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Tag: Broadway

  • ‘Hamilton’ Cast Performs Spellbinding Broadway Number For 2016 Grammys

    On Monday night, audience members and TV viewers witnessed why Hamilton deserved to take home a Grammy award. Tickets for the Broadway show sold fast, but the cast treated the audience to an impressive theater performance during the 2016 Grammy Awards.

    Lin Manuel-Miranda and the rest of the Hamilton cast did not disappoint and gave the Grammy audience an impressive performance that was definitely worthy of an award.

    The Late Show host Stephen Colbert introduced the Hamilton cast from the theater. It was the first time the award-giving body stepped away from the Staples Center set to air live from Broadway.

    The Broadway stars performed live from the Richard Rodgers Theater in New York City, where the cast of Hamilton perform almost nightly.

    “Prepare to witness something truly special,” Colbert said as he introduced the performers on stage. It truly was special as the performers did not disappoint the viewers with their outstanding presentation. The cast of Hamilton performed “Alexander Hamilton,” the opening number of the hit Broadway show.

    The audience’s applause grew louder once Miranda took center stage as Alexander Hamilton. He performed alongside many talented Broadway stars including Leslie Odom Jr. as well as Christopher Jackson, Daveed Diggs, and Renée Elise Goldsberry.

    Watch the Hamilton Cast Perform for the 2016 Grammys

    “How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in the Caribbean, by providence impoverished, in squalor, grow up to be a hero and a scholar?” Leslie Odom, Jr. as Aaron Burr began. He wowed the spectators as he started singing the first lines.

    With the cast’s spellbinding performance, the show’s soundtrack won the award for Best Musical Theater Album, which Miranda proudly received in New York City. Expect to see Broadway’s Hamilton bag more trophies and recognition at this year’s Tony Awards, which will be held at New York City’s Beacon Theatre in June.

  • Kristen Bell Will Return As Voice For Anna In “Frozen” Holiday Special

    Kristen Bell will be back as Anna in a Frozen holiday special that will reportedly air in 2017.

    The new holiday special will feature all of the original voice actors from Frozen including Kristen Bell, Josh Gad and Idina Menzel.

    The holiday special will be banking on the monumental success Frozen has enjoyed, and to a lesser extent, shorter film Frozen Fever.

    Frozen made mainstream stars of Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel when it became the highest grossing animated movie ever made.

    Part of that astounding success was box office, with $1.28 billion in record-setting ticket sales. The other part was Elsa and Anna being plastered on everything with a surface since before the movie’s release.

    Diese Cornflakes #manchmalmussmanhaltwiederkindsein#inlovewitholaf#olaf#frozen#cornflakes#sweet

    A photo posted by Laura-Isabell Bier (@laaurencia) on

    When you eat too much #food#pasta#fridaynight

    A photo posted by ? (@imkristenbell) on

    The movie also spawned a hugely popular soundtrack featuring the film’s stars, Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel.

    Of course, the holiday special won’t be the only format in which those in charge will bring Frozen back to the demanding masses.

    There is also news of a Broadway show.

    The Broadway show will not see an opening curtain until 2018, but Frozen will no doubt still be big two years from now.

    That show sounds amazing, but there’s no word yet on whether Idina Menzel or Kristen Bell will reprise their roles onstage.

    What do you think? Would you love to see Kristen Bell live onstage as Anna?

  • Stephanie Mills On Doing “The Wiz” Again After 40 Years

    Stephanie Mills absolutely blew everybody’s socks off during NBC’s The Wiz Live! on Thursday.

    While Stephanie Mills was one of the lesser known cast members to this generation, she made an impression with a voice that hasn’t been touched by age since her original performance 40 years ago as Dorothy.

    Stephanie Mills held her own against musical superpowers Queen Latifah and Mary J. Blige and her enthusiasm for the show shined in every song.

    Stephanie Mills held the starring role of Dorothy in the original Broadway production, but was just as wonderful as Aunt Em on Thursday’s show.

    To Stephanie Mills, it was coming home.

    Thank you for tuning in! Hope you enjoyed #theWiz

    A photo posted by Stephanie Mills (@iamstephaniemills) on

    So excited for this and for YOU @msamberpriley #thewiz #nbc #tonight

    A photo posted by JoJo (@iamjojo) on

    She said, “I’m so glad and so happy that the journey continues. Forty years ago, who knew that ‘The Wiz’ would be thought about, let alone be relevant in 2015.”

