Amber Rasberry has joined Amazon Studios as a senior film executive, Variety has learned exclusively.
Rasberry’s oversight will include day-to-day production, development and acquisitions for Amazon’s original movies slate. She will report to film co-heads Julie Rapaport and Matt Newman.
The executive joins the streaming giant from Paramount Players, where she served as vice president of development. During her tenure, Rasberry worked with Lee Daniels on the forthcoming “The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” and brought in Wanuri Kahiu to direct “On the Come Up,” based on the bestselling novel by Angie Thomas.
She also shepherded “Bounce” starring Jojo Siwa and developed “Daring to Live” based on Sheri Hunter’s book with producer Devon Franklin.
Prior to Paramount, Rasberry was vice president of production at Global Road, and before that head of production at Kevin Hart’s label Laugh Out Loud, where she helped launch the digital network.
Rasberry’s oversight will include day-to-day production, development and acquisitions for Amazon’s original movies slate. She will report to film co-heads Julie Rapaport and Matt Newman.
The executive joins the streaming giant from Paramount Players, where she served as vice president of development. During her tenure, Rasberry worked with Lee Daniels on the forthcoming “The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” and brought in Wanuri Kahiu to direct “On the Come Up,” based on the bestselling novel by Angie Thomas.
She also shepherded “Bounce” starring Jojo Siwa and developed “Daring to Live” based on Sheri Hunter’s book with producer Devon Franklin.
Prior to Paramount, Rasberry was vice president of production at Global Road, and before that head of production at Kevin Hart’s label Laugh Out Loud, where she helped launch the digital network.
- 12/9/2020
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
The original cast of Broadway’s Tony-winning musical “Rent” will virtually reunite on June 28. The performance is part of Broadway Celebrates Pride, a virtual fundraiser for Democratic congressional candidates.
Idina Menzel, Anthony Rapp, Daphne Rubin Vega, Taye Diggs, Jesse L. Martin and Adam Pascal will perform “Seasons of Love” at Broadway Celebrates Pride. They will be joined by Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Fredi Walker and other ensemble members of the founding production.
Broadway Celebrates Pride is one of four political fundraisers for Hold the House, a series hosted by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
John Legend executive produced the event, which was directed by Erich Bergen. Broadway Celebrates Pride will also include appearances by Billy Porter, Ben Platt, Cyndi Lauper and the stars of “Queer Eye.”
Hold the House kicked off on June 20 with the Ultimate Women’s Power Party, featuring Julia Roberts and Jennifer Lawrence. The third, Egot the Vote: Party With Living Legends,...
Idina Menzel, Anthony Rapp, Daphne Rubin Vega, Taye Diggs, Jesse L. Martin and Adam Pascal will perform “Seasons of Love” at Broadway Celebrates Pride. They will be joined by Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Fredi Walker and other ensemble members of the founding production.
Broadway Celebrates Pride is one of four political fundraisers for Hold the House, a series hosted by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
John Legend executive produced the event, which was directed by Erich Bergen. Broadway Celebrates Pride will also include appearances by Billy Porter, Ben Platt, Cyndi Lauper and the stars of “Queer Eye.”
Hold the House kicked off on June 20 with the Ultimate Women’s Power Party, featuring Julia Roberts and Jennifer Lawrence. The third, Egot the Vote: Party With Living Legends,...
- 6/26/2020
- by Marc Malkin
- Variety Film + TV
We can assume that all the Tony nominees hope to hear their names announced this Sunday from the stage of Radio City Musical Hall. But while playwright Kenneth Lonergan says it would be nice if “The Waverly Gallery” wins Best Revival of a Play, he mostly hopes to hear the name of his 87-year-old leading lady.
“I’d much rather see Elaine May win Best Actress,” Lonergan said. He even penned a full- page ad in the New York Times this week saying, “Until she appeared in ‘The Waverly Gallery,’ I didn’t realize that Elaine is one of the greatest actors I have ever met, or seen.”
Lonergan himself is no stranger to awards, winning a screenwriting Oscar for 2016’s “Manchester by the Sea,” but he has never won the Tony. He is also no stranger to controversy, particularly when it comes to his relationship with Hollywood. Since famously...
“I’d much rather see Elaine May win Best Actress,” Lonergan said. He even penned a full- page ad in the New York Times this week saying, “Until she appeared in ‘The Waverly Gallery,’ I didn’t realize that Elaine is one of the greatest actors I have ever met, or seen.”
Lonergan himself is no stranger to awards, winning a screenwriting Oscar for 2016’s “Manchester by the Sea,” but he has never won the Tony. He is also no stranger to controversy, particularly when it comes to his relationship with Hollywood. Since famously...
- 6/5/2019
- by Mary Murphy and Michele Willens
- The Wrap
Spoiler Alert: Do not read if you have not yet watched “Money for Rent,” the fifth episode of the first season of “Schooled.”
It only took a few episodes for “Schooled,” ABC and Adam F. Goldberg’s 1990s-set comedy centered on a high school music teacher to dedicate an episode to “Rent,” the 1996 Pulitzer Prize-winning musical that took a generation by storm. But if it was up to Goldberg, he would have done it even sooner.
“This was our fifth episode we shot, [but] I would have aired this one as No. 2 just because I love ‘Rent’ so much, but because they had that big ‘Rent’ musical they were doing [on Fox], we just had to wait until they were free and clear and done,” Goldberg tells Variety.
The episode, titled “Money for Rent,” saw Lainey Lewis (Aj Michalka) want to get students excited about musical theater in the same way it touched her.
It only took a few episodes for “Schooled,” ABC and Adam F. Goldberg’s 1990s-set comedy centered on a high school music teacher to dedicate an episode to “Rent,” the 1996 Pulitzer Prize-winning musical that took a generation by storm. But if it was up to Goldberg, he would have done it even sooner.
“This was our fifth episode we shot, [but] I would have aired this one as No. 2 just because I love ‘Rent’ so much, but because they had that big ‘Rent’ musical they were doing [on Fox], we just had to wait until they were free and clear and done,” Goldberg tells Variety.
The episode, titled “Money for Rent,” saw Lainey Lewis (Aj Michalka) want to get students excited about musical theater in the same way it touched her.
- 2/14/2019
- by Danielle Turchiano
- Variety Film + TV
Charlie Collier feels a little bad about the part he played in the injury “Rent” actor Brennin Hunt suffered the Saturday ahead of the live TV musical’s Jan. 27 broadcast — because he kinda jinxed him.
During his first executive session as CEO of Fox Entertainment at the Television Critics Association press tour Wednesday, Collier told reporters he penned handwritten notes to the cast that Friday night in which he told them all to “break a leg,” because “that’s what you say.”
But then Hunt actually did break his foot the following night during rehearsal, preventing him from going on stage for the telecast the next day and keeping “Rent” from being live for the most part.
“So Sunday morning I came in early and rewrote a lot of notes,” he said to laughter from the audience.
Also Read: 'Rent': Here's the (Actually) Live Version of Fox's TV Musical...
During his first executive session as CEO of Fox Entertainment at the Television Critics Association press tour Wednesday, Collier told reporters he penned handwritten notes to the cast that Friday night in which he told them all to “break a leg,” because “that’s what you say.”
But then Hunt actually did break his foot the following night during rehearsal, preventing him from going on stage for the telecast the next day and keeping “Rent” from being live for the most part.
“So Sunday morning I came in early and rewrote a lot of notes,” he said to laughter from the audience.
Also Read: 'Rent': Here's the (Actually) Live Version of Fox's TV Musical...
- 2/6/2019
- by Jennifer Maas
- The Wrap
Image Source: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for InStyle
In a moment relatable to every Broadway-obsessed theater nerd, Sarah Hyland sang Rent's "Seasons of Love" while hanging out at home this week. Less relatable? Sounding like Hyland, who - in case you've forgotten - has quite the voice. In the past, we've been blown away by some of her gorgeous covers with Boyce Avenue, and on Sunday, she showed off her a cappella skills by getting in the Broadway spirit ahead of Fox's Rent Live.
The Modern Family actress originally shared a clip of her singing on Instagram Stories, and she posted it to her grid on Thursday. Fans predictably freaked out in the comments, some wondering whether she might be a contestant on The Masked Singer while others hoped she'd someday release an album. Also in the comments: her boyfriend, Wells Adams, who joked, "I'm annoyed that you're good at everything.
In a moment relatable to every Broadway-obsessed theater nerd, Sarah Hyland sang Rent's "Seasons of Love" while hanging out at home this week. Less relatable? Sounding like Hyland, who - in case you've forgotten - has quite the voice. In the past, we've been blown away by some of her gorgeous covers with Boyce Avenue, and on Sunday, she showed off her a cappella skills by getting in the Broadway spirit ahead of Fox's Rent Live.
The Modern Family actress originally shared a clip of her singing on Instagram Stories, and she posted it to her grid on Thursday. Fans predictably freaked out in the comments, some wondering whether she might be a contestant on The Masked Singer while others hoped she'd someday release an album. Also in the comments: her boyfriend, Wells Adams, who joked, "I'm annoyed that you're good at everything.
- 1/31/2019
- by Laura Marie Meyers
- Popsugar.com
In case you’re wondering what last night’s Rent studio audience was seeing when the rest of the country — or at least the 3.42 million viewers who made up the lowest viewership for one of these TV musical events — Fox and some of the folks who actually were there are providing a glimpse.
In fact, Fox already has a name for the performance that didn’t air: the “Cast Concert Rendition.”.
Hunt told Deadline’s sister site TV Line that the injury occurred late in the performance, with the second and final act heading to its close just after the song “What You Own.”
“So basically after ‘What You Own,’ when Jordan [Fisher] and I climb the ladder and...
In fact, Fox already has a name for the performance that didn’t air: the “Cast Concert Rendition.”.
Hunt told Deadline’s sister site TV Line that the injury occurred late in the performance, with the second and final act heading to its close just after the song “What You Own.”
“So basically after ‘What You Own,’ when Jordan [Fisher] and I climb the ladder and...
