PAGE 17THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2019

THE HERALDEntertainment: Weekend

This year marks the 30th an-niversary of Billy Joel’s No. 1 hit “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” with all those name-dropping references to cultural touchstones:

“Brando, ‘The King and I’ and ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ ...

“Moon shot, Woodstock, Water-gate, punk rock”

Joel’s got nothing on the candy-colored sugar rush of a movie that is “The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part,” with its nonstop parade of pop culture references, famous cameos and inside jokes.

“Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Honest Abe, we’re ‘Back to the Future’

“Keaton, Bale, Adam West, who did the Batman best?”

And that’s just a start.Directed by Mike Mitchell

with a smooth, rapid-fire style, packed with snappy banter and wink-at-the-audience jokes from the almost frighteningly imagi-native writing duo of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, sprinkled with deliberately infectious pop music interludes, and filled with terrific voice performances, “The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part”

doesn’t quite match the original’s spark and creativity, but it’s a worthy chapter in the ever-ex-panding Lego movie universe.

Some five years after “The Lego Movie” took us by surprise and wowed us with its stunningly original visual style and craft de-sign, and a multilevel plot worthy of a “Toy Story” movie, the sequel picks up the action where the original landed.

In the live-action “real world,” Finn (Jadon Sand) has been told he has to share his Lego creations with his little sister, Bianca (Brooklynn Prince), which sets off seismic changes in the animated Lego world, where we spend near-ly all of the movie.

Just when it appeared every-thing would be and stay awesome in the community of Bricksburg, here comes an alien invasion from the deceptively cute, toddler-like Duplo blocks (representing little Bianca invading Finn’s space in the real world).

Zoom! We flash forward five years and see Bricksburg has been transformed into the bleak, dysto-pian, distinctively Mad Max-look-ing Apocalypseburg. Everyman hero Emmet (Chris Pratt) remains as upbeat and innocent as ever, while his partner Lucy (Elizabeth Banks) devotes her time to gazing off into the distance and indulging in brooding doomsday narratives about everything and anything, including Emmet bringing her a cup of coffee.

Zap! Another invasion from those pesky interlopers, and this time Gen. Mayhem (Stephanie Beatriz) kidnaps Lucy and other “Lego Movie” favorites, including Batman (Will Arnett), Unikitty (Alison Brie), the pirate captain

MetalBeard (Nick Offerman) and the spaceship-crazy Benny (Char-lie Day).

Emmet springs into action, creating a ship of his own and setting out on a rescue mission to the Systar System (get it?), where the shape-shifting Queen Watevra Wa’Nabi (Tiffany Had-dish) has designs on marrying Batman and forever changing the dynamic of the Lego uni-verse as we’ve come to know it. Something like that.

One of the things I love about the Lego universe is how the characters have distinctive per-sonalities and engage in all sorts of mind-boggling adventures, and yet they look and move like those fantastically block-shaped, nose-less, clamp-handed, articulated plastic Lego minifigures.

Not to mention the multilay-ered storylines, which often seem directed more to the older audi-ence than the little ones, e.g, when Emmet encounters and strikes a brotherly bond with one Rex Dan-

gervest, a mashup of Chris Pratt action hero characters from “Ju-rassic World,” “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “The Magnificent Seven,” complete with jokes about shedding the baby fat to reveal a ripped, muscular physique.

The Systar System includes dreamy vampires a la the “Twi-light” movies and is a seemingly magical and happy place where Superman (Channing Tatum) enjoys mowing his lawn and has become pals with Lex Luthor (Ike Barinholtz), Batman has been transformed into a glitter-clad softie, and Queen Watevra Wa-Na-bi sings about how her intentions are pure and she’s not a villain, not at all.

We also get the irritatingly ef-fective “Catchy Song,” with the chorus: “This song’s gonna get stuck inside yo’, this song’s gonna get stuck inside yo’, this song’s gonna get stuck inside yo’ head-ead-ead-ead-ead-ead-ead-ead ...”

Aw, dang! It’s stuck inside my head!!!

Once in a while we return to the live-action world, with mom (Maya Rudolph) telling the siblings if they don’t play well together, they’ll have to box up every single piece of Lego in the house, which would mean utter destruction for the animated world. There’s also some nifty worlds-colliding stuff, as when Emmet finds himself alone, trapped under the washer-dryer (which of course is where many a toy, sock and stray penny will land and will sometimes be stranded for years).

The filmmakers occasionally remind us the animated adven-tures are reflecting the real-world sibling dynamic, but they never get too heavy-handed with the life-lesson messaging.