    She added, “It’s almost surreal re-living it, because as I sit back and watch the rehearsals, in my mind I go back to when I first did the rehearsals back in 1975. And it’s like wow, this is really happening.“

    The original Broadway version of “The Wiz” won 7 Tony Awards and earned Stephanie Mills a Drama Desk Award nomination.

    Being a seasoned stage performer, Stephanie Mills was prepared, but still a little nervous before the live event on Thursday.

    She said, “I am so nervous, but what has helped it is that I’ve been rehearsing for two months, and we’ve been rehearsing it like a Broadway show. I’m comfortable with Broadway and doing shows with theater. I can do that with my eyes closed.”

    She added, “So as long as I think that in my head — that it’s just another performance — I’ll be fine. You get nervous when you start to think ‘Oh, why is there so many cameras,’ but if I think ‘This is a show at the theater’ I’m going to be fine.”

    And fine she was! Such a great performance by this treasured icon!

    What did you think of Stephanie Mills as Aunt Em versus her turn as Dorothy?

  • Keira Knightley Had an Interesting Week on Broadway

    Keira Knightley had a pretty odd week on Broadway.

    The actress is currently starring in the play Thérèse Raquin, but what is being called a “minor injury” held her out on Wednesday night.

    According to Roundabout Theater Company, which is putting on the production, Knightley suffered a small injury to her wrist. She missed Wednesday night’s show, and the play was cancelled. Knightley quickly returned to work on Thursday

    In the play, Knightley plays a women in a loveless relationship who seeks comfort from an old friend.

    “A quiet young woman with a restless spirit, Thérèse (Knightley) submits to a loveless life at the side of her weak and selfish husband played by Tony Award winner Gabriel Ebert (Matilda), and her controlling mother-in-law, played by two-time Tony Award winner Judith Light (The Assembled Parties)…until she meets his childhood friend Laurent played by Matt Ryan (“Constantine”). When their overwhelming passion spins violently out of control, they realize that love can be a dangerous game, and sometimes there is no winner. Based on the novel by Émile Zola, Thérèse Raquin by Helen Edmundson is a tale of love, lust, betrayal and guilt that will leave you breathless.”

    Actually, injury isn’t the worst thing to happen to Keira Knightley and her play. The actress was recently forced to file a harassment complaint against a man who disrupted the performance on opening night.

    A man, who the NY Post is calling a “Texas drifter”, stood up in the mezzanine and professed his love for Knightley saying “We’re going to be in heaven together.”

    He then threw a bouquet of roses at her feet.

  • Keira Knightley Gets Heckled, Proposed To While On Stage In Broadway Debut

    Keira Knightley was all set to make her big Broadway debut on Thursday night, playing the title character in the play Therese Raquin.

    However, things did not go smoothly for Keira Knightley on her big night.

    Only minutes into the play, a man in the audience began shouting at Keira Knightley from the mezzanine railing, saying, “Keira, none of this is real! This is all an act! Christ was born of a virgin!”

    According to an eye witness, the man also screamed, “I love you,” at Keira Knightley and asked her to marry him.

    Keira Knightley, ever the true professional, didn’t respond and didn’t even break character.

    This prompted the man to yell, “Five seconds is too long to wait for a response!”

    Security then hauled the man out of the theatre, but not before he threw a bunch of flowers onstage.

    That moment when you meet Keira Knightly and fall in love

    A photo posted by SamMuffinss (@sammuffinss) on

    At that point, Keira Knightley’s co-star, Gabriel Ebert, couldn’t take it anymore. He broke character long enough to kick the flowers off the stage.

    Obviously, that would be a little alarming.

    Afterwards, the show went off without a hitch, marking the completion of Keira Knightley’s first Broadway show.

    It wasn’t Keira Knightley’s first time on stage, however.

    Keira Knightley made her West End debut in 2009 in The Misanthrope. Two years later, Keira Knightley starred in The Children’s Hour.

    What do you think about Keira Knightley’s creepy encounter?

  • Misty Copeland Hopes Her Broadway Debut Will Bring People To See Ballet

    Misty Copeland is a ballerina, first and foremost. but has been turning heads on Broadway this week. Copeland made her Broadway debut in the the musical “On the Town” at the Lyric Theatre this past week. The show is heavy on dance numbers, and Copeland fit right in.

    Misty Copeland played Miss Turnstiles, a part originally done by Megan Fairchild, a principal dancer at the prestigious New York City Ballet. Copeland herself is the first African-American woman to be a principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre.

    “It’s an incredible feeling,” said this week of her Broadway debut. “I felt nervous that I was going to forget stuff, which I don’t typically feel. We rehearse so much as ballet dancers and the steps become ingrained in your muscle memory.”

