It might be a coincidence, but the broadcast of the Tony Awards on CBS had their lowest ratings in 21 years just one day before one Broadway producer announced that she was moving forward with a terrible idea:

Producer Dianne Fraser has acquired stage rights to Gilligan’s Island: The Musical, and she plans to launch the show on Broadway, banking on the idea that the audience for the iconic TV show will want to see the characters brought to the stage.

It’s based on the classic 1960s series with a book that was written by series creator Sherwood Schwartz and his son Lloyd, with a score by Schwartz’s daughter Hope and her husband Laurence Juber, a guitarist-composer. Schwartz, who also created The Brady Bunch, passed away last year, but not before the show was road-tested in small theaters across the country. It’s very similar to the format of the original show, with Gilligan, the Skipper, The Howells, Ginger, Maryanne and the Professor stranded on an island. They’ve added another character: an alien....

“It’s the type of show where you can stunt cast with movie stars to play the Howells, Ginger, even the Professor,” she said. “Maybe an American Idol contestant to play Gilligan, to open up the show.”

Before you ask, this isn't a story from a Broadway version of The Onion. Someone is actually trying to raise money for a all-singing-and-dancing Broadway show that adds an alien to the Gilligan's Island formula.

Slideshow

Ron Barber Get Out the Vote Concert, Rialto Theatre, June 9

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Sergio Mendoza y la Orkesta headlined a Get Out the Vote concert supporting Ron Barber at the Rialto Theatre on June 9th, 2012.

I spent time down on Fourth Avenue asking employees of area businesses and the members of the general public their thoughts on the current construction of the modern streetcar.

The general consensus: nobody likes it.

Public Policy Polling predicts a blowout for Democrat Ron Barber in tomorrow's special election to complete Gabrielle Giffords' seat:

Democrats are headed for a victory in tomorrow's special election to replace Gabby Giffords in the House, but the relevance of the result in Arizona to much of anything else appears limited.

Democrat Ron Barber leads with 53% to 41% for Republican Jesse Kelly, with Green Party candidate Charlie Manolakis polling at 4%. Barber is well liked by voters in the district, sporting a 54/38 favorability rating. Kelly, meanwhile, has very high negatives with only 37% of voters rating him positively while 59% have a negative opinion.

We find that the likely electorate for tomorrow's election supported Barack Obama over John McCain 50-44. McCain actually won the district by a 52-46 margin in 2008. This, along with the special election in New York's 26th Congressional District last May, is one of only two races recently where we've found a likely electorate significantly more Democratic than the Presidential one in 2008, and it suggests Democrats are unusually motivated to come out and vote to keep Giffords' seat in their hands.

Despite the likely Democratic victory tomorrow Barack Obama's approval rating in this district is only 44%, with 50% of voters disapproving of him. And even though Barber leads by 12, likely voters only say they want Democrats to have control of Congress by a 48-44 margin. That's an unusually large gap between the horse race and who voters want to have control, and again speaks to the unusual circumstances surrounding this race.

In case you missed it: Last night's Political Roundtable! Pima County Republican Chairwoman Carolyn Cox, Pima County Democratic Chairman Jeff Rogers and Tucson City Councilman Steve Kozachik visit Arizona Illustrated to talk about the week in review, including the closing arguments in the race between Republican Jesse Kelly and Democrat Ron Barber; the shake-up on the Rio Nuevo Board; Councilman Paul Cunningham's drinking problem and the council's push for a new code of conduct; TREO's future; Mayor Jonathan Rothschild's first 180 days in office; and the latest in the U.S. Senate GOP primary between Congressman Jeff Flake and Wil Cardon.

You'll need to go to Ron Barber's campaign website to sign up for a volunteer shift to get in, but if you're willing to help out the Tucson Weekly's endorsed candidate in the CD 8 special election, you can see an excellent show at the Rialto tomorrow night, featuring Sergio Mendoza y la Orkestra, some of the Calexico guys, Salvador Duran and more. Plus, as we mentioned previously, Gabrielle Giffords is scheduled to appear. If you can't make it, we'll have photos from the show on The Range afterward.

