, and a book by John Caird.

An interesting aspect of this production is how it was created. Before reviewing the viewing, let's learn about the process.

According to the official explanation"

Because of the pandemic, this group of Broadway royalty did not get together to create this holiday musical. One actor at a time was filmed in New York City, the film was produced on California and Hawaii, it was directed from London and edited in Tokyo.

This virtual cinematic musical theatre adventure was planned and digitally captured entirely during the pandemic, utilizing cutting-edge technology.

The fully-realized production was filmed using a green screen with hundreds of images, animations and digital environments blended in post-production with the footage of the actors to bring the story magically to life. Estella Scrooge also wittily incorporates characters and plot lines from Dickens’ other great novels, Great Expectations, Little Dorrit and Bleak House, among others. Estella Scrooge is a 2021 Telly Award Winner, which honor excellence in video and television across all screens.

Betsy Wolfe stars as Estella Scrooge, a descendant of her famous great great great great grandfather Ebenezer. Clifton Duncan stars as Philip ‘Pip’ Nickleby. 2020 Tony Award winner Lauren Patten stars as Dawkins. The production also features Tony Award nominees Patrick Page as Mr. Merdle, Carolee Carmello as Marla Havisham and 2020 Tony Award Winner Danny Burstein as Ebenezer Scrooge.

The cast also includes Megan McGinnis as Betty Cratchit, Adam Halpin as Bob Cratchit, Sarah Litzsingeras Sissy Jupe, Tom Nelis as Dedlock, Em Grosland as Smike, Phoenix Best as Charity & Mercy, David Bryant as Mr. Podsnap, Gabrielle Reid as Mrs. Pumblechook, Samuel Lee Roberts as Mr. Flopson, Michael Francis McBride (Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater) as Mr. Dombey, Michele Lee as Mrs. Noggs, Kristen Faith Oei as Ms. Skiffins, Meg Gibson as Molly, William Youmans as Magwitch & Bagstock, Kevyn Morrow as Jasper Jaggers, Joziyah Jean-Felix as Young Pip, Brooklyn Shuck as Young Essy and Willow McCarthy as Tiny Tammy.

They all have superb voices with excellent sound balancing.

I could see only two, slight camera angle flubs which were only fleeting momentary flaws. I don't think any tech crew could have done better.

Estella Scrooge features musical supervision by Brad Haak, choreography by Natalie Lomonte and casting by Tara Rubin Casting. Director of photography and editor is Tyler Milliron, production art design is by Zach Wilson, costume design is by Somie Pak, hair and makeup design is by Dena Olivieri and props design is by Katherine White.

Estella and Ebenezer on their visitation.

In a joint statement, director/co-book writer John Caird and co-book writer/composer Paul Gordon said, “We are so thrilled to continue the tradition of Estella Scrooge, having premiered the film during last year’s holiday season. Our goal was always to let audiences experience A Christmas Carol through fresh eyes and a new perspective, and as the country slowly opens up with live performances, we are thrilled to be able to continue to showcase some of Broadway’s best actors, singers, and dancers. Refashioning the classic Christmas Carol story with a new twist for today, our hope is that this fresh take will open minds and fill hearts with joy.”

Estella Scrooge (a believable Wolfe) is a young Wall Street tycoon with a penchant for foreclosing. A hotelier in her hometown of Pickwick, Ohio has defaulted on his mortgage and Estella fancies the idea of lowering the boom personally. Arriving at Harthouse on Christmas Eve, Estella discovers that the defaulting party is her childhood sweetheart, Pip Nickleby (Duncan). A good and generous soul, Pip has transformed the property into a refuge for the sick, dispossessed and homeless. A freak snowstorm forces Estella to take refuge. That night, just as it happened to her ancestor Ebenezer, she is haunted by three visitations...and oh, what uninvited house guests they are!

Just when you thought Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol has been re-written every way possible (some better than others), along comes the latest version Estella Scrooge which is a topical, clever, attention holding musical take on the original with flashes of other Dickens' classics.

Estelle Scrooge is head of a financial conglomerate which does an excellent job of publicity implying that they care about the customer when in fact it's their own bottom line.

The secret to their health insurance is - to stay healthy.

"We care almost about you as we do your money," they sing in a completely different - delightful, first rate - score, not a third rate copycat of any other versions.

Estella flies to one of the hardest hit recession towns on Christmas Eve to foreclose on Heart House, a refuge for the disenfranchise.

A storm is on the way. Almost a Family and Not on My Watch explains how the residents have survived by sticking together. Duncan as Nickleby delivers a performance with the appropriate demeanor of a resident social worker who cares for his charges but has both feet in reality; admitting that many of the needy are in that condition because they have made bad choices. As is pointed out about one women they are helping who has been on parole for 7 months - "count the silverware, anyway."

Estella makes a commonly heard argument - insisting that by dismantling the current she is bringing the community back to life. There will be tourism, maybe even a sports complex. The people put out of work will be retrained and find jobs in food service and maintenance.

Estella loves kindness, but only as a last resort. After all, is there anything besides what you can own?

"I hate regulations. They take all the fun out of making money," Estella complains.

A massive snow storm brings on Marla, her former business partner who has been condemned to wander the world in perpetual torment. Never married, Marla was left at the alter making for not much of a honeymoon. In WallStreet Baby, Superstar Marla (dynamically portrayed by Carolee Carmello) admits that she made Estella what she is today.

Estella's concern about the hereafter centers on going into the after life without proper footwear.

Sissy Jupe - a rocker - is the Ghost of Christmas Past. The Spirit of Christmas Present is none other than Ebinizer Scrooge who explains what "scared the cratchits out of me." That, of course is followed by the Ghost of Christmas Future.

