Michelle Obama News

BroadwayWorld is sad to report that costume designer Isabel Toledo has passed away. 

Best known as the co-creator and co-star of hit podcast 2 Dope Queens, interviewing the likes of Jon Stewart, Tig Nataro and Michelle Obama to name just a few. Phoebe is also a New York Times best-selling author of You Can't Touch My Hair & Other Things I Still Have To Explain and her second book Everything's Trash, But it's Okay and stars in Netflix film Ibiza and Paramount's What Men Want. Sorry, Harriet Tubman marks her UK stand up debut.

Lin-Manuel Miranda is set to receive the Portrait of a Nation Prize from the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.

Casting executive Brenda Kelly Grant has returned to ABC as vice president of Casting, announced Ayo Davis, executive vice president, Talent and Casting, ABC Entertainment, to whom she will report. In this role, Grant will lead the casting process on network pilots and series for ABC; help discover emerging talent, and liaise with producers, casting directors and executives on projects. 

From YouTube Originals comes the official trailer for “A Student's Guide to Your First Year of College.”

Today's top stories: Read the reviews for Moulin Rouge!, Harry Connick, Jr. is headed back to Broadway, and more!

Last night, Hadestown had a very special visitor. Michelle Obama came to see the show!

Since moving to the United States for The Late Late Show, James Corden has been searching for a way to determine which is better: the UK or the US. Corden enlists Michelle Obama to put together a group of American all-stars, including Kate Hudson, Mila Kunis, Melissa McCarthy, Lena Waithe and Allison Janney, to take on a group of formidable UK opponents. Can James, Reggie Watts, Harry Styles, Benedict Cumberbatch and John Bradley earn honor for Great Britain?

TBS' CONAN will take the Emmy(R) winning CONAN without Borders series of specials internationally for the eleventh time in four years as Conan O'Brien travels to Ghana. The longest tenured host in late-night, currently celebrating 25 years on the air will embark on his trip Monday, June 17. Conan will document his entire journey in real time on Team Coco's Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter accounts.

Amazon Studios announced today that Lili Reinhart (Riverdale) will star in writer/director Richard Tanne's coming-of-age drama and romance film, Chemical Hearts. Based on the beloved novel Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland, the film is currently shooting in New Jersey. Chemical Hearts is an Amazon Original produced for Amazon Prime Video. Producers are Page Fifty-Four's Alex Saks (The Florida Project, Book Club) and Tanne, and the film is executive produced by Jamin O'Brien (Eighth Grade) and Reinhart, in her first executive producer role.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama joins James Corden for an epic international dodgeball game that will kick off the week of London broadcasts of THE LATE LATE SHOW with JAMES CORDEN. The Emmy Award-winning series returns to Corden's native U.K. to broadcast four special episodes from the historic Central Hall Westminster, Monday, June 17 – Thursday, June 20 (12:37-1:37 AM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama's production company, Higher Ground, today announced a partnership with Spotify to produce podcasts exclusive to the platform. The Obamas formed Higher Ground to produce powerful stories to entertain, inform and inspire, and to lift up new, diverse voices in the entertainment industry. Spotify, which recently surpassed 100 million Premium subscribers and has more than 217 million monthly active users, will distribute the podcasts to audiences across the globe.

GRAMMY Museum® adds Michelle Obama's 61st GRAMMY Awards® Sachin & Babi outfit to its On The Red Carpet collection.

Tony Award Winner and current star of My Fair Lady, Laura Benanti, is hopping across the pond to perform a concert at London's Cadogan Hall. Known for her performances on Broadway in Gypsy, She Loves Me, and Meteor Shower, this concert will be her first performance in London.

Following YouTube's huge Brandcast presentation and news that all of its YouTube Originals will be free, YouTube Originals kicks off summer with an exciting slate of new and returning original series and specials to keep viewers engaged after the successful Cobra Kai season 2 launch.

The Juilliard School today announced that choreographer Alonzo King, actress Rita Moreno, and composer Kaija Saariaho will receive honorary doctorates during the school's 114th commencement ceremony

YouTube today announced that all of its forthcoming original series and specials will soon be available for fans around the world to watch for free with ads- just like they enjoy everything else on the platform. In addition, YouTube unveiled a new and returning slate of original series and specials focused on music, learning and personalities that will all be free with ads, including seasons 1 and 2 of “Cobra Kai” beginning this fall. The announcements were made on stage today at YouTube's annual Brandcast event by Chief Business Officer Robert Kyncl.

Hearts to Art, the Auditorium Theatre's signature summer camp for young people who have experienced the death of a parent, returns in July and August of 2019 for its 15th year. This unique program encourages the healing power of creative play through music, dance, theatre, visual arts, and more.

The Martha Graham Dance Company began with its Executive Director, LaRue Allen, explaining the dances for that evening. In an era focused on making dance more accessible to a wider audience beyond New York, this was especially welcome.