Jada Pinkett Smith News

Each month, BroadwayWorld will be shining the spotlight on a stage actor making their Broadway debut as part of our 'Debut of the Month' series. This month, we are featuring Chris Chalk, making his Broadway debut as Cory in the Broadway revival of August Wilson's Fences. The play stars two-time Academy Award winner Denzel Washington and Tony Award winner Viola Davis.

Last night, June 13, the 64th Annual Tony Awards were held at Radio City MusicAl Hall. Hosted by PROMISES, PROMISES star Sean Hayes and Broadcast on CBS, the evening honored movie stars Catherine Zeta-Jones, Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Scarlett Johansson, industry vets Katie Finneran, Bill T. Jones, Michael Grandage, Broadway newcomers Eddie Redmayne, David Bryan, Douglas Hodge, and more!

BroadwayWorld.com's Editor-in-Chief, Robert Diamond is live blogging from the 2010 Tony Award Rehearsals at Radio City Music Hall! Refresh for updates!

In a New York Times feature out today, the longtime Tony Awards ceremony production designer, Steve Bass, reveals what is involved in translating a live Broadway aesthetic for the screen and what audiences can expect this year.

Yesterday, June 9, Kid Rock hosted the 2010 CMT Music Awards at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

Yesterday, June 9, the Empire State Building hosted a reception in honor of the 2010 Tony nominees on the famed rooftop observatory. BroadwayWorld was on hand for the photo op and to take in the view.

A new multi-million-dollar headquarters and an internal political struggle over who will become the next police chief add a whole new set of challenges for Deputy Police Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson as TNT presents the sixth season of ad-supported cable's #1 series of all time - THE CLOSER. Golden Globe(R) winner and four-time Emmy(R) nominee Kyra Sedgwick returns as Johnson, who heads up the LAPD's Major Crimes Division.

The Tony Awards today announced the full line-up of presenters and performers who are scheduled to take the stage at the 64th Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The 2010 Tony Awards will air live on CBS, on Sunday, June 13th 8:00 - 11:00 p.m. (ET/PT time delay) and are presented by the Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing.

Turner Network Television (TNT) announced today that it has joined forces with Hall of Fame rockers AC/DC to feature the band's single 'T.N.T' as the network's theme song for its 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series coverage.

The Village Voice announced today that the hit Broadway musical FELA! will perform at the 55th Annual Village Voice OBIE Awards on Monday, May 17, 2010, at Webster Hall. FELA!-which is produced by Shawn 'Jay-Z' Carter and Will & Jada Pinkett Smith, among others-is a musical based on the life and music of the iconic African composer and performer Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.

TNT has given the greenlight to the buddy lawyer series FRANKLIN & BASH, starring Mark-Paul Gosselaar (NYPD Blue, TNT's Raising the Bar) and Breckin Meyer (Heroes). TNT has ordered 10 episodes of the series, which is produced by Four Sycamore Productions, Left Coast Productions and FanFare Productions in association Sony Pictures Television. FRANKLIN & BASH is executive-produced by Jamie Tarses (TNT's HawthoRNe, TBS's My Boys), Kevin Falls (Shark, The West Wing) and Bill Chais (Shark, Dirty Sexy Money). Falls and Chais wrote the pilot.

With 11 Tony ® Award nominations including Best Musical and Best Director of a Musical & Best Choreography for Bill T. Jones, the producers of Fela! have announced plans for a groundbreaking domestic and international tour of the critically acclaimed production launching in the fall of 2011. Lead producer Stephen Hendel has enlisted CAMI Spectrum's Margaret Selby in association with CAMI Theatricals' Gary McAvay to book the tour in the following US cities: Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Miami, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Tempe, and Washington. International engagements in Amsterdam, Melbourne, Paris, Rotterdam, Sydney and Toronto will also be scheduled.

Nominations for the American Theatre Wing's 64th Annual Antoinette Perry 'Tony' Awards were announced May 4, 2010 by Broadway Star Lea Michele and Tony Award Nominee Jeff Daniels.

The Village Voice announced today that the hit Broadway musical FELA! will perform at the 55th Annual Village Voice OBIE Awards on Monday, May 17, 2010, at Webster Hall. FELA!-which is produced by Shawn 'Jay-Z' Carter and Will & Jada Pinkett Smith, among others-is a musical based on the life and music of the iconic African composer and performer Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.

Fela!, the critically acclaimed new musical based on the life and music of groundbreaking African composer, performer and activist Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, is directed and choreographed by Tony® Award-winner Bill T. Jones (Spring Awakening), with a book by Jim Lewis and Bill T. Jones. Sahr Ngaujah and Kevin Mambo play the title character at alternate performances, while the world renowned Antibalas and other members of the NYC Afrobeat community, under the direction of Aaron Johnson, perform Kuti's rousing music live onstage.

It was announced today that in November 2010, The National Theatre, one of the world's most prestigious venues, will produce FELA!, this season's most heralded new musical on Broadway. Performances at The National's Olivier Theatre are slated to begin Saturday, November 6, with an official Opening Night set for Tuesday, November 16, 2010.

The acclaimed Broadway sensation Fela! will play London's National Theatre in November, reports Baz Bamigboye of the Daily Mail. Star of the New York production Sahr Ngaujah will portray Fela on the National's Olivier Stage. His fellow New York alternate, Kevin Mambo, will also join the cast for the London premiere. Dates for the production have not been set at this time, though it is expected the show will play from November 16 through January 2011.

Fela! the new Broadway musical, will record its cast album today, March 8. The recording will be made at Clinton Recording studies. The cast album is set to be released on June 8.

Broadway dominated The View yesterday, March 3. Following an interview with The Miracle Worker's Abigail Breslin, the Fela! cast took the stage to perform 'Zombie' for viewers. Valerie Bertinelli filled in for Whoopi Goldberg, alongside View regulars Barbra Walters, Joy Behar, Sherri Sheperd and Elizabeth Hasselbeck. Audience members were sent home from the taping with a pair of tickets to see the Fela!. The View airs weekdays at 11:00am EST on ABC.

TNT's Provocative Drama Series SAVING GRACE, Starring Oscar(R) Winner Holly Hunter, Begins Journey to Final Episodes March 29