Latest news with #LyricTheater
AsiaOne
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- AsiaOne
Harry Potter star Tom Felton to return to role as Draco Malfoy, Entertainment News
Harry Potter star Tom Felton is returning to his role as Draco Malfoy. The 37-year-old actor shot to fame playing the Hogwarts student in the movie franchise and now he will be making his Broadway debut in the same role in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at the Lyric Theater, making him the first member of the film cast to star in the stage show. He said in a statement: "Being a part of the Harry Potter films has been one of the greatest honours of my life. "Joining this production will be a full-circle moment for me because when I begin performances in Cursed Child this fall, I'll also be the exact age Draco is in the play. "It's surreal to be stepping back into his shoes — and of course, his iconic platinum blond hair — and I am thrilled to be able to see his story through and to share it with the greatest fan community in the world. "I look forward to joining this incredible company and being a part of the Broadway community." Tom — who will be performing in the show from Nov 11, 2025, until March 22, 2026 — admitted he "immediately cried" when he put on his character's distinctive blonde wig for the first time. He told "It's very, very easy to get emotional. "When they put my blonde wig on for the theatre production, I just immediately cried. It was just sort of like a blast from the past." The production takes place 19 years after JK Rowling's final novel in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and while Tom knows Draco well, he insisted working on Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is still "unfamiliar territory" because he will be exploring the character as an adult. He explained: "The play is such an independent story from the Potter films that I grew up with. "Now we're no longer children. We actually are the parents. So as much as it is reprising an old role for me, it's very much treading into new, unfamiliar territory. I know him quite well as a kid. I don't know him that well as an adult. So that's the exciting challenge ahead for me. "Potter was a massive chunk of my childhood, and now I get to sort of go back while also going forward." Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the best-selling non-musical play in the history of Broadway, and its producers Sonia Friedman and Colin Callender are excited Tom is joining the cast. They said in a joint statement: "[We can't wait to see Tom reprise the role] once again with the same depth, gravity, and humanity he has always brought to Draco. "It's not lost on us that this is a cultural moment charged with nostalgia, evolution, and emotion. "Tom's return to Hogwarts bridges generations of fans and breathes new life into a beloved story. We're beyond thrilled to welcome Tom back 'home' but also into a new family: our Broadway company." Presale tickets for the show featuring Tom will be available on June 10 at 11am EST (11pm SGT). Tickets for the general public will go on sale on June 12 at 11am EST. [[nid:714611]]
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Harry Potter''s Bonnie Wright Says She Needs to 'Parent More Like the Weasleys' as Son Elio Nears 2nd Birthday (Exclusive)
Bonnie Wright and husband Andrew Lococo's son Elio turns 2 in September 2025 As a mom, Wright, who played Ginny Weasley in the movies, says she has a lot of admiration for her on-screen parents' dedication to their kids and the environment, leading her to think, "Oh, well, I need to parent more like the Weasleys" Becoming a mother has also changed the way Wright views the films and books, as it is "heartbreaking" to imagine your child going through what Harry does As Bonnie Wright's son nears toddler age, the actress has plans to take notes from her Harry Potter parents! Since becoming a mother, the actress and environmental activist — who played the youngest Weasley sibling, Ginny, in all eight Harry Potter films — says her admiration for on-screen parents Molly (Julie Walters) and Arthur Weasley (Mark Williams) has only grown. 'I've gone on to be very, very committed to amplifying a lot of stuff around the climate and our environment, and I feel like the Weasleys, to me, are probably the most sustainable magical family ever,' Wright, 34, tells PEOPLE before the April 30 Harry Potter and the Cursed Child show at New York City's Lyric Theater. The magical family of nine, Wright continues, 'make everything themselves — they knit their sweaters, they do hand-me-downs.' Related: Bonnie Wright Confirms There Is a Harry Potter Cast Group Chat — and It's 'Very Heavily Populated' (Exclusive) 'Molly Weasley is definitely an environmentalist,' she adds. 