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Jonas Brothers are headed to the Great White Way! On Friday (Feb. 24) the band announced their new run of shows, Jonas Brothers on Broadway.
“Your boys are back in town,” Joe, Kevin and Nick Jonas wrote on their official social channels to share the news. “We’re coming to Broadway and playing the Marquis Theatre March 14-18!! Each night will be focused on a different album and we’ll be playing all the hits. Believe us when we say you won’t want to miss these shows…”
The siblings will highlight five of their albums — including 2007’s Jonas Brothers; 2008’s A Little Bit Longer; 2009’s Lines, Vines and Trying Times; and 2019’s Happiness Begins — in chronological succession before capping the series of concerts with the first-ever live performance of their forthcoming studio set, The Album, on March 18.
Jonatics can register for the Verified Fan Onsale through Ticketmaster now through Sunday (Feb. 26) at 11:59 p.m. for a chance to purchase tickets.
News of the JoBros’ Broadway gig comes on the same day the threesome released “Wings” as the soaring lead single off The Album. The full studio effort, meanwhile, is set to be released May 12 via Republic Records. It was pushed back one week from its original May 5 release date in order for fans to be able to purchase the LP on vinyl.
Most recently, the brothers received their very own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in a star-studded ceremony that was attended by their wives — Danielle Jonas, Sophie Turner and Priyanka Chopra — as well as collaborators Ryan Tedder and Jon Bellion.
Check out the Jonas Brothers’ Broadway announcement below.
Moulin Rouge! has found a new Satine. On Thursday (Feb. 23), the Broadway musical announced that “Get Out (Leave)” singer JoJo will be joining the cast starting this spring. JoJo’s appearance in Moulin Rouge! will serve as her Broadway debut.
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“I can’t believe I’m finally able to say this… I’m making my Broadway debut in MOULIN ROUGE!!!” JoJo excitedly shared with followers on Instagram. “When I first saw this musical I fell instantly head over heels in love. I watched from the edge of my seat, hanging onto every word of every song. This show is a full on feast for the senses and the opportunity to play Satine feels like the culmination of so many dreams. I cannot believe I get to join this phenomenal cast and company!!!! You guys blow me away!!!”
She continued, “Special love & respect to @ashleyloren who currently SLAYS as Satine: theee most incredible badass singer actress artist i’m lucky to call friend and experience her sisterhood and generosity of spirit. * Thank you to the amazing producers and directorial staff for believing in me like you do. Performing on Broadway and living in NYC?! This is all a dream come true. I know this show means so much to so many and I promise to put all I have into every single night as Satine.”
JoJo will take the stage at Broadway’s Al Hirschfeld Theatre starting on Tuesday, April 11. The limited engagement will last for 14 weeks, and concludes on July 16. Derek Klena will return to Moulin Rouge! as Christian. Ashley Loren, the production’s current Satine, and Aaron Tveit (Christian) will deliver their final performances on April 9.
See JoJo’s Instagram post below.
While it’s said that art imitates life, Ben Platt learned all too well recently that life also tends to imitate art.
In an Instagram Reel posted late Tuesday night (Feb. 21), Platt spoke out about a group of neo-Nazi, antisemitic protesters who appeared outside the Jacobs Theater for opening night of previews for Parade on Broadway.
After taking a moment to congratulate the cast and crew on an “amazing” opening night, Platt addressed the protests outside the show. “There were a few neo-Nazi protestors from a really disgusting group outside of the theater … saying antisemitic things about Leo Frank, who the show is about, and spreading the antisemitic rhetoric that led to this whole story in the first place,” he said.
Parade centers around the true story of Frank, a Jewish factory worker who was wrongly convicted of murder in 1913. After his sentence was later commuted, Frank was lynched by an antisemitic mob in 1915. Frank’s trial and eventual murder gave rise to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), now one of the largest Jewish civil rights organizations in America.