The love song Great Expectations closes the delightful show.

The musical, which runs over two hours, could tolerate a highly judicious editing for future stage productions. It's lengthy and not fast moving. If necessary this effort could easily be cut to 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Estella Scrooge is produced by Michael Jackowitz of Witzend Productions, David Bryant and Michael Alden, in partnership with Streaming Musicals and Broadway on Demand. Executive Producers are Kevin Surace and for StreamingMusicals, Tom Polum and Stacia Fernandez. Co-Executive Producers are Jeffrey Grove, Allan Herzog and Dawn Smalberg/Bev Ragovoy.

This musical has been acquired for stage licensing by Music Theatre International. This title is currently restricted. Expected general release is Spring 2022.

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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

INSPIRING WALT DISNEY: THE ANIMATION OF FRENCH DECORATIVE ARTS is on display at The Met Fifth Avenue in New York City.

Pink castles, talking sofas, and objects coming to life: what sounds like fantasies from the pioneering animation of Walt Disney Animation Studios were in fact the figments of the colorful salons of Rococo Paris. The Met's first-ever exhibition exploring the work of Walt Disney and the hand-drawn animation of Walt Disney Animation Studios examines Disney's personal fascination with European art and the use of French motifs in his films and theme parks, drawing new parallels between the studios' magical creations and their artistic models.

Sixty works of 18th-century European decorative arts and design — from tapestries and furniture to Boulle clocks and Sèvres porcelain — are featured alongside 150 production artworks and works on paper from the Walt Disney Animation Research Library, Walt Disney Archives, Walt Disney Imagineering Collection, and The Walt Disney Family Museum. Selected film footage illustrating the extraordinary technological and artistic developments of the studio during Disney's lifetime and beyond are also shown.

On exhibit until March 6, 2022.

THE TOLEDO MUSEUM OF ART'S Cloister Gallery is home to one of the finest collections of medieval art in North America. After a year-long conservation and renovation project, the Toledo Museum of Art’s Cloister Gallery now present a wider range of the cultural heritage of the Middle Ages since it reopened on December 18, 2021.

In addition to a complete reinstallation of works on view, the project entailed the comprehensive cleaning of the gallery’s three medieval arcades and Venetian wellhead, removing centuries of accumulated dirt; the conservation of three stained-glass windows and other works of art that have not been on view in the gallery for decades; and new casework, lighting and security.

TMA’s Cloister Gallery now represents a unique assemblage of three medieval arcades composed of capitals and columns from different monasteries in southern France. The reinstalled Cloister Gallery now explores themes such as religious plurality and devotion; the legacies of Rome; the role of women in the arts; and cultural interaction and exchange. Among the approximately 100 remarkable artworks featured in the space are a diverse array of sacred and everyday objects from across the medieval world.

The reinstallation of the Cloister Gallery underscores TMA’s foundational educational mission by expanding the scope of the art on view to better reflect a more interconnected and global Middle Ages (about 500-1500 C.E.).

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SWEET CHARITY

TOYS FOR TOTS has teamed with Good360 to provide comfort and emotional relief to families in Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee who were so tragically impacted by the recent tornadoes.

These families have suffered devasting loss, and the financial and emotional impact will be long lasting—especially for those without the means to recover. At a time when families are already dealing with the challenges of the past two years and scarce resources brought about by supply chain issues, a natural disaster has completely upended their lives. In order to provide comfort, emotional relief and hope to these families, Toys for Tots plans to distribute toys, books, and other gifts to their children. Toys for Tots is more than a Flagship Children’s Christmastime charity – our goal is to provide year-round hope to families in need.

The Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program collects and distributes an average of 18 million toys to 7 million less fortunate children each year during the holiday season through a highly active and robust distribution network in over 830 local communities in all 50 states. Because our Marines and volunteers are currently engaged in our annual Christmastime mission, we have partnered with Good360, the global leader in product philanthropy and purposeful giving, to distribute these emotional relief packages to families in need through Good360’s network of vetted and approved nonprofit partners.

Toys, books, and other gifts offer many benefits during this time of need. They will help to combat boredom, relieve anxiety in children, facilitate a return to normalcy, and hopefully contribute to the educational development of our nation’s most precious resource – our children.

MUSICARES has announced the talent that will be joining in the celebration of Joni Mitchell as the 2022 MusiCares Person of the Year. Mitchell, an eight-time Grammy Award winner, 16-time Grammy Award nominee and one of the greatest, most important songwriters of our time, will be honored at a one-of-a-kind tribute concert on Saturday, January 29, 2022, two nights before the 64th annual Grammy Awards.

Grammy Award-winning artists Brandi Carlile, Graham Nash, Herbie Hancock, James Taylor, Leon Bridges, and Pentatonix and Grammy Award nominees Black Pumas, Jon Batiste, Maggie Rogers, and Mickey Guyton will perform at this year’s gala. Brandi Carlile and Jon Batiste will also serve as Artistic Directors for the night, a first for Person of the Year. This year’s lineup showcases Joni’s vast impact on the music community and industry and will be a demonstration of her lasting, powerful influence on musicians from of all backgrounds.

Person of the Year is MusiCares’ largest fundraiser of year. Donations and money raised during this special gala helps fund critical services and programs for the music community throughout the year.

PRINCE CHARLES AND CAMILLA THE DUCHESS OF CORNWALL

Prince Charles and The Duchess of Cornwall by their tree. Photo: Clarence House.

strike a happy pose by their joyful looking Christmas tree which was decorated by children from charities of which Camilla is Patron. The annual event had the guests entertained by the Band of the Welsh Guards playing Christmas carols. After decorating the tree the children enjoyed a festive lunch.

