by Webmaster | Oct 6, 2019 | New Musical News Feed
By the time Bella Abzug was sworn into the House of Representatives in 1971, a teenage Harvey Fierstein was donning drag in clubs and performing at La MaMa. He stayed in his native Brooklyn to pursue his BFA as Abzug held office a borough away.
“She wasn’t our representative,” recalls Fierstein of the oft-hat-wearing Women’s Movement stalwart, “but I saw her through the Jewish eyes of the neighborhood. We had all the Jews up and down the block, and they would all hang out on the stoop and talk about Bella.”
The two crossed paths as Fierstein’s career flourished. Their mutual friend Shirley MacLaine brought her backstage following performances of Hairspray; a photo from a 1983 Human Rights Campaign event shows the two with Jesse Jackson and Patti LaBelle. Now he’s even closer—to the point of becoming her—in Bella Bella, currently running Off-Broadway at Manhattan Theatre Club.
The Tony winner’s new play sees the late politician locking herself in a hotel bathroom as results from the 1976 primary for the U.S. Senate pour in. Abzug lost the Democratic nomination by less than one percent; had she gone on to win, she would have become New York’s first female senator. The election instead ended her political career.
Her tribulations also ring familiar, with tactics used against her echoing throughout the 2016 presidential election. Opponents decried sexism should Abzug ask women to vote for her and construed the staunch Zionist’s anti-war statements into an anti-Israel stance.
“Can you imagine getting away with that?” Fierstein asks, recognizing that such campaigns are still used against the likes of Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib. “Would this be happening to two congressmen?”
“[Abzug] says the majority of the voting public is female, so women have the power to vote in their own candidates. But what do they do? They vote the way men tell them to. I think there’s a very interesting argument to be made there.”
Fierstein hopes the show will help end this perpetuation. If not with him in a hat, with someone else. “If the show goes well, I’ll offer it to be done in concert by Bella’s friends [like MacLaine or Lily Tomlin] to raise money for women candidates around the country.”
His intentions mirror the downtown projects he pursued during Abzug’s time in office: “This will have the feeling of something underground. ‘I was born for revolution. I was born to fight the establishment.’ Those are her own words. I want it to have that feeling.”
READ: Look Back at the Career Highlights of LGBTQ Trailblazer Harvey Fierstein
Harvey Fierstein Meets the Press Ahead of Bella Bella Off-Broadway
by Webmaster | Oct 3, 2019 | New Musical News Feed
Variety reports that ‘Blindspotting’ will get a TV spinoff, starring Broadway star Jasmine Cephas Jones. She will reprise the role she played in the movie.
by Webmaster | Oct 3, 2019 | New Musical News Feed
George Mason University held its 14th annual ARTS by George! benefit September 28, 2019. The annual event served as a fundraiser benefiting student scholarships in the arts, as well as several of the university’s extracurricular arts programs.
This year’s event was headlined by Tony winner Audra McDonald, who performed a concert of Broadway hits and the Great American Songbook standards after taking time to sit down with George Mason students for a closed conversation, moderated by Erin Gardiner of the Mason School of Theater.
Flip through photos from the event below:
Go Inside George Mason University’s 14th ARTS by George! Benefit With Audra McDonald
by Webmaster | Oct 2, 2019 | New Musical News Feed
Little Shop of Horrors co-stars Mj Rodriguez (Pose) and George Salazar (Be More Chill) stopped by The Late Late Show with James Corden to sing “Suddenly Seymour” October 1. Watch their performance in the video above.
The actors are currently playing Audrey and Seymour, respectively, in a mounting of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman’s musical at Pasadena Playhouse.
WATCH: Watch George Salazar Sing “Grow For Me” Ahead of Little Shop of Horrors West Coast Bow
The Mike Donahue-helmed production, which began performances September 17, also stars Matthew Wilkas (Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark) as Orin Scrivello, Olivier winner Amber Riley (Dreamgirls) voicing Audrey II, Tony nominee Kevin Chamberlin (The Addams Family) as Mr. Mushnik, and Brittany Campbell, Tickwanya Jones, and Cheyenne Isabel Wells as the Ronettes.