- 1/28/2019
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
The raging, shifting winds of change ripped through Fox’s planned live broadcast of Rent late Saturday. When they were done, cast member Brennin Hunt was left with a busted foot and a broken heart.
In an interview Monday with TVLine, Hunt says he took a tumble on his way to a quick costume change before the Saturday rehearsal’s final segment. A long night at the emergency room and conversations with executive producer Marc Platt and the rest of Rent‘s production team followed, with the ultimate decision to air the recording of Saturday’s unedited dress rehearsal on Sunday — save the finale,...
In an interview Monday with TVLine, Hunt says he took a tumble on his way to a quick costume change before the Saturday rehearsal’s final segment. A long night at the emergency room and conversations with executive producer Marc Platt and the rest of Rent‘s production team followed, with the ultimate decision to air the recording of Saturday’s unedited dress rehearsal on Sunday — save the finale,...
- 1/28/2019
- TVLine.com
Fox’s “Rent” got evicted in ratings on Sunday — at least when comparing the semi-live TV musical to all the ones that came before it. And yes, that includes another poor performer, Fox’s “A Christmas Story Live.”
Due to a cast member’s injury, last night’s “Rent” used mostly pre-taped footage from a dress rehearsal. The show’s effort received a 1.4 rating among adults 18 to 49 and 3.415 million total viewers, per Nielsen’s fast national numbers.
Compare that with December 2017’s “A Christmas Story Live,” which drew a 1.5 rating and 4.48 million viewers. That one, which went up against “Sunday Night Football” on NBC, had been the previous low for these live-tv musicals.
Also Read: 'Rent': Here's the (Actually) Live Version of Fox's TV Musical That Studio Audience Saw (Videos)
Fox’s Easter 2016-timed “The Passion” got a 1.6 rating and 6.648 million viewers. The network’s “Grease: Live” in January 2016 earned...
Due to a cast member’s injury, last night’s “Rent” used mostly pre-taped footage from a dress rehearsal. The show’s effort received a 1.4 rating among adults 18 to 49 and 3.415 million total viewers, per Nielsen’s fast national numbers.
Compare that with December 2017’s “A Christmas Story Live,” which drew a 1.5 rating and 4.48 million viewers. That one, which went up against “Sunday Night Football” on NBC, had been the previous low for these live-tv musicals.
Also Read: 'Rent': Here's the (Actually) Live Version of Fox's TV Musical That Studio Audience Saw (Videos)
Fox’s Easter 2016-timed “The Passion” got a 1.6 rating and 6.648 million viewers. The network’s “Grease: Live” in January 2016 earned...
- 1/28/2019
- by Tony Maglio and Jennifer Maas
- The Wrap
Vanessa Hudgens and Kiersey Clemons stole the show during Fox’s Rent Live telecast when they performed the simmering “Take Me or Leave Me.” The pair portrayed girlfriends Maureen and Joanne respectively in the televised adaptation of Jonathan Larson’s seminal musical about a close-knit struggling artists living in New York City during the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis.
“Take Me or Leave Me” arrives during the show’s second act. It’s the height of tension between the performance artist and the lawyer who realize their different approaches to life and love.
“Take Me or Leave Me” arrives during the show’s second act. It’s the height of tension between the performance artist and the lawyer who realize their different approaches to life and love.
- 1/28/2019
- by Brittany Spanos
- Rollingstone.com
Page Alexi Darling, because here’s something hotter than a Buzzline exclusive: a glimpse of what really took place on the Rent: Live stage Sunday.
After the musical’s telecast, which consisted mostly of a taped dress rehearsal thanks to cast member Brennin Hunt’s injury the day before, Fox released clips of the improvised, souped-up table read held for a live audience in Los Angeles.
This “concert version,” as the network has dubbed it, made far less use of Jason Sherwood’s sprawling sets… probably because a wheelchair-bound Hunt had no chance of scaling them. Instead, according to Twitter dispatches from audience members,...
After the musical’s telecast, which consisted mostly of a taped dress rehearsal thanks to cast member Brennin Hunt’s injury the day before, Fox released clips of the improvised, souped-up table read held for a live audience in Los Angeles.
This “concert version,” as the network has dubbed it, made far less use of Jason Sherwood’s sprawling sets… probably because a wheelchair-bound Hunt had no chance of scaling them. Instead, according to Twitter dispatches from audience members,...
- 1/28/2019
- TVLine.com
Fox’s “Rent” aired Sunday, decidedly not live. After male lead Brennin Hunt broke his foot during Saturday’s rehearsal, the network decided to air “previously recorded” footage from the day before during its planned 8-11 p.m. telecast, rather than have the cast perform the show as planned.
However, viewers in the studio audience were treated to an actually live version, with the stars performing numbers from the musical with a few changes to the set to accommodate Hunt’s wheelchair. Fox dubbed this the “cast concert version,” sharing several videos from the numbers that were performed live on Twitter later Sunday evening.
For those of you at home, the live TV musical began with “previously recorded” footage of Hunt, who plays the male lead Roger, taking the stage for a few numbers with his co-stars.
Also Read: Fox's 'Rent' Goes on With Mostly Taped Footage After...
However, viewers in the studio audience were treated to an actually live version, with the stars performing numbers from the musical with a few changes to the set to accommodate Hunt’s wheelchair. Fox dubbed this the “cast concert version,” sharing several videos from the numbers that were performed live on Twitter later Sunday evening.
For those of you at home, the live TV musical began with “previously recorded” footage of Hunt, who plays the male lead Roger, taking the stage for a few numbers with his co-stars.
Also Read: Fox's 'Rent' Goes on With Mostly Taped Footage After...
- 1/28/2019
- by Jennifer Maas
- The Wrap
Tech glitches, broken bones, ghosts of stage productions past and, worst of all, live television’s unfortunate and intrusive vogue for giving studio audiences far, far too much screen time couldn’t do overmuch damage to Rent, Jonathan Larson’s beloved-by-many ’90s musical that added another chapter to both TV’s refound love of Broadway and the show’s own against-the-odds trouper legend.
In what turned out to be a fortuitous move, Fox had not been calling the new Rent anything other than that one-word title (early reports had it as Rent: Live!). Good thing: the show became more Rent: Somewhat Live! after star Brennin Hunt, who played struggling musician Roger, broke his foot during a dress rehearsal yesterday.
What aired on Fox tonight, as explained by the cast in an address to the television audience early in the proceedings, was mostly last night’s dress rehearsal, taped before a live audience,...
In what turned out to be a fortuitous move, Fox had not been calling the new Rent anything other than that one-word title (early reports had it as Rent: Live!). Good thing: the show became more Rent: Somewhat Live! after star Brennin Hunt, who played struggling musician Roger, broke his foot during a dress rehearsal yesterday.
What aired on Fox tonight, as explained by the cast in an address to the television audience early in the proceedings, was mostly last night’s dress rehearsal, taped before a live audience,...
- 1/28/2019
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
The writing was on the wall when Fox’s live production of “Rent” opened with a hefty asterisk: This musical event, despite every effort otherwise, was “previously recorded.”
As the cast explained after the first commercial break, the actor in the lead role of Roger (Brennin Hunt) broke his foot during dress rehearsal the night before, and when everyone realized the extent of the injury, a call was made. Instead of performing live as planned, Fox decided to mostly just air the footage they’d already taped, with the exception of a hastily re-choreographed final act that could include Hunt, plaster cast and all.
The situation was, to say the least, not ideal. But the decision to air what was supposed to be a run-through made an undeniable difference in a production full of distractions.
Many actors were noticeably (and understandably!) saving their voices and energy for the real thing...
As the cast explained after the first commercial break, the actor in the lead role of Roger (Brennin Hunt) broke his foot during dress rehearsal the night before, and when everyone realized the extent of the injury, a call was made. Instead of performing live as planned, Fox decided to mostly just air the footage they’d already taped, with the exception of a hastily re-choreographed final act that could include Hunt, plaster cast and all.
The situation was, to say the least, not ideal. But the decision to air what was supposed to be a run-through made an undeniable difference in a production full of distractions.
Many actors were noticeably (and understandably!) saving their voices and energy for the real thing...
- 1/28/2019
- by Caroline Framke
- Variety Film + TV
525,600 tears just fell out of our eyes at the end of tonight's production of Rent (A Little Bit) Live. The Fox show reunited the entire original Broadway cast for the finale (which was also the only live portion of the show due to star Brennin Hunt's broken foot), and we openly wept. That's not an exaggeration or hyperbole or anything but the full truth. Give us Idina Menzel singing "Seasons of Love" in any way and we are gonna tear up, so give us Idina Menzel surrounded by the entire new and old cast singing "Seasons of Love" together and we're done for. The live portion of the show included Mimi's (Tinashe) near-death, during which Roger (Brennin Hunt) had to...
- 1/28/2019
- E! Online
It’s been well over 525,600 minutes since Fox first announced it would stage a live production of Rent. (Almost twice that number, in fact!)
Needless to say, our expectations for the musical, which debuted at last on Sunday night, were high — and not just because Rent is a poignant, beloved classic. It also boasted an impressive cast (including Brandon Victor Dixon, Jordan Fisher and Vanessa Hudgens, all of whom have previously worked on live TV-musicals), and it was directed by Michael Greif, who helmed the original Broadway production.
Fortunately, there was a lot to love about Fox’s broadcast (which was only partially live,...
Needless to say, our expectations for the musical, which debuted at last on Sunday night, were high — and not just because Rent is a poignant, beloved classic. It also boasted an impressive cast (including Brandon Victor Dixon, Jordan Fisher and Vanessa Hudgens, all of whom have previously worked on live TV-musicals), and it was directed by Michael Greif, who helmed the original Broadway production.
Fortunately, there was a lot to love about Fox’s broadcast (which was only partially live,...
- 1/28/2019
- TVLine.com
Rent Live ended its broadcast Sunday true to its name, switching to a live telecast after a broadcast that consisted mostly of a taped dress rehearsal held Sunday.
Injured cast member Brennin Hunt, who broke his foot during the Saturday rehearsal, appeared during the musical’s final scene with his foot — in a cast — propped up on a chair as he sang “Your Eyes” to Tinashe’s Mimi.
