Rita Moreno to Take Part in ABC’s Animated & Live-Action Blended Special “Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration”

Posted on September 11, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Rita Moreno has landed a beauty of a project…

The 90-year-old Puerto Rican Oscar-winning actress, dancer and singer will be part of the cast of ABC’s animated and live-action blended special, Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration.

Moreno, an EGOT winner (Emmy–Grammy-Oscar-Tony Award winner), will serve as the night’s narrator.

Josh Groban is set as the co-lead opposite H.E.R. in the project.

Groban, who previously recorded a song for the 2017 Beauty and the Beast live-action movie, will play Beast alongside previously announced H.E.R. as Belle. Joshua Henry has been tapped to play antagonist Gaston.

Presented by The Wonderful World of Disney, the two-hour reimagining of the beloved story of Beauty and the Beast will be taped in front of a live audience at Disney Studios and will air December 15 on ABC and on Disney+ the next day.

Jon M. Chu is set to executive produce the special and Hamish Hamilton set to direct.

Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration is produced by Done+Dusted in association with Walt Disney Television Alternative and Electric Somewhere.

Ariana DeBose to Host This Year’s Tony Awards Show

Posted on May 4, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Ariana DeBose has a date with Tony…

The 31-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress, singer and Broadway star, who claimed her first Oscar in March for her performance in West Side Story, will host the 75th annual Tony Awards live from Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Sunday, June 12.

DeBose was nominated for a Tony four years ago for playing “Disco Donna” in the acclaimed musical Summer: The Donna Summer Musical. She received a nod for best featured actress in a musical.

“I’m coming home! I’m so honored to celebrate 75 years of excellence in theater, but more importantly every member of this community who poured themselves into making sure the lights of Broadway have the opportunity to shine brightly once again!” DeBose said in a statement. “This is a dream come true, and I’m excited to see you all on June 12.”

“We are thrilled to have Ariana DeBose, who has captivated audiences with her inspirational roles on stage and in film and television, host this year’s Tony Awards,” said Jack Sussman, executive vice president, specials, music, live event and alternative programming, CBS. “After the last challenging two years there is no one better to bring the theater community together on this important night honoring the best of Broadway, and share the joys of live performing once again than this extraordinarily talented artist.”

The Tonys will air live coast-to-coast for the first time. The show is set to air on Sunday, June 12, from 8 to 11 p.m. ET, and from 5 to 8 p.m. PT on CBS. It will also stream live and on demand on Paramount+.

The celebration will commence from 7 to 8 p.m. ET/4 to 5 p.m. PT, with exclusive content streaming only on Paramount+. Hosts and further information on the Paramount+ presentation will be announced at a later date.

Tony winner Adrienne Warren and Tony nominee Joshua Henry will host the 75th Annual Tony Awards nominations on Monday, May 9, at 9:00 am ET on the Tony Awards official YouTube page. The Tony Awards eligibility cutoff date has been extended for the 2021-22 season to Wednesday, May 4, for all Broadway productions which meet all other eligibility requirements.

DeBose has worked extensively in the theater. In 2015, she appeared alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda in the Tony-winning musical Hamilton as a member of the original cast in both the Broadway and off-Broadway productions, as well as the Emmy Award winning film version that was later released on Disney+.

After her departure from Hamilton in 2016, DeBose completed a run as Jane in the original Broadway cast of A Bronx Tale. Other theater credits include: Leading Player in the Tony Award-winning revival of Pippin, Mary Wilson in Motown the Musical, Nautica in Bring It On: The Musical and ensemble in Stephen Sondheim’s Company.

She recently had a breakout role in Schmigadoon!, and received critical acclaim for her performance in Ryan Murphy’s Netflix adaptation of the hit Broadway musical The Prom.

Next, DeBose will star in Sony Pictures’ Kraven the Hunter, Argylle from Apple, and the space thriller ISS.

A limited number of tickets to the 75th Annual Tony Awards will be made available. Tickets will be available at www.TonyAwards.com/tickets starting on Monday, May 9, at 9 a.m. ET / 6 a.m. PT.

