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First-time screenwriter Kate Gersten had one actress in mind to play the heroine of “The Last Showgirl”: Pamela Anderson. The problem was, Anderson’s then agent didn’t bother to forward the script about a 50-something Vegas dancer struggling to pivot to her next act.

“He threw it in the trash within the hour and never called me,” Anderson says of her former representative. “This was not an agent. He was just someone who brought me work for money.”

Undeterred, the film’s director, Gia Coppola, tracked down Anderson’s son Brandon through mutual friends, and he promised to pass the screenplay along to his mother, who had largely given up on acting and moved to British Columbia.

“I remember coming out of my garden, getting a message from Brandon and sitting at my computer and reading it. And I thought, ‘This is it,’” Anderson recalls. “This is my...

RhonniRose Mantilla is a pro when it comes to the stage. Theater is a big love of hers, and she’s performed in productions of some of the biggest musicals, including Grease, The Wiz, and A Chorus Line. Earlier this year, she made her Broadway debut, and now she’s making her daytime television debut in Beyond the Gates. We get to witness her big break, so seeing what she’ll do with her role as Dani Dupree’s youngest daughter, Chelsea Hamilton, is exciting.

The Early Days

RhonniRose Mantilla hails from the gateway to the West, St. Louis, Missouri. While she was in high school at Parkway North, she once told them what she was most proud of. She said, “My talents like my abilities to dance and sing.” And when she added acting to her skillset, she turned into a triple threat.

She attended Baldwin Wallace University in...

Despite Minnelli’s memoir not being finished and a queue of ‘Academy award, Emmy, Tony and Grammy winners excited to talk’, the star of the upcoming biopic is already obvious

As the repeatedly stalled Madonna biopic has shown, it’s difficult to make a film about a real-life icon, especially when the icon in question has a say in who will play them. And so it might prove to be with Liza Minnelli. Earlier this year, Minnelli announced that she is writing what is sure to be a blockbuster memoir. The book promises to pull no punches which – when you factor in her parents, her addiction issues and her complicated love life – is a hell of a lot of punches not to pull.

The book isn’t due to come out until 2026. Despite this, the television rights have already been optioned and, even though it’s so far in the distance,...

Silvia Pinal’s Net Worth Explored ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

Silvia Pinal was a legendary Mexican actress who worked in the entertainment industry for over 70 years. She passed away on November 28th, 2024, at the age of 93, after being admitted to the hospital with a urinary tract infection.

Pinal is considered one of the greatest female stars in Mexico. She worked in several films during the Golden Age of Mexican cinema and accumulated a considerable fortune. Let’s take a look at Silvia Pinal’s net worth.

Silvia Pinal’s Net Worth

According to a report by Marca.com, Silvia Pinal’s net worth was $50 million at the time of her death in November 2024. The actress left several lavish assets, including a mansion in Pedregal, Mexico City, and a theater named after her.

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Silvia Pinal, the revered film and television actress who left an indelible mark on Mexico’s Golden Age of Cinema, has died. She was 93.

Mexico’s culture secretary, Claudia Curiel de Icaza, as well as the Asociación Nacional de Intérpretes announced Pinal’s passing on social media. The Associated Press reported that Pinal had been hospitalized for a urinary infection several days ago.

During a prolific acting and producing career that spanned seven decades, Pinal gained international fame for toplining three 1960s classics written and directed by Luis Buñuel: the Palme d’Or co-winner Viridiana (1961), The Exterminating Angel (1962) and Simon of the Desert (1965).

Pinal got her start in the theater in the late 1940s working with Cuban-born director Rafael Banquells, who would become the first of her four husbands. Her breakthrough in cinema came in 1950 when at 18 she landed back-to-back leading roles opposite two of Mexico’s biggest film stars,...

TV personality, actor and host of NBC’s “Access Hollywood,” Mario Lopez, a Grand Marshal alum, to receive the Humanitarian Award for The 92nd Anniversary of The Hollywood Christmas Parade Supporting Marine Toys for Tots.

His Christmas film “Once Upon a Christmas Wish” debuts December 7th on The Great American Family Channel. The live Hollywood Christmas Parade, presented in association with The City of Los Angeles, will take place on the streets of Hollywood, CA on Sunday, December 1, 2024 starting at 6:00 p.m. at Hollywood landmark Tcl Chinese Theatre. Mario will ride in the parade along with his wife, actress and TV personality Courtney Lopez, and his children.

Mario Lopez is the consummate entertainer. The two-time Emmy winner, who recently received a star on the iconic Hollywood Walk of Fame, can be seen daily as the host of NBC’s “Access Hollywood,” & “Access Daily.” He concurrently hosts the national iHeart radio programs,...

Earl Holliman, a renowned actor who defined midcentury entertainment, died on Monday in Los Angeles at 96, according to his niece Theresa Mullins Harris. Holliman, known for his diverse appearances in television and movies, personified the typical Hollywood success tale.

