Apple TV+ Renews Musical Comedy “Schmigadoon!,” Starring Ariana DeBose, for Second Season

There’s more Schmigadoon in Ariana DeBose’s future…

Apple TV+ has ordered a second season of its musical comedy Schmigadoon!, starring the 31-year-old half-Puerto Rican Oscar-winning actress.

Ariana DeBose,Hailing from creators Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio and executive producer Lorne Michaels, the series stars Cecily Strong, Keegan-Michael Key, DeBose, Dove Cameron, Jaime Camil, Kristin Chenoweth, Alan Cumming, Ann Harada, Jane Krakowski, Martin Short and Aaron Tveit — all of whom are set to return.

Tituss Burgess and Patrick Page will also join the fun in the new season, which will find Josh (Key) and Melissa (Strong) in Schmicago, the world of 60’s and 70’s musicals.

Following its global debut on Apple TV+ last year, Schmigadoon! was honored with an AFI Award, and has received wide acclaim and accolades, including a Critics Choice Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Chenoweth.

The series hails from Broadway Video and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.

Paul, who is the showrunner, wrote all of the original songs for the series. Robert Luketic directs and co-executive produces. Andrew Singer serves as an executive producer, while Micah Frank is a co-executive producer. Strong and Caroline Maroney are producers.

Rosie Perez to Take Part in “Stars in the House” Telethon to Benefit Victims of the War in Ukraine

Rosie Perez is helping raise money for the people of the Ukraine

The 57-year-old Puerto Rican Oscar-nominated actress is among an all-star roster of film, television and theater performers who’ve signed up for a 10-hour telethon to raise money for the victims of the war in Ukraine.

Rosie PerezEntitled “Stars in the House,”the special will air on Saturday, March 26 from noon-10:00 pm Eastern.

In addition to Perez, the other celebrities scheduled to appear on the telethon include Steve Martin, Annette BeningBilly PorterAudra McDonald, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Chenoweth, David Hyde Pierce, Martin Short, Catherine O’Hara, Eugene Levy and Andrea Martin, as well as Tituss Burgess, Kelli O’Hara, Donna Murphy, Annaleigh Ashford, Jessie Mueller, Josh Groban, Judith Light, John Stamos, Lindsay Mendez, Laura Benanti, Norman Lear, Betty Buckley, Mandy Patinkin, Rachel Bloom, Patrick Wilson, Shoshana Bean, James Monroe Iglehart, Brittney Johnson, Santino Fontana, Judy Kuhn and Norbert Leo Butz.

The event also hopes to feature Ukrainians, including Oleg Karpenko, a Ukrainian theater and film actor who co-starred with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Servant of the People.

The special can be viewed and listened to on the series’ site, the Stars in the House YouTube channel, as well as SiriusXM Stars109.

Donations made during the event will benefit the International Rescue Committee and its humanitarian efforts for those affected by the war in Ukraine.

Stars in the House is a live-streamed concert series created by SiriusXM Broadway host Seth Rudetsky and producer James Wesley that has raised over $1 million for the Actors Fund’s COVID-19 relief program and other nonprofits.

It’s just one way the theater community has tried to help Ukrainians: Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS awarded $300,000 in emergency grants to ameliorate the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and a portion of ticket sales for “The Minutes” will go to Save the Children’s Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund.

Christina Aguilera to Perform on ABC’s “The Disney Family Singalong: Volume II” Special

Christina Aguilerais returning for more Disney family fun…

The 39-year-old half-Ecuadorian American singer has been added to the roster of performers for this weekend’s The Disney Family Singalong: Volume IIthe ABC special airing on Mother’s Day.

Christina Aguilera

Aguilera, who was a member of The Mickey Mouse Club, appeared on the first edition of the Disney family singalong last month. She performed “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” from The Lion King.

This time around, Xtinawill perform Remember Me” alongside Miguel, who originally performed the track from Coco

In addition to Aguilera, other new additions include 

Katy PerryJohn LegendJennifer Hudson, the MuppetsTituss BurgessSabrina CarpenterLang Langand pros from Dancing with the Stars.

The special will air on Sunday, May 10, at 7:00 pm EDT.

Here’s the lineup for The Disney Family Singalong: Volume II,for which the Muppets will do a curtain-raiser and Burgess will provide a vocal warmup:

“A Whole New World” – Idina Menzel and Ben Platt
“Almost There” – Chloe x Halle and Anika Noni Rose
“Baby Mine” – Katy Perry
“Beauty and the Beast” – John Legend and Jennifer Hudson
“Hakuna Matata” – Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner feat. Donald Glover and Walter Russell III
“Part of Your World” – Halsey
“Poor Unfortunate Souls” – Rebel Wilson
“Remember Me” – Miguel feat. Christina Aguilera
“Step in Time” and “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” – Derek Hough, Julianne Hough and Hayley Erbert
“Try Everything” – Shakira
“When I Am Older” – Josh Gad
“You’ll Be in My Heart” – Disney on Broadway stars Merle Dandridge, Heather Headley, Adam Jacobs, Caissie Levy, Kara Lindsay, Kevin Massey and Josh Strickland
“Your Mother and Mine” – Sabrina Carpenter feat. Lang Lang
“Zero to Hero” – Keke Palmer feat. “Dancing with the Stars” Pros Lindsay Arnold, Alan Bersten, Witney Carson, Val Chmerkovskiy, Jenna Johnson, Sasha Farber and Emma Slater

Armisen to Return as Guest Star on Season 3 of Netflix’s “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”

Fred Armisen is still Unbreakable..

