Latest news with #Fina
Cosmopolitan
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Cosmopolitan
Fina Strazza's 2025 Tony Awards Getting Ready Diary With Cosmo
At just 19 years old, Fina Strazza is having the kind of moment most actors only dream about. Currently captivating audiences eight times a week in John Proctor Is the Villain, Fina's searing performance as Beth Powell landed her a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play, cementing her status as one of Broadway's brightest new stars. But theater insiders have had their eyes on her for a while. The provocative, modern coming-of-age play has racked up praise across the board—earning seven Tony nominations, along with nods from the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Drama League Awards. And not that we're keeping count (we are), but Fina also picked up a Dorian Theater Award win for Outstanding Featured Performance in a Broadway Play. Broadway is buzzing about Fina, but so is the silver screen. Most recently, she made waves as Tiffany Falconer in Fear Street: Prom Queen, a chilling addition to the cult-favorite horror franchise on Netflix. She also led Amazon Prime's time-traveling teen saga Paper Girls as KJ Brandman, instantly becoming a fan favorite. If it seems like she was born to be on stage, it's because she practically was. Fina made her Broadway debut at the age of 8, stepping into the iconic title role in Matilda the Musical. Whether she's battling monsters, time-hopping through alternate realities, or tearing up the stage with raw, emotional firepower, one thing is clear: Fina Strazza isn't just one to watch—she's one to remember. We caught up with the actor as she got ready at the Mandarin Oriental for her first-ever Tony Awards. It's a lot. But before I answer that, though, I'd like to first confirm with everyone in this room that I have indeed remained grounded. *laughs* I was just having this conversation with my mom the other day. How I feel like I'm in this dream world right now where I'm not in charge of what's happening to me and everything is so much bigger than me. It's almost like I can't possibly even claim these fortunes in a way. You know? I am, I am. *laughs* I mean, it's not like I don't think I deserve them or something. It just feels like I've been given these gifts, and I don't take that for granted. Everything I'm getting to do is so fun. It's like being on a playground. If you're on a playground, you don't act highfalutin and better than everyone else. I'm just playing! All the time. And I love it. Well, it was a little delayed, because I was trying to watch the broadcast, but something was going on with my WiFi. And my computer kept stalling. My category hadn't even come up on my screen yet, but my phone just started blowing up. I got a ton of calls all at once. I picked up my mom's call and she yelled that I was nominated. It immediately felt like the world rushed past me. All in one second. I just kept repeating, 'Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.' Nothing else was coming to mind and nothing else would come out of my mouth. That's just kind of where I was for the rest of the day. None! I haven't had the time. Well, Eureka Day and English closed before my show opened so I didn't get to see either of those. I know that Purpose has a Sunday evening show, which I've been meaning to catch. But I've been able to get to know some of my fellow nominees a little bit through all the Tonys press, and everyone is so grounded and welcoming. Tala and Sanaz invited me over to teach me how to do a proper curly hair routine and get chicken and rice bowls uptown. I saw Oh, Mary! and I am obsessed. Loved it. So funny, so fun. And I saw Maybe Happy Ending when it was in a workshop years ago. I'm cheering them on. Not that I have favorites or anything, but I have friends in that show and I'd love to see them win something. I first read this play when I was 17 for a workshop of it with Sadie [Sink] and the director Donna Taymor and the playwright Kimberly Belflower. I remember walking out of that presentation and feeling such electricity leaving the room. The performance was still vibrating in my body. The way Kimberly writes is so authentic and real, and it sets this blazing fire throughout the whole show that just doesn't go out until the blackout at the end. I felt how special it was in my bones. It was a feeling that stuck with me for two years, because I didn't hear anything after doing the reading. So for two years, I thought about that show. Every single day. I would ask my team for constant updates. 