The Tony Awards are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing.

Netflix Releases Trailer for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Directorial Debut Film “tick, tick…BOOM!”

Posted on October 4, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Lin-Manuel Miranda is readying for a BOOM’in release…

Netflix has released the trailer, key art and the first single from the film’s official soundtrack entitled “30/90” for tick, tick…BOOM!, the film directed by the 41-year-old Puerto Rican Tony Award-winning talent behind the hit musicals Hamilton and In The Heights.

An adaptation of Jonathan Larson’s autobiographical pre-Rent musical, the film stars Andrew Garfield as Larson.

Netflix’s tick, tick…BOOM! will premiere in theaters on November 12, 2021 and will hit streaming a week later on November 19th.

Garfield plays Jon, a young theater composer who’s waiting tables at a New York City diner in 1990 while writing what he hopes will be the next great American musical. As described by Netflix: Days before he’s due to showcase his work in a make-or-break performance, Jon is feeling the pressure from everywhere: from his girlfriend Susan (Alexandra Shipp), who dreams of an artistic life beyond New York City; from his friend Michael (Robin de Jesús), who has moved on from his dream to a life of financial security. Amidst an artistic community being ravaged by the AIDS epidemic, Jon feels the clock ticking and faces the question everyone must reckon with: What are we meant to do with the time we have?

Larson, of course, would not live to see the success of his “next great American musical,” dying at age 35 on Januaruy 25, 1996, the morning of Rent’s first Off Broadway preview. The cause of death was an aortic aneurysm caused by undiagnosed Marfan’s Syndrome.

The film, which also stars Joshua Henry, MJ Rodriguez, Bradley Whitford, Tariq Trotter, Judith Light and Vanessa Hudgens, will mark Miranda’s feature directorial debut.

In 2001, Miranda, then 21, was writing In The Heights when he attended an Off Broadway revival of tick, tick…BOOM! In 2014, Miranda, who would later say that Rent inspired him to begin writing musicals, portrayed Jon in a two-week Encores! production of tick, tick…BOOM!

tick, tick…BOOM!, with a screenplay by Steven Levenson based on Larson’s musical and choreography by Ryan Heffington.

The first single from the film’s official soundtrack entitled “30/90” is available here. Performed by Garfield and featuring additional vocals by Henry, Hudgens, Rodriguez, Shipp and de Jesús, the track is the lead offering from the full soundtrack of music written by Jonathan Larson as heard in the film

Netflix Releases Trailer for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Feature Directorial Debut “tick, tick…BOOM!”

Posted on June 10, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Lin-Manuel Miranda is tickin’ ahead…

The first trailer has been released for tick, tick…BOOM!, directed by the 41-year-old Puerto Rican actor, singer, songwriter, rapper, director, producer, and playwright.

It’s a film adaptation of Jonathan Larson’s autobiographical pre-Rent musical.

Starring Andrew Garfield in the Larson-inspired lead role, Netflix’s tick, tick…BOOM! will hit the streaming service and theaters this fall.

Larson would not live to see the success of his “next great American musical,” dying at age 35 on January 25, 1996, the morning of Rent’s first Off Broadway preview. The cause of death was an aortic aneurysm caused by undiagnosed Marfan’s Syndrome.

The trailer begins with Garfield singing “Boho Days,” a song from the earliest incarnations of tick, tick…BOOM! It was the title song when Larson first performed the musical as a one-man show in 1990.

The film, which also stars Joshua Henry, MJ Rodriguez, Bradley Whitford, Tariq Trotter, Judith Light and Vanessa Hudgens, will mark Miranda’s feature directorial debut.

In 2001, Miranda, then 21, was writing In The Heights when he attended an Off Broadway revival of tick, tick…BOOM! In 2014, Miranda, who would later say that Rent inspired him to begin writing musicals, portrayed Jon in a two-week Encores! production of tick, tick…BOOM!