Holliman rose to popularity with notable performances in science fiction and Western films. In October 1959, he made television history by playing Mike Ferris in the first episode of The Twilight Zone, titled “Where Is Everybody?”

Holliman rose to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s, appearing in hit shows such as Bonanza, The Fugitive, and Marcus Welby, M.D. His most well-known performance was as Lt. Bill Crowley in Police Woman, which peaked in the Primetime Top 15 during the 1974-75 season.

Beyond television, Holliman exhibited extraordinary versatility. In 1957, he received a Supporting Actor Golden Globe for The Rainmaker and was honored with a Hollywood Walk of Fame star. His early film appearances...

Earl Holliman, an actor whose scores of credits spanning a half-century ranged from 1950s films Forbidden Planet and Giant to Police Woman and others popular ’70s and ’80s TV dramas and starred in the first episode of The Twilight Zone, died Monday in Los Angeles after a short illness. He was 96.

His niece, Theresa Mullins Harris, announced the news on social media, writing in part: “His dream at 5 years old of becoming a movie star came true, more than he ever could have imagined.”

Holliman got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame won a Supporting Actor Golden Globe for 1957’s The Rainmaker and was nominated for the short-lived early-’90s ABC sitcom Delta, starring Delta Burke. He was a series regular on the latter, playing the understanding owner of a bar where aspiring country singer Delta Bishop (Burke) worked while trying to make it.

Born on September 11, 1928, Holliman...

After a generic DVD run and Blu-rays released outside the U.S. market under the name Ragman, Synapse Films has answered the prayers of many horror-metal fans with the recent 4K release of 1986’s Trick or Treat. Having “No Wimps” and “No False Metal,” this film is considered by many to be the quintessential heavy metal horror flick, partially thanks to a perfectly apropos soundtrack provided by the band Fastway.

After constantly being harassed by the cool kids at his high school, Eddie Weinbauer aka “Ragman” finds solace in listening to the music of his idol Sammi Curr to get through the abuse. Not only is he a famous heavy metal star, but Curr is also an alum at Eddie’s high school where he became an outcast-made-good into metal stardom. And this is why Eddie feels a faux bond and extreme idolization for Curr since he believes they share the same origin story,...

Roger Ebert was never afraid to go against the grain. While most critics loved films like A Clockwork Orange, Gladiator, The Usual Suspects and The Elephant Man, Ebert gave them a big thumbs down. It went the other way as well, though. Far Out Magazine recently noted a number of terrible movies that Ebert inexplicably loved, including three comedies that would be more at home at the Razzies than the Oscars.

Here are three terrible comedies that got kudos from arguably the greatest film critic of all time…

1 Home Alone 3

No Macaulay Culkin? No Chris Columbus? No problem for Ebert. “To my astonishment, I liked the third Home Alone movie better than the first two,” he wrote. “I’m even going so far as to recommend it.”

What was so great about it? “This movie follows the exact formula of the first two, but is funnier and gentler, has a real charmer for a hero,...

Kelly Bishop has spent decades performing. She was well known for A Chorus Line before landing a role in Dirty Dancing. In the early 2000s, she landed on TV as Emily Gilmore in Gilmore Girls. She has appeared in plenty of roles since. Still, Emily Gilmore, the matriarch of the Gilmore Family, is the role Kelly Bishop is best known for today. In the lead-up to the release of her book, The Third Gilmore, Bishop revealed exactly what she loves about the character of Emily. We don’t disagree with her assessment.

Kelly Bishop reveals what she loved about Emily Gilmore

In a chat with Salon, Kelly Bishop revealed exactly what she loved about the character she spent seven years playing. The famed actor told the publication that Emily Gilmore was a woman who said what she meant and tried to get what she wanted. She revealed that she loves...

Throughout the majority of her career in the entertainment industry, beginning with her Broadway debut in 1975, Kelly Bishop was not interested in being in the public eye. The dancer turned actress, best known for her roles in A Chorus Line, Dirty Dancing, and Gilmore Girls, had a passion for the arts and wanted to be a working actress for as long as Hollywood would have her. Even now, at the age of 80, she wants to continue taking on new roles. But all the while, she wanted her private life to remain just that.

Wolfgang Petersen's 1985 sci-fi film "Enemy Mine" was beset with production problems and bogged down by massive marketing costs. The film's original director, Richard Loncraine (1995's "Richard III"), reportedly butted heads with producer Stephen Friedman and walked off the set after only a week of shooting. Petersen stepped in after that, moving the production to Germany and starting over. A film that was supposed to boast a modest budget of only $17 million ended up costing over $29 million.

"Enemy Mine" was then released into the very busy 1985 holiday season, competing with "Out of Africa," "The Color Purple," "Legend," "Clue," and "The Jewel of the Nile." Audiences, it seems, weren't in the mood for a modest sci-fi yarn, and stayed away in droves. "Enemy Mine" also opened alongside Terry Gilliam's dystopian nightmare "Brazil" and Richard Attenborough "A Chorus Line," but those films similarly tanked.

