Freestyle Love Supreme had some special guests for Sunday’s performance Brooke Shields, Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys visited the show on Sunday and went backstage to meet the cast.
Gods and goddesses, rejoice as The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical cast members Chris McCarrell, Kristin Stokes, and James Hayden Rodriguez take part in this episode of Playbill—The Game Show. Watch the video above and find out who comes out triumphant.
Join host Felicia Fitzpatrick as she tests the actors’—and your—knowledge of Broadway shows.
Read: The Lightning Thief to Head on Tour Post-Broadway
The Lightning Thief features a book by Joe Tracz (Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Be More Chill) and original music and lyrics by Rob Rokicki. Stephen Brackett (A Strange Loop, Be More Chill) directs, and Patrick McCollum (The Band’s Visit) is choreographer.
The show’s original Broadway cast features McCarrell (Les Miserables) as Percy Jackson, with Izzy Figueroa, Jorrel Javier, Ryan Knowles, Sam Leicht, Sarah Beth Pfeifer, Rodriguez, Jalynn Steele, T. Shyvonne Stewart, and Stokes.
Based on Rick Riordan’s 2005 novel, The Lightning Thief follows Percy Jackson, the son of Poseidon with newly discovered powers he can’t control and monsters on his trail as he attempts to find Zeus’ lightning bolt to prevent a war between the Greek gods.
The production features set design by Lee Savage (Satchmo at the Waldorf), costume design by Sydney Maresca (Hand to God), lighting design by David Lander (Torch Song), sound design by Ryan Rumery (Be More Chill, Fool for Love), puppet design by AchesonWalsh (On the Town), fight direction by Rod Kinter (Red Roses, Green Gold), hair, wigs, and makeup design by Dave Bova (Bandstand), orchestrations by Wiley DeWeese (First Daughter Suite, Preludes) and Rokicki, and music direction by Wiley DeWeese.
The new CATS film is bringing in less at the box office than was initially expected.
You may recognize Christine Evangelista as The Arrangement’s Megan Morrison or The Walking Dead’s Sherry, Dwight’s ex-wife and a member of the Saviors. Evangelista’s latest role is a far cry from fleeing zombies, and yet it’s no less haunting. The actor stars in Dep Kirkland’s new play MsTRIAL, which began performances Off-Broadway at New World Stages December 4.
The actor plays Karen, an associate at a law firm and one-half of the powerhouse team with internationally renowned trial lawyer John Paris. After a major triumph in court, the office celebrates, but too much alcohol leads to the explicit crossing of boundaries between John and Karen that can’t be undone. An attorney-turned-playwright, Kirkland confronts the legal and ethical issues surrounding one of the most prominent issues plaguing our society today.
Evangelista values playing such a strong character, as well as the opportunity to show audiences that strength isn’t the same as protection in a broken system. “There is a line in the play when Karen says, ‘That’s the scary part…I thought I could [take care of myself],’” she says. “Karen is a strong, very professional, talented trial lawyer and it’s because of these skills that she’s able to succeed in a male-dominated field. But despite how successful she is on her own merit, even she becomes victim of this patriarchy.”
MsTRIAL isn’t the first time Evangelista has taken on a powerful and culturally significant role. In addition to her screen work, Evangelista honed her skills in theatre, including appearances in Breaking Legs and Danny and the Deep Blue Sea (both at Soho Playhouse) as well as Less Than Human Club at HB Studios Theater.
Here, she proves her theatre credentials:
What was your first professional job?
Christine Evangelista: I was a “featured extra” playing a hit and run victim on 3rd Watch on NBC. I was a minor at the time and needed to be accompanied by a parent. My mother took me to set and on our way home, (covered in fake blood), we were pulled over by police driving across the Verrazano Bridge. My mother was horrified by their accusation and after explaining the work I just did, they let us go. She never did take me to set again after that.
What was the stage show that has most influenced you?
I absolutely loved Alan Cumming in Cabaret and Marin Ireland’s performance in Ironbound.
Is there a stage moment you witnessed that stays with you?
The most powerful moment I witnessed happened when I left the theatre one night while in previews for MsTrial. It was late, I was exhausted, and as I was walking out of the backstage door, a young girl was waiting for me on the street to share her experience with sexual assault. She hugged me. It was a powerful moment with not many words. I thank the theatre for that human connection, for the ability to tell stories that can help people tap into their own human experience, for bringing people together.
What’s been the biggest challenge of your career?
Pilot season.
What’s been the most rewarding experience onstage for you?
I like the feeling of being in a “troupe.” Like any production, I’ve formed deep bonds with my castmates. I feel it’s particularly strong in theatre because you feel as though you’re in the trenches with them—working all day and night, experimenting and creating each and every moment on stage together. Additionally, I find applause to be very rewarding.
Who is a collaborator from theatre that made you better?
My teacher and mentor, Scott Freeman from The Freeman Studio. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of plays and a brilliant way to communicate direction.
Working in TV, how do you balance stage and screen? Do you want to?
I want to work and I want to always be working on my craft. It’s the goal for actors to have the opportunity to balance both. I’d be very fulfilled continuing to do that. It’s certainly the plan.
