Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Names and faces
Keira Knightley’s Broadway debut was interrupted when a member of the audience shouted at the actress and threw a bouquet of flowers at the stage before being escorted from the theater. Knightley, who plays the title character in the play Therese Raquin, was onstage Thursday with Gabriel Ebert when the disturbance took place at the Studio 54 Theatre. “Roundabout takes the safety of their actors and audiences very seriously and extra security will be added beginning tonight,” said Jessica Johnson, who represents the Roundabout Theatre Company. “For obvious reasons, we cannot comment on the exact nature of the additional security measures.” The incident on Thursday occurred during the first preview of Therese Raquin, a stage adaptation of the Emile Zola novel. At one point, a young man in the mezzanine got up, went to the railing and shouted. Knightly did not break character and the man was heard to say: “Five seconds is too long to wait for a response!” An usher came and escorted the man back to his seat. When security arrived, the man tossed the flowers on his way out. Therese Raquin, written in 1867, is about a woman trapped in a loveless marriage who embarks on an illicit affair with a friend of her husband’s. Knightley made her West End debut in 2009 in the comedy The Misanthrope and two years later starred in Lillian Hellman’s The Children’s Hour.
Will Smith, the Grammy-winning rapper and Oscar-nominated actor, has returned to the music industry, appearing on a remix of Colombian band Bomba Estereo’s song, “Fiesta.” The remix was released digitally Friday. The collaboration marks Smith’s return to music since his 2005 album, Lost and Found. Smith came upon Bomba Estereo on a recent trip to Colombia. He then asked the group to collaborate. “When I was told that Will Smith wanted to collaborate on a remix with Bomba, I couldn’t believe it,” band founder Simon Mejia said in a statement. “This opportunity to work with Will was beyond anything we have dreamed of. … It’s just magic.” Smith, 47, raps in both English and Spanish on the song. He recently shot a music video for the remix with Bomba Estereo. “Fiesta” is nominated for record of the year at next month’s Latin Grammy Awards. Bomba Estereo’s album, Amanecer, is up for best alternative music album. The 16th annual Latin Grammys will air live Nov. 19 on Univision from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.