Prince Charles and his wife posted a video to their Clarence House Instagram account. The video shows the colorfully-decorated tree, while Michael Bublé's rendition of It's Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas is heard in the background. They captioned the clip, “Thank you to the wonderful children from @helenanddouglashouse and @roalddahlcharity for your help decorating the Clarence House Christmas tree!”

Every year since 2007, the Duchess of Cornwall has invited a group of children from her patronages Helen and Douglas House and the Roald Dahl Charity to help decorate the tree at her and Prince Charles's official residence.

Shots from the event were shared to the royal family Instagram account as well, where they said, “At @ClarenceHouse it is a Christmas tradition for The Duchess of Cornwall to invite children to decorate the Christmas tree.”

They also posted a heartfelt suggestion: "This Christmas, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall encourage you to remember your older friends and relatives over the festive season. Did you know almost 1.5 million older people feel more lonely at Christmas than any other time of year?" the post continued.

The Prince of Wales is Patron of Age UK, a charity that supports older people throughout the UK, and Camilla is Patron of The Silver Line, which provides a 24-hour helpline for older people to "call for information, support or just a friendly chat."

SPREADING THE WORD

THE SPREAD OF VARIOUS COVID VARIANTS have resulted in numerous Broadway and London West End theaters canceling performances. Before you head to the theater check to make certain that your performance will go on as scheduled.

Audiences were already in their seats for the first Friday show - the 11am performance - when it was announced that due to a COVID influx among the cast members, all further performances of the Radio City Rockettes Christmas Show were cancelled. “We regret that we are unable to continue the 'Christmas Spectacular' this season,” the show said in a statement released later in the day.

THE SUPER BOWL LVIII will be played in Las Vegas February 11, 2024. Considering Sin City has always prided itself on being The Entertainment Capital of the World expect a half time show par excellence.

The game is expected to generate a $500 million economic impact plus add $70 million in tax benefits. That’s according to figures from Allegiant CEO Maury Gallagher, who will serve as chair of the Las Vegas Super Bowl Host Committee.

Expect record setting room rates.

THE SOUND OF CHRISTMAS The Dubai Opera Big Band returns for a Christmas celebration featuring all your favorite Christmas songs, including Santa Baby, Jingle Bell Rock, Winter Wonderland, Feliz Navidad, All I Want for Christmas Is You, Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree, and many more. December 21-22 at Subai opera in Dubai, UAE.

QUEEN ELIZABETH II has canceled her annual pre-Christmas lunch which the beloved monarch annually holds for her extended family. Buckingham Palace said the Omicron Covid variant which is now wreaking havoc across the UK was the reason.

PINK MARTINI has a new holiday concert, streaming everywhere starting December 23, 2021. Featuring the Thomas Lauderdale, the China Forbes, and guest vocalists Jimmie Herrod and Edna Vazquez, this year's concert was filmed in front of a live audiece earlier this month at SF JAZZ in San Francisco. This joyous and exclusive 90-minute concert premieres at 8pm EST/5pm PST on December 23, 2021 and will be available to stream through the end of Christmas Day with our online presenting partner, OurConcerts.live.

SLIM MAN BAND entertain with their Slim Christmas Show and Cookbook Release Party at Rams Head in Annapolis, MD on December 23, 2021. Joining Slim Man will be John E Coale on drums, Kevin Levi on sax, Giorgio Hazelrigg on piano, Rick O'Rick on keys, and Hit Man Howie Z on bongos! "And Wednesday Ball is gonna sing with us!"

THE ETHICS OF BUYING SILENCE

Those in the entertainment business know all too well that eventually - if not frequently - they'll be asked to sign a Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA). - Peter A. Joy, the Henry Hitchcock Professor of Law and director of the Criminal Justice Clinic at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, Missouri and - Kevin C. McMunigal, the Krupansky and Vargo Professor of Law at Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland, Ohio have penned The Ethics of Buying Silence published in the ABA magazine with the suggestion to "share."

Their well worth reading article is reprinted below.

Investigative journalists and the many victims who have come forward in recent years have revealed a widespread pattern of workplace sexual misconduct by men. Two industrious New York Times reporters, Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, provide a detailed account of their investigation of Harvey Weinstein’s serial sexual offenses in their book entitled She Said. A central theme of the book is that nondisclosure agreements—under which perpetrators essentially buy the silence of victims of illegal conduct—are pervasive, present an enormous barrier to enforcement of laws banning sexual harassment and assault, and enable serious misconduct.

In this column, we examine the ethics of lawyers using such nondisclosure agreements (NDAs). We conclude both that it currently is and should be unethical for a lawyer to use the sort of agreements revealed in She Said.

Lawyers’ Role
Concern about lawyers both failing to prevent and enabling serious misconduct is not new. The question “Where were the lawyers?” has reverberated in public discourse in recent decades. The financial scandals associated with the savings and loan crisis, Enron, and Tyco are examples. The sexual abuse scandal involving Roman Catholic priests is another. The sexual misconduct that generated and resulted from the Me Too Movement has again raised the issue of where the lawyers were. She Said makes plain where the lawyers were in the Harvey Weinstein scandal. They were hard at work counseling, drafting, negotiating, and accepting agreements in which Weinstein bought the silence of witnesses—the women who were the victims of the misconduct. Nonlawyer reviewers of She Said describe the lawyers in the book as “bad guys” who were “rabidly fierce” in insulating and enabling Weinstein. We understand and have written about the critical importance of a lawyer’s duty to provide appropriate representation to an unpopular client. Nonetheless, we found it difficult to read She Said without avisceral negative reaction to the work lawyers performed that enabled decades of egregious misconduct.

From a more rationalized and pragmatic perspective, a powerful argument against the use of NDAs is that jettisoning them would help deter sexual misconduct in the workplace by lowering some of the barriers to the enforcement of the laws that prohibit it.

