Grey’s Anatomy and Quiz Lady actor Sandra Oh will star in the Off Broadway American premiere of Lucy Kirkwood’s The Welkin this summer.
The Atlantic Theater Company production begins previews Thursday, May 16, and will open Wednesday, June 12 for a limited engagement through Sunday, June 30.
Directed by Sarah Benson, The Welkin is set in Rural Suffolk, England, 1759, as the country waits for Halley’s Comet. A young woman is sentenced to hang for a heinous murder, and when she claims to be pregnant, a jury of twelve matrons are taken from their housework to decide whether she’s telling the truth or simply trying to escape the noose. Only midwife Lizzy Luke (Oh) is prepared to defend the girl against a mob baying for blood, matrons wrestling with their new authority and the devil in their midst.
Atlantic describes the work as a “dark, fierce,...
The Atlantic Theater Company production begins previews Thursday, May 16, and will open Wednesday, June 12 for a limited engagement through Sunday, June 30.
Directed by Sarah Benson, The Welkin is set in Rural Suffolk, England, 1759, as the country waits for Halley’s Comet. A young woman is sentenced to hang for a heinous murder, and when she claims to be pregnant, a jury of twelve matrons are taken from their housework to decide whether she’s telling the truth or simply trying to escape the noose. Only midwife Lizzy Luke (Oh) is prepared to defend the girl against a mob baying for blood, matrons wrestling with their new authority and the devil in their midst.
Atlantic describes the work as a “dark, fierce,...
- 2/27/2024
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Lynda Gravátt, the Harlem-born actress who starred on New York stages in such productions as 45 Seconds From Broadway, Doubt, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Old Settler and Intimate Apparel, has died. She was 76.
Gravátt died Friday at a hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey, her son David Gravátt told The Hollywood Reporter.
A founding member of Robert Alexander’s Living Stage at the famed Washington-based Arena Stage company, Gravátt received a 1999 Theatre World trophy for her performance as 1940s Harlem resident Quilly McGrath in The Old Settler and a Audelco prize in 2004 for her turn as the bossy landlady Mrs. Dickson in Intimate Apparel.
On Broadway in 2001, she stood by for Leslie Uggams as Ruby in August Wilson’s King Hedley II and portrayed Bessie James in Neil Simon’s 45 Seconds From Broadway, then appeared as Mrs. Muller in 2016 in the original Broadway production of John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt.
Gravátt died Friday at a hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey, her son David Gravátt told The Hollywood Reporter.
A founding member of Robert Alexander’s Living Stage at the famed Washington-based Arena Stage company, Gravátt received a 1999 Theatre World trophy for her performance as 1940s Harlem resident Quilly McGrath in The Old Settler and a Audelco prize in 2004 for her turn as the bossy landlady Mrs. Dickson in Intimate Apparel.
On Broadway in 2001, she stood by for Leslie Uggams as Ruby in August Wilson’s King Hedley II and portrayed Bessie James in Neil Simon’s 45 Seconds From Broadway, then appeared as Mrs. Muller in 2016 in the original Broadway production of John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt.
- 2/27/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The great acting legend Sidney Poitier died in January at age 94. He did not live to see the thrilling new documentary on his life and career, Sidney, which had its world premiere Saturday night at the Toronto Film Festival. However, it had its blessing, and that of his family, for a film that has been percolating and in development and then production for five years. And although Poitier himself didn’t get to see the finished work, everyone else will beginning on September 23 when it begins streaming on Apple TV+ and playing in selected theaters.
With Oprah Winfrey on board as a producer (with Derik Murray) and Reginald Hudlin as director, Poitier gets an extraordinarily comprehensive and wide-ranging look at his life told in linear fashion and narrated by himself through the use of eight hours of interview footage done in 2012 with Winfrey, as well as other archival interviews. This...
With Oprah Winfrey on board as a producer (with Derik Murray) and Reginald Hudlin as director, Poitier gets an extraordinarily comprehensive and wide-ranging look at his life told in linear fashion and narrated by himself through the use of eight hours of interview footage done in 2012 with Winfrey, as well as other archival interviews. This...
- 9/11/2022
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
The upcoming Broadway production of Stephen Adly Guirgis’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play Between Riverside And Crazy, directed by Austin Pendleton, will reunite much of the acclaimed 2015 Off Broadway cast when it begins previews Wednesday, November 30, at Second Stage’s Hayes Theater.
The production, which officially opens Monday, December 19, will reunite most of the Off Broadway cast, including Stephen McKinley Henderson, Victor Almanzar, Elizabeth Canavan, Rosal Colón, Liza Colón-Zayas and Michael Rispoli.
The synopsis: City Hall is demanding more than his signature, the landlord wants him out, the liquor store is closed – and the Church won’t leave him alone. For ex-cop and recent widower Walter “Pops” Washington (Henderson) and his recently paroled son Junior, the struggle to hold on to one of the last great rent stabilized apartments on Riverside Drive collides with old wounds, sketchy new houseguests and a final ultimatum…”
Original cast member Ron Cephas-Jones will not be returning...
The production, which officially opens Monday, December 19, will reunite most of the Off Broadway cast, including Stephen McKinley Henderson, Victor Almanzar, Elizabeth Canavan, Rosal Colón, Liza Colón-Zayas and Michael Rispoli.
The synopsis: City Hall is demanding more than his signature, the landlord wants him out, the liquor store is closed – and the Church won’t leave him alone. For ex-cop and recent widower Walter “Pops” Washington (Henderson) and his recently paroled son Junior, the struggle to hold on to one of the last great rent stabilized apartments on Riverside Drive collides with old wounds, sketchy new houseguests and a final ultimatum…”
Original cast member Ron Cephas-Jones will not be returning...
- 9/9/2022
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Tonya Pinkins (Jelly’s Last Jam) has signed with The Rosenzweig Group for management in all areas.
