Latest news with #Theater
Daily Mail
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Madonna blasted for her behavior by Broadway star who reveals her shocking act in Hamilton audience
Madonna was raked over the coals by Broadway star Anthony Ramos, who decried her behavior in the audience of Hamilton years ago. Anthony was in the 2015 original Broadway cast of the musical, playing two roles including Alexander Hamilton's son Philip, who is killed tragically in a duel. But although audiences were left weeping night after night at Anthony's death scene, the show was apparently insufficiently captivating for the Material Girl. The Queen of Pop allegedly sat in the theater on her tablet throughout the performance, Anthony said on Watch What Happens Live!. When host Andy Cohen asked: 'Who was the most terrifying celebrity to spot in the audience during your Hamilton days?' Anthony did not hold back. 'The most terrifying was Madonna with her iPad in her face. She was like this the whole time,' he said, miming looking down at the device. 'I was like: "Damn, shorty," I was like: "If you not enjoying it that much, you know the door's that way. You don't gotta stay here,"' he joked. Anthony is not the first member of the Hamilton cast to make reference to the Madonna incident, which went viral in 2015, the year the show opened on Broadway. Lin-Manuel Miranda, who not only starred as Alexander Hamilton but also wrote the book, music and lyrics of the show, appeared to tweet about Madonna. 'Tonight was the first time I asked stage management NOT to allow a celebrity (who was texting all through Act 2) backstage. #noselfieforyou,' he wrote. Although he never mentioned her by name and deleted the post from his Twitter account, rumors quickly circulated that Madge was the celebrity in question. The conjecture became so widespread that Madonna's publicist repudiated it, saying: 'It's not true. She was invited backstage four different times,' via Us Weekly. 'She texted post show when they were doing their fundraising pitch. Madonna had already made a generous donation,' said the spokeswoman. However Jonathan Groff, who played King George III, openly declared that Madonna was not invited backstage 'because that b**** was on her phone.' The Spring Awakening star insisted: 'You couldn't miss it from the stage. It was a black void of the audience in front of us and her face there perfectly lit by the light of her iPhone through three-quarters of the show,' per Dot429. Madonna's alleged spat with the Hamilton cast came two years after she was banned by the Alamo Drafthouse movie theater chain over claims that she texted through a premiere screening of the Oscar-winning drama 12 Years a Slave. When another audience member at the screening asked her to put her phone away, she reportedly snapped back: 'It's for according to Page Six. The Like a Virgin hitmaker herself has a long history with the New York stage, having acted on Broadway in the David Mamet play Speed-the-Plow in 1988. She also famously played the polarizing Argentine first lady Eva Peron in the 1996 movie adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice musical Evita. Her performance was memorably excoriated several years ago by Patti LuPone, who won a Tony for the role of Eva in the original Broadway cast of the stage show. 'Madonna is a movie killer,' said Patti. 'She's dead behind the eyes. She cannot act her way out of a paper bag. She should not be on - in film or onstage.' She allowed that Madonna was a 'a wonderful, you know, performer for what she does,' but slated her as 'not an actress,' on Watch What Happens Live!.
