Daphne Rubin-Vega to Appear on Season 4 of Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building”

Posted on April 10, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Daphne Rubin-Vega has landed a killer role…

The 54-year-old Panamanian-American actress, singer-songwriter, dancer and Broadway star has joined the star-studded cast of Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building.

Rubin-Vega is among a roster of new cast additions that includes Richard Kind, Catherine Cohen and Jin Ha.

They’ll appear in recurring roles.

Details regarding the new season’s plot and character descriptions remain under wraps.

But the new episodes will focus on unraveling the murder of Sazz Pataki (Jane Lynch), Charles-Haden Savage’s (Steve Martin) mind-bogglingly identical stunt double from his years on the series Brazzos and its 2020 revival.

Disney Television Group President Craig Erwich revealed in a recent interview that the Only Murders In the Building trio: Charles, Oliver (Martin Short) and Mabel (Selena Gomez), will kick off the new season with a trip to Los Angeles before returning to The Arconia in their search of Sazz’s killer.

New additions will also include Molly Shannon, Eva Longoria, Eugene Levy, Zach Galifianakis, Desmin Borges, Siena Werber and Lilian Rebelo, with Meryl Streep reprising the Season 3 role of Loretta Durkin.

In the Season 3 finale—following her highly praised performance in Oliver’s Broadway hit Death Rattle Dazzle— Loretta received two offers in productions that would require her to relocate to Los Angeles. Her new beau Oliver is into this idea as it would allow him to visit the City of Angels. Mabel’s new love interest Tobert (Jesse Williams) is also headed west, and surprisingly, she’s also keen on taking a little break from New York.

The Emmy-nominated comedy, produced by 20th Television, is co-created and co-written by Steve Martin and John Hoffman who also executive produce alongside Short, Gomez, Dan Fogelman and Jess Rosenthal.

Rubin-Vega earned a Tony Award nomination for her portrayal of ‘Mimi’ in the original cast of Rent, and another for Anna in the Tropics. She was most recently seen starring in the Signature Theatre’s Night of the Iguana opposite Tim Daly and Lea DeLaria. She starred in the musical Miss You Like Hell at The Public Theatre and in the one-woman show Empanda Loca, which was written for her. She helped adapt the play into the scripted podcast, The Horror of Dolores Roach, which was then adapted into a TV series for Amazon.

Daphne Rubin-Vega to Guest Star in Vivienne Medrano’s Adult Animated Musical Comedy Series “Hazbin Hotel”

Posted on November 27, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Daphne Rubin-Vega is checking in to a new project…

The 54-year-old Panamanian-American actress, singer-songwriter, dancer and Broadway star will make a guest appearance in Vivienne Medrano’s adult animated musical comedy series Hazbin Hotel.

Rubin-Vega will portray Carmilla Carmine on the series.

Prime Video will premiere Hazbin Hotel on January 19, with episodes dropping exclusively on the streamer in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.

Created by Medrano, Hazbin Hotel follows Charlie, the princess of Hell, as she pursues her seemingly impossible goal of rehabilitating demons to peacefully reduce overpopulation in her kingdom. After a yearly extermination imposed by angels, she opens a hotel in the hopes that patrons will be “checking out” into Heaven. While most of Hell mocks her goal, her devoted partner Vaggie, and their first test subject, adult-film star Angel Dust, stick by her side. When a powerful entity known as the “Radio Demon” reaches out to assist Charlie in her endeavors, her crazy dream is given a chance to become a reality.

In addition to Rubin-Vega, best known for originating the roles of Mimi Marquez in the 1996 premiere of the Broadway musical Rent and Lucy in the 2007 premiere of the Off-Broadway play Jack Goes Boating, other guest stars include Darren Criss (Saint Peter), Jeremy Jordan (Lucifer Morningstar), Patina Miller (Sera) and Jessica Vosk (Lute).

They join the previously announced main cast including Erika Henningsen, Stephanie Beatriz, Alex Brightman, Keith David, Kimiko Glenn, Blake Roman, Amir Talai, Christian Borle and Joel Perez.

The series will feature original music and lyrics from platinum-certified artist Sam Haft and Emmy-nominated Andrew Underberg.

Medrano serves as executive producer and directed all episodes.

