Latest news with #DearEvanHansen
Time Out
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Exclusive: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is returning to New York City
Buzz has been building for weeks that the much-loved musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, which depicts an orthographic competition among anguished adolescent nerds, would be returning to New York City for a 20th-anniversary revival. Now it's official: Time Out has learned that the funny and touching 2005 tuner will be back for a spell at Off Broadway 's New World Stages, starting this November, in what is billed as a 14-week limited engagement. The original production of Spelling Bee won two Tony Awards, for Rachel Sheinkin's book and featured actor Dan Fogler, and helped launch the careers of actors including Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Jose Llana, Derrick Baskin and Lisa Howard. News of the upcoming revival comes at a bittersweet moment for fans of the show: Its brilliantly idiosyncratic composer, William Finn (Falsettos), died in April at the age of 73, and six Broadway theaters—the Gershwin, the Broadhurst, the Walter Kerr, the Hayes, Circle in the Square and the Vivian Beaumont—will be honoring him by dimming their lights at 6:45pm tomorrow (June 17). Hopes for a Spelling Bee revival have been growing since last fall's production of the show at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., which was directed and choreographed by Danny Mefford. The New World Stages version will also be overseen by Mefford, who is best known as the choreographer of musicals including Broadway's Dear Evan Hansen, Fun Home and Kimberly Akimbo; this will mark his Off Broadway debut as a director. Although the NYC production is not being called a transfer, it features most of the same creative team as the Kennedy Center: Emily Rebholz (costumes), David Weiner (lighting), Haley Parcher (sound) and Geoff Josselson (casting), now joined by scenic designer Teresa L. Williams and music supervisor Carmel Dean. The Kennedy Center production had a notably star-studded cast: Beanie Feldstein, Kevin McHale, Taran Killam, Bonnie Milligan, Noah Galvin, Alex Joseph Grayson, Philippe Arroyo, Nina White and Leana Rae Concepcion. It is unclear whether any of those actors will reprise their roles in the New World Stages staging, whose casting has not yet been announced. The 25th Annual Putnam Spelling Bee will begin previews at New World Stages on November 7, 2025, and open officially on November 17. It is scheduled to run through February 15, 2026. Tickets will go on sale in July; for more early access to tickets, sign up at the production's website, (You can also follow it at @spellingbeenyc on all social channels.)
GMA Network
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- GMA Network
Familiar faces, fresh roles: Gian Magdangal lives the story in 'Come From Away'
In a show that begins with planes falling silent, Gian Magdangal feels completely grounded. Fresh off powerful turns in "Dear Evan Hansen" in Singapore and "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change" under Reportory Philippines, the veteran performer takes the stage once again in "Come From Away." This time, he's not playing a grand romantic lead or a scene-stealing villain. He's playing real people. And that, he says, is what makes it special. 'It's not just acting. You're holding someone's story in your hands,' Gian shared during a quick interview with GMA News Online. 'That's what theater is all about—taking something true and sharing it in a way that moves people.' Set in the days following 9/11, "Come From Away" tells the true story of how a small Canadian town opened its doors—and hearts—to over 7,000 passengers diverted to Newfoundland during the tragedy. It's a story of kindness, community, and quiet courage. It's also one of the most complex shows Gian has done. 'This is an ensemble piece. We play multiple roles—jumping accents, characters, emotions—within minutes,' he explained. 'We had a dialect coach, we did research on the real people we're playing. The preparation was intense, but it made everything feel more real.' The production features a powerhouse Filipino cast, including Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo, Cathy Azanza-Dy, Carla Guevara Laforteza, Caisa Borromeo, Mikkie Bradshaw-Volante, and Sparkle artist Garrett Bolden. Together, the 15-person ensemble brings to life more than 80 characters—pilots, locals, stranded travelers, and more—through quick shifts and seamless staging. 