Briefs: Tara Theatre update, Peabody nominees, Seacrest’s last day on ‘Live’

Christopher Escobar rescued Tara Theatre after Regal shut it down in November, 2022. This photo was taken March 14, 2023. RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com

Credit: RODNEY HO

Credit: RODNEY HO

Christopher Escobar rescued Tara Theatre after Regal shut it down in November, 2022. This photo was taken March 14, 2023. RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com

Tara Theatre is hoping to reopen next month, but a firm date is not quite set.

“Still zeroing in on the first or second week of May,” said Christopher Escobar, who is part of a group of investors who took over Tara, which shut down late last year when Regal closed it. “But we don’t have a definitive sense from the city when permits would be approved.”

On the bright side, fans of Tara have helped the owners reach their $50,000 fundraising goal they announced seven weeks ago. The total as of earlier this week was $29,972.25 in advance gift card and tickets, and $20,665 in donations.

The monies have enabled Escobar to install new equipment, fixtures and furnishings. He is seeking another $25,000 to revitalize the “now playing” sign near the street off Cheshire Bridge Road.

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"Abbott Elementary," starring series creator Quinta Brunson, iss among the Peabody Award nominees. (ABC/Gilles Mingasson)

Credit: ABC

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Credit: ABC

The University of Georgia’s prestigious Peabody Awards announced nominations for 2023 including ABC’s “Abbott Elementary,” FX’s “Atlanta,” AMC’s “Better Call Saul” and Apple TV+’s “Severance.”

The Peabodys hand out annual awards in entertainment, arts, children’s/youth, podcast/radio, interactive & immersive and public service. This year, there are 69 nominees from 1,200 entries.

The winners will be announced May 9 and there will be an official ceremony in Los Angeles for the first time, on June 11 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. In previous years, the ceremony was held in New York City.

Other entertainment nominees include Apple TV+’s “Bad SIsters,” Fox’s “Bob’s Burgers,” FX’s “The Patient” and HBO Max’s “Our Flag Means Death.”

Nominees “Better Call Saul,” FX’s “Reservation Dogs” and “Atlanta” have won Peabodys before.

Besides “Atlanta,” the other nominee with direct Atlanta ties is PBS’s documentary Rising Against Asian Hate: One Day in March.” “In “the aftermath of the 2021 spa killings of 6 women of Asian descent,” the Peabodys described, “the Asian American community in Atlanta came together to fight back and to contend with a racial reckoning in the courts, in the voting booth, and in the streets.

Here is the entire list of nominees.

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Ryan Seacrest (right ) entering the final day of his six years on "Live with Kelly and Ryan" on ABC Friday April 14, 2023. ABC

Credit: ABC

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Credit: ABC

Dunwoody High School grad Ryan Seacrest celebrated his final day Friday on “Live with Kelly and Ryan” after six years on the show.

His parents Gary and Connie and sister Aubrey showed up in the audience. Producers later showed clips of him interacting with his family, visiting his childhood bedroom in Dunwoody, revealing a photo of his chubby teen self and chronicling his sister’s pregnancy and baby.

Kelly Ripa’s husband Mark Consuelos will replace him.

“From the bottom of my heart, we want to thank you for being wonderful, for being an original, authentic addition to this show,” Ripa said toward the end of the Friday show that aired on WSB-TV. “You’re forever our family. We will never say goodbye to you. We will only say see you soon and I love you.”

Seacrest said: “I am a very lucky man, Kelly. I want you all to know that it’s not lost on me how fortunate I am, fortunate to have this seat with you Kel for six years. You are incomparable. There’s no one like you. I was fortunate to have this job where I get to talk and laugh and screw things up... Today, it’s hard to put into words being here and being here with you... I’m honored to be part of his family.”

They showed a 2005 clip of Seacrest visiting the show when Consuelos was subbing in. They ran a montage of Seacrest highlights such as him dancing (not very well), dressed as Jeannie from “I Dream of Jeannie,” and pretending to be Bradley Cooper’s character in “A Star is Born.” They showed Seacrest visiting New York City eateries, playing games, skydiving and basically goofing around.

They also played a clip of Seacrest coming to Atlanta to his Seacrest Studios at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta as part of his Ryan Seacrest Foundation.

Seacrest, who lives in Los Angeles, decided to step down from “Live With Kelly and Ryan,” which is based in New York, to focus on his production company, his radio show and “American Idol.”