Melissa Barrera to Star in the Warhol-Basquiat film “The Collaboration

Posted on September 8, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Melissa Barrera has a new collaboration…

The 32-year-old Mexican actress and singer will star in Muse of Fire’s Warhol–Basquiat film The Collaboration, based on the acclaimed play by four-time Oscar nominee Anthony McCarten.

Barrera will star alongside Jeremy Pope, Paul Bettany and Daniel Brühl in the project.

The Collaboration revolves around the relationship of the two iconic artists, starting in the summer of 1984. International superstar Andy Warhol (Bettany) and the art scene’s newest wunderkind, Jean-Michel Basquiat (Pope), agree to work together on what may be the most talked about exhibition in the history of modern art. But can these two creative giants co-exist with such opposing views of life and art?

Today, Warhol and Basquiat’s works sell for tens of millions.

Barrera will play the role of Maya, a formidable truth-teller who loves Basquiat and is wary of Warhol.

McCarten penned the screen adaptation of his play, which made its world premiere at London’s Young Vic Theatre in February, with Bettany and Pope as Warhol and Basquiat, respectively. Renowned theatre director and writer Kwame Kwei-Armah is making his feature directorial debut with the project, after directing the play in its original run.

Production on The Collaboration begins this month in Boston at Marina Studios’ Quincy location.

Once production on the Collaboration film has wrapped, the play will head to Broadway, with Kwei-Armah, Bettany and Pope again returning. December 20 has been set as opening night, with previews beginning at MTC’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on November 29.

Barrera is best known for her turns in Paramount/Spyglass’ recent Scream reboot, Jon M. Chu’s film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hit Broadway musical In the Heights for Warner Bros. and HBO Max, and the acclaimed Starz series, Vida.

She more recently led Keep Breathing, the Netflix series, which rose to #1 on the streamer when it premiered in late July.

She’s currently in production on Scream 6, reprising her role as Sam Carpenter, and will next be seen in Benjamin Millepied’s musical Carmen, which is world premiering this month at the Toronto Film Festival.

Lin-Manuel Miranda Co-Writing Music for New Broadway Musical “New York, New York,” Loosely Based on Martin Scorsese’s 1977 Film

Posted on August 28, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Lin-Manuel Miranda is ready to start spreading the news…

The 42-year-old Puerto Rican Tony Award-winning Broadway star will co-write music for a new musical loosely based on Martin Scorsese’s 1977 film New York, New York.

The musical will begin performances on Broadway, in a theater yet to be announced, in March 2023. Opening night will be in April, with Tony and Olivier Award winner Susan Stroman on board to direct and choreograph.

The show —called New York, New York — will feature numbers written for the movie by legendary songwriting duo John Kander and Fred Ebb. Miranda will write additional lyrics for new Kander tunes.

Four Kander and Ebb songs were used in Scorsese’s MGM film, including the fabled title track that will certainly feature big in the Broadway show.

Casting breakdowns for New York, New York were being issued last week. The production is believed to have a cast of 31 and an orchestra of 19 musicians.

Producers Sonia Friedman and Tom Kirdahy have assigned David Thompson, a frequent Kander and Ebb collaborator to write the book. Sharon Washington will co-write the show.

Other members of the creative team include Sam Davis, music supervision and arrangements; Daryl Waters and Davis, orchestrations; David Loud, vocal arrangements; and music direction by Alvin Hough Jr.

The new New York, New York musical will feature little of Scorsese’s storyline, according to Deadline.com/

It will still be set in postwar 1946, but the focus will be about a city in recovery, plus the casting and story will be inclusive.

Deadline has been tracking the show for some time; it’s been in development for four years; a fully-staged, hush-hush workshop was done in New York several months ago.

A Broadway powerhouse who attended the workshop but who declined us permission to use their name told us that the performance was “profoundly beautiful and special.”

They continued: “It’s about this city; this social experiment of people from all walks of life. Simply put, it’s about New York with a big band, big cast and show-stopping dance numbers. The thing to remember is that it’s not the film, it’s a million miles away from the film, just to be clear.”

