Kevin Chamberlin to join THE PROM movie as Sheldon

[DiscoCrows]

Posted: 1/27/20 at 12:57pm

Agree! He will be great in this.

[quizking101]

Posted: 1/27/20 at 1:18pm

I agree, and he might be recognizable to some of the younger demographic who grew up watching him on the Disney Channel.

I do kind of wonder what happened to Awkwafina, but I also really don’t care since it seemed like bizarre choice to cast a rising star in a campy supporting role that was originally male on stage. 

[Fordham2015]

Posted: 1/27/20 at 1:53pm

The Al Roker/June Squibb swap has met its match.

[bdn223]

Posted: 1/27/20 at 2:35pm

If I had to bet, Awkwafina aka Nora from Queens has been spreading herself to thin seemingly saying yes to every jobs she’s been offered post Ocean’s 8 and Crazy Rich Asian’s. Then with the surprising awards season success The Farewell has seen or at least did see in the December and early January Awards, she’s now a proven commodity with a diverse range, and did a career re-evaluation and decided some we’ll deserved rest or another yet to be announced project is more valuable to her then playing another role where she’s the bluntly honest comedic relief. Add to that with a cast of that many A Listers she likely won’t be mentioned in or have to do any press for the role, and as such what is she getting for her time besides a paycheck, that she clearly no longer needs. Add to that based on the role in the musical and those involved its very unlikely that she’d be able to carve out another break out performance, and instead is just seen as a resume builder. Therefore Unless she was desperate to work with Ryan Murphy and Meryl Streep, or was deeply in love with the musical itself, she doesn’t need the job.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 1/27/20 at 3:23pm

The film has been filming for over a month. As is the case countless times, could be her schedule isn’t coordinating with the one assigned for her film days. The production isn’t working around HER schedule so most likely it interfered so she had to bow out from a bit role. This happens constantly. I have a friend who works on MODERN FAMILY and he’s mentioned tons of amazing actors who were contacted to play small roles but couldn’t due to their schedules not coinciding with MODERN FAMILY’s shooting days.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 1/27/20 at 4:40pm

i haven't seem Chamberlain live in a number of years.  I always loved his performances, particularly in Dirty Blonde.  Has he been on the NY stage recently or is he focused on TV shows that I do not watch?  Someone referenced the Disney Channel.

 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 1/27/20 at 4:48pm

He was playing the Wizard in Broadway’s WICKED until a few months ago.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 1/27/20 at 6:44pm

Jarethan said: "i haven't seem Chamberlain live in a number of years. I always loved his performances, particularly in Dirty Blonde. Has he been on the NY stage recently or is he focused on TV shows that I do not watch? Someone referenced the Disney Channel."

"

He did a Disney Channel series called Jessie from 2011-2015. Weirdly, because of that young "audience bubble," Kevin Chamberlin has more Instagram followers (499K) than Cynthia Erivo, Josh Groban, Laura Benanti, Leslie Odom Jr, Kelli O'Hara, Michael Urie, and Stephanie J. Block! I hope Disney paid him really well.

In the past year alone, he played the Wizard in Wicked, Mushnik in Little Shop at Pasadena, Let Em Eat Cake (Carnegie Hall), and High Button Shoes (Encores).

[Hot Pants]

Posted: 1/27/20 at 6:50pm

Chamberlain’s always a welcome presence. I think his work in Addams Family showed that he’s genuinely very talented, as I thought he did a much better job of elevating his material than the other cast members, managing to make a genuinely engaging performance in an otherwise weak show. Granted, Uncle Fester is one of the better written parts in that show, but that’s not really saying much.

[MollyJeanneMusic]

Posted: 1/27/20 at 7:24pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Jarethan said: "i haven't seem Chamberlain live in a number of years. I always loved his performances, particularly in Dirty Blonde. Has he been on the NY stage recently or is he focused on TV shows that I do not watch? Someone referenced the Disney Channel."

"

He did a Disney Channel series calledJessiefrom 2011-2015. Weirdly, because of that young "audience bubble," Kevin Chamberlin has more Instagram followers (499K) than Cynthia Erivo, Josh Groban, Laura Benanti, Leslie Odom Jr, Kelli O'Hara, Michael Urie, and Stephanie J. Block!I hope Disney paid him really well.

In the past year alone, he playedthe Wizard inWicked, Mushnik inLittle Shop at Pasadena,Let Em Eat Cake(Carnegie Hall), andHigh Button Shoes(Encores)."

I did a Broadway workshop in my area, and a lot of people mentioned that they saw a character from Jessie as the Wizard.  Like, a group of people who should be at least somewhat educated about Broadway and actors and stuff was excited about a character from Jessie!  (They were also excited that I had seen Hadestown, not because it's a great, award-winning show, but because I got to meet Kiki from The Fresh Beat Band.  Go figure.)  My school actually just did Little Shop, and this year we're doing The Addams Family, so I joked to them that we're only doing Kevin Chamberlin shows from here on out.  (The kids at my school will be very excited about the possibilities of that joke after the announcement about this movie.)

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 1/28/20 at 11:31am

quizking101 said: "I do kind of wonder what happened to Awkwafina, but I also really don’t care since it seemed like bizarre choice to cast a rising star in a campy supporting role that was originally male on stage."