There are a number of ways to frame the tensions that underlie the use of NDAs and have made them the source of continuing controversy. One is as a conflict between a client’s interests and the interests of “third parties” (i.e., other past or potential future victims) or the public interest. A second way to see the underlying tension is as a conflict between a lawyer’s duty to serve her client’s interests and a lawyer’s duty to the functioning and integrity of the legal system, often captured in the phrase “officer of the court.” On this view, the underlying tension is similar to the one that has fueled debate and an evolution of ethics rules regarding client perjury.

The Model Rules and NDAs
In a thoughtful and persuasive article, Professor Jon Bauer argues that NDAs violate both the letter and spirit of Model Rule 3.4(f), which, with limited exceptions, prohibits a lawyer from requesting someone other than a client to refrain from voluntarily giving relevant information to another party. Jon Bauer, Buying Witness Silence: Evidence-Suppressing Settlements and Lawyers’ Ethics, 87 Ore. L. Rev. 481 (2008). He examines the language of the rule and concludes that the use of NDAs falls easily within the text of that prohibition. Those who argue that NDAs are not unethical tend to ignore the language of Model Rule 3.4(f). They appear to rely on the notion that an implied exemption from Model Rule 3.4(f) exists for the use of NDAs regarding witnesses, even though neither Model Rule 3.4(f)’s language nor its accompanying Commentary support such an exemption.

Professor Bauer traces the long history of the view that it is improper for a lawyer to interfere with another lawyer’s access to witnesses and other evidence. The “spirit” or purpose behind Model Rule 3.4(f) is that access to information is essential to the proper functioning of the justice system. This rationale supports what Model Rule 3.4(f)’s language makes clear: the use of NDAs by lawyers, such as those who represented Harvey Weinstein and other prominent men, runs afoul of the lawyer’s duty not to undermine the effective functioning of our adversary system of justice, under which the search for and presentation of evidence, including the testimony of potential witnesses, is left to each party.

What about lawyers on the opposite side of negotiating an NDA, those representing victims? Should proposing or accepting an NDA in order to increase the amount received by the victim be treated as unethical? There are several ways such a victim’s lawyer could and should, in our view, be treated as acting unethically.

First, such a lawyer is assisting the unethical conduct of another lawyer in violation of Model Rule 8.4(a), which states that a lawyer must not “knowingly assist or induce” unethical conduct by another lawyer. Second, as Professor Bauer argues, the actions of such a lawyer, because they promote and enable the silencing of witnesses and victims, is also “prejudicial to the administration of justice” in violation of Model Rule 8.4(d).

Finally, the fact that “selling” such silence is often enormously lucrative to a victim’s lawyer, typically working on a contingent fee, raises a significant concern about conflict of interest under Model Rule 1.7 due to the significant risk that a lawyer’s judgment and advice may be improperly influenced by the lawyer’s own financial interests. In one case discussed in She Said, for example, the perpetrator settled with a victim for $100,000 without an NDA. Later, the perpetrator offered $1,000,000 in exchange for an NDA. Although this offer was refused, it indicates the magnitude of the financial implications and temptations an NDA may have for the victim’s lawyer because the amount of the settlement and, thus, the lawyer’s fee can increase enormously by selling the client’s silence. In the case mentioned above, the NDA would have increased the lawyer’s fee tenfold, creating a serious temptation to oversell an NDA to a client. In another case, the reporters describe a victim who recounts her lawyer “walking away with $1,000,000” from a workplace sexual misconduct settlement that included an NDA. The magnitude of such fees, in our view, also raises the issue of whether such contingent fees are unreasonable under Model Rule 1.5(a).

We find Professor Bauer’s position and arguments quite convincing. Accordingly, we urge both the ABA and state and local ethics authorities to issue opinions clarifying that Model Rule 3.4(f) means what it says and prohibits the use of NDAs to buy or sell the silence of witnesses and victims regarding criminal, regulatory, or civil offenses such as the workplace sexual assaults and harassment perpetrated by Harvey Weinstein and other prominent men. Ethics authorities in Indiana and Chicago have already done so. Indiana Legal Ethics Opinion 1-2014;Chicago Ethics Opinion 2012-10. We also urge the ABA and state ethics authorities to amend the language and Commentary to Model Rule 3.4(f) to explicitly ban the use of NDAsboth by lawyers representing perpetrators and by lawyers representing victims.

Public Policy Reasons for Prohibiting NDAs
There are especially compelling public policy reasons NDAs should be unethical in cases involving sexual assault and harassment. Failure to report sexual misconduct is and has been a persistent source of difficulty in enforcing the laws that make it illegal. Victims routinely are very reluctant to disclose to anyone, much less report to enforcement authorities, sexual assault or even harassment. There are a plethora of psychological and practical reasons for this. Victims often engage in self-blaming, thinking that they somehow must have been at fault in “causing” the misconduct. Many also feel a deep sense of shame about having been sexually victimized. A number of practical fears reinforce these psychological reactions. Many victims fear how they may be treated during litigation as well as retaliation, such as being sued for libel or smeared in the press, especially by powerful men. In addition, worries about loss of privacy and the possible impact on future employment opportunities and on family reinforce reluctance to report.

Given these powerful psychological and practical disincentives and the empirical fact that sexual misconduct is underreported, it makes no sense from a public policy or ethical perspective to reinforce the reluctance to report by permitting the use of NDAs that create additional and significant monetary disincentives, as well as the fear of being sued for breach of contract and possibly held responsible for attorney fees and liquidated damages. In the Harvey Weinstein case, when NDAs were added to the already-existing disincentives to disclose or report sexual assault and harassment, a virtually impenetrable wall of silence was purchased, insulating Weinstein from consequences and enabling him to continue to prey for decades on vulnerable young women.