Of course, if we come away feeling one is never too old to play with Legos, that’s OK too, because even a clever movie that constant-ly acknowledges its famous toy roots is still a big, giant commer-cial for said toys.

Which are pretty awesome.

‘Lego Movie 2’solid as a brick

R I C H A R D R O E P E R

The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Partêêê

Voices: Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Tiffany Haddish, Stephanie Beatriz, Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, Charlie Day, Maya RudolphRating: PG for some rude humor.

WARNER BROS. PICTURES/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Lucy/Wyldstyle, voiced by Elizabeth Banks, left, and Emmet, voiced by Chris Pratt, are shown in a scene from “The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part.” The film opens Friday at Jasper 8 Theatres.

All times are Eastern unless otherwise noted.

Current cinemaNew ReleasesThe LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part êêê (Jasper 8 Theatres) A candy-colored sugar rush with a nonstop parade of pop culture references, famous cameos and inside jokes, “The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part” doesn’t quite match the original’s spark and creativity, but it’s a worthy chapter in the ever-expanding Lego movie universe. (Animated adventure, PG, 1 hr. 33 min.)

Cold Pursuit êêê½ Liam Neeson stars in what might look like another Liam Neesom thriller, but as the bodies pile up, it quickly becomes evident that this bat-bleep crazy story of a father seeking vengeance is an action comedy, with the emphasis on the comedy. (Comedy action, R, 1 hr. 58 min.)

Currently playingAquaman êêê (Jasper 8 Theatres) The saving grace of this reasonably entertaining and sometimes truly ridiculous origin story is that everyone seems to get the sheer, waterlogged lunacy of the concept, so why not have fun with it? As the fish-man, Jason Momoa has the physicality and the willingness to make himself look silly, and the natural charisma of a Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. (Superhero action, PG-13, 2 hrs. 23 min.)

Glass êê½ (Jasper 8 Theatres) M. Night Shyamalan’s jigsaw puzzle of a

trilogy that began with “Unbreakable” and “Split” ends in disappointment with this underwhelming, half-baked, slightly sour and even off-putting finale. Despite the game efforts of Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson and James McAvoy, the plot begins to crack early in the first act and shatters to pieces in the last moments. (Sci-fi thriller, PG-13, 2 hrs. 9 min.)

Green Book êêê½ (Jasper 8 Theatres) Viggo Mortensen plays a thick-headed lunk from the Bronx and Mahershala Ali is the musician he’s driving through the South in 1962, and both are nothing but believable. This is a friendship story, and one of the best times I’ve had at the movies this year. (Comedy drama, PG-13, 2 hrs. 10 min.)

The Upside êê (Jasper 8 Theatres) Kevin Hart delivers a sincere and relatively low-key performance as a convict hired to assist a billionaire business genius (Bryan Cranston) paralyzed from the neck down. He and Cranston mesh well together, but the overlong story is stuffed with unnecessary and momentum-blocking detours. (Comedy, PG-13, 2 hrs. 5 min.)

On DVDThe Front Runner êêê½ Jason Reitman directs a whip-smart and funny and poignant look back at the infidelity allegations that ended the 1988 presidential campaign of Sen. Gary Hart, a scandal that forever changed the political landscape. Hugh Jackman does a solid job of capturing Hart’s impressive grasp of the issues — but also his arrogance and his unbounding ego. (Political

biography, R, 1 hr. 53 min., 2018)

IMAXShowplace Cinemas East, 1801 Morgan Center Drive, Evansville: “The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part,” www.showplacecinemas.com

EventsAttractionsAngel Mounds Historic Site, 8215 Pollack Ave., Evansville. Hours (CT): 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays. Closed major holidays. www.angelmounds.org

Big Splash Adventure, Valley of the Springs Resort, 8505 W. State Road 56, French Lick. 877-936-3866 or www.bigsplashadventure.com

Falls of the Ohio State Park Interpretive Center, at the end of West Riverside Drive, Clarksville. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and Saturdays and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays. Closed major holidays. www.fallsoftheohio.org

Indiana Caverns, 1267 Green Acres Lane S.W., Corydon. Features a 25-minute boat ride, a waterfall, thriving cave life and Big Bone Mountain. Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily April through October and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily November through March. Closed Christmas. www.indianacaverns.com

Jasper City Mill, 160 Third Ave. The mill features cornmeal ground on site, craft items, old-fashioned candy and local products. Exhibit (changes every six months): Dubois County