Additionally, the reviews for "Enemy Mine" were only middling at best.

IATSE has been organizing workers Off-Broadway in a push for greater benefits and a say in the changing theater landscape.

Thus far, workers at commercial productions of Titanique and Little Shop of Horrors have won organizing victories, as have the nonprofit Vineyard Theatre and Atlantic Theater Company, which has developed notable shows such as The Band’s Visit and Kimberly Akimbo, and the Public Theater, one of the largest nonprofit theater companies in the country and the starting point for productions such as Hamilton and A Chorus Line.

The five companies have recognized IATSE as the collective bargaining agent for the production employees. All theaters are currently at the beginning stages of talks, with no completed collective bargaining agreements as of yet. IATSE hopes to keep organizing additional workers, but is doing so against a backdrop of layoffs, rising costs and fear over how this could impact the industry.

While Off-Broadway...

No awards show makes it to the end without a few surprises, and tonight’s Tony Awards on CBS had a whopper: It went off without a hitch.

The Pluto TV pre-show, not so much. But more on that in a bit.

With Ariana DeBose returning to host for the third time, the 77th Annual Tonys was like a how-to for awards shows, with nearly all of the performances by the Best Musical nominees (and the year’s Best Play winner Stereophonic) showcasing each production at its best. (Which one fell a bit short? Read on.)

DeBose kicked things off with a made-for-the-show musical number, sounding terrific even if a performance from one of the actual Broadway shows might have been a wiser option. DeBose has said this will be her final Tony hosting gig, at least for a while, and she’ll be missed: She knows how to hold the spotlight,...

Ruth Landers, who created the 1990s PBS kids show The Huggabug Club with her daughters, actresses Audrey Landers and Judy Landers, has died. She was 85.

A longtime resident of Sarasota, Florida, Landers died April 18 of natural causes, her family announced.

Audrey Landers, 67, portrayed Afton Cooper on Dallas on and off for seven seasons and played the dancer Val Clarke in the 1985 big-screen version of A Chorus Line, directed by Richard Attenborough. Judy Landers, 65, was on such TV shows as Vega$, B.J. and the Bear and Madam’s Place.

Aimed at preschoolers, The Huggabug Club featured Audrey as Miss Audrey and Judy as Miss Judy, working opposite full-bodied puppets. Filled with songs and scripts written by Audrey, it aired on PBS from January 1995 to June 1997, followed by years of reruns.

Ruth also produced Ghost Writer (1989), featuring her daughters; Club Fed (1990), starring Judy; and California Casanova (1991), starring Audrey; and executive produced...

Alex Edelman, the comedian, actor and writer who made his Broadway debut last year in his solo show Just For Us, will receive a Special 2024 Tony Award for the production, the Tony Administration Committee announced today.

The committee revealed today that Edelman will be one of three Special Tony recipients this June, along with longtime sound designer Abe Jacob and Jaja’s African Hair Braiding hair and wig designer Nikiya Mathis.

Special Tony Awards are presented to outstanding productions, artists and organizations who do not fall into any of the competitive categories.

In addition to the Special Tonys, five recipients of this year’s Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre were named: Projection designer Wendall K. Harrington; arts leader Colleen Jennings-Roggensack; retiring Playwrights Horizons board chair Judith O. Rubin; the Dramatists Guild Foundation; and the Samuel J. Friedman Health Center for the Performing Arts.

Regarding the Special Tony recipients,...

Paging Don Johson! Report to the set of Ryan Murphy’s new ABC drama series, Dr. Odyssey, to join Joshua Jackson on a medical emergency! That’s right, patients. Don Johnson is scrubbing up for Murphy’s mysterious new project, Dr. Odyssey, which could be a medical procedural. The 20th Century Studios series targets a fall launch, with Ryan Murphy Television leading the charge.

While details about the show remain a mystery, reports indicate it’s a medical procedural aboard a cruise ship. If we know Murphy, there’s more than ship-wide food poisoning on the menu. Details about Johnson’s character remain unknown.

Murphy will write Dr. Odyssey and executive produce with Jon Robin Baitz and Joe Baken. Paris Barclay directs and executive produces Dr. Odyssey. Eric Paquette, Alexis Martin Woodall, Eric Kovtun, Scott Robertson, and Nissa Diederich also executive produce alongside Jackson.

We’re big fans of Don Johnson in these parts,...