Pinkins is a Tony Award-winning actress and filmmaker who will next be seen in the Public Theater’s upcoming production of A Raisin in the Sun, directed by Tony nominee Robert O’Hara (Slave Play).
Best known for her work on Broadway, Pinkins has earned three Tony noms in total, winning in 1992 for her performance as Sweet Anita in Jelly’s Last Jam. Over the course of the actress’ career in theater, she has also been recognized with Opie, Lortel, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Audleco, Garland, LA Drama Critics Circle, Clarence Derwent and NAACP Theater awards.
Pinkins recently starred opposite Adrienne Warren in the ABC limited series Women of the Movement. The actress has also been seen in recurring roles on such series as God Friended Me, Fear the Walking Dead, Gotham,...
Pinkins is a Tony Award-winning actress and filmmaker who will next be seen in the Public Theater’s upcoming production of A Raisin in the Sun, directed by Tony nominee Robert O’Hara (Slave Play).
Best known for her work on Broadway, Pinkins has earned three Tony noms in total, winning in 1992 for her performance as Sweet Anita in Jelly’s Last Jam. Over the course of the actress’ career in theater, she has also been recognized with Opie, Lortel, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Audleco, Garland, LA Drama Critics Circle, Clarence Derwent and NAACP Theater awards.
Pinkins recently starred opposite Adrienne Warren in the ABC limited series Women of the Movement. The actress has also been seen in recurring roles on such series as God Friended Me, Fear the Walking Dead, Gotham,...
- 9/1/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
In the last few days of every Tony Awards season, prognosticators have the tendency to overthink some races that are likely done deals. That could be the case this year with the Featured Actress in a Play category, where frontrunner Kenita R. Miller (“for colored girls”) has dominated the conversation since the revival of Ntozake Shange’s classic choreopoem started previews. But a large number of our users think Uzo Aduba (“Clyde’s”) will pull off an upset, while dozens are picking Rachel Dratch (“Potus”). Those mavericks may be overlooking the real spoiler in the category, though, in past Tony winner Phylicia Rashad, who returned to Broadway in Dominique Morisseau’s Best Play nominee “Skeleton Crew.”
Right now, Miller leads the field to take home the Tony for her “resplendent” performance as the Lady in Red. The actress not only delivered an acclaimed turn, but she took on the role while pregnant,...
Right now, Miller leads the field to take home the Tony for her “resplendent” performance as the Lady in Red. The actress not only delivered an acclaimed turn, but she took on the role while pregnant,...
- 6/11/2022
- by David Buchanan
- Gold Derby
(For nearly 30 years, Susan Haskins-Doloff was co-host and executive producer of the classic PBS TV show “Theater Talk,” featuring fascinating and witty interviews with the leading stars and other creators of Broadway’s greatest shows.)
As the 2022 Tony Awards approach, and I think about handicapping this year’s nominees, I am also remembering some of the more outstanding dramatic performance I have witnessed over the years. Long, long ago, my mother took me to see “A Raisin in The Sun.” Lorraine Hansberry’s ground-breaking play, which opened on Broadway in 1959, had already received due praise, winning the Pulitzer Prize and The New York Drama Critics’ Circle Awards. It didn’t get any Tony’s though. It was nominated in 4 categories, including Best Play, but lost that to The Miracle Worker. “A Raisin in The Sun” closed two months after the Tony Ceremony, with 530 performances.
It then went on the road...
As the 2022 Tony Awards approach, and I think about handicapping this year’s nominees, I am also remembering some of the more outstanding dramatic performance I have witnessed over the years. Long, long ago, my mother took me to see “A Raisin in The Sun.” Lorraine Hansberry’s ground-breaking play, which opened on Broadway in 1959, had already received due praise, winning the Pulitzer Prize and The New York Drama Critics’ Circle Awards. It didn’t get any Tony’s though. It was nominated in 4 categories, including Best Play, but lost that to The Miracle Worker. “A Raisin in The Sun” closed two months after the Tony Ceremony, with 530 performances.
It then went on the road...
- 6/3/2022
- by Susan Haskins-Doloff
- Gold Derby
“Sidney Poitier was the epitome of Black Dignity, Black beauty, Black pride and Black power” by “N.Y. Times” Charles M. Blow Sidney Poitier family issues statement on his death: “he is our guiding light.” “Sidney L. Poitier Kbe, February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022, R.I.P. Sidney Poitier was a Bahamian-American actor, film director, activist, and ambassador. In 1964, he was the first black person and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. He received two Academy Award nominations, ten Golden Globes nominations, two Primetime Emmy Awards nominations, six BAFTA nominations, eight Laurel nominations, and one Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG) nomination. Poitier’s entire family lived in the Bahamas, then still a British colony, but he was born unexpectedly in Miami while they were visiting for the weekend, which automatically granted him U.S. citizenship. He grew up in the Bahamas, but moved to Miami at age 15, and to...
- 1/8/2022
- by HollywoodNews.com
- Hollywoodnews.com
Exclusive: Apple Studios’ Raymond and Ray has added Maribel Verdú and Oscar nominee Sophie Okonedo to the cast alongside Ewan McGregor and Ethan Hawke. The pic is now filming in Virginia.
The Rodrigo García-directed movie follows half-brothers Raymond (McGregor) and Ray (Hawke) who have lived in the shadow of a terrible father. Somehow, they still each have a sense of humor, and his funeral is a chance for them to reinvent themselves. There’s anger, there’s pain, there’s folly, there might be love, and there’s definitely grave-digging.
Verdú will star as Lucia, a partner and caretaker to Raymond and Ray’s father. Her character is described as one having the innate strength and alluring personality that will mend the broken family in the wake of the father’s death. Okonedo plays Kiera, a no-nonsense nurse and a source of comfort for Raymond and Ray’s father in his final days.
The Rodrigo García-directed movie follows half-brothers Raymond (McGregor) and Ray (Hawke) who have lived in the shadow of a terrible father. Somehow, they still each have a sense of humor, and his funeral is a chance for them to reinvent themselves. There’s anger, there’s pain, there’s folly, there might be love, and there’s definitely grave-digging.
