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

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.

Lin-Manuel Miranda 

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.

Ally Brooke to Perform During This Year’s “Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade”

It’ll be an extra special Thanksgiving for Ally Brooke

27-year-old Mexican American singer and former Fifth Harmony member will be performing as part of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which may look different this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Ally Brooke

Unlike other years, the decorated floats and helium-filled balloons will not be marching down the usual two-and-a-half-mile route starting at West 77th Street. The parade has shorted its route and will only be held (without an audience) in front of Macy’s famed flagship store on 34th Street for the national television special.

Ally Brooke joins a roster of performers that includes Lauren Alaina, Jimmie Allen and Noah Cyrus, Sofia Carson, CNCO, Jimmy Fallon and The Roots, Karol G, Tori Kelly, Patti LaBelle, Ella Mai, Leslie Odom Jr., Keke Palmer, Dolly Parton, Pentatonix, Bebe Rexha, Jordin Sparks, Sebastián Yatra, Brett Young and more.

The casts of HamiltonMean GirlsJagged Little Pill, and Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations, all of which have not taken the live stage since March, are set to perform at the parade.

While the Broadway performances will be filmed ahead of time, they will air during the broadcast at 9:00 a.m. ET on NBC.

Eden Espinosa to Take Part in Broadway Cares’ “Broadway Does Mother’s Day” Digital Fundraising Special

Eden Espinosais celebrating mothers everywhere…

The 42-year-old Mexican American actress and Broadway star, best known for her performances as Elphaba for the Broadway, Los Angeles, and San Francisco productions of the musical Wickedwill take part in Sunday’s Broadway Does Mother’s Day, a digital variety benefitting Broadway Cares’ COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Fund.

Eden Espinosa

Cast members from Broadway’s Moulin Rouge! The MusicalJagged Little PillCompany,Tina: The Tina Turner MusicalChicagoDianaMean GirlsGirl from the North CountrySixandMrs. Doubtfirewill take part. 

The show is designed to replace some of the money usually raised by Broadway’s annual Easter Bonnet Competition, an event that was canceled this year due to the coronaviruspandemic.

The digital sketch show will include Broadway stars, their children and their mothers, with musical numbers, comedy and special guests planned. 

In addition to Espinosa, scheduled guests so far includeJill AbramovitzKate BaldwinJenni BarberLaura Benanti,Betty BuckleyCarolee CarmelloVictoria ClarkChuck CooperClaybourne ElderBeanie FeldsteinHarvey FiersteinIn The Heights’ Mandy GonzalezCelia Rose GoodingMolly GriggsJames Monroe IglehartJudy KayeCelia Keenan-BolgerRaymond J. LeeLesli MargheritaEllyn Marie MarshAlexis MichelleVanessa WilliamsBetsy Wolfeand LaChanze.

Sketches from Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Jagged Little Pill, Company, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, Chicago, Diana, Mean Girls, Girl from the North Country, Six, andMrs. Doubtfire will also be included.

“We’re delighted to see the theatercommunity come together for Broadway Does Mother’s Day and honored to be a beneficiary of what promises to be such a special show,” said Tom Viola, executive director of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. “When crises hit, the Broadway community and theatre fans everywhere have always responded with generosity, compassion and action. We launched the COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Fund on behalf of and for those onstage, backstage and behind the scenes who need a helping hand during this pandemic.”

The broadcast will be streamed on Sunday, May 10 at 3:00 pm ET at BroadwayDoesMothersDay.com.

Gomez’s “Hands to Myself” Reaches No. 1 on Billboard’s Pop Songs Chart, Landing Her in Elite Company

Selena Gomez’s latest album is turning out to be Pop gold…

The 23-year-old half-Mexican American singer/actress has earned her third No. 1 on Billboard‘s Pop Songs radio airplay chart (dated April 16), as her latest single “Hands to Myself” lifts 2-1.

Selena Gomez

The song follows leaders “Good for You,” featuring A$AP Rocky, and “Same Old Love,” each of which led for two weeks beginning in September and January, respectively.

With all three songs from her latest album Revival, Gomez becomes just the sixth woman to score at least a trio of Pop Songs No. 1s from a single set (dating to the chart’s 1992 launch).

Here is the elite club and the albums and songs that gained them entrance:

Alanis Morissette, Jagged Little Pill: “Ironic,” “You Learn,” “Head Over Feet” (1996)

Avril Lavigne, Let Go: “Complicated,” “Sk8er Boi,” “I’m With You” (2002-03)

Lady Gaga, The Fame, “Just Dance” (featuring Colby O’Donis), “Poker Face,” “LoveGame,” “Paparazzi” (2009)

Katy Perry, Teenage Dream: “California Gurls” (featuring Snoop Dogg), “Teenage Dream,” “Firework,” “E.T.” (featuring Kanye West), “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.),” “The One That Got Away” (2010-12)

Taylor Swift, 1989: “Shake It Off,” “Blank Space,” “Style,” “Bad Blood” (featuring Kendrick Lamar), “Wildest Dreams” (2014-15)

Selena Gomez, Revival: “Good for You” (featuring A$AP Rocky), “Same Old Love,” “Hands to Myself” (2015-16)

Lovato to Perform with Alanis Morissette at the American Music Awards

Demi Lovato is ready for jagged little performance…

The 23-year-old part-Mexican American singer/actress will perform with Alanis Morissette at the American Music Awards on Sunday.

Demi Lovato

The collaboration was announced by Twitter Music, showing off the platform’s new emojis with a comic image for Morissette that shows up with the hashtag #AlanisAMAs.

There’s still no word on what Lovato and Morissette, who earned five Grammy awards for her album Jagged Little Pill, will perform during the awards show.

They join a long list of previously announced performers that includes host and performer, Jennifer Lopez, as well as sets from Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Coldplay, Gwen Stefani, 5 Seconds of Summer, The Weeknd and a Star Wars performance from Pentatonix with a full symphony orchestra.