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Tag: Broadway

  • ‘Dukes Of Hazzard’ Star John Schneider Calls For Biden To Be ‘Publicly Hung’

    ‘Dukes Of Hazzard’ Star John Schneider Calls For Biden To Be ‘Publicly Hung’

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    Source: YouTubes: Newsmax, CNN

    The former “Dukes Of Hazzard” star John Schneider, who has long been one of the only openly conservative Christian stars in Hollywood, called for President Joe Biden to be executed in a social media post that was put up in the early hours of Thursday morning.

    Schneider Tweets Biden Should Be ‘Publicly Hung’

    Hours after being revealed as the Donut and getting second place on “The Masked Singer,” Schneider, 63, took to social media to blast Biden in a post that has since been deleted.

    “Mr. President, I believe you are guilty of treason and should be publicly hung. Your son too. Your response is..? Sincerely, John Schneider,” the actor wrote, according to Yahoo News.

    Schneider wrote this in response to a post Biden had written about the former President Donald Trump.

     “Trump poses many threats to our country: The right to choose, civil rights, voting rights, and America’s standing in the world,” Biden wrote. “But the greatest threat he poses is to our democracy. If we lose that, we lose everything.”

    Schneider Denies Calling For Biden’s Execution

    When contacted for comment by The New York Post, Schneider denied calling for Biden’s execution.

    “Seriously, folks? This is my final comment on this. I neither said nor implied any such thing,” Schneider said.

    “Despite headlines claiming otherwise, in my post, I absolutely did not call for an act of violence or threaten a U.S. president as many other celebrities have done in the past,” he added. “I suggest you re-read my actual post and pay attention to the words before believing this nonsense.”

    Calls For Secret Service To Take Action

    Daily Mail reported that liberals have responded by calling on the Secret Service and federal government to take action against Schneider.

    “John Schneider deleted his tweet saying President Biden should be hanged. But the internet is forever and wouldn’t it be a shame if ‘Bo Duke’ receives a visit from some federal agents,” one social media user commented, with another adding, “s John Schneider going to get the same treatment that Kathy Griffin received from the Secret Service? She posed for a picture, and he made an actual threat against the president and his son.”

    This was a reference to the comedian Kathy Griffin, who has long claimed that she was investigated by the Secret Service after posing with the simulated severed head of Donald Trump for a photoshoot back in 2017. She alleges that she was placed under federal investigation, put on a no-fly list, and “interrogated under oath” after this, although there has never been any tangible proof released to the public to back up these claims.

    Related: ‘Dukes Of Hazzard’ Star John Schneider Breaks Down As He Honors Late Wife Months After Her Death

    Schneider has long been one of the only openly conservative stars in Hollywood. Back in 2018, he said that it was time for “for Hollywood stars to come out of the Republican closet.”

    “I do think there’s a bias against conservatives, Republicans, in Hollywood, but I think if you let that alter how you are, then I question how you are,” he said at the time.

    Schneider doubled down on this in 2021, expressing his belief that he’s been blacklisted by Hollywood for his conservative views.

    “You don’t really lose a role. You’re just not looked at,” he explained to Fox Business. “You’re not considered for something”

    Schneider Finishes Runner-Up On ‘The Masked Singer’

    Hours before his post about Biden, Schneider was overjoyed to finish as runner-up to the R&B singer NE-YO on “The Masked Singer,” explaining that competing on the show has helped him deal with his grief over losing his wife Alicia Allain to breast cancer earlier this year.

    “It really helped me get through the worst year of my life,” Schneider told People Magazine afterwards. “So I’m delighted to have done it. I’m honored to have done it. I’m so impressed with the way they do this show. I’ve sung on stage a lot. I’ve done Broadway and concerts.”

    “I mean, for crying out loud, I’ve done it for 40 years but I’ve never, never experienced a group of people who do what they do with such excellence,” he continued. “From beginning to end, it was the greatest experience I’ve had doing music on television.”

    Full Story: ‘Dukes Of Hazzard’s’ John Schneider Says ‘Masked Singer’ Helped Him Handle His Wife’s Death

    While calling for the execution of a sitting president isn’t something that we would support, celebrities have gotten away with saying far worse things about Trump over the years. After the difficult year that Schneider has had, we can only hope that people cut him some slack on this one and allow him to continue his grieving process in peace.

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    James Conrad

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  • Angourie Rice Reveals the One Thing From Filming “Mean Girls” That She'd Put in a Burn Book – POPSUGAR Australia

    Angourie Rice Reveals the One Thing From Filming “Mean Girls” That She'd Put in a Burn Book – POPSUGAR Australia

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    Dig out your tank tops, mini skirts and pink cardigans because a new iteration of the 2004 smash hit “Mean Girls” is almost here. Set to premiere in January 2024, the film is bringing the Broadway musical reimagining of the cult classic to the big screen. Fans can expect explosive musical numbers, a brand new trio of ‘Plastics’ and Tina Fey’s reprisal of her role as Ms Norbury.

    If you’re not privy to the plot of “Mean Girls”, it follows transfer student Cady Heron as she navigates the social ecosystem of her new high school. Cady quickly finds herself swept into the popular ‘Plastics’ clique, and falling for the ex-boyfriend of their supreme leader, Regina George.

    Amongst the brand new cast is Australian actress Angourie Rice as Cady Heron, “The Office” star Jenna Fischer and Busy Phillips. Also on the docket is Broadway singer and actress Reneé Rapp, who’s playing Regina George. You might also hear a familiar voice with a new look as “Moana” voice actress Auli’i Cravalho takes on the role of Cady’s friend Janice ‘Imi’ke.

    The trailer sent the Internet into a frenzy, with many questioning how it differs to the original “Mean Girls” film. You can check it out here. Although the 2024 release will bear some similarity to the original, this new interpretation is, in fact, a musical!

    In anticipation of the release, we spoke with Angourie Rice about her Burn Book inclusions, and what would actually make “fetch” the next big thing.

    Angourie Rice on Which “Mean Girls” Filming Moment Belongs in the Burn Book

    Paramount Pictures

    You can admit it — there’s someone or something you’d write about in your Burn Book. And although her character Cady Heron doesn’t relish the thought of tarnishing someone’s name in that capacity without some hesitation, Angourie Rice isn’t afraid to share.

    Surprisingly, her Burn Book-worthy inclusion isn’t a particular person. Instead, it’s a fashion moment from the filming of “Mean Girls”.

    “The shoes that we had to wear during the winter talent show!” Rice tells POPSUGAR Australia, laughing. “They belong in the Burn Book. They were thigh high, pleather, like, plastic boots with a sky high heel.”

    The combination of the sticky, sweaty material and having to dance in them all day while filming are key factors in her choice.

    “By the end I wanted to throw them in bin!” she added.

    If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, the “Mean Girls” star says that walking “wide legged” will eliminate squeaking noises, and stop the plastic sticking together. Love that!

    Angourie Rice on the Moment That Could Make “Fetch” Happen

    From outfits to quotes, arguably one of the most memorable moments from the original “Mean Girls” movie is Gretchen Wieners’ attempt to make the word “fetch” — an everyday turn of phrase in place of ‘cool’ or ‘hip’ — happen.

    While we’ve yet to see how the new Gretchen Wieners (played by Bebe Wood) will attempt to do the same, Angourie Rice praises her co-star’s acting abilities saying that Wood’s portrayal could make “fetch” happen.

    “I think the way Bebe [Woods], who plays Gretchen, says ‘fetch’ is so funny to me,” Rice shares. “When we filmed that scene, just the way she does it, it cracked me up every time.”

