Arts Appropriations Disputes: The Musical!

By Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts
Friday, April 18, 2008

If you followed the culture wars circa 1990 -- the angry battles over federal funding for sexually charged works by artists like Robert Mapplethorpe and Karen Finley-- you probably thought at some point, "Hey, this would make a great musical comedy!"

Well, so did the man at the center of it all -- John Frohnmayer, the National Endowment for the Arts chairman forced to quit in 1992 in the crossfire between conservative pols like Sen. Jesse Helms and liberal-learning arts advocates.

And the retired lawyer actually wrote that musical, a fictionalized and heavily satirical take called "Spin," which debuts at Oregon State University next month. It features a Helmsian senator (played by David Ogden Stiers, Maj. Winchester from "M*A*S*H") and a wacky performance artist-provocateur whose flash-point artwork is "a vomit flag" on the Mall.

"I tried to figure out, what's the most outrageous thing an artist could do?" said Frohnmayer, who jabs at the other side with songs like "Senators' Reprise" ("Getting headlines, we know the score/. . . Being offended by rear ends would give us press galore.")

Oh, and did we mention? Frohnmayer just happens to be running an independent campaign for U.S. Senate in Oregon these days as well. "John knows artists and John knows politicians," said director Marion Rossi, an OSU prof. "And John knows how art and politics come together, sometimes not so prettily."

The Baby Talk Is Kicking, but Mum's the Word From Ashlee Simpson

Is Ashlee Simpson pregnant? Not since the great J-Lo tease of 2007 has a celebrity cover gal's obstetrical status been so closely watched or so deftly obscured. We'll let you sort out the welter of denials, non-denials and no-comments -- bearing in mind that it all may be designed to heighten your interest in the new album she's promoting.

· "There is nothing to say," a rep tells Us Weekly last week when asked about pregnancy rumors amid news of the singer's engagement to Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz.

· After Us and OK! magazine assert on Monday that she's preggers, Wentz denies it to MTV: "There is a witch hunt for people to be pregnant whenever they get engaged in Hollywood."

· People, the most cautious celeb mag, backs the pregnancy claim on Tuesday, citing a family source.

· The 23-year-old Simpson deflects the question on MTV that same day: "I just think it's an inappropriate question to ask any woman. . . . Some things you want to keep personal."

· The New York Post claims yesterday that manager-dad Joe Simpson is trying to broker a $1 million deal with magazines for baby photos but finding little interest.

British PM's Wife Makes Herself Heard

In 2001, Sarah Brown gave birth to a premature baby girl who died 10 days later. She's now the mom of two young sons -- one with cystic fibrosis -- and an advocate for women's and children's health issues. On Wednesday, the very quiet wife of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown spoke up in D.C. at a women's-only gathering (hosted by journalist Elsa Walsh; guests included supermodel Christy Turlington, Rep. Lois Capps and GM exec Debbie Dingell) of the White Ribbon Alliance, which works to prevent childbirth deaths around the globe.

"In parts of the world, it's normal for a mother in labor to say goodbye to her older children because she might not see them again," Brown said.

No Pulling Rank for the CNN Chief

No one's going to call David Bohrman an elitist! CNN's D.C. bureau chief made a show of getting down with the common folk at the network's Wednesday night party after the big Radio and Television Correspondents' Association dinner. On arriving at the Russia House fete ( Wolf Blitzer, Kyra Phillips and Lt. Gen. Craig McKinley somewhere in the mix), the newsman saw the long line of hopeful revelers outside and decided to give up his place on the VIP list, which would have let him in pronto. "I'm not cutting!" Bohrman shouted, then headed to the end of the 20-minute line with his wife, drawing big cheers from the crowd.

Meanwhile, did the protesters who rallied outside the CNN party later think that dinner guest Dick Cheney was actually in there at the vodka bar? The veep's not known for after-hours schmoozing with journalists. Maybe this was more like the Code Pink protesters holding a vigil through Martha Stewart 's Senate testimony on elder care. Which we didn't understand either.