Brad Silberling's 2009 comedy/adventure "Land of the Lost" was a big-budget re-imagining of Sid and Marty Krofft's low-rent 1974 TV series of the same name. In the TV show, Marshall (Spencer Milligan), Will (Wesley), and Holly (Kathy Coleman) are on a routine river-rafting expedition when they encounter the biggest earthquake ever documented. They ride a raft through an aperture in the Earth and wind up in the Land of the Lost, a subterranean world ruled by dinosaurs and populated by ape-like proto-humans known as the Pakuni. Later in the series, there are discussions about having sailed through a time doorway, although the Land of the Lost is not prehistoric Earth, but a bizarre nether-realm filled with magic crystals, ineffable high-tech obelisks, and evil lizard people called Sleestaks. "Land of the Lost" was a touchstone of Gen-x kiddie entertainment.

In the PG-13-rated 2009 film (a spoof as much as an...

Exclusive: Access Hollywood‘s Mario Lopez, together with his wife/Broadway star Courtney Lopez (A Chorus Line) are the latest actors to join Great American Family’s lineup of holiday movies.

The duo will headline My Grown-Up Christmas Wish, which follows Mario Lopez as the mayor of an idyllic community of Long Grove. While decorating for Christmas with the residents, Brian discovers his childhood Christmas wish list which magically begins to come true, reminding Brian about the spirit and joy of the holiday. Returning to town for Christmas is Brian’s childhood friend Nina Meyers (Courtney Lopez), and soon a connection becomes undeniable as she helps Brian face a new challenge for the town. As Brian’s wishes come true, he inspires the town to showcase its warm culture and values in order to stop the modern world from stifling the charm and heart of Long Grove.

Joining his famous...

This year’s Tonys will be held on June 16, so the American Theatre Wing will likely be announcing its lifetime achievement award recipient in the near future. Who do you think should take home this prestigious trophy? It has gone to veteran stage performers, directors, choreographers, playwrights, songwriters, producers and designers. In some years we get multiple recipients.

Last year these honors went to legendary actor Joel Grey and composer John Kander. The following living female Broadway vets have also received this award in the past and thus won’t be chosen again: Jane Greenwood, Rosemary Harris and Graciela Daniele. Here are 10 possible women the Tonys could award, all veterans over the age of 65. Vote to let us know who you’d like to see honored.

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Debbie Allen

Two-time Tony nominated actress for her performances in revivals of “West Side Story...

The actors from the current revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s “Merrily We Roll Along” have skyrocketed in Gold Derby’s combined odds for the 2024 Tony Awards nominations. The prediction center displays commanding leads for Jonathan Groff, Lindsay Mendez and Daniel Radcliffe to win their respective categories. This is an understandable result considering this revival is the hottest ticket in town and this trio of performers has been ever-present in the media. But how often does a trio of actors from the same production pull off three separate acting victories at the Tony Awards?

It’s quite common for a musical to grab two acting trophies, but three awards is much rarer. To date, only 15 musical productions have earned three acting wins. The first time this feat occurred was at the 1956 ceremony, which was ironically the first time the Tony Awards ever announced a slate of nominees (previously...

The Jackson 5 have found their harmony once again for the upcoming biopic “Michael” from director Antoine Fuqua and Oscar-winning producer Graham King.

After a worldwide search led filmmakers to cast Jackson’s nephew, Jaafar Jackson, as the King of Pop, with 9-year-old Juliano Krue Valdi as the younger Michael, fans have been eagerly waiting to see who would round out the rest of the Jackson family.

The film, which is scheduled to hit theaters on April 18, 2025, is currently in production. Oscar-nominee Colman Domingo assumes the role of family patriarch Joe Jackson with Nia Long as mother Katherine Jackson, plus Miles Teller as lawyer John Branca.

Now, the eight actors who will portray Jackson’s four brothers — who come together to form the massively popular singing group the Jackson 5 — have been revealed: Jamal R. Henderson plays Jermaine Jackson in the film’s later years, while Jayden Harville plays the younger version.

Kelly Bishop, the actor best known for portraying the Gilmore family matriarch on Gilmore Girls, is releasing a memoir. The book, titled The Third Gilmore Girl, will offer fans of the beloved actor a glimpse into her world, including her personal life.

Kelly Bishop announces her memoir

In a statement obtained by People, Bishop said she is excited to take fans through her life in the entertainment industry in her upcoming memoir. While Bishop might be best known for her work on Gilmore Girls, she had an illustrious stage and movie career before landing the role of Emily Gilmore in 2000.

Kelly Bishop | Jim Spellman/WireImage

Bishop won a Tony Award for her work in A Chorus Line in the 1970s. She dazzled fans as Marjorie Houseman in Dirty Dancing and, more recently, as Eleanor Lambert in Halston. Still, for many fans, she’ll always be Emily Gilmore. While Emily could be abrasive and uptight,...

Kelly Bishop is returning to Stars Hollow with upcoming memoir The Third Gilmore Girl.

The 79-year-old Gilmore Girls alum is set to publish her book on Sept. 17 under Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.

The Third Gilmore Girl delves into Bishop’s remarkable career, from starring as Sheila Bryant in A Chorus Line to her memorable role as matriarch Emily Gilmore in the hit TV series. Bishop also gets candid about her personal life, including insight into her tumultuous first marriage.