    She goes on name to Wood’s as “the perfect Gretchen” and speaks on the dynamic between Reneé Rapp (as Regina George) and Bebe.

    “Seeing [Gretchen] do that little scene where Regina [George] is like, ‘Stop it, it’s not going to happen!’, and just, [Bebe’s] little face is so sad — I just think that whole performance is just amazing.”

    Mean Girls will hit HOYTS cinemas on January 11, 2024. Click here to book tickets.

    Want more entertainment goss? Check out more POPSUGAR stories here, and read through the stories below:

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    Angeline Barion

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  • ‘Vanderpump Rules’ Star Is Heading To Broadway

    ‘Vanderpump Rules’ Star Is Heading To Broadway

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    Ariana Madix is set to play Roxie Hart in “Chicago.”

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  • Planning Your Trip to the Great White Way? Here Are the 10 Best Broadway Shows of 2023 So Far

    Planning Your Trip to the Great White Way? Here Are the 10 Best Broadway Shows of 2023 So Far

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    Broadway shows come and go, but their impact can stay with us forever. Even if a show closed early, that doesn’t mean it’s not still one of the best of the year. And while we still have a few shows to go before 2024, let’s talk about the best shows we’ve seen so far!

    The Great White Way is made up of plays, musicals, and an array of performances that keep audiences engaged in the theatrical arts. 2023 was a brilliant year for theater, and after seeing several shows myself, I have my favorites of the season. So while the year is not over yet (and there are still some shows to go), let’s talk about the ten best shows of 2023. Did your favorite make the cut?

    Merrily We Roll Along

    NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 8: (L-R) Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez during the opening night curtain call for "Stephen Sondheim
    (Bruce Glikas/WireImage)

    The Stephen Sondheim show that nearly ruined his career, Merrily We Roll Along comes to life on stage in such a shockingly poignant and breathtaking way. Starring Daniel Radcliffe as Charley Kringas, Jonathan Groff as Franklin Shepard, and Lindsay Mendez as Mary Flynn, the show is about three friends and the ways in which their relationship changes over the course of twenty years. But more than that, it’s a show about what it feels like to lose that friend group that was once so important to you.

    As is the case with many Sondheim shows, Merrily We Roll Along weighs heavily on you and it is hard to see why people didn’t like it the first time around. The revival, which is playing at the Hudson, takes us through the loss of love between these three friends as we go backward through time to understand what happened to them. It’s a moving production through and through.

    Gutenberg! The Musical

    NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 12: Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad during the opening night curtain call for the musical "Gutenberg: The Musical" on Broadway at The James Earl Jones Theater on October 12, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Glikas/Getty Images)
    (Bruce Glikas/Getty Images)

    Love Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad? Want to see them back on Broadway together? You’re in luck! The show follows Bud and Doug, two musical theater composers attempting to pitch a show about Johannes Gutenberg to potential producers. The musical started back at the Upright Citizens Brigade in 2005 and has achieved a cult following since then. And it’s always wonderful to see Rannells and Gad back on stage together after originating the roles of Elder Price and Elder Cunningham in The Book of Mormon.

    Bringing up a “special guest” in some shows, the musical really is just a celebration of these two performers and brings their work to life in such a fun and exciting way. It is a limited run, though, with the show closing in January.

    Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch

    NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 3: Leslie Odom Jr. and Alan Alda pose backstage at the play "Purlie Victorious" on Broadway at The Music Box Theater on October 3, 2023 in New York City. Alan Alda played "Charley Cotchipee" in the Original 1961 Broadway production. (Photo by Bruce Glikas/WireImage)
    (Bruce Glikas/WireImage)

    Leslie Odom Jr. on Broadway, what more could you want? Focusing on Purlie (Odom Jr.) as he returns to his hometown, this comedy “tells the story of a Black preacher’s machinations to reclaim his inheritance and win back his church.” This one-act play is funny and filled with great performances, but still packs a lot of heart for audiences to enjoy.

    It is always nice to see Odom Jr. on Broadway, giving yet another brilliant performance. The show as a whole has a history to unpack that really delves into the way we tell stories. This is one you won’t want to miss.

    Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

    Josh Groban as Sweeney Todd with his razor
    (Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)

    You can still see Josh Groban play the titular role in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street until next year, before Aaron Tveit (Schmigadoon!) takes over with Sutton Foster (Younger). The revival of Sondheim’s beloved musical does highlight one thing about us as theater-going people: We love a horny murder guy. Sticking relatively true to what we know and love about the musical as a whole, the revival (which was directed by Thomas Kail) makes it clear that Sweeney’s relationship with Mrs. Lovett (a hilarious Annaleigh Ashford) is one that is as sexual as we always thought.

    When I say this is a “horny” production, I mean it. Often, Mrs. Lovett is played as having an unrequited love for Todd. That’s not the case here. He clearly does see her as someone who he wants on his side and it makes for a fascinating production.

    The Shark Is Broken

    The cast of the Shark is Broken on stage
    (Matthew Murphy)

    Ever wish you could see a show about the creation of Jaws and what happened between Richard Dreyfuss, Roy Scheider, and Robert Shaw? Then The Shark Is Broken might be the perfect show for you. Mainly thanks to how good the cast is at bringing Dreyfuss, Scheider, and Shaw to life.

    Ian Shaw, who also co-wrote the play, plays his acting legend father who didn’t fully understand the impact that Jaws would make on the world. Colin Donnell plays Scheider who, in his own way, is the mediator of the group. The play dives into Dreyfuss’ (Alex Brightman) antagonistic relationship with Shaw, which was one of many problems that plagued the film’s nightmare shoot. This show is short, brilliant, and perfect for any Jaws fan.

    Parade

    A woman  and a man stand side by ide holding hands as people walk behind them. They are dressed in clothing from the 1910s.
    (Bruce Glikas/WireImage)

    A musical that was difficult to watch, Parade has finished its Tony Award-winning run on Broadway. Jason Robert Brown’s show highlights the real-life story of Leo Frank (Ben Platt), a Jewish man wrongly accused of murdering a young girl in Atlanta. Parade documents Frank’s determination to return to his wife (Micaela Diamond) despite the rising antisemitism he faces as his trial commences.

    While Parade is difficult to watch, the music and the lyrics are beautiful and the show is staged thoughtfully by director Michael Arden. With an all too timely message, Parade was one of the best productions this year.

    New York, New York

    A woman in a head wrap and a brunette man stand on either side of an older man, each kissing him on the cheek.
    (Bruce Glikas/Getty Images)

    Do I think this show deserved more love? Absolutely. A Kander and Ebb musical (with an assist from Lin-Manuel Miranda) that was short-lived on Broadway, New York, New York tells the story of Jimmy Doyle (Colton Ryan) as he hustles to be a musician alongside his love Francine (Anna Uzele). It was chaotic, brilliant, fast-paced, and captured the spirit of New York. In my opinion, this show didn’t get the love it deserves.

    While it was nominated at the Tonys, the show didn’t win anything significant enough to get people into seats. Unfortunately, New York, New York closed this summer, but my love for the show remains.

    A Doll’s House

    Jessica Chastain, in a black dress with a white collar, stands in front of a sign for 'A Doll's House'.
    (Bruce Glikas/WireImage)

    Jessica Chastain spends the entire pre-show spinning around on a massive turntable onstage in this most recent revival of A Doll’s House. The Henrik Ibsen play has been performed countless times across the globe, but this sparse one-act production strips away all props, sets, and artifice to rack focus onto Nora (Chastain) and the fear she feels over losing everything.

