Group suing to block “Star Wars” filmmaker George Lucas from building his museum

NEWSMAKERS

‘Cheers’ adapts to live theater

BOSTON

The bar where everybody knows your name is coming to the stage.

“Cheers Live on Stage” is a comedy based on some of the most memorable moments of the celebrated TV show’s first season. It will feature retired Red Sox pitcher and shameless lothario Sam Malone, pretentious waitress Diane Chambers, rotund barfly Norm Peterson and the rest of the regulars when it debuts in September.

Even though it’s based on the TV show set in a Boston bar, loyal fans should see plenty of new material in the stage version, and may even get a chance to be a part of the performance. A national tour is planned.

Official rips group for project demands

CHICAGO

The head of the Chicago Park District says demands from a group suing to block “Star Wars” filmmaker George Lucas from building his museum on Chicago’s lakefront are “outrageous.”

Friends of the Parks released a memo recently outlining stipulations under which it would settle its lawsuit, including a legally binding promise from Chicago to protect the lakefront from development for the next century. The memo says the group also wants 5 percent of museum revenues allocated to parks improvements.

Chicago Park District Board President Jesse Ruiz on Sunday accused the group of deliberately attempting to sabotage the project.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Ruiz told the group in a letter that “attempts to demand money from the museum are nothing short of extortion.”

Officials from Youngstown sent an unsolicited invitation to Lucas a few weeks ago, offering him land in the downtown area if he would build his museum in the city.

Associated Press