Lin-Manuel Miranda to Serve as a Presenter at This Weekend’s Tony Awards Show

Lin-Manuel Miranda has a date with Tony

This Sunday’s 75th Annual Tony Awards will feature a line-up of all-star presenters from the stage and screen, including the 42-year-old Puerto Rican actor, rapper, composer, playwright and filmmaker.

Lin-Manuel MirandaMiranda, a multiple Tony Award winner, is among a roster of presenters that includes Andrew Garfield, Laurence Fishburne, Nathan Lane, Bowen Yang and both Paris and Prince Jackson, the children of MJ subject Michael Jackson.

The roster of presenters was announced by Tony Awards producers, and also includes Josh Lucas, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Skylar Astin, Zach Braff, Danielle Brooks, Danny Burstein, Len Cariou, RuPaul Charles, Jessica Chastain, Lilli Cooper, Bryan Cranston, Wilson Cruz, Colman Domingo, Anthony Edwards, Cynthia Erivo, Raúl Esparza, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Tony Goldwyn, David Alan Grier, Vanessa Hudgens, Jennifer Hudson, Bebe Neuwirth, Kelli O’Hara, Sarah Paulson, Bernadette Peters, Jeremy Pope, Billy Porter, LaTanya Richardson, Chita Rivera, Tony Shalhoub, Phillipa Soo, Sarah Silverman and George Takei,

The four-hour June 12 Tony evening begins at 7:00 pm ET/4:00 pm PT with The Tony Awards: Act One, a one-hour streaming event of exclusive content live on Paramount+ hosted by Darren Criss and Julianne Hough.

The 75th Tony Awards, hosted by Oscar-winning actress and singer Ariana DeBose, follows at 8:00 pm ET/5:00 pm PT on CBS and Paramount+. The awards will be presented live coast-to-coast from Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

Last night, DeBose confirmed that the Tony Awards also will pay respect to the swings and understudies who made this Covid-plagued Broadway season possible. In response to a tweet from Actors’ Equity president Kate Shindle dismissing social media rumors that swings and understudies would be ignored during the ceremony,

DeBose reiterated Shindle’s assurances, writing, “To all concerned, all I can ask is that you keep the faith & trust. I am working round the clock to bring you all a beautiful celebration of everyone’s hard work…”

Apple TV+ Releases Trailer for Wagner Moura’s New Thriller Series “Shining Girls”

Wagner Moura is ready for his shining moment…

Apple TV+ has released the first trailer foShining Girls, a thriller starring the 45-year-old Brazilian actor, director, filmmaker, musician and journalist and Elisabeth Moss, who executive produced the project, ahead of its April 29 premiere.

Wagner MouraBased on Lauren Beukes’ best-selling novel, Shining Girls follows Kirby Mazrachi (Moss), a Chicago reporter who survived a brutal assault only to find her reality shifting as she hunts down her attacker. When Kirby learns that a recent murder mirrors her own case, she partners with seasoned, yet troubled reporter Dan Velazquez (Moura), to uncover her attacker’s identity. As they realize these cold cases are linked, their own personal traumas and Kirby’s blurred reality allow her assailant to remain one step ahead.

The eight-episode drama also stars Phillipa Soo, Amy Brenneman and Jamie Bell rounding out the ensemble cast.

Earlier this year, Moss shared insight into Kirby’s relationship with Dan.

“What Wag’s character Dan represents to Kirby and to the show is—without getting into too much and going too far in spoiling anything— he’s the first person that’s as interested in this as she is,” Moss, who also directed and executive produced on Shining Girls, shared. “He’s the first person that sees that there are these cold case murders, that sees that there’s something going on, and is just as interested in pursuing it as she is. And he’s the first person that doesn’t think that she’s crazy. He’s not quite so sure what exactly is going on yet but he is listening to her. I think that as a victim of trauma, to be listened to is so important and is so huge. And so that is what Dan brings into Kirby’s world that I think is really important.”

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.

Lin-Manuel Miranda to Take Part in Online Fundraisers to Help Georgia Democrats Win U.S. Senate Seats in Upcoming Runoff Election

Lin-Manuel Miranda is getting political…

The 40-year-old Puerto Rican acclaimed singer, rapper, composer, producer and playwright and other members of the cast of the Tony Award-winning musical Hamilton, which he created, and Pearl Jam will headline online fundraisers to help Democrats win U.S. Senate seats in the coming January 5 runoff elections.

Lin-Manuel Miranda

If Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff win their races, the Senate will be at a 50-50 breakdown between the parties, but soon-to-be Vice President Kamala Harris would break a tie.