Then, after the show wrapped, members of the original Broadway cast including Anthony Rapp, Adam Pascal, Idina Menzel, Daphne Ruben Vega and Jesse L. Martin joined their Rent: Live counterparts onstage for...
Injured cast member Brennin Hunt, who broke his foot during the Saturday rehearsal, appeared during the musical’s final scene with his foot — in a cast — propped up on a chair as he sang “Your Eyes” to Tinashe’s Mimi.
Then, after the show wrapped, members of the original Broadway cast including Anthony Rapp, Adam Pascal, Idina Menzel, Daphne Ruben Vega and Jesse L. Martin joined their Rent: Live counterparts onstage for...
- 1/28/2019
- TVLine.com
The stars of Fox’s live — but actually mostly pre-taped — production of “Rent” were joined by the original Broadway cast for the three-hour Sunday broadcast’s “Seasons of Love” finale, which was actually performed “live,” according to the notice in the upper right corner of the screen.
Idina Menzel (Maureen), Anthony Rapp (Mark), Adam Pascal (Roger), Daphne Rubin-Vega (Mimi), Jesse L. Martin (Tom Collins), Wilson Jermaine Heredia (Angel), Fredi Walker (Joanne) and Taye Diggs (Benny), along with ensemble members Gilles Chiasson, Rodney Hicks, and Timothy Britten Parker were among the original stars who appeared in the number, singing alongside their counterparts in Sunday’s televised event.
The scene was “reworked” to include the Fox production’s star Brennin Hunt, who had to sit out the show after breaking his foot during dress rehearsal Saturday. (The network used footage from that Saturday performance for much of the broadcast since Hunt injured...
Idina Menzel (Maureen), Anthony Rapp (Mark), Adam Pascal (Roger), Daphne Rubin-Vega (Mimi), Jesse L. Martin (Tom Collins), Wilson Jermaine Heredia (Angel), Fredi Walker (Joanne) and Taye Diggs (Benny), along with ensemble members Gilles Chiasson, Rodney Hicks, and Timothy Britten Parker were among the original stars who appeared in the number, singing alongside their counterparts in Sunday’s televised event.
The scene was “reworked” to include the Fox production’s star Brennin Hunt, who had to sit out the show after breaking his foot during dress rehearsal Saturday. (The network used footage from that Saturday performance for much of the broadcast since Hunt injured...
- 1/28/2019
- by Jennifer Maas
- The Wrap
Keala Settle, the face behind the beard behind The Greatest Showman, joined the cast of Fox’s Rent on Sunday to teach us all an important lesson about our lives and how we should measure them.
The actress lent her Tony Award-nominated voice to “Seasons of Love,” one of Rent‘s most iconic songs, sung at the top of the second act during a support group meeting for people diagnosed with HIV. Hit Play on the video above to watch Seattle’s big number.
Fox’s Rent stars Jordan Fisher (Grease: Live) as documentary filmmaker Mark Cohen, Brennin Hunt (The X Factor...
The actress lent her Tony Award-nominated voice to “Seasons of Love,” one of Rent‘s most iconic songs, sung at the top of the second act during a support group meeting for people diagnosed with HIV. Hit Play on the video above to watch Seattle’s big number.
Fox’s Rent stars Jordan Fisher (Grease: Live) as documentary filmmaker Mark Cohen, Brennin Hunt (The X Factor...
- 1/28/2019
- TVLine.com
If you know one song from Rent, it’s “Seasons of Love.” And if you know two songs from Rent, the second is probably “One Song Glory.”
Roger’s bittersweet, evocative song — that doesn’t remind us of La Boheme‘s “Musetta’s Waltz” — comes relatively early in the musical, the first big number after the title song. But where “Rent” is rebelliously raucous, “One Song Glory” starts off quiet and contemplative as Roger tries to come to terms with the fact that he might not create anything artistically noteworthy before he dies.
Brennin Hunt, the Nashville-based singer-songwriter who plays...
Roger’s bittersweet, evocative song — that doesn’t remind us of La Boheme‘s “Musetta’s Waltz” — comes relatively early in the musical, the first big number after the title song. But where “Rent” is rebelliously raucous, “One Song Glory” starts off quiet and contemplative as Roger tries to come to terms with the fact that he might not create anything artistically noteworthy before he dies.
Brennin Hunt, the Nashville-based singer-songwriter who plays...
- 1/28/2019
- TVLine.com
Michael Greif knew Rent would stay in his life – his entire life – by the late 1990s. Jonathan Larson’s rock musical inspired by Puccini’s La bohème – making its TV debut as a special live event on Fox this Sunday – had already stunned New York’s theater world with a 1993 Off Broadway workshop, then 1996’s full Off Broadway production and, later that year, Broadway itself. Just as Hamilton would do two decades later, Rent had accomplished something few stage musicals have managed in the post-rock world: It captured the attention and love of a young generation, a generation that soon claimed Rent as its own.
Too many productions to count would follow, as Larson’s tale of young artists struggling to survive – in some cases, literally survive – in Manhattan’s pre-gentrified Lower East Side gained a worldwide following. Careers were made. At least one song, “Seasons of Love,” became a bona fide standard. Awards were won (Tony and Pulitzer), fans were named (“Rent-heads”), cultural references were made and a movie came and went (the 2005 film directed by Chris Columbus and starring many of the original cast members was a rare disappointment in la vie Rent).
Larson himself lived to see little of it. In one of the theater’s most heart-rending true-life stories, the playwright-composer died after suffering an aortic dissection on the morning of Rent‘s first Off Broadway preview, a horror that has draped the Rent legend in both tragedy and, in a very real way, triumph ever since. Left to fulfill Larson’s dream, and help build his legacy, his collaborators never failed him.
Chief among them was, and is, Greif, the director of the original workshop, the Off Broadway production and the lines-down-the-block Broadway staging.
This Sunday, Greif’s involvement with Rent continues: He’s the stage director of Fox’s live TV event (Alex Rudzinski serves as the TV director). With the production, Rent becomes the latest, and, with its poignant depiction of a community decimated by the then-untreatable AIDS, perhaps most unexpected stage musical to air as a special TV event, following a recent raft of such musicals that have tended more toward late Golden Age Broadway or light family fare.
The Rent cast includes Kiersey Clemons, Brandon Victor Dixon, Jordan Fisher, Vanessa Hudgens, Brennin Hunt, Mario, Tinashe and Valentina, with Keala Settle performing the solo from “Seasons of Love.”
Deadline spoke to Greif, whose remarkable stage directing career includes Broadway’s critically acclaimed hits Next to Normal and Dear Evan Hanson, about his long involvement with the Larson musical, his thoughts on the new cast (and the old) and what Rent has to say to audiences today.
Rent airs Sunday, Jan. 27, 8-11 Pm Et live/Pt tape-delayed) on Fox.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and lengthy.
Deadline: The Rent live event has been described as a reimagining. What does that mean? What will you be reimagining?
Michael Greif: What I got really thrilled about when I began having conversations about the possibility of doing this job was being able to include the camera – to include intimacy – and to really be able to get close up with the psychological complications of all of those characters. So that was the first very exciting new element. I was also very excited about the kind of environment we could reimagine the show in. From the very beginning, [exec producer] Marc Platt and I talked about how concert-like Rent was, how vital the interaction between performers and audience has always been, how there was always a hybrid nature to the show. So one of the first things we talked about was how to build on that performer-audience interaction, and also how to create an environment in which I thought we could clarify some of the narrative and give us the opportunity to visit certain locations with a little more specificity than we’ve ever been able to before. To really land certain scenes in ways we couldn’t land them before, or just give some of the characters some wonderful physical objects and environments to interact with.
That’s the plan that I brought to [set designer] Jason Sherwood. He and I had a fantastic time imagining what some of these locations would be like.
That’s what I’m curious about. What scene from the play first came to your mind in terms of wanting to land it a different way?
Well, for instance, I’ll Cover You, which is a beautiful duet between Collins and Angel, is always a little static in terms of what’s happening in the song, and so I’ve always tried to pursue different activities for them to engage in. It always seemed like, ‘Oh, what could they actually be doing as they pledged this love for one another, and how do we match the delight of that song with a delightful environment?’ And now I think we’ve managed to do that.
Another example are the scenes [with] the support group. That environment was so inspirational. Visiting an organization called Friends in Deed was so important to Jonathan in the inspiration for writing Rent, and this [telecast] felt like a wonderful opportunity to be able to get a little more specific about what that room might be like.
As soon as you mention Friends in Deed and Jonathan, I’m immediately taken back to the ’90s, and Friends in Deed and the Buddy Program of Gmhc, or what was then more commonly called Gay Men’s Health Crisis. I’m wondering, for you and for Rent and a world that has changed so much since the ’90s, What is Rent now? What are we going to learn from Jonathan Larson’s work this time around?
Well, that really has a many-sided answer. It’s important, I feel, to give a new audience the context of the very early ’90s and what those HIV diagnoses meant at the time. I think that’s terrifically vital to understand the psychology of the characters. I think Mimi and Roger and Angel and Collins are all responding to a very, very, very specific set of expectations that were true in the early ’90s that are no longer true, as you say, about an HIV diagnosis.
On the other hand, there are so many scenes in Rent that are completely and totally relevant today, and I think probably the most important theme is one of worthiness, of feeling worthy and being loved, of being able to share love, of never taking for granted the time we may or may not have because we can never be certain of what’s really right around the corner.
So those themes – of identity, of how you choose to define yourself as you’re becoming as an adult, and that incredibly vulnerable and volatile moment in your early 20s – I think that those notions of identity are as every bit as relevant as they ever were, especially in this environment and not only in the Lgbtqi community, but in every community of young people. I mean, suicide is an issue we’re constantly looking at and struggling with, and I feel this show is so much about finding ways in which everyone can feel that their identity is valid, that their relationships are valid and honored. That diversity is welcome. There’s an inclusivity and an empathy [in Rent] and the ways in which the characters form a family and a community and treat each other with kindness and respect. Those issues are every bit as relevant now as they ever were, if not more so.