    While the cast included brilliant performances by Arian Moayed (Succession) and Okieriete Onaodowan (Hamilton), the show itself was carried by Chastain’s Nora. Simple, brilliant, and to the point, it highlighted why A Doll’s House remains a part of the theatrical canon.

    Here Lies Love

    NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 20: (L-R) Jose Llana, Arielle Jacobs and Conrad Ricamora during the opening night curtain call for the new musical "Here Lies Love" on Broadway at The Broadway Theatre on July 20, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Glikas/WireImage)
    (Bruce Glikas/WireImage)

    Another show that deserves more recognition, Here Lies Love is unfortunately closing by the end of the month. But there’s still plenty of time for you to see my favorite piece of theatre in a long while. The David Byrne and Fat Boy Slim musical takes us back in time to the Philippines when the Marcos family was in control. Told through an irresistible disco beat, the musical features a dance floor section where fans can experience the magic of the show as Imelda Marcos (Arielle Jacobs) would have whenever she fled to America to ignore her husband.

    The music is incredible, and the show is one of the first all-Filipino casts on Broadway. Truth be told, the news that this show is closing is devastating to me. It’s a show I heartily recommend and have seen multiple times. Try and see it while you can.

    The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window

    NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 04: Oscar Isaac, Lisa Kauffman, and Rachel Brosnahan attend "The Sign In Sidney Brustein's Window" Gala performance celebration at Virgin Hotels New York City on May 4, 2023 in New York City.
    (John Nacion/Getty Images)

    This show featured Oscar Isaac playing instruments, so naturally, I loved it. Lorraine Hansberry’s play starred Rachel Brosnahan and Oscar Isaac as a married couple trying so hard to do the “right” thing that they lose who they are in the process. It’s not a perfect play, and some aspects of it don’t quite work for a modern audience. Still, the show itself was magnificent to watch.

    Transferring from the Brooklyn Academy of Music (B.A.M.) to Broadway this year, The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window is a must-watch for fans of Isaac and Brosnahan, who share terrific chemistry together.

    _______________________________

    There are still shows to open this year and some that I haven’t seen. As of right now, this is my list of the best shows of 2023, and I can’t wait to see how it changes by the end of the year!

    (featured image: aluxum/Getty Images)

    Have a tip we should know? [email protected]

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    Rachel Leishman

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  • SEE IT: Renee Rapp appears in trailer for ‘Mean Girls’ musical movie

    SEE IT: Renee Rapp appears in trailer for ‘Mean Girls’ musical movie

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    Renée Rapp is reprising her role as superficial teen queen Regina George in the big-screen adaptation of the “Mean Girls” musical that stormed Broadway in 2018.

    But she isn’t singing a word in the first trailer for the film, which arrives in theaters Jan. 12.

    Paramount Pictures released the trailer for the movie, promoted as Tina Fey’s “new twist on the modern classic” — the original 2004 film that made stars out of Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams and Amanda Seyfried.

    Angourie Rice stars as Cady Heron with Christopher Briney taking on the role of her object of desire, Aaron Samuels. Auli’i Cravalho portrays Regina’s ex-bestie and Cady’s new friend, Janice Ian. 2022 Tony Award nominee and Drama Desk Award winner Jaquel Spivey makes his feature film debut in his role as Janis’ bestie Damien.

     

    Directed by Arturo Perez Jr. and Samantha Jayne, the “Mean Girls” movie will also star Tim Meadows reprising his role from the 2004 film.

    Fey, who wrote and portrayed Ms. Norbury in the original screenplay for the original movie, co-wrote the 2018 Broadway musical, which garnered 12 Tony Award nominations.

    Jon Hamm, Jenna Fischer, and Busy Philipps join them among the adult cast.

    “Emily in Paris” star Ashley Park, who also starred in the 2018 Broadway production, will play North Shore High’s French teacher.

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    Karu F. Daniels

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  • Broadway’s Stephanie J. Block Preps For The Holidays With A Fresh Take On 1970s Classic

    Broadway’s Stephanie J. Block Preps For The Holidays With A Fresh Take On 1970s Classic

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    Broadway’s Stephanie J. Block is getting a head start on the holiday season this week by unveiling a new album.

    HuffPost caught an early listen to the actor and singer’s tender rendition of “Merry Christmas, Darling” ahead of the album’s Friday release by Club44 Records. The song, which is also the record’s title track, was first made famous in 1970 by the Carpenters.

    In putting her own spin on the song, Block told HuffPost she hoped to imbue listeners with the essence of “being wrapped in a warm blanket.”

    “I kept using the term, ‘like chewy caramel,’” she quipped.

    Listen to Stephanie J. Block’s “Merry Christmas, Darling” below.

    A California native, Block has been a stalwart of New York’s theater scene since making her Broadway debut opposite Hugh Jackman in 2003’s “The Boy from Oz.”

    Since then, she’s won acclaim for her performances in “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” “Falsettos” and, most recently, “Into the Woods,” among other hit musicals. She’s also branched out into television, appearing on “Orange is the New Black” and “Madam Secretary.”

    Amid her successes on stage and screen, Block said that recording a holiday album has been on her bucket list for years. Her dream began to take shape two years ago, when she released her version of “O Holy Night.”

    Fittingly, “Merry Christmas, Darling” is also a family affair. Block’s husband, fellow actor and singer Sebastian Arcelus, is featured on the original track “When You Hold Me in Your Arms (It’s Christmas).” The couple’s 8-year-old daughter, Vivienne, makes a guest appearance on “Little Drummer Girl,” a gender-swapped take on “Little Drummer Boy.”

    In 2019, Stephanie J. Block won a Tony Award for “The Cher Show.”

    Jemal Countess via Getty Images

    “I mentioned to my daughter that I needed to write a little press blurb about my upcoming Christmas album and she responded, ‘Our Christmas album,’” Block recalled. “My initial thought response was to laugh and shake my head, but after a brief moment I realized her comment was exactly right.”

    “Merry Christmas, Darling” comes toward the end of a fruitful year for Block. In February, she starred as Norma Desmond in a Washington, D.C., staging of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical adaptation of “Sunset Boulevard.” She and Arcelus also reprised their roles from last year’s Broadway revival of “Into the Woods” across the country on a national tour.

    The album’s release seems auspiciously timed, coming just weeks after the debut of “Christmas,” Cher’s first-ever holiday album. As theatergoers may recall, Block worked closely with the legendary diva before portraying her in the 2019 bio-musical “The Cher Show,” for which she won a Tony Award.

    Though Block insists the timing is pure coincidence, she’s come to appreciate the unexpected connection.

    “I received a text from her a while back saying, ‘We will be bonded together for life, babe,’” she said. “I hope this is one of the many examples of that bond.”

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  • Josh Groban says recording

    Josh Groban says recording

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    Josh Groban says recording “Sweeney Todd” cast album was “a whole different process” – CBS News


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    Josh Groban joins “CBS Mornings” to discuss his starring role in the Broadway revival of “Sweeney Todd.”

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  • Edging into the spotlight: When playing in the background is fame enough

    Edging into the spotlight: When playing in the background is fame enough

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    For the last four decades Mark Rivera has been bringing down the house as Billy Joel’s saxophone player, taking over the show with his solos on classics like “New York State of Mind.” “There’s no feeling like it in the world,” Rivera laughed. “That’s my moment to step into the light.”

    But when the music calls for it, he admits, he goes back into the shadow. “Do I mind the shadow? Not at all.”

    mark-rivera-with-billy-joel.jpg
    Saxophone player Mark Rivera on stage with Billy Joel. 