'Is there anything new with John Proctor? Anything happening with John Proctor?' And the thing is, I've done tons of readings before so have kind of learned to not get attached to them. Especially as a child, because I'd grow out of the role before it got to production. But there was something about this show where I couldn't see a world in which I wasn't in it. I had to be in it. I can't explain it. Because I don't think Beth and I are super similar, but I do feel a kinship with her. There's a certain energy, you know? We understand each other. No, no, no. *laughs* Tiffany and I are not connected. She was like playing my opposite, which was fun in a different way. I felt very free with Tiffany because I was able to be as absurd as I wanted. She's a whole different beast. I feel like so often when you watch shows or any kind of media with teenagers, specifically high schoolers, whoever is the smartest one is usually the most unlikable. And it's like, why are these intelligent girls always these unlikable human beings? That's not the case in real life. At least I don't think so. I love that about this show. Beth is the person in the room with all the answers, but she also has the most questions. She's often the smartest person in the room, but she is so open to new ideas. She doesn't ever feel like she is done learning. She's intelligent but also very tenderhearted. I think that's very admirable. Yes. We were just talking about this last night! We had this kind of pre Tony Awards seance and stayed in the theater very late last night to share our gratitude with one another and talk about the show. Our entire cast, including our understudies, consists of 15 people. Do you know how rare it is to find a group of 15 people where nobody is an issue and no one has a problem with anyone else? We joke that it's pretty boring sometimes because there's no one to gossip about, but it's really just a very supportive, loving environment where we all have a lot of respect for each other's tracks, which is so important in a show with such emotional weight. It can be very easy to walk off stage and keep yourself in that headspace. If we didn't have someone to lean on, it would be really hard. But luckily that's not the case. We have each other. And the second I walk off stage, I know there's someone there who I can laugh with. We'll be crying on stage one minute and then giggling about someone in the audience who had a weird laugh the next. I feel very lucky that we all enjoy one another. And the head of our social media, Austin Spero, is so great at capturing that. He's also open to any ideas we have. I love that he collaborates with us. I still feel like I'm waiting for it to feel like I'm actually in the show. It all still feels so unreal in a way. I'm kind of waiting for it to kick in, which has me worried that I'm gonna leave the show still in this dream world. I want to make sure I lock in before it's over and feel truly grounded. Because we really have such a cool job. My costar Amalia Yoo reminded me of that the other night. She was washing her face and turned to me with her makeup still smudged on her face and was like, 'Our job is really, really cool.' And I was like, 'Yeah. It really is.' I'm wearing Michael Fausto. He's a New York designer, which I love because I'm a born and raised New Yorker. I told my stylist, Sarah Slutsky, that I've always wanted to wear a ballgown. Tonight felt like the one night where I could get away with it without anyone thinking, Who does she think she is? I told Sarah I wanted to try and nod to the show in some way as well. So there is this slight Puritan aspect to the look where it feels like it could potentially be something in the realm of 1666. There's something a little bit vintage about it. It feels like an elevated version of what the girls wear at the end of the show. I wanted the glam to be like this [Fina feigns an innocent doe-eyed expression caught between surprise and delight] *laughs* I don't know how to put that into words. But my hairstylist Corey Tuttle and makeup artist Amanda Thesen have figured it out. We have the entire family in the room. My boyfriend and my mom and my dad and my sister are all coming. My mom is my official plus-one. Everyone else bought tickets. I haven't seen what my mom is wearing yet, but no one is coordinating. My boyfriend looks like a penguin though! I'm excited to see Jonathan Groff again. I've really enjoyed talking to him through the season at all of our different events. I think Lizzy McAlpine might be at some parties later tonight, and I'm excited to see her again. I've known Sadie for a long time because I was in Matilda with her brother when I was younger. She and her brother both have this incredible nonchalance about them, which helps me find my center. She's very like, 'Whatever happens, happens.' Fated. It all feels like fate. The Tony went to Kara Young for 'Purpose' in what ultimately felt like a wide-open category. Congratulations to Kara, Fina, and all the nominees!