    By contrast, Copeland only had six rehearsals and sang her part through on stage twice before going on live in the role.

    “The audience is so different from what I’m used to. You know immediately that they are excited to be here, and it’s an incredible feeling. I just felt so overwhelmed — that first entrance and throughout,” she said.

    Copeland is critical of her own performance, not satisfied with her character work in the part. But she does admit that she got the dance part right.

    “I remembered all the steps, but I wasn’t happy with Miss Turnstiles. But I was happy with how everything else went. The lights are very different on this stage — they’re a lot stronger,” she said. “But I’m already starting to adjust and get used to it.”

    The show is about to close at the Lyric, and Copeland wishes she could get those Broadway audiences to come join her at a ballet performance back on her familiar stage.

    “I’m so sad that the show is leaving. I hope at some point it comes back or travels. It’s such an entertaining and spectacular production,” she said. “It’s such a great crowd and I hope that me stepping into this atmosphere will make them feel that they’re invited to come into my home.”

  • Misty Copeland On Her “Incredible” Broadway Debut

    Misty Copeland made her Broadway debut on Wednesday in the play On The Town at the Lyric Theatre.

    Afterward, Misty Copeland could only put it into words in this way, “It’s an incredible feeling.”

    Misty Copeland has been breaking down barriers since she was a young girl.

    Last year, Misty Copeland became the first and only African-American soloist in the prestigious American Ballet Theatre after joining at only 16 years old.

    Now, Misty Copeland is playing Miss Turnstiles, a love interest for one of three sailors enjoying a few hours of shore leave in 1940s New York in On the Town.


    ABC Latest News | Latest News Videos

    After Wednesday’s performance, Misty Copeland admitted that it was different than a normal ballet production for her.

    She said, “I felt nervous that I was going to forget stuff, which I don’t typically feel. We rehearse so much as ballet dancers and the steps become ingrained in your muscle memory.”

    What?!?!? This is so wild! #timesquare #broadwaydebut #jumbotron @OnTheTownNYC 8/25-9/6

    A photo posted by Misty Copeland (@mistyonpointe) on

    The crowd loved Misty Copeland, praising her entrances and exits with applause and even standing ovations.

    It seems Misty Copeland is bringing the art of ballet to a new crowd.

    Misty Copeland said of her experience, “The audience is so different from what I’m used to. You know immediately that they are excited to be here, and it’s an incredible feeling. I just felt so overwhelmed — that first entrance and throughout.”

    Misty Copeland said that she goes to the stage door after every performance. From there, she hopes the crowds will follow her back uptown to the city’s numerous ballet venues.

    “It’s such a great crowd and I hope that me stepping into this atmosphere will make them feel that they’re invited to come into my home.”

    What do you think of Misty Copeland’s rise to stardom?

  • Jennifer Nettles First Film Role In Dolly Parton Movie A Big Career Change?

    Jennifer Nettles is already a success. Between her work with Sugarland and her solo music, the singer is already living the life of her dreams. But there is one piece of her dream that has not come true yet. Jennifer Nettles wants to act. Now she is getting that chance, thanks to Dolly Parton.

    Jennifer Nettles has already had a piece of Broadway, as Roxie Hart in Chicago. That role was the culmination of a dream Nettles told Fox News’ Martha MacCullum about back in 2009.

    MacCullum asked Nettles, “What do you want to do? What haven’t you done yet that you really wanna do?”

    Nettles replied, “Honestly, I would love to do Broadway. I would love to do it. It is a dream. I wanna be Elphaba [from the musical Wicked]. Who doesn’t wanna be painted green? I think everybody’s got a little wicked witch in her. Every woman.”

    But might that have been setting Jennifer Nettles up for something even bigger?

    Dolly Parton’s upcoming NBC movie Coat Of Many Colors will feature Jennifer Nettles as Dolly Parton’s mother Avie Lee Parton, alongside Rick Schroder as Dolly’s dad, Robert Lee Parton. Dolly’s mom died in 2003, and her father in 2000, but their memory will be honored in the roles Nettles and Schroder play.

    Young Dolly will be played by Alyvia Lind, who recently starred opposite Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig in their Lifetime project A Deadly Adoption. Lind was in several episodes of Revenge, in the film Blended with Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler, and in over 80 episodes of The Young and the Restless.

    Rick Schroder is a known entity from Lonesome Dove, NYPD Blue, and his childhood series Silver Spoons. Thanks to that show and his young successes, Schroder will forever be known as Ricky Schroder, even on his IMDB page.