The 50-year-old half-Venezuelan actor and former Saturday Night Live star is set to return as a guest star on Season 3 of Netflix’s hit comedy series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

Fred Armisen

Armisen joins series stars Ellie Kemper, Tituss Burgess, Jane Krakowski and Carol Kane, and returning guest stars Anna Camp, Mike Carlsen, Josh Charles, David Cross, Tina Fey, Jon Hamm and Amy Sedaris for the third season which premieres Friday, May 19 on Netflix.

The third season premiere picks up with Kimmy finding herself in an unfamiliar position with the Reverend back in her life. Titus returns from his cruise and auditions for an exciting new role. Lillian has to break up with her boyfriend Robert Durst.

Netflix will premiere the Season 3 debut episode at the upcoming Tribeca Film Festival, followed by a Q&A with cast members.

Additional guest stars include former Hamilton star Daveed Diggs, Laura Dern, Rachel, Dratch, Ray Liotta, Andrea Martin and Maya Rudolph.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt was created by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is a production of Universal Television, Little Stranger Inc., 3 Arts Entertainment and Bevel Gears for Netflix.

Longoria Hosting Special Night of Music to Raise Funds for Homeless LGBT Youth

Michael Longoria is singing for Homeless LGBT Youth…

The Mexican-American Broadway veteran is teaming up with American Idol alumni Constantine Maroulis and Diana DeGarmo for a special night of music on Thursday supporting the nonprofit organization New Alternatives at the New York City club Hardware.

Michael Longoria

The benefit, co-hosted by Ashley Austin Morris, will raise money for New Alternatives — an organization that helps homeless LGBT youth become self-sufficient and transition out of the shelter system and into stable adult lives. The center — which provides services including case management, education, life-skills training, community-building recreational opportunities for self-expression and support services for HIV-positive youth — will be losing its donated space after August, and Longoria hopes the benefit will raise enough money as well as awareness to keep the program alive.

“It’s a very dangerous situation for young people, where the only reason they’re homeless is because their family has abandoned them,” he tells Billboard. “That’s the only reason they’re in there, and that’s what we need to get involved in — if we don’t look out for them, who will?”

Programs like New Alternatives are necessary, he said, to help homeless youth map out their futures while staying out of “harm’s way.” “This organization is specifically for these people that go to these other shelters and are harassed or physically hurt because people don’t accept young gay people,” he said.

The event — which kicks off at 9 p.m. — will also feature raffles for a Broadway records album package, a bottle of Pinot by Tituss wine autographed by Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt star Tituss Burgess, as well as tickets to The Color PurpleFiddler on the RoofKinky Boots, Finding NeverlandHimself, Nora, Trip of Love and Feinstein’s/54 Below.

The evening will serve as a celebration of Pride Week and a reminder to the community to remain vigilant in the face of hate and bigotry in light of the tragic massacre at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, killing 49 and injuring 53.

“What happened in Orlando is just a reminder that no matter how much love we have, other sources of evil are always going to resist, so let’s find a way to get serious in a positive way that shows our support for each other and our love for each other in public,” he said. “The people that need to be the most out and proud are the youth — the young people that are seeing all this violence are now scared to be themselves. … I feel like now more than ever is the time we need to show affection and we need to show who we are, because those people that were in that nightclub were people that were living their lives and showing their love for one another.”

Longoria — who said he has visited Pulse while on tour with various productions — was heartbroken to learn of a mother who was killed in the club while out dancing with her son. “To know that that mother was there in support of her son and loved her son and was accepting of her son and she lost her life in that tragic moment was just the worst news that I got, and ultimately, it’s just an attack on all Americans, humanity and our American way of life,” he said. “In a gay club, we are in a place where we can be ourselves and be free and not worry about any of that judgment and live our lives, and to have an attack on that freedom is an attack on every freedom in America, and that’s why all Americans need to be paying attention and getting involved in hopes of preventing this kind of thing from happening again in the future.”

Longoria — an original member of the cast of Jersey Boys in the role of Frankie Valli after a run in Hairspray — is currently supporting his new CD, Broadway Brick by Brick: a Latin-infused collection of Broadway classics including “Maria” (West Side Story), “The Sound of Music” (The Sound of Music) and “Music and the Mirror” (A Chorus Line). The record weaves in Longoria’s own personal story of his youth in Los Angeles leading to his success on The Great White Way.

“It became an autobiography of my life, my journey as a very young opera singer in a Mexican-American culture, a very heterosexual, Catholic culture, and finding myself in musical theater, in Broadway songs, and realizing that I was gay all the while,” he said. “Each song I chose tells a milestone of my journey, starting with my father, getting accepted to NYU and not having a means to get there, and getting the scholarship and getting on a plane in Los Angeles and leaving my family behind.”

A $10 donation is suggested to attend. Hardware is located at 697 10th Ave. in New York.