Buzz Feed
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
Fina Strazza On 'John Proctor' Broadway Success
John Proctor Is The Villain is one of Broadway's most buzzed-about plays. In the coming-of-age story, a group of students begin studying The Crucible at the start of the #MeToo movement. As a series of events come to light, the students question their perspective on The Crucible and their own lives. Nominated for Best Featured Actress in a Play, Fina Strazza portrays Beth, the serious but sweet leader of the newly formed Feminist club. With the Tony Awards right around the corner, I hopped on Zoom with Fina to learn more about her experience in John Proctor Is The Villain, and the new Netflix film Fear Street: Prom is a spoiler-free This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Did you read The Crucible before auditioning for John Proctor Is The Villain? Fina: I never read The Crucible in high school, but I read it once I found out I would be doing John Proctor. I didn't actually ever audition. I did a workshop of it two years ago with Danya [Taymor, the director], Kimberly [Belflower, the playwright], and Sadie [Sink, who plays Shelby]. During our first week of rehearsal, Danya assigned each of us a character from The Crucible that aligned with our character in John Proctor Is the Villain, and we read it aloud. I also watched the movie with Winona Ryder and Daniel Day-Lewis, and there's something very particular about seeing a production like that. The movie is kind of able to skew your perspective just in the way it's edited, and in the way that they portray the story. It kind of lights a very harsh light on Abigail, and she does seem like this sort of 'villain' character, where John Proctor comes out looking like the hero. Reading the play out loud with my castmates is what really skewed my perspective into seeing John Proctor under a different light. Something really awesome about this show is that even though it has this very direct and very assertive title, it's not necessarily aiming to be this declaration that there is one perspective on The Crucible, and that John Proctor is this bad guy. It's more about being open to opposing perspectives and reevaluating these historical texts, allowing the possibility that some heroes may not be as heroic as we think they are. Through this whole process, I've been able to have multiple perspectives on The Crucible. I've learned that it's a really rich story, and there are a lot of different discussions to be had about it. I loved the use of music in John Proctor, like Lorde's "Green Light." What is your connection to the music used in the play? Do you sing and write music yourself? Fina: I'm not as much of a songwriter, but I do love to sing. I'm kind of a walking radio. I grew up doing musical theater. I started on Broadway in Matilda, way back when, so my heart has always been with the music. I didn't grow up listening to Taylor Swift and Lorde as much as these girls did. But I think there's something so wonderful about how deeply these teenage girls connect over music. Even though those weren't the songs that I grew up with, I also have songs I have a visceral connection to. My best friends in high school, our dance, our "Green Light," would have been "Shut Up and Dance" [by Walk The Moon]. That song was everything to us, and it forever reminds me of these girls who shaped my entire childhood. I just had dinner with them last night and talked about the song again, because it's this integral part of our upbringing. I think it's really awesome how much the show highlights the importance of music, the connection it causes, and how it becomes this core memory. You mentioned that you workshopped the play with Danya and Sadie. Were you always considered for the role of Beth, or did you ever consider other parts? Fina: I recently found this out — I believe Danya and Kimberly had seen a tape of me auditioning for another play, and then invited me to work on this workshop with them.I knew only about Beth because that was my introduction to the show. I wasn't familiar with other characters before being cast as Beth, but I don't see myself connecting with any other role in the same way. I think I feel a very deep connection to Beth. I've also had a lot of conversations with our playwright, Kimberly Belflower, about how she sees herself in Beth, and how Beth is kind of inspired by her younger self. I feel very close to Kimberly through that, and I feel very close to the show. There's this pride that I take in bringing this role to life, and I couldn't see it any other way. Everybody is where they're meant to be, and it is like this beautiful symphony that we play every night. That's what Danya always says, we are like this nine-piece orchestra, all tuned perfectly. Beth's character evolves quite a bit, especially in Act 2. How do you feel your performance has evolved over time? Fina: You'll be doing the show one night and feel like you've really gotten it, and you'll feel like, "Wow, I can't imagine learning more about this character — I'm so a part of her already!" Then the next week, you're like, "Oh my gosh, my world is opening even more!" It's a really awesome thing that happens when you're doing a show. I can only imagine that the more I do it, the more I'll feel you continue, there's just so much more to learn. There's something about Beth where she can come off as a little naive at times and have a few slip-ups throughout her arc, where she might not, in my opinion, have the right perspective on an actor, it can be hard to let your character have those mishaps and let her be seen in this negative way by the audience for a moment. The more I've done the show, the more I realize the benefit of leaning into those uglier moments. That can be really hard to do, because I'm on stage, and our audience has been super vocal. When they don't like someone, they tell us. There have been people in the front row who say, "Girl, what are you doing?" audibly, which is hilarious, but it can be hard to lean into those more difficult moments. I think I'm learning to let her have her mistakes, and then it'll have a better outcome in the end. I've always wondered what it's like to be on a Broadway stage. What is that feeling for you when you step on stage? Fina: I was on Broadway when I was younger. It was 11 years ago now, and the last time I did theater was 7 years ago. After Matilda, I did off-Broadway and some out-of-town opens. I did theater a lot as a child, and as a kid, I always thought of it as the world's best playground. To me, the audience was never really there, and I was just always having a lot of fun. I was 8 years old when I was last on Broadway; I don't think it was possible for me to realize the weight of what I was doing. In these past years, I've often wished I just understood it a little bit more, so I could have appreciated those