    CBS News


    After half a century backing up headliners like Paul McCartney, Elton John, Tony Bennett and Simon & Garfunkel, Rivera’s got something to teach the rest of us about life lived, not in the spotlight, but as the title of his recent book suggests, just to the side of it.

    River is author of “Sideman: In Pursuit of the Next Gig.” Being a sideman, he said, means “knowing where your place is. That’s very important, to know where your place is in life.”

    Matt Holt


    Axelrod asked, “What’s the biggest mistake a sideman can make?”

    “Thinking he’s more important than the name on the marquee!” Rivera replied. “Overstepping your job description, thinking that your role is greater than it is.”

    Bestselling author Tim Brown has also been thinking about some unsung heroes who operate mostly in the shadows, not just in music, but sports, entertainment, and everyday life.

    But don’t kids grow up dreaming of the spotlight, not the shadows? “I think you find honor in what you do every day,” Brown said of a life in the shadow of greatness. “Even if it’s not the entire dream, you can still be great at what you need to get done today. You can still feed whatever it is inside of you and go to bed that night thinking, OK, I was my best self today. Is it the whole dream? No. Is it pieces of the dream? Yeah.”

    Brown’s latest book, “The Tao of the Backup Catcher,” examines backup catchers – major league baseball’s version of a sideman, told through the eyes of a retired catcher named Erik Kratz. “You’re there to give the number one guy a day off,” Kratz said.

    And how important is wrestling your ego to the ground? “So important,” he said. “You can’t have your ego out in front.”

    League Championship Series - Milwaukee Brewers v Los Angeles Dodgers - Game Four
    Catcher Erik Kratz of the Milwaukee Brewers stands between Manny Machado of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who’d just kicked Brewers first baseman Jesus Aguilar after Machado was thrown out during the tenth inning of Game Four of the National League Championship Series, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, October 16, 2018.

    Jeff Gross / Getty Images


    Kratz built a long, satisfying career doing something he loved, playing 11 seasons for 14 major league organizations. His longevity in major league baseball, he said, was “100%” built on being okay with not being a superstar. Once he realized his talent would only take him so far, and nowhere near stardom, he created value with a team-first attitude. “So, while I’m only playing in a third of the games, I’m there every single day,” said Kratz. “I’m working out just as hard to get ready for the game, so that when I do play – at my completely average level! – it is the best that I can be for those 26 guys.”

    the-tao-of-the-backup-catcher-grand-central-publishing.jpg

    Grand Central Publishing


    Brown says that success comes down to “finding out who you are, whatever that is, and being the best at it that you can be.”

    It’s a lesson in finding contentment built on a foundation of humility and gratitude: “Humility has nothing to do with your achievements; it’s about feeling for the rest of us,” said Brown. “Gratitude for where you are, who you are, what you’re becoming, even if it’s not all you want it to be.”

    Axelrod said, “There are lessons to what you learn talking to backup catchers that have great value even outside a baseball stadium: Be a part of the team and take pride and pleasure in that. You work a long time, and you’ll find personal satisfaction.”

    “I think that’s true on a baseball field; it’s true on a Broadway stage; it’s true at the Hollywood Bowl,” Brown said.

    Kayla Pecchioni is walking, talking, singing, dancing proof of Brown’s point. At 31 she’s just getting started on Broadway, which she said was beyond her wildest dreams as a kid. As an understudy in the musical “Paradise Square,” Pecchioni brought the audience to its feet when she’s subbed for the lead.

    Axelrod asked, “Doesn’t part of you, after that experience, think to yourself, I want more of that?

    “Yeah. Yeah. It has to, right?” Pecchioni replied. “Like, when you have that highlight on you, it’s such a beautiful moment.”

    kayla-pecchioni-1280.jpg
    As an understudy, Kayla Pecchioni stepped into the star’s role in the Broadway musical “Paradise Square.”

    Kayla Pecchioni


    But she’s a prodigy when it comes to how she pursues her career – and finding happiness in pursuit of something as finicky and elusive as stardom. “Have you ever heard of the term glimmers?” she said. “Glimmers are small moments in life that make you appreciative of very everyday mundane things. And I think a superpower of mine is to see the glimmers.”

    And as Mark Rivera will tell you, there are plenty of glimmers to be found, even in the shadows – never playing a gig without those essential component parts Tim Brown has identified: humility and gratitude. “The more grateful I become, or the more grateful I feel for the opportunity to step into the light, and to realize the humility takes me back out of the light,” Rivera said. “I love what I do. I genuinely love what I do!”

         
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    Story produced by Amiel Weisfogel. Editor: Remington Korper.

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  • Jeremy Pope Strongly Endorses Taking Your Mom to Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour

    Jeremy Pope Strongly Endorses Taking Your Mom to Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour

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    It’s a crisp fall evening in Soho, but Jeremy Pope is dressed for summer in a sensual, back-baring halter top and oversized Persol sunglasses. “It’s a backless fall,” says the 31-year-old actor, who shot to fame on hit shows like Pose and Hollywood before breaking out in last year’s A24 drama The Inspection. “That’s where we’re at today.”

    Given the summer Pope just had, it’s hard to blame him for wanting to extend the season as long as possible. A dedicated member of the Bey Hive, the Emmy and Tony nominee spent a good chunk of the year going to as many Renaissance World Tour shows as his schedule would allow. “There’s the initial shock viewing,” Pope explains, “and then there’s the second viewing where you can really receive the queen.”

    While Pope got to rub elbows with the likes of Jay-Z and Kris Jenner at various tour stops, the most memorable show he attended was the one he went to with his mom. “The last time we saw Beyoncé [together] was when I was 16, and she took me for my birthday,” he says. “I was at the show where she fell on them stairs! It was giving drama… That’s a YouTube staple.”

    Watching concerts with your mom? Just one of the many things Jeremy Pope Strongly Endorses these days.

    Scaring yourself with style

    Pope is known for his revealing red carpet looks, from his almost-shirtless moment at last summer’s Loewe show to tonight’s dangerously low-cut Fendi halter. “Me and my stylist, we always have a rule that if I’m not nervous or scared when we’re going to an event or a carpet that maybe we didn’t challenge ourselves enough,” he says. “And it’s not necessarily that we’re looking for the gag effect.”

    Instead, Pope explains, he dresses to express himself and radiate confidence, after a childhood spent feeling uncomfortable in his own body. “My dad was a pastor and a professional bodybuilder,” he says. “And those spaces really occupy extreme ideas of masculinity. Being a skinny little kid who was into the arts, it was always trying to find where I felt confidence in my boyhood, into manhood. Now, when it comes to fashion, I love using it as a tool to just express different energies—the yin and the yang, the mother and the father, the masculine and the feminine.”

    Apple Music’s Spa playlist

    Given his hectic travel schedule—jetting off to Paris Fashion Week one day, flying back to New York for a Broadway performance the next—Pope has developed several methods for creating comfort on the go. One of his go-to moves is spacing out to Apple Music’s Spa playlist. “It’s giving me spa as I’m in the air,” he says, laughing. “I don’t know what it is about just sleeping with the spa music… I need the massage part, but it gets me in the zone, you know what I mean?”

    The Wiz

    Another thing Pope loves to do while flying? Rewatching Sidney Lumet’s classic 1978 film The Wiz, starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson. “It’s the Black people version of The Wizard of Oz,” he says. “It’s now on Netflix. There’s something about that movie—give it to Ms. Ross and Mr. Jackson. It’s just this iconic, feel-good, nostalgic movie. It has this Afro Harlem, New York feel.”