I’m curious – when Rent first came into your life all those years ago, could you have ever imagined that it would be there after all this time. That sounds flip, and of course with any hit show there are the possibilities of revivals and road shows, but at what point did you think to yourself, Rent is really going to be a big part of my life for the rest of my life?
I’ve got to say that once Rent became a sensation in the late ’90s, I knew it would always be a part of my life, mostly because of the fantastic opportunities and choices it offered me. I also must say that so many of the incredibly valued collaborations that I’ve had since Rent have been touched by Rent because so many extraordinary writers and composers in the process of working on other shows, will at some point, modestly confess how much Rent meant to them and set them on their path.
Lin-Manuel Miranda just tweeted about that the other day.
Yes, Lin said “I could imagine actually doing [theater] because I was interested in telling stories like Jonathan was telling, and I could imagine seeing myself up there because of the company that I was seeing on that Rent stage.” When I worked with Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey [Next to Normal], they said the same thing. When I worked with Justin Paul and Benj Pasek [Dear Evan Hansen], they said the same thing. So I’m really happy that it’s part of my theatrical DNA…and I’m really, really, really thrilled about the opportunities that Rent has made possible.
I mean I’d hate to think that I was ever only doing Rent, but I feel like things have worked out pretty well and I continue to get to work on new, vital, and even groundbreaking musicals since Rent.
Sure. You don’t want to be James Tyrone doing whatever that play he was doing over and over.
[Laughing] Well, as long as we’re talking about not being James Tyrone, I’m really glad Rent is a part of my life.
Rent was such a phenomenon on Broadway, with lines down the block, especially of young people. Do you see TV as a way of introducing it to a new audience? Do you sense that kids today still know Rent?
I think it’s so fantastic that it’s going to be introduced to a new audience. It’s always been a show that has touched young people very deeply. They see themselves in those characters at that very vulnerable and very volatile moment, and they see the formation of chosen family, and now [with the TV production] there’s an opportunity for people who couldn’t afford tickets or couldn’t afford the time to wait online for those limited amounts of very affordable tickets. And they get to meet the show with an incredible cast with all the heart and soul of the original beating loudly with some spectacular new effects, spectacular new stagings. The work of our choreographer, Sonya Tayeh, is so, so remarkable.
It just reminds me of when I had my mind blown seeing things on television for the first time, watching plays on TV and really meeting up with dramatic literature for the first time. I saw The Seagull on television long before I ever saw Chekhov in the theater. I remember watching the Tony Awards and just somehow feeling there was something going on that I was terrifically interested in. I’m hoping that has been happening with people watching these musicals on TV, and I’m really hoping that they become as absorbed in these Rent characters and scenes and are swept away by Jonathan’s incredible music as much as they’ve ever been in the theater.
When we talk about Rent reaching young people, it strikes me that it did so in the way Hamilton does now – with music of its generation. Has the music been updated at all for the TV staging? Does it still speak to its audience?
I’m hoping, I’m assuming, I’m feeling that it’s still speaking to those people. We have a larger band and a larger orchestra than we’ve ever had. We’re trying to follow Jonathan’s initial hopes of actually having a rock band and an orchestra. We have a large string section for the first time ever. Certainly some of the tracks, like “Today 4 U,” have been maybe updated, but [the music] continues to feel to me like contemporary music, like the music we’re listening to now. Music itself is so cyclical, and the reemergence of the ’90s has been almost like wonderfully karmic for us – ’90s culture is so much back in this moment. So it feels like the music continues to be relevant, and the ways in which we’ve changed the music has expanded its sound. There’s a greater versatility in the orchestra.
I’d never heard that Jonathan wanting a rock band and an orchestra.
Oh, Jonathan wanted a lot of things. It was really great to go back to the original stage directions and to see in those first drafts what he wanted to see. I think the television audience will actually see some of those things that he spoke about wanting to see.
Can you give a specific example?
The loft that Mark and Roger live in is now depicted, in some ways, more realistically than it’s ever been. It’s got the kind of skylight that Jonathan initially imagined. It’s got a tub in the kitchen, which Jonathan’s apartment actually had. So it’s a wonderful combination of stage directions and my memories of Jonathan’s actual apartment.
What is the new cast bringing to the show? You know, I have the original cast so clearly in my head that I wondering how the new cast will squeeze its way into my brain.
This company has been given every opportunity to make the characters very much their own. Musically, you’ll hear slight variations to really feature this company’s strength. In our rehearsal process I think the company was really excited and maybe even surprised at how open I would be to allowing their own interpretations and the parts of themselves that they wanted to imbue into these characters. This rehearsal process really gave us the opportunity to allow this particular group to inhabit these roles as fully as that original group did.
Have you heard from the original cast?
Yes, I’ve been in a lot of touch with the original. It’s really, really, really sweet and delightful. They’ve been on my mind a lot as I work with this group. This group, I have to say, reminds me in so many ways of the dynamics of the original group, the way in which they sing together at breaks. The way in which they support one another. When, Tinashe showed up to do “Out Tonight” for the first time in the space, the whole company showed up to celebrate it. There’s just a great spirit of generosity and a great feeling of concern and love for one another that I really think you’re going to see on the television, and that I’ve been really excited about since very, very early rehearsals in November. This score and and living the events of the show have always brought out the best in these young companies, but I think this group – and the ways in which they bring their individual talents and appreciate each other’s individual talents – is really what the heart and the soul of this show is.
Do you think we’ll see Next to Normal on television at some point? Can you give me a scoop here?
I’m not giving you a scoop here, but I’d certainly say that I would love to be able to reinvestigate Next to Normal the way I’ve been given the opportunity to reinvestigate Rent. That would be so sensational.
Too many productions to count would follow, as Larson’s tale of young artists struggling to survive – in some cases, literally survive – in Manhattan’s pre-gentrified Lower East Side gained a worldwide following. Careers were made. At least one song, “Seasons of Love,” became a bona fide standard. Awards were won (Tony and Pulitzer), fans were named (“Rent-heads”), cultural references were made and a movie came and went (the 2005 film directed by Chris Columbus and starring many of the original cast members was a rare disappointment in la vie Rent).
Larson himself lived to see little of it. In one of the theater’s most heart-rending true-life stories, the playwright-composer died after suffering an aortic dissection on the morning of Rent‘s first Off Broadway preview, a horror that has draped the Rent legend in both tragedy and, in a very real way, triumph ever since. Left to fulfill Larson’s dream, and help build his legacy, his collaborators never failed him.
Chief among them was, and is, Greif, the director of the original workshop, the Off Broadway production and the lines-down-the-block Broadway staging.
This Sunday, Greif’s involvement with Rent continues: He’s the stage director of Fox’s live TV event (Alex Rudzinski serves as the TV director). With the production, Rent becomes the latest, and, with its poignant depiction of a community decimated by the then-untreatable AIDS, perhaps most unexpected stage musical to air as a special TV event, following a recent raft of such musicals that have tended more toward late Golden Age Broadway or light family fare.
The Rent cast includes Kiersey Clemons, Brandon Victor Dixon, Jordan Fisher, Vanessa Hudgens, Brennin Hunt, Mario, Tinashe and Valentina, with Keala Settle performing the solo from “Seasons of Love.”
Deadline spoke to Greif, whose remarkable stage directing career includes Broadway’s critically acclaimed hits Next to Normal and Dear Evan Hanson, about his long involvement with the Larson musical, his thoughts on the new cast (and the old) and what Rent has to say to audiences today.
Rent airs Sunday, Jan. 27, 8-11 Pm Et live/Pt tape-delayed) on Fox.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and lengthy.
Deadline: The Rent live event has been described as a reimagining. What does that mean? What will you be reimagining?
Michael Greif: What I got really thrilled about when I began having conversations about the possibility of doing this job was being able to include the camera – to include intimacy – and to really be able to get close up with the psychological complications of all of those characters. So that was the first very exciting new element. I was also very excited about the kind of environment we could reimagine the show in. From the very beginning, [exec producer] Marc Platt and I talked about how concert-like Rent was, how vital the interaction between performers and audience has always been, how there was always a hybrid nature to the show. So one of the first things we talked about was how to build on that performer-audience interaction, and also how to create an environment in which I thought we could clarify some of the narrative and give us the opportunity to visit certain locations with a little more specificity than we’ve ever been able to before. To really land certain scenes in ways we couldn’t land them before, or just give some of the characters some wonderful physical objects and environments to interact with.
That’s the plan that I brought to [set designer] Jason Sherwood. He and I had a fantastic time imagining what some of these locations would be like.
That’s what I’m curious about. What scene from the play first came to your mind in terms of wanting to land it a different way?
Well, for instance, I’ll Cover You, which is a beautiful duet between Collins and Angel, is always a little static in terms of what’s happening in the song, and so I’ve always tried to pursue different activities for them to engage in. It always seemed like, ‘Oh, what could they actually be doing as they pledged this love for one another, and how do we match the delight of that song with a delightful environment?’ And now I think we’ve managed to do that.
Another example are the scenes [with] the support group. That environment was so inspirational. Visiting an organization called Friends in Deed was so important to Jonathan in the inspiration for writing Rent, and this [telecast] felt like a wonderful opportunity to be able to get a little more specific about what that room might be like.
As soon as you mention Friends in Deed and Jonathan, I’m immediately taken back to the ’90s, and Friends in Deed and the Buddy Program of Gmhc, or what was then more commonly called Gay Men’s Health Crisis. I’m wondering, for you and for Rent and a world that has changed so much since the ’90s, What is Rent now? What are we going to learn from Jonathan Larson’s work this time around?
Well, that really has a many-sided answer. It’s important, I feel, to give a new audience the context of the very early ’90s and what those HIV diagnoses meant at the time. I think that’s terrifically vital to understand the psychology of the characters. I think Mimi and Roger and Angel and Collins are all responding to a very, very, very specific set of expectations that were true in the early ’90s that are no longer true, as you say, about an HIV diagnosis.