Video clips posted to Twitter by The Forward editor Jake Wasserman show protestors from the National Socialist Movement (an antisemitic hate group, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center) standing outside the theater on Tuesday with banners referring to Frank as a “pedophile.” Claims like these are part of a continued effort by antisemitic hate groups to implicate Frank in the murder of Mary Phagan, despite historical consensus that he was innocent.
Platt said that the protests were “definitely very ugly and scary,” but focused instead on the importance of Frank’s story. “It was a wonderful reminder of why we’re telling this particular story, and how special and powerful art and especially theater can be,” he said. “I wanted the button on this evening, at least for me personally, to be to celebrate what a beautiful experience [the show] is and what gorgeous work all of my wonderful colleagues did tonight, not the really ugly actions of a few people who are spreading evil.”
The producers of Parade also chimed in online, saying, “If there is any remaining doubt out there about the urgency of telling this story in this moment in history, the vileness on display last night should put it to rest. We stand by the valiant Broadway cast that brings this vital story to life each night.”
Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of ADL, called the protests an example of “vile antisemitism” that highlights “the importance of telling Leo Frank’s story” in a statement to Billboard. “The irony should not be lost on anyone that these antisemitic extremists decided to protest a play that details the true story of the lynching of an innocent Jewish man by an antisemitic mob, and used it as an opportunity to spread conspiracy theories and hate,” he wrote. “ADL locks arms in solidarity with the entire cast and wants to especially thank the producers of the play and Ben Platt for their poignant statements speaking out in the face of hate. Despite the presence of a half-dozen neo-Nazis, New York City will continue to remain no place for hate.”
See Platt’s full video below:
Ms. Nordbury and Principal Duvall are bringing their love to the big screen. During an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers on Thursday (Feb. 16), Tina Fey revealed that the North Shore High lovebirds — portrayed by Tim Meadows and herself in the beloved 2004 film — will slip back into those roles for the upcoming Mean Girls movie musical.
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Fey said the fellow Saturday Night Live will be on hand when filming begins on March 6 with a cast that also includes Angourie Rice (Cady Heron), Auli’i Cravalho (Janis Ian), Renée Rapp (who originated the role of Regina George on Broadway) and Jaquel Spivey (Damian). The musical based on the big screen teen comedy that starred Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert and Amanda Seyfried was turned into a hit coming-of-age Broadway musical in 2018 with a book by Fey after making its premiere at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C. in Oct. 2017.
“We have an amazing cast. I’m super excited about this cast,” Fey told Meyers, noting that she and Meadows will reprise their original roles nearly two decades later because, “teachers work forever. I want it to be like when Gilligan from Gilligan’s Island was at a trade show and you’d be like, ‘Oh, he looks so old in his little hat.’ That’s my goal,” she said.
The musical with music from Fey’s husband, composer Jeff Richmond, and lyrics by Nell Benjamin (Legally Blonde), features the songs “Where Do You Belong?,” “Meet the Plastics,” “Apex Predator,” “Stupid With Love,” “More Is Better” and “I’d Rather Be Me,” among others. Fey said the original compositions from the show will be adjusted for the film, with the actor/writer/producer promising that they will be more “pop.”
SNL boss Lorne Michaels will produce the film along with Fey, who wrote the book for the musical and is also writing the movie musical’s script; Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr. will direct.
Fey also noted that her upcoming Restless Leg Tour with pal Amy Pohler had already sold out within days of going on sale.
Watch Fey on Late Night below.
From Justin to Britney! News broke on Thursday (Feb. 16) that Justin Guarini will star in Once Upon a One More Time, the upcoming Britney Spears jukebox musical hitting Broadway this spring.
The show, which was written by Jon Hartmere and directed by the duo of Keone and Mari Madrid, will tell the story of just what happens when classic fairytale characters like Cinderella, the Little Mermaid and Snow White come across a new kind of storybook: The Feminine Mystique.
