On October 27, the nominees for the 2021 People’s Choice Awards in movies, television, music, and pop culture were announced, with voting open now on the PCA website and Twitter through November 17, 2021. F9: The Fast Saga is the most-nominated film, with eight nominations, while This Is Us is the most-nominated television series, with six nominations. Justin Bieber leads the music artists with 10 nominations. The 47th awards ceremony will be held on December 7 at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, and be broadcast live simultaneously on NBC and E!
Musicals among the eight Drama Movie nominations include the adaptation of In the Heights (with a score by Lin-Manuel Miranda) and the biopic Respect, while the eight Family Movie nominations include the live-action Cinderella and animated Vivo (with songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda). Jennifer Hudson, who stars as Aretha Franklin in Respect, also earned nods for Female Movie Star and Drama Movie Star. Anthony Ramos, who plays Usnavi in the film In the Heights, earned a nod for Drama Movie Star as well.
Former SNL cast member and writer Jason Sudeikis hosted this past weekend’s broadcast of Saturday Night Live. In the show’s parody of the song “I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here” from the Broadway musical Annie, Sudeikis played Rick, a new servant in the Daddy Warbucks household. The sketch also featured Melissa Villaseñor (Annie) and Cecily Strong (Grace), as well as Aidy Bryant (Miss May), Ego Nwodim (Miss Fink), Alex Moffat (Chef Pat), Heidi Gardner (Miss Finn), Chloe Fineman (Miss Cobb), and Mikey Day (Warbucks).
Trafalgar Releasing has offered the first official trailer for its upcoming live film capture of the British stage revival of Anything Goes, starring Sutton Foster in her West End debut. The Cole Porter musical began performances July 23 at the Barbican, before an official opening of August 4. Foster, who reprised her Tony-winning performance as Reno Sweeney, played her final London performance October 10 in the production, which continues through November 6 with Rachel York.
The filmed cast also includes Samuel Edwards (Billy), Robert Lindsay (Moonface), Nicole-Lily Baisden (Hope), Haydn Oakley (Sir Evelyn), Carly Mercedes Dyer (Erma), Gary Wilmot (Elisha Whitney), and Felicity Kendal (Mrs. Harcourt). Kathleen Marshall directs and choreographs. The creative team also includes Stephen Ridley (musical direction), Derek McLane (sets), Jon Morrell (costumes), Hugh Vanstone (lights), Jonathan Deans (sound), and Michael Gibson (orchestrations).
Screenings will be held in 450 UK cinemas on November 28 and December 1. British audiences can check out showtimes and book tickets here.
The Broadway production of The Phantom of the Opera, New York’s longest-running show, reopened last Friday after 18 months of pandemic-imposed darkness. After the performance, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber himself welcomed the exiting audience to a block party waiting for them outside the Majestic Theatre. Lord Lloyd-Webber stood atop a sidewalk platform and manned the turntable to DJ the first set of remixed Phantom tunes on the impromptu dance floor along 44th Street, complete with smoke and lights, as the cast joined in costume above the show’s marquee. “Thank you for those who attended my first ever DJ set last night at The Majestic block party,” Lloyd Webber tweeted. “Excited on what could be next for me. Broadway, London … Ibiza?” Below is the video of “The Phantom of the Opera (ID Remix).”
Jennifer Nettles, best known as the lead vocalist of the country duo Sugarland, returned to Broadway this Tuesday, October 19, to take over the title role of Jenna from Waitress creator Sara Bareilles in the 2016 show’s current revival, which opened just one year after the original run closed. Nettles made her Broadway debut in 2015 as Roxie Hart in the long-running revival of the 1975 musical Chicago. Casting Nettles in Waitress was “years in the making,” composer Bareilles noted. “We’ve been trying to get Jennifer into the show for at least four years,” she said. “The stars finally aligned.” Bareilles added that it’s “thrilling to be able to pass it to a dear friend.” Below is Nettles performing “What Baking Can Do” during her final dress rehearsal. She contines in the show through November 24.