“From my first steps onto a Broadway stage, to the town of Stars Hollow, I am excited to take my fans along with me through the story of my life,” she shared in a statement obtained by People magazine, which first reported on the book.

The book’s editor Hannah Braaten added, “Kelly Bishop’s long career in show business includes so many indelible moments and characters,...

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Broadway legend and “Gilmore Girls” matriarch Kelly Bishop is ready to spill all the tea (or in this case a perfectly prepared pitcher of martinis) about her time on the set of Stars Hollow.

The Tony-Award-winning actor (who found fame on stage as an original Broadway cast member in “A Chorus Line”) had a second resurgence of popularity after being cast as the iconic Emily Gilmore, mother to Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and daughter Rory (Alexis Bledel), on the TV series “Gilmore Girls.”

Titled “The Third Gilmore,” Bishop’s upcoming memoir recalls her journey from stage to screen and no doubt will cover the viral stories she’s shared on the road

Cook up Sookie’s risotto, Mrs. Kim’s flaxseed muffins or Luke’s classic cheeseburger from this thorough...

Here’s a topic of discussion for your next Friday-night dinner: Gilmore Girls matriarch Kelly Bishop is writing a book about her life in showbiz.

The actress, who played Lorelai’s mother and Rory’s grandmother Emily Gilmore on the beloved drama, will release The Third Gilmore Girl this fall, People reports. Gallery Books will publish the memoir.

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Per the official synopsis, the...

Nolita Cinema’s musical Hear Me Love, starring France’s biggest pop star Clara Luciani in her first lead role, has started shooting in Paris as part of a revival of the film musical in France.

Set between Paris and Rome’s Cinecitta’s Studios in the 1970s, Hear Me Love (Joli Joli) follows a struggling writer looking for inspiration for his second novel who falls in love with a famous movie star. It is the fifth feature by French film and theatre director Diastème and is being scored by composer Alex Beaupain.

Ginger & Fed is selling the film...

Joining the writers room during the fifth season of Gilmore Girls required sitting down with a pen and paper to take notes on all the previous storylines and “lots of coffee,” or so writer Stan Zimmerman reflects in The Girls: From Golden to Gilmore.

In his memoir, to be published by Indigo River Publishing on Feb. 13, Zimmerman chronicles his time working on the series, as well as his journey to finding success as a writer, producer, director and playwright, working on such shows as The Golden Girls and Roseanne. Featuring journal entries throughout, The Girls also details Zimmerman’s relationships with varied stars, including Lily Tomlin, Sandra Bernhard, Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel and the Golden Girls cast.

After coming on to write during season five of Amy Sherman-Palladino’s Gilmore Girls, Zimmerman recalls the casting search for the Logan Huntzberger character, Rory’s love interest at Yale, who would go...

What’s new on Amazon’s Prime Video in February 2024?

In light of Valentine’s Day, Prime Video nailed it. This February, the platform is bringing a variety of new shows and movies for you and yours. There is something for everyone — from the latest releases to classic romantic comedies to thrillers and more.

Rom-com “Upgraded,” starring Camila Mendes and Archie Renaux, hits the streamer on Friday, while a series adaptation of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s steamy spy thriller “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” is already taking the world by storm since its Feb. 2 debut with stars Donald Glover and Maya Erskine.

The platform will also debut 2015’s “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” with Tom Cruise and Rebecca Ferguson, last year’s animated “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” and the well-liked 2014 indie “St.Vincent” with Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy, Naomi Watts and Chris O’Dowd.

And don’t forget about...

Prime Video’s big February drop is Mr. & Mrs. Smith! No, not the 2005 Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie action movie, but a new TV series kinda based on it starring Donald Glover and Maya Erskine. The set up for the show version? Glover and Erskine are two strangers who both get jobs at a shady spy agency and are asked to get married so that they can pretend to be a couple undercover, but things get more complicated when they start falling in love for real. Uh oh!

If you’re in the mood for a movie or two this month, you can also check out the Prime debuts of Strays, Bottoms, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. In the meantime, here’s everything coming to Amazon Prime Video and Freevee this month. Amazon Originals are accompanied by an asterisk!

New on Amazon Prime Video – February 2024

February 1

12 Angry Men...

Love is in the air this February at Prime Video! From the long-awaited espionage comedy series “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” to Jennifer Lopez’s new album companion film “This Is Me…Now: A Love Story,” the streamer is days away from adding dozens of classic and fresh titles to its seemingly endless catalog, including the premieres of many more Amazon Originals like “The Second Best Hospital in The Galaxy,” “Five Blind Dates,” and “The Silent Service.”

Check out The Streamable’s top picks for February on Prime Video, and find out everything coming to the platform this coming month!

30-Day Free Trial $8.99+ / month amazon.com What are the 5 Best Shows and Movies Coming to Prime Video in February 2024? “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” | Friday, Feb. 2

Donald Glover and Maya Erskine star in the long-awaited spy comedy series about two lonely strangers who land a job working for a mysterious spy agency...

