Politics, pop culture and entertainment news of interest to the LGBTQ community
Good Morning America viewers got the first look at the official trailer for Steven Spielberg’s reimagining of the iconic Broadway musical, West Side Story. And from what we can see so far, it’s going to be gorgeous. Continue reading “Watch: Official Trailer For Upcoming Spielberg Reimagining Of “West Side Story””
After an 18-month shutdown due to the pandemic, some of the most popular Broadway musicals are returning to the Great White Way tonight. Check out this special preview. Continue reading “A Special ‘Circle Of Life’ Celebrates Broadway’s Return”
After 18 months away, the cast of Broadway’s Hadestown returned to their stage – and André De Shields handled the amazing moment like a boss. Continue reading “HADESTOWN Returned To Broadway And The Crowd Went Wild”
The cast of Broadway’s The Lion King shares this emotional first sing-thru of the show’s opening number, “The Circle of Life,” on day one of rehearsals in preparations for reopening after over a year. Continue reading “Broadway’s THE LION KING Sings ‘Circle Of Life’ In 1st Rehearsal Back”
The 2020 revival of the classic Broadway musical West Side Story – vividly reimagined by director Ivo van Hove and choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker — opened less than a month before the coronavirus outbreak shut down Broadway. The producers have announced it will not reopen. Continue reading “Broadway Revival Of WEST SIDE STORY Will Not Reopen”
The 2019-2020 Tony Awards – titled THE TONY AWARDS® PRESENT: BROADWAY’S BACK! – will take place on Sunday, September 26 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) with two separate events.
As theater fans know, the annual awards ceremony was originally scheduled for June 7, 2020. But the coronavirus pandemic not only ended the 2019-2020 Broadway season on March 12, 2020, but also postponed the Tonys as well.
The long-awaited celebration will begin with the presentation of the American Theatre Wing’s 74th Annual Tony Awards® at 7:00 PM ET/4:00 PM PT live exclusively on Paramount+. The streaming presentation will honor the outstanding shows, performances and artistry of the 2019-2020 Broadway season, which was brought to a halt by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Immediately following, THE TONY AWARDS PRESENT: BROADWAY’S BACK! will air on the CBS Network, bringing the excitement of Broadway to viewers through a live concert event, featuring superstar Broadway entertainers and Tony Award winners re-uniting on stage to perform beloved classics and celebrate the joy and magic of live theatre.
The re-opening of Broadway will be further celebrated with special performances from the three Tony nominated Best Musical contenders, followed by the live presentation of three Tony Awards, including Best Play, Best Revival of a Play and Best Musical. Other winners will be celebrated throughout the broadcast.
Performances on the Great White Way are set to resume September 2 with the return of Hadestown. September 14 will see the reopening of Broadway blockbusters Wicked, Hamilton and The Lion King, to be followed by more in the following weeks.
Broadway musical moms help me celebrate Mother’s Day with some totally appropriate tunes from musicals that mine the gold in all kinds of motherly relationships.
Four Dear Evan Hansen moms from the Broadway and touring companies united for this terrific take on “Anybody Have A Map?” from the blockbuster musical. I’m sure a lot of moms out there relate to this.
Liz Callaway really scored with this Act One closer for the 1983 Broadway musical, Baby. The song takes place after Liz’s ‘pregnant for the first time’ character feels her baby kick for the very first time.
From Stephen Sondheim’s brilliant Into The Woods, Broadway icon Betty Buckley served up a show-stopping “Children Will Listen” backed by the Boys Choir of Harlem at the 1992 Carnegie Hall concert honoring Sondheim.
In the 1996 stage musical adaptation of the Tom Hanks hit film BIG, Barbara Walsh played the mother of the lead character who magically grows up and leaves home on an adventure. At the top of Act Two, the mom reflects on how quickly kids can grow up wishing she could ‘stop time’ for just a while.
Just like in life (I’m thinking my own life here), Broadway musical moms take many forms – aunts, godmothers, neighbors, even god-like forces like Mother Earth – who show up at the right moment to help us on our way.
I loved the creative and oh-so-moving 2017 revival of Once On This Island. Alex Newell and company brought the house down nightly with this jubilant and earthy “Mama Will Provide.”
As I recently reported, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and theater producers have announced Broadway shows will begin reopening this September.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced at a press conference this morning that Broadway shows will be able to reopen September 14.
Beginning tomorrow, May 6, producers will be able to put tickets on sale – wait for it – at 100% capacity.
More from the New York Times:
Why the four-month wait? With as many as eight shows a week to fill, and the tourists who make up an important part of their customer base yet to return, producers need time to advertise and market. They need to reassemble and rehearse casts who have been out of work for more than a year. And they need to sort out and negotiate safety protocols.
