NEW YORK – Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and singers James Taylor and Paul Simon are among those participating in the Sept. 11 anniversary commemoration at the World Trade Center site.
Ma has performed a piece by Bach, while Taylor has sung "You Can Close Your Eyes" and Simon has performed "The Sound of Silence."
Other musical elements in the commemoration include the Brooklyn Youth Chorus and bagpipers from the fire department, police department and the port authority.
NEW YORK – Joel Grey, Kara DioGuardi, Bebe Neuwirth, Ben Vereen and Brian Stokes Mitchell — along with sailors, nuns, drag queens, ballerinas and a Spider-Man — helped mark the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks with a full-throated reprise of the song "New York, New York."
The stars and cast members from musicals like "The Book of Mormon," "Anything Goes" and "Priscilla Queen of the Desert, the Musical" gathered in Times Square on Friday to belt out the John Kander and Fred Ebb song made famous by Frank Sinatra.
The event was put on to support the 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance's I Will Campaign, which asks people to observe the anniversary by performing good deeds, supporting charitable causes, volunteering and engaging in acts of compassion.
"Each of us has a gift. Each of us has something that we have been given. Each of us has something that we can share with others. That's part of what today is about: using the gifts that we were given to make the world a better place," Mitchell said.
The event drew together puppeteers from "War Horse," singing nuns from "Sister Act," sailors from "Anything Goes," crooners from "Jersey Boys," colorfully-dressed drag queens from "Priscilla Queen of the Desert," dancing children from "Billy Elliot: The Musical," Reeve Carney of "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" and the four main actors in "The Book of Mormon" — Andrew Rannells, Josh Gad, Nikki M. James and Rory O'Malley.
Firefighters from a nearby firehouse were saluted and NYPD Officer Daniel Rodriguez also sang an operatic "God Bless America." As the sun moved away and left the square in darkness, the Broadway singers lifted their voices and arms as they sang the city's anthem.
The mini-concert was a replay of what the Broadway community sang 10 years ago to promote theater in New York City following 9/11. One newcomer this time was DioGuardi, the songwriter and ex-"American Idol" judge who has begun performances in "Chicago."
"I think it's really important that everyone on the day remember to take some time out to remember the people we lost and hopefully help someone in need," she said.
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Online: http://www.ilovenytheater.com/broadwayunites
LOS ANGELES – On the 100th anniversary of Lucille Ball's birthday, her daughter is asking fans of the "I Love Lucy" star to be joyous.
"They shouldn't mourn. She had one of the best lives ever," Lucie Arnaz said. "She is one of the few people we can look at and say she left us something that can help."
"I Love Lucy," which starred the redheaded actress as a zany homemaker and then-husband Desi Arnaz as her bandleader-spouse, first aired from 1951-55 and still is seen around the world on TV and on DVD.
Lucie Arnaz, 60, said she knows that Ball's legacy of laughter has proved uplifting.
"Every place I go, every country I'm in, I hear, `If it wasn't for your mother, I wouldn't have gotten through cancer. Or, `I was in a low point of my life and watched (the show) and laughed so hard, and if I can do that I can make it,'" Arnaz said.
She said the modest Ball always counted herself lucky to work with her husband, co-stars Vivian Vance and William Frawley and the show's writers, who mapped out the action for Ball's many wordless slapstick scenes that showcased the star.
But she was "the consummate clown of the universe," Lucie Arnaz added. Ball also had the right man at her side when she and Desi Arnaz pioneered the three-camera sitcom with "I Love Lucy" and founded the successful Desilu production house.
"She married this wonderful guy who made her better and who protected her and showed her off to her best advantage," Lucie Arnaz said.
The couple, who also had a son, Desi Arnaz Jr., 58, divorced in 1960 but remained friendly.
Desi Arnaz died in 1986 at age 69. Lucille Ball, born 100 years ago Saturday in Jamestown, N.Y., died in Los Angeles in 1989. She was 77.
Lucie Arnaz was asked by an interviewer from China this week to explain why her mother and the show are so popular there. It's a "phenomenon," Arnaz said.
"I think of her as Mom most of the time. Then I switch ... and try to see her as the rest of the world does. It's almost too big," Arnaz said.
LOS ANGELES – Zsa Zsa Gabor's husband is saying happy anniversary in a big way. Frederic Von Anhalt has taken out a billboard on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles to celebrate the couple's 25th wedding anniversary. Beside the couple's wedding photo, it reads, "Prince Frederic & Princess Zsa Zsa 25 years and counting." It also includes Von Anhalt's website.
Gabor and Von Anhalt were married August 14, 1986.
He said the billboard is an anniversary gift for his ailing 94-year-old wife, who smiled when she saw a picture of it on TV.
"She said, `Oscar de la Renta,'" Von Anhalt said Thursday, adding that she is wearing a dress by the designer in the photo on the billboard. "It was her favorite dress, and she looked at it and she remembered it."
Von Anhalt said he spent his "life savings" on the $68,000 billboard, which will be up for one month.
