3+ week, 1+ day ago (563+ words) The resulting theatrical stew, "A Sherlock Carol," is receiving its Boston premiere from the Lyric Stage Company, Nov. 14Dec. 21. Shanahan wanted to honor authors Arthur Conan Doyle and Charles Dickens's original creations and Victorian-era settings, but he also "wanted to look at these stories and characters from a different angle and have the audience leave appreciating them in a different way," he says. "He's feeling adrift. Depression and despair maybe sets in a bit," Melendy says. "He's lost his lust for life, and I think there's a dash of PTSD. That battle with Moriarty, which is fresh in his mind, took a lot out of him, because he did almost die." Known for his whirlwind, idiosyncratic comic inventions, wry sense of humor and quicksilver physicality, Melendy seems like a natural fit to play Sherlock, a man who may be mentally unraveling,…...

3+ week, 5+ hour ago (745+ words) On Saturday night, comedy stars Conan O'Brien, Sarah Silverman, Sebastian Maniscalco, and more joined host Denis Leary for the 29th edition of Comics Come Home. For O'Brien, who grew up in Brookline, being back in town for his first Comics Come Home was a treat, as "making other people from Massachusetts laugh" is where it all started for him, he said. "I come back a lot because I have a lot of family here, but every time I come back, I just [go], "This is where you're supposed to be," O'Brien told the Globe during the night's red carpet festivities. "Because of work, I got to live in Los Angeles, but I shouldn't be living there, genetically. There's too much sun." "They've got like one Dunkin', you know, and Ben Affleck's always there," he joked. Inspired by the nonprofit's work supporting…...

1+ week, 1+ day ago (457+ words) A play that throws together Sherlock Holmes and Ebenezer Scrooge? Sounds like an inspired idea. For one thing, Scrooge and Holmes rank among the best-known fictional figures of all time. Name recognition is not an issue for this literary duo. Another thing they have in common is an appreciation for the reputational value of a good catch phrase (Bah, humbug!" for Scrooge, Elementary, my dear Watson" for Sherlock). In terms of personality, worldview, and relationship to their fellow humans, they've both marinated in misanthropy " though Scrooge's choleric sputtering has the edge over Sherlock's cerebral hauteur. Mark Shanahan's A Sherlock Carol," a comic mash-up of the pair and their stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Charles Dickens, partly delivers on the promise of its premise. Shanahan is a writer of considerable skill. There's fun to be had in the Lyric…...

3+ week, 5+ day ago (240+ words) Boston's biggest night of comedy is back this weekend as Comics Come Home returns to TD Garden on Saturday. Hosted by Worcester native Denis Leary, the annual fundraising event, now in its 29th edition, supports the Cam Neely Foundation, a nonprofit founded by the Bruins president and former hockey star, which helps cancer patients and their families as they undergo treatment. This year's event boasts another star-studded lineup, with late-night comedy legend and Brookline native Conan O'Brien set to appear on Saturday night. It'll be a bit of a family affair for the comedian, as O'Brien is distantly related to the Comics Come Home host, which Leary explained on "The Tonight Show" earlier this year. Leary and O'Brien won't be the only New England natives in town, as New Hampshire's Sarah Silverman is also set to perform. Bay State natives and…...

1+ week, 1+ day ago (236+ words) Eddie Murphy is being celebrated with a life achievement award from the American Film Institute, AFI's board of trustees said Friday. The award will be handed out at a gala tribute in Los Angeles, at the Dolby Theatre, on April 18. "Eddie Murphy is an American icon," said Kathleen Kennedy, who chairs the institute's board of trustees. "A trailblazing force in the art forms of film, television and stand-up comedy, his versatility knows no bounds." In a new documentary about his life and career, "Being Eddie," which is currently streaming on Netflix, Murphy reflected that he was more annoyed about having to put on a tux and go to the event than he was about losing. "It's always wonderful to win stuff, but if I don't win, I don't give a (expletive)," he said. "I'm still Eddie in the morning." "You…...

2+ week, 6+ day ago (251+ words) It was a "Bottoms" reunion on "I Love LA" Sunday night, as Rachel Sennott's new HBO comedy series featured a guest appearance from her former costar Ayo Edebiri in the show's second episode. Ayo Edebiri plays a British pop star in "I Love LA' guest appearance It was a "Bottoms" reunion on "I Love LA" Sunday night, as Rachel Sennott's new HBO comedy series featured a guest appearance from her former costar Ayo Edebiri in the show's second episode. In the most recent episode of the show, which centers around a group of quirky friends trying to make their big Hollywood dreams come true, Edebiri plays a vape-loving, somewhat delusional pop star named Mimi Rush. The character spends pretty much the entire episode causing problems for stylist Charlie (Jordan Firstman), as she tries to enlist Zendaya to play her middle-aged…...

6+ hour, 38+ min ago (345+ words) Tom Stoppard never insulted his audience's intelligence. He counted on it. He set the bar very high, and trusted in our ability to clear it. Or at least to try. Stoppard, whose death at 88 in his home in Dorset, England, was announced by United Agents, furrowed many a brow over the years. The density of the ideas in his plays could be daunting. But always there was a spirit of playfulness, a certain sparkle, keeping pace with Stoppard's displays of erudition. Seldom has a state of confusion been a more pleasurable place to be. Stoppard often wrote for TV, radio, and film. His screenplay for "Shakespeare in Love" (1998), cowritten with Marc Norman, won an Oscar. But he was above all a man of the theater. Indeed, Stoppard had spent years as a theater critic before switching to playwriting, not-incorrectly reasoning…...

1+ day, 2+ hour ago (894+ words) In a statement Saturday, United Agents said Stoppard died "peacefully" at his home in Dorset in southern England, surrounded by his family. "He will be remembered for his works, for their brilliance and humanity, and for his wit, his irreverence, his generosity of spirit and his profound love of the English language," they said. "It was an honor to work with Tom and to know him." The Czech-born Stoppard was often hailed as the greatest British playwright of his generation and was garlanded with honors, including a shelf full of theater gongs. His brain-teasing plays ranged across Shakespeare, science, philosophy and the historic tragedies of the 20th century. Five of them won Tony Awards for best play: "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead" in 1968; "Travesties" in 1976; "The Real Thing" in 1984; "The Coast of Utopia" in 2007; and "Leopoldstadt" in 2023. Stoppard biographer Hermione Lee…...

1+ week, 3+ day ago (632+ words) Late-night hosts celebrated after Congress voted to move forward legislation forcing the Justice Department to release files to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The bill now heads to President Trump's desk, where he has said he will sign it. "When it comes to Congress, it's increasingly rare that things happen," Stephen Colbert said Tuesday during his opening monologue. "And today, something did." When the crowd erupted into applause when Colbert announced the news of the House voted to pass the bill, he joked: "That is the reaction to people who are not in the files, I'm guessing." The House overwhelmingly passed the measure 427-1. Representative Clay Higgins, a Republican, was the only lawmaker to vote no. Colbert then made a quip about the process of getting the legislation to Trump's desk, adding a riddle mocking the president. "Of course, this…...