TELL ME ABOUT IT, STUD:  I interrupt our ongoing Blizzapocalypse 2016: This Time, We Got It Right coverage to bullet-point the many news items collected in today's NYT preview of Grease Live!:

• There will be a live audience.
• The carnival will be outdoors.
• The actress who plays Kiki in the Fresh Beat Band (and played Vanessa in the first national tour of In The Heights) is the best dancer at St. Bernadette's (with the worst reputation), that hussy Cha-Cha DiGregorio.
• Oh, and NBC has announced its next live musical: Hairspray. Which, as you know, I love, but ... the film version's pretty damn good, and recent. So, other than restoring some songs which were lost in translation to the big stage ... why? What can they do, casting or arrangement wise, to make this memorable?

BLIZZAPOCALYPSE 2016:  In the long tradition of this site, it's time for an open thread.

WHAT ABOUT TAUNTON?  Last night's "please make this viral" Boston Accent video from Seth Meyers is a good launching point from which we have one of our Current State of Late Night chats in advance of Snowmageddon/thanksnowbama 2016.

To me, the best thing on late night lately has been Stephen Colbert's interviews. For starters, his ambit is a lot wider than anyone else's. In the past two weeks alone, he's had Sarah Koenig, DeRay Mckesson, Guerrilla Girls, Scott Kelly, and Quincy Jones -- people talking about their ideas, not hawking product -- and even those who are there to pitch, like James Spader this week, it's still a solid, revealing conversation. 

And, of course, it's that breadth of guests which will continue to have him trounced in the ratings by Jimmy Fallon. Look: no one in late night ever may have done a better job at giving celebrities a showcase to shine in adorable situations, and his musical impressions are ... look, some work better than others, but there is a place in the world for fanboy enthusiasm. The show works, and kudos to Lorne Michaels for recognizing (as I didn't) that there was long-term major potential in him.

I don't watch Kimmel. Am I missing anything.

As for Trevor Noah, all I can do is grade him incomplete. It's just too early for someone this new to expect him to find his place. Is anyone watching regularly?

BUT WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR SABERMETRICS?  Allegedly, subject to union and league approval (both of which are anticipated), the designated hitter rule will become MLB-wide starting in the 2017 season.  I'm sure people will want to argue in the comments.

LA DI DA DI DA DA DA DA DA:  Jimmy Fallon sings "You'll Be Back" from Hamilton in the style of a wide variety of pop artists.

FOLLIES DESK:  The Ziegfeld Theater, the last remaining single screen movie palace in Manhattan, and a staple location for movie premieres even in recent years, will close in the coming weeks and be rebuilt as "a spectacular high-end event space."  Last film to be shown there will likely be Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

DAWG, YO, MAN, YOU'RE GOING TO HOLLYWOOD!  The 14 greatest auditions in American Idol history, except it's missing the adorbs Josiah Leming and, of course, Frenchie Davis.

WHO ARE THREE PEOPLE WHO HAVE NEVER BEEN IN MY KITCHEN?  Last night's Final Jeopardy resulted in something that has happened only 6 times in show history.

IT'S SO NICE TO SEE YOU BACK WHERE YOU BELONG: Bette Midler will star in a Hello, Dolly! revival next season on Broadway.  Bette already has Grammy and Emmy, and a 1976 special/non-competitive Tony for "adding lustre to the Broadway season."  No Oscar, despite 2 nominations (The Rose and For The Boys).  It's her first time in a musical (rather than a revue/concert or straight play) on Broadway since 1967, when she was a replacement as Tzeitel in the original production of Fiddler.

IT IS NOT "ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST":  Trivia - name the Oscar-winning film whose full title is spoken the most times within the film.

N.B. Don't hover over the link unless you want the answer spoiled.