If you are looking for authentic Italian cuisine downtown, be sure to visit Caffe' Milano before it closes for a month. Starting on Thursday, June 14, the restaurant will be closed and will reopen on Wednesday, July 18. The owners return to Italy each summer to find new recipes and to visit family. Caffe' Milano is located at 46 W. Congress St., next to the Fox Tucson Theatre. Call 628-1601, or visit www.caffemilano.com for more information.

Arizona author Loretta Kantor, originally from the Bronx, NY, has written a story of personal triumph in the aftermath of the Vietnam War entitled Private War, Personal Victory: Footnote to the Vietnam War. (Windy Acre, 199 pages, $18, available on Amazon.) Kantor and her husband moved to Tucson in 1980. They now reside in Hereford.

Book summary from the author:

Private War, Personal Victory: Footnote to the Vietnam War is the true story of how great courage and deep love overcame a tragic explosion in Vietnam that claimed one soldier's arms, legs and an eye. The author tells how she and her college sweetheart struggled to restore a future that was stolen from them by the draft, Vietnam, and a booby trap explosion. Surviving and learning to live with injuries of war were only part of the struggle. They had to live in an America that had turned it's back on the Vietnam soldier. They had to battle with an unresponsive Veteran's Administration. They had to endure the lack of support and at times, outright hostility from the author's family. They had to overcome an inaccessible world. In spite of all the obstacles thrown at them, Lloyd and Loretta restored their future, and have been happily married for over 40 years.

Gabby Giffords, who will be at downtown's Rialto Theatre for a get-out-the-vote rally and concert on Saturday night to help former aide Ron Barber in his campaign against Republican Jesse Kelly in the June 12 special election that will determine who finishes Giffords' congressional term, made an appearance earlier this week in Beverly Hills.

HuffPo reports:

Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) on Tuesday night attended her first — and last — campaign event since the January 2011 shooting that nearly took her life. And she hinted at what her next career move may be: a Gabby PAC.

During a private reception on Capitol Hill, Giffords pulled together a mariachi band and a spread of Southwestern food to thank her donors and friends for their support over the past many months, even though she decided to retire from Congress in January to focus on her rehabilitation. Giffords was shot in the head in January 2011 in a Tucson, Ariz., shooting spree that left six dead and others wounded.

But Kelly and Giffords' taking the stage to thank everyone and give an update on their plans marked the event's highlight. Kelly did all of the talking.

"Gabby and I are not going to be strangers to Washington," Kelly said to cheers. "We've got a few things that we're planning on working on — those issues she cares about, but also helping her friends. And that includes — we haven't quite figured this out — but at some point it might include an organization called Gabby PAC."

Whatever Giffords ends up doing, she will stay focused on the same issues she prioritized while in Congress: solar energy, veterans affairs and border issues, Kelly said. She will also push for "just the ability to work together with other people," he said. "Gabby has always been one to work across party lines and try to get things done for this country. And she's doing to continue to do that."

So I got on my computer this morning, another casual Wednesday perusing the Internet and usual news websites I check on the daily, in addition to checking my Facebook for the first time today [but not the last], I came across something interesting.

Several of my friend’s statuses said something along the lines of “Why is everyone in such a rush to get married?” and then I realized whom they were talking about.

Miley Cyrus is now engaged to Hunger Games star, Liam Hemsworth. The couple has been dating for three years after they met on the set of “The Last Song” in 2009 when she was 16 and he was 19.

Now, marriage is great and all but I really can’t get past the fact that Cyrus is only 19 and Hemsworth is 22.

Maybe this is just me but I don’t understand why this happy couple had to rush into marriage so quickly. I mean, Cyrus is not even able to drink legally yet.

How many star relationships have you seen where couples get married early on and then you hear about the awful split several months later? Don’t get me wrong I hope this marriage turns out well, but I am just saying…