    But Jennifer Nettles is an unknown, somewhat untested quantity in this mix. Her onstage work in Chicago is certainly a big credit. There was obviously an audition process, so she must have been seen as qualified and talented enough to pass muster.

    Alyvia Lind had to pass audition, despite her extensive credits. When she was given the role as young Dolly Parton, the industry fawned over her.

    Dolly Parton famously told Lind, “When you were doing your audition, I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, I wish I had been that pretty when I was little. I wish I had been that smart.’ But I really felt you.”

    Jennifer Nettles recently parted ways with her record company, Mercury Nashville. The move came after only one solo album and in the middle of promotion of a single.

    Nettles released a statement to Billboard about the move.

    “I want to thank Universal Nashville for 11 wonderful years,” Nettles said. “This change is the first step on a path I’ve been wanting to take. I am so excited about the next part of my journey and I invite my fans to stay tuned.”

    While Coat Of Many Colors is not a musical, the chance for Jennifer Nettles to cut her teeth in a project headed by one of the most successful women in Nashville may have well been worth stepping away from the music business.

  • Katharine McPhee, “Smash” Cast Brought “Bombshell” To Broadway

    Katharine McPhee, “Smash” Cast Brought “Bombshell” To Broadway

    Katharine McPhee and her former Smash castmates reunited earlier this year for a one-night-only production of Bombshell–the show-within-a-show featured on the drama series–and it was such huge success that Broadway producers are now in talks to develop it into a full-scale stage production.

    McPhee said last month that she had no clue the reunion show was going to get as much attention as it did; the event sold out quickly, with fans clamoring for more.

    “I had no idea the show, this one night thing would become as big as it is. People are really, they’re more crazy about Smash now then they were when it was on the air,” Katharine said.

    McPhee starred on Smash for two seasons, but unfortunately for fans it was canceled before it could go further. It’s unclear whether any of the original cast members will be starring in the Broadway show at this time.

    McPhee has been a busy lady, between her television schedule, the stage, and her music career. The American Idol alum has been hard at work on her newest album, which will be released on July 24. Hysteria is one of her most personal projects to date.

    “There’s so many things and events that have happened in my life in the last 3 or 4 years. With earlier albums I found it difficult to find inspiration of things I wanted to sing about. I think I was also shy; I wasn’t sure of myself as a writer. I really didn’t feel like I had that much to say, had that much to write about. So I think the overall theme of this record is that, yes, there’s been searching, there’s been heartbreak, there’s been longing, I think finally, for the first time, I felt motivated to find stories within my own life to write about,” Katharine McPhee said.

  • Cyndi Lauper Got ‘Kinky’ Inspiration From Her Son

    Cyndi Lauper has come a long way since her “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” days. Not that the superstar leaves all that behind her. It is as much a part of who she is now as her “Kinky Boots” awards or her husband and son.

    In fact, it is the way Lauper weaves together all the disparate parts of her life that makes her so successful. She has always been a fighter, even from the first album.

    “I had to wrestle my way onto my own album,” Lauper said of She’s So Unusual. “They said, ‘You should just stand there and sing. You should dress like Katrina and the Waves.’”

    Cyndi Lauper is now 61 years old. She got where she is by not doing what people would expect.

    She watched her son growing up, how he interacted with his father, and used those lessons to inform her writing of songs for “Kinky Boots.”

    “‘I’m Not My Father’s Son’ [from Kinky Boots] is about unconditional love and about being true to yourself,” says Lauper. “Not everyone has an ideal relationship with their fathers, and sometimes there is some stuff you can’t fix, but even Lola, whose dad rejects him, was able to find some closure with his father in the show.”

    “I started observing my own son and husband,” Lauper says. “I got a lot of the lyrics in the chorus from watching [my son] Declan, how when he was really small he just imitated his dad … tried to walk like him and be just like him.”

    “When kids are little, they try to be exactly like their dads,” Lauper observed. “But in the end, all little boys have to grow up and be the men who they are supposed to be, not the image of what they think their fathers want.”

    Lauper even found inspiration from her mother-in-law who, she says, “used to tell my husband he had ‘the patience of Job,’ which I think all good fathers have to have,” says Lauper. “David is a great dad.”

  • Taye Diggs Is Next To Rock Hedwig’s Wigs In New Broadway Role

    Hold on to your wigs and high heels. Taye Diggs is set to play the title role in Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

    After weeks of subtle hints, it’s been formally announced that Taye Diggs will be stepping into Hedwig’s heels after Darren Criss’ finishes his run as everyone’s favorite international song stylist.

