Profile for BJR

^Yup all this.

In the movie world, this is a huge deal, with LMM being a far less bigger deal than the A-List talent that felt shafted by this move. None of the creatives were consulted apparently. It was a move made unilaterally by executives.

Christopher Nolan was explicit in his criticisms in Hollywood Reporter: "Christopher Nolan Rips HBO

I believe I recall Sondheim saying in an interview it was Arthur Laurents who first said he'd let Streisand do it only if she didn't direct. Sondheim initially didn't have a problem with it, but thought Laurents was probably right and also made the stipulation.

As for SUNSET, it doesn't sound like a cheap movie, so I'm skeptical it gets greenlit after a year rough couple years. But I hope it does, for her sake and ours. It's likely the only way we'd ever get

Kad said: "Have straight men given good, even great, performances as gay characters? Absolutely. Robin Williams in The Birdcage or Jeffrey Wright in Angels in America immediately come to mind. But again, those are now decades old, and there were substantially fewer openly queer actors in Hollywood. Times have changed."

Andrew Garfield won a Tony last year. As Vanity Fair even notes, Darrin Criss won an Emmy, what, 2 years ago? Both deserved, in my opinion.

Hav

Wait, why are they using British performers?

British director, as well as director for TV, and writer. But the ensemble is from the West End? Don't we have plenty of American actors out of work? Is this filming in the UK, or where is the union?

This looks incredible.

Interesting story on the making of the Lion King, both the film and eventual Bway musical, that I presume is from his upcoming book on the resurgence of Bway/Times Square in the 90s.

How The Lion King Became a $9 Billion Bway Smash

But one part jumped out at me:

"Disney executives liked the song, but Schneider and others realized the sho

Wonderful news. Congrats to Andrew!!

Matthew Lopez also had this beautiful post on Insta:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CGOZIfhjvEs/ 

PS This is why I've always been uncomfortable with this conversation. Not only aren't allowed to ask people's sexuality, and certainly shouldn't hire based on it, but it's a personal journey and employment shouldn't be affected by it.

Isn't there a lot more to this than she's saying?

As for giving away their rights, workshops were still fairly new and the concept of devising a script together in rehearsal, all still fairly new. Chorus Line, famously, but that was only a handful of years before. So, to expect them to have known better and not signed them away is both a bit insensitive but also not exactly fair.

But I think the dynamic with Bennett goes beyond that. A dresser once told me of the time Be

CZJ is more of a MAME to me.

Toni Collette is an inspired choice. I just can't imagine she'd make her Bway musical return is so difficult a sing.

I'd put money the next Bway revival would be Sutton or Audra. Probably the only people for whom the money would appear, industry wouldn't roll their eyes and would actually be excited for another. As for ticket sales, who knows?

I think the two-in-a-decade situation over-saturated the industry on the show for a l

sparksatmidnight said: "Guess it's only a matter of time now

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/sep/15/madonna-to-direct-and-co-write-her-own-biopic"

I think it's a genius idea. If the script is good, it's a project she was born to direct. But a good script for a biopic is always challenging, so sadly, that's a big "if".

Sounds like a fantastic hire. And Marcus Gardley doing the screenplay? Yes, please.

I believe it's an oral history, like the Angels in America. He was interviewing people associated with the original production. But I suppose an oral history written by one of the creators would just be a memoir.

I concur competitive categories makes little to no sense. Sure, it happened in the past, but who respects SUNSET as a Best Musical winner?

They should give citations like the Obie Awards. Then, performances. Don't make folks dress up from their d*mn homes only to lose a category with 3 people in it. No glamour, just their living room after.

And what a shame about WSS and GFNC. Those two could've made a couple categories slightly competitive.

JBroadway said: "Even if it's true that DeBessonet has been hired to direct the new version of the show, we should still expect the new incarnation to be very different. There are some components that I'm sure can stay: the new songs, maybe the cast, maybe the puppetry, etc. But it would need to be a new adaptation (so it makes sense that they would hire a new book writer), and a new production that doesn't center around an amateur community ensemble. I do hope they keep

^That's exactly right.

Donna got raves but her attendance issues were having an affect. Add to that Tonya received a big NYTimes profile talking about her struggles and being on welfare just a few years prior. Those profiles always felt like they were bestowed on a fav in the category (see: Raul in '07). And while Cheno got raves (namely from Brantley), it was though she had just won and she and Idina would split.

No one was predicting an Idina win. But then, no one was

It's a complete revamp. Original team, but completely new design and production. Schumacher discussed it on a podcast last year, but of course now I'm forgetting which one.

Such fantastic news. And what a fantastic team working on it. Jocelyn Bioh is perfect for this. And while I'm unfamiliar with the director, it's no small think that is should be an African woman. I didn't see her film, Rafiki, but I want to go back and do so.

I hope Disney+ adds to the content-hungry machine that Netflix, Amazon and Hulu have created and it results in more stage to streaming projects!

Honestly, I was surprised at the nominations it did receive. And agree Mantello was easily the best performance in the series, so the real shame. (Love Patti, but what the writing gave her in screen time it lacked in an interesting arc.)

JBroadway said: "True, however I get the sense that this play, as well asNtozake Shange's name, carry a lot of respect within the industry, particular forBlack artists in the industry. This might attract some bankable stars."

I think this is very true. I even think you could've gotten some stars before. But now, in this current environment, absolutely.

And after that article in the Times, I wondered if there might be a push to get quite a few of the sh