‘Birthday Candles’ Review: Debra Messing Stars in a Scrumptious Broadway Production

The timing seemed propitious: Eager to entice new subscribers, CNN+ was about to unfurl a multi-part exposé of Fox News and its 91-year-old patriarch, Rupert Murdoch. It would be juicy material for the new streaming platform, with newsies on the left hammering their rivals on the right. How could it fail?

Leena Tailor Every night, after LFO’s Brad Fischetti walks off stage on the “Pop2000 Tour,” he weeps. The ecstatic cheers of fans are drowned out by the haunting absence of his late bandmates, Rich Cronin and Devin Lima, and as he watches O-Town share hugs and handshakes, he misses similar rituals with his own band.“I leave that stage and lose it — it’s like reliving losing them all over again,” Fischetti, 46, tells Variety.

EXCLUSIVE: Sirens, a rock doc about Beirut all-female thrash metal band Slave to Sirens, will get a theatrical run after Oscilloscope Laboratories bought the North American rights.

Andrew Bird has announced details of his new album ‘Inside Problems’ – you can listen to his new single ‘Underlands’ below.The US singer/songwriter will follow up his 2020 solo album ‘Hark!’ with the new record, which is set for release on June 3 via Loma Vista / Concord.Speaking about ‘Inside Problems’, which was produced by Mike Viola and recorded live by Bird and his four-piece band, Bird said: “I have so much fun taking my ideas apart before they really have defined themselves as distinct songs, when they’re still in that amoeba-like state.“I love the feeling of chasing ideas and having them split off and go hang out with another idea and then butting them up against each other to see if they talk to each other.”Bird has previewed ‘Inside Problems’ this week with the single ‘Underlands’, which you can hear above.“You just don’t know what’s under the surface, be it the land, the sea, our skin,” Bird explained in a press release about the track. “You could be whistling away, projecting contentedness, when really there’s a swirling twisted mess underneath.

Braunwyn Windham-Burke is getting extremely candid about her sex life with girlfriend Victoria Brito.

NEW YORK -- Playwright Noah Haidle's Broadway debut is all about time and yet none was on his side as the pandemic closed in.Rehearsals for his play “Birthday Candles” were in their second week in March 2020 when his career achievement was snatched away. He had to become Zen.“It became a private satisfaction.

It is a story steeped in action and intrigue, but is it true?

Gabby Barrett has the support of husband Cade Foehner at the 2022 CMT Music Awards!

The “National Treasure” Disney+ series will feature a familiar face. Disney announced on Monday that Justin Bartha will reprise his role as Riley Poole from the two “National Treasure” films in the TV series, albeit in a guest starring capacity.The upcoming live-action “National Treasure” TV series expands the franchise that was first introduced in the 2004 film starring Nicolas Cage as history buff and amateur adventurer Benjamin Gates.

Justin Bartha is bringing Riley Poole back to the small screen.

Wilson Chapman editorJustin Bartha’s getting back into the treasure hunting game. The actor will return to the “National Treasure” series for the upcoming series of the same name, Disney Plus announced Monday.Bartha starred in the two “National Treasure” films, released in 2004 and 2007 as Riley Poole, the best friend and computer expert sidekick of treasure hunting lead Benjamin Franklin Gates (Nicolas Cage).

Disney+’s National Treasure series will see a familiar face as Justin Bartha returns to reprise his role from the movie franchise. Bartha will guest star as Riley Poole and will appear opposite stars Lisette Alexis and Catherine Zeta-Jones. The series is a project from Disney Branded Television’s for Disney+ produced by ABC Signature.

It’s a very big night for Debra Messing!

One or more manhole cover explosions in Times Square sent crowds of tourists and the exiting opening night audience of Broadway’s Birthday Candles scrambling Sunday night.

There are flickers of beauty in the new play “Birthday Candles,” which opened Sunday night on Broadway.Noah Haidle’s warm-but-flawed dramedy, with great feeling and occasional poignancy, takes us through 90 years of an average Michigan woman’s life. 90 minutes, At the American Airlines Theatre, 227 W 42nd Street.Of course, when you condense nine decades into an hour and a half, both bliss and tragedy arrive faster than spam emails on a Monday. The name of Ernestine’s hometown, Grand Rapids, describes her rocky, unpredictable road well. After every victory for Ernestine (Debra Messing) — an invitation to prom, the birth of a child, the starting of a new business — a crushing blow soon follows.

Birthday Candles, Noah Haidle’s Broadway dramedy starring Debra Messing as a woman who, over the course of the play’s 90 minutes ages from 17 to 107, has just about all the right ingredients for the poignant, funny and life-affirming experience it sets out to be. If everything doesn’t always come together just as it should, well, even an imperfect cake is better than no cake at all.