    The man who helped Stella get her groove back will be seen performing at Broadway’s Belasco Theater starting July 22. It will be a 12-week engagement and Diggs will be performing alongside Rebecca Naomi Jones, who’s set to continue portraying Yitzhak.

    “Taye is fantastic—he has theater cred, he has pop culture cred, he can sing, he can act, he can dance, he’s smart and he’s sexy,” lead producer David Binder explains Diggs’ casting.

    Well, he certainly has that and more.

    Diggs’ was part of the original cast of Rent. He has also appeared in Chicago, Carousel, off-Broadway’s The Wild Party and briefly played Fiyero in Wicked opposite then-wife Idina Menzel.

    The 44-year-old thespian also counts Brown Sugar, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Private Practice and The Best Man among his acting credentials.

    Diggs’ performance in Hedwig is quite relevant as he’ll be the first African-American actor to play the character on Broadway, a fitting match to co-star Jones who’s also the first black Yitzhak.

    Hedwig and the Angry Inch revolves around Hedwig, an East German musician who undergoes a sex changed operation. Unfortunately, the failed operation prompted him to move to Kansas and assume a female persona.

    Neil Patrick Harris starred in the first Broadway production of Hedwig in 2014 and introduced the play to a brand new generation. His Tony award-winning performance was continued by Andrew Rannells, Michael C. Hall and Darren Criss.

    And with Taye Diggs taking over soon, Hedwig’s glitter covered heels will undoubtedly dance their way to a lot more hearts.

  • Cathy Lind Hayes Mourns Death Of Mother, Mary Healy

    Cathy Lind Hayes announced the death of her mother, Mary Healy, on Thursday.

    Cathy Lind Hayes said Mary Healy died of natural causes on Tuesday at 96, and said that she was with her at a health care facility in Calabasas, northwest of Los Angeles, when she passed away.

    Mary Healy was a legend from a bygone era of stage and screen.

    Healy was a celebrated actress and singer who even once starred with Orson Welles on Broadway.

    Cathy Lind Hayes said of her mother, “She sang. She danced. She was funny. She was a straight man. My mom was a really charming, gracious woman until the last day.”

    What sweet words to memorialize a great woman of the world of entertainment.

    Mary Healy was discovered while singing at the Roosevelt New Orleans hotel while she was a resident of New Orleans.

    From there, she went on to star in the 1938 film, Josetta, and many films in the 1980’s.

    But film wasn’t her only passion. Between 1942 and 1958, she starred in four Broadway shows, one of which was opposite Orson Welles in the Cole Porter musical Around the World. In that show, she played an Indian princess, Aouda.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7Y0NRtRlQk

    In 1939 Healy was performing with Grace Hayes, a vaudevillian and Los Angeles area nightclub owner, when she was introduced to Hayes’ son, Peter.

    The two were married and a whole new career path for the two of them together took off.

    According to Cathy Lind Hayes, they performed exclusively together until Peter died in 1998.

    They co-starred in the 1953 movie The Five Thousand Fingers of Doctor T. On the small screen they starred together on The Peter Lind Hayes Show, which was a variety series that ran from 1950-51. From there they starred together in the 1960-61 sitcom Peter Loves Mary, and they also appeared on various game shows.

    After they got out of the TV business, the couple had their own radio show and went on to live in Las Vegas to perform at The Sands.

    Mary Healy published a memoir, Moments to Remember with Peter and Mary — Our Life in Show Business from Vaudeville to Video, in 2004.

    Healy is also survived by a son, Peter Michael Hayes, and a grandchild.

    What a sweet story! Condolences to Cathy Lind Hayes on the death of her amazing mother.

  • Renee Fleming an Opera Star, But Hitting Broadway for the First Time

    Renee Fleming is already a well-known name among opera enthusiasts. But her name is joining Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti, and Maria Callas as household words nowadays.

    Renee Fleming sang the national anthem at Super Bowl XLVIII, showing previous pop diva attempters how it’s done. She also “sang” in the recent Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

    Fleming is a soprano, and will open a new opera production on New Year’s Eve at the Metropolitan Opera called “The Merry Widow.” But it is Fleming’s upcoming activity only 20 blocks away from the Met that is turning heads.

    Fleming has been cast in her first Broadway show, “Living on Love,” written by Joe DiPietro, who also did “Memphis.” In the play, Fleming does not stray too far from real life. She is cast as Raquel De Angelis, an opera singer. The interesting thing about this show for Fleming, is that it is actually not a musical, but a comedy.