He sings and he dances! But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t work. Timothée Chalamet had a three-month dance boot camp to prepare for “Wonka” — but luckily veteran choreographer Christopher Gattelli was there to guide him.

“The first lesson I had with him was actually in May of 2021. He was shooting ‘Bones and All’ at the time, and he came in with like this shocking red magenta hair and like super, super skinny Timmy and I was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s not what I was expecting.'” But Gattelli pointed out that with Chalamet’s famous background at Laguardia High School, it wasn’t like starting from scratch. “And he has really great rhythm, so it wasn’t hard for him to pick it up.”

“Boot camp” sounds like Gattelli turned into the kind of strict dance instructor who terrifies his students, when in reality he’s warm and quick to laugh,...

The Groundlings comedy troupe helped raise $215k for the Motion Picture & Television Fund benefitting below-the-line workers impacted by the strikes with a one-of-a-kind event called One Night Only.

On Thursday, current and past members of The Groundlings, including Kristen Wiig, Kristen Bell, Ana Gaystayer and Will Forte, performed an improvised version of the Broadway musical A Chorus Line and they only had 24 hours to prepare.

In the audience of the sold-out event were Pedro Pascal, Patty Jenkins, Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, Ron Pearlman, Chris Pine, Dan Bucatinski, Dax Shepard, Camryn Manheim, Sara Gilbert and Abigail Spencer, among many others.

Kristen Wiig and Kristen Bell backstage

“The Groundlings is where it started for me as a performer and writer. I owe so much to the people there, the teachers and the stage itself. To be a part of this group, helping to do something that is going to provide some...

Anyone who knows and loves a theater kid understands that they can be… a little much. To their credit, theater kids accept and embrace this reputation. Both the excessiveness of theater kids and their willingness to celebrate their extremities can be seen in the comedy Theater Camp, directed by Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman. After winning over critics and earning a strong, if limited, return in theaters, Theater Camp has come to Hulu.

Based on a short film that Gordon and Lieberman made with Ben Platt and Noah Galvin, Theater Camp features a group of theater kids trying to save their camp from the founder’s jerky son, who wants to sell it off for something more profitable. Both self-aware and sincere, Theater Camp is a love letter to the over-the-top nerds who can sing every word of A Chorus Line and know that Andrew Rannells was in Street Sharks.

Pamela Blair, who originated the role of Valerie Clarke in the Broadway musical A Chorus Line and appeared in several soap operas, has died. She was 73.

The actress died Sunday at her home in Mesa, Arizona, The Washington Post reported. Blair had a lengthy battle with complications related to Clippers disease, a nervous system disorder, her friend Scott Withers told the newspaper.

Born on Dec. 5, 1949, in Bennington, Vermont, Blair, who had a passion for the arts from a young age, moved to New York as a teenager to pursue a career in acting and dancing. She studied drama at the Hb Studio and attended the National Ballet Academy, where she met choreographer Michael Bennett, who would becoming a frequent collaborator.

She made her Broadway debut in 1968 in Promises, Promises, where she worked alongside Bennett. A few years later, Blair was in the original company for 1972’s musical Sugar, adapted from...

Pamela Blair, an actress and dancer best known for her roles in the original Broadway cast of “A Chorus Line” and in soap opera “All My Children,” has died. She was 73 years old.

Blair died Sunday in her home in Phoenix, per media reports. Her passing came after a “long battle” with an unnamed illness, her representative Dani Green said.

Blair, who made her major stage debut in 1968’s “Promises, Promises” and later starred in productions as varied as “Sugar and Seesaw,” “Of Mice and Men,” “King of Hearts,” “The Nerd” and “A Few Good Men” in addition to “A Chorus Line,” was celebrated online Monday and Tuesday by past costars and collaborators.

“A Chorus Line” costar Baayork Lee posted on Facebook Monday, calling Blair her “Sagittarian sister” nicknaming her “Walt Disney Pammie.”

“We always wrote to one another no matter where we were on that day. What a colorful character she was,...

Veteran actress Pamela Blair, best known for originating the role of Valerie Clark in Broadway’s hit musical A Chorus Line, has died. She was 73. Blair’s passing, which happened on Sunday (July 23) at her home in Phoenix, Arizona, after a long illness, was confirmed by her A Chorus Line co-star Baayork Lee. “I am very sad to say my Sagittarian sister Pam Blair has gone to play with her [A Chorus Line] colleagues among the clouds,” Lee wrote on Facebook. “Walt Disney Pammie and I shared the same birthday. We always wrote to one another no matter where we were on that day.” “What a colorful character she was as depicted in the Val monologue in the show,” Lee added. “She brought the house down every night as well as a woman standing at the edge of the orchestra shouting, ‘Wash your mouth out.’ You are free now Pammie so dance,...