She Said also reveals what might be called a “solidarity effect” in the enforcement of sexual misconduct laws. While a single victim is often reluctant to “go it alone” in taking on a powerful abuser such as Weinstein, multiple victims learning about and communicating with one another increase the likelihood of victims coming forward as a group and breaking the circle of silence that often surrounds a serial predator. This is precisely what happened in the Weinstein case. The use of NDAs extinguishes the possibility of such a solidarity effect by guaranteeing that victims will neither learn about nor communicate with one another.

Arguments against Making NDAs Explicitly Unethical
In this section, we examine what we anticipate may be some counter arguments to our position.

Legislation
Activists have proposed and legislatures across the United States have been considering the adoption of statutes that would make the use of NDAs illegal. Some states have already done so, but most have not.

One might argue that sexual misconduct, as a significant societal problem, should be and has been the focus of legislative action and thus need not and should not be addressed by the bar. If the legislature of a state bars the use of NDAs by statute, then the lawyers in the state would be prevented from using them.

In our view, deferring completely to state legislatures to make NDAs illegal is fraught with problems. First, legislatures have not been eager to deal with NDAs. Only some states have acted, and some of these have enacted very weak statutes. For example, the New York statute has an exception that permits NDAs in sexual harassment matters if “the condition of confidentiality is the complainant’s preference.” This exception swallows the rule by permitting the NDA if the perpetrator offers enough money for the complainant to prefer confidentiality.

Secondly, deferring to legislatures would ignore both the obligation of lawyers to preserve the effectiveness of our civil and criminal justice systems and their expertise in how those systems function. Just as the bar did not treat criminal perjury laws as sufficient to deal with issues of client perjury, it should not treat legislation as sufficient to deal with NDAs.

Line Drawing
Another objection to prohibiting NDAs is that NDAs serve a legitimate and important purpose in some situations. Perhaps the most compelling is the protection of information such as confidential research, trade secrets, and proprietary software. They may also well be appropriate in the settlement of some claims, such as those for breach of contract, whether before or after any legal action has commenced. Undoubtedly, lines will need to be drawn delineating a boundary between ethical and unethical NDAs, and it may be difficult to draw such lines clearly. But such line-drawing difficulty, if it arises, is no reason not to deal with core cases of the sort She Said illustrates so starkly. Many legal and ethical rules require difficult line drawing, but that has not prevented the creation of such rules.

Conclusion
There are many reasons the legal profession should put an end to lawyers’ use of NDAs such as those revealed in She Said. In addition to those described above, the profession needs to keep in touch with the evolving social attitudes, values, and concerns about the treatment of women in the workplace driving the Me Too Movement. It also needs to acknowledge and respond to the reality of widespread sexual misconduct in the workplace. Perhaps most critical, though, is that the legal profession needs to take seriously, and to be seen as taking seriously, its obligation to preserve the fair and effective functioning of our legal system. Allowing lawyers to advise, negotiate, draft, and accept agreements buying the silence of potential witnesses and victims impedes the proper functioning of the criminal, civil, and regulatory facets of our legal system.

OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY

NEDERLANDER WORLDWIDE ENTERTAINMENT (“NWE”) has launched an NFT initiative.

Founded by Robert Nederlander, Jr., a third-generation member of the Nederlander family, NWE is one of the world’s largest entertainment enterprises. Since 2000, NWE has been focused on the expansion of Broadway and Nederlander entertainment brands and performers into new ventures and emerging markets, worldwide. Today, NWE is a global enterprise that develops, manages, and operates live-entertainment theatres; produces Broadway and related shows and spearheads cultural and educational initiatives. Most recently, NWE launched its NFT initiative, to highlight Broadway shows and entertainers.

Nederlander Worldwide Entertainment expects to become the bridge between Broadway and the NFT world, states the release. People want the excitement of live performance to be accessible in their homes, and while their first offerings are the Tony Award winningg Savion Glover NFTs, from his I Am collection), they plan to expand this with other artists and shows in the coming months.

“With Savion’s NFTS, we are providing a special experience that connects fans and unites them with Savion Glover and reminds them what is so special about a live experience” said Bob Nederlander, Jr. of Nederlander Worldwide Entertainment.

“These NFTs will give us an up close, inside look at live theater, said Jon Karas, President of AkoinNFT. “We could not be more excited to be sharing these experiences with Broadway fans all over the world, connecting them with the power of digital art delivered through the blockchain.”

Savion Glover, Tony Award winner, is the ultimate artistic hyphenate. From stage to screen, and now in the crypto universe, Savion is proud to launch his own NFT (non-fungible token) collection — in partnership with Nederlander Worldwide Entertainment, who teamed-up with digital disruptor AkoinNFT. The time for “I Am” is now.

NFTs are digital art and experiences sold through blockchain technology and offer a unique set of owner rights via an embedded smart-contract. NFTs assure that creators are compensated, in perpetuity, each time the piece sells, thereby providing an ongoing revenue stream.

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GIBSON the iconic American instrument brand has announced that Anne Rohosy has been named Chief Human Resource and Transformation Officer. The top executive from Levi Strauss & Co. and Nike, Inc. joins Gibson to expand Gibson’s organizational development and business transformation worldwide with her expertise in global corporate strategy, change management, and operational execution.

Prior to joining the Gibson team, Anne served as Executive Vice President and President, Americas, and President of the Docker’s Brand at Levi Strauss & Co., and multiple Director Level roles in the Americas, Europe, and LTAM while at Nike Inc. Anne presently holds advisory board positions at Brooks Sports, Inc. and the global tech firm Volumental where her insights and operational strategies continue to help the brands strategically expand in international markets, implement development strategies, as well as achieve balance within Omni Channels.

