Category: Entertainment

There’s a bit of acting advice that’s often ascribed to Noël Coward: “Speak clearly and don’t bump into the furniture.”

But if you’re Kelli O’Hara and Rose Byrne, by all means, slide down the staircase, nosedive over the settee and slur your words while tossing back two strong martinis and a case of Dom Pérignon. The actors check every one of those boxes during the drunken high point of “Fallen Angels,” the revival of a nearly forgotten Coward play that’s being performed on Broadway for the first time in 70 years.

The show follows two upper-crust friends, Julia (O’Hara) and Jane (Byrne), who discover their former lover Maurice (Mark Consuelos) has touched down in London while their husbands are on a golf trip. Excited, yet anxious, over the prospect of reconnecting with the man that got away, the pair fortifies themselves with cocktails and bubbly during a boozy dinner. “Champagne is a great strengthener,” Julia assures Jane, who is worried that the two will “go down like ninepins” if Maurice is as “attractive and glamorous as ever.”

But instead of paving the way for some good ol’ fashioned infidelity, the liquid courage causes the women to turn on each other, with the evening devolving into inebriated insults and recriminations. And the two stars, who at first seem to be playing in different registers with O’Hara launching her punchlines towards the balcony and Byrne aiming for the second row, harmonize to deliver a master class in physical comedy. It’s demented, hilarious fun to see Byrne kick off her heels and rappel down her chair or witness O’Hara dipping her after-dinner strawberries into her Cordial Medoc as though dunking shrimp into cocktail sauce. The two are so silly, so loopily in synch, that the scene, which occurs halfway through the second act, lifts the entire show, giving it a buoyancy that has been lacking during its exposition-heavy beginning.

So what to make of “Fallen Angels”? First produced in 1925 when Coward was just 24, it was an attempt to put a stiff upper lip spin on French farce. Although scandalous in its day for its frank depiction of female desire and open discussion of infidelity and premarital sex (Maurice “had” Julia in Pisa and Jane in Venice and “Florence and Florence”), the show seems positively tame post-“Sex and the City,” “Bottoms” and “Booksmart.” When it premiered it was nearly banned by the censors, and Coward had to tone things down to get the Lord Chamberlain’s seal of approval. He added the naughty bits back in during a 1958 revision, but the show could have benefitted from a full rewrite, not just a polish.

There are some lines that have Coward’s trademark sparkle (“I have heard that the worst part of parenting is the children”), while others feel like the product of a young playwright still trying to find his voice. And the main characters are little more than soused ciphers, whose one defining trait is their barely contained horniness. They lack the shading — the pathos hiding behind elegantly crafted quips — that Coward brought to the protagonists of his masterpieces, “Private Lives” and “Design for Living.”

Roundabout Theater Company’s Interim Director Scott Ellis directs “Fallen Angels” with screwball flair, staging the crossed-wire mishaps, bedroom hijinks and tipsy pratfalls like a Jazz Age “Noises Off.” He also wisely encourages O’Hara and Byrne to go-for-broke and milk every punchline, but Ellis has less success coaxing memorable performances from the show’s supporting players. Aasif Mandvi and Christopher Fitzgerald barely register as Jane and Julia’s oblivious husbands, while Consuelos, who plays Maurice as a suave cuckolder with a dodgy European accent, should probably stick to daytime TV. But Tracee Chimo, who plays a bubbly, know-it-all maid, is a standout. Likewise, David Rockwell’s set, an elegant Art Deco dining and drawing room where much of the action unfolds, provides a stylish backdrop to the proceedings, while the chandelier that soars over the stage also serves as a sight gag that ends the show on a slyly subversive note.

If only the 90 minutes that preceded that killer capper had more fizz to them. O’Hara and Byrne may be bleeding for every laugh, but you can’t ignore the fact that “Fallen Angels” is one of Coward’s lesser works. The play proves that even in his twenties, he was already perfecting his transgressive wit.

However, the other elements of Coward’s genius, that alchemy of humor and humanity that made him one of the last century’s greatest playwrights, would come with age.

Ted Danson recalled an intimidating first encounter with former President Bill Clinton and his Secret Service detail during an early date with his now-wife, Mary Steenburgen.

Moderating a panel with Bill and Hillary Clinton at History Talks in Philadelphia on Saturday, Danson started off by telling the audience that his wife has been close with the Clintons “since the early days” — and that she used her friends in high places to test his character on one of their first dates.

“One of the first things she did was take me to meet her dear friends in the White House,” Danson said. “Bill — Mr. President — took me around the corner, and there were three Secret Service agents behind him, all of them looking at me. The president asked me what my intentions were.”