    Persol shades

    The night we meet, Pope is the guest of honor at the launch of Persol’s newest collection. Given the Italian eyewear label’s long-held association with iconic leading men—from Paul Newman to Steve McQueen—its alignment with a Black, queer actor like Pope seems like a clear salute to Hollywood’s more diverse future. “That’s where we’re at right now,” Pope says. “I love that they were down to call me.”

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    Raymond Ang

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  • Rachel Bloom’s Off-Broadway Musical Laughs in the Face of Death—In a Nice Way

    Rachel Bloom’s Off-Broadway Musical Laughs in the Face of Death—In a Nice Way

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    Behold, the genesis of Death, Let Me Do My Show. She toured it as a special, working out the kinks, before upgrading her sets, band, costumes—all of it—for the off-Broadway show.

    During tech rehearsals in New York, she spends over an hour patiently delivering the same handful of lines so different options can be tweaked for lighting, blocking, sound, all of it. Barefoot in sequined pants and a black top, she does a series of calisthenics and warrior poses familiar to any mom who’s not sure when her back started to feel like that, firing off requests and suggestions and jokes all the while. She’s settling into an Airbnb for the run, and could they add two big containers of white vinegar to the list, one for home and one for the theater? She forgot her Clarisonic toothbrush and doesn’t want her husband (she affectionately refers to him by his last name, Gregor) to have to worry about finding it and bringing it when he joins her with their daughter. She’s still pissed about something a high school drama teacher said about her audition for Little Shop of Horrors, when teen Rachel was having a tough time. The running commentary bounces from personal admin to the show to commentary on society to her desire for a doughnut from the snack table set up stage left, which she shares by declaring, “I have to doughnut.”

    It’s a lot happening all at the same time, a whole galaxy of planets spinning around Bloom, the sun: balancing the show and her family, trying to do everything she can to support her friends and colleagues, making sure there’s a trash can in the dressing room. She does it all standing in front of the show’s backdrop, which shouts, “Rachel Bloom” in oversized neon, as if there’s any forgetting who’s at the center of all of this. But after the whirlwind of Crazy Ex, she’s used to being a human command center. This, though, is a new level.

    Adam Schlesinger and Rachel Bloom attend the ‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’ Live Event.From Walter McBride/Getty Images.

    “The thing that baffles me is I had a TV show where I was in the writers room writing songs, performing, and editing. I was working 16-hour days,” she said. “It was so incredibly hard. Having a kid is way harder. Because you are not trained your whole life [for parenting]. We spend our whole lives working on a career, right? So at least there’s some sort of training or kind of context for when the schedule is really hard. With a kid, there’s no training, but you have to suddenly become an expert and I find it harder. I find it astonishing that this is what’s expected of most people: that you are expected to have kids and most people are like, yeah, that’s just what you do.”

    Bloom is so open that it’s easy to believe that she’s working things through in real time. When she sings a lullaby that ends with her sweetly crooning “this is hell” while gazing at an imaginary baby in an imaginary crib, you might feel guilty for laughing. This woman seems like an open wound, but she isn’t. She’s a very good actor who has done a lot of work in therapy and is also a gifted writer who is able to convey, for example, that gut punch of feeling sleep-deprived and terrified and totally smitten all at the same time, a common and potent cocktail of early parenthood. When she talks about Schlesinger in the show, it feels so raw that I almost want to stop her—wait, before you show us too much of yourself! But she’s okay. She wasn’t always, but she is now.

    “Anything I say onstage has been processed. I think I have a good sense of not only what trauma has been processed but also what can I stand behind, should someone be like, ‘I have an issue with the story,’” she said. “Basically anything I share, it’s not the first time I’m sharing it with someone. Could I have done this show in 2020? No. I couldn’t look at a picture of Adam for the first couple of months without crying. I couldn’t physically deal with it. I did my first stand-up show [of this material] back in May 2021, and by then it was processed. It had become part of my personal narrative. There are things that happen to you and you’re in shock, and for a while you’re like, ‘That’s not me. That’s not my story.’ And then when it all folded into my story, it finally became real that I was a parent. I felt for the first couple months like, ‘When are these people going to come get their baby?’ You just feel like you’re cosplaying a parent, you’re like, ‘I feel like an imposter. This is insane.’ Every time I said ‘my daughter’ it felt like I was doing an impression of someone. ‘Oh, my daughter.’”

    And that same daughter has led her to strengthen her own boundaries around what she shares. While she can ask her husband for consent to share stories about their first bout with postpartum sex, for example, a toddler doesn’t understand how to give permission for her mom to tell funny stories about her. That toddler will also some day probably learn how to read and operate a computer, and will be able to google herself and her mother. Bloom has a new sense of protecting her daughter now and in the future, an added consideration in her material.

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    Kase Wickman

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  • Introducing Chloe Stroll

    Introducing Chloe Stroll

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    Chloe Stroll has always played the piano. She could belt out a tune from a young age, something that her mother noticed and encouraged her to keep pursuing. Coming from a sports-oriented family, her brother being Formula 1’s Lance Stroll and her father, Lawrence Stroll, owning Aston Martin’s F1 team, and her husband being Olympic snowboarder Scotty James, Chloe has had her share of sporting events…but something always pulled her back to music.


    I sat down over Zoom with Chloe late night a while back, but for her the day was just beginning. She splits her time between Monaco and Australia, currently residing with Scotty’s family in Australia as he trains. And no, she can’t choose a favorite between the beautiful countries. I asked.

    Chloe has a calming presence, reflecting self-awareness and humility despite the high-profile company she keeps- her wedding in May was star-studded, with attendees like Daniel Ricciardo and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Sitting and talking to her feels easy, like a friend catching up. But that’s the power of music, right? To bring people from all walks of life together, the great equalizer.

    Chloe Stroll is new to music right now, with her debut being “Run” – a single based on a traumatizing break-in that she experienced with her husband. When talking to artists, I know that the writing process can be equally as therapeutic as listening can be for a fan…but it didn’t occur to Stroll to write about it until someone suggested it.

    She chuckles a little at the thought, how crazy it can be when an idea is right in front of you and you need another perspective to see it. But the words came easily for her, and what came of it was the perfect introduction to Chloe’s music.

    It’s not easy to emotionally pour your heart out into a song and share yourself with the world, which is why what Chloe’s doing is so admirable. Taking a completely different life path requires guts, which we can tell she has from her songs. Now, she’s releasing her sophomore single, “Pedestal.”

    Chloe Stroll’s sound is predominantly pop, but what she really wants you to hear is the piano that she so loves. It’s the only instrument she plays, though she muses about how she wishes she played the guitar, and she uses it to her advantage. I asked if she had a specific sound in mind when starting her career, but it honestly wasn’t her goal to be a “pop singer” or a “rock artist.”

    Stroll wants to make music, honest and true to herself, so if it blends genres, so be it. The only territory she won’t go is heavy metal, to which I joke that if I hear her screamo track in a few years that I’ll know something went wrong. We both laugh, because Chloe’s passion is clearly to make music she’s proud of, and that would never happen.

    She grew up singing Broadway tunes, to which we both fangirl momentarily over the glorious show that is Wicked. I had the Elphaba wand, she’s seen it multiple times. But those were never her inspirations, so to speak. She wasn’t growing up thinking she wanted to star in her own Broadway show, making that kind of music.

    Written alongside Scott Harris, “Pedestal” is a powerful, emotional song about heartbreak in any form. It gives you a good idea of Chloe Stroll’s sound, which features her delicate, yet prominent vocals. It has the makings of a classic: heartbreaking lyrics about lost love, talented vocals, and a gut-wrenching hook. You can listen to the song here:

    “‘Pedestal’ is about someone breaking your heart,” Stroll said, “And the reality is, no matter if it is a relationship or friendship, it’s devastating when someone that you held in such high regard has broken your heart. Whether it’s a trial of trust or whatever could have happened, that was where the inspiration for the song came from.”