On the other hand, there are so many scenes in Rent that are completely and totally relevant today, and I think probably the most important theme is one of worthiness, of feeling worthy and being loved, of being able to share love, of never taking for granted the time we may or may not have because we can never be certain of what’s really right around the corner.
So those themes – of identity, of how you choose to define yourself as you’re becoming as an adult, and that incredibly vulnerable and volatile moment in your early 20s – I think that those notions of identity are as every bit as relevant as they ever were, especially in this environment and not only in the Lgbtqi community, but in every community of young people. I mean, suicide is an issue we’re constantly looking at and struggling with, and I feel this show is so much about finding ways in which everyone can feel that their identity is valid, that their relationships are valid and honored. That diversity is welcome. There’s an inclusivity and an empathy [in Rent] and the ways in which the characters form a family and a community and treat each other with kindness and respect. Those issues are every bit as relevant now as they ever were, if not more so.
I’m curious – when Rent first came into your life all those years ago, could you have ever imagined that it would be there after all this time. That sounds flip, and of course with any hit show there are the possibilities of revivals and road shows, but at what point did you think to yourself, Rent is really going to be a big part of my life for the rest of my life?
I’ve got to say that once Rent became a sensation in the late ’90s, I knew it would always be a part of my life, mostly because of the fantastic opportunities and choices it offered me. I also must say that so many of the incredibly valued collaborations that I’ve had since Rent have been touched by Rent because so many extraordinary writers and composers in the process of working on other shows, will at some point, modestly confess how much Rent meant to them and set them on their path.
Lin-Manuel Miranda just tweeted about that the other day.
Yes, Lin said “I could imagine actually doing [theater] because I was interested in telling stories like Jonathan was telling, and I could imagine seeing myself up there because of the company that I was seeing on that Rent stage.” When I worked with Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey [Next to Normal], they said the same thing. When I worked with Justin Paul and Benj Pasek [Dear Evan Hansen], they said the same thing. So I’m really happy that it’s part of my theatrical DNA…and I’m really, really, really thrilled about the opportunities that Rent has made possible.
I mean I’d hate to think that I was ever only doing Rent, but I feel like things have worked out pretty well and I continue to get to work on new, vital, and even groundbreaking musicals since Rent.
Sure. You don’t want to be James Tyrone doing whatever that play he was doing over and over.
[Laughing] Well, as long as we’re talking about not being James Tyrone, I’m really glad Rent is a part of my life.
Rent was such a phenomenon on Broadway, with lines down the block, especially of young people. Do you see TV as a way of introducing it to a new audience? Do you sense that kids today still know Rent?
I think it’s so fantastic that it’s going to be introduced to a new audience. It’s always been a show that has touched young people very deeply. They see themselves in those characters at that very vulnerable and very volatile moment, and they see the formation of chosen family, and now [with the TV production] there’s an opportunity for people who couldn’t afford tickets or couldn’t afford the time to wait online for those limited amounts of very affordable tickets. And they get to meet the show with an incredible cast with all the heart and soul of the original beating loudly with some spectacular new effects, spectacular new stagings. The work of our choreographer, Sonya Tayeh, is so, so remarkable.
It just reminds me of when I had my mind blown seeing things on television for the first time, watching plays on TV and really meeting up with dramatic literature for the first time. I saw The Seagull on television long before I ever saw Chekhov in the theater. I remember watching the Tony Awards and just somehow feeling there was something going on that I was terrifically interested in. I’m hoping that has been happening with people watching these musicals on TV, and I’m really hoping that they become as absorbed in these Rent characters and scenes and are swept away by Jonathan’s incredible music as much as they’ve ever been in the theater.
When we talk about Rent reaching young people, it strikes me that it did so in the way Hamilton does now – with music of its generation. Has the music been updated at all for the TV staging? Does it still speak to its audience?
I’m hoping, I’m assuming, I’m feeling that it’s still speaking to those people. We have a larger band and a larger orchestra than we’ve ever had. We’re trying to follow Jonathan’s initial hopes of actually having a rock band and an orchestra. We have a large string section for the first time ever. Certainly some of the tracks, like “Today 4 U,” have been maybe updated, but [the music] continues to feel to me like contemporary music, like the music we’re listening to now. Music itself is so cyclical, and the reemergence of the ’90s has been almost like wonderfully karmic for us – ’90s culture is so much back in this moment. So it feels like the music continues to be relevant, and the ways in which we’ve changed the music has expanded its sound. There’s a greater versatility in the orchestra.
I’d never heard that Jonathan wanting a rock band and an orchestra.
Oh, Jonathan wanted a lot of things. It was really great to go back to the original stage directions and to see in those first drafts what he wanted to see. I think the television audience will actually see some of those things that he spoke about wanting to see.
Can you give a specific example?
The loft that Mark and Roger live in is now depicted, in some ways, more realistically than it’s ever been. It’s got the kind of skylight that Jonathan initially imagined. It’s got a tub in the kitchen, which Jonathan’s apartment actually had. So it’s a wonderful combination of stage directions and my memories of Jonathan’s actual apartment.
What is the new cast bringing to the show? You know, I have the original cast so clearly in my head that I wondering how the new cast will squeeze its way into my brain.
This company has been given every opportunity to make the characters very much their own. Musically, you’ll hear slight variations to really feature this company’s strength. In our rehearsal process I think the company was really excited and maybe even surprised at how open I would be to allowing their own interpretations and the parts of themselves that they wanted to imbue into these characters. This rehearsal process really gave us the opportunity to allow this particular group to inhabit these roles as fully as that original group did.
Have you heard from the original cast?
Yes, I’ve been in a lot of touch with the original. It’s really, really, really sweet and delightful. They’ve been on my mind a lot as I work with this group. This group, I have to say, reminds me in so many ways of the dynamics of the original group, the way in which they sing together at breaks. The way in which they support one another. When, Tinashe showed up to do “Out Tonight” for the first time in the space, the whole company showed up to celebrate it. There’s just a great spirit of generosity and a great feeling of concern and love for one another that I really think you’re going to see on the television, and that I’ve been really excited about since very, very early rehearsals in November. This score and and living the events of the show have always brought out the best in these young companies, but I think this group – and the ways in which they bring their individual talents and appreciate each other’s individual talents – is really what the heart and the soul of this show is.
Do you think we’ll see Next to Normal on television at some point? Can you give me a scoop here?
I’m not giving you a scoop here, but I’d certainly say that I would love to be able to reinvestigate Next to Normal the way I’ve been given the opportunity to reinvestigate Rent. That would be so sensational.
- 1/28/2019
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
“Rent”-heads, it’s been more than 525,600 minutes since Fox announced the Pulitzer Prize-winning rock musical would come to television, and finally “no day but today” has arrived. The special joins the ranks of other Broadway musicals that have been given the live-tv treatment, such as NBC’s “Jesus Christ Superstar: Live” and Fox’s own live “Grease,” both of which earned critical acclaim.
Based on the music, book, and lyrics by Jonathan Larson — who sadly passed just before the musical debuted off-Broadway — “Rent” has earned a rabid following and numerous awards. The gritty update of Puccini’s “La Bohème” follows seven struggling artists who live in New York’s East Village of the late 1980s/early 1990s.
Sunday’s broadcast comes with a note of sadness. Country artist Brennin Hunt, who competed in the first season of “The X-Factor,” plays struggling musician Roger Davis in the show, but during...
Based on the music, book, and lyrics by Jonathan Larson — who sadly passed just before the musical debuted off-Broadway — “Rent” has earned a rabid following and numerous awards. The gritty update of Puccini’s “La Bohème” follows seven struggling artists who live in New York’s East Village of the late 1980s/early 1990s.
Sunday’s broadcast comes with a note of sadness. Country artist Brennin Hunt, who competed in the first season of “The X-Factor,” plays struggling musician Roger Davis in the show, but during...
- 1/28/2019
- by Hanh Nguyen, Liz Shannon Miller, Ben Travers and Steve Greene
- Indiewire
In just five hours, the curtain will rise on Fox’s production of Rent, the latest live musical to grace broadcast television. But waiting is lame — there’s no day but today, right? — so let’s get this listening party started early.
Fox’s Rent stars Jordan Fisher (Grease: Live) as documentary filmmaker Mark Cohen, Brennin Hunt (The X Factor) as singer-songwriter Roger Davis, Tinashe (Dancing With the Stars) as night owl Mimi Marquez, Brandon Victor Dixon (Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert) as college professor Tom Collins, Valentina (RuPaul’s Drag Race) as drag queen Angel Dumott Schunard, Vanessa Hudgens...
Fox’s Rent stars Jordan Fisher (Grease: Live) as documentary filmmaker Mark Cohen, Brennin Hunt (The X Factor) as singer-songwriter Roger Davis, Tinashe (Dancing With the Stars) as night owl Mimi Marquez, Brandon Victor Dixon (Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert) as college professor Tom Collins, Valentina (RuPaul’s Drag Race) as drag queen Angel Dumott Schunard, Vanessa Hudgens...
- 1/27/2019
- TVLine.com
If you've been playing the trailer for Fox's Rent Live on repeat, we have some good news: the first full-length track for the production is finally here! On Thursday, fans got to hear the new version of "Seasons of Love" sung by Vanessa Hudgens, Jordan Fisher, and the rest of the new cast. Rest assured, that high note at the end will still give you chills. After Rent Live airs on Jan. 27, you can replay all your favorite tracks when the soundtrack releases digitally on Feb. 1.
- 1/26/2019
- by Kelsie Gibson
- Popsugar.com
I’ll never forget seeing “Rent” for the first time. My mom used to bring me to shows in New York, so I was used to “Phantom of the Opera” and “Cats,” which are great, but hadn’t really hit home as an artist. “Rent” was the most inspiring musical I had ever seen.
When I was 16 or 17 I was on a trip to New York with my girlfriend at the time and her mother, who was a really devout, reads the bible every day Christian woman. I knew nothing about “Rent” and I was in charge of picking the play. It is obviously a show about AIDS and a gay relationship, and especially at that time, it was a barrier — something that people didn’t really talk about. I brought this woman, and she was terrified, and I was like, “Oh no, what have I done!?” But for me,...