'It's all about trust. You're not the star—everyone is. You have to listen, respond, and move as one,' Gian said. Theater that feels like home If the show is about finding connection in the middle of chaos, the cast behind the scenes is living proof of that message. For Gian, "Come From Away" is more than a gig—it's a reunion. He's worked with most of the cast since he started theater 25 years ago, and the new cast members like Garrett? "This is our first time working together on stage but we already knew each other from Sparkle [so] everyone just. clicked," Gian said. "It's like coming home," he adds. Despite the camaraderie, the stakes were high. This marks GMG Productions' first-ever Filipino-led staging, and expectations were set sky-high. 'We knew we couldn't just chill,' Gian admitted. 'There's a level of excellence expected in this kind of show—and it's something we embraced.' At its heart, Come From Away is a love letter to human decency. And for Gian, the musical resonates deeply with the Filipino spirit. 'It's about compassion. About helping without expecting anything in return,' he says. 'That's so Filipino. It reminds us who we are. Wherever we are in the world, we take that with us.' Gian hopes audiences walk away not just entertained, but transformed. 'You might come into the theater feeling like a stranger, but you'll leave remembering that you belong. That you're seen. And that even in chaos, people can be good.' What's next for Gian? Though his calendar is packed, Gian isn't rushing to book the next musical just yet. After "Come From Away," he'll take the concert stage in August. Still, his love for storytelling—especially through theater—burns brighter than ever. 'This is what I love. Shows like this, where you're reminded why we do what we do.' "Come From Away" runs until June 29, 2025, at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater in Circuit Makati. This production also marks a milestone in Philippine theater as this is the first Filipino-led show from GMG Productions, brought to life by a stellar cast that includes Cathy Azanza-Dy, Caisa Borromeo, Mikkie Bradshaw-Volante, Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo, Gian Magdangal, Carla Guevara Laforteza, Garrett Bolden, among others. The ensemble of 15 actors portrays approximately 84 characters, showcasing their remarkable versatility through lightning-fast transitions, distinct accents, and layered emotional beats—an extraordinary feat that speaks to the cast's depth and precision. — LA, GMA Integrated News
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ben Platt Mourns Devastating Family Loss: 'We Will Love You Forever'
Broadway singer is mourning a devastating family loss in the wake of his dog George's untimely death. On Saturday, May 10, the Dear Evan Hansen star took to Instagram with a heartbreaking update and a touching tribute honoring his pet. 🎬 SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬 "We had to say goodbye to George way too early yesterday," Platt began his solemn update. "He was named for the titular artist in 𝑆𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑘 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝐺𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑒 because he was born with tiny pointillistic dots on his nose. He was my first baby and even though we only got 4 years with him, we came to love and depend on him very deeply." The Pitch Perfect actor continued, "George saved me a million times and he brought unbridled joy to every single person he encountered. He was the happiest and most loving boy I could ever imagine. He loved people more than anything, especially babies and children." In conclusion, Platt, 31, who is married to The Good Doctor actor , wrote, "I guess he was an angel too perfect and special to be here for long. Waking up without him today feels surreal and awful. We will love you forever and ever Georgie, you created our first little family. Thank you for making us so happy. 💔🪽." In the comments, fans and fellow celebrities showered the son of theater producer Marc Platt with words of support. wrote, "😞sending lots of love." shared, "The softest, sweetest to ever exist 🩵." Ben's brother, Henry Platt, commented, "The best boy in the world. thankful I got to be his uncle!! Love you." Meanwhile, another fan wrote, "So so devastating. I'm so sorry. Love you both ❤️." Yet another lamented, "Oh Ben & Noah. I'm so sorry. Sending love, light and hugs to both of you 💖💖💖💫💞✨✨✨✨🙏." Next:
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Julianne Moore ‘Just Wrapped' Jesse Eisenberg's Upcoming A24 Musical: ‘We're All Singing in It'
