Queen Latifah News

Just announced! The NYC debut of ELIJAH JAMAL QUINTET and Guests performing on Friday, September 4!  The quintet is led by saxophonist and composer Elijah Jamal Balbed, a Washington DC native named 'Best Tenor Saxophonist' and 'Best New Jazz Musician' by the Washington City Paper. 

On JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE, Queen talks about playing legendary blues singer Bessie Smith.

On JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE, Queen recalls filming a nude scene for the movie Bessie and shares her love of being naked.

The Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition is the world's most visible jazz vocal competition of its kind and provides a platform for one outstanding female singer to launch a career in the music industry. The competition started in 2012 and was co-produced by NJPAC and JAZZ ROOTS, a Larry Rosen Production. Jazz fans are invited to review and vote for entries online; then five finalists are selected for a live performance at NJPAC as part of the TD James Moody Jazz Festival, where a panel of expert judges decides the recipient of the SASSY Award.

Grammy and Golden Globe-winner Queen Latifah will soon return to musical theatre as the title character in NBC's highly-anticipated THE WIZ LIVE! (airing December 3)- a part that is usually played by a man. In a recent Variety article, it is revealed that director Kenny Leon first came up the idea for the gender-bending casting.

BroadwayWorld has just learned that Ne-Yo and Common have joined the cast, of NBC's highly-anticipated THE WIZ LIVE!. Ne-Yo will take on the role of the Tin Man, while Common portrays the gatekeeper of Oz, a non-sining role

A treasure trove of classic TV!

Below, check out some of BWW's favorite performances from these talented stars!

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. Tours of 'Persuasion,' 'Pippin' and '42nd Street,' dueling productions of 'American Idiot,' Michael Kingston and Jane Lynch solo out, 'Bette' adds a date, Theo Ubique announced 'Blood Brothers,' Porchlight sets the season, and 'The Wiz Live!' gets movin' down the road!

Below, we bring you an exclusive interview with the lady of the hour, as shares with BroadwayWorld's own Richard Ridge the story of how she was cast, what happens between now and December, and so much more!

'Ice & Coco' kicked off its 8-market summer preview on Monday, delivering an impressive 1.2/4 Household rating/share, growing +33% over its lead-in share average.

Tony Award nominee and multi-talented actor and singer David Alan Grier is joining NBC's highly anticipated holiday production of 'The Wiz Live!,' set for Thursday, Dec. 3.

NBC's The Wiz Live has found it's Dorothy! According to the show's official Facebook page, the announcement will be made tomorrow, August 5. They write: 'Who will play Dorothy in #TheWizLive? Find out tomorrow on the Today Show at 8:15am ET on NBC. We can't wait to share the news with you!'

NBC's The Wiz Live has found it's Dorothy! BroadwayWorld has just learned that Shanice Williams has joined the cast

Broadway is abuzz with news about NBC's upcoming presentation of The Wiz, with Queen Latifah, Mary J. Blige and original Dorothy Stephanie Mills all having just signed on to star. They aren't the only ones with love for The Wiz though. On Monday night, January 20, 2014 BroadwayWorld.com kicked off our 10th anniversary celebration with a benefit for BC/EFA entitled BroadwayWorld.com Visits Oz. In celebration of this week's big news, we bring you our own concert highlights of The Wiz, including performances of 'So You Wanted to See the Wizard?,' 'Be A Lion,' 'Home,' 'If You Believe,' and of course, 'Ease on Down the Road.'

In acknowledgement of the many exciting news items this week pertaining to THE WIZ, it is the topic of today's tribute.

Grammy and Golden Globe-winner Queen Latifah has joined the cast of NBC's highly-anticipated musical, THE WIZ LIVE! in the role of the Wiz

Lines are blurring. Gender-bending is seemingly everywhere these days, from high fashion ads to news coverage to I AM CAIT, Queen Latifah as The Wiz and beyond. Furthermore, one of the most provocative and popular stories of last week was the news of a Canadian regional production of A CHORUS LINE casting a male actor in the leading role of Cassie, renamed Casey. With the additional angle of Broadway currently being abuzz with the appearance of stage and screen star Taye Diggs stepping into the iconic high heels of the titular character in the recently multi-Tony Award-winning musical HEDWIG & THE ANGRY INCH - itself centered on a transsexual character - it seems as though now would be the ideal time to consider some other musical theatre mainstays and how they could be re-purposed and refreshed with a gender-bended twist. Although certain roles seems tailor-made to such treatment, it is illuminating to consider the rich possibilities that could potentially be afforded in the experience of witnessing the right performer of perhaps the perceivably wrong sex tackling a role normally associated with the opposite gender. Who knows, maybe a female Phantom or a make Elphaba are not that wildly spurious or far-fetched to consider given the compelling performances that have been given by unlikely actors in roles traditionally portrayed in a certain way. Theatre is nothing without reinvention and these are my top 10 picks for musicals I would like to see taken on with fresh eyes and a new outlook.

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? Today's big news: FUN HOME heads to LATE NIGHT, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST opens in Forest Park, THAT '70S SHOW mama heads to the stage and more!

Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are two of the most renowned producers working in the industry today. They are best known for their work on the past three Academy Awards ceremonies, The Sound of Music Live!, Peter Pan Live! and Smash. Their Broadway credits include Promises, Promises and How to Succeed in Buisness Without Really Trying. Film credits include Hairspray, Chicago, A Raisin in the Sun and Footloose. Upcoming projects include The Wiz Live!, the movie adaptation of Pippin and much more.