This morning, the Hungarian State Opera announced that a third of their performances of Billy Elliot: The Musical would be canceled due to criticism from the government that the show could turn boys gay.
Seriously. I'm not joking.
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This morning it was reported that at last night's performance of A Bronx Tale, a man sitting near the front row, stood up and displayed a pro-Donald Trump sign towards the audience.
The incident occurred during the curtain call of the show, which just seems pointless because the audience is already cheering the show.
A couple of people on Twitter were able to catch the act.
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Leading up to the 72nd Tony Awards, many prognosticators out there were assuming that without a "Hamilton-ish" cross over hit or The Band's Visit's likely dominance, the TV ratings would drop through the basement.
How wrong they were.
Just a day after the big night, it was reported that the TV ratings actually went up from last year's awards. Sunday night’s telecast of the Tonys drew 6.3 million viewers on CBS, an improvement of 4% from the 6 million who watched last year.
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For the past few months, I had the very amazing pleasure of working with an amazing woman. Her name is Tatianna Berinbaum, but we all know her as Taty! I asked her a few questions about acting and why it's important to her! Everyone, Meet Taty!
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At the 2018 Tony Awards, OnStage Blog was able to speak to several artists who work behind the curtain at some of this season’s biggest shows. As the nominees moved into Radio City Music Hall for the night, they stopped briefly to discuss how they brought their shows to life.
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Surprises? There were a couple. But other than a few unexpected wins, the 2018 Tonys shaped up exactly the way most people thought they were. The Band's Visit dominated the evening with 10 wins which surely pleased the "theatre snob" crowd who feel like the sky is falling when it comes to "quality" Broadway shows.
Did The Band's Visit deserve every award it won? Yes and no. But it did certainly warrant some of the bigger wins in the evening. Let's run down some of the highlights as well as the lowlights of the ceremony.
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We’re launching a Running Diary during the Tonys Telecast, keep hitting refresh for updated comments!
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Last week, former University of Oklahoma student, Chandler Corbeille released a statement on her Facebook page detailing disturbing incidents while interning for a former OU professor.
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Meet Kristen Sieh!
Kristen is currently playing the role of Iris in "The Band’s Visit" which has been nominated for 11 Tony Awards, including Best New Musical. She has also appeared in "Orange is the New Black" as Francine and as Kelsey in "House of Cards".
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One of the most prestigious theatre programs in the United Kingdom will be trying something new come Fall. First year students at Cardiff’s prestigious Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama won’t receive academic marks comparing them with classmates.
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Meet Kyle Selig!
Kyle is currently playing the role of the Aaron Samuels in "Mean Girls" on Broadway which has been nominated for 12 Tony Awards including Best New Musical. "Mean Girls" is based on the 2004 film written by Tina Fey (who also went on to write the book for the Broadway show which earned her a Tony Nomination). The movie made $129 million at the box office, and since its official opening, the film has developed a strong cult following around the world. So bringing this to the Broadway stage was a very smart and inevitable move.
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A theatre company in Copenhagen has created quite a stir with their upcoming show. While the folks at Sort/Hvid have never shied away from the more avant-garde material and controversial material, it looks like they have crossed a line with their production of "Black Madonna", which was originally titled "White N*gger, Black Madonna"
In response to the outrage the title of the play cause, Sort/Hvid changed it. However, the play itself seems to be an issue because it's about a woman donning blackface in order to live her life as a black woman.
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In case you were one of the fans of the now-canceled "Rise", who felt empty that there wasn't a musical-based show on television, it looks like you won't have to wait too long. It looks like Disney's preparations for their own streaming service are ramping up with the announcement today that their TV series based on the popular trilogy, "High School Musical", has found its writer.
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It was reported this morning that the co-chairs of the theatre department at Dawson College have resigned their positions over the school's response to harassment and abuse allegations that dated back almost twenty years.
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The Asian American Film Lab, Inc. is a not-for-profit 501c3 organization that promotes gender and ethnic diversity in film and TV programming.
We hold an annual, global filmmaking competition called the “72 Hour Shootout,” which begins on June 7, 2018. In this competition, participants take 3 days to create a 5-minute film that follows a theme assigned by the Film Lab. Last year’s theme was “Welcome to the New Normal: The Normalization of Sexism and Xenophobia in Modern America.” There must be one person of Asian descent both behind and in front of the camera in a key role for each film. Awards include cash prizes and mentorships.
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Outrage has erupted in Pittsburgh, PA over the cancellation of a community theatre production of "Big Fish" due to a dispute between the creative team and producers over the inclusion of staging that would have featured a gay male couple with a child.
For their upcoming production of the Andrew Lippa musical, during the number, "Stranger, the director wanted to include a gay male couple with a child among the ensemble interacting with Will while he's reflecting on being a future father. While the producers "compromised" with the director at first, when the director wanted to include additional staging that featured the gay couple, producers balked. The dispute between the creative and producing teams led the director to resign from the production, followed by multiple cast members.
Due to the fact that opening night was less than a month away and what the producers called a "campaign to disparage" their reputation, they decided to cancel the entire production.
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The National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (NYTF), recently nominated for a 2018 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical Revivial (Amerike-The Golden Land), has completed its casting for the American premiere of the Yiddish language Fiddler on the Roof. Helmed by Academy Award and Tony Award winner Joel Grey, and accompanied by English and Russian translation supertitles, this highly-anticipated 8-week limited engagement, July 4th through August 26th, is set to play Off Broadway at the Museum of Jewish Heritage.
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Walking into the Pantages Theatre at 10:45 a.m. was a thrill. Usually the theatre is closed to the public at this time of the day, however, the lobby lights were aglow on School of Rock posters, and chairs were set for a select group of media to meet the cast of School of Rock.
The two leads Rob Colletti (Dewey) and Lexi Dorsett Sharp (Rosalie) walked into the lobby with sixteen of their cast mates all under 12 years old. This talented bunch were dressed informally and in School of Rock apparel. The kids performed “If Only You Would Listen” before the interviews.
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Don’t miss your chance to win tickets to Broadway hits such as Anastasia and Waitress at Downton Abbey: The Exhibition!
Throughout the month of May, Downton Abbey: The Exhibition invites guests to celebrate the marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. We will be celebrating in style at the exhibition with special guest speakers, giveaways, competitions, and more!
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About a month from now, Broadway will descend on Radio City Musical Hall for the 2018 Tony Awards. While this year doesn't feature the crossover hits such as Hamilton or Dear Evan Hansen, it should still be an exciting evening with many of the award categories without a clear front-runner.
So who is going to take home a trophy? Who really deserves it? And who should have been invited to the big night and wasn't?
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