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
10 stars (Pamela Anderson! Alyssa Milano!) on playing Roxie Hart in ‘Chicago'
There's a reason Roxie Hart has remained the name on everybody's lips. A merry murderess with a thirst for fame, the 'Chicago' protagonist has lured many a star to stages across the globe. After Gwen Verdon originated the role in the seedy musical's 1975 premiere and Ann Reinking kicked off the 1996 revival — Broadway's longest-running current production — the prolifically stunt-cast part has become a revolving door for all manner of movie stars, TV personalities, recording artists and theater creatures to tap-dance through.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Nicole Scherzinger 'shelves her upcoming solo album' following Broadway success
has reportedly 'shelved her upcoming solo album' following her success on Broadway. The singer, 45, who cancelled The Pussycat Dolls reunion shows in 2022, hasn't released a solo album since her 2014 dance-pop record, Big Fat Lie, failed to chart. She was said to be working on an album in 2022 but made her debut as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard in London the following year. The show then transferred to Broadway, where it has earned her both a Tony and a Laurence Olivier Award. Nicole is said to have 'spent a fortune' on her album after being dropped from her record label in 2015. A source told The Sun: 'Things were really coming together and she was hunting for a team to release it when Sunset Boulevard came along.' They added: 'The plan was to revisit the album after the West End run finished last year, but the show ended up going to Broadway and now she has loads of exciting offers on the table. 'She is in a totally different place in her life from when she wrote the album, so it's been shelved.' MailOnline has contacted Nicole Scherzinger's representative for comment. Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has described Nicole as 'one of the most gifted singer-actresses I have seen perform my work… she is fearless, musically and dramatically.' After the Tony Awards last week, Nicole posted a video on Instagram during the ceremony where she performed a Sunset Boulevard number. In the gushing post, she wrote: 'This is a dream come true for me to perform As If We Never Said Goodbye. 'This is my love letter to the theatre. And to anyone with a deep passion for what you do, this was for you too.' She added: 'What an honour to share this song with a community that has held me and lifted me. I am forever grateful. As she accepted her Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical award, for her performance of fading Hollywood star Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, Nicole said: 'Growing up I always felt like I didn't belong, but you all have made me feel like I belong, and I have come home at last.' She then thanked her fiancé Thom Evans, adding he 'believes in me when I forget to believe in myself.' She also said: 'I'm so honoured to be recognised alongside these exceptional warrior women in this category. I want to thank you all so much for making this little Hawaiian/ Ukrainian/ Filipino girl's dream come true. So proud to represent.' After she thanked her family, she then thanked composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, sharing: 'It has been such an honour to be able to create with you the past 15 years.' Nicole has defied the odds to become the babe of Broadway, when just a few years ago, it would have seemed impossible for the former Pussycat Doll to win such a gong. Following a 'flop' attempt at a solo singing career after the pop group disbanded in 2010, her stage career had also looked doomed following a vicious spat with Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber - despite her shout out to him on Sunday. Nine years ago, the former Pussycat Doll had just pulled out of his Broadway production of Cats at the last minute to take a seven-figure salary to return as a judge on ITV's X Factor. Furious Lord Webber declared that she would never 'get her Tony Award'. Lord Webber had raged: 'I'm furious because I really believe she's the most fantastically talented girl and I went out on a limb... but never mind, there'll be another girl on Broadway and Nicole will not get her Tony Award.' But following raving reviews in his new Sunset Boulevard show, Nicole has become Lloyd Webber's shining diamond on Broadway - and not only has he eaten his words, but he's become her biggest cheerleader. She has also appeared in Men in Black 3, voiced a role in Disney's Moana, and starred in stage productions of Rent and Cats.
News.com.au
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
NEWS OF THE WEEK: Michelle Williams admits Tonys snub ‘stung a little bit'
The former Destiny's Child singer currently stars as Viola Van Horn in the Broadway musical adaptation of the 1992 movie Death Becomes Her. While the show itself received 10 Tony nominations this year, Williams wasn't individually recognised. "It stung a little bit," she told Variety about the snub. "But I was like: Girl, you're back on Broadway after you didn't think you ever would be. Who's the winner? I'm still the winner! That fixed me." Williams explained that she didn't think she would be welcomed back into the Broadway community…
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
NEWS OF THE WEEK: Michelle Williams admits Tonys snub 'stung a little bit'
The former Destiny's Child singer currently stars as Viola Van Horn in the Broadway musical adaptation of the 1992 movie Death Becomes Her. While the show itself received 10 Tony nominations this year, Williams wasn't individually recognised. "It stung a little bit," she told Variety about the snub. "But I was like: Girl, you're back on Broadway after you didn't think you ever would be. Who's the winner? I'm still the winner! That fixed me." Williams explained that she didn't think she would be welcomed back into the Broadway community…