    As for what’s next, Chloe is planning on dropping more singles in the future similar to “Run” and “Pedestal.” I pushed harder, wondering about perhaps an album or a live performance is on the horizon. But for Chloe, things are fluid. She seems comfortable and confident in where she is as an artist. To me, that’s all you can ask for.

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    Jai Phillips

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  • Broadway actor Drew Gehling works to help others understand vocal issues and fixes

    Broadway actor Drew Gehling works to help others understand vocal issues and fixes

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    Broadway actor Drew Gehling works to help others understand vocal issues and fixes – CBS News


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    CBS News’ Christina Ruffini met with Broadway actor Drew Gehling to hear about his journey from having vocal cord issues to launching a study that could help others.

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  • New York Woman Pleads Guilty To Fatally Shoving Broadway Vocal Coach

    New York Woman Pleads Guilty To Fatally Shoving Broadway Vocal Coach

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    A New York woman has pled guilty to fatally pushing a renowned Broadway vocal coach to the ground last year in what was described as a random act of violence.

    Lauren Pazienza, 28, entered her plea to first-degree manslaughter Wednesday in Manhattan as part of an agreement that will see her serve eight years in prison and five years of post-release supervision.

    She is scheduled to be formally sentenced on Sept. 29.

    Pazienza admitted to shouting obscenities at Barbara Maier Gustern, 87, and shoving her to the ground after crossing a street to approach her on the evening of March 10, 2022. Gustern hit her head and died in a hospital five days later.

    Lauren Pazienza, 28, appears in court with her lawyer on Wednesday in New York.

    “Today’s plea holds Pazienza accountable for her deadly actions,” Manhattan District Attorney Bragg said Wednesday in a statement. “We continue to mourn the loss of Barbara Gustern, a talented musical theater performer and vocal coach who touched so many in New York City and beyond.”

    Pazienza left Gustern bleeding on the pavement without assistance. She stayed in the surrounding area for approximately 20 minutes before returning to her apartment in Queens with her then-fiancé, authorities said.

    Later that night, authorities said, she told her fiancé that she had pushed someone. She subsequently deleted her social media accounts, removed her wedding website and fled to Long Island to stay with family.

    Pazienza had just had an argument with her fiancé in March 2022 when she shoved Broadway vocal coach Barbara Maier Gustern, 87, causing her to fall and hit her head.
    Pazienza had just had an argument with her fiancé in March 2022 when she shoved Broadway vocal coach Barbara Maier Gustern, 87, causing her to fall and hit her head.

    Pazienza faced up to 25 years in prison if the case had gone to trial, according to The New York Times.

    Prosecutors had said that the violence followed a volatile evening between Pazienza and her fiancé.

    The two were celebrating their upcoming nuptials with an impromptu meal in a Manhattan park when they were told that the park was closing and they needed to leave. Pazienza allegedly threw her meal onto her fiancé and stormed away before encountering Gustern.

    “She had had drugs, she had maybe two bottles of wine, and a ton of marijuana [at the time],” Pazienza’s attorney, Arthur Aidala, told the New York Post last year, arguing that she didn’t know what she was doing when she accosted Gustern. “We have very viable defenses about whether someone in her state was able to possess the intent, the intent to commit crimes.”

    Gustern was well-known in the theater world. She was a vocal coach for cast members of the 2019 Broadway revival of “Oklahoma,” which won a Tony for best musical revival. She also offered private lessons, including for Blondie singer Debbie Harry.

    Need help with substance use disorder or mental health issues? In the U.S., call 800-662-HELP (4357) for the SAMHSA National Helpline.

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  • Broadway’s Clifton Oliver, Who Starred In ‘Wicked’ And ‘The Lion King,’ Dead At 47

    Broadway’s Clifton Oliver, Who Starred In ‘Wicked’ And ‘The Lion King,’ Dead At 47

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    Clifton Oliver, a New York actor whose credits include roles in the Broadway musicals “Wicked,” “The Lion King” and “In the Heights,” died Wednesday at the age of 47.

    Oliver’s death was confirmed on social media by his sister, Roxy Hall.

    “My baby brother, Clifton Oliver, has had his final curtain call. It was peaceful,” she wrote. “His partner Richard, was singing to him the song Psalm 23 as he took his last breath this morning at 3:20 AM. He had a Gorgeous smile on his Beautiful face!! He went twirling into the afterlife ready to make his Grand Appearance as the Star of his Homecoming Celebration!”

    She went on to note: “I will value my time with him the last six weeks of his life that I spent at his bedside in the hospital and then finally hospice. I was able to love on my baby brother, and I will always cherish the memories of having an honor and privilege to do just that!”

    Oliver performs with Jordin Sparks in New York’s Times Square in 2010.

    Alli Harvey via Getty Images

    Though People and other outlets reported that Oliver had been sick with an undisclosed illness, a cause of death has not yet been made public.

    News of the Jacksonville, Florida, native’s passing drew an outpouring of condolences from other actors and members of the New York theater community.

    “This one really hurts,” wrote actor and writer Carla Renata, who appeared alongside Oliver in Disney’s “The Lion King” in Los Angeles. “I know that the clouds must clear and that the sun will shine…Shine on #cliftonoliver.”

    Added Rogelio Torre, a public relations representative: “Rest in peace Clifton…it was an honour knowing and sharing love to the theatre with you, what a talent you had.”

    Oliver attended Florida’s Douglas Anderson School of the Arts before moving to New York in 2010 to pursue a career in theater. That same year, he joined the ensemble of Broadway’s “Wicked,” and later understudied the principal role of Fiyero, according to Playbill.

    Clifton Oliver as Simba in Disney's "The Lion King."
    Clifton Oliver as Simba in Disney’s “The Lion King.”

    Kirk McKoy via Getty Images

    Later in 2010, he appeared in “In the Heights” as Benny, a role originated by actor Christopher Jackson. But he’s perhaps most associated with “The Lion King,” having played the role of Simba in Los Angeles and Las Vegas before coming to Broadway.

    His other credits include “Rent,” “Kinky Boots” and “Motown the Musical.”

    “I love what I do, and the fact that I get to perform for people and do something I love just keeps me motivated and inspired,” he said in a 2016 YouTube interview with Hero News, an entertainment outlet. “That’s how I’m constantly able to keep myself going.”

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  • Tony Award winner Alex Newell on history-making role in

    Tony Award winner Alex Newell on history-making role in

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    Tony Award winner Alex Newell on history-making role in “Shucked” – CBS News


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    Tony Award-winning actor Alex Newell joins “CBS Mornings” to discuss their history-making role in the musical “Shucked.”

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  • The Shark is Broken,” new Broadway play, explores on-set drama of “Jaws

    The Shark is Broken,” new Broadway play, explores on-set drama of “Jaws

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    “The Shark is Broken,” new Broadway play, explores on-set drama of “Jaws” – CBS News


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    “Jaws” was the first summer blockbuster, but technical issues plagued production as tensions rose between actors Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss and Roy Scheider. In the new Broadway play “The Shark is Broken,” Robert Shaw’s son Ian Shaw explores the volatile dynamics between the three big personalities.

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  • Actor Andrew Rannells on how “markers of time” inspired him to write “Uncle of The Year”

    Actor Andrew Rannells on how “markers of time” inspired him to write “Uncle of The Year”

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    Actor Andrew Rannells on how “markers of time” inspired him to write “Uncle of The Year” – CBS News


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    Award-winning actor Andrew Rannells joins “CBS Mornings” to discuss his new book “Uncle of the Year.” Rannells also talks about the actors strike and his upcoming new Broadway musical.

