broadway
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Maurice Hines, who appeared alongside his younger brother, Gregory Hines, in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Cotton Club, has died. He was 80.
The Broadway dancer, choreographer and actor passed away on Friday (Dec. 29) of natural causes at the Actors Fund Home in Englewood, N.J., according to his cousin and representative, Richard Nurse, The Hollywood Reporter reports.
Hines received a Tony Award nomination in 1986 for best actor in a musical for a musical for Uptown… It’s Hot and was featured again on Broadway in 2006’s Hot Feet. Both productions were conceived, directed and choreographed by Maurice.
Born on Dec. 13, 1943, in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, Hines studied tap with Henry LeTang in NYC and was fascinated by the acrobatics of the Nicholas Brothers. He made his professional debut at around 6 years old alongside brother Gregory as the tap-dancing Hines Kids on Broadway in 1954, according to THR.
They later became known as the Hines Brothers and then Hines, Hines & Dad after their father, Maurice Sr., joined in 1963. The trio became regulars at New York’s Apollo Theater, and also performed in clubs across the U.S. and Europe.
After Gregory went solo in the early 1970s, Maurice joined the national tour of Guys and Dolls and reunited with his brother for Eubie! on Broadway in 1979. In 1982, Maurice stepped in for Gregory in the Broadway musical Sophisticated Ladies and he also appeared in the national tour of Jelly’s Last Jam.
The siblings later joined forces as the feuding Williams Brothers in Coppola’s 1984 crime drama The Cotton Brothers, which also starred Richard Gere and Diane Lane.
The 2019 documentary Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back highlights a falling out between the Hines brothers, who didn’t speak for 10 years “for reasons that Maurice refuses to discuss to this day. He provides no explanation in the film, but instead takes every opportunity to praise Gregory and say how much he loved him,” according to a THR review of the film.
“Nonetheless, the lingering emotional pain of their rift is deeply evident in such moments as Maurice sadly remembering that they didn’t even speak to each at their mother’s wedding, to her great distress. The film includes footage of Gregory’s Tony Award acceptance speech [in 1992] in which he pointedly thanks everyone in his family except his brother. He even takes pains, when mentioning his father, to add ‘Sr.’ so nobody misunderstands.”
The brothers made up before Gregory died of cancer at age 57 in 2003, according to THR.
Maurice is survived by his nephew, Zach, and niece, Daria.
Since its Broadway premiere in 1981, Stephen Sondheim‘s Merrily We Roll Along has been struggling to, well, get back to Broadway. The musical about 20 years of friendship between composer Franklin Shepard, lyricist Charley Kringas and writer Mary Flynn — which unfolds onstage in reverse chronological order, starting when that friendship has dissolved and all […]
The new Broadway cast recording of Merrily We Roll Along debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Cast Albums chart (dated Nov. 25). The show stars Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez – all of whom have been a part of at least one top 10-charting Cast Album previously. (Groff, notably, performs on both the Nos. 1 and 2 titles on the latest Cast Albums chart – as Merrily We Roll Along bumps Hamilton: An American Musical from the top slot down to No. 2.)
Billboard’s Top Cast Albums chart ranks the top-selling musical cast recordings of the week in the U.S., based on traditional album sales, as tracked by Luminate. The new Cast Albums chart dated Nov. 25 reflects the sales week ending Nov. 16.
Merrily We Roll Along has music and lyrics written by Stephen Sondheim, with a book by George Furth, based on the play of the same name by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. The musical premiered on Broadway in 1981 for a brief run, and the 2023 production is its first revival on Broadway. It’s slated to run through March 24, 2024.
The new iteration began off-Broadway in 2022 at the New York Theatre Workshop, with the same leading cast, and played through Jan. 22, 2023. It then began previews on Broadway at the Hudson Theatre on Sept. 19, and officially opened on Oct. 10.