'So I think what she stands for, what the Weasleys stand for, I'm like, 'Oh, well, I need to parent more like the Weasleys.' She also admires the proud parents' honest and caring nature — especially where the series' titular hero is concerned. 'I love everything that they stand for in the sense that they're just honestly themselves. They really don't care about people judging them,' Wright explains. 'And I think for Harry, they give him this unconditional love that he's never had before.' 'And I also just love the relationship that they have, like Molly and Arthur Weasley just seem like such a sweet loving couple,' she adds. 'They know what's up. They've figured it out.' Related: Harry Potter's Bonnie Wright Reveals Which House She Hopes 11-Month-Old Son Elio Would Be Sorted Into (Exclusive) Wright — who shares son Elio Ocean Wright Lococo, 1, with husband Andrew Lococo — also says that motherhood has 'for sure' shaped the way she interprets the story of Harry Potter. What hits especially hard now, she says, is 'just that idea, especially, of Harry not having his parents, and kind of how heartbreaking that must be to imagine [for] your own child.' Not to mention the entirety of Cursed Child, a story that focuses heavily on Harry's relationship with his and Ginny's son, Albus. 'I think this play is this kind of homage to his parents really, and I think that's a really special thing,' she tells PEOPLE. There is a lot in the Broadway show, Wright says, 'about parenting, and the next generation, and how when your children go off to school, you have to allow 'em to like fly and be their own selves.' Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. For Elio, who turns 2 in September, that day is a long ways away — though his Hogwarts letter could arrive as soon as age 11. In the meantime, however, Wright is content just soaking up every moment. Related: Bonnie Wright Has 1 Piece of Advice for the Actor Cast as Ginny in New Harry Potter TV Series (Exclusive) Her first year and a half as a mom, she tells PEOPLE, has been 'just wild,' especially as Elio approaches toddler age. 'A few words are coming, but he's such a mover and he's climbing. He's just more out in the world. It's so fun because now, the imagination comes in,' Wright says of Elio, adding that it 'just feels like what I am in my nature — I love storytelling and imagination.' This 'era and moment' the family of three is in now, she adds, 'is bringing that to life, and so it's just really exciting to me.' Read the original article on People
New York Times
14-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
How ‘Stranger Things' Scaled Up for Broadway
The cold open: In television, it's a scene that begins an episode before the title sequence, often without leading characters but almost always with foreshadowing hooks to confound or set a mood. Theater doesn't really have much of a cold open tradition. The expectation is that you introduce the main characters and get moving. Not so for 'Stranger Things: The First Shadow.' The new Broadway play, based on Netflix's hit horror-science fiction series, starts with a bold five-minute cold open of loud gunfire, marauding Demogorgons and no leading characters. It's a coup de théâtre, and it swiftly signals that the lead producers, the Broadway heavy-hitter Sonia Friedman and Netflix, are betting their big-money gamble will knock theatergoers' socks right off. 'We always wanted to open with a big scene and a big moment, something that's going to shock the audience,' said Ross Duffer, who, with his twin brother, Matt Duffer, created the 'Stranger Things' series. Both are credited as the play's creative producers. The play is a prequel to the 1980s-set TV series, and gives an origin story about a shy teenager named Henry Creel (played by Louis McCartney) who became an important figure in Season 4. It's set in small-town Hawkins, Ind., mostly in 1959. But the prologue takes place in 1943, and acts as an omen of the supernatural elements that drive the series, including the Upside Down, a sinister realm that parallels our own. Friedman credited the cold open to Stephen Daldry, the Tony-winning director who, with Justin Martin, directed 'Stranger Things: The First Shadow' on Broadway. 'The instinct of most directors would be to leave that to a little bit later and build up to it,' Friedman said during an interview at the Marquis Theater, where the show is in previews before opening on April 22. 'Stephen was like, no, no, I want it right at the beginning.' The show overall and the cold open in particular were beasts to birth, said Friedman, even more so on Broadway than in London, where the play originated in 2023. The Marquis has about 600 more seats than the West End's Phoenix Theater, where the show is still running. 