Final farewell for Argentine folk singer Cabral (AFP)

BUENOS AIRES (AFP) – Argentina bade farewell Wednesday to one of its most beloved entertainers, the folk singing troubadour Facundo Cabral, who was gunned down at the weekend in Guatemala at the age of 74.

The body of the La Plata-born native, who was famously nomadic, was taken to a cemetery 32 kilometers (20 miles) north of Buenos Aires for cremation at an intimate private ceremony with just family and close friends in attendance.

The size of the gathering was in stark contrast to the huge outpouring of emotion seen across the region since Cabral was shot and killed by gunmen on Saturday evening on his way to the main international airport in Guatemala.

Argentine President Cristina Kirchner announced three days of national mourning and fans turned up in their droves to pay final respects as Cabral's coffin was displayed in the Teatro ND Ateneo in the heart of Buenos Aires after his body was flown home from Guatemala on Tuesday.

"His homeland was not Argentina but the entire world," said Maria del Carmen, 70, on a street jammed with television trucks. "I had to be here: he died for peace and love."

The closed coffin, which lay in state for more than 24 hours before the cremation ceremony, was draped in an Argentine flag and flowers from fans littered the floor. Cabral's widow, Venezuelan psychologist Silvia Pousa, has not revealed what will be done with his ashes.

Officials believe Cabral's promoter and driver, Nicaraguan businessman Henry Farina, was the real target of Saturday's attack, which sources say may have been drug-related.

Farina, who was wounded in the shooting, is recovering in hospital under heavy police guard, and is considered a key witness.

Two people have been arrested in connection with the shooting.

Guatemalan Attorney General Claudia Paz y Paz said Elkin Hernandez had led the band of gunmen, while the second suspect, Wilfred Arnold, managed a nightclub owned by Farina and is accused of masterminding the attack.

A global nomad who claimed to have visited 150 countries and said he was deeply inspired by the US poet Walt Whitman, Cabral's music was largely about peace, love and everyday pleasures and pain.

His songs include the 1970s hit "I'm not from here nor there" and are frequently performed by other Spanish-language performers. He was deemed "World Peace Messenger" in 1996 by UNESCO.

The broad daylight attack sent shockwaves through Latin America, taking down one of the region's undisputed stars and shining a spotlight on the murky underworld of Guatemala's lawless maras or drug gangs.

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'Bengal Tiger' Makes Its Final Roar July 3; Stagings Planned for Germany, Italy, France (Playbill)

Rajiv Joseph's Pulitzer Prize finalist play, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, starring Robin Williams as the self-questioning title character who roams a haunted patch of Iraq, circa 2003, ends its limited 16-week Broadway engagement as planned July 3 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, but there are future plans for the critically acclaimed drama.

The play, which had its world-premiere in 2009 at Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles, will next be seen in Europe as rights have been sold for productions in Germany, Italy and France. Broadway producer Robyn Goodman has also announced that discussions are underway for a London production as well.

Bengal Tiger was nominated for three Tony Awards, including Best Featured Actor in a Play for Arian Moayed; Best Lighting Design for David Lander; and Best Sound Design of a Play for Acme Sound and Cricket S. Myers. The production also received two Drama Desk Awards: Best Lighting for David Lander and Best Sound Design for Acme Sound and Cricket S. Myers.

At close, the production will have played 23 previews and 109 performances. The drama — flooded with dreamlike flashbacks, eruptions of violence and broken creatures pondering existential questions — was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Williams is making his Broadway acting debut as a grizzled feline set free from a cage in the Baghdad zoo. He is the only character to directly address the audience. Moises Kaufman, the director of Broadway's 33 Variations and I Am My Own Wife, directs the production, repeating work that he began in two Los Angeles engagements of the play.

The play is billed as a "savagely funny and deeply affecting play" in which "a tiger haunts the streets of present-day Baghdad seeking the meaning of life." The tiger "witnesses the puzzling absurdities of war," encountering "Americans and Iraqis who are searching for friendship, redemption and a toilet seat made of gold."

With the exception of Academy Award winner Williams ("Good Will Hunting," "Good Morning Vietnam," "Mrs. Doubtfire"), the Broadway company is made up of performers who appeared in earlier Los Angeles-area engagements of the acclaimed play in 2009 and 2010.

The troupe features Glenn Davis as Tom, an American Marine who plunders local riches; Brad Fleischer as Kev, a Marine broken by war; Hrach Titizian as the ghost of Uday Hussein and others; Sheila Vand in multiple roles; Necar Zadegan in multiple roles; and Arian Moayed as Musa, an Iraqi gardener (and witness to atrocities) now serving as a translator for American forces. (For the record, Kevin Tighe played the Tiger in California.)

Joseph is the 36-year-old American playwright whose plays include Gruesome Playground Injuries (recently at Off-Broadway's Second Stage Theatre), Animals Out of Paper, Huck & Holden, All This Intimacy and The Leopard and the Fox.

The production has scenic design by Tony winner Derek McLane, costume design by David Zinn, lighting design by David Lander, sound design by Acme Sound Partners, and original music composed by Kathryn Bostic.

Director Kaufman received a Tony nomination for his direction of Doug Wright's play I Am My Own Wife, and a Tony nomination as playwright for 33 Variations, seen on Broadway starring Jane Fonda (it's currently playing Los Angeles). As founder of Tectonic Theatre Project, he wrote and directed Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, and directed The Laramie Project, which he co-wrote with other members of the company.

Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo is produced on Broadway by Robyn Goodman, Kevin McCollum, Jeffrey Seller, Sander Jacobs, Ruth Hendel/Burnt Umber, Scott and Brian Zeilinger, Center Theater Group and Stephen Kocis/Walt Grossman.

The Rodgers (recently home to In the Heights) is at 226 W. 46 St. between Broadway and Eighth Avenue.

Tickets to Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo are also available by calling Ticketmaster at (877) 250-2929 or (800) 745-3000. Tickets can also be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com or by visiting www.bengaltigeronbroadway.com.

View highlights from the show:

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Rolling Stone selects final 2 for cover contest (AP)

NEW YORK – Bonnaroo will be more than a gig for two acts: It will help serve as the final battle for the cover of Rolling Stone.

Lelia Broussard and The Sheepdogs have been announced as the finalists for the magazine's "Do You Wanna Be A Rock & Roll Star" contest. It started in February with 16 acts.

The winner also gets a deal with Atlantic Records.

The victor will be picked by Rolling Stone readers. They can see both acts perform at next month's Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Tennessee; their performances will be streamed on the magazine's website.

The winner will be crowned on NBC's "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" and also perform on the show. The Rolling Stone cover will appear on the Aug. 18 issue.

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Online:

http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_en_mu/storytext/us_rolling_stone_contest/41520514/SIG=10uk0g9he/*http://www.rollingstone.com/

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`Dancing With the Stars' final slate of 3 is set (AP)

By SANDY COHEN, AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen, Ap Entertainment Writer – Tue May 17, 10:03 pm ET

LOS ANGELES – Ralph Macchio has done his last dance, leaving football star Hines Ward and actresses Kirstie Alley and Chelsea Kane to compete for the "Dancing With the Stars" title.

The 49-year-old actor was eliminated Tuesday from the hit ABC show.

Macchio came into the episode in last place. He and professional partner Karina Smirnoff earned 48 points for their two semifinal dances.

Judges' scores are combined with viewer votes to determine who is eliminated from the competition each week.

Stevie Nicks performed two songs: Her new single, "Secret Love," and the Fleetwood Mac classic "Landslide."

The three finalists will each perform two dances on Monday's episode. A new "Dancing" champ will be crowned on May 24.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kirstie Alley, Ralph Macchio, Chelsea Kane and Hines Ward have cha-cha'd, tangoed, waltzed and jived their way through 10 weeks of competition on "Dancing With the Stars," but one of them will fall short of the finals.

One celebrity hoofer will be dismissed during Tuesday's episode. The remaining three will compete for the mirrorball trophy next week on the hit ABC show.

Judges' scores are combined with viewer votes to determine who is eliminated from the competition each week, and Kane scored a coup in the points department Monday: The actress and her professional partner, Mark Ballas, won the show's first "winner-take-all cha-cha," boosting their night's total by 15 points.

They come into Tuesday's episode with a leaderboard-topping 73 points.

Football star Ward and partner Kym Johnson have the second highest score, and it's a perfect one. They earned a flawless 60 points Monday for their spunky salsa and emotional Argentine tango.

Alley and her partner, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, come into the results show in third place with 54 points, after collecting 27 points for each of their two dances Monday. Macchio and partner Karina Smirnoff are heading into the semifinal showdown in last place with 48 points.

A new "Dancing" champ will be crowned on May 24.

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Online:

http://abc.go.com/shows/dancing-with-the-stars

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Sandy Cohen can be reached at http://twitter.com/APSandy .

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First fans arrive for Eurovision final (AP)

DUESSELDORF, Germany – Europeans will ditch financial worries to rally behind their favorite performers in the continent's annual Eurovision Song Contest as finalists from 25 countries take the stage Saturday night.

By midday, the first fans had started arriving at the Fortuna Duesseldorf Arena, selected as Germany's venue for the international pop music extravaganza because of its size. Some 38,000 people will watch the event live, while millions of others from Finland to Albania, Poland to Portugal, will watch on TV.

More than 120 million viewers are expected to tune in to see if Germany's Lena Meyer-Landruth can defend her title against acts such as French tenor Amaury Vassili and Irish twins "Jedward," both of which are predicted to have a strong chances at a win.

Asked by reporters after Friday's dress rehearsal whether the pressure was getting to her, 19-year-old Lena insisted she was simply having fun.

"I don't feel any pressure," she said. "I'm not putting any pressure on myself."

If she were to win, Lena could write history as the first contestant to take back-to-back Eurovision titles since the event was founded in 1951 — though strictly speaking it's the song that wins, not the peformer.

Competing against Lena are 20 finalists who were selected in semi-final rounds earlier in the week, along with contestants from France, Britain, Spain and Italy — who along with Germany shoulder the bulk of the event's cost and automatically qualify.

Viewers can cast votes by SMS or phone, which count for 50 percent of the contestants' final score. The other 50 percent are determined by panels of juries selected by each nation.

British bookmakers have tipped Vassili to take this year's title, with his operatic track "Sognu," sung in Corsican.

Irish twins John and Edward Grimes, who go by "Jedward" have also been popular — as much for their electro-pop song "Lipstick" as their quiffy blond hair.

Yet British boy band Blue has also attracted a following for their pop number, "I Can." Speaking to reporters on Friday, singer Lee Ryan said he was surprised at how much fun the competition had been.

"This contest brings Europe together and it brings people together," Ryan said. "And that's the reason I went into music."

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