The “Cheers“ star then turned to Bill and asked, “My first question is to you, Mr. President: Do you think that was fair?”

“No, but it was effective. And I didn’t think I had to be fair,” Clinton replied after a brief silence. “As it turned out, you became the best thing that ever happened to her.”

Staying on topic about the Clintons’ early days in the White House, Hillary described the jarring transition from Arkansas to presidential life. After attending the presidential inaugural parade and a dozen balls, the exhausted couple “collapsed into bed” around 3:30 a.m. — only to be awakened two hours later by staff.

“At 5:30 a.m., the doors opens with a White House butler,” Hillary recalled. “He walks in with a silver tray and two cups of coffee because that’s how the Bushes — George H.W. and Margaret Bush — liked to woken up.”

Even basic tasks became an ordeal. Hillary recalled one instance when her staff spiraled after she asked for two eggs, a pan and butter to whip up a quick breakfast for Chelsea when she fell sick.

“You would’ve thought I’d asked for the nuclear codes,” she quipped. “If you said, ‘Can I have a banana?’ and they didn’t have one, then everywhere you went for a week, there’d be bunches of bananas.”

Parenting, childhood upbringings and creating a better world for their grandchildren anchored the Clintons’ conversation, largely steering clear of Trump and other partisan topics. This tone echoed across the four presidential panels, which promoted bipartisanship and the values of the nation’s Founding Fathers (the term “working towards a more perfect union” was heard repeatedly throughout the day).

Beyond politics, History Talks drew a range of entertainment figures, including Nicole Kidman, NFL icons Tom Brady and Jason Kelce, country singer Garth Brooks and comedians Tina Fey and Colin Jost.

Don Schlitz, one of the most widely revered names in the history of country music songwriting, died April 16 in a Nashville hospital after what was described as a sudden illness. He was 73.

A member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Schlitz may be best recognized by the public as the sole author of one of country’s most iconic singles, and possibly the genre’s most quoted song ever: “The Gambler,” a country-pop crossover smash for Kenny Rogers in 1978. It was the first song he ever had recorded by someone, but it was not all downhill from there.

Most of his other hits were co-writes, many of them with fellow songwriting legends like Paul Overstreet. The collaborations with Overstreet include “Forever and Ever, Amen,” an 1987 smash in the hands of Randy Travis; other songs for Travis that included “On the Other Hand,” from 1986, and “Deeper Than the Holler,” in 1988; and “When You Say Nothing at All,” made into a country No. 1 by Keith Whitley in 1992 (and also successfully recorded by Alison Krauss & Union Station, plus Ronan Keating, who had a U.K. No. 1 with it in 1999).

Sometimes Schlitz co-wrote with a recording artist, as with “I Feel Lucky,” a smash he co-wrote with its singer, Mary Chapin Carpenter, in 1992, and “He Thinks He’ll Keep Her,” which Carpenter turned into another hit the following year.

He had several enduring hits with the Judds, co-written with their producer, Brett Maher, including “Turn It Loose,” “Rockin’ With the Rhythm of the Rain” and “I Know Where I’m Going,” each of them a No. 1 country hit in the late ’80s for the mother/daughter duo.

Others who recorded his material included Alabama, Sara Evans, Waylon Jennings, George Strait, Ronnie Milsap, Reba McEntire, the Bellamy Brothers, Tanya Tucker, Garth Brooks, Pam Tillis, Sweethearts of the Rodeo, Kathy Mattea, the Oak Ridge Boys and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

Schlitz’s many honors include his inductions into the Nashville Songwriters Association Hall of Fame in 1993, the (New York-based) Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2012, the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2017 and the Grand Ole Opry in 2022.

The Country Hall of Fame is especially notable because Schlitz was only the sixth songwriter to be inducted, at that time. The Opry’s recognization is similarly noteworthy because he was the only non-performing songwriter to be so inducted in the Opry’s history — although he certainly became a performer for his many regular appearances there, as he had in many songwriters’ round appearances at the Bluebird Cafe.

Awards-wise, “The Gambler” won him the Grammy for best country song in 1978, and it became the CMAs’ song of the year the following year. Ultimately he won two Grammys, three CMA song of the year prizes and two ACM song of the year awards. He also was named ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year for four consecutive years, from 1988-91.

His prowess extended to Broadway, when he wrote both music and lyrics for the 1999 musical “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.”

