Aretha Franklin

THEATER

Now that the Broadway strike is over, there’s going to be a mad rush for tickets and most of this weekend's shows will be sold out. But throw some elbows and get a good spot on line for Aaron Sorkin’s The Farnsworth Invention, which is opening on Monday, Dec. 3. It's so good, it'll make you forget Studio 60.

[Check here for tickets.]

CONCERTS

Boston’s post-punk fogies Mission of Burma are coming to the Music Hall of Williamsburg on Jan. 19. Okay, so maybe they were way more important, and more attractive, in the early 80’s, but Mission of Burma is still worth seeing, if only so you can get sore singing/moshing to “That’s When I Reach For My Revolver.” Classic! [On sale: Since noon today. Hurry!]  read more »

When Charie Rangel blew out his birthday cake last year, he had two wishes: "That we win back the House and I become Chairman of the Ways and Means committee."

That's according to an early invitation obtained by The Observer to his 77th birthday gala, set for August 8 at Tavern on the Green.

His dreams having finally come true, Mr. Rangel is apparently celebrating what one New York City contributor to his campaign is calling "possibly the largest congressional fund-raiser in the history of New York."

The evening's special guest will be Rangel endorsee Hillary Clinton, but she won't be alone: the source told The Observer (and Rangel campaign finance executive director Walter Swett confirmed) that David Paterson, Sheldon Silver, Malcolm Smith and Tom DiNapoli will be joined at the event by playwright-poet-activist-actress Ruby Dee. Chevy Chase will be in attendance and Aretha Franklin is also likely, according to Swett. No word yet if Eliot Spitzer will be on board for the festivities. (And it's probably not the right time to ask.)

Chairs are asked to raise $20,000 and the lowest fund-raiser level -- patrons -- are expected to bring in $1,000. According to the invitation, proceeds will go to Rangel's National Leadership PAC to ensure the expansion of the Democratic majority in Congress.

"Most of all," Rangel writes in the invite, "we celebrate living in the greatest democracy on earth, a country where dreams can come true and a high school dropout from Lenox Avenue can get a second chance from the GI Bill and make something of himself."

Ratings are in for NY1's two-and-a-half hour live coverage of this past Friday's memorial service for Luther Vandross: The event drew a 1.2 rating, a whopping figure for the station in the afternoon time slot.

The all-star sendoff--featuring Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick and Stevie Wonder--was seen by an average of about 89,200 households, with a peak around 104,700 households.

For the same time period the previous week, NY1 had scored a rating of 0.2, meaning about 14,000 households. Head to head, the memorial beat NBC's Starting Over, which got a 1.1 rating.

NY1 spokesperson Edward Pachetti said the last time he could remember ratings that high was during last year's transit strike threat.

A rebroadcast of the service at 3 p.m. Saturday received a 1.1, meaning it was seen in some 77,300 households, with a peak of 115,000.

Despite the ratings success, NY1 has no plans for another airing of the service. The station has recieved approximately 400 requests for video and DVD copies of the program. Fans seeking a copy should send an e-mail to library@ny1news.com. The price for a VHS or DVD dub is $65.  read more »

--Rebecca Dana

Higher Ground: Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Curtis Mayfield, and the Rise and Fall of American So  read more »