British theater critics have given generally favorable reviews to the new West End jukebox bio-musical Get Up, Stand Up!, recounting the life of reggae star Bob Marley. The musical, originally set to open February 6 at the Lyric Theatre, was postponed due to the pandemic and opened October 20. The creative team includes Bob Marley (score), Lee Hall (book), Clint Dyer (direction), Shelley Maxwell (choreography), Sean Green (music direction), Simon Hale (orchestrations), Phil Bateman (arrangements), Chloe Lamford (sets), Lisa Duncan (costumes), Charles Balfour (lights), Tony Gayle (sound), Ben Grant (sound effects), Tal Yarden (video), and Campbell Young (hair and makeup).
The cast features Arinzé Kene (Bob Marley), Gabrielle Brooks (Rita Marley), Shanay Holmes (Cindy Breakspeare), Sophia Mackay (Judy Mowatt), Melissa Brown-Taylor (Marcia Griffiths), Jacade Simpson (Bunny Wailer), and Natey Jones (Peter Tosh), with Daniel Bailey, Craig Blake, Charles Blyth, Maxwell Cole, Athena Collins, Michael Duke, Kimmy Edwards, Raphael Estavia, Henry Faber, Cannon Hay, Savanna Jeffrey, Rohan Pinnock-Hamilton, Cleopatra Rey, Julene Robinson, Nate Simpson, Archie Smith, Declan Spaine, Jaime Tait, and Teddy Wills.
The Guardian (Arifa Akbar): Dyer’s pulsating production has the spirit of a staged concert with spoken scenes tucked in between the songs, and with the emotional freight of the story carried in its celebrated music. Sometimes this means that character and dialogue are sacrificed but the music is infectious — and there is a central performance from Arinzé Kene that soars and tingles the spine. … It is a tribute so infectious that it defies an audience not to sing or sway along. 3 out of 5 stars.
London Theatre (Marianka Swain): How to demystify the icon that is Bob Marley? … It’s a struggle that this intermittently powerful new show both tackles head on and embodies in its own flawed form. Lee Hall’s book is at its weakest when it follows the jukebox bio-musical model, racing breathlessly through Marley’s life. … It works best when it stops trying and simply lets us — via a talented cast — find it for ourselves in Marley’s indelible music. 3 out of 5 stars.
London Unattached (Lucy Foxwell): This for the most part is a joyous musical. … But it’s the second half that really comes to life, bursting with energy and full of heart, with tremendous ensemble work and a sterling, physically expressive cast. … The overarching theme of unity in One Love permeates the whole show and leaves the entire audience feeling uplifted, by which time everyone is aching to let their hair down and get up and dance … and they do!
MSN (Louisa Saunders): With a thrillingly charismatic lead performance from Arinzé Kene, it’s an exhilarating tribute to the man, his message and his music. Don’t expect a simple jukebox show. … There’s a seriousness here, a real attempt to honor Marley’s legacy. … The passion and commitment of the cast, the elan of Dyer’s staging and the irresistible pulse of the songs sweep you along and hold you fast. … And Kene is mesmerizing … a tour de force that brings to life a legend.
Theatre Weekly (Greg Stewart): On the whole Get Up, Stand Up! can’t find a sweet spot between musical, concert, and political play. That said, it does serve as a timely reminder of the extraordinary life that Marley lived. … Kene leads the cast as the title character, and it’s a powerful performance that has been honed to perfection. … As ever, it will be the music of Marley that audiences latch on to, and for that reason Get Up, Stand Up! will undoubtedly be a hit. 3 out of 5 stars.
Time Out (Andrzej Lukowski): Blessed with a megastar turn from Arinzé Kene and what is surely the loudest bass ever heard in the West End, Get Up, Stand Up! is one heckuva Bob Marley tribute concert. … Despite his performance, and the unrelenting surge of energy that is Clint Dyer’s production, there’s ultimately something a bit lacking. … Get Up, Stand Up! has wonderful tunes, a phenomenal star turn, and a weak story. For now, the first two points largely cancel out the third. 3 out of 5 stars.