Verdú will star as Lucia, a partner and caretaker to Raymond and Ray’s father. Her character is described as one having the innate strength and alluring personality that will mend the broken family in the wake of the father’s death. Okonedo plays Kiera, a no-nonsense nurse and a source of comfort for Raymond and Ray’s father in his final days.
- 10/21/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Anika Noni Rose has been cast in the “Let the Right One In” pilot at Showtime, Variety has learned.
She joins previously announced cast member Demián Bichir. The series centers on Mark (Bichir), a father and his 12-year-old daughter, Eleanor, whose lives were changed forever 10 years earlier when she was turned into a vampire. Locked in at age 12, perhaps forever, Eleanor lives a closed-in life, able to go out only at night, while her father does his best to provide her with the minimal amount of human blood she needs to stay alive.
Rose will appear in the series regular role of Naomi. Described as brilliant but cynical, Naomi balances life as a single mother with her career as a homicide detective. She’d do anything for her son, Isaiah, and when Isaiah befriends the girl who’s just moved in next door, Naomi’s thrilled, until she starts to...
She joins previously announced cast member Demián Bichir. The series centers on Mark (Bichir), a father and his 12-year-old daughter, Eleanor, whose lives were changed forever 10 years earlier when she was turned into a vampire. Locked in at age 12, perhaps forever, Eleanor lives a closed-in life, able to go out only at night, while her father does his best to provide her with the minimal amount of human blood she needs to stay alive.
Rose will appear in the series regular role of Naomi. Described as brilliant but cynical, Naomi balances life as a single mother with her career as a homicide detective. She’d do anything for her son, Isaiah, and when Isaiah befriends the girl who’s just moved in next door, Naomi’s thrilled, until she starts to...
- 4/15/2021
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
Tony Award winner Anika Noni Rose is set as a lead opposite Demián Bichir in Let the Right One In, Showtime’s vampire drama pilot from Away creator Andrew Hinderaker, who serves as showrunner; Seith Man, who will direct; and Tomorrow Studios.
Inspired by the best-selling 2004 novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist and its 2008 Swedish film adaptation, the series revolves around Mark (Bichir) and his 12-year-old daughter, whose lives were changed forever 10 years earlier when she was turned into a vampire. Locked in at age 12, perhaps forever, Eleanor lives a closed-in life, able to go out only at night, while her father does his best to provide her with the minimal amount of human blood she needs to stay alive.
Rose will play Naomi. Brilliant but cynical, Naomi balances life as a single mother with her career as a homicide detective. She’d do anything for her son, Isaiah,...
Inspired by the best-selling 2004 novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist and its 2008 Swedish film adaptation, the series revolves around Mark (Bichir) and his 12-year-old daughter, whose lives were changed forever 10 years earlier when she was turned into a vampire. Locked in at age 12, perhaps forever, Eleanor lives a closed-in life, able to go out only at night, while her father does his best to provide her with the minimal amount of human blood she needs to stay alive.
Rose will play Naomi. Brilliant but cynical, Naomi balances life as a single mother with her career as a homicide detective. She’d do anything for her son, Isaiah,...
- 4/15/2021
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Berkshire Theatre Group is currently presentingthrough July 22 the Tony Award-winning Children of a Lesser God, directed by Tony Award-winner, Kenny Leon A Raisin in the Sun. Now according to the New York Post, producers have their eyes on the show for Broadway. Michael Riedel writes that Hal Luftig is waiting to confirm a theatre for a spring 2018 transfer.
- 7/20/2017
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Vivek Tiwary has been my friend for more than 15 years. We met through mutual friends, and bonded initially over rock’n’roll and cancer. Immediately, I thought he was one of the coolest people I’d ever met. These are some of the things Vivek has done: Broadway producer (of A Raisin in the Sun, American Idiot, among others), a tech entrepreneur who used his music industry chops to help talent deal with the business, and co-founder of an amazing non-profit that, among other things, helped soothe my husband as he was dying.
You can imagine my surprise when I found out that he is also a huge comic book nerd.
We don’t have quite the same roots – he’s a Marvel fan, I’m a DC girl – but we bonded over our love of the form. In fact, when he was having trouble finding a way to get...
You can imagine my surprise when I found out that he is also a huge comic book nerd.
We don’t have quite the same roots – he’s a Marvel fan, I’m a DC girl – but we bonded over our love of the form. In fact, when he was having trouble finding a way to get...
- 4/7/2017
- by Martha Thomases
- Comicmix.com
It’s a good bet that Robert Greenblatt had never shared a dais with Julius “Dr. J” Erving. Yet there they were in New York this week, the NBC Entertainment chairman and the NBA Hall of Famer, the duke of dunk, raising a glass to director Kenny Leon at the Mr. Abbott Awards. Leon may seem a little young, at 61, to be receiving a lifetime achievement honor from the Stage Directors & Choreographers Foundation. But the Tony-winning director of A Raisin In The Sun and the…...
- 3/31/2017
- Deadline TV
Shewon your heart as Lottie Gee, Billie Holliday, and Bess and that's been just the past few years. Audra McDonald has grown to be perhaps the greatest talent of this generation of live theatre- and she has six Tony Awards to prove it. From Ragtime to Macbeth, Carousel to A Raisin in the Sun, watch below as Richard Ridge chats with the 2017 SAG nominee as a part of SAG-aftra Foundation's Conversations series.
- 1/29/2017
- by Backstage With Richard Ridge
- BroadwayWorld.com
With news of “Do The Right Thing” actor Bill Nunn’s death at age 62 on Saturday, Nunn’s show-business colleagues rushed to pay tribute to the actor on social media. “Private Practice” actress Audra McDonald, who worked with Nunn on the 2008 film “A Raisin in the Sun,” called the actor “a gem of a man.” “Heartbroken to hear of Bill Nunn’s passing. He was a gem of a man and I loved working with and getting to know him,” McDonald wrote. “Rip.” Also Read: Bill Nunn, 'Do the Right Thing' and 'Spider-Man' Actor, Dies at...
