Latest news with #TonyAward-winning


Filipino Times
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Filipino Times
Lea Salonga thrilled to be part of Netflix animated hit ‘K-Pop Demon Hunters'
Tony Award-winning singer and actress Lea Salonga expressed her excitement over being part of the hit animated film K-Pop Demon Hunters, calling it a thrill to contribute even in a small role. In an interview with ABS-CBN's Yong Chavez on July 25, Salonga shared that she provided the singing voice for Celine, a former demon hunter who mentors a new generation of fighters in the movie. 'I sing one line, but it is one line I am so glad to have done because of how huge a hit [the film is],' Salonga said. A self-confessed BTS fan, Salonga gushed over the fact that members of the global K-pop group have watched the film and even sang songs from it. 'Does that mean I am now officially one degree away from BTS because of this movie? I mean, it's crazy,' she said. Salonga revealed that her involvement took only about an hour to record, with no clue at the time that the project would become a massive hit. 'I didn't know what was going to come of this. I am happy to have given an hour out of my life for what is now the biggest animated hit on Netflix,' she said. 'It's crazy. I'm so happy to have been a very, very small part of it.' Although she has yet to watch the full movie, Salonga said she is planning to make time, especially knowing BTS has seen it. Talking more about her admiration for the group, Salonga declared, 'I will follow BTS off a cliff,' recalling how she instantly became a fan after seeing member V in the music video for Dynamite. 'I try to endeavor to listen to music that is very different from mine, and I think that is why I like Right Place, Wrong Person as much as I do,' she added, referring to BTS member RM's recent solo album.


Boston Globe
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
With ‘Hairspray,' Theatre By The Sea is back to its signature sumptuous self
A ticket to Based on the high-camp, low-budget 1988 nonmusical film by transgressive cult filmmaker John Waters, the musical version for the stage – which opened on Broadway in 2002, came to Providence on tour in 2003, and first appeared on the Theatre By The Sea stage in 2011 – shares its light-weight story of a big girl with big dreams against a backdrop of the civil rights movement. Sixteen-year-old Tracy Turnblad lives to dance and despite her unfashionable girth, awkward parents, and liberal views, lands a spot on a local TV teen dance program, 'The Corny Collins Show,' which she helps integrate with her high school detention buddies and best friend, Penny Pingleton. Get Globe Rhode Island Food Club A weekly newsletter about food and dining in Rhode Island, by Globe Rhode Island reporter Alexa Gagosz. Enter Email Sign Up The film's subversive satire addressing racism, body conformism, big hair, and bullying is dipped in a candy coating for the musical, courtesy of a funny, uplifting script by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, and up-tempo, Tony Award-winning songs by Marc Shaiman and Scott Whitman. Advertisement All this is performed by an abundantly talented, high-energy company under Christopher Campbell's direction, and a superb seven-piece band (Nathan Urdangen and Jen Christina on keyboard; Heather Katz-Cote on reed; Shawn Baptista on trumpet; Nick Moreira on guitar; Garrett Campbell on bass; and Mike Sartini on drums) following Urdangen's lightning-quick baton. The musical is chock-full of production numbers overflowing with Campbell's explosive, period-appropriate choreography. Advertisement The show's scenic design (Cassie McKnight) is limited to just a few, hyper-realistic, standalone set pieces wheeled in front of a colorful, projected background and under several illuminated (Paul Jonathan Davis) proscenium arches. This serves to accommodate the small stage and a 28-member ensemble in perpetual motion, and it creates the illusion of greater size and depth. But, mostly, it accommodates all that is delightfully larger than life in this production, including freakishly huge wigs on the girls who populate 'The Corny Collins Show' and the stocky, 6- feet-4-inch tall Marc Christopher, who plays Tracy's mom, Edna. A guy in this central role has long been a nod to Advertisement As goes Edna, so too goes the production as a whole, into which the exceptionally gifted Niki Metcalf, as an accessible and thoroughly lovable Tracy, fits like a glove. With her powerful belt, remarkable dancing skills, and national tour experience in the role, Metcalf is a refreshing spritz of aerosol starting from the show's opening number, 'Good Morning Baltimore,' which introduces her and the world of this musical to the audience. Also triple-threat terrific is Madeline Glave as Penny, Sam Yousuf as Penny's love interest Seaweed, and the featured player in the high-energy, dance break-driven 'Run and Tell That,' Dominic Young as Tracy's love interest Link Larkin, and Olivia Allen as Little Inez, Seaweed's younger sister. Alana Cauthen is remarkable as Motormouth Maybelle, who is the host of the TV program's 'Negro Day' and whose superb and soulful 'I Know Where I've Been' is this production's show-stopping anthem. Unfortunately, there are some talented actors who simply can't escape the woefully over-the-top dialogue assigned to their characters. They include Dylan Lugosi as teen dance show goddess Amber Von Tussle, Ginger Kroll as her mom and snobbish show producer Velma Von Tussle, Melanie Souza as every out-of-touch female authority figure, and Fred Sullivan Jr., as every out-of-touch male authority figure. Out-of-step is Kevin B. McGlynn. His comic timing is superb and his portrayal of Tracy's dad, Wilbur Turnblad, is abundantly endearing. But he and Christopher miss all the loving, tender moments between Wilbur and Edna. Their second-act duet, the charming 'You're Timeless to Me,' is played to the audience rather than to each other, and fails to earn the automatic encore that is built into the song. Advertisement No matter. To quote from this musical's closing number, which serves as the moral to the story: 'You can't stop the motion of the ocean or the rain from above/ You can try to stop the paradise we're dreamin' of/ But you cannot stop the rhythm of two hearts in love to stay/ 'Cause you can't stop the beat!' HAIRSPRAY Book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan. Music by Marc Shaiman. Lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Whitman. Directed by Christopher Campbell. At Theatre By The Sea, 364 Cards Pond Road, Wakefield. Through Aug. 16. Tickets are $74-$100 (including fees). 401-782-8587. Bob Abelman is an award-winning theater critic who formerly wrote for the Austin Chronicle. Connect with him .