Art Guild Gallery Walk, items from artisans and rustic Amish furniture available in the gift shop. Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. Closed major holidays.Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, Lincoln City (all times CT). Park hours: Memorial Visitor Center, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. through March 31; farm, closed for the season; nature center, open, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays; Colonel Jones Home, noon-4 p.m. Thursdays-Sundays, June-August. www.nps.gov/libo/ or 812-937-4541

Louisville Zoo, 1100 Trevilian Way. Hours: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. daily through March 15, 2019. www.louisvillezoo.org

Marengo Cave Park: The Crystal Palace walking tour features a formation-filled room and huge flowstone deposits, while the Dripstone Trail walking tour is known for its profusion of delicate soda straw formations, slender totem pole stalagmites and penny ceiling. Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. http://marengocave.com

Mega Cavern, 1841 Taylor Ave., Louisville. Historic Tram Tours, Mega Zips and Mega Quest, an underground ropes challenge. Closed major holidays. 877-614-6342 or www.louisvillemegacavern.com

Mesker Park Zoo, 1545 Mesker Park Drive, Evansville. Hours (CT): 9 a.m.-4 p.m. daily. 812-435-6143 or www.meskerparkzoo.com

Wilstem Ranch, Paoli: Grizzly, Giraffe and Kangaroo Encounters. www.wilstemranch.com or 812-936-4484

Other eventsChocolate Fest, 1-4 p.m. Saturday, Hoosier Ballroom, French Lick Springs Hotel.

Black History Lecture: “The Real Sister Act: Black Catholic Sisters in the United States,” 7 p.m. CT Tuesday, Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology, St, Meinrad.

Upcoming eventsFrench Lick Kitchen Live, Grand Colonade Restaurant, French Lick Springs Hotel, 1:30 p.m. Feb. 16 and March 2.

Cork & Cousine: Mardi Gras, 6 p.m. CT Tuesday, March 5, Owensboro Convention Center. Must be 21 to attend. Tickets available at OwensboroTickets.com.

Coin Show, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. March 16, VFW Post 2939, 301 Main St., Tell City.

Frozen on Ice, April 4-7, 2019, The Ford Center, , 1 S.E. MLK Jr. Blvd., Evansville. For tickets call 800-745-3000 or visit www.ticketmaster.com

ExhibitsKrempp GalleryA Collaboration: Chet Strange and Parker Michels-Boyce, through Feb. 27; reception 5-7 p.m. tonight. Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursdays and noon to 3 p.m. Sundays. Closed major holidays.

E N T E R TA I N M E N T G U I D E

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17 Entertainment

THE HERALD ■ THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2019PAGE 18 ■ ENTERTAINMENT: WEEKEND

Saint MeinradArchabbey LibraryExhibit: Rhythm of All Things, through next Thursday, features fine arts prints of artist Elizabeth Busey, Bloomington. Hours: Call 357-6401 or 800-987-7311 or visit www.saintmeinrad.edu/library/hours/

Other galleriesIvy Tech Bower-Suhrheinrich Visual Arts Center, 3501 N. First Ave., Evansville. Hours (CT): 1-6 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. Closed major holidays. www.ivytech.edu/southwest

Flame Run Glass Studio and Gallery, 815 W. Market St., Louisville. Hours: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Closed major holidays. 502-584-5353 or www.flamerun.com

The Green Building Gallery, 732 E. Market St., Louisville. Hours: 9-5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Fridays and 4-9 p.m. Saturdays. Closed major holidays. www.thegreenbuilding.net/gallery/index.html or 502-561-1162

New Harmony Gallery of Contemporary Art, 506 Main St. Hours (CT): 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Closed major holidays. 812-682-3156 or www.nhgallery.com

Dubois County MuseumMembership: 2019 memberships are available. Purchase a membership and receive free admission into the museum from the day the membership is purchased through Dec. 31.

Exhibit: Snow People, through Feb. 28. Anna Knebel, who has loaned 273 snow people to the museum, will be present at an open house from 1-4 p.m. Sunday.

Storytime for Kids, 10:30 a.m., Saturdays, Feb. 9 (theme is love and valentines), March 9 (theme is spring), April 13 (theme is Easter), and May 11 (theme is graduation).

Little Sprouts (preschool program), 10:30 a.m. Saturday, March 30.

Teddy Bear Tea with Grandma and Me, 9 a.m. Saturday, May 4.