The film adaptation of Miranda’s In The Heights, directed by Jon M. Chu, hit theaters and HBO Max today.

Santino Fontana to Perform During Broadway “Show of Titles” Musical Event to Benefit The Actors Fund

Posted on May 20, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Santino Fontana is a title(s) act…

The 39-year-old part-Spanish America actor will perform at Show of Titles, a special livestreamed musical event next month benefiting The Actors Fund.

Fontana joins a lineup of nearly 30 stars – from Glenn Close, Patti LuPone, Darren Criss, Kelsey Grammar and David Alan Grier to Jake Gyllenhaal, Joshua Henry and Phillipa Soo – who will perform title songs from more than 20 musicals.

The event will feature title songs of Broadway musicals spanning nine decades, from “Lady Be Good” to “The Light in the Piazza.”

The line-up also includes Annaleigh Ashford, Len Cariou, Isabelle Huppert, Norm Lewis, Rob McClure, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Melba Moore, Jessie Mueller, Eva Noblezada, Kelli O’Hara, Laura Osnes, Steven Pasquale, Michael Rupert, Ernie Sabella, Lea Salonga, Will Swenson, Aaron Tveit, Leslie Uggams, Vanessa Williams and Patrick Wilson.

Making special appearances will be Broadway Inspirational Voices, Candice Bergen, Danny Burstein, Bryan Cranston, Sheldon Harnick, John Kander, Angela Lansbury, John Lithgow, Lindsay Mendez, Phylicia Rashad, Ben Vereen, BD Wong and Florian Zeller.

Conceived by Broadway’s Best Shows producer Jeffrey Richards, Show of Titles will be directed by Lonny Price, with music direction by Jason Howland, and livestreamed on June 8, 8:00 pm ET on Stellar for a limited time only.

Tickets went on sale May 17 for $29 ($39 starting May 21), with all sales donated to The Actor’s Fund.

Composers represented include Lee Adams, Maxwell Anderson, Burt Bacharach, Irving Berlin, Jerry Bock, Bertolt Brecht, Cy Coleman, Betty Comden, Joe Darion, Hal David, Fred Ebb, Gary Geld, George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, Adolph Green, Adam Guettel, Oscar Hammerstein, Sheldon Harnick, Jerry Herman, John Kander, Burton Lane, Mitch Leigh, Alan Jay Lerner, Frank Loesser, Frederick Loewe, Galt MacDermot, Cole Porter, James Rado, Gerome Ragni, Richard Rodgers, Charles Strouse, Jule Styne, Peter Udell and Kurt Weill.

Ryan Vasquez to Star in Ross Golan’s Musical “The Wrong Man”

Posted on July 26, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

Ryan Vasquez is in the Wrong…

The Latino actor/singer has been cast in the world premiere in New York this September of multi-platinum songwriter Ross Golan’s musical The Wrong Man.

Vasquez will star opposite Tony-nominee Joshua Henry and Ciara Renéein the musical.

The Wrong Man is set in Reno, Nevada, and tells the story of Duran, a man just scraping by, who is accused of a murder he says he didn’t commit.

Golan’s first stage musical was initially conceived as an acoustic solo piece, but over a decade has grown to include a full-length concept album and an animated film.

Previews begin on Wednesday, September 18, with an opening night of October 7, at the Off Broadway MCC Theater.

Golan (book, music, lyrics) has written massive hits for a massive roster of artists including Maroon 5, Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj, Lady Antebellum, Michael Bublé, Selena Gomez, Keith Urban, Ariana Grande, Flo Rida, One Direction, Idina Menzel, Nelly, Demi Lovato, Jason Derulo, Meghan Trainor, Cee Lo Green, 5 Seconds of Summer, Prince Royce, Snoop Dogg, Gavin DeGraw, Colbie Caillat, Andy Grammer, James Blunt, Big Sean and Travis Barker.

Vasquez has appeared on Broadwayin Hamilton, Waitress and Wicked, and on television in The Good Fight, Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Code.

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