Extra.ie
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
Irish actor brings The Smuggler from New York to Dublin pub
Irish actor Mick Mellamphy has been touring the country with his latest play, The Smuggler, but its Dublin date has something a little special about it: It's set in an actual pub. Audiences will be heading to J R Mahon on Burgh Quay in Dublin to check out the play, which has already been staged in New York city. The Smuggler is an award-winning play by Boston-based Irish playwright Ronán Noone, and it has already visited Cork, Belfast and Kerry as part of its UK and Ireland tour. The Smuggler Pic: Origin Theatre Company Directed by the two-time Tony Award-winning producer Conor Bagley and produced by New York entrepreneur, Jessica M DeLucia, this gripping and darkly comic tale asks: What would you do to survive… and to belong? Bagley began his professional directing career in The Abbey Theatre, and since then, went on to helm productions Off-Broadway and at regional theatres across the US. Set on a wealthy Massachusetts island in 2025, The Smuggler follows Irish immigrant Tim Finnegan (Michael Mellamphy) as he's pulled into the island's criminal underworld after a fatal crash stirs tensions between locals and migrant workers. Jessica M DeLucia, Mick Mellamphy and Conor Bagley Pic: Origin Theatre Company Mellamphy, who has appeared in many US TV series, is probably most well-known for his role as Sean MacGuire in Red Dead Redemption 2, one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time. Speaking on the show, Mellamphy shared: 'It has been a dream of mine for a long time, to bring this play home to my family, friends and communities where I started out. 'This is a play about an Irish immigrant, facing the challenges of life in a different land. It resonates with so much of what we are talking about at this moment in time. To be able to perform this in my home is a very special opportunity.'


