Grapevine—Madonna, Scarlett Johansson, Bruce Springsteen, and Metallica

GIVING BACK: (L-R) Madonna cuts a ribbon next to Malawi’s Education Minister George Chiponda, and the co-founder of Raising Malawi Girls Academy, Michael Berg during a ceremony to officially launch the construction work of Madonna`s Girls Academy in Lilongwe on October 26, 2009. Madonna broke ground today on a girls` academy she is building in Malawi, billed as a `gift` to the country from where she has adopted two children. (Amos Gumulira/AFP/Getty Images)

Madonna Breaks Ground in Malawi 

Pop star Madonna and her four children were in the African country of Malawi as construction of her school for girls began this week. The star’s two adopted children are Malawi natives. The Raising Malawi Academy for Girls is slated to open to 500 students in 2011. It is a project of the charity Madonna founded in 2006, Raising Malawi that has provided aid to orphans in a country that suffers from a significant AIDS epidemic. Madonna was quoted as saying, “If this school is a success—with God-willing it will be—we will replicate it not only in Malawi but in other parts of the world as well.”

The Stage is Set for Scarlett Johansson

Actress Scarlett Johansson is set to take on her first Broadway role in “A View from the Bridge”—an Arthur Miller revival. She will co-star with actor Liev Schreiber, who plays her uncle—a Brooklyn longshoreman. Previews for the play begin December 28. The show will run for 14 weeks at the Cort Theater.

Springsteen Mourns

Rocker Bruce Springsteen cancelled a recent show in Kansas City after the death of his cousin and road manager, Lenny Sullivan. The 36-year-old was found dead in his hotel room on Monday. Police are investigating the cause of death. A statement about Sullivan on Springsteen’s website read, “A warm and sensitive person, he was beloved by Bruce, the Band, the crew, and the entire Thrill Hill family.”

Metallica Adds to Reward Offering for Missing Fan

Morgan Dana Harrington, a 20-year-old Virginia Tech student, went missing after attending a Metallica concert at the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, VA on October 17. The band has offered an extra $50,000 to the reward for her safe return (bringing it to $150,000). Reports indicate that Harrington got separated from her friends at the show and was not allowed to return to the venue per admission rules. She told her friends via text that she’d find another way home and was not heard from thereafter. Harrington’s parents have made television appearances pleading for information. The band posted information, pictures, and a statement on their website reading, “We are deeply concerned about the disappearance of 20 year old Virginia Tech student Morgan Dana Harrington, who was last seen while attending our concert at the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, VA, on Saturday night.”