Peter Bart: Mel Brooks’ Outrageous ‘History’ Lessons Help Distract From Oscar Week

Naman Ramachandran Australian stars Jason Donovan and Peter Andre will return to Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey’s iconic musical “Grease” at the Dominion Theatre in London’s West End following their acclaimed performances last year. Donovan will play the role of Teen Angel at some performances from Aug. 14-Oct. 28. Andre will play the roles of Vince Fontaine and Teen Angel at certain performances from Aug.29-Oct.19. Louise Redknapp will play Teen Angel from June 2-July 29, excluding Mondays. “Grease,” directed by Nikolai Foster and choreographed by Arlene Phillips, follows the Burger Palace Boys and the Pink Ladies as they navigate the trials and tribulations of their senior year at Rydell High. Transfer student Sandy Dumbrowski speaks of her whirlwind summer romance with heartthrob Danny Zuko. Little does Sandy know that Danny’s also at Rydell High.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic The Academy of Country Music Awards have named their co-hosts for the show’s annual webcast May 11, bringing in Garth Brooks for his first-ever role hosting any awards show — joining repeat ACMs host Dolly Parton, who did it as part of a trio last year and as a solo host back in 2000. The 58th annual edition of the show will be seen on Amazon Prime Video exclusively for the second consecutive year. The ACM Awards left broadcast television behind last year after having aired on CBS from 1998 through 2021, and on ABC and NBC through the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. “While I’ve had the pleasure of spending time with (Brooks) throughout the years,” Parton said in a statement, “I can’t believe we’ve never had the chance to work together.” Parton additionally said that she will be premiering the debut single from her upcoming “rock” album on the show, fulfilling a vow she made to produce a genre-specific record when she was elected into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Brooke Shields looked back at her guest spot on Friends in the ’90s and spoke very candidly about one moment that darkened her memory of the otherwise enjoyable cameo.

Peter Gabriel has added further dates to his upcoming ‘i/o’ tour of North America – see dates below and buy tickets here.The former Genesis singer turned solo artist previously announced that he would be heading to Europe and the UK in spring this year in support of his 10th studio album. His ninth and most recent studio album, ‘New Blood’, came out in 2011.Now, he has extended his planned dates in North America, to include shows in Washington, D.C., Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Columbus, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, Saint Paul, Palm Springs, Denver, Austin, Dallas, and Houston.The ‘i/o’ tour is set to kick off in Krakow, Poland on May 18 ahead of further dates in Verona, Milan, Paris, Berlin, Stockholm, Amsterdam and other cities throughout that month and into June.The musician will then touch down in the UK where he’ll take to the stage at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena (June 17), The O2 in London (19), the OVO Hydro in Glasgow (22), the AO Arena in Manchester (23) and the 3Arena in Dublin (25).

A.O. Scott this week ends his 23-year run as film critic for the New York Times and most movie people are glad to see him go. So is he.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter 40 years later and Mel Brooks is still raring to go in “History of the World Part 2.” In an exclusive featurette (see below) from the sketch comedy series shared with Variety, the comedy legend says, “I just love getting into the saddle again, and ‘History of the World’ was a great opportunity to explore so many aspects of history that have happened since I did the first one. Enjoy it. Or don’t. I already got paid for this.” The eight-episode Hulu series was released beginning on March 6. Series co-creator Ike Barinholtz said that Brooks “gave us such a great template in the first movie,” with the show featuring a wide range of sketches skewering some of the biggest moments and people in history. Among those featured in the show are the end of the Civil War, the life of Jesus Christ, the story of Shirley Chisholm, and the Russian revolution among many others.

Paul Grant has died at the age of 56, his family has confirmed.The actor, who famously played an Ewok in the Star Wars film Return of the Jedi alongside Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford, had been found collapsed outside King's Cross Station in London on Thursday afternoon.The father of three, who also had a turn as a goblin in the Harry Potter film series, was pronounced brain dead after being rushed to hospital. His family has since confirmed that his life support machine was switched off on Sunday 19 March. His daughter Sophia Jayne Grant, 28, paid tribute to her father, saying she was "devastated" by the news.

and Glamour co-hosted a brunch to celebrate Women’s History Month, at the Vice President’s residence in Washington, D.C. In front of an audience of female trailblazers including Grammy award winner , Speaker Emerita , actors , Nicole Ari Parker and Phoebe Robinson, soccer star Ashlyn Harris, founder and CEO Emma Grede, fashion designer and Fifteen Percent Pledge founder , author and activist Marley Dias, and more, Vice President Harris gave a passionate speech about women’s power, economic empowerment, and the importance of passing paid leave. Guests including Megan Thee Stallion, Elaine Welteroth, Moonlyn Tsai, and more listen to speeches at the Glamour and Vice President's Women's History Month celebration.The Vice President told attendees, “Economic empowerment of women is about an investment in the future of our country. When you lift up the economic status of women, you lift up the economic status of families and communities, and all of society benefits.”She singled out Glamour's ongoing advocacy for , and in her opening remarks thanked , one of the new mothers featured in Glamour’s groundbreaking 28 Days paid leave project, who welcomed the Vice President on stage.