Told through Spears litany of hits — from “…Baby One More Time” and “Lucky” to “Work Bitch” and “Womanizer” — the show is set to raise its curtain at the Marquis Theatre for previews on May 13 with opening night slated for June 22, according to a report by Entertainment Weekly. Joining Guarini’s Prince Charming will be Briga Heelan as Cinderella and Aisha Jackson as Snow White. All three performers originated the roles in the jukebox musical’s out-of-town production in Washington D.C. from Nov. 2021 to Jan. 2022.
While Guarini famously got his start as the runner-up to Kelly Clarkson on the inaugural season of American Idol back in 2002, he has multiple Broadway credits on his resume including Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, American Idiot, Romeo and Juliet, Wicked and In Transit.
Somewhat curiously, Once Upon a One More Time will become the second musical on Broadway currently using Spears’ discography following the runaway success of & Juliet, a modern retelling of the story of Romeo and Juliet through the lens of Max Martin’s music. That show contains the likes of “…Baby One More Time,” “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman,” “Overprotected,” “Oops!…I Did It Again” and “Stronger” among its 28 musical numbers.
Tim Rice will be the 2023 recipient of the Johnny Mercer Award at the 52nd annual Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Dinner, which is slated for Thursday, June 15, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.
Rice, who teamed with Andrew Lloyd Webber to write such classics as Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita, is the first songwriter primarily known for his work in theater to receive this award since Stephen Sondheim in 1999.
Rice is the second EGOT recipient to receive the Johnny Mercer Award – following Alan Menken. The two songwriters shared an Oscar and three Grammys for their work on Aladdin.
He’s the fifth songwriter or songwriting team from the U.K. to receive the honor, following Jule Styne (1993), Phil Collins (2010), Elton John & Bernie Taupin (2013) and Van Morrison (2015).
The Mercer Award, the SHOF’s highest honor, is reserved for a songwriter or songwriting team who has already been inducted in a prior year and whose body of work upholds the standards set by Johnny Mercer, a four-time Oscar-winner.
“I am truly honoured to be chosen to receive the Johnny Mercer Award,” Rice said in a statement. “My induction into the SHOF in 1999 was itself a highlight of my writing career and I never expected to receive any further recognition from the most distinguished gathering of songwriters in the world. So, I am bowled over (a cricketing metaphor) with gratitude. I have attended quite a few SHOF events in the past 25 years and they have always been among the most enjoyable of entertainment world extravaganzas – unpretentious, unpredictable, and spectacular. So, June 15, 2023, is a golden booking in my electronic diary.”
Inductees at this year’s Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Dinner are Sade Adu, Glen Ballard, Snoop Dogg, Gloria Estefan, Jeff Lynne, Teddy Riley and Liz Rose. The recipient of a second honorary award, the Hal David Starlight Award, will be announced at a later date.
SHOF Chairman Nile Rodgers said, “Tim Rice is an artisan. He has crafted some of the greatest lyrics and stories in musical history with Jesus Christ Superstar, and his incredible work with Andrew Lloyd Webber being amongst my favorites.”
Rice has won an Emmy, five Grammys, three Oscars and three Tonys. He won an Oscar and three Grammys for his work on Aladdin; two Tonys, a Grammy and an Oscar for Evita and its film adaptation; a Tony and a Grammy for Aida; an Oscar for The Lion King and an Emmy for Jesus Christ Superstar: Live in Concert.
Rice has worked in music, theatre, and films since 1965. In addition to his work with Webber, Rice has worked with such other top composers as Elton John (The Lion King, Aida), Menken (Aladdin, King David, Beauty and the Beast) and Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson (Chess). He has also written with Freddie Mercury, Burt Bacharach and Rick Wakeman, among others.
Rice’s recent musical From Here to Eternity returned to London in November 2022. A new Broadway presentation of Chess is set to open in the fall of 2023. In early 2024, a new production of Aida will make its U.K/West End début. Rice is currently writing and presenting a podcast, Get Onto My Cloud, in which he reminisces about his years in music, theater and film.