    The character of Raquel De Angelis is described as a temperamental diva. She and her husband, who is a conductor, end up at odds when he falls for a woman hired to help write his memoirs.

    “I’ve spent my life singing tragic characters, so to be able to make people laugh is an extraordinary joy,” said Fleming.

    “I would have assumed that my only road to Broadway would have been in a musical. And I knew that I couldn’t sing eight shows a week – we’re trained in such a different way. Like weightlifters, we need those two days off,” said Fleming. “So it wasn’t on my list of things to do. Sometimes the most interesting things come out of the blue, in love and in life.”

  • Anna Camp Just Wants To Play Someone “Normal”

    Anna Camp has had several roles that fall within the realm of weird; between True Blood and Pitch Perfect, the actress has had to bring out her inner crazy girl several times over the years. Her next project will add another bit of darkness to her resume, and she talked a bit about it in a recent interview with USA Today.

    Camp will be starring in an off-Broadway play called Verite, which is from Orange Is The New Black writer Nick Jones. It’s a thriller which focuses on a young wife and mother who suddenly finds that she’s the object of interest for some publishers who want her to write a memoir. The only trouble is, she doesn’t have anything to write about…until a slew of unfortunate events occur.

    “It’s a really fantastic thriller play. It’s dark and edgy. I play a writer named Josephine and I get offers by these publishers to write a memoir, but I’m very confused as to why they want me to, because nothing interesting happens to me in my life. Then I start becoming paranoid that they’re making these bad things happen to me. I go from this really shy, introverted woman to borderline psychotic by the end of the play. It’s an amazing arc,” she said. “I never really saw myself playing these types of roles, I just started getting them after doing True Blood … I’m desperately looking to play someone normal at some point!”

    Camp–who played Don Draper’s one-time love interest on Mad Men–has several television and film roles to her credit, but she does have some experience on the stage; she appeared in Broadway productions of Equus and The Country Girl. She says that she was drawn to the story within Verite as she was reading it and could never quite figure out where it was going to take her.

    “It’s really something I haven’t read before. So I was determined to go get it. It’s ahead of the audience. I was never ahead of it while reading it,” she said.

    The play opens February 18 at the Claire Tow Theater.

  • Keke Palmer Is Essence’s Cover Girl For January

    Keke Palmer made waves recently when she was cast as Cinderella in the Broadway musical. Palmer is now officially the first African-American woman to take on the iconic role in the musical. For Essence magazine’s January issue, they decided to do a feature on Palmer who also appears on the magazine’s cover. Palmer looks absolutely gorgeous on the cover, with her black and white-patterned party dress and glam-inspired make-up. Essence’s feature on Palmer focuses on her views regarding her new status as “the first African-American Cinderella on Broadway” as well as her love life and career.

    “I know that the role of Cinderella is primarily for a Caucasian girl, but it didn’t stop me from going in and it didn’t stop them from seeing me,” the 21-year-old Palmer tells the magazine. “There is a bit of intimidation. You think about Denzel [Washington], Viola Davis, and you think, ‘Only great people can do Broadway.’ That was the scariest thing about it, but I’m the type who thrives on pressure…”

    Palmer also revealed that she has broken up with someone recently and this gave her a new perspective on her life. “I realized that I’m a lot freer of a spirit. That was the beginning of me standing up for myself,” she says. “I would love to have somebody but this is such a great time in my life, in my career. I really am liking myself.”

    Keke made her debut as Cinderella on September 9. She is joined by Sherri Shepherd and NeNe Leakes who each play Cinderella’s evil stepmother.

    Keke Palmer is a singer and actress who has appeared in films such as Barbershop 2: Back in Business, Madea’s Family Reunion, and Ice Age: Continental Drift among others. She turned heads when she starred in the critically acclaimed film Akeelah and The Bee about an 11-year-old girl who joins the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

  • Amanda Seyfried Talks Hollywood’s Expectations

    Amanda Seyfried is a pretty girl who has been lucky enough to land roles in some successful films. Unlike many actresses, Seyfried has an untraditional look and a curvy body. She has lost weight since her film debut, but said it is not really her choice to worry about her weight.

    She explained how she missed out on several acting opportunities because of her weight and started working out and maintaining a lower weight as a result.

    “If I didn’t run and work out, there’s no way I would be this thin,” she told Glamour magazine in 2010. “But I have to stay in shape because I’m an actress. It’s f–ked up and it’s twisted, but I wouldn’t get the roles otherwise. If I’d been a bit bigger, I don’t think they would have cast me for Mamma Mia!”