HERO THEATRE in Los Angeles has announced Emmy award-nominated composer Brian Quijada as the newest commission for Nuestro Planeta, a ten-year multimedia new works initiative that focuses on educating Latiné film and theater audiences about environmental justice within the Americas.

Quijada will create an original piece with music about the effects of the climate crisis, specifically in Central America. The series is the first collaboration between 10-year-old Hero Theatre and its offshoot, Hero Multimedia, newly formed to create and produce scripted film and television narratives around environmental and social justice issues.

FORMULA DRIVER LEWIS HAMILTON was knighted by Prince Charles on Wednesday, December 15,2021. The F1 driver for Mercedes is a 7-time world champion.

WE'LL REMEMBER ALWAYS GRADUATION DAY

MEGAN THEE STALLION the 26-year-old Grammy winning rapper has been taking part-time classes at Texas Southern University. Last Saturday, December 11, 2021, she graduated from Texas Southern University in Houston earning a bachelor's degree in health administration.

She received her diploma from the College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences from Texas Southern University President Dr. Lesia Crumpton-Young.

All of you aspiring creative arts superstars - get a fall back on degree. Your parents will sleep better. A spot check of celebrities who have degrees in something other than creative arts include:

Dr. Brian May - astro physics. He has just announced that is suffering from Covid. Says he had "a truly horrible few days."

Dr. Mayim Bialik - neuroscience She earned her Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of California, Los Angeles, focusing on obsessive compulsive disorder among people with Prader-Willi syndrome, a rare condition in which the hypothalamus malfunctions.

Dr. Ken Jeong licensed physician who graduated from Duke University in 1990 and obtained his M.D. at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine in 1995.

Riz Ahmed went to Oxford University to study philosophy, politics, and economics.

Aziz Ansari graduated in 2004 with a degree in business marketing.

Rowan Atkinson has a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Oxford University.

Gerard Butler received a law degree from the University of Glasgow School of Law.

John Cho graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with an English degree in 1996 and taught English while pursuing his acting career.

Sacha Baron Cohen, history at the University of Cambridge.

Bradley Cooper graduated from Georgetown University in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in English.

Tony Danza earned a bachelor's degree in history in 1972 from the University of Dubuque (Iowa) which he attended on a wrestling schedolarship.

David Duchovny graduated summa cum laude with a degree in English literature from Princeton University. He went on to do a Masters in English at Yale which remains ABD ("All But Dissertation"), as he never finished his doctoral thesis, titled "Magic and Technology in Contemporary Fiction and Poetry."

Greg Giraldo earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Columbia University in 1987. He was admitted to Harvard University Law School after achieving a near-perfect score on his Law School Admission Test. Greg received a degree from Harvard Law in 1990.

Maggie Gyllenhaal Columbia University degree in Literature and Eastern Religions.

Hill Harper graduated Magna Cum Laude from Brown University with a B.A. degree in 1988. He went on to graduate with a Juris Doctor Degree (Cum Laude) from Harvard University followed by a Master’s in Public Administration degree from the John F.Kennedy School Of Government.

John Hodgman graduated from Yale University in 1994 with a bachelor’s degree in literature.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson earned a Bachelor of General Studies degree in criminology and physiology from the University of Miami in 1995.

Rashida Jones received a 1997 degree in comparative religion from Harvard.

Colin Jost graduated cum laude from Harvard in 2004 where he majored in history and literature with a focus on Russian and British literature, and wrote his senior thesis on Vladimir Nabokov.

Ellie Kemper graduated from Princeton University in 2002 with a degree in English and then spent a year getting a graduate degree in the same subject at Oxford University.

Lisa Kudrow degree in biology from Vassar College in 1985

Kris Kristofferson was a Rhodes Scholar in 1958.

Ashton Kutcher Biochemical Enginnering from at the University of Iowa, in 1996

Hugh Laurie Anthropology and Archaeology from Cambridge

John Legend, English degree with a concentration on African-American literature and culture from the University of Pennsylvania. (He turned down a scholarship to go to Harvard)

Eva Longoria earned her Bachelor's in kinesiology—the study of the mechanics of body movement—from Texas A&M University-Kingsville. She then went on to study her culture at California State Northridge, and earned a masters in Chicano studies.

Bill Maher graduated in 1978 from Cornell University with a double major in English and History.

Chris Martin The Coldplay frontman completed a degree in Greek and Latin at the University College London.

Demetri Martin graduated from Yale University in 1995 and went on to study law at New York University on a full scholarship.

Danica McKellar majored in mathematics at the University of California, where she coauthored a scientific paper titled, "Percolation and Gibbs states multiplicity for ferromagnetic Ashkin–Teller models on . . ." now known as the Chayes–McKellar–Winn theorem

Kate Middleton has a degree in Art History from University of St Andrews.

Bob Newhart graduated from Loyola University of Chicago in 1952 with a bachelor's degree in business management. He briefly attended Loyola University Chicago School of Law, but did not complete a degree, in part, he says, because he was asked to behave unethically during an internship.

Conan O’Brien graduated from Harvard University magna cum laude with a B.A. in History and Literature.

Natalie Portman graduated from Harvard with a BA in psychology in 2003.

Issa Rae graduated from Stanford University after majoring in African and African-American studies and minoring in political science.

Emeli Sande University of Glasgow degree in Neuroscience.

Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1979 earned a bachelor's degree in international business and international economics from the University of Wisconsin.

Brooke Shields earned a Bachelors Degree in French Literature at Princeton in 1987. The title of her senior thesis was, "The Initiation: From Innocence to Experience: The Pre-Adolescent/Adolescent Journey in the Films of Louis Malle, Pretty Baby, and Lacombe Lucien."

