Guilty Pleasures

By NewsPress Now

‘Palm Royale’ features Carol Burnett, Kristen Wiig and Allison Janney

How do you get comedy legend Carol Burnett to sign on to your TV show when her character spends multiple episodes in a coma?

That was a task for Abe Sylvia, creator, showrunner and executive producer of the new Apple TV+ series “Palm Royale,” streaming now, about a woman’s efforts to enter high society.

Burnett “was curious as to where it goes,” revealed Sylvia, who assured her that she would have more to do.

Fortunately, Sylvia already had a great cast lined up — Kristen Wiig, Laura Dern (also an executive producer), Allison Janney and Leslie Bibb — which impressed Burnett.

“She said, ‘Those are the best ladies in the business. I want to be on set with them. I want to have dinner with them. I’m game.’”

Once he got a yes from Burnett, Sylvia stuck to his word that the role would be worth Burnett’s time.

“I went back to the writers room. I said, ‘We now have Carol Burnett playing this role. We need to make sure it is worthy of Carol Burnett.’” They added more scenes for her character — with dialogue.

In hindsight, Burnett, who turns 91 in April, jokes those coma scenes weren’t so bad.

“I did fall asleep, so it was perfect, although I’d been up since 5 a.m. to get ready to come there and then go back to bed,’’ Burnett said.

“Palm Royale” is based on the novel “Mr. & Mrs. American Pie” by Juliet McDaniel. The series is set in 1969 and follows Wiig as Maxine Simmons, a woman who will do anything to be accepted into Palm Beach high society. For her, the pinnacle is becoming a member of an exclusive club called Palm Royale. In her first scene, Maxine scales a large fence around the property to sit by the pool and order a cocktail.

“She’s complicated,” said Wiig. “You still want to root for her even though it’s like, what is she doing? You want her to get there and you want her to succeed, and she keeps getting in her own way.”

Maxine’s “in” to both Palm Royale and its members is Burnett’s character, Norma D’ellacourt, who she is related to by marriage. With Norma in a coma, Maxine believes her husband will inherit her fortune.

It’s established that Norma is the societal queen bee who seems to know everyone’s secrets and the concern for her health is more surface than sincere. Most would rather she stay in a coma, which Burnett says is understandable.

“You get to know who she is and she’s not a very nice person,” said Burnett, “Those are really a lot of fun to play.”

“Palm Royale” also gave Burnett the opportunity to improvise with Wiig, who shares a sketch comedy background. Wiig is a “Saturday Night Live” alum.

“We would do the script, and then the director would say, ‘OK, do it for yourselves now’ so that we could play. That’s a great gift to any actor,” said Burnett.

Janney plays a socialite who is a lady-in-waiting for Burnett’s throne. Janney, an Oscar winner, says working with Burnett legitimized her career to her father.

“I’m not even kidding. He was so over the moon. I’ve never seen him get excited about anything I’ve done before,” she said.

Not everyone desires to be a part of the upper echelon in Palm Beach. Dern plays Linda Shaw, who has the wealth and family history to be included but scoffs at its superficiality and focuses on social issues like women’s rights.

Because Dern has been fortunate enough to have some exciting roles in her own career, she wants others to have that opportunity.

“Being raised by an actress was a big influence in that want, as we fight for equity in varying ways,” said Dern, the daughter of Diane Ladd. “I think ageism is not talked about enough. Creating opportunity where an ensemble could include Kaia Gerber all the way to Carol Burnett was really exciting.”

The cast also includes Amber Chardae Robinson, Mindy Cohn and Josh Lucas, who plays Maxine’s husband,

Ricky Martin portrays D’ellacourt’s caretaker who also works at the Palm Royale. For Martin, the series gave him an opportunity to perform comedy for the first time and try to hold his own in scenes with “maestros in comedy.”

“I love difficult tasks. I’m a Capricorn,” said Martin. “If it’s challenging, I’m in. I’m seduced by it, and I want to be good at it.”

He learned that less is more when going for laughs. “I didn’t know that was the key until I was surrounded by this group of people,” he said.

Martin would love to still be working at 90, like Burnett.

“She walks onto set and makes everyone feel good. Even in a coma, she makes people laugh without opening her mouth.”

A privacy watchdog is investigating hospital staff for snooping on Kate’s medical records

LONDON | A British privacy watchdog said Wednesday it was investigating a report that staff at a private London hospital tried to snoop on the Princess of Wales ‘ medical records while she was a patient for abdominal surgery.

The Information Commissioner’s Office said: “We can confirm that we have received a breach report and are assessing the information provided.”

The Daily Mirror newspaper reported that at least one staff member at the London Clinic tried to look at Kate’s notes during her stay there in January. The princess had surgery at the clinic in central London on Jan. 16 and was discharged almost two weeks later.

Kensington Palace, the office of Kate and husband Prince William, said that the report was “a matter for the London Clinic.”

Al Russell, the hospital’s chief executive, said Wednesday that “all appropriate investigatory, regulatory and disciplinary steps will be taken.”

“There is no place at our hospital for those who intentionally breach the trust of any of our patients or colleagues,” he said in a statement.

Health Minister Maria Caulfield said that police had been asked to look into the matter.

“Whether they take action is a matter for them,” she told LBC radio.