- 9/25/2016
- by Tim Kenneally
- The Wrap
Second Stage Theatre will soon present the New York premiere production of Smart People, the new play by Lydia R. Diamond Stick Fly, directed by Tony Award winner Kenny Leon A Raisin in the Sun, The Wiz Live. Mahershala Ali House of Cards, Joshua Jackson The Affair, Anne Son My Generation, and Tessa Thompson Creed will co-star in the production.
- 1/24/2016
- by TV - Press Previews
- BroadwayWorld.com
Second StageTheatre will soon present the New York premiere production of Smart People, the new play by Lydia R. Diamond Stick Fly, directed by Tony Award winner Kenny Leon A Raisin in the Sun, The Wiz Live. Mahershala Ali House of Cards, Joshua Jackson The Affair, Anne Son My Generation, and Tessa Thompson Creed will co-star in the production.Performances for Smart People will begin on January 26, 2016 atSecond StageTheatre'sTony KiserTheatre 305 West 43rd street opening night is February 11, 2016. Season subscriptions are currently available through 2St.com or by calling the box office at212-246-4422. The cast just met the press and BroadwayWorld brings you photos from the special day below...
- 1/20/2016
- by Jennifer Broski
- BroadwayWorld.com
Kenny Leon honestly wasn’t trying to make a statement when he suggested Queen Latifah play the title role in The Wiz Live! The director, fresh off a Tony win for Broadway’s A Raisin in the Sun, simply believed she was the best actor — male or female — for the part. "There’s no reason she can’t be a woman — it’s a dream!" he laughed, as he told The Hollywood Reporter during a New York City press day for the NBC musical. Seizing the opportunity to say something "about the treatment of women," he and Harvey Fierstein, who revised the
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- 11/30/2015
- by Ashley Lee
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
October’s a fun month for new projects! Halloween extravaganzas, theatrical productions, indie films, and television series are all seeking actors to fill roles all over the country. Check out the eight below and see which you’d like to submit to! “A Raisin In The Sun”All the characters in Angela Lansbury’s iconic Chicago-set play are being cast out of Westchester, Calif., on Nov. 14 and 15. The production originally premiered on Broadway in 1959 and was revived in 2014, starring Denzel Washington, Tony winner Sophie Okonedo, Anika Noni Rose, and Latanya Richardson Jackson. Kenny Leon directed and was also awarded a Tony for his work. This California production will run from Jan. 8 through Feb. 13, 2016. Disney On Broadway: “Aladdin” And “The Lion King,” DANCERSDancers for both these touring Disney productions are being auditioned in Chicago on Nov. 8 and in L.A. on Nov. 12. With choreography by Casey Nicholaw and Garth Fagan, these...
- 10/16/2015
- backstage.com
Happy Birthday Audra McDonald The actress earned three Tony Awards by the age of 28 - for her performances in Carousel, Master Class, and Ragtime. She was nominated for another Tony Award for her performance in Marie Christine before she won her fourth in 2004 for her role in A Raisin in the Sun. She reprised her Raisin role for a 2008 television adaptation, earning her a second Emmy Award nomination. Her first Emmy nod came in 2001 for her performance in HBOs Wit. Fans of the small screen also recognize McDonald from her work on ABC's Private Practice. She most recently starred on Broadway in Porgy and Bess and Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill- she won Tony Awards for both performances.
- 7/3/2015
- by Stage Tube
- BroadwayWorld.com
Second Stage Theatre has announced two New York Premiere productions for its upcoming 37th season. The season will kick off in fall 2015 with the New York Premiere production of Matt Gould and Griffin Matthews' new musical, Invisible Thread previously titled Witness Uganda, in association with American Repertory Theater, directed by Tony Award winner Diane Paulus Finding Neverland, Pippin. The season will continue in early 2016 with the New York premiere of Lydia R. Diamond's Stick Fly critically acclaimed play, Smart People, directed by Tony Award Winner Kenny Leon Fences, A Raisin in the Sun, Stick Fly. Two additional productions remain to be announced.
- 5/7/2015
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
On April 21, Tony winners Anika Noni Rose (“Caroline, or Change”), Lachanze (“The Color Purple”), and Tonya Pinkins (“Jelly’s Last Jam”) joined David Zayas (“Dexter”), Ray Fisher, Michael Mastro, and others for a reading of “Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine” at New World Stages. Written by Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage and directed by Tony winner Kenny Leon (“A Raisin in the Sun”), the social satire set in New York City tackled themes of poverty, race, health care, and womanhood in the name of nonprofit organization Opening Act and theater education. The charity event saw 19 students take the stage to perform an original work inspired by their lives and “Fabulation” prior to the play reading. “Take a look around you,” Opening Act Executive Director Suzy Myers Jackson prompted the audience at the start of the program. “Find 10 people and realize that statistically, only three of you will graduate,” she said,...
- 4/29/2015
- backstage.com
She’s All That is getting a modern makeover. The Weinstein Company and Miramax have put into development a remake of the 1999 teen romcom, which starred Freddie Prinze Jr., Rachael Leigh Cook, and Paul Walker. Kenny Leon (A Raisin in the Sun) is set to direct. Get all the details on the impending She’s All That […]
The post ‘She’s All That’ Remake in the Works appeared first on /Film.
The post ‘She’s All That’ Remake in the Works appeared first on /Film.
- 4/8/2015
- by Angie Han
- Slash Film
Thanks to the release of Furious 7, Paul Walker's name has been in a lot of headlines as of late, but now it's time for a very different story about the actor's body of work. That's because he played one of the male leads in 1999's romantic dramedy She's All That, and now new reports have popped up announcing that the film is getting a remake. News of this project comes to us from The Wrap, which says that the project is being developed by The Weinstein Company and Miramax and already has some interesting names attached. Tonya Lewis Lee, who is the wife of director Spike Lee, is on board to produce the film, while Kenny Leon is set to helm. As a filmmaker, Leon is best known for his TV movie work, having previously made 2008's A Raisin in the Sun and 2012's Steel Magnolias. In the...
