Latest news with #Tony-nominated
Time Out
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Stereophonic
Stereophonic playwright David Adjmi recently wrote an article for a major British newspaper in which he waxed effusively about how his Broadway smash had been inspired by the band Led Zeppelin. I wonder if his lawyer was holding a gun to his head as he wrote it, because while the Zep may have been a tertiary influence, Stereophonic is very very very very very very very clearly about Fleetwood Mac. There are Fleetwood Mac fan conventions less about Fleetwood Mac. Hell, there are incarnations of Fleetwood Mac that have been less about Fleetwood Mac. Specifically, it's a lightly fictionalised account of the recording of the Anglo-American band's mega-selling Rumours album, and while not every detail is the same, many are identical, from the cities it was recorded in (Sausalito then LA) to the gender, nationality and internal-relationship makeup of the band, to details like female members 'Holly' (aka Christine McVie) and 'Diana' (aka Stevie Nicks) moving out out the studio accommodation they were sharing with the band's menfolk in favour of their own condominiums. Which l hasten to say is all to the good, even if it frequently feels like a miracle that Stereophonic has stormed Broadway – becoming the most Tony-nominated play of all time – without being derailed by legal issues (though there is a lawsuit against it from Rumours producer Ken Caillet, who has accused Adjmi of ripping off his memoir). Of course, it is a great subject for a play. The story of how erstwhile blues noodlers Fleetwood Mac recorded one of the greatest pop albums in history, while breaking up with each other, while on drugs isn't simply a bit of pop trivia: it's a parable on the nature of the creative process. It's an incredibly tricky story to tell in a way that doesn't come across all VH1 Behind the Music. But Stereophonic carries it off spectacularly well. For starters, the veil of fiction allows Adjmi to portray Peter (Jack Riffiford, basically Lindsay Buckingham) and Reg (Zachary Hart, basically John McVie) as catastrophic fuck ups - the former toxic and controlling, the latter addled and out of control. The reason biographical musicals are uniformly terrible is that the musicians or their estate have to sign the content off before they'll allow their songs to be used, resulting in tediously flattering portraits. That does not happen here. For all their faults it's a pleasure spending time with these fuck ups And then there are the songs by erstwhile Arcade Fire man Will Butler. They don't sound anything like Fleetwood Mac really: at a pinch you could argue they sound like Arcade Fire gone '70s soft rock. The lyrics don't have the stinging rawness of Rumours – it would be clunky cosplay to try and write a song like 'Go Your Own Way' for this project. But they're rousing, emotional, layered tunes, written for a band with the same makeup of singers and instrumentalists as Fleetwood Mac, performed live by the cast. There's a notable scene in which the band go through endless takes of a track called 'Masquerade': spoiler etc, but the scene finally ends with them getting it right – the scene would fall flat if it wasn't a good song. So no, Butler hasn't written Rumours II, or even tried. But Daniel Aukin's production hinges on the songs written for it being good enough to feel credible, which is pretty audacious. Structurally, it's a three-and-a-bit-hour interrogation of the creative process that features little more than the band chatting to each other or recording. Set solely in a windowless studio, director Aukin has supreme confidence in the play's pacing and rhythms. There is a lot – like a lot – of fannying around over drum sounds and guitar tones, but the play leads us to the right psychological space to understand that there's much more to this than musos muso-ing. A blizzard of coke, exhaustion, the enormous pressure to follow up their previous album, and of course cataclysmic inter-band tensions all go some way to explain why the band and their affable engineers Grover (Eli Gelb) and Charlie (Andrew R Butler) find themselves agonising over every detail. There is a lot about gender and power here. If the broad brushstroke picture is 'band makes an album', the more nuanced one is 'two talented women try to assert themselves in a toxic male-dominated creative environment'. Both Holly (Nia Towle) and Diana (Lucy Karczewski) know their worth. But Holly has to negotiate the broken heart of her ex, Reg, who has pretty much fallen apart after she dumped him and needs to be looked after if they're actually going to make this record. Meanwhile Diana has to deal with the brittle, self-absorbed musical virtuoso Peter, who she's still in a relationship with. His natural sense of perfectionism has been curdled by resentment over Diana's rising star status in the band, and his many snarling putdowns of her work are deeply uncomfortable. Zoom in even closer, and it's the story of Diana stepping out from Peter's control – at the beginning she's subservient to him for the sake of keeping the peace, but she will soon reject this volcanically. It's worth stressing that Stereophonic is extremely entertaining, because it's a show about seven great characters, and the reason the