Netflix held a special screening of its new series Soundtrack for the NYC/Broadway community on December 2, featuring appearances from Laura Osnes, Jeremy Jordan, Andy Mientus, Wesley Taylor, Andy Karl, Orfeh, and more. The musical series, created by Smash producer Joshua Safran, is set to debut on the streaming platform December 18.
Soundtrack follows the intersection of love, loss and transformative luck as two struggling artists experience life at full volume in Los Angeles. The series, which stars Camille Hernandez, Jahmil French, Jenna Dewan, Campbell Scott, and Madeleine Stowe, will feature the music of Amy Winehouse, Etta James, Bruno Mars, The Weeknd and more.
Flip through photos from the screening below:
See Laura Osnes, Jeremy Jordan, and More at Broadway Screening of New Netflix Series Soundtrack
Frozen and Wicked star Idina Menzel went back to her Rent roots to perform “Seasons of Love” during the quarter final competition episode of the British competition series Strictly Come Dancing November 30. The Tony winner, who can be heard on the big screen in Frozen 2, made her Broadway debut in the 1996 Jonathan Larson-penned musical, playing eccentric performance artist and political activist Maureen, and reprised her performance in the 2005 film adaptation.
Watch Menzel perform the Rent anthem, which is also featured on her latest holiday album Christmas: A Season of Love, above.
Strictly Come Dancing, the U.K. series that inspired Dancing With the Stars in the U.S., sees celebrities paired with professional dancers competing against each other in ballroom dancing. Currently in its 17th season, this season included RuPaul’s Drag Race and Everybody’s Talking About Jamie star Michelle Visage and One Man, Two Guv’nors and Grease alum Emma Barton.
The quarter final episode was dedicated entirely to musicals. All five remaining contestants danced to showtunes, including a foxtrot to “Consider Yourself” from Oliver!, a samba to “Joyful Joyful” from Sister Act, an American smooth dance to “Gaston” from Beauty and the Beast, a jive to “You Can’t Stop the Beat” from Hairspray, and a Charleston to the title song from Thoroughly Modern Millie.
The episode also featured musical guest performances from Menzel and The Bodyguard star and recording artist Beverley Knight, who reprised her rendition of “Memory” from her performance in the 2015 London revival of Cats. Watch Knight sing the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Trevor Nunn ballad below.
Christina Bianco took a break from playing Fanny Brice in Funny Girl in Paris to visit The Theatre Caf for a sing Christina sang the iconic ‘Don’t Rain on My Parade’.
Nine years after Carousel opened on Broadway and seven years after The King and I, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II saw their Flower Drum Song premiere on Broadway at the St. James Theatre December 1, 1958. A musical about life in San Francisco’s Chinatown, the cast included Pat Suzuki, Juanita Hall, Ed Kenney, and Jaco Soo.
“Flower Drum Song was what Oscar Hammerstein II referred to as a ‘lucky hit,’” says Ted Chapin, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Chief Creative Officer. “It was contemporary, sassy, and in its 1958 way, bold. Those associated with the original production have become a family and have often gathered in reunions. When the revival was done in 2002, new members of the family were welcomed in. It’s nice to feel such warmth still emanating from the show. I wish it a very happy anniversary.”
Adapted into a film in 1961, the show wasn’t revived on Broadway until 2002, in a heavily revised production written by David Henry Hwang and starring Lea Salonga and Jose Llana.
Among those in the ensemble of the 1958 premiere was Baayork Lee. “It was such an honor to be asked by Richard Rodgers to be in the original company of Flower Drum Song. He had remembered me from the original company of The King and I and kids grow up, so it was perfect for me to go into FDS,” she says.
Relive the original production 61 years later with the photo gallery below!
Production Photos: Flower Drum Song on Broadway
Production Photos: Flower Drum Song on Broadway
21 PHOTOS
Flower Drum SongThe Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization: A Concord Music Company
Pat Suzuki, Gene Kelly, and Miyoshi Umeki The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization: A Concord Music Company
Pat Suzuki and Gene Kelly The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization: A Concord Music Company
Pat Suzuki, Miyoshi Umeki, and Gene Kelly The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization: A Concord Music Company
Miyoshi Umeki and Ed Kenney The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization: A Concord Music Company
C.Y. Lee, Joseph Fields, Richard Rodgers, and Gene Kelly The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization: A Concord Music Company
Juanita Hall, Miyoshi Umeki, and Keye Luke The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization: A Concord Music Company
Miyoshi Umeki, Ed Kenney, Juanita Hall, Keye Luke, and cast The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization: A Concord Music Company
Keye Luke, Juanita Hall, Miyoshi Umeki, and Conrad Yama The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization: A Concord Music Company
Ed Kenney and Pat Suzuki The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization: A Concord Music Company
This year, 13 new Rockettes are joining the famous kickline, according to NBC News. While the dancing group of women may appear to be one unit on stage, off stage they celebrate their diversity and uniqueness and use it to inspire others.
Carols for a Cure is back for 2019 in its 21st edition Below, check out exclusive photos as the cast of Freestyle Love Supreme gathers to record their track- ‘Christmas Tree.’