But the biggest reason is more gut-based: individually and collectively, they are trying to imagine when large numbers of people are likely to feel comfortable traveling to Times Square, funneling through cramped lobbies and walking down narrow aisles to sit shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers.
The Times mentions that long-running mega-hits Wicked, The Lion King, and Hamilton are already planning their announcements to reopen next week.
Aladdin, Chicago, Come From Away and American Utopia are also looking strong to reopen in September.
“NY PopsUp is an expansive festival consisting of hundreds of pop-up performances that will regularly permeate the daily lives of New Yorkers,” reads the official website. “It is intended to revitalize the spirit and emotional well-being of New York citizens through the energy of live performance.”
Today, lights lit up a Broadway stage for the first time in over a year as Tony Award winners Nathan Lane and Savion Glover took to the stage of the St. James Theater to a small but thrilled live audience. #Progress
The brief matinee was directed by Broadway veteran Jerry Zaks.
In a 20-minute tap-dance stream of consciousness, Glover reflected on his life in the theater dropping bits of “Memory,” “One,” and “Fabulous Feet.”
Lane performed a new monologue by playwright Paul Rudnick, which told the story of a theater-obsessed man cooped up in his studio apartment during quarantine, his particularly hilarious encounter with Hugh Jackman and others.
The video below shows the audience arriving and making its way through safety precautions plus excerpts from each of the two stars’ performances.
The festival continues through Labor Day, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the Tribeca Film Festival and the Festival at the new Little Island at Pier 55. Performances are not announced in advance, thus the reference to “PopsUp.”
You can follow the program on Instagram here.
Who’s ready to bring back Broadway today? cc @TheActorsFund @BCEFA #NYPopsUp pic.twitter.com/J84NNtkzoo
— Elizabeth Caputo (@elizabethcaputo) April 3, 2021
In the orchestra of the St. James Theatre. 4/3/21. Had to show ticket, covid test or vax card, photo ID outside. Socially distanced and masked inside. pic.twitter.com/DMyVfeY70N
— Peter Marks (@petermarksdrama) April 3, 2021
First time in a Broadway theatre in over a year.
I cannot tell you the joy of seeing @TheSavionGlover perform.@NYPopsUp #NYPopsUp pic.twitter.com/myEgMXSYr3
— Jamie DuMont (@jamiedumont) April 3, 2021
Here are a few shots of the audience at today’s @NYPopsUp event at Broadway’s St James Theatre, demonstrating #sociallydistanced seating. Is this the model for near-future #Broadway audiences? Time will tell! pic.twitter.com/9SJscGrh7X
— Laura Heywood BroadwayGirlNYC (@BroadwayGirlNYC) April 3, 2021
I will write more about this–I’m still processing the sensations of being back in a big theater. Nothing compares to the intensity of watching performance live. It activates the senses in ways the conscious mind can’t immediately digest. I’m moved, dazzled, stirred up. #NYPopsUp pic.twitter.com/tSM7CZxvWC
— Peter Marks (@petermarksdrama) April 3, 2021
Priceless Paul Rudnick line, delivered by Nathan Lane:
A Zoom play reading is “like ‘Streetcar’ performed by The Brady Bunch.”#NYPopsUp— Peter Marks (@petermarksdrama) April 3, 2021
Savion Glover on the stage of the St. James Theatre. 4/3/21. A breathtaking solo tapathon. “The Tap Dance kid is here,” he sang.#NYPopsUp. pic.twitter.com/eHDlpowf3C
— Peter Marks (@petermarksdrama) April 3, 2021
Some news items you might have missed:
• Andrew Christian: With the weather finally warming up, it’s time to get out to the great outdoors for a date that includes some Vitamin D. Check out these ideas for you and your boo to do.
• LGBTQ Nation: On March 31, Karine Jean-Pierre, the principal deputy White House Press Secretary, became the first out Black woman to host an official White House Press Brief. She delivered the briefing standing mid-flight aboard Air Force One.
• Kenneth-in-the-212: Don’t miss Kenneth’s weekly round-up of the best in LGBTQ publications including the feature in Hot Spots Magazine (below) on LGBTQs and our furry family members.
• Broadway Cares: The virtual edition of Broadway Backwards delivered an exuberant evening of performances and raised a record $749,555 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. The free online event can now be viewed by clicking here through 11:59 pm Eastern on Saturday, April 3.
• Instinct Magazine: Virginia is now the 13th state to ban ‘gay panic’ and ‘trans panic’ legal defenses in cases of violence and murder on LGBTQ people.
• Tostitos: The chip maker brings out Emmy Award winners Dan Levy (Schitt’s Creek) and Kate McKinnon (SNL) together for this cute new ad spot where the comic geniuses one-up each other describing the flavor of new Habanero Tostitos. McKinnon thinks the chips are “drama” but Levy says they are “pelvicular.”