KINKY BOOTS Tony Award winner Billy Porter shared shots of himself and fellow Broadway headliners Zachary Quinto, Jonathan Groff, Jessie Tyler Ferguson and more at last night’s celebration of Marvin Hamlisch and the 40th anniversary of the birth of A CHORUS LINE.
The event was held at The Public Theatre in New York City.
A pair of past Tony Award®-winners will take the stage on Broadway’s biggest night to hand out American Theatre Wing Tony Awards in more than a dozen Creative Arts Award categories.
Billy Porter and Karen Ziemba will preside over the Creative Arts Awards portion of the 2014 Tony Awards ceremony on June 8, which will take place before the CBS telecast begins, as well as during the commercial breaks.
TonyAwards.com will offer exclusive on-demand video clips of the Creative Arts portions of the Tony Awards ceremony.
In addition, Porter and Ziemba will hand out the 2014 Tony Awards in various non-competitive categories, including the Regional Theatre Award (NYC’s Signature Theatre), the Isabelle Stevenson Award (Rosie O’Donnell), and the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre (Jane Greenwood).
It’s just a little cool that I’ve worked with both in the theatre.
Karen was a neighbor of mine for years on the Upper West Side and we used to see each other often. I also did CHICAGO on Broadway with Karen when she was starring as “Roxie.”
Billy, as regular readers know, is a friend of mine for over 20 years. Two years ago I had the pleasure of choreographing SWEET CHARITY at the Lyric Theatre in Oklahoma City with Billy killing it each night as “Big Daddy” with the number “Rhythm of Life.”
It will be uber-cool to watch these two before and during the Tonys. Make sure you head to TonyAwards.com tomorrow night for all the extra fun.
Billy Porter, star of Kinky Boots on Broadway, released a video today that shows his support for the #MyLoveisEqual campaign and the music video for “Quite Like This” by DJ/Producer Ryan Skyy.
Marriage Equality is an issue that Billy is passionate about, and when he found out that all proceeds from the sale of “Quite Like This” are being donated to MarriageEquality.org, he naturally jumped on-board.
You can watch Billy’s message about #MyLoveIsEqual below:
And here’s Ryan Skyy’s music video for “Quite Like This” (available on iTunes now) created from clips of same-sex marriage proposals which have all gone viral on the internet:
It’s been almost a decade since the Pittsburgh-born Billy Porter released a solo album, and since then much has changed for the award-winning artist, who grew up singing in the Pentecostal church. Perhaps best known for his Tony® Award-winning role as ‘Lola’ in the hit Broadway musical Kinky Boots, Porter’s musical background is based in gospel, soul and R&B.
On April 15, 2014, Porter releases his debut on Concord Records, Billy’s Back on Broadway.
Featuring ten classics made famous on the Great White Way that focus on inspiration, empowerment and hope, the album’s title is a nod to Sammy Davis, Jr.’s recording Sammy’s Back on Broadway.
Cyndi Lauper, the Grammy®, Emmy® & Tony® Award-winning rock icon who penned the score for Kinky Boots, makes a special guest appearance on Billy’s Back on Broadway, dueting with Porter on “Happy Days/Get Happy,” a tune made famous by Streisand and Judy Garland.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Cyndi is one of the godmothers of individuality,” Porter explains. “She forged a path for so many of us that didn’t fit into the status quo. I learned so much and have felt so inspired by her journey as an artist and human being before I even knew her. She’s a blessing and a gift, and I’m so thrilled she said ‘yes’ when I asked her to sing on this album.”
Check out the behind-the-scenes footage and interviews below.
New commercial for the Tony Award winning Broadway show “Kinky Boots” starring Tony Award-winner Billy Porter shows the inspiring side of the stage spectacular directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell.