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Sufjan Stevens is bringing the noise to Broadway. The acclaimed singer/songwriter’s new musical, Illinoise, is slated to graduate to the Great White Way after sold-out productions at New York’s Park Avenue Armory and the Chicago Shakespeare Theater when it opens at New York’s St. James Theatre on April 24.
The show is set to the songs from Stevens’ fifth studio LP, 2005’s concept album Illinoise (also known as Sufjan Stevens Invites You to: Come on Feel the Illinoise) which features songs and characters based on the Prairie state as the follow-up to his previous “state” album, 2003’s Michigan.
The show will be directed and choreographed by Tony-winner Justin Peck (Carousel, West Side Story), with an original story by Peck and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Jackie Sibbles Drury (Fairview, Marys Seacole).
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The cast of Illinoise includes: Yesenia Ayala (West Side Story film), Kara Chan (Twyla Tharp Dance), Ben Cook (West Side Story film), Gaby Diaz (So You Think You Can Dance? winner, Maestro), Jeanete Delgado (Miami City Ballet), Carlos Falu (West Side Story film), Christine Flores (Dance Heginbotham), Jada German (Twyla Tharp Dance) and Zachary Gonder (Carmen at Lyric Opera), among others. The vocalists and band for the show will be announced soon.
According to an announcement, the show “brings the original story to life, set to the entirety of Stevens’ album with new arrangements by composer, pianist, and frequent Stevens collaborator Timo Andres, ranging in style from DIY folk and indie rock to marching band and ambient electronics, performed live by an 11-member band and three vocalists.”
“We’re absolutely thrilled to bring Illinoise to the St. James Theatre on Broadway. This project has been ruminating in my mind for nearly 20 years, which makes this moment even more sublime,” said Peck in a statement. “The audience response throughout our engagement at Fisher Center at Bard, Chicago Shakespeare Theater and Park Avenue Armory has been extraordinary, and we feel lucky that we get to continue sharing this unique show with future audiences on Broadway.”
Peck described the show as a coming-of-age story that “takes the audience on a journey through the American heartland — from campfire storytelling to the edges of the cosmos — all told in through a unique blend of music, dance, and theater. On behalf of my team, we welcome this rare opportunity with full hearts.”
Playwright Sibblies Drury added, “Supporting the craft of each of the artists involved in making up this show has been a joy and an inspiration. For me, the thing that makes Illinoise so special is how it allows incredible performers to come together with an audience and welcome emotion and connection with open arms. It is rare to have an experience, in a public space, that is moving on an elemental level, so we are all incredibly gratified to bring Illinoise to the St. James on Broadway.”
The musical’s limited engagement will run through August 10, with tickets on sale now here. The show is produced for Broadway by Orin Wolf, John Styles and David Binder in association with Seaview and executive produced by Nate Koch and co-produced by Thomas O. Kriegsmann and the Fisher Center at Bard.
K-pop boy band TOMORROW X TOGETHER announced the dates for their upcoming 2024 U.S. tour, which will hit eight cities across 11 shows. The outing is slated to kick off in Tacoma, WA at the Tacoma Dome on May 15, followed by gigs in Oakland, two nights at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles and shows […]
A year after their separation, Ariana Grande and Dalton Gomez are officially divorced. According to the Associated Press, a Los Angeles Superior Court judgement dissolving their three-year marriage became official on Tuesday (March 19), six months after the 30-year-old “yes, and?” singer filed for divorce from 28-year-old real estate broker Gomez. The couple, who had […]
Dua Lipa and Trixie Mattel are both excellent music artists — but visual art isn’t quite their thing.
The duo teamed up for a collaboration on the RuPaul’s Drag Race alum’s YouTube channel on Monday (March 18), where they challenged each other to paint the album art for Lipa’s upcoming album, Radical Optimism. “I can’t draw. I can do my eyeliner because I mastered it on my own face,” the pop star admitted. “I don’t really like doing things I’m not good at, and this is something I’m not good at.”
