Santino Fontana to Perform During Broadway “Show of Titles” Musical Event to Benefit The Actors Fund

Santino Fontana is a title(s) act…

The 39-year-old part-Spanish America actor will perform at Show of Titles, a special livestreamed musical event next month benefiting The Actors Fund.

Santino Fontana

Fontana joins a lineup of nearly 30 stars – from Glenn ClosePatti LuPone, Darren Criss, Kelsey Grammar and David Alan Grier to Jake Gyllenhaal, Joshua Henry and Phillipa Soo – who will perform title songs from more than 20 musicals.

The event will feature title songs of Broadway musicals spanning nine decades, from “Lady Be Good” to “The Light in the Piazza.”

The line-up also includes Annaleigh Ashford, Len Cariou, Isabelle Huppert, Norm Lewis, Rob McClure, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Melba Moore, Jessie Mueller, Eva Noblezada, Kelli O’Hara, Laura Osnes, Steven Pasquale, Michael Rupert, Ernie Sabella, Lea Salonga, Will Swenson, Aaron Tveit, Leslie Uggams, Vanessa Williams and Patrick Wilson.

Making special appearances will be Broadway Inspirational Voices, Candice Bergen, Danny Burstein, Bryan Cranston, Sheldon Harnick, John Kander, Angela Lansbury, John Lithgow, Lindsay Mendez, Phylicia Rashad, Ben Vereen, BD Wong and Florian Zeller.

Conceived by Broadway’s Best Shows producer Jeffrey RichardsShow of Titles will be directed by Lonny Price, with music direction by Jason Howland, and livestreamed on June 8, 8:00 pm ET on Stellar for a limited time only.

Tickets went on sale May 17 for $29 ($39 starting May 21), with all sales donated to The Actor’s Fund.

Composers represented include Lee Adams, Maxwell Anderson, Burt Bacharach, Irving Berlin, Jerry Bock, Bertolt Brecht, Cy Coleman, Betty Comden, Joe Darion, Hal David, Fred Ebb, Gary Geld, George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, Adolph Green, Adam Guettel, Oscar Hammerstein, Sheldon Harnick, Jerry Herman, John Kander, Burton Lane, Mitch Leigh, Alan Jay Lerner, Frank Loesser, Frederick Loewe, Galt MacDermot, Cole Porter, James Rado, Gerome Ragni, Richard Rodgers, Charles Strouse, Jule Styne, Peter Udell and Kurt Weill.

Mario Lopez Appears in NBCUniversal’s “Plan Your Vaccine” PSAs

Mario Lopez is urging you to plan your vaccine…

The 47-year-old Mexican American actor and television host, who is currently starring on Peacock’s Saved by the Bell reboot, appears in NBCUniversal’s “Plan Your Vaccine” PSA.

Mario Lopez

The video features Lopez, Mike Tirico, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Amber Ruffin, Padma Lakshmi, Drew McIntyre, José Díaz-Balart, Dr. Jackie Walters, and BD Wong.

NBCU launched its “Plan Your Vaccine” initiative last month, building on 2020’s “Plan Your Vote” campaign. The aim: to promote the company’s all-in-one online tool for users to help make a vaccine appointment, learn about eligibility and more. It also can send eligibility/vaccine location alerts and updates to viewers’ phone or email based on their state.

The company plans to release more “Plan Your Vaccine” PSAs during the week, including a Spanish one Lopez, Díaz-Balart, Jessica Carrillo, Ángel Garza, Jorge Bernal, Adamari López, Carlos Adyan, Stephanie Himonidis, Antonio Texeira, Ana Jurka, Vanessa Claudio and Aylín Mújica.

Chita Rivera Among the Stars Taking Part in Fundraising Concert for Joe Biden, “In Our America: A Concert for the Soul of the Nation”

Chita Rivera is Biden her time before the upcoming presidential election…

The 87-year-old half-Puerto Rican Broadway star will be among the stars of the Great White Way who’ll stage a fundraising concert for Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, with plans to stream the event on October 21.

Chita Rivera

The event, which starts at 8:00 pm ET, is organized by the group Broadway for Biden and is called In Our America: A Concert for the Soul of the Nationwith donations going to the Biden Victory Fund.

In addition to Rivera, the lineup of the concert includes Derrick Baskin, Laura Benanti, Victoria Clark, Glenn Close, Chuck Cooper, Darren Criss, André De Shields, Renée Elise Goldsberry, John Goodman, Jayne Houdyshell, Jennifer Hudson, James Monroe Iglehart, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Samuel L. Jackson, Norman Lear, Norm Lewis, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Rita Moreno, Karen Olivo, Ashley Park, Steven Pasquale, Carrie Preston, Kelani Queypo, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Phillipa Soo, Ephraim Sykes, BD Wong, the Broadway Dreams Foundation Choir, and the casts of Six and KPOP.

Liesl Tommy, director of the upcoming Aretha Franklin biopic Respect (with Hudson in the lead role), will direct the show. Tommy is the executive producer along with Julie Boardman, Nolan Doran, Halle Morse, and Jennifer Mudge.

The concert will stream on YouTube via news publisher NowThis, on Facebook via Broadway for Biden and NowThis, and on Broadway Unlocked.

In a statement, Tommy said, “It is a tremendous honor to direct this incredible collective of performers and artists, who are coming together to amplify the promise of Broadway and a nation that are future-looking, accessible, and deeply inclusive.”

The evening will include original material, stagings of musical numbers that have never been seen, and previews of productions bound for Broadway. Among those contributing are Chad Beguelin, Tony Kushner, Lynn Nottage, Robert O’Hara, Stacey Rose, Aurin Squire, DeLanna Studi, Paula Vogel and John Waters.

Christopher Gattelli, Lorin Latarro, Ray Mercer, and Abbey O’Brien will provide original choreography, with music direction by Jason Michael Webb. Chris Boardman and Charlie Rosen will provide orchestrations. Sean McLaughlin will serve as director of photography and Grady Bowman will be associate choreographer.

The event is in the vein of a fundraiser in 2012 for Barack Obama’s reelection campaign, called Barack on Broadway, that was produced by Margo Lion and others.

Perez & Fellow Stars Sing Broadway for Orlando Charity Single on “Maya & Marty”

Rosie Perez is spreading the love for a good cause…

The 51-year-old Puerto Rican actress, community activist, talk show host, author, dancer and choreographer joined fellow Broadway stars on Tuesday night’s episode of Maya and Marty to show solidarity with Orlandos LGBT community.

Rosie Perez & Broadway Stars on Maya & Marty

Hosts Maya Rudolph and Martin Short joined Perez and the group in the first live performance of the single, “What the World Needs Now Is Love,” which was recently recorded by dozens of Broadway stars to benefit the LGBT community in Orlando after the mass shooting that left 49 dead and 53 injured.

Perez, Megan Hilty, Sean Hayes, BD Wong, Jessie Mueller, Billy Porter, Fran Drescher and more stars performed the new version of the Burt BacharachHal David song while images of Orlando and New York’s historic Stonewall Inn were shown.

The mass shooting at Orlando nightclub Pulse happened just hours before the Tony Awards on June 12. The ceremony itself was dedicated to its victims and just days later, the charity single was announced.

All proceeds from the sale of the song will benefit the LGBT Center of Central Florida. It can be downloaded at BroadwayRecords.com.