Ricki Lake News

The hit musical Hairspray is returning to the West End! Tonight the production announced that actor Paul Merton will be joining the cast in the role of Wilbur Turnblad.

The Groundlings Theatre in Los Angeles has had a busy last few days with scores of alumni and special guests participating in their recent shows!

Dominick Pupa returns to The Duplex with his annual, all-new holiday show skewering the best and worst of 2019. It's a pop culture roasting along with holiday song parodies that will ruin the Christmas classics for you forever. This year featuring ten times the shade, as we close out not just a year, but an entire decade of regret.

Lizzie Bea and Marisha Wallace join the cast of the West End revival of Hairspray!

Peggy Drexler, the producer of MIKE WALLACE IS HERE, is Tom Needham's special guest this Thursday on WUSB's THE SOUNDS OF FILM.

AXS TV is proud to serve as the stateside home of the hit singing competition THE X FACTOR: CELEBRITY for the sixth consecutive year, as the series makes its anticipated return with a celebrity spin on Monday, Oct. 14 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The upcoming season puts a fresh spin on the long-standing series, pitting stars from film, television, sports, and more against each other as they put their singing talents on full display in THE X FACTOR: CELEBRITY.

Yaron Brook, the chairman of the board of the Ayn Rand Institute, is Tom Needham's exclusive guest this Thursday at 6 pm on WUSB's THE SOUNDS OF FILM. Dr. Brook is co-author, with Don Watkins, of In Pursuit of Wealth, Equal Is Unfair and of the national best-seller Free Market Revolution. He is also the host of The Yaron Brook Show on BlogTalk Radio. He is in New York City this week in order to attend the Ayn Rand Institute's 2019 Gala.

Jim Caruso's Cast Party stormed Las Vegas for one night only, on Friday, July 26. The a?oeextreme open mic,a?? which celebrates musical and variety talent, returned to Myron's Cabaret Jazz at The Smith Center. 

In the 1920s, the Motor City put American on wheels. In the 1940s, Detroit became the a?oeArsenal of Democracy.a??

Filmmakers Astra Taylor, Craig Ahrens and David Espinosa are Tom Needham's exclusive guests this Thursday at 6 pm on a special July 4th edition of the SOUNDS OF FILM on WUSB. Astra Taylor is the author of the new book, DEMOCRACY MAY EXIST BUT WE'LL MISS IT WHEN IT'S GONE and the director of the recently released documentary WHAT IS DEMOCRACY? Craig and David are the filmmaking team responsible for the film THE EVIL DOWN THE STREET.

It was announced today that Actor, Author, Comedian and Celebrity DJ “Goumba Johnny' Sialiano has signed on with G&G Talent Management, INC as management of record.

Award-winning daytime talk producer Talia Parkinson-Jones has been named co-executive producer of “Tamron Hall,” it was announced by William Burton, senior vice president of Daytime, Sports and Syndicated DevelopmentProduction, ABC Entertainment. Also joining the senior production team along with Parkinson-Jones is Andrew Scher, who has been named supervising producer. Set to broadcast from New York City featuring a dynamic mix of live and taped shows, “Tamron Hall” will premiere across the country in national syndication on Monday, Sept. 9.

BroadwayWorld has learned that a National Touring production HAIRSPRAY may launch as soon as launch fall 2020! A representative for Networks Tours was unable to confirm official plans but noted the production is in the works.

Academy Award, Golden Globe and Grammy winning composer Gabriel Yared is going to be Tom Needham's exclusive guest this Thursday at 6 pm on WUSB's THE SOUNDS OF FILM. Gabriel is most well-known for his scores for 'The English Patient,' 'Cold Mountain,' 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' and 'The Lives of Others.' Later this year, Gabriel Yared is going to be receiving the distinguished Max Steiner Award in the City of Music, Vienna.

It has just been reported that the hit musical Hairspray will return to the West End! 

Producers, Mark Goucher and Matthew Gale confirmed today that his smash hit production of Hairspray will go out on tour again in 2020. The tour will visit Manchester, Bradford, Blackpool, Northampton, Aylesbury, Birmingham, Glasgow and Liverpool, with further locations to be announced soon. The tour will extend into 2021 and follows two extremely successful tours in 2015/16 and 2017/18.

TV Host, Ricki Lake, is Tom Needham's exclusive guest this Today at 6 pm on WUSB's 'The Sounds of Film.' She will be discussing her career and new film, 'Weed the People.'

TV Host, Ricki Lake, is Tom Needham's exclusive guest this Thursday at 6 pm on WUSB's 'The Sounds of Film.' She will be discussing her career and new film, 'Weed the People.'

Renowned vocal coach, Bob Marks will be teaching two musical theatre audition and performance workshops as a guest instructor at Theatrical Artist's Prep in Scotch Plains New Jersey. Each workshop is limited to 12 students and is open to kids 7-13 years old and teens/adults 14 years old and older. The workshops will take place on Sunday, April 14th from 10:00am-1:00pm and 1:30pm-4:30pm. The session will include tips on song selection, dealing with accompanists, lyric interpretation, and preparing for 'real world' theatre audition situations.

The Oshman Family JCC presents internationally renowned performer Alan Cumming in his hugely acclaimed cabaret show Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs for one night only in Palo Alto. The beloved actor, singer, writer, producer, and activist will be joined onstage by Emmy Award-winning musical director Lance Horne and cellist Eleanor Norton for this delightful appearance declared an "emotional firestorm" by The New York Times, telling vivid stories of his most emotionally harrowing moments accompanied by sentimental tunes sung with Broadway-worthy bravado. From Billy Joel to Annie Lennox, and even an extraordinary mash-up of Adele, Lady Gaga, and Katy Perry in "Someone Like the Edge of Firework," this "evening of intimacy at Club Cumming" (The Guardian) offers a no-holds-barred visit with one of the most exciting performers of our time. Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs will be presented 7:30pm, Sunday, April 14, 2019 at the Oshman Family JCC, 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto. For tickets ($250 premium with post-performance reception, $150 general, $145 OFJCC members and J-Pass holders) and more information, visit paloaltojcc.org/cumming or call (650) 223-8649.