Assorted ramblings from the world of entertainment:

• Bill Scudier, who celebrated his 50th anniversary in 2025 leading the band Sideshow, has played more benefits than he can count over the decades for fellow musicians and others in need.

Just because he is the beneficiary of an event planned Sunday at Leon’s Sports Bar & Grill in Howland, that doesn’t mean he won’t be one of the working musicians too.

Scudier, whose 79th birthday is Saturday, is battling stage four lung cancer. Sunday’s benefit will double as both a birthday party and a benefit to help with health-related expenses.

“We’re gonna raise a little hell and turn the page on cancer. That’s our theme,” said his daughter, Kristian Scudier.

“I just want to show my dad how much he’s loved, and how much that he has made everybody happy in the last 50 years of his singing and the band.”

Trooper’s “Raise a Little Hell” and Bob Seger’s “Turn the Page” have been Sideshow favorites for years. There’s no doubt there are local music fans who, when “Raise a Little Hell” is running through their heads, it’s Scudier’s voice they hear, not Trooper lead singer Ra McGuire’s.

The lineup for Sunday’s benefit will include Damian Knapp and Gary Pirrung at 3 p.m., Cruise Control at 4 p.m,, Blue Siren at 5 p.m., Sideshow at 6 p.m. and Allstars at 7 p.m., followed by a jam session.

Kristian Scudier said when she told her father about the benefit, he told her he wanted to perform.

“He said, ‘I can’t just be in there and let everybody stare at me,'” she said.

Bill Scudier said he felt a little uncomfortable about it being a benefit but added, “I’m looking forward to seeing people I haven’t seen in a long time.”

He said he’s been rehearsing with Sideshow this week, working on the songs mentioned above along with Jethro Tull’s “Locomotive Breath” and maybe some more Seger.

“We’ve got a good grip on what we’re going to do,” he said.

A $10 donation is requested at the door, and there will be 50/50 and basket raffles.

• The winner of the 2025 Tony Award for best musical is one of eight shows coming to Pittsburgh’s Benedum Center as part of the 2026-27 PNC Broadway season.

The North American tour of “Maybe Happy Ending,” which won a total of six Tonys, comes to Pittsburgh on Dec. 29 for a week-long run, and it’s one of several current Broadway hits represented on the schedule.

The season will open Sept. 9 with a returning favorite, “Disney’s the Lion King,” which is the third-longest-running musical in Broadway history.

While most shows in the season run for a single week, “The Lion King” will play for nearly three weeks.

It will be followed by “The Notebook” from Nov. 10 to 15, “The Sound of Music” from Jan. 19 to 24, 2027; “Death Becomes Her” from Feb. 23 to 28, 2027; “The Phantom of the Opera” from March 17 to 28, 2027; “The Outsiders” from April 27 to May 2, 2027; and a new production of “The Who’s Tommy” from May 18 to 23, 2027.

Season ticket packages that include admission to all eight productions range from $354 to $1,133, depending upon seat location and day of performance. Season tickets are available online at trustarts.org and by calling 412-456-6666.

Andy Gray is the entertainment editor of Ticket. Write to him at agray@tribtoday.com.