Hazbin Hotel is produced by A24 and Fox Entertainment’s animation studio Bento Box Entertainment.

Amazon Prime Releases Trailer for Justina Machado’s New Series “The Horror of Dolores Roach”

Posted on June 12, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Justina Machado is bringing the Horror…

Amazon Prime has released the official trailer for its new series The Horror of Dolores Roach, starring the 50-year-old Puerto Rican actress, premiering on July 7.

The trailer for the eight-episode series previews the capabilities of Dolores Roach’s “magic hands.”

The Amazon Original based on the Spotify podcast of the same name and created by Aaron Mark’s one-woman play Empanada Loca, is a contemporary Sweeney Todd-inspired story.

Machado plays Dolores Roach, a woman just released after an unjust 16-year prison sentence, and she returns to a gentrified Washington Heights.

Dolores reunites with an old stoner friend, Luis (Alejandro Hernández), who lets her live and work as a masseuse in the basement under his empanada shop. When the promise of her newfound stability is quickly threatened, “Magic Hands” Dolores is driven to shocking extremes to survive.

Mark created, wrote and directed the original podcast and penned the series’ pilot script.

The new series comes from Mark, who also serves as co-showrunner and executive producer with Dara Resnik, alongside executive producers Daphne Rubin-Vega; Jason Blum, Chris McCumber, Jeremy Gold, and Chris Dickie for Blumhouse Television; Dawn Ostroff, Mimi O’Donnell, and Justin McGoldrick for Spotify; Gloria Calderón Kellett for GloNation Studios; and Roxann Dawson, who directed the pilot.

The Horror of Dolores Roach also stars Kita Updike, K. Todd Freeman, Jean Yoon, Marc Maron, Judy Reyes and Jeffery Self.

Maron is set to play “Gideon Pearlman”, Luis and Dolores’ Long Island-based landlord who is the new owner of the building where they reside and is the home of Empanada Loca. Yoon will play “Joy,” who has owns the laundromat next door, while Reyes will play “Marcie,” who runs the neighborhood weed business and becomes Dolores’ nemesis.

Blumhouse to Premiere Justina Machado’s “The Horror of Dolores Roach” in July Via Prime Video

Posted on April 21, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Justina Machado is bringing the horror…

Blumhouse will premiere its new series The Horror of Dolores Roach, starring the 50-year-old Puerto Rican actress, on July 7 via Prime Video.

The 8-episode series—based on the hit Gimlet podcast series of the same name—tells the story of Dolores Roach (Machado), a recently released prisoner who after 16 years returns to find a severely-gentrified Washington Heights with $200 and the clothes on her back. Her boyfriend missing, her family long gone, Dolores reunites with an old stoner buddy, Luis (Alejandro Hernandez), who gives her room and board and lets her give massages for cash in the basement under his dilapidated storefront Empanada Loca, the only remnant of her former life.

When the promise of her newfound stability is quickly threatened, “Magic Hands Dolores” is driven to shocking extremes to survive, and in the face of unexpected professional success, Dolores and Luis become dangerously symbiotic, and Luis must unleash his own peculiar predilections.

Kita Updike, K. Todd Freeman, Jean Yoon, Judy Reyes and Jeffery Self also star.

Written and directed by podcast creator Aaron Mark, The Horror of Dolores Roach originally was developed by Mark as a one-woman play starring Daphne Rubin-Vega. It is a grotesque Sweeney Todd-inspired tale of eat or be eaten — a macabre urban legend of love, betrayal, weed, gentrification, cannibalism, and survival of the fittest.

Mark and Dara Resnik will serve as co-showrunners and executive produce. EPs also include Rubin-Vega; Jason Blum, Chris McCumber, and Jeremy Gold for Blumhouse Television; Dawn Ostroff, Mimi O’Donnell, and Justin McGoldrick for Spotify Studios, alongside Gloria Calderón Kellett for GloNation Studios and Roxann Dawson who directs the pilot.

Daphne Rubin-Vega to Star in Fox’s Anthology Drama Series “Accused”

Posted on July 7, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Daphne Rubin-Vega stands accused…

The 52-year-old Panamanian-American dancer, singer-songwriter and actress will star in Fox’s anthology drama series Accused.

