Paramount to Release New “Mean Girls” Film Starring Auli’i Cravalho in January 2024

Auli’i Cravalho is bringing the mean in early 2024…

Paramount plans to release its new Mean Girls film, starring the 22-year-old part-Puerto Rican actress/singer and Moana lead, will be released theatrically on January 12, 2024, during the four-day Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday weekend.

Auli’i CravalhoParamount had originally planned to release the film via Paramount+.

In addition to Cravalho, the new film stars Angourie Rice, Reneé Rapp, Jaquel SpiveyTina Fey, Tim Meadows, Jenna Fischer, Busy Philipps, Avantika, Mahi Alam, Christopher Briney, Bebe Wood, Ashley Park, Connor Ratliff and Jon Hamm.

Arturo Perez and Samantha Jayne are directing the new film, from a script by Fey.

Broadway Video’s Lorne Michaels has returned to produce alongside Fey.

The original Mean Girls film, directed by Mark Waters and penned by Fey off of Rosalind Wiseman’s novel, grossed more than $130 million worldwide and blasted off the careers of Rachel McAdams and Amanda Seyfried while also repping a box office hit for Lindsay Lohan at the time.

Chita Rivera Among the Stars Taking Part in Fundraising Concert for Joe Biden, “In Our America: A Concert for the Soul of the Nation”

Chita Rivera is Biden her time before the upcoming presidential election…

The 87-year-old half-Puerto Rican Broadway star will be among the stars of the Great White Way who’ll stage a fundraising concert for Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, with plans to stream the event on October 21.

Chita Rivera

The event, which starts at 8:00 pm ET, is organized by the group Broadway for Biden and is called In Our America: A Concert for the Soul of the Nationwith donations going to the Biden Victory Fund.

In addition to Rivera, the lineup of the concert includes Derrick Baskin, Laura Benanti, Victoria Clark, Glenn Close, Chuck Cooper, Darren Criss, André De Shields, Renée Elise Goldsberry, John Goodman, Jayne Houdyshell, Jennifer Hudson, James Monroe Iglehart, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Samuel L. Jackson, Norman Lear, Norm Lewis, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Rita Moreno, Karen Olivo, Ashley Park, Steven Pasquale, Carrie Preston, Kelani Queypo, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Phillipa Soo, Ephraim Sykes, BD Wong, the Broadway Dreams Foundation Choir, and the casts of Six and KPOP.

Liesl Tommy, director of the upcoming Aretha Franklin biopic Respect (with Hudson in the lead role), will direct the show. Tommy is the executive producer along with Julie Boardman, Nolan Doran, Halle Morse, and Jennifer Mudge.

The concert will stream on YouTube via news publisher NowThis, on Facebook via Broadway for Biden and NowThis, and on Broadway Unlocked.

In a statement, Tommy said, “It is a tremendous honor to direct this incredible collective of performers and artists, who are coming together to amplify the promise of Broadway and a nation that are future-looking, accessible, and deeply inclusive.”

The evening will include original material, stagings of musical numbers that have never been seen, and previews of productions bound for Broadway. Among those contributing are Chad Beguelin, Tony Kushner, Lynn Nottage, Robert O’Hara, Stacey Rose, Aurin Squire, DeLanna Studi, Paula Vogel and John Waters.

Christopher Gattelli, Lorin Latarro, Ray Mercer, and Abbey O’Brien will provide original choreography, with music direction by Jason Michael Webb. Chris Boardman and Charlie Rosen will provide orchestrations. Sean McLaughlin will serve as director of photography and Grady Bowman will be associate choreographer.

The event is in the vein of a fundraiser in 2012 for Barack Obama’s reelection campaign, called Barack on Broadway, that was produced by Margo Lion and others.

Priscilla Lopez to Star in Broadway Play “Grand Horizons”

It’s a new Horizon for Priscilla Lopez

The 71-year-old Puerto Rican singer, dancer and actress has been cast in Broadway’s upcoming Grand Horizonsthe Bess Wohl play to be directed by Leigh Silverman at the Hayes Theatre beginning in December.

Priscilla Lopez

Lopez will star opposite Michael UrieThomas SadoskiAshley Parkand Maulik Pancholyin the play.

The Second Stage Theatre production is set for a strictly limited 10-week engagement, with previews starting December 20 and an official opening on January 23, 2020.

The full creative team includes scenic design and costume design by Clint Ramos, lighting design by Jen Schriever, and sound design by Palmer Hefferan.

Additional casting will be announced at a later date.

Wohl’s new comedic play, co-commissioned by Williamstown Theatre Festival and Second Stage Theatre, charts a family’s reaction to the sudden break-up of a 50-year marriage. As described by Second Stage: “Bill and Nancy have spent fifty full years as husband and wife. They practically breathe in unison, and can anticipate each other’s every sigh, snore and sneeze. But just as they settle comfortably into their new home in Grand Horizons, the unthinkable happens: Nancy suddenly wants out. As their two adult sons struggle to cope with the shocking news, they are forced to question everything they assumed about the people they thought they knew best.”

Lopez has appeared on Broadwayin PippinIn the HeightsHollywood/Ukraine and as the original Diana Morales in A Chorus Line, among other productions.