Tag Archives: Carousel

Lindsay Mendez’s “Merrily We Roll Along” Broadway Cast Recording Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Cast Albums Chart

Posted on by
Reply

Lindsay Mendez is back on top of the charts…

The new Broadway cast recording of Merrily We Roll Along, featuring the 40-year-old Mexican American Broadway singer/actress, debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Cast Albums chart dated November 25.

Lindsay Mendez, Merrily We Roll AlongIn addition to Mendez, the musical also stars Daniel Radcliffe and Jonathan Groff, who have all been part of at least one top 10-charting Cast Album previously. (Groff, notably, performs on both the Nos. 1 and 2 titles on the latest Cast Albums chart – as Merrily We Roll Along bumps Hamilton: An American Musical from the top slot down to No. 2.) 

Billboard’s Top Cast Albums chart ranks the top-selling musical cast recordings of the week in the U.S., based on traditional album sales, as tracked by Luminate. The new Cast Albums chart dated November 25 reflects the sales week ending November 16.

Merrily We Roll Along has music and lyrics written by Stephen Sondheim, with a book by George Furth, based on the play of the same name by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. The musical premiered on Broadway in 1981 for a brief run, and the 2023 production is its first revival on Broadway. It’s slated to run through March 24, 2024.

The new iteration began off-Broadway in 2022 at the New York Theatre Workshop, with the same leading cast, and played through January 22, 2023. It then began previews on Broadway at the Hudson Theatre on September 19, and officially opened on October 10.

Mendez has appeared on five top 10-charting sets on Cast Albums: Grease (the new 2007 Broadway cast recording, No. 4), Everyday Rapture (original Broadway cast recording; No. 8, 2010), Dogfight (original cast recording; No. 2, 2013), Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel (2018 Broadway cast recording; No. 2, 2013), Godspell (the new 2012 Broadway cast recording; No. 1) and now Merrily We Roll Along.

Mendez also scored a Grammy nomination for best musical theater album, for Carousel.

Lindsay Mendez Starring in Ryan Murphy’s FX Anthology Series “American Sports Story”

Posted on by
Reply

Lindsay Mendez is getting in the game…

The 40-year-old Mexican American Broadway singer/actress has been cast as a series regular alongside Josh Andrés Rivera and Patrick Schwarzenegger in Ryan Murphy’s FX anthology American Sports Story.

American Sports Story, a new extension of Murphy’s “American Story” franchise, is a scripted anthological limited series focusing on a prominent event involving a sports figure and re-examines it through the prism of today’s world, telling that story from multiple perspectives.

The first installment, written by Stu Zicherman, is based on the podcast Gladiator: Aaron Hernandez and Football Inc. from the Boston Globe and Wondery.

It charts the rise and fall of NFL superstar Aaron Hernandez, played by Rivera, and explores the connections of the disparate strands of his identity, his family, his career, his suicide, and their legacy in sports and American culture. Schwarzenegger portrays Hernandez’s friend, former college teammate and fellow former NFL star Tim Tebow.

Mendez plays Tanya Singleton, Aaron’s cousin and favorite relative who becomes his de-facto mother.

Mendez, a Tony Award winner for Carousel, is currently back on Broadway top-lining the praised revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll along opposite Daniel Radcliffe and Jonathan Groff.

She most recently was a series regular on the Warner Bros. series All Rise for CBS and then OWN.

Bad Bunny’s Collaboration with Travis Scott & The Weeknd to Be Released This Week

Posted on by
Reply

Great Scott! Bad Bunny is releasing new music with two fellow music superstars this week.

Travis Scott has taken to Instagram to tease a new collaboration with the 29-year-old Puerto Rican Grammy-winning superstar and The Weeknd.

Bad BunnyThe star-studded single is seemingly titled “Lollipop,” as the rapper shared the cover art featuring a single red lollipop and captioned the post with three lollipop emojis. “Flame Abe Benito,” Scott wrote, adding that the song will be available on Thursday night (July 20). 

