Attention theater fans: Tickets for the Theatre By The Sea’s first production under new owner Bill Hanney go on sale next week, with past season ticket holders getting first crack at seats for Stephen Sondheim’s A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets will go on sale to the public on Friday, July 20, and be available at the box office Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., online at www.theatrebythesea.com and via telephone during office hours at (401) 782-8587. Dates for the Sondheim show are Aug. 10-26.

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The late John F. Kennedy Jr. and his sister, Caroline, are the subjects of a new book, American Legacy: The Story of John and Caroline Kennedy, written by C. David Heymann and published by Atria Books. In John’s life story, Providence plays a factor, particularly Brown University, where he graduated in 1983. John selected the school, according to Heymann, because it was “less academically competitive than Harvard,” and because at Brown “students couldn’t fail courses.”

Heymann writes about John taking up flight training while at Brown, until his mother learned about it and ordered him to stop. Heymann also recalls the unrelenting attention John attracted — mainly from women, who would surround his table at the dining hall or pass his dorm and linger outside it in an attempt to meet him.

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Channel 5 anchor Natalie Jacobson, a familiar face in Boston TV news for the past 35 years, plans to retire from the anchor chair next Wednesday. Jacobson, 63, shared her decision with colleagues Tuesday at the WCVB-TV news studio in Needham.

“I have a lot of mixed emotions. It’s the right thing to do. I am ready to move on,” Jacobson said in an interview at the station before the 5 p.m. newscast. .

Jacobson said she plans to launch a multimedia venture for baby boomers to help them deal with retirement.