"The billboard was very expensive," said the 68-year-old, who says he is a German prince. "I just put my life savings in it. I said forget about tomorrow. I want to do it today. I want to do it for her."
"Being married to Zsa Zsa these 25 years, it's priceless," he continued. "What she gave to me, the things we did together, the happy life we had together, you can't pay for it with money. It was perfect. It was just perfect and we're going to go on."
Gabor has been hospitalized repeatedly over the past year and had her leg amputated in January. Von Anhalt said she remains bedridden at home.
"It didn't get better or worse," he said. "Every day is a gift from God when you're 94 and have been through all those things. We make the best out of it and make it as comfortable as possible for her."
He said that he is planning an anniversary party at the couple's Bel-Air home next month. Gabor wants to see some friends, he said, who will be allowed to visit her in her bedroom one at a time.
Von Anhalt said his wife will have her hair and makeup done for the party: "She can't get out of bed, but I want her to look beautiful."
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AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen can be reached at www.twitter.com/APSandy.
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Online:
www.princefrederic.com
NEW YORK – Music critics are invited to see burgeoning singer-songwriters almost every day. But when a request came across this writer's desk to see a young singer-songwriter at an intimate showcase 10 years ago, it carried with it high expectations.
Backed by music mogul Clive Davis, Alicia Keys was billed as a cross between Lauryn Hill and Whitney Houston — a gritty, cornrow-wearing R&B singer who was a brilliant, classically trained pianist with both a stunning voice and beauty. She was going to be big. Bigger than big. Grammy Awards and multiplatinum sales were more than hoped for, they were expected.
Keys delivered on the all hype when her debut, "Songs in A Minor," was released in 2001. The album established the 20-year-old as one of the most influential artists of her generation. But looking back, Keys says she didn't expect the album would make her a superstar.
"This had been a lot of years of me struggling to put out any music, and there had been multiple times where we were like, `Oh, it's gonna happen, it's gonna happen,' and it didn't. So in a lot of ways in my mind, I think maybe I was protecting myself," she recalled.
Now, the 30-year-old Keys can celebrate. The album is being rereleased this week with special editions that include previously unreleased tracks and video footage. Keys, who married music producer Swizz Beatz and gave birth to a son last year, will also perform songs from the album at a concert at New York's Beacon Theatre on Thursday.
"There are certain things you have to celebrate, like certain birthdays are more special than the others, just because they kind of represent a growth, so for me, that's what this is," she said in a phone interview last week. She talked about that milestone album and how she's evolved over the decade.
The Associated Press: Had you been thinking about the anniversary?
Keys: I didn't even really realize it, somebody else kind of brought it up to me. ... (But) as I started thinking of it, and we started talking about it, I knew there were tons of songs from that time that I didn't put out. I didn't do anything with (them) because it wasn't right for the time, but I thought, `How crazy would it be to go back and listen to them and figure out which were ones that I'd love people to hear.' There are songs that I did when I was 16, 17. It's really, really cool.
AP: In the video that accompanies the rerelease, you talk about how you weren't the refined girl people expected. What were the adjustments that you had to make over the years, and how have you changed?
Keys: I was straight off the streets of Harlem and Hell's Kitchen. ... I'm a real New York girl. So I think that was kind of a bit of a shock for people, especially back then, to see a real New York girl, and here I was doing all of these interviews. ... When I look back at them, I'm like, `Damn, Alicia, you could have been a little gentler.' I just had a certain kind of roughness to me. That was just because that's the way I associated with people at the time, that's the way that I spoke. ... I remember reading a couple of things where they literally kind of criticized the way that I used my hands, or the way that I spoke, or say that I was whatever because I spoke a certain way. There were a lot of judgments, I think, that definitely made me conscious about how to start to maybe be a little bit more aware of how I was coming off ... but I'm still the same me.
AP: How have you musically evolved?
Keys: (What) I really learned about music is that you don't understand it. That's the part about it. There really is no formula ... it's all about a gift, it's like a moment, and you don't know when that moment is going to come. ... (Also) I've been able to be more experimental and just more open and more driven to do things that are new and different from me, because as an artist, you just always want to do things that are like unique and new and fresh. You don't ever want someone to say, `Oh yeah, that's that same thing that she does.' For me, I want it to always be new.
AP: How has marriage and motherhood changed you?
Keys: It's made me so much stronger, it's made me so much more powerful. First of all, I'm having more fun than I've ever had in my whole life. I'm happier than I've ever been in my whole life. And I also realize more the importance of time, and I realize the importance of really, really making sure that you dedicate certain times to the people that you love. Back when I was younger, I was so focused on doing whatever it takes to get noticed, or getting a chance to have my music be heard by people, I didn't recognize how much time was valuable. ... It helps me make more clear and concise choices.
AP: Do you miss your cornrows? That was your signature look.
Keys: I do miss my braids so much. ... Sometimes I'm like, `I'm gonna throw them back in!'