Lincoln Center Theater has released a preview of its upcoming Broadway production of the new musical Flying over Sunset, a fictional account of a meeting between Aldous Huxley, Clare Boothe Luce, and Cary Grant. The production was originally scheduled to open on April 16, 2020, but was postponed due to the pandemic. It will now premiere at the Vivian Beaumont Theater on November 11, with opening night set for December 13. The creative team includes Tom Kitt (music), Michael Korie (lyrics), James Lapine (book, direction), Michelle Dorrance (choreography), Beowulf Boritt (sets), Toni-Leslie James (costumes), Bradley King (lights), and Dan Moses Schreier (sound).
The cast features Carmen Cusack (Luce), Harry Hadden-Paton (Huxley), and Tony Yazbeck (Grant) with Kanisha Marie Feliciano (Ann / Judith), Nehal Joshi (Dr. Harris / Cary’s Father), Emily Pynenburg (Rosalia / Sophia), Michele Ragusa (Austin / Handmaiden), Robert Sella (Gerald Heard), Laura Shoop (Maria Huxley), and Atticus Ware (Archie Leach).
On October 18, week 5 in the 30th season of the ABC-TV reality show competition Dancing with the Stars,the 11 remaining celebrity and professional dancer couples offered performances in a range of styles inspired by songs from the 1978 film adaptation of the musical Grease. Below is the professional dance company in the opening number, with show host Tyra Banks making an appearance in a bright red cheerleader outfit.
The evening included special appearances by original film cast members Didi Conn (who played Pink Lady Frenchie) and Frankie Avalon, who sang “Beauty School Dropout” for The Talk cohost Amanda Kloots and her partner Alan Bersten during their Viennese waltz segment (which you can watch below). It was the lowest scoring dance of the evening, but Spice Girl Melanic C and her partner Gleb Savchenko were the ones eliminated.
The Bob Dylan musical Girl from the North Country premiered on Broadway last year, beginning previews February 7 and opening March 5, just one week before the pandemic shuttered New York theaters. This week, the show resumed performances at the Belasco Theatre, welcoming back audiences on October 13. Today, the original Broadway cast appeared on ABC-TV’s Good Morning America to celebrate their return, with Austin Scott and Jeannette Bayardelle leading fellow cast members Todd Almond, Colin Bates, Caitlin Houlahan, Robert Joy, Marc Kudisch, Luba Mason, Matt McGrath, Tom Nelis, Jay O. Sanders, Kimber Elayn Sprawl, and Mare Winningham in a medley that included “Hurricane,” “License to Kill,” and “Slow Train.”
The upcoming Broadway musical Paradise Square, which begins previews at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on February 22, has released its first music video, featuring the song “I’d Be a Soldier,” one of several new numbers written since the show’s 2019 Berkeley Rep premiere. The story is set in New York’s infamous Five Points during the Civil War, where “Irish step dancing joyously competed with Black American Juba.”
This song, about America’s first draft instituted during the Civil War to increase the Union Army, is performed by Nathaniel Stampley (Rev. Lewis) and Sidney DuPont (Washington Henry), backed by Chloe Davis, Bernard Dotson Jamal Christopher Douglas, Jacobi Hall, Jay McKenzie, Kayla Pecchioni, Lee Siegel, Rashidra Scott, Yasmeen Sulieman, Alan Wiggins, and Hailee Kaleem Wright.
The libretto is a collaboration of Christina Anderson, Marcus Gardley, Craig Lucas, and Larry Kirwan, who also collaborated on the music with Jason Howland. Nathan Tysen and Masi Asare provide the lyrics. In addition to its original songs, the score includes interpolations of Stephen Foster, who was living in Five Points at the time.
On October 27, the nominees for the 2021 People’s Choice Awards in movies, television, music, and pop culture were announced, with voting open now on the PCA website and Twitter through November 17, 2021. F9: The Fast Saga is the most-nominated film, with eight nominations, while This Is Us is the most-nominated television series, with six nominations. Justin Bieber leads the music artists with 10 nominations. The 47th awards ceremony will be held on December 7 at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, and be broadcast live simultaneously on NBC and E!