'I say this without exaggeration or hyperbole: It's the most technical and challenging physical production that's probably ever been onstage,' Friedman said. And this is coming from a producer of 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,' which required a costly redo of the Lyric Theater and featured a slew of illusions that cost a pretty penny. And the bombast isn't cheap. 'Don't even ask me how much 'Stranger Things' is going to cost,' she was recently quoted saying in The New York Times. A Complex Sequence Afloat on a darkened stage are two rectangular boxes that look straight out of a graphic novel. Inside both boxes and in the aisles are crew members of the U.S.S. Eldridge, a battleship anchored in the harbor on a quiet night. Suddenly, screeching sounds break the stillness as the lights flicker, then go out. As stage fog washes over the first rows of the theater, the massive, fully realized hull of the battleship appears with a shock, tilting under an angry orange sky. From the murky waters — or is it from the otherworldly skies? — Demogorgons, the signature otherworldly monsters of 'Stranger Things,' brutally feast on an officer amid desperate screams and rapid gunfire. Then, in a moment that elicited cheers at a recent preview, the title sequence of 'Stranger Things' (the series) is projected onto a screen the width of the proscenium. Dramaturgically, the scene is rooted in the Philadelphia Experiment, a conspiracy theory that's long been a reference point for the Duffer Brothers. It posits that during World War II, an American ship traveled to another dimension after the U.S. government started experimenting with electromagnetic energy in its attempt to render ships invisible. Some of the crew were said to have gone mad in the 'jog across dimensions,' as the show's playwright, Kate Trefry, put it. In directing the cold open, Martin said he was inspired by the movie 'Alien,' specifically 'that moment of quiet in which you're building suspense, which is all about what you don't see.' He also pointed to a more theatrical and unusual source for a horror inspiration: The first minutes of 'The Lion King' on Broadway, when life-size puppet animals parade down the aisles and onto the stage. 'It's really punchy,' he said. 'You never forget it.' Much of the responsibility for painting a dramatic stage picture in so little time fell to Jamie Harrison and Chris Fisher, the illusions and visual effects designers. Harrison said that from the initial concept to the Broadway stage, the open — the 'most complex sequence' he's put onstage — took about two-and-a-half years to perfect. About 40 crew members, including stage managers and dressers, 'have been rehearsed to within a millisecond of their existence,' Harrison said, to help deploy some 75 cues that involve 'a whole lot of engineering,' including pulley systems and automation technology, on Miriam Buether's set. Benjamin Pearcy, a video and visual effects designer, said one of the biggest challenges in making the ship appear out of nowhere was ensuring that audiences couldn't tell the difference between the physical scenery and light that creates the illusion of space. To do so, several projectors installed around the auditorium work in tandem with a massive upstage LED wall to toy with depth perception. 'We're hiding where the real ship stops and where the extension of that ship is on the screen behind it,' he said. There's an entire set piece — a painted backdrop of an empty sky — that the audience sees for just seconds before it disappears, never to be seen again. 'The audience isn't going to necessarily even remember that they saw that for a moment,' Pearcy said. 'But if that hadn't been there, the appearance of the ship itself would not be the dramatic moment that it is.' Also at play is the retention of vision, a magic principle in which the magician flashes a coin in the light a second before it vanishes. The flash pushes the coin into the audience's mind just before it's gone and significantly heightens the effect. In the opening scene, the principle is used with stage lighting to reinforce an empty space just before it is filled. Harrison, who has a background in magic, said that in that moment the audience 'perceives more depth than perhaps there actually is.' What kept — keeps — the designers up at night? Making sure the effects and illusions, the kinds of things you only need to get right once for television, work on Broadway eight shows a week. Gary Beestone, the show's technical director, said the weight of the scenery presented structural challenges in the theater itself, which is inside the Marriott Marquis hotel and above a Levi's store. 