Happening Hadelich

Italian violin genius and Grammy Award-winner Augustin Hadelich, making his fifth CAMA appearance since 2015, played a rapturous performance at the Lobero as part of the organization’s Masterseries.

Bach featured prominently in the delightful program, launching with “Partita for Unaccompanied Violin No. 3 in E major” and ending with “No. 2 in D minor,” with even a Bach encore.

Playing a 1744 violin Leduc, Ex-Szeryng – one of the last instruments to be made by  master luthier Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù – Hadelich’s program also included works by Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson and Eugène Ysaÿe.

An extraordinarily rousing occasion…

Enchanting ‘Anastasia’

Everyone was russian to see Anastasia, the charming, romantic, and adventure-filled American Theater Guild production at the Granada, inspired by popular films.

From the Tony Award-winning creators of the Broadway classic Ragtime, the enchanting show transported the audience back to the twilight of the Russian Empire and the excitement of 1920s Paris as a brave young woman, delightfully played by Veronica Stern, investigates the mysteries of her past.

The show featured a book by celebrated playwright Terrence McNally, and a lively new score by renowned writing team Stephen Flaherty (music) and Lynn Ahrens (lyrics). Sarah Hartmann is directing Anastasia’s national tour. 

In a presage to Russia’s October Revolution, the Russian royal family – led by patriarch Tsar Nicholas II – was murdered by the Bolsheviks in July 1918 in Yekaterinburg. When the bodies were discovered in a mineshaft in 1991, that of Anastasia – the youngest of the four Grand Duchesses – was missing. Thus began the 20th century legend of Anastasia having survived the Bolshevik massacre and living anonymously among us.

Several women claimed to be the missing daughter, the most famous being Anna Anderson, who died in 1984. But DNA taken in 1994 from a piece of tissue and hair proved conclusively she was not in any way whatsoever related to the Romanov family.

Agent Booked

Meghan Markle has signed with the powerhouse L.A. talent agency, William Morris Endeavor (WME), that boasts clients like tennis great Serena William, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and many other A-listers.

Acting will not be an area of focus for the Former Suits star, according to Variety, and the Riven Rock resident will work with Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel, agent Brad Slater, and agent Jim Smoller.

WME will represent Archewell, Markle’s and Prince Harry’s cogent creation label, and work with the Duchess of Sussex on film and TV production, brand partnerships, and overall business building.

From a personal point of view, William Morris also represented yours truly when I was a correspondent on the long running syndicated entertainment show Extra.

Condo Sold

As she celebrates her 90th birthday, Montecito comedy legend Carol Burnett’s longtime Los Angeles home has sold for $3.7 million.

The three-bedroom condo in Westwood was first listed for $4.2 million in October 2022, and recently asked $3.95 million.

Carol first moved into the Wilshire Boulevard property on the 25th floor in the 1990s before relocating to our rarefied enclave with musician husband Brian Miller, buying a pied-à-terre on the 13th floor of the same Westwood tower for $1.26 million in 2002.

Slumber Party Planned

Santa Barbara warbler Katy Perry says she has plans for a “wild stayover” in Windsor Castle when she performs for King Charles III’s Coronation Concert on May 7.

Katy is co-starring with Lionel Richie, opera legend Andrea Bocelli, and the English group Take That.

In return for her performance, the former Dos Pueblos High School student will be honored with an exclusive stay in the royal residence and 1,000-year-old castle – alongside her British actor fiancé Orlando Bloom.

“I might be posting a lot because I’m going to be in a castle for real! It’s going to be wild.”

The imposing castle has more than 1,000 rooms so plenty to choose from.

And I will be doing commentary on the big event at London’s Westminster Abbey for our local ABC affiliate, KEYT-TV, and KCAL in Los Angeles.

Jerry Springer Remembered

On a personal note, I remember Jerry Springer, brash TV talk show host, who has died aged 79.

I used to fly from my Manhattan home to Chicago on occasion to appear on The Jenny Jones Show to talk about the Royal Family and vividly recall my first visit to her studio at the NBC Tower in the Windy City.

“Whatever you do, don’t turn right,” I was warned by my producer as we got off the elevator.

On inquiring why, he explained that was the studio for Jerry Springer’s show, which often resembled a boxing match at Madison Square Garden given the caliber of guests he had on his confrontational program.

I last saw him in New York in 1998 at a party to launch his autobiography Ringmaster!, which he signed for me.

Sightings

Kourtney Kardashian and husband Travis Barker being serenaded by a mariachi band at the San Ysidro Ranch… Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at a L.A. Lakers basketball game… Singer Katy Perry at the grand re-opening of Tiffany’s flagship Fifth Avenue store.

Pip! Pip!