From Howard Gordon, Alex Gansa and David Shore, Accused is based on the BBC’s BAFTA-winning crime anthology. It opens in a courtroom on the accused, with viewers knowing nothing about their crime or how they ended up on trial. Told from the defendant’s point of view through flashbacks, Accused depicts how an ordinary person gets caught up in an extraordinary situation, ultimately revealing how one wrong turn leads to another, until it’s too late to turn back.

Accused, which received a straight-to-series order last May for the 2022-23 broadcast season, is co-produced by Sony Pictures Television and Fox Entertainment. Created by Jimmy McGovern, the original series debuted in 2010 on BBC One.

Meanwhile, Marlee Matlin has tapped three Deaf actors, Puerto Rican star Stephanie Nogueras, Joshua Castille and Lauren Ridloff , to star in the episode she’s directing for the anthology drama series. from Homeland EPs Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa, and David Shore (The Good Doctor, House). The episode is written by novelist and short-story writer Maile Meloy.

Nogueras stars in the lead role of Ava, a deaf woman who becomes a surrogate for a couple, Jenny and Max and commits a crime of advocacy and protection.

Rubin-Vega will star as Ava’s mother.

Nogueras is a deaf actor who made her comedy debut in Killing It on Peacock. Her other recent TV credits include The Good Fight, Criminal Minds and The Magicians.

Tony-nominated Rubin-Vega stars in and produced the independent feature Allswell, which just premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. She was most recently seen starring as Daniela in the Jon Chu-directed Warner Brothers feature In The Heights. She recently wrapped production on two pilots – Hulu’s Olga Dies Dreaming and NBC’s Dangerous Moms. She is also voicing a role in the A24 animated series Hazbin Hotel.

Lin-Manuel Miranda to Appear on “The Tony Awards Present: Broadway’s Back!” Special

Posted on September 20, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Lin-Manuel Miranda is celebrating Broadway’s reopening…

The 41-year-old Puerto Rican Tony Award-winning actor, singer, songwriter, rapper, producer and playwright will take part in Broadway’s Back!, the live two-hour broadcast special immediately following this Sunday’s streaming-only Tony Awards ceremony.

In addition to Miranda, who created the Broadway hits In The Heights and Hamilton, the program will include appearances by Kristin Chenoweth, André De Shields, Jake Gyllenhaal, Audra McDonald, Idina Menzel, Broadway legend Chita Rivera, Daphne Rubin-Vega, who originated the role of Mimi Marquez in the Broadway musical Rent, and more, according to CBS and The American Theatre Wing.

The special, presented live on Sunday, Sept. 26 from Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre, will be hosted by Leslie Odom, Jr.

Designed as a celebration of Broadway’s return to the stage following the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, the special (full title: The Tony Awards Present: Broadway’s Back!) airs on CBS from 9:00 – 11:00 pm ET (live) and PT (delayed). The special also will be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.

The concert special will include Broadway performers and Tony Award winners re-uniting on stage to perform classics, and will feature performances from the three Tony-nominated Best Musical contenders: Jagged Little Pill, Moulin Rouge! The Musical and Tina: The Tina Turner Musical.

The special also will include the live presentation of three Tony Awards: Best Play, Best Revival of a Play and Best Musical.

The 74th Annual Tony Awards, delayed from June 2020 due to COVID-19 and representing a shorter roster of nominees because of the shutdown, will stream exclusively on Paramount+ live beginning at 7:00 pm ET/4:00 pm PT. The ceremony will be hosted by Tony, Grammy and Emmy Award-winning singer and actor Audra McDonald, and will cover productions from the abbreviated 2019-2020 Broadway season.

The line-up of Broadway’s Back! performers and presenters also includes Annaleigh Ashford, Kerry Butler, Christopher Jackson, Ruthie Ann Miles, Bebe Neuwirth, Leslie Odom, Jr., Kelli O’Hara, Ben Platt, Jeremy Pope and BD Wong. Additional performers and presenters will be announced later this week.

The Tony Awards Present: Broadway’s Back! will be produced in collaboration with Tony Award Productions, a joint venture of The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, and White Cherry Entertainment, the team behind the annual Tony Awards telecast. Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss are executive producers for White Cherry Entertainment. Weiss will serve as director.