'We found that there was a beam in the store that we needed to access in order to sign off getting the show to work,' Beestone said. Harrison said an unspecified 'supermassive structure' that weighs about 1,300 pounds has to move safely and quickly. 'That's about as much as I can say without being sued,' he added, laughing. 'Driven by Character and by Story' A 'live spectacle event': That's how the Marquis marquee describes 'Stranger Things: The First Shadow.' It's a boast that the producers hope will drive word of mouth. But it could also send the message that the show disfavors character development for 'cheap thrills, expensively made,' as Houman Barekat put it when he reviewed the London production for The New York Times. A writer also for the series, Trefry said the open strikes the same narrative balance as the rest of the show, between appealing to theatergoers who know nothing about the series and to 'Stranger Things' aficionados eager for a glimpse of what may come in the show's fifth and final season, which debuts later this year. (The play is based on an original story by Trefry, the Duffer Brothers and Jack Thorne.) Martin sounded confident that the show would not be the kind where people say: 'We've seen five magic tricks. When's the next one?' 'What we do is driven by character and by story,' he said. And by old-school theatermaking. Surprisingly, the Duffer Brothers sounded most animated when talking about a costume — just one way, Ross said, that the Broadway play is returning their baby to its humble first-season roots. 'The Demogorgon in Season 1 was a guy in a suit,' he said. 'To go back to doing that? It's a thrill.'
CBS News
26-02-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Exploring Overtown's rich Black History, one stop at a time
More than just a Miami tour through the Overtown neighborhood, Tap Tap Tours is a journey of discovery. Jean Cidelca, a passionate architect and historian, guides visitors through its soul, unveiling the rich tapestry of Black history woven into its streets. From the legendary figures who shaped the city to the everyday heroes who built its community, each stop offers a profound connection to a past that continues to inspire. "The only way to make the future better is to know what happened in the past and then learn from it," architect Jean Cidelca said as he led a recent tour. A journey through Overtown's landmarks The tour began at the Black Police Precinct and Courthouse Museum, a historic site established in 1950 as the headquarters for Miami's African American police officers during segregation. "They came together to have this as a functional police precinct," Cidelca explained to the group. Next, the group visited Jackson Soul Food, a beloved institution that has served Overtown for more than 70 years. "This is the oldest restaurant in Overtown," Cidelca said. "It started 79 years ago, and it's still going strong." Stops at Gibson Park and Dorsey Park highlighted Overtown's deep ties to baseball history. Cidelca shared the story of Josh Gibson, one of the most powerful hitters of the Negro Leagues, comparing him to a modern sports legend. "Whenever he played, he was so strong and powerful, he would knock the ball out of the park," he said. "Josh Gibson was like the Michael Jordan of baseball." Preserving the past, inspiring the future The tour also featured a visit to the home of D.A. Dorsey, Miami's first Black millionaire, whom Cidelca called "the White House of Overtown." Dorsey's entrepreneurial vision played a major role in shaping the city's early development. "The original house was built in 1920 and remodeled in 1926," Cidelca said. At the Lyric Theater, a historic venue that opened in 1913, guests learned about Overtown's vibrant entertainment scene, which once hosted jazz legends like Duke Ellington. Fayola Nicaisse, an Overtown business owner and founder of Ebene Naturals, said the tour deepened her connection to the community. "Having the tour puts everything into perspective for me," she said. "Things that I've heard about—I get to see in person now." Others echoed similar sentiments. "It was just like, wow, I need to know more," said Aniola Pierre, a tour participant. "Then you hear about the entertainment district, you go down to the Lyric Theater, and you see what they are currently doing in the community with the community garden, and I am just hooked." Bob Secrest, another participant, was fascinated by the neighborhood's musical legacy. "I enjoyed the stories about Cassius Clay and that there was a thriving jazz scene here with Duke Ellington, one of my favorite singers," he said. Cidelca has been giving Black history tours since 2016 and founded Tap Tap Tours in 2018. Now, with 10 partners helping to expand the experience, the tours continue year-round, preserving and celebrating Overtown's rich history.