I thought the exact same thing. I really hope this movie gets a DVD/Blu-Ray release. I'd love to see, in particular, how the new actress's take on Emma is different or similar to Caitlin Kinnunen's.

 

[darquegk]

Posted: 1/28/20 at 1:15pm

Chamberlin also played a fantastic recurring role in "A Series of Unfortunate Events" on Netflix, a show that always seemed to have the best theatre-world cameos.

[LightsOut90]

Posted: 1/28/20 at 4:27pm

i really font understand why they are so against anyone from the broadway company reprising their roles

[DaveyG]

Posted: 1/28/20 at 4:56pm

LightsOut90 said: "i really font understand why they are so against anyone from the broadway company reprising their roles"

Because no movie company would ever put up the money if it was a cast full of no name theatre actors. I’m shocked anyone ever thought they’d even be considered.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 1/28/20 at 5:04pm

LightsOut90 said: "i really font understand why they are so against anyone from the broadway company reprising their roles"

It would be kind of weird to have 1-2 Broadway cast members in minor supporting roles amongst the new cast, in terms of continuity and building an ensemble. Don't you think it would be odd if the ONLY person from the stage production reprising their role was Josh Lamon?

[Hot Pants]

Posted: 1/28/20 at 5:21pm

DaveyG said: "LightsOut90 said: "i really font understand why they are so against anyone from the broadway company reprising their roles"

Because no movie company would ever put up the money if it was a cast full of no nametheatre actors. I’m shocked anyone ever thought they’d even be considered."

Yeah, given the fact that the Broadway production was a financial flop, there was no way they’d have them reprise their parts. I’ll give them credit for casting an unknown as a Emma though.

[sparksatmidnight]

Posted: 1/28/20 at 10:04pm

LightsOut90 said: "i really font understand why they are so against anyone from the broadway company reprising their roles"

Boring and unoriginal. Why make a new movie and be limited by the choices of how a previous director saw the role and the material? (and also, they're a bunch of unknowns)

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 1/29/20 at 12:04am

sparksatmidnight said: "LightsOut90 said: "i really font understand why they are so against anyone from the broadway company reprising their roles"

Boring and unoriginal. Why make a new movie and be limited by the choices of how a previous director saw the role and the material? (and also, they're a bunch of unknowns)"

It’s the same director. Casey Nicholaw is the director of the film. Also, considering it’s being produced by Netflix it could literally have a plastic bag in the lead role and 10 million people will still watch it.

[LightsOut90]

Posted: 1/29/20 at 1:44am

Call_me_jorge said: "sparksatmidnight said: "LightsOut90 said: "i really font understand why they are so against anyone from the broadway company reprising their roles"

Boring and unoriginal. Why make a new movie and be limited by the choices of how a previous director saw the role and the material? (and also, they're a bunch of unknowns)"

It’s the same director. Casey Nicholaw is the director of the film. Also, considering it’s being produced by Netflix it could literally have a plastic bag in the lead role and 10 million people will still watch it."

thanks, also Netflix just burned 135 million on The Irishman so save the money bs for someone else

[DaveyG]

Posted: 1/29/20 at 2:18am

Call_me_jorge said: "sparksatmidnight said: "LightsOut90 said: "i really font understand why they are so against anyone from the broadway company reprising their roles"

Boring and unoriginal. Why make a new movie and be limited by the choices of how a previous director saw the role and the material? (and also, they're a bunch of unknowns)"

It’s the same director. Casey Nicholaw is the director of the film. Also, considering it’s being produced by Netflix it could literally have a plastic bag in the lead role and 10 million people will still watch it."

Actually, Ryan Murphy is directing the movie. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 1/29/20 at 10:12am

Call_me_jorge said: "Also, considering it’s being produced by Netflix it could literally have a plastic bag in the lead role and 10 million people will still watch it."

This is one of the most ignorant myths about streaming that's regularly spewed on this forum and others. Stars ABSOLUTELY matter to Netflix –– otherwise they wouldn't shell out big money for them? We've seen plenty of titles get totally buried on streaming services because they don't have stars, or a brand, or hype enough to sustain it. Some people wrongly think that just because something's on a streamer, everyone is watching, but not everything is going to have the same viewership as Bird Box or Stranger Things or even Marriage Story. (Case in point:  "lost" titles like Private Life and Cam and Meyerowitz Stories)

I will also make the assumption that Netflix sees a short-term bump in a film's viewership when it gets award nominations or wins, which is why it pushes significant resources into its Oscar and Emmy campaigns.

[JuneJune]

Posted: 1/29/20 at 9:26pm

LightsOut90 said: "i really font understand why they are so against anyone from the broadway company reprising their roles"

By no means am I calling the cast old, but they are way too beyond the years of high schoolers to be believable in the roles.

On stage, it's easy to hold a suspension of belief as long as everyone looks the same age (Wicked, Mean Girls). However, in film age becomes much more apparent and in some cases, distracting. When I first watched the Rent movie years ago (with no foreknowledge), I had to be told that they were in their early 20's, and wouldn't have known otherwise.

Granted there is a much shorter time skip between the stage production and movie for The Prom, but the point I was trying to make was that having some of the OBC reprise their role cpild take away from the experience instead of enhance it for the masses.

And while I'm sad that at least Brooks and Beth couldn't reprise the role, I understand how the names "James Cordon" wna "Meryl Streep" will better attract mainstream attention