When I was 16 or 17 I was on a trip to New York with my girlfriend at the time and her mother, who was a really devout, reads the bible every day Christian woman. I knew nothing about “Rent” and I was in charge of picking the play. It is obviously a show about AIDS and a gay relationship, and especially at that time, it was a barrier — something that people didn’t really talk about. I brought this woman, and she was terrified, and I was like, “Oh no, what have I done!?” But for me,...
- 1/25/2019
- by Ryan Cabrera
- Variety Film + TV
Regular RuPaul’s Drag Race viewers already know that Valentina sees herself as a megastar. With her forthcoming role as Angel Dumott Schunard for Rent: Live, Fox’s live production of the musical that debuts Sunday, January 27th, she’ll come one step closer to dominating the world outside of drag.
“I started with a dream — always in my fantasies, in my head and in my world, ever since I was a little boy,” the young star tells Rolling Stone while en route to one of her final rehearsals for the televised production.
“I started with a dream — always in my fantasies, in my head and in my world, ever since I was a little boy,” the young star tells Rolling Stone while en route to one of her final rehearsals for the televised production.
- 1/25/2019
- by Brittany Spanos
- Rollingstone.com
A new trailer for HBO’s upcoming documentary, Song of Parkland, offers a poignant look at how Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School drama teacher Melody Herzfeld helped students cope with the aftermath of the mass shooting that left 17 people dead. The film is set to premiere February 7th.
The day of the shooting, Herzfeld and her students were rehearsing for their annual children’s musical when the alarm went off. Herzfeld famously rushed 65 kids into the closet in her classroom to keep them safe, and in the following weeks, she...
The day of the shooting, Herzfeld and her students were rehearsing for their annual children’s musical when the alarm went off. Herzfeld famously rushed 65 kids into the closet in her classroom to keep them safe, and in the following weeks, she...
- 1/22/2019
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Clearly talent runs in the Grande family! On Thursday, Frankie Grande released a cover of "Seasons of Love" from Rent, and it includes a special cameo from his famous sister, Ariana Grande. The sibling duo were in perfect harmony as they sang the hit tune alongside Broadway stars Ben Gettinger, Jon-Erik Goldberg, and Dominic Crossey. Of course, the best part was the "Imagine" singer's spine-tingling high note toward the end. Seriously, when is Grande returning to Broadway?
The incredible performance comes ahead of Fox's live broadcast of Rent, which is set to premiere Jan. 27. The network recently dropped a preview of the production, and it includes glimpses of Jordan Fisher, Vanessa Hudgens, and more, in costume. If you need us, we'll just be replaying this cover until then.
The incredible performance comes ahead of Fox's live broadcast of Rent, which is set to premiere Jan. 27. The network recently dropped a preview of the production, and it includes glimpses of Jordan Fisher, Vanessa Hudgens, and more, in costume. If you need us, we'll just be replaying this cover until then.
- 12/17/2018
- by Kelsie Gibson
- Popsugar.com
Ariana Grande has unveiled her new song, “Imagine.” It’s the second upcoming LP single she has recently dropped, alongside the title track from her forthcoming fifth studio album that she has said will be called Thank U, Next. Leading up to the new tune, the singer revealed to a fan via Twitter that the new set will have 13 songs. The record follows the release of 2018’s Sweetener.
On the romantic ballad “Imagine,” Grande dreamily envisions a world with a lover with whom she can find passion and peace with in the aftermath,...
On the romantic ballad “Imagine,” Grande dreamily envisions a world with a lover with whom she can find passion and peace with in the aftermath,...
- 12/14/2018
- by Althea Legaspi
- Rollingstone.com
It seems we've been waiting 525,600 minutes for Rent to debut on Fox. However, now we have your first look at the cast in all their bohemian glory ahead of the Sunday, Jan. 27 premiere on Fox. Below, see Kiersey Clemons, Brandon Victor Dixon, Jordan Fisher, Vanessa Hudgens, Mario, Brennin Hunt, Tinashe and Valentina in character for Rent, the acclaimed musical from Jonathan Larson that won four Tony Awards, a Pulitzer Prize, six Drama Desk Awards and was nominated for a Grammy. In addition to the aforementioned cast, Waitress and The Greatest Showman breakout Keala Settle will perform "Seasons of Love," one of the show's most famous songs, and join the ensemble of the live musical. See the cast in...
- 12/13/2018
- E! Online
Survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting unveiled a powerful new song, “Carry You On,” to honor their classmates and urge people to vote in the 2018 midterms.
Survivor Sara Imam wrote the song and is one of two lead vocalists on the track, alongside fellow survivor Isabelle Robinson. “Carry You On” is a slow-burning pop ballad underscored by an orchestral arrangement that reaches its peak as the singers belt the refrain, “We love you, we miss you, we will not forget you.” The video was directed and produced by 18-year-old Jonah Bryson.
Survivor Sara Imam wrote the song and is one of two lead vocalists on the track, alongside fellow survivor Isabelle Robinson. “Carry You On” is a slow-burning pop ballad underscored by an orchestral arrangement that reaches its peak as the singers belt the refrain, “We love you, we miss you, we will not forget you.” The video was directed and produced by 18-year-old Jonah Bryson.
- 11/6/2018
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Today for you: Fox has released the complete cast list for its live-musical presentation of Rent.
Among the performers are Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert Emmy nominee (and Hamilton alum) Brandon Victor Dixon as Tom Collins and RuPaul’s Drag Race knockout Valentina as his scene-stealing love interest, Angel. Grease: Live’s Rizzo, Vanessa Hudgens, and Kiersey Clemons (Transparent) will play Maureen and Joanne, respectively; Dancing With the Stars champ Jordan Fisher, Mark; R&B singer Tinashe, Mimi; country rocker Brennin Hunt, Roger; and Empire’s Mario, landlord Benjamin Coffin III.
In addition, Keala Settle — aka bearded lady Lettie Lutz...
Among the performers are Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert Emmy nominee (and Hamilton alum) Brandon Victor Dixon as Tom Collins and RuPaul’s Drag Race knockout Valentina as his scene-stealing love interest, Angel. Grease: Live’s Rizzo, Vanessa Hudgens, and Kiersey Clemons (Transparent) will play Maureen and Joanne, respectively; Dancing With the Stars champ Jordan Fisher, Mark; R&B singer Tinashe, Mimi; country rocker Brennin Hunt, Roger; and Empire’s Mario, landlord Benjamin Coffin III.
In addition, Keala Settle — aka bearded lady Lettie Lutz...
- 10/29/2018
- TVLine.com
Fox has announced the cast and creative team for “Rent,” the next musical to get the live TV treatment from the network.
The cast for the show will include “Grease: Live” star Vanessa Hudgens, R&B singer and “Dancing With the Stars” alum Tinashe, former “RuPaul’s Drag Race” contestant Valentina, “Hearts Beat Loud” star Kiersey Clemons, “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert” star Brandon Victor Dixon, “Grease: Live’s” Jordan Fisher, musician Brennin Hunt and “Empire” star Mario. “The Greatest Showman’s” Keala Settle will perform the solo for “Seasons of Love” and join the show’s ensemble.
The musical is set to be broadcast live from Fox Studios on Sunday, Jan. 27.
Also Read: NBC Sets 'Hair' as Next Live Musical
Marc Platt, Adam Siegel, Julie Larson, Allan Larson and Vince Totino, Scott Hemming and Marla Levine of Revolution Studios will executive produce the project from 20th Century Fox Television.
The cast for the show will include “Grease: Live” star Vanessa Hudgens, R&B singer and “Dancing With the Stars” alum Tinashe, former “RuPaul’s Drag Race” contestant Valentina, “Hearts Beat Loud” star Kiersey Clemons, “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert” star Brandon Victor Dixon, “Grease: Live’s” Jordan Fisher, musician Brennin Hunt and “Empire” star Mario. “The Greatest Showman’s” Keala Settle will perform the solo for “Seasons of Love” and join the show’s ensemble.
The musical is set to be broadcast live from Fox Studios on Sunday, Jan. 27.
Also Read: NBC Sets 'Hair' as Next Live Musical
Marc Platt, Adam Siegel, Julie Larson, Allan Larson and Vince Totino, Scott Hemming and Marla Levine of Revolution Studios will executive produce the project from 20th Century Fox Television.
- 10/29/2018
- by Reid Nakamura
- The Wrap
Brandon Victor Dixon, Vanessa Hudgens, Kiersey Clemons and Jordan Fisher will be among the stars living la vie boheme in January when Fox stages its live musical presentation of the Broadway smash Rent.
Fox announced the full cast today, including Brennin Hunt, Mario, Tinashe and RuPaul Drag Race star Valentina (see below for full list of cast and their characters).
Rent, Jonathan Larson’s Tony Award- and Pulitizer Prize-winning musical set during the early AIDS era long before New York City’s East Village had cleaned up to become a rich-person playground, opened Off Broadway in 1996 and, later that year, transferred to Broadway’s Nederlander Theatre. The production ran on Broadway for 12 years.
Larson died of a heart condition the night before his musical’s first Off Broadway performance.
Fox will air the three-hour musical event on Sunday, January 27, live at 7 p.m. Et and tape-delayed Pt.
Here is the full cast,...
Fox announced the full cast today, including Brennin Hunt, Mario, Tinashe and RuPaul Drag Race star Valentina (see below for full list of cast and their characters).
Rent, Jonathan Larson’s Tony Award- and Pulitizer Prize-winning musical set during the early AIDS era long before New York City’s East Village had cleaned up to become a rich-person playground, opened Off Broadway in 1996 and, later that year, transferred to Broadway’s Nederlander Theatre. The production ran on Broadway for 12 years.
Larson died of a heart condition the night before his musical’s first Off Broadway performance.
Fox will air the three-hour musical event on Sunday, January 27, live at 7 p.m. Et and tape-delayed Pt.
Here is the full cast,...
- 10/29/2018
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Fox has announced the cast for its upcoming “Rent” live musical.