Pamela Blair, who originated the role of the surgically enhanced Valerie Clark in the Broadway smash A Chorus Line, died Sunday at her home in Phoenix, Arizona, following a lengthy illness. She was 73.

Her death was reported by friends on social media, including her A Chorus Line co-star Baayork Lee. “I am very sad to say my Sagittarian sister Pam Blair has gone to play with her [A Chorus Line] colleagues among the clouds,” wrote Lee in a Facebook post. Sharing a Dec. 5 birthday, the two actors “always wrote to one another no matter where we were on that day,” Lee said, recalling how Blair ” brought the house down every night” with the showstopping performance of “Dance: Ten, Looks: Three.”

“You are free now Pammie so dance, dance, dance among the stars,” Lee wrote.

Blair’s signature song, a paean to the show-biz benefits of plastic surgery, is perhaps more commonly known as “T&a,...

The Public Theater announced the layoff of 19 percent of its staff, in the latest move from a nonprofit theater struggling to recover from the pandemic.

The downtown New York-based theater, which has developed hits such as Hamilton and A Chorus Line, had previously put its Under the Radar Festival, a festival of experimental work, on hiatus and now says it has needed to do the layoffs, in addition to scaling back its programming and cutting down expenses as costs escalate and audiences have been slower to return.

“As we have seen for the past months, the field continues to be severely impacted from the after-effects of the pandemic. The combined impacts of smaller audiences, a nationwide reduction in philanthropic giving, and rising labor and material costs have forced many to reduce in size, go on hiatus, or even close completely. The Public is not immune to these challenges,” the theater said in a statement.

Matthew Serino, who with business partner Nancy Coyne cofounded one of Broadway’s leading advertising and marketing agencies in Serino Coyne, died June 19. He was 79.

His death was confirmed to Deadline today by his son, Chris Serino.

“Sadly my dad passed away on Monday, June 19 after spending a beautiful Father’s Day together with his family,” said Chris Serino. “There will be a memorial service at a later date to be determined.”

Additional details have not yet been released.

Serino and Coyne co-founded the agency in 1977, and quickly became a leading player in the Broadway industry, with clients including A Chorus Line, Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, Angels In America, The Producers and Hairspray, among many others. The agency’s current client list includes Aladdin, The Cottage, Dear Evan Hansen, Frozen, Gatsby, Into the Woods, Jersey Boys, Kimberly Akimbo, the Manhattan Theatre Club, Lincoln Center, Netflix, Rock & Roll Man,...

“When I first heard that this was the direction it was going, and then got the scripts and songs, I was in heaven,” admits Christopher Gattelli of “Schmigadoon!” Season 2. The choreographer left behind the Rodgers and Hammerstein golden age from Season 1 of the Apple TV+ series, and instead moved into the sexier, darker era of the 1960s and 1970s. The jazz hands of Bob Fosse ruled this period of musical theater, and Gattelli had a full memory stored in “the databank” in his head. Watch the exclusive video interview above.

Earlier in his career, Gattelli performed in “Fosse” on Broadway. a musical revue of the legendary choreographer’s signature dances. “I felt like I had so much of his vocabulary in my body,” says Gattelli, which set him up for success on this series. He latched on to the lyric, “a fantastical farrago” from the opening number “Welcome to Schmicago” as a source of inspiration.

Jane Krakowski had one musical number in Season 1 of Apple TV+’s “Schmigadoon!” and she performed it from behind the wheel of a cramped convertible. It wasn’t much of a stage, but the Emmy nominee and musical theater veteran used every inch of the leather interior to sell her wistful yet seductive song, eventually wedging her high heel into the steering wheel to steady herself for the climatic high note.

The performance is proof that no number is too small for Krakowski. But series creator and Emmy-winning songwriter Cinco Paul wanted to give her more to do in Season 2, which puts the series’ central couple Melissa (Cecily Strong) and Josh (Keegan-Michael Key) on the seedy streets of Schmicago, inspired by 1960s and ’70s musicals like ”Chicago” and “Cabaret.”

It is Krakowski’s favorite musical era, but she was in the dark as to who she’d play in Paul...

Robin Wagner, one of Broadway’s most prolific and celebrated set designers with three Tony Awards and a roster of major credits including Angels in America, Dreamgirls, A Chorus Line, The Producers and Jelly’s Last Jam, died Monday in his sleep in New York City. He was 89.

Wagner’s death was announced through a spokesperson by his daughter Christie Wagner Lee.

Born in San Francisco, Wagner developed his interest in set design while attending the Palace of Fine Arts (now the California School of Fine Arts). He did some early work for San Francisco theaters before moving to New York in the early 1960s, quickly finding work on both the Off Broadway and Broadway scenes.

His major Broadway breakthrough came with the original and acclaimed production of Hair in 1968. From there he would go on to design sets for productions from the memorable to the landmark, with a remarkable...