Groff has now been a part of three No. 1s on Billboard’s Cast Albums chart: Merrily We Roll Along, and the original Broadway cast recordings of Hamilton: An American Musical (2015) and Spring Awakening (released in 2006, peaked at No. 1 in 2007). He’s also been a part of the top 10-charting albums A New Brain (2015 New York cast recording; No. 3 in 2016), Little Shop of Horrors (the new cast recording; No. 7, 2021). Groff won a Grammy Award for best musical theater album for Hamilton, and garnered a second nomination for the same category for Little Shop of Horrors.
Radcliffe starred in the 2011 Broadway revival of How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, which saw its cast recording reach No. 2 that same year. He also scored a Grammy nomination for best musical theater album for the project.
As for Mendez, she’s appeared on five top 10-charting sets on Cast Albums: Grease (the new 2007 Broadway cast recording, No. 4), Everyday Rapture (original Broadway cast recording; No. 8, 2010), Dogfight (original cast recording; No. 2, 2013), Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel (2018 Broadway cast recording; No. 2, 2013), Godspell (the new 2012 Broadway cast recording; No. 1) and now Merrily We Roll Along. Mendez also scored a Grammy nom for best musical theater album, for Carousel.
Ariana Grande is all about Ethan Slater‘s latest Broadway gig. The pop superstar was in the crowd at the St. James Theatre in New York City on Thursday night (Nov. 16) to support her rumored boyfriend Slater performing in Broadway’s Spamalot revival. For the occasion, Grande wore a classic red lip with her blonde hair slicked back into […]
Mitski is headed to Broadway. According to Deadline, the Oscar-nominated singer/songwriter is attached to write the music and lyrics for a stage musical adaptation of The Queen’s Gambit, the 2020 hit Netflix series starring Anya Taylor-Joy as fictional 1960s chess prodigy Beth Harmon. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts […]
Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater are seemingly still going strong. The duo attended a performance of Gutenberg! The Musical! on Broadway on Sunday night (Nov. 12), and the show’s star Andrew Rannells took to Instagram to share some backstage photos with the attendees, which also included Michael Urie. “We had some big fun in Schlimmer […]
Looking for a magnificent, opulent, tremendous, stupendous, gargantuan, bedazzlement, a sensual ravishment? Look no further than Moulin Rouge! The Musical on Broadway, where ’80s superstar Boy George is set to light up the stage in 2024.
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During his latest appearance on the TODAY show on Monday (Nov. 6), George revealed that he would be joining the cast of the Tony Award-winning musical in the role of Harold Zidler, the enigmatic and fabulous owner of the titular club, starting on Feb. 6, and running until May 12.
Speaking with hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager, George said that he was particularly excited to be joining an ensemble cast, something he prefers when it comes to live performing. “Just being part of an ensemble is really fun,” he said. “You can’t have an ego, because there’s too many people. It’s about fitting in, especially because everyone’s been doing this show for a while. So, hopefully, they’re going to teach me.”
Moulin Rouge! will not mark Boy George’s first time on the Great White Way. Back in 2003, the singer debuted his original musical Taboo, which told the story of his life in conjunction with the founding of his band Culture Club and the New Romantic club scene in London. The show was nominated for four Tony Awards in 2004, including best original score for George’s music.
In the meantime, George is currently promoting his new autobiography Karma, described as a story recounting “the drama, the music, his journey of addiction and recovery, surviving prison,” and much more. During his appearance on the TODAY show, George reminisced about the massive success of “Karma Chameleon,” the desire for himself and his band to find success in the U.S., and how he was sure from a young age that he would be famous. He said, “I guess I just knew I wasn’t going to play football and climb trees.”
Ariana Grande is Ethan Slater‘s biggest fan. The pop superstar was spotted at the St. James Theatre in New York City this week to support her rumored boyfriend in the first preview performance of Broadway’s Spamalot revival. In an Instagram video shared by user Jim Glaub, who was in the audience, Grande is seen smiling and cheering from the audience. […]
The Huey Lewis & the News musical, The Heart of Rock and Roll, is headed to Broadway in the spring of 2024. According to The New York Times, the comedic show that had its debut at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego in 2018, tells the story of a couple whose romance has to “navigate their rock band and corporate life aspirations.”