Lea Michele has had something of a personal renaissance in the past year, stepping back into positive public opinion via her critically acclaimed portrayal of Fanny Brice in Broadway’s ongoing revival of Funny Girl. And in a new interview published Tuesday (Feb. 7), the 36-year-old actress opened up about how the gig has given her a chance to introduce the world to the new her, revealing that she had personal conversations with her Glee costars in the aftermath of explosive allegations of on set bullying and racism made against her in 2020.
“I think these past two years have been so important for everybody to just sit back and reflect,” she told playwright Jeremy O. Harris for Interview Magazine. “I did a lot of personal reach-outs. But the most important thing was for everybody to just take a step back.”
“More than anything, I’m so grateful to have this opportunity to apply the things that I’ve learned over the past 10-plus years in a positive way,” she continued. “What I told myself stepping into Funny Girl was, ‘If I can’t take my role as a leader offstage as important as my role as a leader onstage, then I shouldn’t do this show.’”
The Scream Queens alum described feeling like her “life got turned upside down in so many ways” during the 2020 controversy, which saw several members of the Glee cast coming forward with claims of inappropriate, abusive behavior from the show’s leading lady. Season six actress Samantha Ware characterized Michele’s treatment of her as a series of “traumatic microaggressions.”
Michele later posted a public apology, saying that, while she didn’t remember the incidents described by Ware, “what matters is that I clearly acted in ways which hurt other people.”
“At the end of the day, what matters the most is how you make people feel,” the Scream Queens alum reflected in the new interview. “And you have to put aside your feelings. The conversations that I’ve had behind the scenes with some people were incredibly healing and very eye-opening for me … When I got the call that I was going to play Fanny Brice, I said, ‘OK, this could be really big for my career, but it’s also helpful to have this opportunity to introduce people to who I am now.’”
“I think about what the Glee days were like, just working so hard and having such pressure on my shoulders to keep that show afloat, and navigating through that whole experience at such a young age while also dealing with a really intense life trauma that happened at the same time,” she added, likely referencing the shocking death of her costar and boyfriend Cory Monteith. “This is such a different experience. I’m finding so much joy in the connections I’m having with the people around me. ”
It’s been over two weeks since Kevin McCarthy was (finally) elected speaker of the house after the longest contest to a speaker election in more than 150 years — and Internet sensation Randy Rainbow isn’t quite ready to move on from that bit of news.
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On Monday (Jan. 23), Rainbow posted his latest parody video “Speaker of the House,” in which the star lampoons the embattled GOP leader for his repeated failures to get elected — and the concessions he had to make to finally get the job done.
Starting off as many of Rainbow’s parodies do, the video opens with Rainbow conducting a fake interview with the leader, introducing him as “barely elected Speaker of the House, Kevin McF—head.” As the comedian begins to simultaneously question and roast McCarthy (including drinking from a mug with a piece of paper reading “you’re a dumba–” taped to it), the music begins to kick in, leading us to another song from the viral star.
Performing to the tune of “Master of the House” from the seminal Broadway musical Les Miserables, Rainbow holds nothing back when referring to McCarthy as a “slimy, climby man-boy” and a “power-hungry whore,” while making sure to rub the politician’s nose in his recent pyrrhic victory. “Speaker of the house/ Cunning little chap/ Covetous, conservative and full of crap,” he sings. “Thirsty as a fish/ Quick to compromise/ Only took the motherf—er 15 tries.”
But Rainbow’s barbs are not only reserved for McCarthy — the singer also takes time to go after some of McCarthy’s opponents, his allies and other much-discussed members of the GOP. “[Lauren] Boebert doesn’t even know what state she’s from/ Marjorie [Taylor Green]’s a mess/ Matt [Gaetz]’s a ticking bomb/ [George] Santos says he’s Ariana Grande’s mom,” he sings.
Finally bringing the song to its exacerbated conclusion, Rainbow delivers a final “toast” to McCarthy: “Girl, I give you one more week/ Everybody lift a cheek to the speaker of the house.”