Permanent exhibits: Our Eldest Daughter, The Cold War (1945-1991), Black Heritage in Dubois County, Grand Army of the Republic, A Bicentennial Remembrance: The Story of German Immigration to Dubois County, Safari Room, The Story of Bill Schroeder and the Jarvik Heart; Main Street Dubois County (a model town from the 1900s featuring 17 businesses, including Stewart Hotel, Schutz’s Shoe Service and a funeral home, doctor’s office, jail, barbershop, church, bank, surveying office and bar), Grand Army of the Republic, Little Pioneer Children’s Play Area (includes one-room schoolhouse, book nook, toy area and dress-up area), Lewis and Clark keel boat, The Law in Dubois County, Honoring the Military, The Civil War Diary of William C. Benson, Model Trains, Dubois County in World War I, The Spanish-American War and Dubois County, Huntingburg Wagon Works, Girl Scouting in Dubois County, People of the Woodlands, Trace the Buffalo, Pioneer Area, Germans, Land Owners Map, Early Settlers of Dubois County, Cheering our Champions, Furniture, Civil War Flag, Prisoners of War, The Mills of Dubois County. Also, Heidet Blacksmith Shop, depicts the original shop from Ferdinand; Lindauer

Sandstone Quarry and Grindstone Works of St. Henry, displays days of sandstone manufacturing; Eckert Log Home, assembled log home inside the museum shows building material and home life inside a German-style log home; Women’s Work is Never Done, choreographs the daily work week of pioneer women; History of Coal Mining; Meyer Planing Mill of Haysville; Ferdinand Sawmill; Huntingburg Buggy Works wagon; History of Boy Scouting; Antique Farm Machinery, featuring more than 75 pieces, including a binder, reaper, corn shredder and 1879 Buckeye hoe wheat drill; Tinker the Horse, represents the contribution of animals to the history of the area; silver smelter from Buck Shoals in Haysville; giant fruit press; threshing machine belted to a Kitten engine, one of five working steam engines; cane press and evaporator pan like the one used to make Birdseye molasses; and murals of Zoar, Birdseye, Celestine, Dubois, Duff, Ferdinand, Huntingburg, Portersville/Boone Township, St. Henry/Johnsburg, St. Anthony/St. Marks, Holland, Haysville, Ireland, Jasper and Schnellville.

Hours: The museum, 2704 N. Newton St., is open from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays and 1-4 p.m. Sundays. Closed April 19 and 20 for Good Friday and Easter. Admission charged. Can be found on Facebook and at www.duboiscountymuseum.org. 812-634-7733

Huntingburg MuseumOn exhibit: Commercial, manufacturing, military, school and social club memorabilia; the Geiger bedroom, family Bible and other belongings; a dollhouse inside a grandmother clock; a pony cart; and a 1950s kitchen.

The museum is in Huntingburg City Hall, 508 E. Fourth St. Hours: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays unless City Hall is closed and by appointment. Closed major holidays. 683-2211.

Other museums Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum, 311 W. Second St., Owensboro. Free concert: Uncle Josh (story of Hall of Fame member Josh Graves), 7 p.m. Friday; tickets required. Hours (CT): 10 am.-5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 1-5 p.m. Sundays. bluegrasshall.org

Evansville African American Museum, 579 S. Garvin St. Hours (CT): 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and noon-5 p.m. Saturdays. Closed major holidays. 812-423-5188 or www.evansvilleaamuseum.org

Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science, 411 S.E. Riverside Drive. Exhibits: 59th Mid-States Art Exhibition, through March 3; Hours (CT): 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and noon-5 p.m. Sundays. Closed major holidays. 812-425-2406 or www.emuseum.org

Frazier History Museum, 829 W. Main St., Louisville. Exhibits: Kentucky Craft Luminaries, through March 24; Road Map To Heaven: Photogrpahs by Linda Bruckheimer, through April 14; Harlan Hubbard Watercolors, Feb. 20-May 5: Olmsted’s Louisville: 1891 to the Present, April 10-Sept 15; Freak Power: Hunter S. Thompson’s Campaign for Sheriff, April 20-Sept. 2; Celebrating the Sounds of Kentucky, Sept. 19-Feb. 2020. Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and noon-5 p.m. Sundays. Closed major holidays. 502-753-5663 or www.

fraziermuseum.org

Henager Memories & Nostalgia Museum, 8837 S. State Road 57, Elberfeld. Hours (CT): 8 a.m.-5 p.m., weekdays and 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays. Closed major holidays. 812-795-2230 or www.henagermuseum.com

Koch Family Children’s Museum of Evansville, 22 S.E. Fifth St. Hours (CT): 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and noon-5 p.m. Sundays. Closed major holidays. 812-464-2663 or www.cmoekids.org.

Owensboro (Ky.) Museum of Fine Art, 901 Frederica St. Hours (CT): 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Fridays and 1 p.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. 270-685-3181 or www.omfa.us

Owensboro Museum of Science and History, 122 E. Second St. Hours (CT): 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 1-5 p.m. Sundays.