    She also brought up the issue on Twitter last month saying,

    “Fun fact: I almost lost out on several roles in my career because I was overweight. Wrong, America,”

    Seyfried may not like having to live up to Hollywood’s expectations, but doing so has certainly paid off for her. Aside from working on films, she also likes to perform on stage.

    On Monday, Seyfried joined Melanie Griffith, Peter Dinklage and Pablo Schreiber on stage for the The 24 Hour Plays on Broadway, a benefit that pairs writers and actors together and requires them to write and perform six original short plays over the course of a day.

    All money made from the performances goes to the Urban Arts Partnership.

    Seyfried said she was happy to help out and enjoyed the experience and working with the other actors and writers.

    Do you think Amanda Seyfried’s weight could have really caused her to lose movie roles?

  • Tony Danza To Hit Broadway In Elvis-Laden Hit

    Tony Danza may be best known to many as the star of Who’s The Boss, but he’s also an accomplished stage actor, and he’ll be hitting Broadway again in January with a show that features Elvis impersonators.

    Danza is set to star in Honeymoon In Vegas, a show based on the 1992 movie that starred Nicholas Cage and Sarah Jessica Parker, and the 63-year old actor couldn’t be more excited.

    “I’m a big Elvis fan. I grew up with him. I saw him on Ed Sullivan. It’s really fun. The way we use him in the show is really great. David Josefsberg, who plays Roy who is our Elvis impersonator, the king of the Flying Elvises, he’s just an incredible performer. It’s gonna bring the house down,” he said.

    The play focuses on Jack and Betsy, a couple who travel to Vegas to get married only to have a smooth-talker disrupt their plans. Danza plays the smitten stranger, and even shows off his ukulele-playing skills in the show.

    “I have a Thought of the Day calendar, I never played an instrument, I never did. You know usually it says ‘Be tough, life’s hard,’ that sort of thing. But one day, it was April 24, it said get a ukelele, a chord book, practice 30 minutes a day for 30 days, you’ll play the rest of your life. And here I am, I’m playing for the rest of my life,” Danza told CBS News.

    The show has already begun preview performances, but doesn’t officially open until January 15. The production also stars Nancy Opel, Matthew Saldivar, Matt Allen, Tracee Beazer, Grady McLeod Bowman, Barry Busby, Leslie Donna Flesner, Gaelen Gilliland, Albert Guerzon, Raymond J. Lee, George Merrick, Jessica Naimy, Zachary Prince, Catherine Ricafort, Jonalyn Saxer, Brendon Stimson, Erica Sweany, Cary Tedder and Katie Webber.

  • Dana Brunetti & Kristin Chenoweth End Relationship

    Producer Dana Brunetti and Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth have decided to end their relationship after being together for less than a year.

    According to Us Weekly, the distance between the couple and their grueling schedules played a major part in their mutual decision to call it quits.

    “It was just the distance,” a source told the magazine. “Dana’s career is jetting off right now, and Kristin travelled a lot already, and they just barely had time to see each other.”

    “He’s producing House Of Cards now, speaking at conferences, and has to see his kid as well,” the source added. “Just didn’t make sense for either party to continue.”

    Brunetti and Chenoweth made their first public appearance together at the Golden Globe Awards in January 2014. However, rumors started circulating that Brunetti and Chenoweth were more than friends when they were seen getting cozy together at Matthew Morrison’s Halloween party in 2013, according to E! News.

    The last time that the couple was seen together was in April when they attended the Museum of Moving Image’s event that honored House of Cards star Kevin Spacey.

    Both Brunetti and Chenoweth seem to be taking the split well. On Friday, Chenoweth appeared on The Late Show With David Letterman , where she was all smiles, to promote her new album. Brunetti has already moved on, and is reportedly dating actress Katie Cassidy.

    On November 8, Cassidy posted a picture of her and Brunetti on Instagram with a caption that read: “Just can’t get enough…”

    Sorry @evanlowenstein, you've been replaced. #Repost from @katiecassidy — just can't get enough… @dana_brunetti

    A photo posted by Dana Brunetti ✅ (@dana_brunetti) on

  • Emma Stone Makes Triumphant Broadway Debut

    On November 11, Emma Stone made her highly anticipated Broadway debut as Sally Bowles in the musical Cabaret. It was an important moment for the actress, who has been vocal about her desire to perform in a musical, especially one as iconic as Cabaret. In an interview with HitFlix, the star said, “Honestly, I’m having the time of my life. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but it’s the most fun I’ve ever had. So it’s one of those. I guess this is what being a parent might be like but without the child part.”

