Secluded stars: Rachel Brosnahan celebrates Emmy nominations for 'Mrs. Maisel'
"The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" star Rachel Brosnahan was full of gratitude last week in light of the Amazon Prime comedy series taking in 20 Emmy Award nominations for its third season.
Brosnahan, who grew up in Highland Park, tweeted: "Grateful doesn't begin to cover it. I am so proud to be a part of this talented family. And the company we get to keep in these categories is bananas. Thank you @TelevisionAcad for the wind in our sails until we can squeeze each other in person."
Sing to 'Delilah'
The Plain White T's recently tweeted thanks to fans for pushing the hit song "Hey There Delilah" beyond 50 million streams on Apple Music.
Villa Park native and Plain White T's band member Tom Higgenson also showed his appreciation by releasing an acoustic guitar backing track version of the song via YouTube. The video comes complete with lyrics so you can sing along karaoke-style.
Remote divas
Former St. Charles resident and world-renowned opera soprano Sondra Radvanovsky has been keeping busy. Since April, she has been co-hosting the YouTube interview show "Screaming Divas" with Nashville-based soprano Keri Alkema.
"Screaming Divas" has highlighted remote guests ranging from singers Bryn Terfel and Russell Thomas to opera composer Rufus Wainwright. The most recent episode features Scottish director Sir David McVicar, who worked with Radvanovsky and Alkema in last year's Toronto remounting of his 2014 Lyric Opera of Chicago production of Dvorak's "Rusalka."
Laughs and liquor flow freely during the show. But Radvanovsky and company don't shy away from the fear and demoralization of freelance artists who are facing cancellations - especially because singing is suspected to be a risky way of transmitting coronavirus.
"There's an umbrella of thought that what we do is absolutely the worst thing possible," McVicar said. "We really need solid scientific advice from many countries coordinated to help us, otherwise we don't stand a chance."
"Why don't all the opera houses pool together and investigate?" Radvanovsky said. "And not just opera. Live theater, pop, television and film."
Callaway in concert
Winnetka native and Broadway veteran Liz Callaway is releasing a cover version of David Shire's 1968 protest song "The Morning After" later this month.
Callaway is also joining SiriusXM host and Broadway booster Seth Rudetsky for ticketed online performances as part of The Seth Concert Series at 8 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 9, and 3 p.m. Monday, Aug. 10.
Callaway tweeted: "I've missed singing so much! So I'm really looking forward to doing my first livestream concert w/ my pal @SethRudetsky one week from tonight! Hope you'll join us!"