Schlitz often told the story of how he wrote “The Gambler” when he was 23, working at Vanderbilt University as a computer operator, aspiring to be a writer. One day, without a car, he walked 2-3 miles home from work and wrote the entirety of the song in his head along the way, except for the kicker. “I’m just making up this story song; I’m good at rhymes and meter, so I’m putting that in to it…. When I made it back to my efficiency apartment, I sat down at my dad’s old Smith-Corona typewriter — I’m a pretty good typist — and wrote it start to finish…without a last verse. When I was done, I knew it was too long and it didn’t have a love angle, and it wasn’t up-tempo, and it was a pretty linear melody,” he told the Library of Congress in a 2018 interview.

One solution for the song was to have no solution. “At that time, I didn’t have the last verse, though I wrote 50 or 60 options. One version of it had 50 lines, another had another 50 lines. I didn’t know how to end it, how to get out of the song, and finally I just decided to leave it open-ended, let the listener decide what happens in the end, like an O. Henry finish.”

Bobby Bare recorded it, but his record company didn’t think it was worthy of releasing. Three other versions came out, including one recorded by Schlitz himself, which he recalled peaking at No. 61. Then an ASCAP exec took to it and got it recorded by both Johnny Cash and Rogers, and the latter singer’s version was the one to make it to the starting gate.

“Kenny’s version was really special and fit his persona. Then they did this amazing album cover. He changed a couple of words, he modulated after the first chorus. His version was more up-tempo. … The song became ubiquitous. It was everywhere. … Actually, I think it was a hit because it was a story, somewhat linear, and, it had no ‘finished’ ending! It allowed the listener to be involved. It respected the intelligence of the listener. And I say this with humility, or as much as I can muster, it wasn’t dumb. (Bob) McDill once told me, ‘You can’t write country music, looking down your nose at it.’ You have to respect your listener. Listeners are smart people. And it was a good time for a story song…

“I can’t tell you enough about what Kenny did, for the song, for me, and for country music. Kenny has always been loyal, kind, generous with his praise. The power of Kenny Rogers, and Larry Butler — a genius producer. The right people at the right time.”

He added, ” if it’s become an American folk song, I’m good with that. You know, I’m not a card player, not a gambler. I don’t do that. Besides, that’s not what the song’s about anyway. If it is, to some people, that’s great. But [the song’s] really about discretion. It’s about choices and the choices you make. Very simply — but very directly. I think when you hear the song, you hear the meaning of the story in Kenny’s voice. He put the wisdom in there.”

Schlitz had only been performing on the Opry on a few occasions when Vince Gill formally invited him to become a member. Soon, he became a favorite of Opry audiences, regaling them with stories from his songwriting career after bluntly beginning with: “You have no idea who I am.”

“I remember whispering to Vince onstage, ‘Don’t leave me here alone,’” Schlitz recalled of his first Opry appearance to American Songwriter in 2022. “I went out and played ‘The Gambler’ and everyone applauded. As we were driving home, we were quiet like old friends can be. I asked him, ‘Does it ever get old?’ He told me ‘Nope,’ and that has turned out to be true.”

He had officially quit songwriting some time ago, saying the constant sense of inner mental research had wearied him. ““I woke up and looked at my wife and said, ‘I want to stop. I want to stop thinking about it all the time.’ That was my process. I listened to people talk. I read. I wanted to write songs that I wanted to hear. Most importantly, I wanted to find an honest way of saying something that came from my heart.”

He still marveled at the unpredictable magic that makes for a hit, saying, “You never know what song is going to be the song, You’re going to tell me that a song that is too long about a guy talking to an older guy who is either drunk or doesn’t have any cigarettes of his own is something that needs to be written? Yeah, I wanted to hear that story.”

Schlitz added, ““I’m not gonna think about my legacy yet. But I get to share Kenny Rogers’ legacy. Keith Whitley’s legacy. Randy Travis’ legacy. These are songs that they know from their heroes.”

Schlitz is survived by his wife, Stacey; his daughter Cory Dixon and her husband Matt Dixon; his son Pete Schlitz and his wife Christian Webb Schlitz; his grandchildren Roman, Gia, Isla, and Lilah; his brother Brad Schlitz; and his sister Kathy Hinkley. Service plans are pending.

“We are heartbroken by the news of the passing of Don Schlitz,” said Country Music Association CEO Sarah Trahern. “Don loved his family, his home state of North Carolina, and above all, songs and songwriters. He carried that love into every room, every stage and every lyric he ever wrote. His work, including timeless classics like ‘The Gambler,’ helped shape our genre and rightfully earned him some of its highest honors.

“In recent years, he found great joy performing at the Grand Ole Opry, mentoring the next generation of songwriters, and sharing his music at Room In The Inn, giving back to the community he helped build. Wayne and I send our love to Stacey and the entire family. Not long ago, we shared a dinner, and as we were leaving, Don picked up a guitar and began to play. That is how I will always remember him, smiling and with a guitar in his hand. His legacy lives on through his music and the many artists and writers he inspired. He will be deeply missed.” 