Travis Scott is currently gearing up to launch Utopia, his first studio album in nearly five years, on July 28.

The project serves as the follow-up to Astroworld, Scott’s third studio album, which debuted atop the Billboard 200 and spawned several Billboard Hot 100 hits such as “Sicko Mode” (No. 1), “Stargazing” (No. 8) and “Carousel” (No. 24).

Last week, Travis Scott announced a livestream event celebrating the album launch, which will take place on release day at Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.

After reports that Egyptian government officials canceled the event due to The Egyptian Syndicate of Musical Professions allegedly having concerns about ensuring “the safety and protection of the audience,” Live Nation assured that the livestream event is still set to go as planned.

“There have been no changes to Travis Scott’s show in Egypt; any reports to the contrary are false. We can’t wait to celebrate Utopia with you in Egypt,” the company shared in a statement to Billboard.

Lindsay Mendez to Star in Off-Broadway Revival of “Merrily We Roll Along”

Posted on by
Reply

Lindsay Mendez is rolling along…

The 39-year-old half-Mexican American actress, singer and Broadway star has been cast in the highly anticipated off-Broadway revival of Merrily We Roll Along.

Mendez will play Mary and Jonathan Groff will play Franklin in the project, which will begin previews at New York Theatre Workshop on November 21 ahead of an official opening night on December 12.

The run is scheduled through January 8.

With a score by Stephen Sondheim and book by George Furth, Merrily We Roll Along is based on a play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, and features classic songs like “Old Friends,” “Not a Day Goes By,” and “Our Time.”

It tells the story of a trio of creative friends making their way in New York, and is famously told in reverse chronology.

Mendez won the “triple crown” (Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards) for her performance in the 2018 Broadway revival of Carousel.

Mendez and Groff join the previously announced Daniel Radcliffe, who stars as Charley.

Presented in a special arrangement with Sonia Friedman Productions, the Menier Chocolate Factory (Artistic Director David Babani), and Patrick Catullo, Merrily We Roll Along will be directed by Maria Friedman and choreographed by Tim Jackson.

The creative team for Merrily We Roll Along will include Catherine Jayes as music supervisor and Alvin Hough, Jr. as music director, with scenic & costume design by Soutra Gilmour, lighting design by Amith Chandrashaker, and sound design by Kai Harada.

Dave Anzuelo will serve as fight & intimacy director, with Jhanaë K-C Bonnick as stage manager.

Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Wednesday, September 21, at noon ET.

Jonathan Del Arco to Star in Joanna Gleason’s Directorial Debut Film “The Grotto”

Posted on by
Reply

Jonathan Del Arco is headed to the grotto…

The 55-year-old Uruguayan actor and former Major Crimes star has signed on to star in The Grotto, the first feature written and directed by Tony Award-winning actress Joanna Gleason.

Jonathan Del Arco

Del Arco will star opposite Betsy Brandt, Dan Bucatinsky, Steve Kazee and Susan Sullivan in the film.

The film centers on Alice (Brandt), who uncovers her recently deceased fiancé’s secret past when she inherits part ownership of a forgotten nightclub in the Mojave Desert.

Del Arco will play Victor, the owner of the nightclub, with Bucatinsky portraying Alice’s new best friend, Kip. The roles played by Kazee and Sullivan have not yet been disclosed.

Actors set to appear in supporting roles include Miguel Sandoval, Caroline Aaron, Michael Nouri, Amy Aquino, Lindsay Mendez (Broadway’s Carousel) and Kevin Chamberlin.

It will enter production in Los Angeles in a matter of days.

“The cast for ‘The Grotto’ is an embarrassment of riches. I have had these characters in my mind for the past few years and always believed that by some miracle, the right actors were going to show up. And they have — with big thanks to our casting directors,” said Gleason. “The chance to work with these actors led by the incomparable Betsy Brandt is a dream come true.”

Gleason’s first feature comes on the heels of several directorial outings in television. Back in the ’90s, she helmed episodes of the series Love & War (CBS), The Louie Show (CBS) and Oh Baby (Lifetime).