However, Mattel and Lipa were soon painting, doing their best at recreating the beachy album cover that features the 28-year-old singer floating in an ocean facing a shark fin. At one point in their wide-ranging conversation, Mattel asked Lipa if it’s true that she had once gotten rejected from her school choir. “I was in primary school and the teacher was like, ‘Alright, who wants to sing and try out for the choir?’ So I decided to stand up for the whole school and he started playing on the piano, and it was in this crazy high note and nothing came out just air and the whole schools started laughing. And he was like, you know what? Better luck next time. That was it. Later on, I was part of the choir but I was in the lower range,” Lipa recalled.
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She then added that she “went to singing lessons in a theater school every Saturday in London and it was the teacher there that helped me build up my confidence.”
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Elsewhere in the interview, Lipa explained the inspiration behind her Radical Optimism album title. “It was actually a term that was introduced to me through a friend of mine,” she said. I was doing an interview with him and he was like, I heard this term radical optimism, and I think that’s something you really need. It stuck with me. He put that term in my psyche and everything in my life started connecting to that about remaining calm in the chaos and being OK when things don’t go the way you intended them to.”
When the time came to reveal their paintings to each other, both Mattel and Lipa were unsatisfied with their work. “Check out Radical Optimism, people, you’re gonna need it,” Mattel joked.
The 11-track project — Lipa’s first proper LP since 2020’s Future Nostalgia — arrives May 3. Watch the full interview below.
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Megan Thee Stallion has officially claimed Ariana Grande‘s “The Boy Is Mine” as a hot girl anthem. In a TikTok posted Sunday, the “Cobra” rapper shows off her form-fitting, olive green dress from a number of different angles and parts of her house while vibing to the pop star’s ’90s-inspired new track. As Meg tosses […]
The sun is definitely shining down on Ariana Grande, who this week has both the No. 1 song and album in the United States with “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)” debuting atop the Billboard Hot 100 and Eternal Sunshine starting atop the Billboard 200.
In a heartfelt Instagram post Monday (March 18), the 30-year-old pop star shared the warmth with her fans while expressing gratitude for the simultaneous feats. “i know i have been posting so much (i feel self conscious about that / also would like to keep going / thanking / celebrating !),” the singer began, captioning a compilation video of moments from Eternal Sunshine‘s release week. “but i just wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Featuring footage from her “We Can’t Be Friends” music video shoot as well as a shot of her performing on Saturday Night Live earlier this month, Grande’s clip notes that the single debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100 — something that was announced just a few hours prior to her post. It also mentions Eternal Sunshine‘s position on the Billboard 200, where the album now reigns in the top spot in its first week on the chart.
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“We Can’t Be Friends” is also the No. 1 song in the world this week, premiering at the top of the Billboard Global 200.
“it’s impossible to put into words what i’ve been feeling this week,” the vocalist continued. “this album is most special to me for many reasons and just holds so much. sharing it has re-opened a lot of little and big feelings alike and it has been an emotional week in many ways !… but your overwhelmingly loving response to it all has made me feel such joyful, human connection and comfort.”
“just wanted to say i love and appreciate you all more than one can say and thank you again,” she added. “it is, as it always has been, my greatest honor to grow with you … let us promise to keep going !”
With “We Can’t Be Friends,” Grande earns her seventh No. 1 debut — surpassing Taylor Swift for the most among women — and her ninth Hot 100-topping single total. Eternal Sunshine also marks her sixth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, opening with 227,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending March 14, according to Luminate.
The Grammy winner isn’t the only person in her family making chart history this week: Her grandmother, who’s credited as Nonna on Eternal Sunshine‘s “Ordinary Things,” just became the oldest living person to chart on the Hot 100 at 98 years old, with the album closer debuting at No. 55 on the ranking.
See Grande’s post below.
Between Renée Rapp (Mean Girls), Halle Bailey (The Color Purple) and Ariana Grande (Wicked), the lines between Broadway, film and pop music aren’t really lines at all — and Ben Platt is ready to ride that wave with his forthcoming new album, Honeymind.
Announced via his official Instagram page last Tuesday (March 12), Honeymind marks the third studio effort from Emmy, Grammy and Tony winner. Both of his prior LPs — 2019’s Sing to Me Instead (No. 18) and 2021’s Reverie (No. 84) — reached the top half of the Billboard 200.
