Secluded Stars: Lee DeWyze collaborates with Rita Wilson; Vince Vaughn has fun with Fallon
Stars from the suburbs may be isolating in their homes, but they haven't stopped collaborating. And this week marks the debut of one of the more interesting teams: Mount Prospect's Lee DeWyze and Rita Wilson.
Yes, that DeWyze. And that Wilson.
The “American Idol” winner and the singer-actress are promoting a new song called “Where's My Country Song?” set for release on Friday, May 8. The song title suggests it could have an earnest tone, or maybe even a comic one in a “Can I speak to your manager?” sort of way.
DeWyze also announced via an Instagram video on Monday that he will be performing private online Zoom concerts for a fan and 10 of their friends for $1,000.
“I've never done anything like this, but obviously we adapt, we get through it,” DeWyze said. “The shows must go on.”
Interview anxieties: Former Buffalo Grove resident Vince Vaughn had a lot of fun with a recent at-home episode of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.” What seemingly started out as a standard online interview soon became a comedy sketch. Both Vaughn and Fallon's minds wandered, tapping into comic insecurities and resentments.
“I crafted a dense and brilliant metaphor about the state of our country and he wasn't even listening,” Vaughn thought via a voice-over. “Eh, maybe it wasn't that brilliant.”
Remember ‘November': Tony Award winner John Malkovich famously began his professional acting career in the 1970s in the basement of a Highland Park church as a charter member of Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre. And Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Mamet can trace his theatrical roots back to Chicago working as a busboy at The Second City.
Malkovich and Mamet are headlining the first of a new series of online weekly play readings starting Thursday as fundraisers for the Actors Fund charity. Malkovich stars opposite Tony Award winner Patti LuPone in “November,” Mamet's 2008 Broadway comedy about an unpopular president seeking reelection.
The prerecorded free stream is available from the Actor's Fund YouTube and Facebook channels at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 7.
Bingo with the stars: “Chicago Fire” star Miranda Rae Mayo hosted a virtual bingo session Friday for the residents of Caledonia Senior Living & Memory Care in North Riverside. Previous hosts have included Nick Gehlfuss of “Chicago Med” and Maxwell Jenkins of Netflix's “Lost in Space.”
Mayo called each round of bingo via video conference, and even sang “Happy Birthday” to a resident on her special day.