CBS News
10-02-2025
- General
- CBS News
The Black Miami community erased overnight
MIAMI - In the summer of 1947, a thriving Black community in Miami vanished in the blink of an eye. Families were evicted with little notice, given just two hours to leave behind their homes, businesses and belongings. Rebecca Jenkins McSwain, whose family was among those forced out of the Railroad Shop Colored Addition, recalled the devastation in a recorded interview. "My family is from Railroad Shop Colored Addition out of Miami and we were evicted from our property," she said. "My grandmother lived in the four-by-six area of the first section and they just put those people out in the rain, locked their doors and the City of Miami took their property." Forced out with nowhere to go Jenkins McSwain shared her story with historian Cynthia Stachan of the Bowles-Strachan Historical Resource Center. Her family relocated to the Carver Ranches neighborhood in Broward County after being forcibly removed. According to newspaper reports from August 1947, 45 families - 119 people, including 70 children - were evicted. One family with a newborn baby was given a slight extension, but most were thrown out into the streets, their belongings scattered. Alexis Smith Parker, whose mother was evicted from the Railroad Shop Colored Addition, described the traumatic scene passed down through generations. "The stories that I heard—it was raining. They were throwing their things out in the streets. There was fire," she said. A once-thriving Black community Established in 1917, the Railroad Shop Colored Addition was part of the Allapattah community, spanning NW 12th to 14th Avenues and 46th to 50th Streets. It was home to dozens of Black families, churches and Black-owned businesses. Kamila Pritchett, a historian and Executive Director of the Black Archives at the Lyric Theater, has collected articles and photos from Miami's Tropical Dispatch documenting the eviction. "The railroad shop inhabitants were thrown out and you can see in these pictures residents with all their belongings on the front lawn," she explained. "Furniture scattered, people rolling up mattresses, looking like they had very little time before they had to evacuate their homes." Why were they evicted? At the time, the Railroad Shop Colored Addition was surrounded by an all-white community. When new schools and a park were needed, the Black neighborhood was targeted for demolition. Today, that park is Charles Hadley Park and just south of it stand the schools formerly known as Allapattah Elementary and Allapattah Middle. "They wanted to build the school Allapattah for the white community," Smith Parker said. "And it's funny because they built it for the whites, but now our school is basically predominantly Black." Those schools have since been renamed Lenora Braynon Smith Elementary and Georgia Jones Ayers Middle, honoring two childhood friends who once lived in the Railroad Shop Colored Addition. Braynon Smith's daughter recalls her mother's connection to the land. "She would always point over here. There was an avocado tree," she said. "She said that tree was in their backyard, so they grew up in this neighborhood." Eminent domain and broken promises Oscar Braynon Sr., a descendant of one of the displaced families, recalled the destruction. "Their belongings were put on the street and the houses that were left were demolished," he said. "All of a sudden, the surrounding white community wanted a school and parks and the local government decided that they wanted this community gone." Families who built Miami's railroads lost their homes with no compensation. Smith Parker lamented the erasure of what was once a thriving economic and cultural hub. "This was probably one of the richest areas in Miami-Dade County," she said. "The families that were rooted here were the foundation of the city of Miami." Braynon reflected on the staggering financial loss. "What was $10,000 in 1947 is probably worth a quarter of a million dollars today," he said. "And what did they get for it? Nothing. Just a bitter taste. A bitter memory." No compensation, no justice Nearly 80 years later, descendants of the Railroad Shop Colored Addition say their families were never compensated by the City of Miami. Their story remains a painful reminder of the systemic displacement of Black communities throughout history, an injustice that, to this day, has never been made right.