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“I’ve been working on this record for the last two years alongside my executive producer Dave Cobb and some brilliant co-writers and musicians across Nashville, Savannah, Los Angeles and New York,” he wrote in the Instagram announcement. “I began writing it during a period of major personal growth and transition. I wrote about all the ways that I’ve started to shed other people’s notions and perceptions of who I am, and really settle into myself from the root, earnestness and all. I wrote about growing out of the naiveté and aimlessness of childhood without resigning to the jaded and wonder-less feeling of adulthood… Most importantly, I wrote about finding real love… and all of the work we have to do as individuals to find security in who we are so that we’re ready for that real love when it comes along.”
That same day, Platt debuted “Andrew,” the set’s self-reflective lead single, while a plot-driven music video followed a few days later (March 15). The emotional video was crafted under the direction of Sam Wrench, known for his directorial work on Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour film and Billie Eilish‘s Live at the O2 concert film.
In support of his record, Platt will also launch an 18-show concert residency at Broadway’s newly renovated Palace Theatre. Michael Arden — the Tony-winning director with whom Platt previously collaborated on the 2023 Tony-winning revival of Parade — will direct the residency, which will last from May 28 through June 15. During his stay at The Palace, Platt will perform selections from all three of his studio albums, as well as a few surprises and fan favorites.
“It is far beyond my wildest imagination to play a residency of my own music in a house as storied as the Palace,” gushed the Dear Evan Hansen star in a press release. “I feel blessed to be part of the theater community, and to have the opportunity to perform as myself and from my own perspective on a Broadway stage is one of the greatest honors of my life. I can’t wait to introduce my new record on the beautifully revived stage. My hope is to bridge my musical theater roots that I hold so dear with the world of classic Americana songwriting that I’ve fallen so deeply in love with.”
Watch the “Andrew” music video above and click here to purchase tickets for Ben Platt’s upcoming Palace residency.
Looking for some motivation to help power you through the start of another work week? We feel you, and with some stellar new pop tunes, we’ve got you covered. These tracks from artists including Lizzy McAlpine, jxdn, Lava La Rue and more will get you energized to take on the week. Pop any of these gems […]
TWICE made its grand return to the United States for just one night only in Las Vegas Saturday (March 16), marking the K-pop group’s final American show on TWICE’s Ready to Be Tour. Comprised of members Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu, the girl group stepped out in front of thousands […]
Ariana Grande and Evan Peters are proving they have undeniable chemistry both onscreen and off. Ten days after the music video for “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)” dropped alongside her new album Eternal Sunshine on March 8, the singer has shared behind-the-scenes footage of her shoot with the American Horror Story alum, during which they kept things giggly in between intimate, emotional takes.
At one point in the footage, posted to YouTube Monday (March 18), Grande couldn’t stop cracking up as Peters distracted her from lip-syncing along to her latest single. Sitting on opposite sides of a birthday cake lit up with candles, the actor loudly said, “This is my cake! I made this for you,” making the Grammy winner lose her focus.
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“I can’t sing at the same time!” she said, laughing and putting a hand on Peters’ arm.
In another scene, Grande and the Dahmer star held hands in bed. As her memories get erased à la Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which served as the music video’s inspiration, Peters’ half of the mattress was forcibly ripped away.
When the cameras weren’t rolling, Peters, shirtless, high-fived a smiling Grande underneath the sheets.
Grande’s seventh studio album recently debuted atop the Billboard 200, marking her sixth No. 1 on the chart. The project was preceded by just one single, the Billboard Hot 100-topping “Yes, And?”.
In a previously shared snippet of the compilation, Grande explained that the “We Can’t Be Friends” music video is her “own short version” of Michel Gondry’s 2004 romantic sci-fi film. “Both of the characters end up discontinuing the cycle of their toxic pattern,” she added, standing on set of the visual’s snow angel scene. “It’s kind of about erasing the pain and only wanting the best for someone, even if it means not each other. It’s not like one person’s wrong, or the enemy.”
Watch the full behind-the-scenes footage of Grande’s “We Can’t Be Friends” music video above.