broadway
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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.
Lizzie and Rachel! Hilary Duff spent a girls night out in New York City over the weekend supporting Lea Michele in Broadway’s Funny Girl.
“Lea, what a treat to see you in this role! You shine so bright … it was made for you!” the Lizzie McGuire star wrote on Saturday (Jan. 7) alongside a photo of herself and three pals — including Younger co-star Molly Bernard — posing with the Glee alum at the theater.
Within the slideshow, Duff also shared snaps smiling in front of the Funny Girl marquee outside the August Wilson Theatre, and showing off multiple copies of the musical’s playbill from her seat. For her part, Michele appreciated the social media shout-out, writing, “Love you hil” with a simple red heart emoji in the comments.
The Broadway star’s stint as Fanny Brice in the musical revival has been a resounding success since she stepped into the role in September, replacing original star Beanie Feldstein. In late December, her star power helped the show bring in more than $2 million across eight shows, setting a new record for the historic venue that’s also been home to Tony nominees such as Mean Girls, Jersey Boys, Slave Play and more over the years.
During the holiday season, Michele also dished on the heartwarming letter she received in her dressing room from original Funny Girl star Barbra Streisand in an interview on Late Night With Seth Meyers. Duff, meanwhile, shared an adorably chaotic Christmas card with her rocker husband Matthew Koma and kids Luca, Banks and Mae.
See Duff and Michele celebrate Funny Girl below.
Oops! Renée Elise Goldsberry jumped into the comments section on Laura Benanti‘s latest social media post Monday to congratulate her for… catching COVID?
The LOL-worthy gaffe occurred when Benanti shared her positive coronavirus test on Instagram after taking her daughter Ella on a trip to the New York City Ballet, writing, “Happy New Year? (I tested the day of the ballet and was negative…I also wore my mask so everyone is safe, don’t worry!).”
However, the original Hamilton cast member appears to have thought her fellow Broadway star was sharing a positive pregnancy test on her feed, and mistakenly wrote, “AAAAAAH! Congratulations!” in a now-deleted comment, all while other Broadway stars like Kristin Chenoweth and Jessica Vosk added their commiseration and well-wishes for Benanti’s speedy recovery.
On Tuesday (Jan. 3), Goldsberry offered some hysterical context for her mistake via Twitter, writing, “Drunk scrolling on my birthday… Wrong positive test…” with a facepalm and laughing emoji before adding, “Love you, Laura! Feel better!”
For her part, Benanti seemed focused on making sure her recovery was as low-key and relaxing as possible. “Dear Laura: you do not need to spend this quarantine writing the great American novel, or a pilot, or a play, or a song,” the Tony winner wrote on her Instagram Story. “You do not need to clean and organize your basement. You do not need to organize your email into categories. You do not need to return the thousands of unread emails in your inbox. You do not need to journal, or reflect or read books that challenge you. You can rest and watch tv and read cheesy novels and that doesn’t make you lazy. K?”
Back in October, Goldsberry’s musical sitcom Girls5eva was officially renewed for a third season and will find a new home on Netflix after originating its first two seasons on Peacock.
See Benanti’s post lamenting her positive COVID test and Goldsberry’s amusing response to her accidental congratulations below.
Leading up to the lucrative holiday weeks, the Lea Michele-led Funny Girl broke a box office record at the August Wilson Theatre on Broadway.
The revival brought in just above $2 million across eight shows last week, which also marked a record gross for the production. Michele joined the revival in September, following the departure of Beanie Feldstein, in a move seen to help boost grosses for the then-struggling show.
Since Michele joined the production on Sept. 6, Funny Girl has seen that boost, with the musical bringing in more than $1.6 million a week, and recently closer to $2 million, after more modest returns in the spring and a drop to less than $1 million over the summer.
Mean Girls, which played the August Wilson Theatre from March 2018 until the theatrical shutdown, previously set the house record at the theater in 2018 with a gross of $1.99 million.
The recent box office record was set as Funny Girl played to a capacity of 96 percent and commanded an average ticket price of $213.28, the second highest of all shows for the week. Only The Music Man had a higher average ticket price, at $267.99, which helped the show continue its reign as the highest-grossing show of the week, bringing in $3.25 million.
Ain’t No Mo‘ was another notable standout in the week ended Dec. 18, as the new play saw its grosses triple to reach $499,303 from $164,592 the previous week and play to a capacity of 93 percent. The surge came as creator Jordan E. Cooper waged a campaign to stop the show from closing and received help along the way from Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, Tyler Perry, Shonda Rhimes, Gabrielle Union, Dwyane Wade, Queen Latifah and Sara Ramirez, all of whom bought out performances. The show has now extended through Dec. 23 after initially being told it would close on Dec. 18.
Grosses remain high for the standard top performers on Broadway, with The Lion King bringing in $2.4 million, Wicked bringing in $2.2 million and Hamilton bringing in $2.3 million. Phantom continues to see elevated interest, after extending its closure to April after a run of 35 years.
But many Broadway newcomers continue to struggle, with productions such as Topdog/Underdog, a Pulitzer Prize-winning play starring Corey Hawkins and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, grossing $257,217 last week and playing to a capacity of 52 percent, which has been the trend for several weeks. Almost Famous, which just announced a Jan. 8 closing, played to a capacity of 68 percent and grossed $703,714, down about $61,000 from the previous week.
These grosses are still a welcome reprieve from last December, when a surge in omicron cases among cast and company members caused the cancellation of dozens of performances across the industry and led to the permanent closure of some shows. Coming up, the weeks around Christmas and New Years Eve often bring in the biggest grosses productions see all season.
This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.