Red Skelton Museum of American Comedy, 20 Red Skelton Blvd., Vincennes. Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and noon-5 p.m. Sundays. Closed major holidays. 812-888-2105

Reitz Home Museum, 224 S.E. First St., Evansville. Hours: 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m. CT Tuesdays through Sundays. Closed major holidays. 812-426-1871 or www.reitzhome.com

Speed Art Museum, 2035 S. 3rd St., Louisville. Exhibits: Making Time: The Art of the Kentucky Tall Case Clock, through June 16; Yinka Shonibare MBE: The American Library, March 29-Sept. 15; and Ebony G. Patterson: ... while the dew is still on the roses ...., June22-Sept 29. Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. 502-852-5555

Science CentersKentucky Science Center, 737 W. Main St., Louisville. Hours: 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 9:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and noon-6 p.m. Sundays. Closed major holidays. 800-591-2203 or www.kysciencecenter.org

Night LifeDancesAmerican Legion Post 147, Jasper: 7-9 p.m. Tuesdays, line and couples dancing. $5, 482-5426 for information.

American Legion Post 366, St. Meinrad: Valentine Dine & Dance, 5 p.m. Feb. 16, music by Sweetwater, $15 per person; reservations required. 812-357-7834, 812-357-5121 or 357-5583

Orange County Senior Citizens Center, 8497 W. Main St., French Lick: 7-9:30 p.m. Fridays, dance with live band.

William Tell Center, 1301 11th St., Tell City, 7-10 p.m. CT Saturdays. Open to all ages; smoke and alcohol free. $5, includes snacks. Sponsored by the William Tell Senior Citizens.

BarsGaslight, Huntingburg: Open Mic Night, 8-11 p.m. Thursdays.

CasinosTropicana, Evansville: Savannah Jack, Friday-Saturday, Stairway to Zeppelin, Feb. 15-16; New Crime Theatre, Feb. 22-23. www.

tropicanacasinos.com

French Lick Casino: Casino Lounge (8:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m.) — Cody Ikerd and the Sidewinders, Saturday; Billy Brown Band, Feb. 16; and DJ Charlie, Feb. 23. 888-936-9360 or www.frenchlick.com/entertainment/concerts

On stage Actors Community TheatreDinner theatre: “The Dinner Party,” April 4-6, 2019. Dinner theatre patrons must be 18 or older.

Plays: “Into the Woods,” July 25-28, 2019.

All of the shows will be performed at the Jasper Arts Center. Season tickets and two-event packages are available at ActorsCommunityTheatre.com.

Historic Astra TheatreConcert: Iris DeMent — singer, guitarist, pianist and songwriter — Friday, March 22. Tickets available at nextact.org.

Films: “When Harry Met Sally,” 7p.m., Saturday, Feb.23.

Tickets are available at www.TheNextAct.org.

Jasper Arts CenterMain Stage Series — Forever Young: Your Life/Your Music, 7:30 p.m., Saturday.

Backstage Series — Matt Beilis, 7:30 p.m., March 8.

Family Fun Series — The Amazing Max, 3:30 p.m., Feb. 24.

Live at The Astra! — The Good Humor Men, 7:30 p.m., March 15.

Tickets are available by calling the arts center at 482-3070.

Area concertsCalumet, 2210 Mill St., Jasper: Sounds of Summer: A Beach Boys Tribute, 6:30 p.m., Feb. 16; portion of proceeds will be donated to St. Vincent de Paul. www. TheCalumet.Eventbrite.com or 812-319-1281

Lincoln Amphitheatre, Lincoln City: Departure: A tribute to Journey, May 16; Molly Hatchet, June 1; Toys in the Attic: A tribute to Aerosmith, June 15; Purple Veins: A tribute to Prince, July 27; Ben and Noel Haggard, Aug. 10; John Waite, with special guest Henry Lee Summer, Aug. 24; Celebrate the Sounds of the Summer of ’69, Aug. 31; Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, Sept. 7; and Hard Day’s Night: A Tribute to the Beatles, Sept. 28. Season tickets available. lincolnamphitheatre.com

Other concertsCorydon Live (formerly Corydon Jamboree), 320 Hurst Lane, north of town square: The Forgotten Trail Show, first Saturday of each month; Wyatt Miller, Saturday; Jeff and Carrie Ketterman and Greg Perkins, Feb. 16; and Rockin’ Terry Lee, Sasha Mullens and Brad McCrady, Feb. 23. 812-734-6288 or www.corydon.live

Derby Dinner Playhouse, Clarksville: World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra, April 8; The Doo Wops & The Wulfe Bros, May 13; Mo5aic, June 3; The River City Boys: Salute to the Songs of the Statler Brothers, Aug. 5; The VanDells, Aug. 5; Branson on the Road, Aug. 26; The Ladies for Liberty & The Soldiers of Swing, Sept. 9; How Great Thou Art: The Gospel Music of Elvis Presley,

Oct. 7; The Return: A Beatles Tribute, Nov. 4; 812-288-8281 or www.derbydinner.com.