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The “feel-great” musical is slated to begin previews at the James Earl Jones Theater on March 29 and open on April 22, with no cast announced yet. The show borrows its title from the song of the same name released by the 1980s pop-rock band that peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the spring of 1984, spending 20 weeks on the chart.
The $16 million show will be directed by Gordon Greenberg (Holiday Inn), with choreography by Lorin Latarro (The Who’s Tommy) and a book by Jonathan A. Abrams based on a story by Abrams and Tyler Mitchell.
Lewis and the News’ fourth album, 1986’s Fore!, scored the group their last No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with “Stuck With You” spending three weeks at the top, along with another chart-topper, “Jacob’s Ladder,” which spent one week at the pinnacle. The album also featured the No. 3 hit “Hip to Be Square,” the No. 6 hit “Doing It All For My Baby” and the No. 9 charter “I Know What I Like”; the band landed their first No. 1 hit, 1985’s “The Power of Love” from the Back to the Future soundtrack.
Lewis posted an announcement about the show on Wednesday (Nov. 1) morning, in which he said he first fell in love with “all that is Broadway when I appeared as Billy Flynn in the musical Chicago in 2009. And I continue to believe that musical theater — because it’s so demanding — is also the most rewarding form of artistic expression.”
Lewis said his team has been working on the “funny and smart… lot of heart” show for a long time and that they’re very proud of the results. He also clarified that he won’t be appearing in it and that it’s not the story of his life, but that it does feature all the band’s biggest hits, including: “The Power of Love,” “Hip to Be Square,” “If This Is It,” “Doing It All For My Baby,” “I Want a New Drug,” “Jacob’s Ladder,” “Back in Time” and more.
Watch the Broadway announcement below.
Wicked — the wildly successful Broadway musical about the story of Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) and Glinda (Glinda the Good Witch) — celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, and rising pop stars Reneé Rapp and Lizzy McAlpine are getting in on the festivities.
At the first New York stop of her Snow Hard Feelings Tour, Rapp invited McAlpine onstage to perform an emotional rendition of “For Good,” one of the standout duets on the Wicked soundtrack.
Fan-captured footage via TikTok finds the two singers enrapturing the audience as they assume the roles of Glinda and Elphaba atop a neon-green-lit stage. Rapp choosing to perform “For Good” for the first of her four New York tour stops is unsurprising considering her Broadway roots. In 2019, The Sex Lives of College Girls star enjoyed a brief run as Regina George in the Tony-nominated Mean Girls musical. She is set to reprise her role in the forthcoming film adaptation of the musical, which is set to hit theaters Jan. 12, 2024.
The first part of the two-film adaptation of Wicked, meanwhile, is slated to hit theaters on Nov. 27, 2024. The film’s star-studded cast includes Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang and more.
Rapp’s musical theater background echoes across her music, including Snow Angel, her debut studio LP. The record, which helped Rapp land a pair of MTV Video Music Award nominations this year, debuted at No. 44 on the Billboard 200 with 18,000 units shifted — the biggest first-week total for a debut album by a female artist in 2023. On Tuesday (Oct. 31), Rapp will head to Brooklyn’s Kings Theatre for a special Halloween show where fans are encouraged to attend in costume.
As for McAlpine, the “For Good” duet comes on the heels of an exciting year for the fast-rising folk-pop singer. This year, McAlpine enjoyed the rise of “Ceilings,” which became her very first Billboard Hot 100 hit (No. 54), as well as collaborations with Noah Kahan (“Call Your Mom”) and Niall Horan (“You Could Start a Cult”).
Watch Rapp and McAlpine deliver a gorgeous “For Good” performance below: