Today's Entertainment

March 12 - 18, 2018 Page 3 ACROSS 1. Series for Allison Janney 4. Spill the beans 8. Word in the title of Viola Davis' series 11. "__ __ walked out in the streets of Laredo..." 12. At __; relaxed 13. Charles or Liotta 14. Actress on "American Housewife" (2) 17. Slip up 18. "Murder, __ Wrote" 19. "El __"; John Payne western movie 21. Discontinues 24. "Homicide: Life __ the Street" (1993-99) 25. "__ Things I Hate About You"; 1999 Heath Ledger film 26. Nolte's initials 27. Robert Downey or Ken Griffey: abbr. 28. Ricky Ricardo's portrayer 30. "Miami __" (1984-90) 32. "Much __ About Nothing" 34. Lively dance 35. One of the twins on "Little People, Big World" (2) 41. Actress Gardner 42. Top-notch rating (hyph.) 43. Street-paving substance 44. Slangy reply 45. Actor Tamblyn 46. __ Meyers of "Kate & Allie" DOWN 1. Hot Lips Houlihan's rank: abbr. 2. Univ. in Columbus 3. Actress Vera 4. Boo Boo, for one 5. Blood analysis site 6. School in Tempe, for short 7. Wagers 8. Word before Acres or Hornet 9. Cochlea's place 10. Cobb and Burrell 15. 1967-75 series for Raymond Burr 16. "__ __ Wears Prada"; 2006 Meryl Streep film 19. "On Golden __"; Oscar- nominated movie 20. Murray or Bancroft 22. __ jockey; radio show host 23. As __ as a boil 29. __ Jessica Parker 31. "__ __ __ Name"; Jim Croce song 33. Actor Epps 34. Montana and Mantegna 35. One of the girls on "The Brady Bunch" 36. __ Marie Saint 37. "While __ Were Out" (2002-06) 38. Hosp. employees 39. "A Bridge Too __"; Sean Connery film 40. Night we watch "MacGyver": abbr. Solution on page 2 CoverStory By Jay Bobbin © Zap2it Though "Rise" tells its own story, and largely a fact-based one, NBC wouldn't mind a "Glee" level of success with its similarly themed new se- ries. Getting a "preview" premiere Tuesday, March 13, after the season finale of "This Is Us" (whose slot it will move into), the dra- ma-with-music casts "How I Met Your Mother" alum Josh Radnor as a teacher who assumes responsibil- ity for his school's theater department ... changing many lives, particularly those of students, in the process. Jason Katims ("Friday Night Lights," "Parenthood") and Jef- frey Seller (Broadway's "Hamilton") are among the executive producers. "Shows that are very character-driven and have a deep sort of emotional core to them, those are definitely the shows that not only appeal to me as a viewer, but also the kinds of stories I like to tell," Katims reasons. "I think that having shows like 'This Is Us' has helped that. To be able to be on the network with 'This Is Us' and to have our first episode air after their finale is an incredible opportunity for us." Noting that "Rise" de- picts "the world I grew up in," Radnor says he felt he received an early sign of approval of his doing the show. He reflects, "I had a teacher, Harlene Mar- ley, who was my advisor at Kenyon College. She was just this wonderful, wonderful woman, and she died about two weeks before we started filming this pilot. "There was a prop cart that had all of these plays on it on my very first day of filming, and there was 'Rumors' by Neil Simon, which I did at Kenyon. I hadn't seen a copy of it since I did it in college, and I was leafing through it and I realized that Har- lene had directed me in this play. And it was such a weird, mystical moment. I felt like she had just kissed me on the fore- head and told me that this was great." NBC literally is putting its money where its mouth is with "Rise" through an initiative called "Rise America," which is making financial contributions to high-school theater pro- grams across America, not unlike the Pennsylva- nia one that inspired the series. Josh Radnor stars in "Rise," premiering Tuesday on NBC. Hopes 'Rise' on a school's theater department in NBC series

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