moments on stage a little more. Now I'm making sure I'm soaking everything up in our rehearsals and through our previews and during tech. Every time I'm on stage, I want to savor every moment. I think there's a real gratitude to being on stage.I've done film and TV, and obviously, the audience isn't right there, so it's hard to see who is taking the time to watch you and absorb your work. So there's this gratitude when you're on stage, because the people who have paid to be there are sat right in front of you. They're there for the 2 hours, and they're locked in, and they're in their seats, and there's just something really special about that. I think there's this constant wheel of gratitude being an actor on who plays Lee, said there's something awesome about having the audience right there — they feel like they can change what happens, and like they have this agency where they can change the story. They kind of do. Depending on how much they're reacting, if they're an audience who laughs more, or if they're crying more, it does alter the way we play into them, and the way that we hit certain beats. It is this ebb and flow, and it becomes this cool, symbiotic relationship. Do you have any favorite memories with the cast? Fina: Danya is such a great physical director. We did a lot of work with the script to start off the process, but she did it in a very fun way, so it didn't feel like we're just sat at a table doing table one of our first days of rehearsal, she had us all come in, and she said we're gonna work on the script today — except she pointed at Sadie, and she was like, "You're gonna play Mr. Smith." Gabe, who plays Mr. Smith, was gonna play Shelby, and I ended up playing Lee. Maggie Kuntz, who plays Ivy, ended up playing Raelynn, and we were all just jumbled. It was a really awesome way to receive your character and be an audience for the words that you were going to be speaking. You had a chance to see someone else's acting choices on your role, surrendering to those choices, and maybe taking inspiration from them. You also gain respect for other people's roles, being like, "Oh, this is a hard scene to do — you're gonna have to do this every night!" I've never had a director do that before, and afterwards, it was this very jovial experience where we kind of had this understanding of one another's paths and tracks. It was a really fun day. It also led to a lot of laughter, because Sadie was playing a grown man, and I think Hagan, who plays Lee, was playing Miss Gallagher, and it was just these miscast funny times. I really enjoyed that. Huge congratulations to you, the cast, and the crew! You're the youngest Tony nominee this year; what was your reaction to hearing your nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play? Fina: When you're waiting for news like that, there's this roller coaster you send yourself on the whole week leading up to it, feeling guilty that you even think it's a consideration. Because you're like, "Who am I to think that? I shouldn't even be worried about this!" Then you're at a high point in the day, and you're thinking, "Oh, maybe it could happen!" Then you plummet back down to, "Who do I think I am?"I'd already been on this wild ride of emotions for the week leading up to it, so on the day of, I was like, "Maybe I should just get some sleep. I won't watch the broadcast, I won't set an alarm." But I ended up naturally waking up at the time that it started. My feed was delayed, so I didn't even see my category come up on screen, and before anything was announced on my end, my phone just started blowing up. I picked up a phone call from my mom, and she was the one who told me, she was like, "You're nominated, you're nominated!" and immediately, I kinda blacked out, you know, I don't remember so much after that. I grew up in New York, and Broadway, and the Tonys have always been the biggest thing for me. I know every single word to Neil Patrick Harris's 2013 Tony opening — that is peak theater. I think I'm still not really able to comprehend what this moment means. Every event that I've gotten to go to so far for the nominees, I kind of feel like I've been given this all-access fan pass. I'm just looking at everybody around me, and I'm like, these are the people that I grew up with. These are the people that my mom would show me doing their cabaret shows on YouTube, and just none of it feels real. It's all been very surreal. I watched Fear Street: Prom Queen on Netflix last night, and it was terrifying. Tiffany is a much different character from Beth. Was it a fun experience getting to do a horror film? Fina: Yeah, it was very, very, very different. I had never played a mean girl before, so this was a very exciting challenge. I was able to just have a lot of fun on this shoot. I ended up becoming very close friends with the entire cast. We had around 15 principal cast members on set every day, and we became this really tightly knit pack. We started basically filming this movie in between our conversations with each other. I don't think that Tiffany and Beth would get along so well, but they're both fun to play in their different rights. Did you get to meet R.L. Stine? Fina: You know, he was supposed to make a cameo in the film, but he was sick, and it was on the day that we were filming in the diner. He couldn't make it, and so someone from his estate came instead, on his behalf, to say hi. John Proctor Is the Villain is an incredible play. What do you hope audiences take away from your performance? Fina: I feel like the phrase that I keep repeating throughout this whole process is just, "Whose life am I living?" That's what this whole process has felt like. There's been something very spiritual and witchy about all of it that feels like I've been granted a magical luck spell. I hope that audiences are moved by the show and by my performance.I received a letter from someone at the stage door the other day that was really meaningful and made me feel like Beth was doing something right. It said a similar instance that happens in the show happened to her in high school, and she reacted to the situation similarly to how Beth does. Through the show, and through Beth, she was able to grant her younger self some forgiveness for the way she acted, because she didn't know any better, and she was just acting on what she'd been taught. Just to know that someone was moved by the show enough to connect it back to their own selves was really awesome. It's always important to grant your younger self some forgiveness — to feel connected to your personal self and allow your younger self to take up some space and be granted some forgiveness and healing. Thank you, Fina, for sharing great insight! See John Proctor Is The Villain at the Booth Theatre until July 13th, and keep up with Fina on Instagram. If you like horror, don't miss Fear Street: Prom Queen on Netflix.
