'On Broadway' filming set to begin
''On Broadway," the Boston-themed independent movie, is back on, despite a several-month delay in the start of production. Most of the cast is intact, including stars Joey McIntyre; ''Saturday Night Live" funny girl and Burlington native Amy Poehler and her husband, Will Arnett, of the late ''Arrested Development"; and New Hampshire native and ''Yes, Dear" star Mike O'Malley, along with Vincent Dowling, Robert Wahlberg, Sean Lawlor, and actor/producer Lance Green. ''We're ready to go," said West Roxbury native Dave McLaughlin, the film's writer/director. The 20-day production schedule will start on May 1. The film, which is set in Jamaica Plain, will be shot by LA-based cinematographer and South Boston native Terrence Hayes. It will qualify for tax breaks under a new state law aimed at wooing more film and TV biz to the region. ''On Broadway" is in the vein of ''The Commitments," McLaughlin said, with McIntyre as a playwright who stages a production of his work in the back of an Irish pub. The story might be familiar to locals because McLaughlin did just that about nine years ago at the Burren in Somerville with his Irish-American family drama ''God Willing." ''I remember that time so fondly; it was such a great process to be a part of," McLaughlin said.
Boston banjo player joins the Boss
Boston banjo player Greg Liszt will be touring with Bruce Springsteen to promote Springsteen's latest album, ''We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions." Liszt, who regularly plays with Crooked Still, Wayfaring Strangers, and the Jake Armerding Band, will be part of the 17-piece Seeger Sessions Band that includes Springsteen's wife, Patti Scialfa, on vocals. Liszt, who holds a doctorate in biology from MIT, is known for his eclectic style. Springsteen & Co. will play New Orleans at the end of the month and 10 concerts in Europe before kicking off an 18-city tour in Boston at the TD Banknorth Garden on May 27. Ticket information hasn't been released.Messina hobbles to marathon finish
Country superstar Jo Dee Messina finished the Boston Marathon in just over six hours, hampered by a bum knee, according to her publicist. Messina, who ran with her brother Vincent, wrote on her website: ''Everything was just fine. Then, at about the halfway point I blew out my left knee and it all turned." A Holliston native, Messina is resting in the Boston area before heading out on tour in support of her No. 1-selling album ''Delicious Surprise." But the singer isn't giving up running. ''I'll be back. . . . The hardest part for me was sitting in the first aid tents watching all the people go by. . . . I fully intend on doing another marathon for sure."For their 25th anniversary run, Team Hoyt -- that's Dick and Rick Hoyt -- not only finished the marathon in less than four hours but raised more than $350,000 through a series of events including an auction that was hosted by CBS4's Bob Lobel and Scott Wahle.
Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, who hosts his own show on MSNBC and previously cohosted CNN's ''Crossfire," was the guest of the College Republicans of Boston College yesterday and stuck around to broadcast his show from Boston last night. The political pundit recently shed his trademark bow tie and appeared here sans the famous neckwear. Willie Geist, senior producer for the MSNBC show ''The Situation With Tucker Carlson," wrote on the show's website: ''I wish I could tell you he was refusing to wear it until political prisoners somewhere were released. . . . The boring truth is Tucker just woke up on Monday and decided he wasn't wearing it anymore."
Geoff Edgers of the Globe staff contributed. Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253. 
