Meet the Stars of Stage Door: Cailen Fu Can’t Wait to Get Back to HADESTOWN and SIX!
Today, we’re getting to know Mean Girls vet Cailen Fu, with whom you can book a shoutout today
Watch Jonathan Lee’s Short Dance Film Come Together to #StopAAPIHate
In response to the recent attacks against the AAPI communities across the nation, Jonathan Lee created a short dance film Come Together to #StopAAPIHate. Check it out above, featuring choreography by Lee and Broadway dance captains Karla Garcia (Hamilton) and Kellen Stancil (The Lion King).
Appearing in the video are Una Bharat, Jaryd Farcon, Jhailyn Farcon, Rosie Lani Fiedelman , Ericka Hunter Yang, Joomin Hwang, Sabrina Imamura, Jolina Javier, Monica Kapoor, Yusaku Komori, Raechelle Manalo, Morgan Marcell, Arianne Meneses, Mayumi Miguel, Christine Sienicki, Christopher Vo, and Nicole Winhoffer.
READ: Stop AAPI Hate: A Resource Guide to Support the Asian-American Community
Come Together is produced and directed by Lee (Broadway Bares), filmed and edited by Kyle Beckley of Full Out Creative. Signs and masks are by Monica Eng.
Looking for more ways to help? Watch ‘Stand Up’ for Asian Americans, a weekend of variety shows celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander performers (including Telly Leung and Margaret Cho), streaming on Stellar May 14–16 at 8 PM ET.
A Celebration of Asian Joy in Honor of AAPI Heritage Month
Ann Hampton Callaway and Liz Callaway Will Premiere SIDE BY SIDE Livestream Concert This Month
Ann Hampton Callaway and her sister Liz Callaway, leading lights of New York’s cabaret scene, have both been Tony Award-nominated for their performances in major Broadway musicals. Now they are coming to homes across the globe in the premiere of ‘SIDE BY SIDE’livestream concert.
Jenifer Lewis, Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley, More Honored at 35th Annual MAC Awards May 13
The Manhattan Association of Cabarets presents Jenifer Lewis (Hairspray, Black-ish) with its 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award at the 35th Annual MAC Awards, held virtually May 13 at 7 PM ET.
In addition to Lewis, the ceremony also honors Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley with the Board of Directors Award for their creation of Stars in the House; Tom D’Angora, Michael D’Angora, and Tim Guinee with the Board of Directors Award for their work on the cabaret telethons; and Dave Goodside with the MAC Humanitarian Award for his work feeding first responders at The Beach Café.
The annual awards show shines a spotlight on up-and-coming, locally established, and nationally recognized cabaret, comedy, and jazz performers, as well as behind-the-scenes professionals. Awards are voted by the MAC membership.
Amy Wolk directs the event, produced by Julie Miller. Lenny Watts serve as creative consultant.
Tickets are free, but reservations are required. Any donations will be used to continue the Dottie Burman Award Fund, which provides a financial award to emerging songwriters. Reservations can be made at MACnyc.com.
Whoopi Goldberg, Nathan Lane, Bette Midler and More Visit Jenifer Lewis at 54 Below
(Updated May 13, 2021)
Jason Alexander, John Behlmann, Lisa Edelstein & More Will Star in THE SISTERS ROSENSWEIG
The Spotlight on Plays series just announcedthe full company for Wendy Wassersteins The Sisters Rosensweig starring Jason Alexander, John Behlmann, Lisa Edelstein, Kathryn Hahn, Kathryn Newton, Tracee Chimo Pallero, Chris Perfetti and James Urbaniak.
As Broadway Prepares for Reopening, Artists Talk Returning ‘Stronger and Better Than We Were Before’
Stars from three of Broadway’s hottest tickets united on Good Morning America May 11 to reveal that their shows—Hamilton, Wicked, and The Lion King—will welcome back audiences for the first time since the coronavirus shutdown September 14. But as these titles and more flood inboxes and social media feeds with reopening announcements, calls for a more equitable and safe theatrical landscape persist. Broadway will be back, but in addition to health measures in the wake of a pandemic, how will Broadway reckon with the spotlight shined on racist, abusive, and intimidating practices as theatres remained dark?
“We’ve taken a lot of steps not only to make sure the theatre is going to be safe for all audience members, but to make sure that our cast and crew have been trained in anti-racism training, also making sure that we as a brand are pushing forward social justice,” said Krystal Joy Brown, representing the company of Hamilton. (Brown joined the cast as Eliza three months before the shutdown). The Lion King‘s L. Steven Taylor (a longtime Mufasa) cited the work of such cohorts as Broadway Advocacy Coalition, Black Theatre United, and Black Theatre Coalition, which have mobilized in the wake of the Black Lives Mater movement to dismantle white supremacy, to ensure the industry is “not only returning, but returning stronger and better than we were before.” Alexandra Billings, the first openly trans performer to play Madame Morrible in Wicked, highlighted the significance of trans youth finding representation on stage in a time when state legislation across the country threatens their health and well-being.
But in a year of wakenings and reckonings, artists have made their voices heard even if in the absence of a stage.
Some performers have vowed to withhold their work and artistry until producers share more specifics. At the recent Broadway United for Racial Justice rally, Tony nominee Adrienne Warren, who up until the shutdown has been starring in the title role of Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, said she would not sign another contract until the lines of communication widen. “Every single person of color that comes in that room comes in with a weight you cannot begin to understand,” she said during the May 1 event. “What I am asking you, Broadway, is that you choose to help alleviate some of that weight. That you make the choice, because you can, and because right now this country is not doing it. Set an example, please.”