Julianne Moore celebrated the premiere of her next project, 'Sirens' on Netflix, on Tuesday, May 20 at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. The limited series features Moore alongside Meghann Fahy, Milly Alcock, Kevin Bacon, and Glenn Howerton in the Margot Robbie-produced project from 'Maid' creator Molly Smith Metzler. On the carpet, IndieWire caught up with Moore about Jesse Eisenberg's upcoming A24 musical film. As for what she can tease, Moore told us that she will indeed be showing off her vocal chops, a follow-up to singing a little bit in 2021's 'Dear Evan Hansen': 'Yes, I am. I'm singing. We're all singing in it,' she said. More from IndieWire 'Resurrection' Review: Is This an Endurance Test or Imaginative, Boundary-Defying Cinema? You Decide! 'Elden Ring' Movie in the Works from Director Alex Garland at A24 'Jesse Eisenberg is just the most extraordinary person,' she continued. 'He's so incredibly creative. I feel so fortunate to be able to work with him. This is very different, but I think that he can have sort of a satirical worldview. At the end of the day, he's got so much feeling. We're all very excited about it. I actually just wrapped it last week, last Thursday.' Eisenberg's film follows a shy woman who is unexpectedly cast in a community theater musical production, going to extremes as she loses herself in the role. It is an original comedy starring Moore and Paul Giamatti, with Eisenberg also taking on a role in the film. Additionally, the cast includes Halle Bailey, Havana Rose Liu, Bernadette Peters, Eldar Isgandarov, Bonnie Milligan, Colton Ryan, Lilli Cooper, and Maulik Pancholy. One of Moore's frequent collaborators, Todd Haynes, is in the midst of working on his next project. 'We're very excitedly moving forward on this adaptation of Hernan Diaz's 'Trust,'' he told The Hollywood Reporter in February. 'That's what I'm focusing on right now with Kate Winslet at HBO.' As for whether Moore knows anything about Haynes' project, she told us that she has 'no idea. I texted with him not too long ago. I mean, he's just an amazing person, a truly gifted artist, and I'll be in anything he asks me to be in.' 'Sirens' showrunner Metzler previously was a writer on 'Shameless,' and told IndieWire that being a playwright is very 'similar' to TV writing, as both processes are 'very, very collaborative.' Metzler said, 'When you're playwriting you're usually with the whole team, with someone designing the set and the director and actors and dramaturg. You're all making this thing together, but the person who has to speak for the vision of the show is usually the playwright and you just are very empowered. Your relationship with your director is a true partnership. And is a writer's medium, playwriting. That's what's similar about it is TV is a writer's medium.' 'Sirens' premieres May 22 on Netflix. Check out the trailer here. Best of IndieWire Guillermo del Toro's Favorite Movies: 56 Films the Director Wants You to See 'Song of the South': 14 Things to Know About Disney's Most Controversial Movie The 55 Best LGBTQ Movies and TV Shows Streaming on Netflix Right Now
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Nonnas' Review: Vince Vaughn, Susan Sarandon and Lorraine Bracco Bring the Right Seasoning to Netflix's Comfort-Food Comedy
Like the old-school cooks in his new movie, Stephen Chbosky understands the importance of good ingredients. To tell the story of a middle-aged man's impulsive leap into restaurant ownership, he's gathered an accomplished cast wielding effortless charm. Nonnas is home-style all the way, forgoing jaw-dropping plating for something more reliable and predictable. It will strike a nostalgic chord or two for many viewers, and at any rate offers a welcome change of pace from Netflix's true-crime and action offerings. Vince Vaughn brings an unforced sincerity to the role of inexperienced entrepreneur Joey Scaravella, and the four nonnas (grandmothers) who join him in his unconventional culinary enterprise are played by Lorraine Bracco, Susan Sarandon, Talia Shire and Brenda Vacarro — heavy hitters moving nimbly. Though the movie unabashedly celebrates women in their 70s and 80s, it hasn't the strained sensibility of those 'ain't these old gals something?' comedies that have become a subgenre unto themselves. Essentially an up-with-people optimist, director Chbosky (The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Wonder, Dear Evan Hansen) keeps the laughs in a silly but grounded vein, and the emotional moments unfold with the same understated believability. More from The Hollywood Reporter 'Rocky Horror Picture Show' Marks 50th Anniversary With 4K Remaster Vince Vaughn, Susan Sarandon Start an Italian Restaurant in Netflix's 'Nonnas' Trailer 'Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror' Review: An Affectionate, Personal Look at the Cult Movie Phenomenon Working from a screenplay by Liz Maccie that tells a movie version of the origin story of Enoteca Maria, the helmer and his cast — with spot-on design contributions from Diane Lederman