Coachella has had countless bombshell moments over the years, and so far this year it’s had guest appearances from Madonna, SZA, Billie Eilish, Snoop Dogg, Olivia Rodrigo and Billy Idol, among others.

But Coachella 2026’s biggest surprise is this: All of those guest appearances, and more besides, took place on the traditionally less-newsworthy Weekend 2.

For example: On Weekend 1, Justin Bieber brought out Dijon and Mk.Gee; on Weekend 2, he brought out Dijon and SZA, Billie Eilish (who was serenaded but did not sing) and Sexyy Red. Giveon brought out Kehlani on Weekend 1, but for his second performance, he was joined by Snoop Dogg and Teddy Swims. On Weekend 1, Addison Rae didn’t bring out any guests — but for her second set, there was Olivia Rodrigo, joining her not only for “Headphones On” but also the live debut of Rodrigo’s new single, “Drop Dead.”

And on Weekend 1, sure, Sabrina Carpenter had cameos from Susan Sarandon and Will Ferrell — but on the second, she did three songs with Madonna (leading one Variety staffer to moan, “Why oh why did I go last weekend?!”).

It didn’t stop there: On Weekend 2, Alex G didn’t just walk into the pit during one song, he went straight into the crowd and did his best to keep singing amid the mayhem. And the Strokes only played their fiercely political video montage, which assailed decades of U.S. meddling overseas as well as the ongoing loss of life in Gaza and Iran, at the close of their second set. (The reasoning behind saving that for Weekend 2 is more obvious.) And PinkPantheress threw a full-on party during “Boy’s a Liar” on her second Saturday night, filling up the stage with Janelle Monae, Zara Larsson, Chase Infiniti, Manon (on hiatus from Katseye), Blood Orange, Slayyyter, Tyriq Withers and DJ Ninajirachi.

Sombr and Teddy Swims split the difference, the former by bringing out a pair of Billys (Corgan and Idol) on successive weekends, while Swims was joined by David Lee Roth for both sets.

Traditionally, most artists have basically played the same set since the festival expanded to two weekends in 2012, and the second is usually musically superior — which makes sense, because there’s less pressure, and they know the “room” better. Occasionally in the past, artists have brought out a different guest or had a unique surprise on Weekend 2 — but it has never even come close to overshadowing if not crushing Weekend 1, which is traditionally the world’s biggest stage for music except for the Super Bowl.

So what’s going on? According to informal (and off the record) conversations with several live-music insiders on Sunday, several factors are at play beyond the shortest and most obvious one: on Weekend 2, a surprise is going to be more of a surprise. 

Of course, that’s not the only reason — the headliner being upstaged by their guest(s) is a big one. “My theory would be that the artists wanted to make sure the spotlight was on them for Weekend 1, and then came back more relaxed and wanting to make another, maybe bigger statement on Weekend 2,” said one agent who has worked with the festival for many years.

Indeed, Madonna — who also made a surprise appearance at the festival during Drake’s 2015 headlining set — announced the July release of her “Confessions on a Dance Floor II” album last Wednesday, teased her new single on Friday afternoon and released it officially a couple of hours after her appearance with Carpenter — obviously a carefully timed strategy. But if she’d done any of that during Weekend 1, she would have stolen the headliner’s thunder.  

That reasoning applies less to Bieber, although his two pre-Coachella warm-up shows and his Weekend 1 set showed that he very much wants to keep the focus on his new material. But by Weekend 2, he’d done that, and possibly felt he could loosen up a bit.

Other factors are in play as well. “Weekend 1 is driven heavily by influencer culture,” the agent added. “But the artist guest area and VIP sections thin out massively for Weekend 2, and there are also less late-night off-site parties, which means less of that [superficial] L.A. crowd makes the trek into the desert.”

A second insider noted, “I think it’s also [artists] giving more to the Weekend 2 crowd, which is generally there more for the music than the scene.” A third added, “Weekend two is always better in my opinion — there’s more to see and less to be seen.”

All agree that this year’s Weekend 2 trend is almost definitely not part of a larger plan, or an effort by Goldenvoice, the show’s founder and promoter, or to boost buzz and attendance to the former stepchild weekend — “It’s hard to see Goldenvoice inserting themselves into an artist’s creative,” another agent said.

However, they also agree that it’s definitely the end result. “It does bode well,” the agent concluded, “for weekend two not feeling like the afterthought next year.”