Robin Wagner, a set designer who worked on more than 50 Broadway plays and musicals over a 50-year career and won three Tony Awards for best scenic design, has died. He was 89.

Wagner died in his sleep on Monday in New York City, publicist Matt Polk told The Hollywood Reporter after receiving confirmation from Wagner’s daughter Christie Wagner Lee.

His Broadway play and musical design credits between 1961 and 2012 included the original productions of Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, Angels in America, Victoria/Victoria, The Producers, The Boy From Oz, A Chorus Line, 42nd Street and Dreamgirls. Wagner also designed Crazy For You and Chess for London’s West End.

Rather than a stage designer with a painterly style, Wagner was a pioneer of mobile, automated sets on Broadway with productions like On the Twentieth Century and Dreamgirls. Because of his innovations, the large-scale use of technology to smoothly move and shift...

“Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” Season 2 will beam down to Paramount+ on June 15. The series is a throwback to the style of the original show in which the crew of the USS Enterprise explores the universe in the decade before the original series takes place. “Strange New Worlds” features a number of characters from Trek lore, including Spoke, Number One, Nyota Uhura, Christopher Pike, and more.

Check out the “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” trailer:

The streamer’s original “FBI True” returns for a third season on June 20. The docuseries gives agents an opportunity to share their most compelling cases and introduce viewers to how this key agency operates.

Watch the “FBI True” trailer:

To open the month, Season 3 of the “iCarly” reboot arrives on June 1. Carly Shay (played by Miranda Cosgrove) and Freddie Benson (Nathan Kress) are deciding if they are friends or something more. Also, Spencer (Jerry Trainor...

Striking members of the Writers Guild of America have said they will not picket next month’s Tony Awards telecast, clearing a thorny issue facing show organizers and opening the door for some sort of Broadway razzle-dazzle on TV.

The union last week denied a request by Tony organizers to have a waiver for their June 11 glitzy live telecast. It reiterated that in a statement late Monday, saying the guild “will not negotiate an interim agreement or a waiver for the Tony Awards.”

But the guild gave some hope that some sort of Tony show might go on, saying organizers “are altering this year’s show to conform with specific requests from the WGA, and therefore the WGA will not be picketing the show.” What is being altered was not clear, but it may be to allow a non-scripted version of the Tonys to go on.

Read More: All The...

Unlike other major awards bodies, the Tony Awards decide their nominations via a committee of industry members who commit to seeing every single production that opens during the Broadway season. This committee can thus make informed decisions on what shows, performers and creatives should earn recognition from New York theatre’s top honor.

In 2023, 40 theatre professionals saw all 38 eligible musicals and plays and selected the nominees in 26 competitive categories.

Below, a complete list of the 2023 Tony Awards nominating committee members including their professions plus past Tony nominations and wins:

Warren Adams, choreographer, director and producer

Tony winner for Best Revival of a Musical for “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” (2014)

Becky Ann Baker, actor

Pun Bandhu, actor and producer

Two-time Tony winner for Best Revival of a Play for “Glengarry Glen Ross” (2005) and Best Musical for “Spring Awakening” (2007) and Tony nominee for “Beetlejuice” (2019)

Brenda Braxton, actor and author

Tony-nominee for Featured...

Jaime Camil and Ann Harada are back for Schmigadoon! Season 2 in wildly different roles.

Instead of dreamy Doc Lopez, Camil plays cop Sgt. Rivera, lackey of Octavius Kratt. No longer the mayor's demure wife, Florence Menlove, Harada is the hard-bitten Madame Frau.

Camil and Harada have extensive careers on stage and screen, but they clearly had a blast returning to the fantasy musical Schmigaverse.

We caught up with Camil and Harada to discuss what Schmigadoon! means to them, how they approached their characters, and who among their castmates most impresses them.

The delightful pair play off each other well onscreen and off, with occasional teasing but a great sense of fun and mutual respect.

You're both Broadway veterans. Jaime, you were even in Chicago! What's it like revisiting that world, albeit a skewed version?

Camil: Ann is Broadway royalty. I am not.

Harada: Jaime. You've been on Broadway!

Camil: Oh,...

The cast and production team of the Apple TV+ hit musical comedy series “Schmigadoon!” that dropped its second season on the streamer April 5 beat a tuneful path to the TV Academy’s Saban Media Center in North Hollywood on a drizzly Thursday night, with castmates Cecily Strong, Keegan-Michael Key, Dove Cameron, Jane Krakowski, Aaron Tveit, Tituss Burgess and Jaime Camil joining co-creator/exec producer/showrunner Cinco Paul and exec producer Andrew Singer for a spirited screening and panel event.

The show received four Emmy nominations in 2022 to mark its first season, including for its production design, music composition, chorography and original music and lyrics, winning a trophy for the latter. And while continuing to build an audience in season two, there’s already talk of a third season, as Singer confirmed on the red carpet (actually a wooden carpet after everyone moved indoors to avoid the raindrops) that Apple had...