Cole Sprouse has a degree in Geographical Information Systems

Wanda Sykes graduated from Hampton University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing.

Christy Turlington earned a BA in Religion and Eastern Philosophy from New York University, and then a master’s in Public Health from Columbia University.

Gabriel Union graduated from UCLA with a degree in sociology.

Kerry Washington designed her own major while at school focusing on anthropology, sociology, and psychology and graduated in 1998 from George Washington University.

Prince William who earned a degree in geography from University of St. Andrew before earning a Scottish Master of Arts degree.

Rebel Wilson a law degree from the University of South Wales.

Steven Yeun graduated from Kalamazoo College in 2005 majoring in psychology.



WIT written by Margaret Edson.

Directed by Brynn Asha Walker.

”It's not my intention to give away the plot, but I think I die at the end."

Margaret Edson's powerfully imagined Pulitzer Prize-winning play examines what makes life worth living through her exploration of one of existence's unifying experiences mortality while she also probes the vital importance of human relationships.

Vivian Bearing, Ph.D., a renowned professor of English who has spent years studying and teaching the brilliant and difficult metaphysical sonnets of John Donne, has been diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer. Her approach to the study of Donne, and her cancer, is aggressively probing, intensely rational. But during the course of her illness - and her stint as a prize patient in an experimental chemotherapy program at a major teaching hospital - Vivian comes to reassess her life and her work with a profundity and humor that are transformative both for her and the audience.

The production stars Erin Cronican as Vivian Bearing, Ph.D., Robin Friend as Jason Posner, MD, and others, Janice Hall as Professor EM Ashford, DPhil, Christopher James Murray as Harvey Kelekian, MD, and others, and Brynn Asha Walker as Susie Monahan, RN, and others.
In this carefully crafted stylized rendition from The Seeing Place Theater two of the performers have their own unique experiences with Cancer. Erin Cronican (Vivian Bearing, PhD) is currently battling Stage 4 (metastatic) Breast Cancer. She was diagnosed with this terminal disease on November 6, 2018. She's on weekly systemic chemo under the care of doctors at Mount Sinai Hospital. Robin Friend (Dr. Jason Posner) is a Testicular Cancer Survivor, who was diagnosed and treated in early-mid 2021.

The production is Associate Produced by Will Ketter, features scenic and costume design by Erin Cronican and lighting will be by a designer to be announced at a later date. Brynn Asha Walker is the sound designer. Stage management will be announced at a later date. Publicity by Katie Rosin/Kampfire PR.

The Seeing Place Theater works to inspire audiences to "social justice action" by using the themes of its plays to educate and incite change, particularly for women, LGBTQIA+, Global Majority (BIPOC), immigrants, and the disabled/those with chronic illnesses. Working with members of the community and empowering their voices is an important component of their work. In addition to Edson’s membership in the LGBTQIA+ community, members of the company include Brynn Asha Walker (Susie Monahan, RN) who is a Trans actress bringing an interesting layer of complexity to the patriarchal "office politics" routinely seen in medicine. (She is also the caregiver to Cronican whom she married in August 2021). Brynn is also a member of the Global Majority (BIPOC). Christopher James Murray (Dr. Kelekian, and others) is both a member or the LGBTQIA+ community and the Global Majority (BIPOC). Wit will play a three-week limited engagement at The Seeing Place at The Paradise Factory in New York City. Performances begin Thursday, December 30, 2021 and continue through Sunday, January 16, 2022. Opening Night is Sunday, January 2.

FOLK by Nell Leyshon.

Inspired by a true story, Nell Leyshon’s Folk is directed by Hampstead's Artistic Director Roxana Silbert and features Ben Allen, Sasha Frost, Mariam Haque and Simon Robson.

1903, Somerset. Rooted in the land where she has lived her entire life, Louie Hooper’s mind overflows with its songs. Cecil Sharp, a composer visiting from London, fears England’s folk songs will be lost forever and sets out on a mission to transcribe each and every one.

Opened yesterday, December 18, 2021 with performances through - February 5, 2022 at The Hampstead in London.

KIMBERLY AKIMBO a new musical with book and lyrics by Pulitzer Prize-winner David Lindsay-Abaire, music by Tony Award-winner Jeanine Tesori, based on the play of the same name by David Lindsay-Abaire.

Directed by Jessica Stone.

Choreographed by Danny Mefford

Kimberly Akimbo features Tony Award nominee Steven Boyer, Tony Award-winner Victoria Clark, Justin Cooley, Olivia Elease Hardy, Fernell Hogan II, Michael Iskander, Alli Mauzey, Bonnie Milligan, and Nina White.

Kim is a bright and funny Jersey teen, who happens to look like a 72-year-old lady. And yet her aging disease may be the least of her problems. Forced to maneuver family secrets, borderline personalities, and possible felony charges, Kim is determined to find happiness in a world where not even time is on her side.

Scenic design by David Zinn, costume design by Sarah Laux, lighting design by Lap Chi Chu, sound design by Kai Harada, projection design by Lucy Mackinnon, music direction by Chris Fenwick, music contractor Antoine Silverman, orchestrations by John Clancy, additional orchestrations by Macy Schmidt, hair and makeup design by Jared Janas, and casting by The Telsey Office; Craig Burns, CSA. Arabella Powell serves as production stage manager.

Atlantic Theater Company 's Kimberly Akimbo opened Wednesday, December 8th for a limited engagement through Sunday, December 26th, 2021, Off-Broadway at the Linda Gross Theater in New York City.

EBENEZER SCROOGE'S BIG SAN DIEGO CHRISTMAS SHOW based on A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, written by Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen .

Directed by Gordon Greenberg.