- 4/8/2015
- cinemablend.com
Opening Act, an innovative nonprofit that provides free after-school theater programming to New York City's most under-served public high schools, today announced that Tony Award-winning director Kenny Leon A Raisin in the Sun will helm Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage's Fabulation, or The Re-Education of Undine for Opening Act's 9th Annual Benefit Play Reading at New World Stages on April 21st, 2015. Tickets are available to the public via www.telecharge.com - 1 800-447-7400.
- 4/1/2015
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
NBC has announced that "The Wiz" is set to be its next live musical performance following the great success of "The Sound of Music" and the not-so stellar but still decent performance of "Peter Pan".
On top of that, Cirque du Soleil is onboard the project with plans to bring the show to Broadway in 2016. Kenny Leon ("A Raisin in the Sun") will direct the production.
Craig Zadan and Neil Meron will produce the live event as well as the Broadway revival, while Tony winner and Broadway icon Harvey Fierstein will contribute new material to the original book by William F. Brown.
The show is currently slated for a December 3rd airing.
Source: The Live Feed...
On top of that, Cirque du Soleil is onboard the project with plans to bring the show to Broadway in 2016. Kenny Leon ("A Raisin in the Sun") will direct the production.
Craig Zadan and Neil Meron will produce the live event as well as the Broadway revival, while Tony winner and Broadway icon Harvey Fierstein will contribute new material to the original book by William F. Brown.
The show is currently slated for a December 3rd airing.
Source: The Live Feed...
- 3/30/2015
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
NBC is set to ease on down the road with its next live musical, with the network announcing Monday that it will stage an adaptation of "The Wiz" in December -- with a special assist.
NBC revealed that "The Wiz" will once again be produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron (the duo behind the network's previous live efforts, "Sound of Music Live!" and "Peter Pan Live!," and the past three Oscars telecasts). But this year, the network is pulling out all the stops for the broadcast, which will also feature a collaboration with acrobatic troupe Cirque du Soleil.
And the ambitious plans don't stop there: After the live staging airs on NBC in December, the show will then move to Broadway for the 2016-2017 season. Tony winner and Broadway veteran Harvey Fierstein ("Mrs. Doubtfire," "La Cage aux Folles," "Hairspray") will work on adapting the show's original book by William F. Brown,...
NBC revealed that "The Wiz" will once again be produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron (the duo behind the network's previous live efforts, "Sound of Music Live!" and "Peter Pan Live!," and the past three Oscars telecasts). But this year, the network is pulling out all the stops for the broadcast, which will also feature a collaboration with acrobatic troupe Cirque du Soleil.
And the ambitious plans don't stop there: After the live staging airs on NBC in December, the show will then move to Broadway for the 2016-2017 season. Tony winner and Broadway veteran Harvey Fierstein ("Mrs. Doubtfire," "La Cage aux Folles," "Hairspray") will work on adapting the show's original book by William F. Brown,...
- 3/30/2015
- by Katie Roberts
- Moviefone
Casting continues today on Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast adaptation, with Tony Award-winning actress Audra McDonald boarding the project in the role of Garderobe (French for wardrobe).
McDonald starred in television’s Private Practice but is best known for her roles in musicals Porgy and Bess, Lady Day in Emerson’s Bar and Grill, A Raisin in the Sun, Ragtime and Carousel (all of which won her Tonys). She joins a cast that includes The Perks of Being a Wallflower actress Emma Watson as the lovely Belle, Downton Abbey alum Dan Stevens as the Beast, Dracula Untold‘s Luke Evans as self-centered villain Gaston and The Comedians‘ Josh Gad as Le Fou, Gaston’s sidekick.
McDonald’s casting indicates that, as previously rumored, this Beauty and the Beast, to be directed by Bill Condon (The Fifth Estate, Dreamgirls), will include song-and-dance numbers. As Garderobe, a lady-in-waiting transformed into...
McDonald starred in television’s Private Practice but is best known for her roles in musicals Porgy and Bess, Lady Day in Emerson’s Bar and Grill, A Raisin in the Sun, Ragtime and Carousel (all of which won her Tonys). She joins a cast that includes The Perks of Being a Wallflower actress Emma Watson as the lovely Belle, Downton Abbey alum Dan Stevens as the Beast, Dracula Untold‘s Luke Evans as self-centered villain Gaston and The Comedians‘ Josh Gad as Le Fou, Gaston’s sidekick.
McDonald’s casting indicates that, as previously rumored, this Beauty and the Beast, to be directed by Bill Condon (The Fifth Estate, Dreamgirls), will include song-and-dance numbers. As Garderobe, a lady-in-waiting transformed into...
- 3/30/2015
- by Isaac Feldberg
- We Got This Covered
Tonya Pinkins and Anika Noni Rose, who previously worked together on stage in the "Caroline, or Change," will reunite for a one-night-only benefit presentation of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage's "Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine," which will be directed by Kenny Leon ("A Raisin in the Sun," "Fences"). Wood Harris and Michael Mastro will join Pinkins and Rose on stage, with showtime set for April 21, at 6:30 Pm, at New World Stages in Manhattan NYC. The benefit is for the non-profit arts education organization Opening Act. Nottage's "Fabulation" is...
- 3/19/2015
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
David Oyelowo shines as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Ava Duvernay's "Selma" and now, he's being honored at the upcoming Palm Springs International Film Festival! Here's the complete press release:
Palm Springs, CA (December 7, 2014) . The 26th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (Psiff) will present David Oyelowo with the Breakthrough Performance Award, Actor for his critically acclaimed performance as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Ava DuVernay.s Selma at its annual Awards Gala. The Gala will also present awards to previously announced honorees Richard Linklater, Julianne Moore, Rosamund Pike, Eddie Redmayne, J.K. Simmons, Reese Witherspoon and the cast of The Imitation Game. Presented by Cartier, and hosted by Mary Hart, the Awards Gala will be held Saturday, January 3 at the Palm Springs Convention Center. The Festival runs January 2-12.
