Daphne Rubin-Vega to Appear on the CW’s Upcoming “Riverdale” Off-Shoot “Katy Keene”

Daphne Rubin-Vega has landed the mother of a role… 

The 49-year-old Panamanian actress, singer and dancerwill appear in a major recurring role on the CW’s upcoming Riverdale off-shoot Katy Keene.

Daphne Rubin-Vega

Rubin-Vega, the original Mimi in both the Off Broadway and Broadway landmark productions of Rentand coming off the Lin Manuel/Warner Bros. feature In The Heights, will play Luisa, the mother of a central character, Katy’s roomie Jorge/Ginger. She’s described as adoting mother, a former Rockette and now owner, with her husband Luis, of a bodega in Washington Heights. She supports her son Jorge’s ambitions to make it on Broadway, but doesn’t know about his drag alter ego, Ginger.

The Jorge/Ginger character, played by Jonny Beauchamp, is a central figure on the series and one of at least two characters expected to perform musical numbers on every episode.

In the Katy Keeneseries pilot, recently screened at the Tribeca TV Festival, Jorge is a Broadway hopeful by day and, as Ginger, a drag performer by night. When his Broadway dreams begin to fizzle – he is, he says, “too gay for Broadway” – he’s encouraged by Katy to make the audition rounds not as Jorge but as Ginger.

Katy Keeneis expected to debut during the CW’s winter/spring 2020 midseason.

Rubin-Vega was Tony-nominated in 1996 for originating on Broadway the lead female role of Mimi in Jonathan Larson’s Rent, which she’d debuted earlier that year Off Broadway to great acclaim. The actress received another Tony nomination in 2004 as featured actress in a play for Anna In The Tropics.

Her more recent credits include Broadway’s A Streetcar Named Desire opposite Blair UnderwoodNBC’s Smash and Netflix’s Tales Of The City. Ruben-Vega was among the original Rentperformers who made an end-of-show appearance on Fox’s Rent: Live last January.

Aguilera to Perform Alongside the Rockettes at the NBA All-Star Game

Christina Aguilera is Rocketting to the (all) stars…

The 34-year-old half-Ecuadorian American singer will kick off this year’s NBA All-Star Game with a special performance alongside the Rockettes.

Christina Aguilera

It’s all part of the Entertainment Series presented by JBL on Sunday, February 15.

Aguilera and popular dance troupe will team up for the opening, New York-inspired performance when the All-Star Game, which will air live at 8:00 pm ET on TNT, kicks off from Madison Square Garden in New York City.

The Rockettes are an iconic New York City entertainment staple; and Aguilera was born in Staten Island before becoming a Grammy-winning artist and coach on NBC’s The Voice.

Aguilera’s performance with the Rockettes will lead directly into the All-Star Game player introductions.

Aguilera is the second announced 2015 NBA All-Star performer, after Ariana Grande was revealed to be this year’s halftime performer last week.

Since the release of 2012’s Lotus, Aguilera has scored hits with collaborations, including “Feel This Moment” with Pitbull and “Say Something” with A Great Big World, while hinting at a new studio album.

Next month, Aguilera will return to The Voice for the show’s eighth season, after taking two seasons off from the reality singing competition.