Mint
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Mint
Ethan Slater shares how being part of Wicked franchise changed his life in 'huge way'
Washington DC [US], July 26 (ANI): Ethan Slater, who played Boq Woodsman in the musical film 'Wicked' and will reprise his role in 'Wicked: For Good', opened up on his journey in the film and how it has impacted him personally and professionally, reported People. "It's a hard question to think about how it's impacted my career, because it's all sort of like ongoing, one foot in front of the other," said Slater while attending San Diego Comic-Con. He added, "It's been a big part of making those childhood dreams come true," Slater said of being a part of the Wicked franchise. "I saw Wicked on Broadway with my, I think, fifth-grade class. We went on a school trip before the Tonys. It just opened, and we went, and I saw it, and that was one of the first shows that I saw," as per the outlet. "And then I brought my niece to see it for her ninth birthday," Slater continued. "I got to see it again with new eyes, and see what it must have felt like for me to see that. And so it's been such a huge part of me to now be a part of it, to be a part of Wicked, that's changed my life in a huge way," reported People. 'Wicked' is a movie adaptation of Winnie Holzman's 2003 Tony Award-winning musical, starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande as Elphaba and Glinda, respectively. The film chronicles the story of an unusual relationship between the soon-to-be Wicked Witch of the West and the Good Witch of the South, and how their lives are altered once they meet the great and powerful Wizard of Oz. 'Wicked: For Good' is an upcoming musical fantasy film directed by Jon M. Chu and written by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox. The sequel to Wicked (2024) adapts the second act of the 2003 stage musical by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman, which was loosely based on Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel, itself a reimagining of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its 1939 film adaptation. Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, Michelle Yeoh, and Jeff Goldblum reprise their roles from the first film. (ANI)


NDTV
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- NDTV
Who Is Gwyneth Paltrow, Chris Martin's Ex Hired As Astronomer's 'Temporary' Spokesperson
Just when you thought the 'Jumbotron' moment involving former Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and its Chief People Officer Kristin Cabot was fading away, the tech firm announced its new "temporary" spokesperson. And the woman at the forefront of this campaign also has a Coldplay connection. It's none other than Academy Award-winner Gwyneth Paltrow, who is also the former wife of Coldplay frontman Chris Martin. In a minute-long video posted to X, Astronomer announced that she was on board in a "temporary" position "to speak for its 300+ employees". Ms Paltrow is seen answering a few questions asked of the company in the last few days. "OMG! What the actual F..." reads the text on screen before the 52-year-old says, "Astronomer is the best place to run Apache Airflow, unifying data, ML and AI pipelines at scale." As for the other questions, such as how the company's social media team were holding up given the global scrutiny of the company, she said: "We still have room ... and we will be returning to what we do best - delivering game-changing returns." Thank you for your interest in Astronomer. — Astronomer (@astronomerio) July 25, 2025 "Thank you for your interest in Astronomer," she concluded. Who Is Gwyneth Paltrow? Gwyneth Paltrow was born on September 27, 1972, Los Angeles, California, to television producer Bruce Paltrow and Tony Award-winning actress Blythe Danner. At 11, Ms Paltrow accompanied her family when they moved to Massachusetts. Her father started working in summer stock productions in the Berkshires, and that's when she received her first acting lessons from her parents. After her time at all-girls Spence School in New York City, Ms Paltrow moved to California and attended UC Santa Barbara, majoring in Art History. Her parents supported her decision to drop out of studies and pursue a career in acting and modelling. After some small roles in Steven Spielberg's Hook (1991) and Flesh and Bone (1993), Ms Paltrow shot to the spotlight with Se7en wherein she starred alongside Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. She followed it up with another brilliant performance playing Emma Woodhouse in Emma (1996). She was then offered Viola in Shakespeare in Love (1998), and her breathtaking portrayal won her the Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role, according to PEOPLE. In 2002, Ms Paltrow met Coldplay frontman Chris Martin backstage at one of their shows. After dating for a year, they got married and stayed together until 2014. Over the ten years of being together, the couple had two children, Apple and Moses. In 2014, Ms Paltrow announced they were "consciously uncoupling". The duo has since stayed good friends and brought up their children. "I think Chris and I were meant to be together and have our kids," Paltrow said in 2019. "But our relationship is much better like this: friends and co-parents and family." Ms Paltrow remarried TV writer and producer Brad Falchuk in 2018. She is also the subject of a biography authored by Amy Odell. The book will be released on July 29, and it is based on over 220 interviews with industry insiders. Ms Paltrow herself did not participate, Variety reported. What's happening at Astronomer Days after Astronomer put both Andy Byron and Kristin Cabot on leave, the two are no longer part of the company. Ms Cabot's resignation came after Byron's last week. Astronomer co-founder and chief product officer Pete DeJoy has, meanwhile, stepped in as interim CEO.