Julie Musbach - Page 10

As previously reported, Disney's live action BEAUTY AND THE BEAST will feature the first overtly gay moment featuring Josh Gad's character LeFou. Gad has said that though the moment is small, he's very proud of it.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, 2016 reported a record number of female protagonists in film. 29% of all leading roles in the top 100 domestic grossing films were female, which is an increase of 7% since 2015. Male characters, major and minor, are still dominant on screen. 

After a triumphant series of concerts at Feinstein's/54 Below, the one and only Tony Danza is returning with his cabaret show Standards and Stories. Tony will be performing six shows,  February 24 & 25, March 17, 18 & 31 and April 1 at 7pm. He was kind enough to take some time out of his sunny day in Los Angeles to speak to me about the upcoming series and things currently going on in his career.

The New York Times reports that Trump has not backed down on intentions to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts as a way to curb government spending and balance the budget. Budget planning was already delayed as the budget office waited for the confirmation of Mick Mulvaney as budget director, and the administration now hopes to have a plan finalized by March 13.

According to the New York Times, Meryl Streep has no intention of staying quiet about the current political situation. After a rousing speech at the Golden Globe Awards that urged her fellow performers and colleagues to stay socially aware and protect the rights of everyone, Streep found herself the subject of angry tweets from Trump.

According to Crain's New York, the city is attempting to pull a greater percentage of air-rights profit from Broadway theatres and the Theatre District. Air-rights have to do with the space above Broadway theatres, which the theatres are allowed to sell to property owners in the Theatre District. The city currently takes a portion of these profits, which are added to a fund that goes towards supporting emerging artists and theatre companies.

LA LA LAND director Damien Chazelle nabbed the top feature film award at last night's 69th Annual Director's Guild Awards. Glenn Weiss picked up the award for Best Variety/News/Talk/Sports Special for the 70th Annual Tony Awards on CBS.

According to Westword, artistic director of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts Kent Thompson will be leaving the company after 12 years of revolutionary work. Discerning and socially aware, Thompson led the company in its focus on producing plays by women and writers of color, set up the New Play Summit which fosters development of original works, and created the Women's Voices Fund which is responsible for commissioning and producing new plays by female writers.

According to Law360, Joseph Meli and Advance Entertainment LLC are again headed to court on fraud charges. Previously accused of swindling investors out of $81 million with the promise of HAMILTON resale tickets, the company has used similar promises to pull $7.9 million on claims of profits from the upcoming Broadway run of HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD.

Trump's recent executive order curtailing entrance into the US from primarily Muslim countries has, according to the New York Times, inflicted damage on valued artists in the theatrical and performing community. 

According to Variety, this year's hit big screen musical LA LA LAND met with surprising results at the London Critics' Awards. Winner of five Golden Globe awards including Best Musical or Comedy Motion Picture and Best Original Score, LA LA LAND has been a force to be reckoned with on the awards circuit.

According to Vanity Fair, Playwright Jon Robin Baitz was assaulted by a Trump supporter in Washington, DC on Friday night. Baitz was in town to participate in the women's march on the 21st, and was having dinner with his husband and two friends. Baitz described a nearby table as full of 'exhilarated and pointedly celebratory, loud happy Trump people.'

In an exclusive announcement, Deadline revealed that Isabella Russo has been cast in an upcoming pilot headed by FRESH OFF THE BOAT co-executive producer Kourtney Kang.

In an exclusive interview with People Magazine, Billy Porter announced his marriage to longtime partner Adam Smith. 'We're looking forward to understanding and learning how to share your life with somebody,' Porter was quoted. 'I'm really thrilled to figure out what that means - together, with my soul mate!'

According to Daily Mail, Nicole Kidman has chosen not to reprise her role in PHOTOGRAPH 51 to spend more time with her daughters, Sunday and Faith.  Kidman stated that 'Photograph 51 was such a profound, spontaneous, incredible experience. I loved that instantaneous reaction, which you never have with film.' However when she took the idea to her daughters 'they said nope!'

Keeping a low profile since the election, sightings of Hillary Clinton have been rare, and according to the New York Times her latest appearance was highly recognized. Joined by her husband and daughter, Clinton attended the final performance of Broadway's THE COLOR PURPLE where she received a standing ovation from the sold-out house.

Shakespeare expert Heather Wolfe revealed in a recent interview with The Guardian that she has uncovered new evidence that the William Shakespeare of Stratford-Upon-Avon is indeed William Shakespeare the world-renowned playwright.

Hamilton producer Jeffrey Seller confirmed on Thursday that the Chicago production's Aaron Burr, Joshua Henry, will exit the show to take over the role in the national tour. While no replacement has yet been announced, according to the Chicago Tribune, TV and Broadway alum Wayne Brady may be among those considered to step in.

In order to prepare Falsettos for public broadcast, a Lincoln Center rep confirms that minor changes were made to lyrics containing explicit language during the filmed January 3rd and 4th performances.