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Online:
http://www.aliciakeys.com/
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Nekesa Mumbi Moody is the music editor for The Associated Press. Follow her at http://www.twitter.com/nekesamumbi
GARY, Ind. – Hundreds of Michael Jackson fans have marked the two-year anniversary of the singer's death by gathering for a memorial outside the Gary home where Jackson grew up.
The Times of Munster reports that revelers swayed to Jackson's songs during Saturday night's tribute. Poets, local singers and dancers also entertained the crowd. Mayor Rudy Clay welcomed visitors to the event and proclaimed the city will not stop celebrating Jackson's memory.
Jackson died on June 25, 2009, of an overdose of sedatives at the age of 50, just before he was to begin a comeback tour.
Thirty-year-old Marshall Bingaman of Kansas City, Mo., says he made a nine-hour drive to Gary to pay tribute to Jackson's life. Bingaman says events like Saturday's memorial help keep Jackson's memory alive.
GARY, Ind. – Hundreds of Michael Jackson fans have marked the two-year anniversary of the singer's death by gathering for a memorial outside the Gary home where Jackson grew up.
The Times of Munster reports that revelers swayed to Jackson's songs during Saturday night's tribute. Poets, local singers and dancers also entertained the crowd. Mayor Rudy Clay welcomed visitors to the event and proclaimed the city will not stop celebrating Jackson's memory.
Jackson died on June 25, 2009, of an overdose of sedatives at the age of 50, just before he was to begin a comeback tour.
Thirty-year-old Marshall Bingaman of Kansas City, Mo., says he made a nine-hour drive to Gary to pay tribute to Jackson's life. Bingaman says events like Saturday's memorial help keep Jackson's memory alive.
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Helicopter flights over Neverland Ranch in California are being booked for the second anniversary of Michael Jackson's death.
The singer was 50 when he died on June 25, 2009. He owned the Neverland Ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley for years.
Oxnard-based Channel Island's Helicopters says the half-hour "Flight Over Neverland" event costs $175 per person and $500 for a private flight of up to three people.
The Santa Barbara News-Press reports the flights run from 9 a.m. to sunset on June 24 and June 25.
A spokesman for the company says it has already booked about 100 passengers, with more seats still available for June 25.
The flights depart Santa Barbara Municipal Airport on June 24 and Santa Ynez Airport on June 25.
NEW DELHI (AFP) – India kicked off celebrations on Saturday to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of iconic poet and playwright Rabindranath Tagore, the first Asian to win the Nobel Prize for literature.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh launched the festivities for the poet who won the Nobel in 1913 and is revered by the world's 250 million Bengali speakers in India, neighbouring Bangladesh and elsewhere.
The events, planned over one year, aim to stir new interest among a wider audience in the Bengali writer's novels, music, plays, poems and paintings, the government said.
"A number of commemoration events have (also) been planned abroad, particularly in countries with which Tagore had some association," Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in a speech in New Delhi.
Tagore, who established an open-air university in India's West Bengal state, also penned the national anthems of both Bangladesh and India. He produced some 50 volumes of poetry including his acclaimed Gitanjali (Song Offerings).
Jorasanko Mansion in state capital Kolkata, the poet's birthplace and also where he died in 1941, was bedecked with flowers for the occasion.
In New Delhi, Singh, addressing diplomats and fans from India and Bangladesh, also announced an award in the name of the poet, who was part of a national campaign for India's independence from British colonial rule, granted in 1947.
"A jury headed by the prime minister will select each year a citizen of the world of outstanding public eminence who in his or her life and work epitomises the high universal ideals that Tagore stood for," Singh said.
The award will "recognise his very distinguished contributions towards the promotion of international brotherhood and fraternity", Singh said.
Tagore, who also spent time in what is now Bangladesh, renounced his British knighthood in protest over a massacre of hundreds of civilians by British-led troops in India's Jallianwala town in 1919.
Several states including Meghalaya and Tripura in India's remote northeast were also celebrating the event with seminars, plays and readings from Tagore's voluminous works, which for many mirror India's spiritual heritage.
Prime Minister Singh thanked his Bangladeshi counterpart, Sheikh Hasina, for jointly hosting the year-long celebrations.
He also released a digital collection of some of the poet's paintings which were on display at an exhibition in New Delhi.
The exhibition forms part of a broader joint series of events to mark the anniversary, which was launched on Friday in Dhaka by Indian Vice President Mohammed Hamid Ansari and Sheikh Hasina.
"Some important archival materials on Tagore that are on celluloid have been restored and packaged, for national and international dissemination, after sub-titling in English," Singh said.
The Archaeological Survey of India has helped authorities of Tagore's university -- Viswa Bharati -- in the restoration of 27 heritage buildings while the government is planning to upgrade museums linked to the poet.
Singh also said India's culture ministry has begun the digitaliation of Tagore's rare paintings and original manuscripts and books.
"But in the final analysis the future of Viswa Bharati depends not so much on official patronage or resources but the dreams and ambitions of its teachers, students and alumni," the prime minister added.
Tagore, known as the "Bard of the East," set up Vishwa Bharati in 1921 in the picturesque town of Shantiniketan near Kolkata from the prize money he received from the Nobel Foundation.