Winnipeg Free Press
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
How a bloody Zoom pitch helped Vancouver filmmaker take ‘Final Destination' reins
Vancouver filmmaker Zachary Lipovsky says it took innovative thinking — and a fake decapitation — to land the job directing 'Final Destination: Bloodlines.' The supernatural horror film, in theatres Friday, is the sixth in the long-running franchise about people who narrowly escape death only to be hunted down by fate through elaborate, gruesome accidents. Lipovsky and co-director Adam B. Stein say they essentially had to audition for the job and turned their Zoom pitch to Warner Bros. execs into a perfectly choreographed, blood-soaked spectacle. 'As we were pitching, the back fireplace in our room started to light the back wall on fire, and then we got up and started running around screaming,' Lipovsky recalls on a virtual call from Vancouver. They doused the faux flames with a fire extinguisher and aired out the room, but weren't in the clear yet. 'Suddenly the ceiling fan came loose and I jumped out of the way and it fell and chopped Adam's head off and blood went spraying everywhere,' says Lipovsky. 'And then we were like, 'Any questions about our pitch?'' The carnage was staged using a mix of pre-recorded footage and practical effects — just enough to rattle the execs before winning them over. Lipovsky says it's been incredible to join a franchise with 'a long legacy' in Vancouver, noting all but one of the 'Final Destination' films were shot in his hometown and many involved his actor friends. 'I have a lot of friends who've died in the previous movies and a lot of the disasters take place in different parts of the city,' he says. 'There's a very homegrown feeling to it. …It's been really cool to make this big studio-feeling movie, but still have its roots in the city that's been part of the franchise for so long, and to just shoot it in your backyard.' In 'Final Destination: Bloodlines,' Langley, B.C.'s Kaitlyn Santa Juana stars as Stefani, a college student who inherits a decades-old premonition from her grandma and must save her family as death begins picking them off one by one. The film opens in the 1960s when disaster strikes Skyview Tower, a fictional 120-metre-tall structure topped by a rooftop restaurant. Its base was filmed at Vancouver's Planetarium, which helped shape the tower's retro-futuristic look. The rest was brought to life through visual effects and custom-built sets for the film's first catastrophic set piece. The directors say the sequence sets a world record for the 'oldest person set on fire' on screen, with 71-year-old former stuntwoman Yvette Ferguson coming out of retirement to be engulfed in flames. 'She comes from a long family of stunt people and she said, 'Everyone in my family's been on fire except for me! I'm so excited I finally get to do a burn!'' recalls Stein, who's from Florida. Since its 2000 debut, 'Final Destination' has become a cult hit and box office success, earning more than US$650 million globally on the strength of its killer premise: you can't cheat death. The last instalment was 2011's 'Final Destination 5.' Publicity for the new edition has involved gory installations, including a half-finished 'Final Destination' billboard featuring two bodies hanging, as if death struck the workers mid-job. Another stunt that hit Canadian highways last week involves a log truck made to look like it's splattered in blood, a nod to 2003's 'Final Destination 2,' in which a premonition about logs flying off a flatbed sparks a deadly highway pileup. Lipovsky and Stein say they initially questioned the need for another entry in 2025, but their doubts faded after reading a compelling new treatment by 'Spider-Man: No Way Home' director Jon Watts. They were also drawn to the story's family-driven emotional core, which echoed their 2018 sci-fi thriller 'Freaks,' which followed a girl who uncovers dark secrets about her past and those closest to her. 'We love stories that really hook you by the heart while also having great suspense and horror,' says Stein. The duo met as contestants on the 2007 Fox reality show 'On the Lot,' where filmmakers competed for a DreamWorks development deal. 'We just instantly really became close friends and collaborators,' says Lipovsky, noting they also co-directed the Disney Channel action comedy 'Kim Possible' in 2019. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. The filmmakers say 'Final Destination' has made them overly aware of how everyday moments can spiral into disaster. Lipovsky now avoids the SkyTrain grate outside his building. 'I can't have the headline: 'Final Destination' filmmaker dies falling through subway grate,'' he says. 'Everywhere you go, you now see death,' laughs Stein. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 12, 2025.