.David Oyelowo.s transformation into Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is truly outstanding,. said Film Festival Chairman Harold Matzner.
Palm Springs, CA (December 7, 2014) . The 26th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (Psiff) will present David Oyelowo with the Breakthrough Performance Award, Actor for his critically acclaimed performance as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Ava DuVernay.s Selma at its annual Awards Gala. The Gala will also present awards to previously announced honorees Richard Linklater, Julianne Moore, Rosamund Pike, Eddie Redmayne, J.K. Simmons, Reese Witherspoon and the cast of The Imitation Game. Presented by Cartier, and hosted by Mary Hart, the Awards Gala will be held Saturday, January 3 at the Palm Springs Convention Center. The Festival runs January 2-12.
.David Oyelowo.s transformation into Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is truly outstanding,. said Film Festival Chairman Harold Matzner.
- 12/8/2014
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
Mark Medoff's drama about the hard-won breakthrough of a teacher for the deaf with a reluctant student, Children of a Lesser God, will be seen in a Broadway revival as part of the 2015-16 season. Kenny Leon, who won a Tony Award this year for his work on A Raisin in the Sun starring Denzel Washington, will stage the production, casting for which will be announced at a later date. Hal Luftig (Kinky Boots) is lead producer. Read more 'A Raisin in the Sun': Theater Review The original Broadway production of Medoff's 1980 play ran more than two years, winning Tonys for
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- 9/29/2014
- by David Rooney
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
'Holler If Ya Hear Me' is set to close after just six weeks.
Turns out, people just aren’t into a Broadway version of Tupac.
The Tupac Shakur Broadway musical Holler If Ya Hear Me is closing after just six weeks, with the New York Times reporting that it’s one of the worst-selling musicals in recent years. Just how bad was it? The $8 million production failed to bring in more than $175,000 a week in gross revenues.
Pics: Star Shots on Instagram
In an interview with Variety, producer Eric L. Gold previously said, "If we don't succeed, it's gonna be difficult to do another rap or hip hop show on Broadway." The show officially closes on Sunday.
Holler If Ya Hear Me was written by Todd Kreidler and directed by Tony Award winner Kenny Leon (A Raisin in the Sun). It was described as "a non-biographical story about friendship, family, revenge, change...
Turns out, people just aren’t into a Broadway version of Tupac.
The Tupac Shakur Broadway musical Holler If Ya Hear Me is closing after just six weeks, with the New York Times reporting that it’s one of the worst-selling musicals in recent years. Just how bad was it? The $8 million production failed to bring in more than $175,000 a week in gross revenues.
Pics: Star Shots on Instagram
In an interview with Variety, producer Eric L. Gold previously said, "If we don't succeed, it's gonna be difficult to do another rap or hip hop show on Broadway." The show officially closes on Sunday.
Holler If Ya Hear Me was written by Todd Kreidler and directed by Tony Award winner Kenny Leon (A Raisin in the Sun). It was described as "a non-biographical story about friendship, family, revenge, change...
- 7/15/2014
- Entertainment Tonight
After six weeks on stage, Holler If Ya Hear Me, the Broadway musical inspired by rapper Tupac Shakur’s music, is closing on Sunday, July 20.
“My hope is that a production of this calibre, powerful in its story telling, filled with great performances and exciting contemporary dance and music will eventually receive the recognition it deserves. It saddens me that due to the financial burdens of Broadway, I was unable to sustain this production longer in order to give it time to bloom on Broadway,” producer Eric L. Gold said in a statement. “Tupac’s urgent socially important insights and...
“My hope is that a production of this calibre, powerful in its story telling, filled with great performances and exciting contemporary dance and music will eventually receive the recognition it deserves. It saddens me that due to the financial burdens of Broadway, I was unable to sustain this production longer in order to give it time to bloom on Broadway,” producer Eric L. Gold said in a statement. “Tupac’s urgent socially important insights and...
- 7/15/2014
- by Ariana Bacle
- EW.com - PopWatch
Happy Birthday Audra McDonald The actress earned three Tony Awards by the age of 28 - for her performances in Carousel, Master Class, and Ragtime. She was nominated for another Tony Award for her performance in Marie Christine before she won her fourth in 2004 for her role in A Raisin in the Sun. She reprised her Raisin role for a 2008 television adaptation, earning her a second Emmy Award nomination. Her first Emmy nod came in 2001 for her performance in HBOs Wit. Fans of the small screen also recognize McDonald from her work on ABC's Private Practice. She most recently starred on Broadway in Porgy and Bess and Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill- she won Tony Awards for both performances.
- 7/3/2014
- by Stage Tube
- BroadwayWorld.com
Broadway producers love the Tony Awards because it gives a rare national platform for their shows, typically boosting ticket sales for musicals that make the most of their televised production number. And what lucky show got the biggest boost from the June 8 broadcast? Surprise! It wasn’t a musical but the Lbj bio-drama All the Way, which won Best Play and Best Actor for Bryan Cranston (above). In the post-Tony week ending June 15, box office climbed 30 percent to a Texas-size $1.23 million, according to figures from the Broadway League.
Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill, a play with music that...
Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill, a play with music that...