Recording artist Tinashe has been cast as Mimi Marquez, a dancer who struggles with addiction and catches the eye of musician and recovering addict Roger. Roger will be played by Brennin Hunt (“Nashville”).
Singer/songwriter Jordan Fisher (“Hamilton” and the 2017 winner of “Dancing with the Stars”) will play Mark, Roger’s filmmaker roommate and best friend, who serves as the show’s narrator.
Vanessa Hudgens (“Grease: Live”) will play Maureen Johnson, a performance artist and Mark’s ex-girlfriend who is on-again-off-again dating Joanne. Kiersey Clemons (“Hearts Beat Loud”) is set to play Joanne Jefferson, an Ivy League-educated laywer.
Emmy nominee and Tony Award winner Brandon Victor Dixon (“Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert”) will play Tom Collins, a computer scientist who returns to New York after being expelled from MIT. There he meets and falls in love with Angel Dumont Schunard,...
Recording artist Tinashe has been cast as Mimi Marquez, a dancer who struggles with addiction and catches the eye of musician and recovering addict Roger. Roger will be played by Brennin Hunt (“Nashville”).
Singer/songwriter Jordan Fisher (“Hamilton” and the 2017 winner of “Dancing with the Stars”) will play Mark, Roger’s filmmaker roommate and best friend, who serves as the show’s narrator.
Vanessa Hudgens (“Grease: Live”) will play Maureen Johnson, a performance artist and Mark’s ex-girlfriend who is on-again-off-again dating Joanne. Kiersey Clemons (“Hearts Beat Loud”) is set to play Joanne Jefferson, an Ivy League-educated laywer.
Emmy nominee and Tony Award winner Brandon Victor Dixon (“Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert”) will play Tom Collins, a computer scientist who returns to New York after being expelled from MIT. There he meets and falls in love with Angel Dumont Schunard,...
- 10/29/2018
- by Danielle Turchiano
- Variety Film + TV
Fox's live rendition of Jonathan Larson's beloved Rent now has a cast.
Vanessa Hudgens (Grease Live), singer Tinashe, Valentina (RuPaul's Drag Race), Kiersey Clemons (Dope, The Flash feature), Brandon Victor Dixon (Jesus Christ Superstar Live), Jordan Fisher (Grease Live), Brennin Hunt (Walking With Herb) and Grammy winner Mario (Empire) will star in the Jan. 27 live musical, with Keala Settle (The Greatest Showman) performing the famed track "Seasons of Love."
Based on Larson's Tony-winning musical, Rent is a rock musical loosely based on La Boheme that tells the story of a group ...
Vanessa Hudgens (Grease Live), singer Tinashe, Valentina (RuPaul's Drag Race), Kiersey Clemons (Dope, The Flash feature), Brandon Victor Dixon (Jesus Christ Superstar Live), Jordan Fisher (Grease Live), Brennin Hunt (Walking With Herb) and Grammy winner Mario (Empire) will star in the Jan. 27 live musical, with Keala Settle (The Greatest Showman) performing the famed track "Seasons of Love."
Based on Larson's Tony-winning musical, Rent is a rock musical loosely based on La Boheme that tells the story of a group ...
- 10/29/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Idina Menzel unveiled a stunning cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” The track will appear as a bonus song on the singer’s upcoming album, Idina: Live, which arrives October 12th.
Menzel’s version of “Bridge Over Troubled Water” boasts a simple piano arrangement that’s bolstered perfectly by an organ that sifts in as the song builds. Fittingly, the barebones instrumentation places the emphasis on Menzel’s voice, and the singer delivers a remarkable performance that reaches spine-chilling peaks during the song’s final chorus.
Menzel’s version of “Bridge Over Troubled Water” boasts a simple piano arrangement that’s bolstered perfectly by an organ that sifts in as the song builds. Fittingly, the barebones instrumentation places the emphasis on Menzel’s voice, and the singer delivers a remarkable performance that reaches spine-chilling peaks during the song’s final chorus.
- 10/11/2018
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Disney|ABC Television has revealed the list of 15 people selected to participate in its 2018-20 directing program. The two-year professional program aims to connect experienced helmers on the cusp of transitioning into episodic directing with their first broadcast or cable assignments.
This newly named group includes indie film directors Maria Burton (A Sort of Homecoming), Pablo Gomez-Castro (El Alquiler), Stephanie Martin (Wild Horses) and Marshall Tyler (Night Shift); TV movie director Princess Monique (Seasons of Love); brand director and entrepreneur Ryan Brown (The Rough Part); feature screenwriter Michelle Steffes (The Interview); indie film/commercial directors Alonso Mayo (Fixed) and Phillip Rhys (The Scarecrow); digital writer-directors Cynthia Kao (Groundhog Day for a Black Man) and Marvin Lemus (Gente-fied: The Digital Series); commercial/streaming writer-director Dinh Thai (Monday); Broadway producer-director and indie film director Coy Middlebrook (For Spacious Sky); actor-director and law enforcement professional Jeremy Earl (Constance Murphy); and music video and...
This newly named group includes indie film directors Maria Burton (A Sort of Homecoming), Pablo Gomez-Castro (El Alquiler), Stephanie Martin (Wild Horses) and Marshall Tyler (Night Shift); TV movie director Princess Monique (Seasons of Love); brand director and entrepreneur Ryan Brown (The Rough Part); feature screenwriter Michelle Steffes (The Interview); indie film/commercial directors Alonso Mayo (Fixed) and Phillip Rhys (The Scarecrow); digital writer-directors Cynthia Kao (Groundhog Day for a Black Man) and Marvin Lemus (Gente-fied: The Digital Series); commercial/streaming writer-director Dinh Thai (Monday); Broadway producer-director and indie film director Coy Middlebrook (For Spacious Sky); actor-director and law enforcement professional Jeremy Earl (Constance Murphy); and music video and...
- 9/5/2018
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Please welcome back celebrity blogger Christy Carlson Romano!
The actress is best known for her early-2000s Disney Channel work, including her turn as type-a older sibling Ren Stevens on Even Stevens, and for voicing the titular character in the animated series Kim Possible. In 2004, she starred on Broadway as Belle in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.
Romano, 33, married writer-producer Brendan Rooney in a romantic winter-wonderland wedding set against the backdrop of the Fairmont Banff Springs in Alberta, Canada, on New Year’s Eve 2013. The couple welcomed their first child, daughter Isabella Victoria, on Christmas Eve 2016.
Romano recently directed...
The actress is best known for her early-2000s Disney Channel work, including her turn as type-a older sibling Ren Stevens on Even Stevens, and for voicing the titular character in the animated series Kim Possible. In 2004, she starred on Broadway as Belle in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.
Romano, 33, married writer-producer Brendan Rooney in a romantic winter-wonderland wedding set against the backdrop of the Fairmont Banff Springs in Alberta, Canada, on New Year’s Eve 2013. The couple welcomed their first child, daughter Isabella Victoria, on Christmas Eve 2016.
Romano recently directed...
- 8/16/2017
- by Christy Carlson Romano
- PEOPLE.com
Anyone who grew up in the ’80s is familiar with their unforgettable names and faces. The Garbage Pail Kids Topps trading cards and 1987 movie are embedded in the brains of a generation, and Indican Pictures' new documentary 30 Years of Garbage: The Garbage Pail Kids Story explores the phenomenon like never before. In today's Horror Highlights, we also have details on the Hexploitation Film Festival, The Eyes home media release info, and the trailer for Brian Sepanzyk's Compulsion.
30 Years of Garbage: The Garbage Pail Kids Story: Press Release: "West Hollywood, California (Tuesday, August 8th) - Indican Pictures is set to release the pivotal documentary on the Garbage Pail Kids. Titled 30 Years of Garbage: The Garbage Pail Kids Story, this documentary revisits the artists, who made these collectibles famous. Showing a rare glimpse into the corporate culture of Topps as they launched Garbage Pail Kids through the height of the cards fame,...
30 Years of Garbage: The Garbage Pail Kids Story: Press Release: "West Hollywood, California (Tuesday, August 8th) - Indican Pictures is set to release the pivotal documentary on the Garbage Pail Kids. Titled 30 Years of Garbage: The Garbage Pail Kids Story, this documentary revisits the artists, who made these collectibles famous. Showing a rare glimpse into the corporate culture of Topps as they launched Garbage Pail Kids through the height of the cards fame,...
- 8/11/2017
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Dust off your “Seasons of Love” harmony because today’s casting roundup includes a nonunion touring production of Jonathan Larson’s “Rent.” We also have two other nonunion theater opportunities, a short film about a young person grappling with gender, plus more gigs of all sorts in our casting calls. “Rent” Nat’L Toura nonunion touring production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Rent” is casting dancers who sing for the leading roles of Benny and Angel, as well as for swings. An open casting call will be held in New York on June 19, with touring dates slated for mid-September–June 2018. Pay will be $550–$650/week with per diem, housing, and travel provided for all. “I Dream…”Omaha Theater Company is casting a nonunion production of the play “I Dream…” which “deals with the complications, struggles, and issues of the foster care system.” Male and female actors ages 18–35 are needed for various roles,...
- 5/31/2017
- backstage.com
Happy birthday, Idina Menzel!
The actress and singer turned 45 on Tuesday and was celebrated on social media by her Frozen costars Kristen Bell and Josh Gad.
Bell, 36, took to Instagram to wish Menzel a happy birthday, writing, “Happy birthday to the best big sister a cartoon princess could ever ask for. Love you, @idinamenzel! #frozen.”
Fellow Frozen costar Josh Gad also sent his well-wishes to the Tony award winner, writing, “Happy birthday to this incredible talent and great friend @idinamenzel.”
Menzel was also surprised by her band with a special video featuring the lyrics from Rent‘s “Seasons of Love,...
The actress and singer turned 45 on Tuesday and was celebrated on social media by her Frozen costars Kristen Bell and Josh Gad.
Bell, 36, took to Instagram to wish Menzel a happy birthday, writing, “Happy birthday to the best big sister a cartoon princess could ever ask for. Love you, @idinamenzel! #frozen.”