The video comes just ahead of the 2023 Grammy Awards on Feb. 5, where Rainbow’s debut studio album A Little Brains, A Little Talent is nominated for best comedy album against huge competitors like Dave Chappelle, Patton Oswalt, Jim Gaffigan and Louis C.K.
Check out Randy Rainbow’s full video for “Speaker of the House” above.
Unlike seven years ago, when Hamilton’s Grammy win for best musical theater album was a foregone conclusion, this year’s contest appears to be wide-open.
The award could go to the cast album from the latest revival of one of Stephen Sondheim’s most beloved musicals, or to the album from a musical that celebrates the legacy of pop legend Michael Jackson or to the album from a show (A Strange Loop) that has already won a Pulitzer Prize and two Tony Awards, including best musical.
The Grammys have presented an award for best musical theater album every year since they started in 1959 (though the name of the category has changed over the years). This year, 42 albums were entered and eligible in the category, from which six were nominated.
Four of the nominated cast albums are from newly-produced shows – MJ: The Musical, Mr. Saturday Night, Six and A Strange Loop. The other two are from revivals – Into the Woods, which first opened on Broadway in 1987, Caroline, or Change, which first opened on Broadway in 2004.
Voters in this category are asked to focus on the cast album, not their memories of the show. (The Rules and Guidelines handbook for the 65th Annual Grammy Awards states: “This award honors excellence in the performances(s) in and production of musical theater recordings. Elements of the corresponding stage production should not be considered in evaluating the recording.”)
The award is presented to the principal vocalist(s) and to the album producer(s) of 50% or more of the playing time on the album. The lyricist(s) and composer(s) of 50% or more of a score of a new recording are eligible if no previous recording of said score has been nominated in this category. Caroline, or Change had not previously been nominated in this category, so its composer, Jeanine Tesori, and lyricist, Tony Kushner, are eligible. Into the Woods had been, so its composer/lyricist, Sondheim, is not.
A few category quirks: Recordings of revues that reflect a dramatic theme are eligible, but benefit/tribute concerts featuring performances of various musical show songs are not. Non-musical theater performance albums are likewise not eligible.
Let’s take a closer look at the six nominees:
Rebecca Milzoff and Keith Caulfield assisted in preparing this list.
Paul Mescal is replacing Blake Jenner in the decade-spanning production of the movie musical of Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
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Richard Linklater will be directing the project, which is being backed by Blumhouse, and will shoot over a 20-year span. (The director shot his Oscar-winning Boyhood over 12 years.)
The much-beloved musical, based on the 1934 play of the same name by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, follows Franklin Shepard, a talented composer of Broadway musicals that abandons his friends and career to become a producer of Hollywood movies. The story begins at the height of his Hollywood fame and moves backwards in time, showing important moments in Frank’s life.
Mescal will be playing the lead role of Broadway composer Franklin Shepard, which was previously meant to be played by Jenner. After being cast, Jenner was embroiled in allegations of domestic abuse.
In November 2019, actress Melissa Benoist posted a 14-minute Instagram video during which she spoke of being a survivor of domestic violence. At the time, Benoist did not name her abuser. In October 2020 Jenner, who was previously married to Benoist, took to social media where he apologized for an abusive relationship, writing that he took “full responsibility and accountability for the hurt that I inflicted during my relationship with my past partner — emotionally, mentally, and yes, physically.” (Jenner, who also lodged claims of abuse against his former partner, also did not name the partner he was referring to in his post.)
Mescal will join a previously announced cast of Beanie Feldstein and Ben Platt. The project announced four years ago, completed its first segment of filming in Aug 2019. Ginger Sledge will produce with Jason Blum for Blumhouse, along with Jonathan Marc Sherman and Linklater.
Mescal, who broke out in Hulu series Normal People, was recently cast in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator sequel. He has earned acclaim this past year for his work in Cannes standout Aftersun.
Above the Line first reported this news.
This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.