    Stone’s boyfriend, actor Andrew Garfield, was there to show his support for the actress. “Andrew came sharply dressed in a suit. Andrew came backstage after the show with Emma’s mother and his guests. He kissed her and congratulated her,” a source told Us Weekly. According to reports, Garfield made it a point to attend Stone’s Broadway debut before flying off to Taiwan to shoot the upcoming Martin Scorsese film Silence which also stars Liam Neeson and Adam Driver.

    Garfield and Stone met on the set of The Amazing Spider-Man and the two started dating in the summer of 2011. While the two have been seen in public together, they have managed to keep their relationship private. In a rare candid interview with ABC Nightly News, Stone talked about her beau. “He’s obviously one of the greatest actors, I think, we have alive today. He’s also just a remarkable human being. I love him very much,” she said in the interview.

    #lovehim #happythursday

    A photo posted by Emma Stone (@emmastone) on

    Stone took over the role of Sally Bowles from Oscar nominee Michelle Williams. She is joined in the play by Alan Cummings, who’s been seen lately in the role of Eli Gold in the hit TV show The Good Wife. Sam Mendes directed the musical which is being staged at Studio 54 in New York City. This current production of Cabaret run for the next three months.

  • Emma Stone Crushes Broadway Debut In Cabaret

    “Life is a cabaret, old chum”

    All eyes were on Emma Stone last night as the Hollywood actress made her Broadway debut as Sally Bowles in Cabaret. How’d she do? By many accounts, despite some understandable first night jitters, Stone gave a winning performance.

    Stone, who replaced Michelle Williams in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s revival, has admitted that playing the role of Sally Bowles has been a lifelong dream. The actress has also confessed that she doesn’t have a classically trained power voice.

    Even so, many critics seemed to love her performance. Joanna Robinson of Vanity Fair wrote, “Emma Stone nailed her emotional Broadway debut.”

    Alex Needham wrote in The Guardian, “When it come to her big numbers, however, she delivers. Maybe This Time locates the vulnerability inside the camp, and Stone gives a bravura performance of the title song, at once defiant, pathetic and heroic.”

    Here’s Stone, all smiles, taking her first ever Broadway curtain call.

    The list of actresses who have played Sally Bowles on Broadway is a long one. We’ve seen everyone from Molly Ringwald to Brooke Shields to Lea Thompson to Gina Gershon play the role that Liza Minnelli made famous in her Academy Award winning performance in the film version of the same name in 1972.

    The current adaptation of Cabaret is actually the production’s third Broadway revival. Film director Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Skyfall) has taken the helm this time around. Alan Cumming plays the sinister and creepy Master of Ceremonies.

    If you would like to see Stone’s turn as Bowles on Broadway, you better act fast. The actress’ run ends on February 1, 2015. For more information and how to get tickets click here.

  • Bernadette Peters: “Into The Woods” Cast Reunion

    Bernadette Peters joined other former cast members of the immensely popular Broadway play Into the Woods on Sunday. The reunion was a highly-anticipated event which brought together many of the original cast, as well as the behind-the-scenes creators of the show.

    According to Playbill.com, Bernadette Peters, who originally played the witch, and Joanna Gleason, who played the baker’s wife, “looked like they could step back into the next Woods revival without missing a beat.”

    The first 20 minutes of Sunday’s event featured Stephen Sondheim, composer, and James Lapine, libretist, in conversation with host Mo Rocca discussing the play’s origins and inspiration.

    Apparently, Into the Woods came about as a follow-up project to the team’s Sunday in the Park with George. Sondheim suggested a “quest musical” along the lines of The Wizard of Oz.

    When they decided to mix the fairy tales of Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel with an original story about a childless baker, a quest is certainly what they got.

    The second act featured the song “Your Fault” which reunited Bernadette Peters, Chip Zien, Ben Wright, Danielle Ferland and Kim Crosby and brought down the house.

    Bernadette Peters largely carried the second act. She performed a trio of Woods numbers and also shared some of the talk time with Sondheim and Lapine.

    She quickly learned that the part of the witch was still available following the show’s pre-Broadway run in San Diego. Bernadette Peters, who knew nothing about the role, threw her hat in the ring right on the spot.

    The witch, she admitted, is the outsider. Bernadette Peters loved playing the pragmatist who says what everybody else is thinking and who has no problem being unpopular.

    Who wouldn’t love that?