André Jordan, an ensemble member of the Princess Diana musical Diana (which played nine pre-pandemic previews and intends to resume in December), has taken to Twitter, imploring fellow actors to engage in conversations with producers and company managers about equity and safety moving forward. The musical is in a unique position in that the company has performed on their stage during the pandemic, for a filmed presentation to stream on Netflix later this year.
As the company prepared to reunite for the Netflix production, Jordan says, producers arranged, at the request of cast members, for unconscious bias training, a space for open dialogue about past micro and macro aggressions, and an anonymous hotline. With these implementations, Jordan saw tangible changes. Before cameras were rolling, staging that placed primarily Black performers in positions of servitude was adjusted. Through the hotline company members expressed concern about costume designer William Ivey Long’s involvement in the wake of sexual harassment and misconduct allegations; though Jordan says these concerns have not been publicly addressed by the production, he does note that Long was not present for filming.
Moving forward, Jordan hopes to see that the inclusion of an unconscious bias compliance officer becomes normalized for all productions. “Broadway—musical theatre and plays—we need therapy within ourselves, and we need that outside help to come into our business to be a part of our team and a part of our resurgence,” he says.
As of now, even as dates are announced and tickets go on sale, few productions have confirmed casting for their returns. Jordan says he has not yet entered new contract negotiations with Diana, but does anticipate, based on the production’s reception thus far, that steps like these will be among the stipulations discussed. “If you find yourself saying, ‘I don’t want to rattle, or I don’t know how they’ll react,’ know that this is the exact type of behavior we’re trying to eliminate,” Jordan says, addressing others in shows readying for their returns. “We will work together to give you all the resources and tools that will make the process of coming clean in your house as easy as possible.”
The promise of rising curtains and clean houses arrives on the heels of demands for accountability, which arose in the aftermath of a wave of allegations of abuse and intimidation perpetrated by producer Scott Rudin. An April 22 “March on Broadway” called for Rudin’s removal from the Broadway League (Rudin has since said he will step down) and transparency from Actors’ Equity, the union representing actors and stage managers. In the weeks following the march, organizers have held meetings with Equity leaders about steps being made to respond to these demands.
In the week leading up to the group’s next dialogue with the union (set for May 14), March on Broadway is hosting a three-day series of Instagram Live conversations. The first featured co-organizer Courtney Daniels, actor-activist Davon Williams (equipped with thorough visual aids), and Tony winner Laura Benanti. The three outlined the Black Theatre Matters Bill, a 12-article resolution organized by Williams and crafted with hundreds of others aimed at making the union and industry at large more equitable.
Additional Instagram conversations from March on Broadway throughout the week will touch on some of the movement’s additional demands, such as greater inclusion and visibility for trans, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming artists (who will be centered in the May 12 stream) as well as those who are deaf or disabled (May 13). Members of those marginalized and underrepresented communities—including Shakina Nayfack and L Morgan Lee May 12 and Ryan J. Haddad and Joshua Castille May 13—will take part, as will Tony winner Stephanie J. Block and Broadway favorite Sierra Boggess on those respective dates.
The group’s inclusion of Benanti, Block, and Boggess—all white, cis female performers with sizable followings—is meant to showcase allies’ responsibility to amplify BIPOC and other marginalized voices without centering themselves or their own discomfort. “These are the conversations that I want people to tune into and truly tap into—especially our allies,” Daniels said in the May 11 stream. “These are the conversations we want to have and want you to start beginning within your circle.”
See Photos From Inside the ‘March on Broadway’
Ain’t Too Proud—The Life and Times of the Temptations Confirms Broadway Return
The sounds of Motown will return to Broadway beginning October 16 when the Tony-nominated musical Ain’t Too Proud—The Life and Times of the Temptations resumes at the Imperial Theatre. The first show will be a gala performance, one producers Ira Pittelman and Tom Hulce say “will be an epic performance full of love, laughter, and tears of joy, but we know the hard work still lies ahead and we embrace the task whole heartedly.”
Tickets are now on sale for the show’s return.
READ: What Broadway Shows You Can Buy Tickets For (and When)
Featuring a book by Dominique Morisseau, the musical uses the group’s hits to tell the story of their journey from the streets of Detroit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Songs include “My Girl,” “Just My Imagination,” “Get Ready,” and “Papa Was a Rolling Stone.”
The production made its world premiere at California’s Berkeley Repertory Theatre in 2017 before going on to play Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and Toronto.
The musical, which opened on Broadway March 21, 2019, was nominated for 12 Tony Awards including Best Musical. Two-time Tony winner Des McAnuff directs, with Tony-winning choreography by Sergio Trujillo.
The most recent cast of the Broadway production, which played the Imperial up until the coronavirus-caused shutdown, included Nik Walker as Otis Williams, James Harkness as Paul Williams, Jawan M. Jackson as Melvin Franklin, Matt Manuel as David Ruffin, and Jelani Remy as Eddie Kendricks, with Saint Aubyn, Esther Antoine, Shawn Bowers, E. Clayton Cornelious, Tiffany Francès, Taylor Symone Jackson, Marcus Paul James, Jahi Kearse, Elijah Ahmad Lewis, Jarvis B. Manning, Jr., Morgan McGhee, Joshua Morgan, Christian Thompson, Correy West, Drew Wildman Foster, Curtis Wiley, Jamari Johnson Williams, and Candice Marie Woods.
Casting for the Broadway return will be announced at a later time.
Ain’t Too Proud also has sets by Robert Bill, costumes by Paul Tazewell, lighting by Howell Binkley, sound design by Steve Canyon, and projections by Peter Nigrini. Casting is by Tara Rubin Casting and Merri Sugarman.
Production Photos: Ain’t Too Proud on Broadway
Breaking: COME FROM AWAY Will Return To Broadway This September
The Tony and Olivier Award-winning musical COME FROM AWAY will return to Broadway’s Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on Tuesday, September 21, 2021.