- 6/16/2014
- by Thom Geier
- EW.com - PopWatch
There were only four upsets at the Tony Awards and "A Raisin in the Sun" pulled off three of them: Best Play Revival, Best Director (Kenny Leon) and Best Featured Actress in a Play (Sophie Okonedo). By overwhelming vote, our Experts (12 out of 15) predicted "Twelfth Night" would win those first two prizes easily, just as it did at the Drama Desk Awards where Leon wasn't even nominated in the helmer's contest. Our gurus also stupidly backed the Drama Desk winner for Featured Actress -- Celia Keenan-Bolger ("The Glass Menagerie"). -Break- Tony Awards poll: What was Hugh Jackman's best bit? So … what happened … and why? Seems like the pundits (including me) put too much stock in the fact that lead "Raisin" star Denzel Washington wasn't nominated, assuming that indicated low Tony support for the production. Instead, we fawned too much over the widely ballyhooed "Twelfth Night," jus...
- 6/9/2014
- Gold Derby
Widely regarded as the Oscars of Broadway, the 2014 Tony Awards went off without a hitch on Sunday night (June 8) in New York City.
Hugh Jackman took over the Radio City Music Hall with his amazing hosting talents and welcomed many performers on stage including Idina Menzel and Neil Patrick Harris.
As for the winners, Harris and Jessie Mueller (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) took home the prize for Best Actor and Best Actress in a Musical, respectively, while Bryan Cranston ("All The Way") and Audra McDonald ("Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill") scored a win for Best Actor and Actress in a Play, respectively.
In addition, the cast and crew of "All the Way" and "A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder" were recognized for their outstanding work on stage winning Best Play and Best Musical.
Check out the full list of 2014 Tony Award winners below!
Best Performance...
Hugh Jackman took over the Radio City Music Hall with his amazing hosting talents and welcomed many performers on stage including Idina Menzel and Neil Patrick Harris.
As for the winners, Harris and Jessie Mueller (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) took home the prize for Best Actor and Best Actress in a Musical, respectively, while Bryan Cranston ("All The Way") and Audra McDonald ("Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill") scored a win for Best Actor and Actress in a Play, respectively.
In addition, the cast and crew of "All the Way" and "A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder" were recognized for their outstanding work on stage winning Best Play and Best Musical.
Check out the full list of 2014 Tony Award winners below!
Best Performance...
- 6/9/2014
- GossipCenter
A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, an old-fashioned musical comedy and the rare Broadway hit not based on a movie or TV show and with zero Hollywood stars in its cast, claimed Best Musical at the 68th Annual Tony Awards on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Lbj biodrama All the Way won Best Play as well as Best Actor for star Bryan Cranston in his Broadway debut.
Neil Patrick Harris, an Emmy-winning four-time Tony host, earned his first award for his role as an East German transgender punker in the musical revival Hedwig and the Angry Inch (and is halfway to...
Neil Patrick Harris, an Emmy-winning four-time Tony host, earned his first award for his role as an East German transgender punker in the musical revival Hedwig and the Angry Inch (and is halfway to...
- 6/9/2014
- by Thom Geier
- EW.com - PopWatch
While this year's Tony Awards went mostly according to script in terms of the ceremony and the winners, there were a few jaw-droppers. The love for the revival of "A Raisin in the Sun" caught us all by surprise. The show won three of its five nominations, including Best Play Revival, Featured Actress for Sophie Okonedo and Director (Play) for Kenny Leon. Our combined odds had the show ranked dead last, with 50/1 odds, in the Revival and Direction categories and Okonedo was ranked third with 25/1 odds. -Break- Related: Audra McDonald sets two records at Tony Awards The curse of "The Glass Menagerie" continues…kind of. The Tennessee Williams classic finally earned its first-ever love from the Tony Awards when the recent revival earned seven nominations including Best Play Revival, Actress for Cherry Jones, Featured Actress for Celia Keenan-Bolger and Featured Actor for Brian J. Smith. Our site's odds had the show favored to win t.
- 6/9/2014
- Gold Derby
The 68th Tony Awards on Sunday, hosted by Hugh Jackman, took place at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall, where the best of the stage were honored.
Tony Awards Recap
A Gentlemen’s Guide to Love and Murder picked up steam leading up to Tony night. At the end of the show, the musical, which follows a destitute man looking to remove the eight ahead of him inline for a title, won four awards Sunday. Gentleman’s Guide won for best musical, book of a musical, director and costume design.
How I Met Your Mother actor Neil Patrick Harris, who has previously been a favorite Tony host, picked up his first award – best lead actor in a musical – for starring in Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Hedwig won for best musical revival, and Harris’ costar Lena Hall won best featured actress in a musical.
Jessie Mueller beat out...
Tony Awards Recap
A Gentlemen’s Guide to Love and Murder picked up steam leading up to Tony night. At the end of the show, the musical, which follows a destitute man looking to remove the eight ahead of him inline for a title, won four awards Sunday. Gentleman’s Guide won for best musical, book of a musical, director and costume design.
How I Met Your Mother actor Neil Patrick Harris, who has previously been a favorite Tony host, picked up his first award – best lead actor in a musical – for starring in Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Hedwig won for best musical revival, and Harris’ costar Lena Hall won best featured actress in a musical.
Jessie Mueller beat out...
- 6/9/2014
- Uinterview
As announced earlier this evening, A Raisin in the Sun's Kenny Leon has won the 2014 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play. BroadwayWorld's own Richard Ridge was in the press room to catch up with the winner on what the award means to him - hear what Leon had to say belowAs announced earlier this evening, A Raisin in the Sun's Kenny Leon has won the 2014 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play. BroadwayWorld's own Richard Ridge was in the press room to catch up with the winner on what the award means to him - hear what Leon had to say below...
- 6/9/2014
- by BroadwayWorld TV
- BroadwayWorld.com
If you thought the Tonys ended when A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder walked off with the telecast’s last award (for Best Musical), boy, are you in for a surprise. Now, the fun really begins, as TVLine names its own winners — and losers — in a variety of, shall we say, “alternative” categories. And the nonexistent statuettes go to…
Most Tireless Performer | Four-time host Hugh Jackman bounced up and down – literally bounced up and down – for nearly five minutes to open the show and hardly slowed down after that. When he wasn’t flirting with the audience, he...