Now that the noise has subsided, were there any helpful takeaways from the Oscars?

The Cinema Audio Society has its new board of directors and officers.

EXCLUSIVE: Tony Award nominees Jennifer Simard (Company) and Adam Godley (The Lehman Trilogy) have joined the cast of Broadway’s upcoming Britney Spears musical Once Upon A One More Time.

Abbey Clancy and Peter Crouch have spoiled their daughter Sophia on her 12th birthday with designer gifts and a rainbow-coloured cake in sweet celebrations. Model and mum, Abbey, 37, shared a proud video of the family including dad, Peter and Sophia's siblings, Liberty, seven, Johnny, four and two year old son Jack singing happy birthday on Tuesday morning as they surprised their eldest with a cake. Captioned in the video Abbey wrote: "My baby girl is 12 today Happy Birthday princess Sophie".

Pedro Pascal, one of the most popular actors at the moment and best known for his current roles in HBO’s ‘Last of Us’ and Disney+’s ‘The Mandalorian,’ attended the Oscars not only to present an award, also to support someone special in his life, his sister, Javiera Balmaceda.While Pedro has been in the spotlight a lot lately, his sibling also has a very successful career in the film industry. Javiera is a producer, and while she didn’t receive a nomination, she was part of several projects recognized throughout the awards ceremony.

Sasha Urban editor The Elton John AIDS Foundation raised more than $9 million at its annual Academy Awards viewing party on Sunday night. The star-studded evening featured a performance by Rina Sawayama and Sir Elton John, a dance party into the night and a live auction for original Keith Haring artwork and the host’s iconic crystalized Dodgers robe. The evening hosted stars including Donatella Versace, Michael Imperioli, Melanie Lynskey, Tiffany Haddish, Kesha, Troye Sivan, Emma Watson, Heidi Klum, Maggie Rogers and Brooke Shields. Smokey Robinson and Nile Rogers sat next to each other for dinner, while special guests Eric McCormack and Michaela Jaé Rodriguez encouraged the audience to donate via text during commercial breaks.

meeting up with a 16-year-old on the Growlr dating app.According to a memo from the Broward County State Attorney’s Office explaining its decision, the teen’s parents wanted to pursue charges against Parson but did not want to subject their son to be questioned on the stand and were reticent to allow prosecutors to speak with him to help determine the facts of the case.Assistant State Attorney Danielle Lennox, of the office’s sexual battery and child abuse unit, wrote in the memo that a victim advocate from the office had begun reaching out to the family after the charges against Parson were filed.In a May 2022 phone conference with the victim’s parents, Lennox explained what the process of pursuing prosecution would entail, but they were reticent to have their son speak with her.Lennox agreed to give them time to think and scheduled a follow-up meeting with the parents to arrange an in-person interview with the teen, but was unable to reach the family.

Pedro Pascal is a very proud brother.

Michelle Yeoh made history as the first Asian woman to win Best Actress at the Academy Awards. It’s a triumphant and moving moment for the thesp who killed in her role as a time-traveling Chinese-American laundromat owner navigating an IRS audit and complex relationships with her husband and daughter in Everything Everywhere All At Once. It was her first Oscar nomination.

CAA is kicking off Oscars weekend with a star-studded-party!

Peter Andre celebrated his 50th birthday in style, enjoying a surprise birthday meal complete with a private chef after jetting back from Dubai. Taking to Instagram, his wife Emily MacDonagh shared a video with her 478,000 followers of the lunch surprise, which took place at The Sussex Barn Estates. She started by panning around the room showing the incredible decorations which included a giant lit-up "50" and silver, black and white balloons everywhere.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Mel Brooks came up with the title to his 1981 comedy feature “History of the World, Part I” as a joke. There were never any plans to make a Part II.  Until now.   As the streaming revolution took hold, Brooks, his producing partner Kevin Salter and rightsholder Searchlight Pictures decided to explore a long overdue sequel, but in series form. That’s when they contacted Nick Kroll, who’s known for his sketch comedy (in addition to the painfully funny take on adolescence “Big Mouth”), to kick around a “Part II” that was four decades not in the making.