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  • Jane Krakowski’s Bells and Whistles

    Jane Krakowski’s Bells and Whistles

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    Jane Krakowski has never been in a Broadway production of Chicago, as much as Broadway fans may wish for it. And yet, her flashy number in this season of Schmigadoon!, inspired by the seedy, fishnet world created by Bob Fosse, John Kander, and Fred Ebb, was a bit of a full-circle moment. “Those were the musicals—when I was, eight, nine years old and coming to see every Broadway show with my parents, dreaming of possibly doing that at some point—that influenced me so much,” Krakowski says of the gritty 1960s and ’70s musicals lovingly parodied in this season of the Apple TV+ series.

    She remembers sitting wide-eyed and mesmerized at the original 1975 production of Chicago starring Chita Rivera and Gwen Verdon, but it wasn’t until the 1996 Encores! revival at City Center that she put it all together. “I realized that those were the women that influenced me,” she says. “All of those shows where women were sexy and used dance as their vocabulary and weren’t ingenues. Women singing alto roles and using their sexuality intelligently to get what they wanted, on their own two feet—or in their own two character shoes—that was the first time I felt there were women more like me who could be leads in musicals.”

    This season of the wonderfully silly Schmigadoon!, called Schmicago, gave Krakowski a unique, clever entry point into the razzle-dazzle. While the first season parodied hokey Golden Age musicals like Oklahoma! and The Music Man and saw her in a small but memorable role as an evil baroness, the series’ return set its sights on the later decades’ darker, sexier shows—think Cabaret and Sweet Charity in addition to Chicago. She wouldn’t be taking on either of Chicago’s scintillating sinners, Roxie or Velma, but rather the musical’s sleazy lawyer, now gender-swapped and renamed Bobbie Flanagan. Armed with the one-liners and double entendres the actor knows how to triple-sell, Krakowski gets the season’s flashiest number: an all-out courtroom aria titled “Bells and Whistles,” where she pulls out all the stops to win her client’s case.

    Krakowski is one of many returning cast members from the first season of Schmigadoon!, including straight-faced leads Cecily Strong and Keegan-Michael Key. In a neat echoing of high school drama kids waiting for casting sheets to be posted on a bulletin board, Krakowski says the cast didn’t know whom they would be playing, or what the script even entailed, until not too long before shooting began. “I was like, Could I still be [Cabaret’s] Sally Bowles?” Krakowski says with a laugh. “[I figured] I might be in Chicago, but I thought I’d be a Roxie or Velma type. I had never seen Bobbie Flanagan coming.” Appropriate for a project as heavily influenced by theater as this one, the season was shot at a breakneck pace, with Krakowski often consulting showrunner Cinco Paul and choreographer Chris Gattelli to make character decisions almost on the fly. (“I think it helps when you have an innate understanding of the musical we’re covering or the moment in the musical we’re covering.”)

    For those who know her only as 30 Rock’s meme queen Jenna Maroney, or for her roles in Ally McBeal or Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Krakowski is a bona fide stage superstar. The Museum of Broadway displays her roller skates from her 1987 debut, in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s baldly preposterous Starlight Express, directly under Patti LuPone’s Evita wig. Growing up in a family of community theater aficionados in New Jersey, she started dancing at three years old, took her first Broadway bows at 18, and never stopped booking. She hit her breakthrough in 2003, in the first revival of Nine, one of the very shows full of sex and shadows she’d grown up adoring. Flying in from the ceiling, belting half naked on aerial silks, won her a Tony for best featured actress, and playing Guys and Dolls showgirl Adelaide in London’s West End won her an Olivier just three years later.

    For the most part, her best-known projects have found a way to incorporate her full-throated performance skills. (If a Jane Krakowski character can’t break out into “The Music and the Mirror,” what’s the point?) Krakowski has relished those opportunities, and feels drawn to the sense of community in theater, down to hyping up her Schmigadoon! castmates’ performances on their group chat whenever their big numbers air. As a pandemic production, the first season was not exactly the return of Broadway, but it was maybe as close as anyone could come. As Krakowski puts it, “There was no live theater, but here was this little gem of a piece that came along…and we were suddenly able to get to live in that heightened reality of musical theater, and our audience had a place to go and watch it.”

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    Juan A. Ramirez

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  • Kimberly Akimbo’s Bonnie Milligan Only Fell Once at the Tonys

    Kimberly Akimbo’s Bonnie Milligan Only Fell Once at the Tonys

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    Bonnie Milligan does not currently have the Tony that she won for best featured actress in a musical this past Sunday. “Somebody comes and gets it the next morning to have it engraved,” Milligan tells me over the phone. “So, I don’t have it with me anymore. I’m like, ‘Is it a dream? Was that real?’”

    Milligan can rest assured that her Tony win for playing the hilariously mischievous Aunt Debra in Kimberly Akimbo is very real, as is her costar Victoria Clark’s lead-actress win and Kimberly Akimbo’s win for best musical. “I got about a 30-second standing ovation entrance applause,” Milligan says of her first performance after her Tony win. “My first line is supposed to be a stage whisper…I was just like, ‘Stay in character. Stay in character.’”

    The newly minted Tony winner chats with Vanity Fair about her Tony Sunday, from making sure her mother got the glam she deserved to celebrating with Ariana DeBose and Jodie Comer at Darren Criss’s after-after-party.

    Vanity Fair: Congratulations! Tell me about your Sunday leading up to the Tonys?

    Bonnie Milligan: Of course this week I finally got a sinus infection. It was like my body knew we were at the finish line. I woke up, took a long shower, steamed, and was like, “Okay. Let’s hope for the best.”

    I called my mom because I had hired glam to go to her hotel to do her hair and makeup. I wanted to make sure she knew how to advocate for herself in what she wanted to look like. It was going to be her first time really kind of having that, so I told her to find some photos of stuff she liked.

    Badgley Mischka provided everything for me. They designed the dress. They gave me the shoes. They gave me the jewels, and the little handbag. And then glam arrived, so we got the hair, and makeup done. I felt gorgeous, and my curves were celebrated. We were giving a nod to Jessica Rabbit, Old Hollywood, and also ’70s glam, Studio 54.

    What did it feel like to arrive at the Tonys?

    Everything just felt really very surreal. I went inside and found [Tony nominee] Justin Cooley, who looked incredible in his outfit. As the place fills up, it’s like, “Oh, my God, I can’t believe we’re all here.” As I was going downstairs with my water and my bag, I, of course, tripped down a stair. I, essentially, just sort of sat down on the stairs. And then I got right back up. I was like, “Okay, I’m hoping that’s the one fall for the night.” And it was.

    We got down to our seats, and I was sitting there and my mom and my brother were next to me, which was really nice. Then, my agent was next to my brother. It wasn’t even till partially through the first act that I looked down and realized my ENT was in my row, who I had literally just seen the day before. Like I said, I have a sinus infection. I was like, “Oh my God, the whole team’s here.”

    What’s going through your head in the moments right before your name is called?

    I didn’t realize my category was literally number two. I was sitting there, and I look up, and I see best featured actress in a musical, and I was like, oh my God. I think I said that out loud.