Check out photos from the production below.
George Salazar, Mj Rodriguez, and Amber Riley Open Little Shop of Horrors at Pasadena Playhouse
by Webmaster | Sep 29, 2019 | New Musical News Feed
Tony winner Ben Platt and Kennedy Center Honoree Carole King represented Broadway September 28 when they each hit the stage at the Global Citizen Fest, Platt as a special guest and King as a headliner. Both have been busy, Platt launching his new Netflix series The Politician and readying for his Radio City Music Hall debut September 29, and King preparing to say goodbye to her Broadway show when Beautiful closes October 27. But both made time to bring their music to Central Park’s Great Lawn to raise awareness to the Global Citizen movement.
Since 2012, the Global Citizen Festival has gathered the greatest names in music as a way to raise awareness and funds to achieve the 17 United Nations Global Goals Sustainable Development and end extreme poverty by 2030. Attendees (a.k.a. Global Citizens) earned their entrance to the 2019 Festival by joining the social action platform for a chance for their names to be drawn. Visit GlobalCitizen.org for more info
The 2019 Festival featured performances by special guests French Montana, Jon Batiste & Stay Human, David Gray, NCT 127, and Platt, with headliners OneRepublic, King, H.E.R., Alicia Keys, Pharell Williams, and Queen + Adam Lambert, hosted by Hugh Jackman and Debora-lee Furness.
Here are the highlights from the epic night:
1. Ben Platt Giving Us Life
Backed by Stay Human, Platt nailed his performances of “Bad Habit” from his album Sing to Me Instead and his latest single “Rain.” The Dear Evan Hansen Tony winner brought his familiar charm to the stage (noting that his mom and dad were in the audience). But the riffs alone were worth coming for.
2. Carole King Dueting With Kelly Clarkson
King had not performed in Central Park since 1973, until she stepped onstage September 28. Clarkson introduced King for her set, recalling how (as a kid) she wore out her copy of the icon’s Tapestry album. That made it all the more heartwarming when Clarkson joined King onstage for their rendition of “Where You Lead.” Of course, King also sang her signature “Beautiful” and “You’ve Got a Friend.”
3. Carole King Dueting With Herself!
In a moment of brilliance, Global Citizen created a once-in-a-lifetime moment. Projecting a video of King at age 29 singing “Natural Woman,” the 77-year-old King harmonized with herself. She closed out her set with “I Feel the Earth Move” as a way to honor Global Citizen’s environmental goals and her personal work to save 24 million acres of land in the Northern Rocky Mountains. And can we just say how amazing she still sounds? That’s some vocal care for you.
4. Alicia Keys Singing Billy Joel
The 15-time Grammy winner gave an epic performance, including such hits as “Girl On Fire,” “If I Ain’t Got You,” and a new song “Show Me Love.” But there was magic in the air when—singing to her hometown of New York City—Keys hit the ivories to Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind.” Keys produced Lydia R. Diamond’s Stick Fly on Broadway years ago, but with her songwriting and vocal talent, we wouldn’t mind if she stepped into the musical space.
5. Queen’s Brian May Dueting With Freddie Mercury
The final act of the night starred the one and only Queen + Adam Lambert (a Wicked alum). Lambert’s range is wildly impressive, not to mention his energy onstage. But the most memorable moment was a quieter one: when Brian May dueted with the late Freddie Mercury. May sang along to his solo guitar, appearing on the video screen, when the master of tech projected an old video of Mercury singing the same song in split screen. The effect made it look like the two buddies had been reunited in this heartbreaking rendition of “Love of My Life.”
But most importantly: In response to over 1 million actions and campaigning efforts by Global Citizens, world leaders made new commitments, delivered on previous pledges, and announced new campaigns toward ending extreme poverty. The Festival saw 18 commitments totaling $932.1 million, which are set to affect the lives of 7.6 million people, as well as announcements from partners and members of Congress worth $1.6 billion.
by Webmaster | Sep 27, 2019 | New Musical News Feed
Pasadena Playhouse presents the cult classic musicalLittle Shop of Horrors starring George Salazar, Mj Rodriguez, and Amber Riley Read the reviews