characters are so great is largely because the IRL Fleetwood Mac are a great bunch of characters. For all their faults it's a pleasure spending time with these fuck ups, from Towle's tough, brassy Holly to Chris Stack's avuncular-but-edgy Simon (ie the Mick Fleetwood character). Knob twiddlers Grover and Charlie aren't based on famous people, but still counterbalance the story, a couple of guys who might have expected themselves to be out of their depth musically instead finding themselves totally stumped by the band's emotional problems If there's one thing beyond a degree of legal protection that Stereophonic obviously gains from not technically being about Fleetwood Mac, it's that it ends on a genuinely uncertain note, and not with, I dunno, the band slamming through 'The Chain' while stats about the album's colossal sales flash up. Was this tectonic creative process worth all the damage inflicted for the music it created? Rumours is so beloved now that it's hard to conclude the band should have actually sacked it off. And you'd probably say the same for the Stereophonic band to be honest. But without the quadrillions of sales and instantly recognisable tunes, the damage these people did to each other in the name of art is brought home with devastating eloquence.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘80s Beauty Queen, 62, Dazzles With Ageless Appearance: ‘So Elegant'
'80s Beauty Queen, 62, Dazzles With Ageless Appearance: 'So Elegant' originally appeared on Parade. Vanessa Williams is making aging look easy. The 62-year-old actress and singer dazzled during a recent performance at the St. George Theatre in Staten Island, NY, in celebration of the venue's 95th anniversary. Williams entertained the audience of over 1,000 with hits from the '80s and '90s, her smooth, silky voice sounding as good as Ugly Betty star, who is also a Tony-nominated Broadway actress, is known for her stunning appearance. The former beauty queen seems untouched by time, and fans were quick to take notice. In a recent video of Williams' performance at the St. George Theatre, fans praised her 'elegant' appearance. One commenter wrote, 'Still looks and sounds so great,' while another shared, 'She looks and sounds wonderful.' As she performed songs like her 1988 hit Dreamin', fans hailed Williams as an 'icon' and 'living legend,' with some calling for her to record more last released a studio album in 2024, aptly titled Survivor. She is also the mother of four children: Sasha Fox (25), Jillian Hervey (35), Devin Hervey (32), and Melanie Hervey (37). 🎬SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox🎬 '80s Beauty Queen, 62, Dazzles With Ageless Appearance: 'So Elegant' first appeared on Parade on Jun 11, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jun 11, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Smash' to close just over 2 months on Broadway
NEW YORK — 'Smash,' the Broadway show based on the NBC series of the same name, announced on the heels of a disappointing Tony Awards that it will be closing curtains later this month. The stage musical — which traces the roller coaster of making a Broadway hit centered on Marilyn Monroe's starry origin story — will end its brief tenure at the Imperial Theatre on June 22, Variety and Playbill report. News of the pending closure comes just two months after the Tony-nominated production opened on April 10, with a score from Marc Shaiman and Scott Witt. But, much like the Emmy-winning series that inspired it, the show had high aspirations but has hit many a low note. The New York Times reports that the show's weekly grosses peaked at $1 million for the week ending April 20 but ended this past week grossing a measly $656,161. For the latter period, Variety notes that the Imperial was at 66% capacity. Reviewing the stage rendition for the Daily News, Chris Jones recently bemoaned the new 'Smash' for lacking 'quality of surprise.' 'Especially given the level of talent involved here, the adaptation will be deeply disappointing even for die-hard fans of the source material,' which became a cult favorite and even netted six Emmy nominations, winning one for Outstanding Choreography. 'Smash' aired for two seasons on NBC from 2012 to 2013 and starred Debra Messing, Jack Davenport, Katharine McPhee and Anjelica Huston, as well as real-life Broadway stars Christian Borle and Megan Hilty. Though the Broadway iteration scored two Tony nominations — Best Choreography (Joshua Bergasse) and Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical (Brooks Ashmanskas) — 'Smash' was snubbed for Best Musical consideration at Sunday's awards show. The show, directed by Susan Stroman, couldn't even perform during the broadcast, despite requesting to do so, per The Times.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Saturday, June 7 Evening Cable News Ratings: George Clooney Lifts CNN Past Fox News in Primetime