Pearl Jam will join Miranda for a conversation about their artistic inspirations, with Wayne Brady as the emcee. The event will take place at 8:30 pm ET on December 16 on the virtual platform Looped. Tickets start at $10 per person, with proceeds going to the Latino Victory Project, the Latino Community Fund of Georgia and the Hispanic Federation.

Miranda and other members of the cast of Hamilton also are participating in a December 13 fundraiser for Georgia Democrats, Ossoff and Warnock in a livestream set for 8:30 pm ET. Others scheduled to participate include Leslie Odom Jr, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Phillipa Soo, Christopher Jackson, Jonathan Groff, Javier Muñoz, Sasha Hutchings, Thayne Jasperson, Ariana DeBose, Sydney James Harcourt, Carleigh Bettiol, Andrew Chappelle, Alysha Deslorieux, Morgan Marcell, Austin Smith and Betsy Struxness. There is no set ticket price, but the invite suggests $30.

The Hamilton cast also reunited in October for a fundraiser for Biden’s campaign.

The last time there was such a 50-50 split was in 2001, with Republicans having control because the Vice President was Dick Cheney.

Javier Muñoz to Perform at This Year’s Arthur Miller Foundation Honors Benefit for Public School Arts Education

Javier Muñoz is celebrating the arts in our schools…

The 44-year-old Puerto Rican Broadway star, who performed in the Tony Award-winning musicals In The Heights and Hamilton, has joined the line-up of performers for the annual Arthur Miller Foundation Honors celebrating public school arts education.

Javier Muñoz in Hamilton

Muñoz will perform alongside his friend and castmate Mandy Gonzalez, the 42-year-old half-Mexican American Broadway star who has appeared in In The Heights, Wicked and Hamilton.

The third annual gala celebration is set to stream virtually on November 16, and will also include performances by husband-and-wife duos like Hamilton’s Leslie Odom, Jr. and WaitressNicolette Robinson; and Hamilton‘s Phillipa Soo and Bridges of Madison County‘s Steven Pasquale.

The evening will include a special appearance by Chiké Okonkwo and performances by New York City public school students impacted by the Miller program.

Additional performers and appearances to be announced at a later date.

Sasha HutchingsHamilton original cast member and Foundation Master Artist Council member, will host. She also co-produces along with Arthur Miller Foundation Executive Director Jaime Hastings. Kate Capshaw and Steven Spielberg are event co-chairs alongside Rebecca Miller, Sandi Farkas, Janine & Michael Smith.

The event is presented by Broadway.com and directed by Paul Wontorek. The Foundation will honor Tony Award nominee Dominique Morisseau (Ain’t Too Proud) with the Arthur Miller Foundation Legacy Award, and will recognize exceptional NYC public school theater teacher Lisanne Shaffer with the Arthur Miller Foundation Excellence in Arts Education Award.

The celebration will raise funds for the Foundation’s theater education programs.

Lin-Manuel Miranda & His Hamilton Cast Mates to Reunite for Joe Biden Presidential Campaign Fundraiser

Lin-Manuel Miranda is doing his bidding for Biden…

The 40-year-old Puerto Rican Tony Award-winning composer, lyricist, actor, singer/rapper, producer and playwright and the original cast of his hit musical Hamilton will reunite this week for a fundraiser for Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, the latest pop culture themed virtual event.

Lin-Manuel Miranda's final Hamilton curtain call

The campaign announced that among those participating will be Miranda, Daveed Diggs, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Jonathan Groff, Christopher Jackson, Javier Muñoz, Leslie Odom, Jr., Okieriete Onaodowa and Phillipa Soo. Director Thomas Kail will moderate a Q&A, and it will be followed by a special performance.

The event will take place at 9:00 pm ET on Friday, October 16 with no ticket amount. Proceeds will go to the Biden Victory Fund.

The cast of Hamilton also performed in 2016 for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

Democrats have been drawing on cast reunions as a way to raise small-dollar contributions. The Wisconsin Democratic Party has hosted recent virtual reunions of the cast of The Princess Bride and Veep.

HBO Max is debuting a West Wing reunion on October 15 to benefit When We All Vote, the get-out-the-vote effort led by Michelle Obama.

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.

Sony Pictures to Release Arturo Castro’s “The Broken Hearts Gallery” One Week Later

Arturo Castro’s broken heart will have to wait a week…

Sony Pictures has pushed the release of the 34-year-old Guatemalan actor’s romantic comedy “The Broken Hearts Gallery” back a week.