The Ford Center, 1 S.E. MLK Jr. Blvd., Evansville: Luke Combs, Wednesday; Blake Shelton, March 2; Casting Crowns, March 14; Godsmack, April 19. For the complete schedule, visit www.thefordcenter.com. For tickets call 800-745-3000 or visit www.ticketmaster.com

KFC Yum! Center, Louisville: Alan Jackson, Friday; Blake Shelton, March 1; Metallica, March 9; KISS, March 12; Kenny Chesney, April 4; Legends of Hip Hop, April 5; Backstreet Boys, Sept. 13; Carrie Underwood, Oct. 17. For the complete schedule, visit www.kfcyumcenter.com. For tickets call 800-745-3000 or visit www.ticketmaster.com

The Kentucky Center, 501 W. Main St., Louisville: Black Violin, Feb. 27; The Choir of Man, March 27; Dianara, March 9. www.kentuckycenter.org

Louisville Palace Theater, 625 S. Fourth St.: Kansas, March 23, 2019. For a complete schedule, visit www.louisvillepalace.com. 800-745-3000 or www.ticketmaster.com

Owensboro Convention Center, 501 W. Second St.: Muddfest 2019 with Puddle of Mudd, Saliva, Trapt, Savid Abel and Tantric, April 27. OwensboroTickets.com

Victory Theatre, 600 Main St., Evansville (all times CT): Needtobreathe, Feb. 16; Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra: Brahms’ First Concerto and Stavinsky’s Firebird, Feb. 23; Vienna Boys Choir, March 2; Home Free, March 28. www.evansvillephilharmonic.org or www.victorytheatre.com

Area playsLincoln Amphitheatre, Lincoln City:”Here I Grew Up” (story of Lincoln), June 28-9 and July 11-13. Season tickets available. lincolnamphitheatre.com

PlaysActors Theatre of Louisville, 316 W. Main St.: “Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin,” through Feb. 17; 43rd Humana Festival of New American Plays, March 1-April 7. 502-584-1205 or www.actorstheatre.org/visit/ticketing-options/

Derby Dinner Playhouse, Clarksville: “Love, Sex and the IRS,” through Feb 17; “The Robber Bridegroom,” Feb. 20-March 31; “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” Feb. 23-March 30; “Newsies,” April3-May19; “Snow White & The Prince,” May 25-June 29. 812-288-8281 or www.derbydinner.com.

Evansville Civic Theatre, 717 N. Fulton Ave.: “And Then There Were None,” March 22-24 and 29-31; and “The 39 Steps,” May 17-19 and 24-26. www.evansvillecivictheatre.org or 812-425-2800.

The Kentucky Center, 501 W. Main St., Louisville: “Book of Mormon,” Feb. 26-March 3; “Hamilton,” June 4-23, 2019. www.kentuckycenter.org

RiverPark Center, 101 Daviess St., Owensboro: “Something Rotten,” Feb. 26, 2019; and “Kinky Boots,” April 3, 2019.

■ Items for the Entertainment Guide may be emailed to news@dcherald.com or mailed to Entertainment Guide, The Herald, 216 E. Fourth St., Jasper IN 47546. The deadline is noon Tuesday for Thursday’s Herald.

E N T E R TA I N M E N T G U I D E

By HILLEL ITALIEAP National Writer

NEW YORK — An inmate whose life sentence was commuted thanks in part to the efforts of Kim Kardashian West has a book deal, along with deals for film and television rights.

Harper, an imprint of Harp-erCollins Publishers, announced Wednesday that Alice Marie John-son’s “After Life: My Journey From Incarceration to Freedom”

comes out May 21. Kardashian West contributed a foreword to what Harper is calling an “hon-est, faith-driven memoir” and a “deep look into the systemic is-sue of mass incarceration.” Film, television and “life rights” were sold to Endeavor Content and One Community.

“I feel humbled that the tell-ing of my story gives hope and my years of pain were not in vain,” Johnson said in a statement.