CNN's special presentation George Clooney's Tony-nominated Good Night, and Good Luck reaped huge rewards for the network. The live broadcast won its two-hour timeslot in total viewers and the Adults 25-54 demo, with the network stating that it was the most-watched program on cable television in total viewers. Thanks to Clooney, Fox News had a rare second place primetime finish, with the 7 p.m. hour of The Big Weekend Show providing its biggest total viewer draw. The 7 p.m. hour of The Weekend was first for MSNBC. 25-54 Demographic (Live+SD x 1,000) Total Day: FNC: 107 | CNN: 59 | MSNBC: 39Prime: FNC: 103 | CNN: 124 | MSNBC: 32 FNC: CNN: MSNBC: 4PM Scott:116 CNN Newsroom/Dean:43 Melber*:38 5PM Five*:132 CNN Newsroom/Dean:51 Sharpton:45 6PM Big Weekend Show:119 CNN Newsroom/Good Night:66 Weekend:40 7PM Big Weekend Show:122 Good Night:220 Weekend:42 8PM Levin:77 Good Night:187 Weekend:46 9PM Trump:96 Good Night:92 Maddow*:27 10PM Failla:139 CNN Newsroom:94 Melber*:23 11PM Gutfeld*:117 Maher*:64 Ruhle*:25 Total Viewers (Live+SD x 1,000) Total Day: FNC: 908 | CNN: 492 | MSNBC: 377Prime: FNC: 1.134 | CNN: 1.164 | MSNBC: 405 FNC: CNN: MSNBC: 4PM Scott:822 CNN Newsroom/Dean:331 Melber*:425 5PM Five*:881 CNN Newsroom/Dean:423 Sharpton:464 6PM Big Weekend Show:1.133 CNN Newsroom/Good Night:635 Weekend:477 7PM Big Weekend Show:1.325 Good Night:1.947 Weekend:498 8PM Levin:1.096 Good Night:1.866 Weekend:470 9PM Trump:1.192 Good Night:993 Maddow*:386 10PM Failla:1.113 CNN Newsroom:632 Melber*:357 11PM Gutfeld*:707 Maher*: 395 Ruhle*:249
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Week of June 2 Cable News Ratings: All 3 Networks See a Primetime Upswing
This is TVNewser's basic cable network ranker and cable news report for the week of June 2, 2025. The three cable news networks can feel good about their respective performances, especially during primetime. Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN all experienced week-to-week gains in total viewers and the Adults 25-54 demo. MSNBC and CNN recorded double-digit gains in primetime in both measured categories and had across-the-board gains during total day. President Donald Trump's feud with Elon Musk clearly played well for these two networks as they captured additional viewers during a relatively slow news period. Meanwhile, Fox News finished the week as the only network with a week-to-week decline in either of the dayparts. However, FNC still finished ahead of its cable rivals as well as the NBC and CBS broadcast networks in weekday primetime total viewers. NETWORKS: According to Nielsen Live Plus, same-day data, FNC averaged 2.378 million total viewers and 256,000 A25-54 viewers during primetime. The network saw a +4% rise in total viewers and a +7% rise in the demo compared to the week prior. Fox News averaged 1.460 million total viewers and 177,000 A25-54 viewers in total day viewing. Week-to-week it was down -1% in the former category, but up +1% in the latter. FNC moved back to first place in total primetime viewers and climbed from fourth to third in the primetime demo among all basic cable networks. In total day, it remained No. 1 in total viewers and climbed from No. 3 to No. 2 the demo demo. MSNBC's primetime lineup averaged 965,000 total viewers and 92,000 viewers in the A25-54 demo for respective gains of +34% and +42% in both measured categories. During total day, MSNBC averaged 584,000 total viewers and 57,000 demo viewers for respective gains of +16% and +21% relative to the prior week. Among all basic cable networks, MSNBC jumped from fifth to third in total primetime viewers and climbed from No. 24 to No. 16 in the demo. During total day, it landed in second place in total viewers and 12th place in the demo. CNN averaged 619,000 total viewers and 108,000 A25-54 viewers during primetime for gains of +66% in the former category and +77% in the latter. The network's live airing of George Clooney's Tony-nominated play Good Night, and Good Luck on June 7 provided a boost, bringing in 2.011 million total viewers and 223,000 demo viewers. In total day, the network averaged 391,000 total viewers and 66,000 demo viewers for respective gains of +27% and +35% in those measured categories. In relation to all the cable networks, CNN climbed from 14th to fifth place, and jumped from No. 27 to No. 9 in the demo. It moved sixth to fifth place during total day, and leaped from No. 16 to No. 8 in the demo. When looking at these networks' performance during the same period a year ago (the week of June 3): During primetime, Fox News increased +11% in total viewers and +19% in the demo. During total day, the network saw gains of +12% in total viewers and +21% in the demo. MSNBC dropped by -17% in total viewers and -19% in the demo. During total day, the network was down -23% in total viewers and -27% in the demo. In primetime, CNN jumped by +28% in total viewers and +23% in the demo. During total day, it dropped -3% in total viewers and -7% in the demo. PROGRAMMING: Fox News held 14 out of the Top 15 spots of the most-watched cable news shows of the week in total viewers, with The Five (3.432 million viewers at 5 p.m. ET) leading the way. MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show (2.118 million viewers at 9 p.m. ET on Monday) finished at No. 7. The Five (347,000 viewers) also landed in first place among A25-54 viewers, with FNC once again occupiying 14 out of the 15 top spots. The Rachel Maddow Show (212,000 viewers) came in at No. 9. Prime Time Fox News MSNBC CNN • Total Viewers: 2,378,000 965,000 619,000 • A25-54: 256,000 92,000 108,000 Total Day Fox News MSNBC CNN • Total Viewers: 1,460,000 584,000 391,000 • A25-54: 177,000 57,000 66,000 Week 6-2-25 Cable Ranker by Adweek on Scribd