What is your favorite part of doing TV that’s different from theatre?
The money, craft services, and I can bring my dog.
John explicitly violates a boundary with Karen. How do you personally grapple with this story?
For me, there is no “moral question.” There is no “gray area.” “No” means No. It doesn’t matter if there’s a professional relationship or they were too drunk or there is an underlying attraction between two parties. All these other elements are external forces.
What do you feel is our obligation as artists and theatremakers to convey in stories about intimacy and consent?
This story is a very provocative, sensitive and triggering subject for the alarmingly vast majority of women. As an actress, I have a responsibility to bring to this character my own experience and then let my character’s experience affect the audience’s experience. I strongly believe that all forms of art have a powerful role to play in causes of social justice. My hope is that a play like this and my performance will impact the way some people think about the issue of consent and the failures of the justice system to protect victims of sexual assault.
The Shed, the newly opened arts venue in Manhattan’s Hudson Yards, has unveiled its 2020 season. A highlight of the season is the world premiere of Help, a new theatrical work by acclaimed author and poet Claudia Rankine starring Fairview‘s Roslyn Ruff with direction by Obie winner Taibi Magar (Is God Is).
Help, a commission from The Shed, is derived from Rankine’s ongoing investigation into white male privilege (part of which was shared in her 2019 essay “I Wanted to Know What White Men Thought About Their Privilege. So I Asked”). The world premiere, set to run March 10–April 5, 2020, will feature movement choreography by Shamel Pitts, set design by Mimi Lien, costume design by Dede Ayite, lighting design by John Torres, sound design by Mikaal Sulaiman, and original music composition by Jerome Ellis. Casey Llewellyn is the dramaturg.
The Shed’s theatre lineup also includes Misty, Arinzé Kene’s acclaimed new play first developed and seen at The Bush Theater in London and then in the West End. Part poem, part concert, part confession, Misty stars Kene and is directed by Omar Elerian. Performances will run September 24–October 24.
Both shows will play in The Shed’s Griffin Theater. From May through August, The Griffin will also welcome a host of works from Open Call, The Shed’s commissioning program for NYC-based emerging artists across all disciplines. Featured works include: composer, director, and actor Troy Anthony’s choral work Antioch Mass; performer and performance-maker Fana Fraser’s Hotline; performance and video artist Madeline Hollander’s Preview, based on ready-made choreographies; multidisciplinary performance artist Ayesha Jordan’s bayou-inspired project Shasta Geaux Pop: Walk on Water in collaboration with Creative Capital and 2019 United States Artist fellow Charlotte Brathwaite; Bessie Award-winning dancer and choreographer Kyle Marshall’s Reign; composer and multimedia artist Rachika S’s audiovisual installation Drawn Around Us; Bessie Award-winning dancer and choreographer Alice Sheppard and her collective of disability arts leaders, Kinetic Light, with their new dance piece Wired; Bessie Award-winning dance artist Mariana Valencia’s solo piece Ileana; and theatre-maker, vocalist, composer, and cultural worker Nia O. Witherspoon’s Chronicle X: Windows, the first in her series of Dark Girl Chronicles.
“At the start of this new decade, in such a significant year for this country, we are producing and premiering a number of pioneering artists’ works that confront the urgent matters of our time—artists whose practices speak to justice, empathy, and the environment, and look to the future,” said Alex Poots, The Shed’s artistic director and CEO. “Built on city-owned land, our nonprofit institution has been given a once-in-a-generation opportunity to contribute to New York’s vibrant cultural scene, with a mission to commission new work across all genres and create a culturally democratic space for communities and audiences from across the city and beyond.”
In addition to works across dance, visual art, and other mediums, The Shed will host its first open house, Meet at The Shed, January 11, featuring special pop-up events and free admission to its current exhibitions.
Take a trip down memory lane with these photos showcasingBette Midler’s illustriouscareer on the stage and in film
Nick Moran is a professional lighting designer, lecturer, researcher and author with experience lighting drama, opera and other music theatre, large and small scale events and rock ‘n’ roll.Nick is a Senior Lecturer and Course Leader in Production Lighting and Lighting Design at London’s Royal Central School of Speech and Drama he is also a founding board member of the Association of Lighting Designers, sits on the board of Skill Scene - the technical theatre industry forum for developing standards and qualifications and is the co-convenor of the OISTAT lighting Design Working Group. Nick is the author of Performance Lighting Design, Electric Shadows and The Right Light.
Before Hugh Jackman charms audiences in The Music Man next fall, look back at the original Broadway production of the Meredith Willson musical. Starring Robert Preston and Barbara Cook,the show opened December 19, 1957, at the Majestic Theatre. Meredith Willson wrote the book, lyrics, and score from a story he and Franklin Lacey devised. The production played a total of 1,375 performances before closing in April in 1961.
The Music Man had its first revival in 1980 starring Dick Van Dyke and Meg Bussert, and received its second Broadway revival in 2000 starring Craig Bierko and Rebecca Luker.
A third revival, starring Jackman and Sutton Foster, will; begin performances at the Winter Garden Theatre September 9, 2020.