Justina Machado to Star in Amazon Studios’ Pilot “The Horror of Dolores Roach”

Posted on June 2, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a scary time for Justina Machado…

Amazon Studios has given a formal pilot order to The Horror of Dolores Roach, starring the 48-year-0ld Puerto Rican actress.

Based on the hit Gimlet podcast and written and directed by podcast creator Aaron Mark, The Horror of Dolores Roach originally was developed by Mark as a one-woman play starring Daphne Rubin-Vega.

It’s a grotesque Sweeney Todd-inspired tale of eat or be eaten — a macabre urban legend of love, betrayal, weed, gentrification, cannibalism and survival of the fittest.

“Magic Hands” Dolores Roach (Machado) is released from prison after 16 years and returns to a severely gentrified Washington Heights with $200 and the clothes on her back. With her boyfriend missing, her family long gone and her apartment now occupied by strangers, Dolores finds respite in the dilapidated storefront Empanada Loca around the corner — the only remnant of her former life.

Roxann Dawson is attached to direct and executive produce the pilot, which has been casting for the past four months. The project, in development at Amazon since 2020, hails from Blumhouse Television, which won the rights to adapt the podcast in 2019 in a competitive situation, and Spotify.

Mark penned the pilot script and will executive produce alongside Home Before Dark co-creator Dara Resnik and Rubin-Vega. Jason Blum, Chris McCumber and Jeremy Gold of Blumhouse Television and Chris Giliberti and Justin McGoldrick of Spotify also will executive produce.

Machado most recently starred in the One Day at a Time reimagining, garnering multiple award nominations and winning two Imagen Awards for her role.

She previously shared in a SAG Award for her role in the Emmy-winning HBO series Six Feet Under.

Her other television credits include Jane the Virgin and Queen of the South.

Her work in film includes Blumhouse Productions’ The Purge: Anarchy, Netflix’s All Together Now and the indie Pedro.

On stage, Machado made her Broadway debut in the Tony-winning musical In the Heights, created by and starring Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Warner Bros. to Release Anthony Ramos’ “In The Heights” on June 11

Posted on March 20, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Anthony Ramos’ moment in the heights to happen a week earlier…

Warner Bros.’ has announced plans to release the Jon M. Chu-directed feature musical In The Heights, starring the 29-year-old Puerto Rican actor/singer on June 11, a week earlier than previously scheduled.

The movie, the feature adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes’ Tony Award-winning musical, recently dropped a new trailer.

In the Heights is set in the titular Latinx community of New York City’s bustling Washington Heights. When the neighborhood’s charismatic local bodega owner, and the film’s humble narrator, finally decides to fulfill his dream of going to the island his parents called home, his departure will change his beloved block forever.

In the Heights stars Ramos, Corey Hawkins, Leslie Grace, Melissa Barrera, Olga Merediz, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Gregory Diaz IV, Stephanie Beatriz, Dascha Polanco and icon Jimmy Smits.

The film was originally scheduled to be released last summer before COVID-19 pushed it to this year.

Daphne Rubin-Vega Signs with Stewart Talent

Posted on February 13, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Daphne Rubin-Vega has new representation…

The 51-year-old Panamanian-American dancer, singer-songwriter nand actress, who most recently starred on the CW’s short-lived series Katy Keene, has signed with Stewart Talent.

Rubin-Vega can next be seen in the upcoming Warner Bros. feature In the Heights for director Jon Chu, playing ‘Daniela.’ She also just wrapped the Netflix series Social Distance, produced by Jenji Kohan and Tara Herman.

She previously recurred on the Netflix series Tales of the City.

A staple of the New York theatre community, Rubin-Vega earned a Tony Award nomination for her portrayal of ‘Mimi’ in the original cast of Rent, and another for Anna in the Tropics.

Rubin-Vega recently starred in Miss You Like Hell at The Public Theatre, and in the one-woman show Empanada Loca, which was written for her. She went on to help adapt the play into the scripted podcast The Horror of Dolores Roach, and is currently developing it into a series for Blumhouse Television.

Rubin-Vega is managed by Untitled Entertainment.

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

Posted on October 7, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

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.

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 Nation, with 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.

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