“My life has forever changed

because of Alice Marie Johnson,” Kardashian West said in state-ment. “Her story is a gift that will now reach so many millions more through her book and film. I hope Alice’s case is just the beginning of a movement to help those left be-hind. I am invested in continuing to support Alice and this cause.”

Financial terms for Johnson’s book and film and television deals were not disclosed

Johnson, 63, served more than two decades of a life sentence

without parole for non-violent of-fenses before President Donald Trump commuted her sentence last year. Kardashian West per-sonally lobbied him in the Oval Office, a meeting which Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner helped arrange. Last December, Trump signed bipartisan legislation that gives judges more discretion when sentencing some drug offenders and boosts prisoner rehabilitation efforts. On Tuesday night, John-son was among those invited to

sit with first lady Melania Trump and Trump family members at the State of the Union address.

“Alice’s story underscores the disparities and unfairness that can exist in criminal sentencing — and the need to remedy this total injustice,” Trump said dur-ing his speech as Johnson, wip-ing tears from her face, received a standing ovation. “Alice, thank you for reminding us that we al-ways have the power to shape our own destiny.”

Inmate freed with Kardashian West’s help gets book deal

18 Entertainnment

THE HERALD ■ THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2019 ENTERTAINMENT: WEEKEND ■ PAGE 19

By STEVEN ZEITCHIKWP News Service

Like its anchor couple, “Mod-ern Family” was formed by shot-gun marriage.

The veteran sitcom creators Steve Levitan (“Just Shoot Me”) and Christopher Lloyd (“Frasi-er”), reasoning they’d find more Hollywood success together than apart, came together expressly to make a network sitcom. They scored a hit out of the gate in 2009 with their story of the extended clan of Claire and Phil Dunphy — only to have their differing sensi-bilities lead to a falling out by the second season.

But instead of acrimoniously ending things, they agreed to split custody of the ABC show, alternating which episodes each oversaw. “Modern Family” went on to became one of the biggest television phenomena of the cur-rent age.

ABC on Tuesday announced that this fall will mark the show’s last season, its 11th. “Chris and Steve have created one of the most seminal and iconic comedies in television history,” ABC Enter-tainment president Karey Burke told reporters at the Television Critics Association in Pasadena, California, in announcing the end-ing of “Modern Family.”

It’s indeed tough to overstate the success of the series, which regularly has drawn more than 10 million viewers per episode and is one of only two sitcoms in history to win the Emmy for outstanding comedy five different times, all consecutive.

Yet for all its success, the show also has a complicated legacy. In many respects, it helped define the current business landscape. And that’s why it — and anything like it — can probably never exist again.

At the time that “Modern Fam-ily” entered the scene, the enter-tainment world looked a lot more like it had for decades and a lot less like it does today. Netflix has just begun streaming its content instead of just sending it by red envelope. Original programming outside of the traditional televi-sion set wasn’t on anyone’s mind — “House of Cards” was more than three years away from debut-ing. Apart from one win for “Sex and the City,” the broadcast net-works had taken every outstand-ing-comedy Emmy ever.

And “Modern Family” was po-sitioned to reap all these benefits of a linear world. The show, pro-duced by Twentieth Century Fox Television, would gather titanic audiences for a sitcom. For much of its run it averaged at least

11 million viewers per season, boosted by the way it represented a changed definition of the Ameri-can family (and the ethnic, sexual and racial identities that can be seen on an American family sit-com). In its third season it aver-aged nearly 13 million viewers, many of them in the coveted 18-49 demographic.

In contrast, NBC’s “30 Rock,” another repeat comedy-Emmy winner from the 21st-century, averaged under 6 million most seasons.

The ad sales were similarly monstrous and old-school. At its peak 30-second ads on “Modern Family” went for a quarter of a million dollars, among the highest ever for a sitcom. (That is, when the show wasn’t engaging in some bolder forms of sponsorship.)

By putting its own spin on a familiar motley-family conceit and docu-comedy style, the show turned things around for ABC. Far removed from its TGIF hey-day of the 1990s, the network needed comedy hits. “Modern Family” came along just in time, its Wednesday slot not only lin-ing its own pockets but giving a boost to other network sitcoms such as “The Middle” and “The Goldbergs.”

Most importantly, though, it provided a charge to the wider landscape. “Modern Family” brought back the idea that a TV comedy, even as viewership and consumer mind-share began to fragment, could both be broadly watched and a critical hit. There

have been some other long-run-ning broadcast-network com-edy smashes in the current era; “The Big Bang Theory” comes to mind.

But “Modern Family” stands out a single-camera comedy — cinema-style shooting, no laugh-track — that still garnered a mas-sive audience.

