Continuing with the process of clearing out the lunchtime news chum links… here are three items related to entertainment:
- Gershwin. What would you do if you were tuning and cleaning George Gershwin’s piano, and found a slip of paper that was stuck between the keys? Stick it in your pocket to throw away later? That’s what happened to Bruce Lloyd Kates, only he discovered it contained a few notes on it… and he later composed a song from those notes. So did he write the lyrics to an unknown Gershwin melody? The world will never know.
- Stallone. They seem to be trying to turn almost any film property into a musical these days (although this actually isn’t anything new, if you read books on musical flops). Some succeed. Most don’t. Playbill brings a report of yet another attempt: This time, producers are working to turn “Rocky” into a musical. This one, surprisingly, has a better chance than most, as it has the composer team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty and a libretto by Tony winner Thomas Meehan. Supposedly it will show up on Broadway in 2013.
- Mitchell. “Gone With The Wind” is turning 75, and it has made Atlanta crowded with all the celebrations. In particular, the Atlanta History Center, which operates the Margaret Mitchell House, is celebrating with an exhibit, Atlanta’s Book: The Lost ‘Gone With the Wind’ Manuscript (running Saturday through Sept. 5). The exhibit includes four of the novel’s original chapters, among them the last, which Mitchell actually wrote first. Pages will be enlarged and displayed on the wall, including Scarlett’s famous parting words: “After all, tomorrow is another day.” Perhaps we should try to visit when we are in Atlanta in a few weeks. It’s actually amazing that the book became so popular. Mitchell never went on a book tour, refused to give speeches and gave only a few interviews. Mitchell’s attitude? “In a weak moment I have written a book.”