New York, New York will be the first new Kander and Ebb musical to arrive on Broadway since The Visit in 2015.

Lin-Manuel Miranda & His “Hamilton” Musical Team Up with Prizeo for Fundraising Campaign to Support Abortion Access

Posted on August 9, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Lin-Manuel Miranda is taking a stand for women’s reproductive rights…

The 42-year-old Puerto Rican actor, rapper, songwriter, playwright and filmmaker and his Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Hamilton are teaming up with Prizeo on Ham4Choice, a fundraising campaign to support organizations providing abortion access and other reproductive health services.

“We are devastated by the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling eliminating the right to abortion which has been a right since 1973,” the production said in a statement. “In response, we are teaming up with organizations providing support, access and travel expenses to those seeking these services.”

The effort is part of the show’s larger Ham4Progress philanthropic platform, run by a collective of Hamilton cast members and staff.

Launched in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision in June, the show — which has its own constitutional connection — said funds raised through Ham4Choice will support the Abortion Support Network, ARC Southeast, Ciocia Basia, Deeds Not Words, Planned Parenthood, Profamilias Puerto Rico, The Brigid Alliance, The National Network of Abortion Fund and The Tuscan Abortion Support Collective.

“We’re stronger when we work together,” the statement, which urged fans to support reproductive access and reproductive choice, continued. “We can stand up for every person’s right to make decisions about their own body and their own lives.”

Ham4Choice asks fans to donate funds — as little as $10 — from Aug. 9 to Sept. 22, which will automatically enter them for a chance to win a special Hamilton package. The grand prize winner and a guest will be flown out to Hamilton‘s opening night in Hamburg, Germany, where the musical will be performed in German in its first non-English translation.

While there, they’ll meet Miranda at an exclusive pre-show reception and attend the post-show celebration before being flown out, along with tickets and hotel accommodations, where they’ll get to watch and meet the casts in London and New York. Signed memorabilia will be given to the winner to help commemorate the experience.

Each donation serves as a single entry, with no limit on the number of donations, which can be made at Ham4Choice.com. The fundraiser is just the latest Ham4Progress initiative, the collective focused on highlighting social justice causes, serving as a gathering place for discussion and acting as a platform for progress and organizations the group wants to support.

Miranda has worked with Prizeo in the past on similar efforts, including a 2017 fundraising campaign for Planned Parenthood that gave winners tickets to the Broadway show.

Andréa Burns to Star in the Hulu Comedy Series “Up Here”

Posted on July 4, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Andréa Burns is movin’ on Up (Here)…

The 51-year-old half-Venezuelan actress and singer has been cast in the Hulu comedy Up Here, starring Mae Whitman and Carlos Valdes.

The musical romantic comedy from 20th Television and Old 320 Sycamore Prods. is set in New York City in 1999.

It follows an ordinary couple (Whitman as Lindsay and Valdes as Miguel) as they fall in love while discovering the single greatest obstacle to finding happiness together might just be themselves.

Original songs for the series are from Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez.

Burns, best known for her portrayal of the hairdresser Daniela in Lin-Manuel Miranda‘s Tony Award-winning musical In the Heights, will portray Rosie, Miguel’s mother.

Other series regulars include Katie Finneran, John Hodgman, Sophia Hammons and newcomer Emilia Suárez as Renee, the queen bee of Miguel’s high school.

Recurring characters are Ned (George Hampe), Fiona (Julia McDermott), Orson (Scott Porter, Marta (Ayumi Patterson), and Ted aka Mr. McGooch (Brian Stokes Mitchell).

Production on the show, which has an eight-episode straight-to-series order, begins this summer in New York. Writers/executive producers are Steven Levenson (showrunner), Danielle Sanchez-Witzel, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez.

Ricky Martin Partners with Lin-Manuel Miranda & Hispanic Federation to Launch Advance Change Together Initiative

Posted on June 18, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Ricky Martin is hoping to advance change in support of the LGBTQ+ community…

This week, the 50-year-old Puerto Rican singer, songwriter and actor has teamed up with Lin-Manuel Miranda and the Hispanic Federation have announced Advance Change Together (ACT), a new initiative to support Latinx-led LGBTQ+ organizations.

