Guilty Pleasures
By Associated Press
Lawyer for suspect in alleged plot against Taylor Swift concerts says allegations
are exaggerated
VIENNA | A lawyer for the main suspect in an alleged plot to attack now-canceled Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna said Tuesday that authorities’ presentation of the case is exaggerated, and his client wouldn’t have been able to carry out plans that the attorney described as “fantasies.”
The 19-year-old Austrian man, whose name hasn’t been released because of Austrian privacy rules, was arrested last Wednesday — one of three people who were detained. Hours later, organizers canceled the concerts that Swift was scheduled to play Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Austrian capital’s Ernst Happel Stadium. Fans were devastated by the decision.
Austrian officials have said that the suspect wanted to carry out an attack outside the stadium, killing as many people as possible using knives or home-made explosives. They say that, during a raid of the suspect’s home, investigators found chemical substances and technical devices.
Alyssa Milano to make her Broadway debut in the razzle-dazzle musical ‘Chicago’ this fall
NEW YORK | Alyssa Milano hopes to charm audiences when she makes her Broadway debut this fall in the musical “Chicago,” adding her celebrity to a show that skewers celebrity culture.
“The beauty of theater is that you get to try new things every night,” she tells The Associated Press. “That’s what I used to love about doing theater. And that’s what I hope that I can find again in doing ‘Chicago.’”
Milano, former star of “Who’s the Boss?” and “Charmed,” steps into the role of Roxie Hart at the Ambassador Theatre beginning Sept. 16 for an eight-week engagement through Nov. 10.
For Milano, hitting the stage is a return to her roots. She was in a national touring company of “Annie” at age 8 and she went on to star in Wendy Wasserstein’s “Tender Offer” at the off-Broadway Ensemble Studio Theater and “All Night Long” at Second Stage. She was in the first American musical adaptation of “Jane Eyre” and produced and starred in a Los Angeles production of “Butterflies Are Free.”
Milano says doing a stint on Broadway never felt right until now. Her children — ages 9 and 12 — are settled in school and extracurricular activities, and her husband is in a good place in his career.
“It just felt like when this offer came up that everything fell into place,” she says. “My 9-year-old daughter looked at me and said, ‘Mom, you would be an idiot not to do this.’”
In recent years, she was in the movies “Brazen” and “Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later” and the Netflix series “Insatiable.” Milano also leant her stardom and voice to the #MeToo movement, launched clothing, jewelry and eyewear lines and has been a host of Lifetime’s “Project Runway All-Stars.”
Set in the 1920s, “Chicago” is a scathing satire of how show business and the media make celebrities out of criminals. It has Bob Fosse-inspired choreography, skimpy outfits and killer songs such as “All That Jazz” and “Cell Block Tango.”
“Chicago” tells the story of Roxie, a housewife and dancer who murders her on-the-side lover after he threatens to leave her. To avoid conviction, Roxie hires Chicago’s slickest criminal lawyer to help her dupe the public, media and her rival cellmate, Velma Kelly, by creating shocking headlines.
Milano says she wants to honor Ann Reinking — the iconic Fosse collaborator who originated Roxie in the 1996 revival and created the choreography in Fosse’s style. “I’m really trying to pay homage to her choreography and her portrayal of Roxie. Because she was profound.”
The celebrity-craving heroine at the heart of “Chicago” has been played by dozens of women since the show opened in 1996, including Pam Anderson, Melanie Griffith, Christie Brinkley, Marilu Henner, Brooke Shields, Lisa Rinna, Gretchen Mol, Ashlee Simpson, Brandy Norwood, Jennifer Nettles and Robin Givens.
Milano hopes fans will come and see her more than once. “I guarantee you I’m going to keep finding things — keep finding little moments that will, hopefully, add onto the legacy of all the women who came before me.”
Family and friends of actor Johnny Wactor urge more action to find his killers
LOS ANGELES | Family and friends of actor Johnny Wactor called for action Tuesday from the public and officials to help find and convict his killers.
The former “General Hospital” actor was shot on May 25 when he interrupted thieves stealing the catalytic converter from his car in downtown Los Angeles, authorities said. No arrests have yet been made.
“I’m asking that anybody that knows anything please come forward,” the actor’s mother, Scarlett Wactor of South Carolina, said at a news conference outside Los Angeles City Hall. “It will help me and his brothers in our healing to know that they’ve been captured and convicted.”
Police made their own plea for public help on Aug. 5 when they released surveillance images of three unidentified suspects and their getaway car — a stolen 2018 black Infiniti Q50.
Johnny Wactor was born in Charleston, South Carolina, and grew up in the nearby town of Summerville. He portrayed Brando Corbin on the ABC soap opera “General Hospital” from 2020 to 2022. He also appeared in films and TV series including “Station 19,” “NCIS” and “Westworld.”
Scarlett Wactor said previously that her son had left work at a rooftop bar with a coworker when he saw someone at his car and thought it was being towed. A mask-wearing suspect opened fire, his mother said.
“Grief is my constant companion,” she said Tuesday. “I can’t wish him happy birthday on Aug. 31 — he would have been 38. I can’t ask if he’s coming home for Christmas. I can’t ask how his day went.”
Others at the news conference called for more action from Mayor Karen Bass and other leaders to combat crime.
“We will make sure that no family has to endure the pain that Scarlett is enduring today,” City Councilman Kevin de León said. “We want justice for Johnny and we shall have it.”
—From AP reports