    It feels like time kind of stops. I don’t even know why the image popped in my head of the movie Labyrinth [laughs]. It just stops. There’s a camera on you, and you’re looking up, and you’re like, “What is it going to say?” And as soon as they said my name, I think I buried my face in my hands. Then I thought, Oh, God, I have to get to the stage. My mom was already clutching me, and she’s sobbing. All I could think was, Please don’t fall. Please don’t fall. I had noticed during the first act that nobody had helped anybody on our side up to the stage yet, and nobody had required it. I was like, Will someone pop up and help me? Because I’m going to need a hand. And thank God Wayne Brady immediately put his hands out. I was like, Oh, bless.

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    Chris Murphy

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  • Inside the Tony Awards: No script, but plenty of song, dance, high spirits and history

    Inside the Tony Awards: No script, but plenty of song, dance, high spirits and history

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    NEW YORK (AP) — No script? No problem!

    There was plenty of uncertainty in the run-up to this year’s Tony Awards, which at one point seemed unlikely to happen at all because of the ongoing Hollywood writer’s strike.

    But the ceremony went off without a hitch on Sunday night. The event was scriptless, to honor a compromise with striking writers, but chock-full of high-spirited Broadway performances drawing raucous cheers from an audience clearly thrilled just to be there at all.

    It was a night of triumph for the small-scale but huge-hearted musical “Kimberly Akimbo,” about a teenager with a rare aging disease, but also a night notable for inclusion: Two nonbinary performers, Alex Newell and J. Harrison Ghee, made history by winning their respective acting categories.

    The ceremony also touched on the specter of antisemitism in very different places: World War II Europe, with best play winner “Leopoldstadt,” and early 20th-century America, with “Parade,” winner for best musical revival.

    In the end, the lack of scripted banter didn’t much dampen the proceedings, and little wonder: Broadway folks are trained in improv. And of course there was more room for singing and dancing — including from current shows not in competition — and nobody was complaining about that.

    Oh, and the show ended right on time. Oscars, are you listening?

    Some key moments of the night:

    BROADWAY HEADS UPTOWN

    It wasn’t just the writers strike that made for a different evening. The venue was new, too. It was on Broadway, yes, but miles from the theater district. The ceremony took place uptown in Washington Heights, in the ornate, gilded United Palace, a former movie theater filled with chandeliers and carpets and majestic columns.

    “Thank you for coming uptown — never in my wildest dreams,” quipped Lin-Manuel Miranda, who has helped bring events to the venue in the neighborhood where he set his “In the Heights.” The afterparty was held in tents outside the building instead of the usual festivities in the fancy food halls of the Plaza Hotel near Central Park.

    A BLANK PAGE, BUT A FULL NIGHT

    Oscar winner and Broadway luminary Ariana DeBose, hosting for the second year running, immediately addressed the elephant in the room. Speaking to the audience before the pre-show telecast began, she explained nothing would be scripted and told winners the only words they’d see on teleprompters would be “wrap up please.” When the main telecast began, she appeared on camera reading a Tony script, but the pages were blank.

    Instead of words, DeBose and others spoke with their dance moves, doing a brassy number in the theater’s grand lobby, staircases and aisles, complete with gravity-defying leaps. Afterward, DeBose warned anyone who may have thought last year was “unhinged”: “Buckle up!”

    DeBose, who performed in the original cast of “Hamilton” and won an Oscar for “West Side Story,” also passionately explained why the Tonys are so crucial to the economic survival of Broadway, and to touring productions around the country.

    A TIMELY REMINDER OF ANTISEMITISM IN EUROPE …

    An early award brought a sobering reminder of the horrors of antisemitism. Brandon Uranowitz of “Leopoldstadt,” Tom Stoppard’s sweeping play about a Jewish family in Vienna, thanked the celebrated playwright “for writing a play about Jewish identity and antisemitism and the false promise of assimilation,” and noted his ancestors, “many of whom did not make it out of Poland, also thank you.”

    Uranowitz, who won for featured actor in a play, also joked that the thing he wanted most in life was to repay his parents for the sacrifices they made — only he couldn’t, because he works in the theater.

    … AND IN AMERICA

    “Leopoldstadt” went on to win best play, while best musical revival went to another searing work about antisemitism: “Parade,” starring Ben Platt as Leo Frank, a Jewish man lynched in 1915 in Georgia. In his acceptance speech for best director, Michael Arden echoed the play’s somber themes: “We must battle this. It is so, so important, or else we are doomed to repeat the horrors of our history.”

    He added his own story of how, growing up, he often had been called the “f-word,” referring to a homophobic slur. He then earned some of the night’s loudest cheers when he triumphantly reclaimed the slur while pointing out that he now had a Tony.

    ‘I SHOULD NOT BE UP HERE’

    It was an emotional moment when Alex Newell of “Shucked” became the first out nonbinary person to win an acting Tony, taking the prize for best featured actor in a musical. Newell, also known for “The Glee Project” and “Glee,” thanked close family for their love and support and then addressed the outside world.

    “Thank you for seeing me, Broadway. I should not be up here as a queer, nonbinary, fat, Black, little baby from Massachusetts,” they said. “And to anyone that thinks that they can’t do it, I’m going to look you dead in your face and tell you that you can do anything you put your mind to.”

    Like the Oscars, the Tonys have only gendered categories for performers.

    ‘THIS IS FOR YOU’

    J. Harrison Ghee was the second nonbinary actor of the night to make history, winning best actor in a musical for their role in “Some Like It Hot,” based on the classic 1959 film. They play a male musician on the run who disguises as a woman in what becomes a voyage of discovery about gender (the movie role involved disguise, but no discovery). Accepting the award, Ghee said they had been raised to use their gifts not for themselves, but to help others.

    “For every trans, non-gender-conforming, nonbinary human who ever was told you couldn’t be seen, this is for you,” Ghee said, tapping the Tony for emphasis.

    LEA MICHELE GETS HER TONY MOMENT (NEIL DIAMOND, TOO)

    Not to mix show metaphors or anything, but Lea Michele was not about to throw away her shot. The “Funny Girl” lead was not eligible for a Tony because she didn’t originate the role last year (that would be Beanie Feldstein, whom Michele replaced in a matter of months).

    But the former “Glee” star, who has turned around the fortunes of the revival, is seen by many as the ultimate Fanny Brice, and her gorgeously belted rendition of “Don’t Rain On My Parade” — 13 years after she first performed it at the Tonys — definitely did not disappoint.

    Judging from faces in the crowd, neither did Neil Diamond — actually Will Swenson, who plays Diamond in the musical “A Beautiful Noise” (not nominated but currently playing). After the audience was warned during a commercial break to keep the aisles clear for a big moment, Swenson came onstage crooning “Sweet Caroline,” soon accompanied by dancers dressed in sparkly gold, filling the aisles. Among those seen singing happily along: Sara Bareilles, Jessica Chastain, Melissa Etheridge, Miranda, and countless others shouting out the lyrics: “So good! So good!”

    PARTY TIME

    Most Tony attendees spent a good five hours in the United Palace, and the room got pretty warm. So folks were happy to step outside to the afterparty, where guests munched on ceviche, mangoes on sticks and mini-Cuban sandwiches, and sipped specially designed cocktails.

    Ghee was a clear star of the party, towering over most guests — literally and figuratively — as they clutched their Tony and accepted well wishes or agreed to selfies. Ghee also chatted with last year’s winner of the same award, Myles Frost, who played Michael Jackson in “MJ.”

    “Our industry is shifting forward! We are erasing labels and boundaries and limits,” Ghee said when asked their main takeaway of the night. The actor wore a bright blue custom ensemble by Bronx designer Jerome LaMaar, with a choker of glistening jewels.

    “When you’re getting it custom made, you can really do something,” they quipped.

    ___

    For more on the 2023 Tony Awards, visit https://apnews.com/hub/tony-awards

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