“Mi gente, we are always more powerful together,” Martin said in a video shared on social media. “We must unite to fight against attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, and speak up for the most marginalized among us.”

According to a press release, the initiative “will empower and support organizations working on the frontlines to protect and serve LGBTQ+ Latinx communities.”

We must unite to fight against attacks on the LGBTQ+ community. Today, I’m proud to join my friend @Lin_Manuel + @hispanicfed to announce Advance Change Together (ACT), a new initiative full of love. I hope you will join us. @RM_Foundation @WavesAheadPR @SerPuertoRico #LatinxACT pic.twitter.com/Z4CMgQ59Tx

— Ricky Martin (@ricky_martin) June 14, 2022

The announcement was made June 14 as Pride Month festivities continue and just days after the six-year remembrance of the 49 lives that were taken during the Pulse Club massacre in Orlando, Fla.

Anthony Ramos to Compete in MLB’s All-Star Celebrity Softball Game

Posted on June 12, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Anthony Ramos is stepping up to the plate…

The 30-year-old Puerto Rican Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and actor will compete in Major League Baseball’s All-Star Celebrity Softball Game.

The game will form part of the star-studded lineup of events for the MLB’s first-ever All-Star Saturday during All-Star Week at Los Angeles’s Dodger Stadium, including the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game and All-Star Saturday Extra Innings concert.

Ramos, who starred in the film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony Award-winning musical In The Heights, will compete alongside Quavo, JoJo Siwa, Rob Lowe, CC Sabathia, Simu Liu, Chloe Kim, Coi Leray, Zachary Levi, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jennie Finch, Andre Ethier, Desus Nice, The Kid Mero, The Miz, Lauren Chamberlain, Natasha Watley, Lele Pons and Lisa Fernandez.

More celebrities will be announced in early July.

The All-Star Saturday Extra Innings concert, All-Star Futures Game and the All-Star Celebrity Softball Game are all included with the purchase of an All-Star Saturday ticket, which are now available to purchase at AllStarGame.com.

Ticket prices currently range from $25 to $140. Gates at Dodger Stadium open at 2 p.m. on July 16 with the first 10,000 fans to receive a special All-Star souvenir giveaway.

Lin-Manuel Miranda to Serve as a Presenter at This Weekend’s Tony Awards Show

Posted on June 7, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Lin-Manuel Miranda has a date with Tony…

This Sunday’s 75th Annual Tony Awards will feature a line-up of all-star presenters from the stage and screen, including the 42-year-old Puerto Rican actor, rapper, composer, playwright and filmmaker.

Miranda, a multiple Tony Award winner, is among a roster of presenters that includes Andrew Garfield, Laurence Fishburne, Nathan Lane, Bowen Yang and both Paris and Prince Jackson, the children of MJ subject Michael Jackson.

The roster of presenters was announced by Tony Awards producers, and also includes Josh Lucas, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Skylar Astin, Zach Braff, Danielle Brooks, Danny Burstein, Len Cariou, RuPaul Charles, Jessica Chastain, Lilli Cooper, Bryan Cranston, Wilson Cruz, Colman Domingo, Anthony Edwards, Cynthia Erivo, Raúl Esparza, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Tony Goldwyn, David Alan Grier, Vanessa Hudgens, Jennifer Hudson, Bebe Neuwirth, Kelli O’Hara, Sarah Paulson, Bernadette Peters, Jeremy Pope, Billy Porter, LaTanya Richardson, Chita Rivera, Tony Shalhoub, Phillipa Soo, Sarah Silverman and George Takei,

The four-hour June 12 Tony evening begins at 7:00 pm ET/4:00 pm PT with The Tony Awards: Act One, a one-hour streaming event of exclusive content live on Paramount+ hosted by Darren Criss and Julianne Hough.