and Brenda Abbandandolo — stir up a convincing portrait of middle-class Italian-American New York (played by New Jersey, with a shuttered restaurant, Spirito's, providing the central location). Nostalgia courses through Nonnas, along with a strong sense of community through food; the feature's mantra is 'One does not grow old at the table.' This core idea is vividly evoked, with a fluent kid's-eye-view energy, by DP Florian Ballhaus in the flashback sequence that opens the movie: School-age Joey (Theodore Helm) navigates a big, boisterous family gathering — a typical Sunday in his Brooklyn home — while his mother (Kate Eastman) and grandmother (Karen Giordano), bathed in the golden glow of love, preside in the kitchen. Alone in his childhood home after his mother's death 40 years later, Joey (Vaughn) finds comfort in re-creating the family dishes as best he can from memory. A longing awakened, he makes a trip to the Staten Island farmers' market where his mother and nonna used to buy produce. (Given that Joey doesn't have a car, this is the first of the film's several opportunities for picturesque views of the ferry crossing.) Besides running into Olivia (Linda Cardellini), his high school classmate and the one who got away, he happens upon a run-down restaurant for sale and uses his inheritance as a down payment. This wasn't exactly what his best friend, Bruno (Joe Manganiello), and his wife, Stella (Drea de Matteo), meant when, concerned that Joey would become stuck in grief, they urged him to do something new. But Joey, a mechanic working for the MTA in a job that clearly means little to him beyond a paycheck, is propelled by a vision and won't be stopped: He'll open an Italian restaurant where grandmothers, not trained chefs, do the cooking. The first of many challenges he doesn't foresee is the unwelcoming small-town insularity of some Staten Islanders, encapsulated in the surly suspicions of a market vendor (Michael Rispoli). The four nonnas he enlists (they're all of a grandmotherly age, but two of them have no children) include two friends of the family, Roberta (Bracco, rocking a perma-scowl as a world-class kvetch) and hairdresser and dessert-maker extraordinaire Gia (Sarandon, exuding hard-won equanimity). The two newcomers are Olivia's elegant neighbor Antonella (Vaccaro), still devoted to her long-deceased husband, and former nun Teresa (Shire), who has the air of a bird just let out of a cage, and also a calming wisdom when the food fights take on a regional fervor and Sicily (Roberta) squares off against Bologna (Antonella). Yes, they're types with a capital T, but they're played by actors with personality to spare and no need to go big. By the time the quartet sit down to share limoncello-fueled confessions, they can do so with few words and little fuss. With complementary concision, Vaughn conveys something shellshocked about Joey and, no less, the fighting spirit of someone starting over in a big way, with a new hunger for life — not to mention the elusive recipe for his nonna's Sunday 'gravy,' aka tomato sauce. The supporting performances all click, especially those by Manganiello and de Matteo, delivering a terrific rendition of marital affection through sparring, as well as worry about their friend. Cardellini is the essence of warmth and smarts, and Campbell Scott offers a commanding cameo as a snooty but not heartless food critic. As to the food porn — it isn't. Ballhaus captures the dishes with a straightforwardness that matches the lived-in beauty of the movie as a whole, and there's no indulgent lingering by editor Anne McCabe. (The food itself is not going to pass the vegan test, the capuzzelle especially.) The screenplay by Maccie, who grew up in an Italian-American family in New Jersey (she and Chbosky are married), has a directness that's mostly refreshing, and occasionally too much. The story's intended surprises are telegraphed, and though Joey's setbacks all ring true — bills adding up, trouble with his jerk of a boss (Richie Moriarty), building inspection troubles, a falling-out with Bruno — the resolutions are sometimes undercooked. No subtext goes unexplained, and at times the score underlines what we already know. But the actors always find the grace notes, and there are sparks in the way everyday exchanges turn sharp with compassion. There are welcome laughs too, particularly in Bracco's grump-meister line readings. Nonnas serves up something that doesn't make you work; rather, it invites you to sit down and enjoy. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 'The Goonies' Cast, Then and Now "A Nutless Monkey Could Do Your Job": From Abusive to Angst-Ridden, 16 Memorable Studio Exec Portrayals in Film and TV The 10 Best Baseball Movies of All Time, Ranked