Ebenezer Scrooge’s BIG San Diego Christmas Show, which had its West Coast premiere at the Globe in 2019, is back in this fast, funny, and highly theatrical reimagining of one of the most beloved holiday stories ever told. All the traditional elements of Dickens’s A Christmas Carol are intact—including the iconic ghosts of Christmases Past, Present, and Future—but with a comic local twist. The cast for Ebenezer Scrooge’s BIG San Diego Christmas Show includes George Abud as Actor 1 (Fred, Young Scrooge, Medium Scrooge, Tiny Tim, etc.), Bill Buell as Actor 5 (Ebenezer Scrooge), Orville Mendoza as Actor 4 (Bob Cratchit, Jacob Marley, Charles, Mr. Fezzi, etc.), Cathryn Wake as Actor 2 (Prudence Saint, Lavinia, Ghost of Christmas Present, Archibald, etc.), and Jacque Wilke as Actor 3 (Gertrude Saint, Ghost of Christmas Past, Mrs. Cratchit, Jennie, etc.). Understudies for Scrooge include Henian Boone as Actor 4, Brett Cassidy as Actor 5, Jacqui Dupré as Actor 3, Savannah Faye as Actor 2, Komi M. Gbeblewou as Actor 1.

In addition to Greenberg, the creative team for the Globe’s production of Ebenezer Scrooge’s BIG San Diego Christmas Show includes scenic design by Adam Koch, costume design by David Israel Reynoso, lighting design by Amanda Zieve, sound design by Bart Fasbender, music direction by Orville Mendoza, casting by Tara Rubin Casting/Merri Sugarman, CSA and Kim Heil, CSA and stage management by Anjee Nero.

Ebenezer Scrooge’s BIG San Diego Christmas Show plays on the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, part of the Globe’s Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, in San Diego’s Balboa Park through December 26, 2021.

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FINAL OVATION

VICENTE FERNANDEZ famed Mexican singer, actor, and film producer, considered the king of Mexican Ranchera music died December 12, 2021 at a hospital in Guadalajara, Mexico. He was 81.

His death was announced in a post on his Instagram page. After suffering a fall at his home in August, he was hospitalized for several months and diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, an autoimmune disorder that causes muscle weakness.

He is survived by his wife : Maria del Refugio Abarca Villaseñor and their children daughter, Alejandra, and three sons: Gerardo, who worked as his father’s manager, Alejandro, a Grammy-nominated singer, and Vicente Jr., who was abducted by kidnappers in 1998. He was freed after four months, during which two of his fingers were sliced off, with the payment of a reported $3.2 million ransom.

It is estimated that his recordings sold 50 million copies.

He was inducted into the Billboard Latin Music Hall of Fame.

CEO of The Latin Recording Academy and Harvey Mason Jr. CEO of the Recording Academy issued the following statement:
With heavy hearts, we bid adiós to Regional Mexican legend and cultural icon Vicente "Chente" Fernández. For more than 60 years, the singer, producer and actor brought the musical traditions of his beloved country to audiences worldwide through his amazing performances and his gifted voice, which featured impressive operatic power and range. Known as "El Rey de la Música Ranchera" (The King of Ranchera Music), Fernández, whose discography comprises more than 100 albums, won multiple Latin Gtsmmys and Grammys throughout his career. In 2002, he was recognized as the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year.

A man of hard work, Fernández was true to his word. Even after formally retiring in 2016, he continued performing and making music. In a 2002 interview with The Latin Recording Academy, when asked if he would ever retire, he proudly declared that "as long as my physical voice and faculties are intact, I’ll be there." And so, in 2019, he took the stage at the 20th Annual Latin Gtammy Awards for an unforgettable first-time-ever performance with his son, Alejandro Fernández, and grandson, Alex Fernández. Making music to the very end, he released what would be his final album, “A Mis 80’s,” which just won a Latin Grammy under the category Best Ranchero/Mariachi Album and is currently nominated for the 64th Grammy Awards under the category of Best Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano).

At The Latin Recording Academy and the Recording Academy, we celebrate the life and career of Don Vicente Fernández and pay homage to his legacy. We offer our gratitude for his vast contributions to Latin music and our deepest condolences to his family, friends and fans.

GUS MANCUSO jazz multi-instrument (baritone horn, piano, bass, vibes, etc.) musician who had been working in Las Vegas for more than 65 years, until he was sidelined by Alzheimer's disease, died December 12, 2021 in Las Vegas at the home of his son, musician Ronnie Mancuso, where he had been living for the past year. He was 88.

Mancuso began his Las Vegas gig by performing with the Mary Kaye Trio. He backed such artists as Sarah Vaughan, Billy Eckstine, Bobby Darin, Wayne Newton, Joe Williams, Debbie Reynolds, The Supremes and Roy Clark.

Mancuso was named the Playboy Jazz Poll’s New Artist of the Year honor after releasing his debut album, Introducing Gus Mancuso. For 17 years he toured the world with Vaughan, and also toured with Eckstine. During a period in Los Angeles, Mancuso played alongside with Quincy Jones for a concert series at the Greek Theater. Mancuso also toured with the famed Les Brown Band of Renown.

He taught music at UNLV, tutoring musicians who became professional musicians working on the Strip and elsewhere.

He is survived by his wife of more than 40 years, Maggie Peterson Mancuso, who played Charlene Darling on The Andy Griffith Show, his son Ronnie and his grandson, Roman; and granddaughter, Zia.

Next Column: December 26, 2021
Copyright: December 19, 2021 All Rights Reserved. Reviews, Interviews, Commentary, Photographs or Graphics from any Broadway To Vegas (TM) columns may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, utilized as leads, or used in any manner without permission, compensation and/or credit.
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Laura Deni

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