Fellow Frozen costar Josh Gad also sent his well-wishes to the Tony award winner, writing, “Happy birthday to this incredible talent and great friend @idinamenzel.”
Menzel was also surprised by her band with a special video featuring the lyrics from Rent‘s “Seasons of Love,...
- 5/31/2017
- by Alexia Fernandez
- PEOPLE.com
Comet TV has released their lineup of programming for April 2017, and your favorite or soon-to-be favorite movie just might be on the list! Also in today's Highlights: a new trailer for The Black Room, The Thing-Inspired print from Sleep Terror Clothing, Breakdown Lane release details, the La premiere of The Eyes, and the debut of the Zombie Lake soundtrack.
Comet TV's Lineup for April Announced: Press Release: "Only Airing On CometTV.com in April.
You Don’T Need A Subscription To Watch These Great Movies…
They’Re Airing For Free On Comet!
Stargate Sg-1 is back on Comet! Your favorite gate-hopping action series returns with back-to-back episodes Monday through Thursday at 8/7C, with encores of both episodes airing at 10/9C.
Stargate Sg-1
Monday – Thursday 8/7C
Earth Day Marathon – Saturday April 22 Starting At Noon/11Am C
Frogs (1972)
Saturday, April 22 at Noon/11Am C
Die, Monster, Die (1965)
Saturday, April 22 at 2/1C
Empire of the Ants (1977)
Saturday,...
Comet TV's Lineup for April Announced: Press Release: "Only Airing On CometTV.com in April.
You Don’T Need A Subscription To Watch These Great Movies…
They’Re Airing For Free On Comet!
Stargate Sg-1 is back on Comet! Your favorite gate-hopping action series returns with back-to-back episodes Monday through Thursday at 8/7C, with encores of both episodes airing at 10/9C.
Stargate Sg-1
Monday – Thursday 8/7C
Earth Day Marathon – Saturday April 22 Starting At Noon/11Am C
Frogs (1972)
Saturday, April 22 at Noon/11Am C
Die, Monster, Die (1965)
Saturday, April 22 at 2/1C
Empire of the Ants (1977)
Saturday,...
- 4/6/2017
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
The latest horror flick filled with immense badassery to be added to Shudder's library is the fifth sequel in the Phantasm franchise, Phantasm: Ravager. Also in today's Highlights: details on the Clive Barker Reel Fear Contest, Portland International Film Festival's After Dark program, release details for Slasher.com and The Eyes, a new poster for Atomica, and production news and photos for A Haunting at Silver Falls II.
Phantasm: Ravager Comes to Shudder: "Joining Shudder is Phantasm: Ravager- the final installment of the long-running Phantasm series.
In addition to Phantasm: Ravager, streaming exclusively on Shudder is the remaster of Don Coscarelli’s 1979 classic Phantasm, as well as its sequels Phantasm III and Phantasm IV.
Phantasm was recently restored by J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot and Coscarelli, and given both a new 4K remaster and a 5.1 surround sound mix, which will be the version presented exclusively on Shudder."
---------
Clive Barker Reel...
Phantasm: Ravager Comes to Shudder: "Joining Shudder is Phantasm: Ravager- the final installment of the long-running Phantasm series.
In addition to Phantasm: Ravager, streaming exclusively on Shudder is the remaster of Don Coscarelli’s 1979 classic Phantasm, as well as its sequels Phantasm III and Phantasm IV.
Phantasm was recently restored by J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot and Coscarelli, and given both a new 4K remaster and a 5.1 surround sound mix, which will be the version presented exclusively on Shudder."
---------
Clive Barker Reel...
- 2/15/2017
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
Wizard World is coming to New Orleans January 6th–8th! Many artists and personalities will be in attendance, including some of our favorites from The Walking Dead! Also in today's Highlights: a call for Razor Reel Film Festival 2017 entries, Nitehawk Cinema's "Because I'm Evil" midnite series screenings, a trailer for Attack of the Lederhosen Zombies, and acquisition details for The Eyes.
Wizard World New Orleans 2017: Press Release: "New Orleans, December 20, 2016 - From TV magicians “Masters of Illusion” to personalities Montel Williams, Kato Kaelin and “Chumlee” of “Pawn Stars” fame to a varied lineup of exciting dance, music, art and other options, Wizard World (Otcbb: Wizd) today announced the highlights of its new non-stop entertainment lineup at Wizard World Comic Con New Orleans, January 6-8, 2017, at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. The initiative, designed to keep the show floor buzzing throughout the weekend, will feature national and local acts of all kinds,...
Wizard World New Orleans 2017: Press Release: "New Orleans, December 20, 2016 - From TV magicians “Masters of Illusion” to personalities Montel Williams, Kato Kaelin and “Chumlee” of “Pawn Stars” fame to a varied lineup of exciting dance, music, art and other options, Wizard World (Otcbb: Wizd) today announced the highlights of its new non-stop entertainment lineup at Wizard World Comic Con New Orleans, January 6-8, 2017, at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. The initiative, designed to keep the show floor buzzing throughout the weekend, will feature national and local acts of all kinds,...
- 12/21/2016
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
Late Late Show host James Corden opened the Tonys with a Hamilton-inspired number. This is his debut year as host of the awards ceremony.
With help from part of the cast of Hamilton, Corden spoofed the opening number of the show, "Alexander Hamilton." Nominated cast members Leslie Odom Jr. and Daveed Diggs made fun of Corden's late-night show and role as the "chubby" Baker in Into the Woods.
From there, Corden spoke a little bit about the phenomenon of Hamilton and how the Tony Awards are "the Oscars but with...
With help from part of the cast of Hamilton, Corden spoofed the opening number of the show, "Alexander Hamilton." Nominated cast members Leslie Odom Jr. and Daveed Diggs made fun of Corden's late-night show and role as the "chubby" Baker in Into the Woods.
From there, Corden spoke a little bit about the phenomenon of Hamilton and how the Tony Awards are "the Oscars but with...
- 6/13/2016
- Rollingstone.com
James Corden's newest Carpool Karaoke is music to theater buffs' ears. In a rare convergence of late-night comedy and Broadway, Corden gathered the industry's most celebrated stars, including Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and six-time Tony nominee Audra McDonald, for a sing-a-long worthy of its own Tony nod. The hits kept coming as Miranda, McDonald, Corden, Jane Krakowski and Jesse Tyler Ferguson belted out some of Broadway's most recognizable numbers, including Rent's "Seasons of Love," Jersey Boys' "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" and Les Misérables' "One Day More." Basically, it was an aural guide to...
- 6/7/2016
- E! Online
Bright lights, "Carpool Karaoke"!
For the latest edition of James Corden's popular "Late Late Show" segment, "Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and Broadway stars Audra McDonald, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and Jane Krakowski boarded the vehicle for a Tony Awards-themed songfest. Corden is hosting the ceremony this Sunday.
Miranda and Corden started the ride by rapping the opening number from the blockbuster show "Hamilton," which set records by earning 16 Tony nominations and is poised to win big on Sunday.
They were soon joined by six-time Tony winner McDonald, as well as "Modern Family's" Ferguson and "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt's" Krakowski, who are both veteran stage performers.
The group then belted out famous Broadway tunes like "Seasons of Love" from "Rent," "You're to Good to be True" from "Jersey Boys," and the epic "One More Day" from "Les Miserables."
The Tony Awards air Sunday at 8 p.m. on CBS.
Want more stuff like this?...
For the latest edition of James Corden's popular "Late Late Show" segment, "Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and Broadway stars Audra McDonald, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and Jane Krakowski boarded the vehicle for a Tony Awards-themed songfest. Corden is hosting the ceremony this Sunday.
Miranda and Corden started the ride by rapping the opening number from the blockbuster show "Hamilton," which set records by earning 16 Tony nominations and is poised to win big on Sunday.
They were soon joined by six-time Tony winner McDonald, as well as "Modern Family's" Ferguson and "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt's" Krakowski, who are both veteran stage performers.
The group then belted out famous Broadway tunes like "Seasons of Love" from "Rent," "You're to Good to be True" from "Jersey Boys," and the epic "One More Day" from "Les Miserables."
The Tony Awards air Sunday at 8 p.m. on CBS.
Want more stuff like this?...
- 6/7/2016
- by Kelly Woo
- Moviefone
James Corden serves as host of this year's Tony Awards in New York, and since the Late Late Show host didn't know his way to the Beacon Theatre, he employed Hamilton star Lin-Manuel Miranda to sit shotgun and partake in some Carpool Karaoke.
Together, Corden and the current Rolling Stone cover star sang the influential musical's "Guns and Ships," with Corden handling the role of Lafayette, and talked about the Tony Awards. While Miranda was nervous before the 2008 ceremony when his In the Heights was nominated because a Tony win...
Together, Corden and the current Rolling Stone cover star sang the influential musical's "Guns and Ships," with Corden handling the role of Lafayette, and talked about the Tony Awards. While Miranda was nervous before the 2008 ceremony when his In the Heights was nominated because a Tony win...
- 6/7/2016
- Rollingstone.com
Just call it "The car where it happens."
Hamilton creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda joined Late Late Show host James Corden for a special Broadway-themed edition of Corden's popular "Carpool Karaoke" series Monday night.
Six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald, Modern Family star Jesse Tyler Ferguson and 30 Rock alum Jane Krakowski also got in on the fun, singing their way though some of the Great White Way's most well-known show tunes.
Miranda and Corden started the ride by rapping two songs from Miranda's record-breaking musical, including the show's opening number "Alexander Hamilton." Corden had previously rapped a part of the song...
Hamilton creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda joined Late Late Show host James Corden for a special Broadway-themed edition of Corden's popular "Carpool Karaoke" series Monday night.
Six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald, Modern Family star Jesse Tyler Ferguson and 30 Rock alum Jane Krakowski also got in on the fun, singing their way though some of the Great White Way's most well-known show tunes.
Miranda and Corden started the ride by rapping two songs from Miranda's record-breaking musical, including the show's opening number "Alexander Hamilton." Corden had previously rapped a part of the song...
- 6/7/2016
- by Dave Quinn, @NineDaves
- People.com - TV Watch
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