Most Tireless Performer | Four-time host Hugh Jackman bounced up and down – literally bounced up and down – for nearly five minutes to open the show and hardly slowed down after that. When he wasn’t flirting with the audience, he...
- 6/9/2014
- TVLine.com
Check out all the winners and nominees of the 68th Annual Tony Awards.
The biggest stars of Broadway gathered at New York City's Radio City Music Hall on Sunday night to honor and celebrate all the greatest shows and show-stopping performances from the world of theater at the 68th Annual Tony Awards.
Hugh Jackman served as host for his fourth time, and the three-hour ceremony saw lots of big wins.
The 2014 Tony Awards showcased many of the musical numbers from this year's nominated shows, and featured a slew of big-name Hollywood stars who served as presenters. Here is the complete winners list, along with some of our favorite acceptance speeches.
Did the right shows and stars win?
Best Play
Winner: All the Way
Other Nominees:
Act One
Casa Valentine
Mothers and Sons
Outside Mullingar
Best Musical
Winner: A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder
Other Nominees:
After Midnight
Aladdin
Beautiful — The Carole King Musical
A Gentleman’s Guide...
The biggest stars of Broadway gathered at New York City's Radio City Music Hall on Sunday night to honor and celebrate all the greatest shows and show-stopping performances from the world of theater at the 68th Annual Tony Awards.
Hugh Jackman served as host for his fourth time, and the three-hour ceremony saw lots of big wins.
The 2014 Tony Awards showcased many of the musical numbers from this year's nominated shows, and featured a slew of big-name Hollywood stars who served as presenters. Here is the complete winners list, along with some of our favorite acceptance speeches.
Did the right shows and stars win?
Best Play
Winner: All the Way
Other Nominees:
Act One
Casa Valentine
Mothers and Sons
Outside Mullingar
Best Musical
Winner: A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder
Other Nominees:
After Midnight
Aladdin
Beautiful — The Carole King Musical
A Gentleman’s Guide...
- 6/9/2014
- Entertainment Tonight
(Spoiler alert: Don't read this if you don't want to know what happened at the Tonys.) The historical play “All the Way” won for Best Play and its star, Bryan Cranston, won for Leading Actor in a Play for his performance as President Lyndon Johnson at Sunday's 68th Annual Tony Awards. “A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder” won Best Musical. Also read: Tony Awards: The Complete Winners List “A Raisin in the Sun,” meanwhile, won for Best Revival of a Play, and director Kenny Leon won for Direction of a Play. “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” won for Best Revival of a.
- 6/9/2014
- by Tim Molloy
- The Wrap
The 2014 Tony Awards celebration is scheduled for tonight, Sunday night, broadcasting live on CBS, starting at 8pm. Here’s what we here at S&A will be paying attention to mostly. - The cast and crew of "After Midnight" - nominated for Best Musical; - "A Raisin in the Sun" - nominated for Best Revival of a Play; - Latanya Richardson Jackson (nominated for "A Raisin in the Sun") and Audra McDonald ("Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill"), both nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play; - Sophie Okonedo ("A Raisin in the Sun") and Anika Noni Rose ("A Raisin in the Sun"), both nominated...
- 6/8/2014
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Audra McDonald won the Tony for lead actress in a play on Sunday for her starring role in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill. The win is the sixth for the 43-year-old actress. It also marks a record, making her the first performer in history to win Tony honors in all four acting categories. She previously won best featured actress in a musical in 1994 for Carousel and 1998 for Ragtime; featured actress in a play in 1996 for Master Class and 2004 for A Raisin in the Sun; and lead actress in a musical in 2012 for Porgy and Bess.
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read more...
- 6/8/2014
- by THR Staff
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Will Neil Patrick Harris claim his first Tony Award this Sunday for his gender-bending turn in the musical revival of Hedwig and the Angry Inch? Probably. Will fellow multiple-Emmy winner Bryan Cranston win for playing Lyndon B. Johnson in the biodrama All the Way? Count on it. But will it be the Carole King biomusical Beautiful or the murderously funny A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder that earns top honors as the Best New Musical of the Broadway season?
On that point, as on many other tight races in this year’s Tony contest, EW critics Melissa Rose Bernardo and Thom Geier are divided.
On that point, as on many other tight races in this year’s Tony contest, EW critics Melissa Rose Bernardo and Thom Geier are divided.
- 6/3/2014
- by Thom Geier
- EW.com - PopWatch
As we sneak up on this Sunday’s Tony Awards, the Broadway season’s box office winners are quickly emerging. And the biggest new hit appears to be on a magic carpet ride. For the week ending June 1, Disney’s Aladdin led new shows with nearly $1.2 million in ticket sales, according to figures from the Broadway League. The animated-film-based tuner is playing to full houses and nearly 88 percent of its potential gross in the cavernous 1,723-seat New Amsterdam Theatre. Right behind Aladdin, though, is a rare non-musical blockbuster: the Denzel Washington-led revival of A Raisin in the Sun, which...
- 6/2/2014
- by Thom Geier
- EW.com - PopWatch
Tupac Shakur was an exceptional rapper, writer, actor, and incendiary public figure who was cut down in his prime in 1996. But his work lives on, and his legacy will be getting its boldest treatment yet when Holler If Ya Hear Me opens on Broadway.
Directed by current Tony nominee Kenny Leon (A Raisin in the Sun) and starring veteran spoken-word artist and rapper Saul Williams, Holler If Ya Hear Me is not a biographical tale about the late Shakur. Instead, his songs build an entirely new narrative based on the themes of family, opportunity, community, poverty, and love that ran through Tupac’s lyrics.
Directed by current Tony nominee Kenny Leon (A Raisin in the Sun) and starring veteran spoken-word artist and rapper Saul Williams, Holler If Ya Hear Me is not a biographical tale about the late Shakur. Instead, his songs build an entirely new narrative based on the themes of family, opportunity, community, poverty, and love that ran through Tupac’s lyrics.
- 5/9/2014
- by Kyle Anderson
- EW.com - PopWatch
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