The 75th Tony Awards, hosted by Oscar-winning actress and singer Ariana DeBose, follows at 8:00 pm ET/5:00 pm PT on CBS and Paramount+. The awards will be presented live coast-to-coast from Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

Last night, DeBose confirmed that the Tony Awards also will pay respect to the swings and understudies who made this Covid-plagued Broadway season possible. In response to a tweet from Actors’ Equity president Kate Shindle dismissing social media rumors that swings and understudies would be ignored during the ceremony,

DeBose reiterated Shindle’s assurances, writing, “To all concerned, all I can ask is that you keep the faith & trust. I am working round the clock to bring you all a beautiful celebration of everyone’s hard work…”

Stephanie Beatriz to Star in Peacock’s Live-Action Film Adaptation of “Twisted Metal” Video Game

Posted on May 15, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Stephanie Beatriz is getting things twisted…

The 41-year-old Colombian and Bolivian American actress will star in Peacock’s Twisted Metal, the live-action video game adaptation starring Anthony Mackie.

Beatriz will play the character of Quiet, a ferocious, badass car thief who acts purely on instinct – you couldn’t stop her any more than a manhole could stop a volcano. Coming from a community that oppressed her into silence, Quiet’s wish is to find her place in this dark, chaotic world. But when she becomes clouded by her need for revenge, Quiet forms an unlikely, antagonistic bond with John Doe (Mackie).

From Cobra Kai writer Michael Jonathan Smith, Twisted Metal is a half-hour, high-octane action comedy, based on an original take by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick about a motor-mouthed outsider offered a chance at a better life, but only if he can successfully deliver a mysterious package across a post-apocalyptic wasteland. With the help of a trigger-happy car thief, he’ll face savage marauders driving vehicles of destruction and other dangers of the open road, including a deranged clown who drives an all too familiar ice cream truck.

Alongside Mackie and showrunner Smith, executive producers also include Kitao Sakurai—who will also direct multiple episodes—Reese, Wernick, Will Arnett, and Marc Forman via their Electric Avenue production company, Jason Spire of Inspire Entertainment, Peter Principato of Artists First, Asad Qizilbash, and Carter Swan from PlayStation Productions, Hermen Hulst, Head of PlayStation Studios.

The series is co-produced by Sony Pictures Television, PlayStation Productions, and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.

Beatriz most recently made a splash as the voice of Mirabel in Disney’s Encanto. Prior to that, she starred in Matthew Dunster’s hit theatrical production 2:22 on London’s West End and also played Carla in the Warner Bros. film adaptation of Lin Manuel Miranda’s musical In The Heights.

Beatriz is best known for playing fan-favorite Detective Rosa Diaz in the NBC comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine throughout the show’s eight-season run.

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.

Adassa to Perform “Encanto” Hit “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” at Academy Awards Show

Posted on March 24, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

It’s official… Adassa has a date with Oscar.

The 35-year-old urban singer is set to perform the chart-topping single “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” alongside her Encanto voice cast mates.

The 94th annual Academy Awards, another key movie song not mentioned in their release.

“We Don’t Talk About Bruno” will be performed on the awards show even though it wasn’t even submitted by Disney and songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda for consideration in the category.

Miranda is a nominee for another tune from the same film, “Dos Oruguitas,” which will be performed by Sebastian Yatra.

The performance is reportedly planned to be a major highlight of the awards show and is being advertised as the first live performance of the smash hit song.

In addition to Adassa, other Encanto cast members set to take the stage to perform the song include Stephanie Beatriz, Mauro Castillo, Carolina Gaitan, and Diane Guerrero, along with Becky G and Luis Fonsi performing “We Don’t Talk About Bruno.”

“If there is a song that unites people this year [it is this one], and that is kind of the epitome to me of what movies can do, because people of all stripes, ethnicities, ages, color, background, around the world [are singing it] ad nauseum, and we are going to help them out so they sing it a little bit more. Our apologies to the parents,” Packer laughed.

The 94th Academy Awards will be held on Sunday at the Dolby Theatre and will be televised live on ABC at 8:00 pm EDT/5:00 pm PDT and in more than 200 territories worldwide.

American Sign Language (ASL) provided by Certified Deaf Interpreters, and live closed captioning and audio description will be available during the live broadcast.

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