And the show repeated the re-wards. “Modern Family” gener-ated not just the usual local syn-dication deals but a splashy one on USA Network, which paid as much as $1.5 million per episode. It even got sold and repackaged in places like Chile and Greece.

Its role was testified to by the Disney-Fox acquisition, as execu-tives cited it as the kind of jewel that ABC wanted not just to air but to own. The show was so big that at the start of its cable re-runs had the feel of a new series launch.

“Modern Family” even had some old-fashioned network-cast salary disputes a la the epic clashes between Friends and NBC/Warner Bros in the 1990s - the kind of thing that happened when the networks needed their stars in a way few streamers, with the elevation of brand and writer, rarely do.

And yet. All this success is a reminder of just why it was pos-sible when it came on — and how it could never be possible again.

The end of “Modern Family,” along with “Big Bang” at the end of this current television season, will also in all probability mean

the end of an era. The highest-rat-ed sitcoms now on broadcast tele-vision are either very new (“Young Sheldon”) or very old (“The Con-ners”). The odds that any could achieve what Jay Pritchett and his Closet Empire did are remote at best.

Because the current landscape is too fractured, too diffuse, to give us broad comedy hits. At the very least it is unlikely to give us qual-

ity comedy hits; the people who can make them simply do not need a broadcast network’s money when there’s so much of it slosh-ing around elsewhere.

Not for nothing are the other broadcast comedies that lasted to their 11th season — “Cheers,” “The Jeffersons,” “M*A*S*H — a who’s-who of TV history; these are not tricks we’ll likely see in the 21st century.

If you want an idea of how “Modern Family” comes from an-other business age, here it is: the show is not on Netflix. Yep. Not on now, never has been. Twenti-eth knew it could monetize the show much better with these syn-dication deals than selling it to a streamer.

The show’s scripts have by wide consensus been declining creatively for a while, as writ-ers exhaust storylines and reach for contrivances and guest stars. Many fans began dropping off the “Modern Family” wagon a while ago — its viewership began declin-ing in the seventh season, a trend that has only accelerated since.

But the inevitable writerly ebb and flow of a TV show is only part of the story here, and doesn’t hit at the more underlying busi-ness factors that will prevent a phenomenon of its ilk from hap-pening again. “Modern Family” may be getting long in the tooth creatively, leading to its demise. But from a business standpoint, it’s nothing less than a dinosaur, and its species could well soon be extinct.

There may never be another ‘Modern Family’

By ANOUSHA SAKOUIWP News Service

Cirque du Soleil Entertain-ment Group is acquiring a troupe of magicians called the Illusion-ists, building on a global live-performance empire that already includes the Blue Man Group and theatrical shows.

The company is paying about $40 million for Works Entertain-ment, which owns the Illusionists franchise, according to a person familiar with the terms, which aren’t public. Cirque du Soleil is drawing on a $120 million credit line to finance the transaction.

The purchase is the third re-cent deal by the circus-show gi-ant, which aims to leverage its global operations to help popu-larize newer acts. The Illusion-ists is a revue show that has

featured a range of magicians, including “America’s Got Tal-ent” champion Shin Lim.

“The Works productions have natural affinities with our own, in that they are high-quality univer-sal live experiences that appeal to different audiences from different cultures around the world without having to adapt the show to each market,” Cirque du Soleil Chief Executive Officer Daniel Lamarre said.

Cirque du Soleil also is prepar-ing to unveil a new show in Oc-tober that will target a younger demographic, Lamarre said. As yet unnamed, it is inspired by Hollywood movies and live-action stunts and is designed to attract an audience that’s accustomed to immersive video games and films.

“It’s a good way to relaunch the brand,” Lamarre said in an

interview.The Montreal-based circus

group should exceed $1 billion in sales this year, setting a new re-cord, he said.

Expanding globally has had some hitches.

In December, Cirque du Soleil ended negotiations to be featured in China’s “Spring Festival Gala,” one of the world’s most-watched TV shows.

The company plans to use the balance of its credit line — made available by Fonds de Solidarite and the Caisse de Depot et Place-ment du Quebec — for future dealmaking.

It acquired Blue Man Group in 2017 and VStar Entertainment Group in 2018. The latter company is known for its kid-oriented per-formances, such as “Paw Patrol Live!”

Cirque du Soleil adds the Illusionists

RON TOM/ABC/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Sofia Vergara, left, and Ariel Winter appear in a scene from the comedy series “Modern Family.” ABC’s “Modern Family,” the five-time Emmy Award winner for best comedy, will end its run next year after 11 seasons.

19 Entertainment

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