“But the Information Commissioner can also take prosecutions,” she added. “So there are particularly hefty implications if you are looking at notes for medical records that you should not be looking at.”

The clinic in London’s Marylebone neighborhood, less than two miles (around three kilometers) from Buckingham Palace, has treated several members of the royal family over the decades. King Charles III spent a weekend there in January undergoing a procedure to treat an enlarged prostate. Soon after, the palace said that doctors had diagnosed the king with an unspecified form of cancer.

Charles, 75, was withdrawn from public duties while he has cancer treatment — a period that has coincided with Kate’s disappearance from public view.

Kensington Palace has given little detail about Kate’s condition beyond saying that it isn’t cancer-related, the surgery was successful and recuperation will keep the princess away from public duties until April.

Even though that time hasn’t yet elapsed, the princess’ absence from public view has fueled a tide of speculation, rumor and conspiracy theories.

On March 10, William and Kate’s Kensington Palace office released a photo of Kate and her children George, Charlotte and Louis to coincide with Mother’s Day in the U.K. The move backfired when The Associated Press and other news agencies retracted the picture from publication, because it appeared to have been manipulated, fueling even more conjecture.

Kate issued a statement acknowledging that she liked to “experiment with editing” and apologizing for “any confusion” the photo had caused.

The gossip hasn’t been quieted by footage published by The Sun and TMZ that appears to show Kate and husband Prince William visiting a farm shop near their Windsor home on the weekend. The video sparked a new flurry of rumor-mongering, with some armchair sleuths refusing to believe the video showed Kate at all.

Nelson Silva, a local resident who said he shot the footage, told The Sun that conspiracy theorists are “delusional.”

“I’m not so much shocked that these comments have continued, I’m just confused how exactly they can continue,” he was quoted as saying. “This is a video clearly showing her and William. I saw them with my own eyes.”

Bruce Springsteen returns to the stage in Phoenix after world tour postponed

PHOENIX | Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band returned to the stage Tuesday evening at the Footprint Center in Phoenix in a triumphant reboot of the Boss’ postponed 2023 world tour.

In September, Springsteen, 74, announced his tour would be delayed until 2024, citing doctor’s advice as he recovered from peptic ulcer disease.

“The Boss” arrived on stage to an audience chorus of “Bruuuuce!” Wearing dark jeans and a rolled up red plaid flannel shirt, he had the energy of a man half his age. His signature “One, two, three, four” was the only thing that separated most songs, showing no signs of his illness from the previous year. Once he shouted, “Good evening, Arizona” the show was off and running.

Springsteen spoke to the crowd briefly about his illness prior to playing his final song “I’ll See You In My Dreams” solo on stage. “Phoenix, first I want to apologize if there was any discomfort because we had to move the show last time. . . . I hope we didn’t inconvenience you too much.”

The 29-song show came in just under three hours, but “The Boss” hardly broke a sweat while showing off a strong voice, all the while dancing, tearing into guitar solos, playing the harmonica and even ripping his shirt open near the end of the show.

On stage with Springsteen was the legendary E Street Band which features drummer Max Weinberg, bassist Garry Tallent, keyboardists Roy Bittan and Charlie Giordano, guitarists Stevie Van Zandt and Nils Lofgren, saxophonist Jake Clemons — nephew of original and still missed sax man Clarence Clemons who died in 2011 — guitarist and violin player Soozie Tyrell, a full horn and brass section and four backup vocalists. The only missing member of the band was Springsteen’s wife, singer and guitarist Patti Scialfa.

Springsteen performed most of the hits in his vast collection, minus “Born In The U.S.A.,” but he added covers “Nightshift” by the Commodores, “Because The Night” by Patti Smith Group, and a surprise: “Twist and Shout” by The Beatles. Fans went wild for “No Surrender,” “Born To Run,” “Rosalita,” “Dancing In The Dark,” “Glory Days” and “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” that left the rocker grinning from ear-to-ear as he conducted fans singing along like his own chorus.

This year has been particularly challenging for Springsteen. In addition to his health issues, in January his mother, Adele Ann Springsteen, a fan favorite who could frequently be seen dancing at his shows, died. She was 98.

Two days after her death, Springsteen performed at the 2024 MusiCares Person of the Year event, which honored Jon Bon Jovi for his musical achievements and philanthropic efforts.

The 2024 edition of the tour kicked off in Phoenix and ends Nov. 22 in Vancouver, Canada. It hits 17 countries across 52 dates, including a special performance on Sept. 15 where Springsteen will headline the Sea.Hear.Now Festival in his hometown of Asbury Park, New Jersey.

Apollo theater and Opera Philadelphia partner to support new operas

NEW YORK | The Apollo theater and Opera Philadelphia announced a five-year partnership Wednesday to support new operas by Black artists.

The two organizations collaborated on the New York premieres of Daniel Schnyder’s “Charlie Parker’s Yardbird” in 2016 and Daniel Bernard Roumain’s “We Shall Not Be Moved” the following year, both after world premieres in Philadelphia.

Composers and subjects for the new works were not announced. An initial five-year term was planned for the partnership.

The Cincinnati Opera is premiering an Afrofuturist-themed production of Kevin Day’s “Lalovavi” on June 19, 2025, and hopes to present a Maria Thompson Corley composition on the life of U.S. Rep. John Lewis in 2026.

—From AP reports