'Zachary Beaver' actor to attend Oaks screenings
Sasha Neulinger , who plays "the fattest boy in the world" in "When Zachary Beaver Came to Town" at The Oaks Theater, Oakmont, will appear at the theater for the showings at 12:30, 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Neulinger also will appear from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday at the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh for a "Saturday Light Brigade" interview on WRCT 88.3 FM.
At the theater, he'll autograph three full-size movie posters, one of which will be auctioned off at each of the three showings he attends. He'll also sign copies of the novel "When Zachary Beaver Came to Town," which are being sold at the nearby Mystery Lovers Bookshop.
The 15-year-old Philadelphia native attends Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Performing Arts in Bethlehem.
His other movie credits include "Unbreakable" and "Shallow Hal."
-- Ed Blank
Friday Evening Music Club to present recital
The Friday Evening Music Club will present an April Fool's Recital 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art, 221 N. Main St., Greensburg. In keeping with the spirit of the event, some of the music will be of a light-hearted, humorous nature, while other selections will be more traditional, classical pieces. A reception will follow the recital. Admission is free to club members; a $2 donation is suggested for others. Information: Chris Loughran at 724-836-4818.
Trafford Tamburitzans to perform in White Oak
Trafford Junior Tamburitzans will perform their annual concert 2 p.m. Sunday, April 3, at Frances McClure Middle School, 500 Longview Drive, White Oak. Guest group will be Junior Tamburitzans of Duquesne. Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for students and free to ages 6 and under. Reception follows at White Oak Athletic Association with entertainment by Zabava.
Music and dancing at Ohiopyle
The Dave Dahl Trio will perform 8:30-11:30 p.m. Saturday, April 16 and April 30, at the Ohiopyle-Stewart Community Center, 15 Sherman St., Ohiopyle. Music and figure calling for polkas, waltzes, clogging, hoedown, slow-, square- and line-dancing will be featured. Admission is $4, with children 12 and under free.
Williams sisters tell preteens not to rush a crush
Embracing their status as role models, Serena and Venus Williams have written a book with advice for preteens on subjects such as money and dating.
Regarding the latter, their recommendation: Don't rush a crush.
"We both really have a lot to say about that," Venus Williams said Wednesday with a laugh.
Titled "Venus and Serena: Serving From the Hip: 10 Rules for Living, Loving, and Winning," the book is targeted for 9- to 12-year-olds.
"It's a great book for teenage girls who deal with different issues," Serena Williams said. "Growing up, I would have loved to have had such a positive role model to look up to and try to be like and try to emulate."
The sisters, who are in Key Biscayne, Fla., for the Nasdaq-100 Open, wrote the book with Hilary Beard .
-- The Associated Press
Charge filed against Abdul in hit-and-run case
"American Idol" judge Paula Abdul was charged Thursday with hit-and-run driving for allegedly fleeing after her car clipped another vehicle on a Los Angeles freeway last December.
The city attorney's office filed the misdemeanor count, which carries a maximum sentence of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
A message left for Abdul's spokeswoman wasn't immediately returned.
Authorities contend Abdul was driving Dec. 20 on a Los Angeles highway when she changed lanes and struck another vehicle, causing minor damage.
The driver and passenger snapped a photograph with a cellular phone camera and wrote down the license plate number of the car, which was traced to Abdul, city attorney's office spokesman Frank Mateljan says.
-- The Associated Press
Family's protection might force move for Beckham
David Beckham suggested he could leave Real Madrid and return to England, having become upset with photographers who take pictures of his young children at school.
Beckham has spent two seasons with Real Madrid but is now reconsidering his future with one of the world's most glamorous clubs.
"I've made people well aware of what I get upset with in Spain is the paparazzi, but I've had a couple of incidents happen in the last two weeks which have really made me sit back and think," Beckham said recently in Manchester, England.
Beckham -- the England team captain, fashion icon and marketing giant -- joined Real Madrid in a transfer from Manchester United. He lives in the Spanish capital with his wife, Victoria , and their sons, Brooklyn , Romeo and Cruz .
"I believe that when my children go to school or nursery, they should be left alone, but they're not," Beckham said. "And that's become a problem. ... When they are on their own at their school, nursery or football school, then it is crossing the line and I don't know what to do."
Beckham has said he received death threats at Manchester United, and kidnap plots were uncovered in 1999 and 2002 against Victoria, Brooklyn and Romeo.
-- The Associated Press
Ryan Adams, Hornsby to play at Jammy awards
Alt-rocker Ryan Adams and mellow piano man Bruce Hornsby will immerse themselves in the jam band scene at the fifth annual Jammy awards, which will also feature Medeski Martin & Wood , Les Claypool and the North Mississippi Allstars .
The awards, hosted by Grateful Dead guitarist Phil Lesh , will be held April 26 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Other performers will include Les Claypool , Yonder Mountain String Band and Keller Williams .
The Jammys, determined by fans, honor the best music to come out of the improvisational music scene. Fans can determine this year's winners by casting their vote on the Jammys Web site.
While Adams and Hornsby might seem out of place at the Jammys, Peter Shapiro , the event's executive producer, told The Associated Press Thursday that their inclusion is part of the Jammy tradition of tapping a variety of acts.
The event also will honor an act for lifetime achievement; the recipient will be announced later, along with other performers.
"As in past years, we expect a night of a lot of surprises and we're really excited with our initial lineup," Shapiro said. "The initial lineup provides a great base for what is going to be an amazing night of great music."
-- The Associated Press
Brandeis to rename arts festival for Bernstein
Brandeis University is renaming its annual arts festival after Leonard Bernstein , a former faculty member.
Bernstein taught music at Brandeis, in Waltham, Mass., from 1951 to 1955. In 1952, he created the Brandeis Festival of the Creative Arts, which featured the premiere performance of his one-act opera "Trouble in Tahiti."
"Leonard Bernstein was certainly one of the greatest artists of the 20th century, and Brandeis is proud to formalize the legacy to our university through the naming of the festival he founded," Brandeis President Jehuda Reinharz said.
This year's installment of the five-day festival, which starts April 13, features concerts, plays and other performances by more than 150 artists, including the Boston Opera Project and the Actors' Shakespeare Project.
The festival concludes April 17 with a musical tribute to Bernstein by the Brandeis-Wellesley Orchestra.
Bernstein died in 1990.
-- The Associated Press
Nelly's sister dies after battle with leukemia
The sister of Grammy-winning rapper Nelly died Thursday at a St. Louis, Mo., hospital after a long battle with leukemia, the artist's publicist said.
Jacqueline "Jackie" Donahue , 31, had been diagnosed with leukemia on March 29, 2001. The cancer was in remission for nearly two years before she suffered a relapse, prompting Nelly to arrange a number of bone marrow drives. A match was never found.
Publicist Jane Higgins said Donahue had worked as a stylist for Nelly.
A spokeswoman for Austin Layne Mortuary said funeral arrangements were pending.
Donahue's family said in a statement they were "deeply saddened" by her death and offered their thanks for those who had supported her and the bone marrow drives.
-- The Associated Press