Arturo Castro

Instead of opening on Friday, July 10, the film will now be released on Friday, July 17.

Sony Pictures says the movie will still be the first wide release of the summer. 

In addition to Castro, The Broken Hearts Galleryalso stars Geraldine ViswanathanDacre MontgomeryUtkarsh AmbudkarMolly GordonPhillipa SooSuki WaterhouseEgo NwodimTaylor Hill and Bernadette Peters.

Castro’s previous film credits include The Informer,Lady and the Tramp and Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk.

Disney Bringing Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hit Broadway Musical “Hamilton” to the Big Screen

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadwayhit is heading to the big screen. 

Disney will release a feature film of the original Tony Award-winning stage musical Hamilton, created by the 40-year-old Puerto Rican composer/lyricist, actor and creator, in the U.S. and Canada on October 15, 2021.

Hamilton

The studio is teaming with Miranda, Jeffrey Sellerand Thomas Kail on the project, which is billed as a “leap forward in the art of ‘live capture.’” It explains the live capture method as “combining the best elements of live theater and film,” resulting in “a cinematic stage performance that is a wholly new way to experience Hamilton.”

Producers for this version of Hamilton include Miranda, Seller and Kail, who also directs. 

The film was shot in June 2016 at the Richard Rodgers Theatreand reports began circulatingin 2018 that bidders were circling the film version of the stage production. Studios had to pledge not to release it until at least 2020.

The original Broadway cast of the record-smashing show will appear in the new film. Cast members include Miranda as Alexander HamiltonDaveed Diggsas Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas JeffersonRenée Elise Goldsberryas Angelica Schuyler; and Leslie Odom, Jr.as Aaron Burr. Also due to star are Christopher Jacksonas George WashingtonJonathan Groffas King GeorgePhillipa Sooas Eliza Hamilton; and Jasmine Cephas Jones as Peggy Schuyler/Maria ReynoldsOkieriete Onaodowanas Hercules Mulligan/James Madison; and Anthony Ramosas John Laurens/Philip Hamilton.

“Lin-Manuel Miranda created an unforgettable theater experience and a true cultural phenomenon, and it was for good reason that Hamiltonwas hailed as an astonishing work of art. All who saw it with the original cast will never forget that singular experience,” Disney CEO Bob Igersaid. “And we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to share this same Broadway experience with millions of people around the world.”

Miranda, who starred in an update of Mary Poppinsin 2018, affirmed his connection with Disney. “I fell in love with musical storytelling growing up with the legendary Howard AshmanAlan MenkenDisney collaborations – The Little MermaidBeauty and The BeastAladdin,” he said. “I’m so proud of what Tommy Kail has been able to capture in this filmed version of Hamilton – a live theatrical experience that feels just as immediate in your local movie theater. We’re excited to partner with Disney to bring the original Broadway company of Hamilton to the largest audience possible.”

Kail added, “We are thrilled for fans of the show, and new audiences across the world, to experience what it was like on stage – and in the audience – when we shot this. … We wanted to give everyone the same seat, which is what this film can provide.”

According to sources, Disney beat out other suitors and paid $75 million for worldwide rights to the show that won 11 Tony Awards in 2016, as well as the Pulitzer Prizefor Drama. Disney won the deal with a commitment for a wide global theatrical release for the 2 hour, 40 minute movie, which was shot two weeks before the original cast left.

Miranda Takes Final “Hamilton” Bow

It’s the final curtain call for Lin Manuel-Miranda

The 36-year-old Puerto Rican actor, composer, rapper and writer took his final bows last night with the original cast of Hamilton, along with fellow departing stars Leslie Odom Jr. and Phillipa Soo in an emotional night at the Richard Rodgers Theatre.

Lin-Manuel Miranda's final Hamilton curtain call

After a few minutes, with no words spoken, the cast left the stage to the theme from The West Wing television series.

Javier Muñoz, Miranda’s alternate since the beginning of the journey Hamilton has taken from workshop to off-Broadway to its recent 11 Tony Award wins including Best Musical, takes over the title role beginning on Monday.

Among those in attendance for Miranda’s final performance, in which tickets ran upwards of $12,000 a seat, were Aaron Paul, Rosie O’Donnell, Secretary of State John Kerry, Mariska Hargitay, Edward Norton and Jennifer Lopez, who recorded a charity single with Miranda to benefit the victims of the Orlando Shooting.

A video of the final curtain call was posted on the Hamilton: An American Musical Facebook page.