newsmakers

newsmakers

Lady Gaga forced to cancel concert

JAKARTA, Indonesia

Lady Gaga will have to cancel her sold-out show in Indonesia after protests by Islamic hard-liners and conservative lawmakers, who said her sexy clothes and dance moves will corrupt the youth.

National police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar, responding to the pressure, said Tuesday that the permit for her June 3 “Born This Way Ball” concert had been denied.

Indonesia, a nation of 240 million people, has more Muslims than any other. Although it is secular and has a long history of religious tolerance, a small extremist fringe has become more vocal in recent years.

Hard-liners have loudly criticized Lady Gaga, saying the suggestive nature of her show threatened to undermine the country’s moral fiber.

Sedaka turns song into ‘Dinosaur Pet’

NEW YORK

Where has Neil Sedaka been all these years? Wiggling his way into the hearts of a new generation, for one, through picture books accompanied by mini-albums offering playful takes on some of his hits.

At 73, the singer- songwriter enlisted the aid of his twin granddaughters as kiddie backup singers on the three-song CD tucked into “Dinosaur Pet,” released this month by Imagine Publishing and inspired by his 1960 song “Calendar Girl.”

It’s Sedaka’s second picture book using child-tailored lyrics, a popular marketing hook for other performers looking to bring their oldies music to children. Two years ago, it was an alligator character for “Waking Up Is Hard to Do,” based on Sedaka’s “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do.”

Bret Michaels settles Tonys mishap case

NEW YORK

Bret Michaels and organizers of the Tony Awards have settled a lawsuit filed by the rocker after a 2009 incident in which he was hit in the head with a set piece and suffered injuries that he claimed contributed to a brain hemorrhage that nearly killed him.

The confidential settlement also covers Michaels’ claims against CBS Broadcasting, which aired the show and the mishap. The Poison frontman blamed the network for airing the moment, which became which a viral video watched by tens of millions of people online, and claimed Tony Awards producers never warned him there would be a set change after he and his band performed “Nothin’ But a Good Time.”

The whack initially left Michaels with a busted lip and broken nose but also caused brain bleeding, the lawsuit claimed. He was hospitalized in April 2010, and doctors found he had a brain hemorrhage and he later suffered a warning stroke, which the musician says nearly killed him.

‘Ever After’ set to charm Broadway

NEW YORK

There apparently will be back-to-back Cinderella stories on Broadway in the coming seasons.

Producers announced Tuesday plans to bring a new musical based on the Drew Barrymore film “Ever After” in the 2013-14 season under the direction and choreography of Kathleen Marshall.

“Ever After” will feature music by Zina Goldrich and a book and lyrics by Marcy Heisle, who also are teaming up for “The Great American Mousical” at the Goodspeed Opera House.

The story is set in 16th-century France, where a young woman learns to stand up to her scheming stepmother, befriends Leonardo Da Vinci and wins over a French prince.

It will follow a production of “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella” on Broadway, which is slated for next season with an updated book by Douglas Carter Beane.

Associated Press