Tag Archives: Robert Greenblatt

Sergio Trujillo to Direct & Choreograph The Broadway-Bound “Studio 54 The Musical”

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It’s a disco inferno for Sergio Trujillo…

The 61-year-old Colombian Tony Award-winning theater director, choreographer, dancer and actor will direct and choreograph the Broadway-bound Studio 54 The Musical.

Sergio TrujilloProducers Robert Greenblatt and Neil Meron are developing the new work with a book by Chad Hodge.

The musical, which will feature a full playlist of hits from the disco era, will trace “the astonishing ascent and sudden downfall of the most legendary club in nightlife history.”

“Neil Meron and I started talking about the amazing story of Studio 54 as a possible series years ago,” said Greenblatt in an exclusive statement to Deadline, “but we finally came to our senses and realized we had the perfect musical right under our noses.”

Add Meron, “And with book writer Chad Hodge and the incredible Sergio Trujillo, who came of age during the disco dance craze in Toronto and New York, we have the perfect team to bring it to life.”

Casting details and production schedule are to be announced.

The synopsis: “In staggeringly short order, two scrappy impresarios turned an abandoned west side theater into the hottest club in the history of New York– utterly transforming music, nightlife, and celebrity culture in the process. It also transformed the lives of everyone who made it past the door, whether for one extraordinary night or every night. Until it all abruptly came to an end. Studio 54 The Musical will bring audiences past the velvet rope and into a world of unfathomable decadence, set to the thumping sound of the most iconic disco hits of the 1970s and populated by a cast of unforgettable characters, all having the time of their lives. Welcome to Studio 54.”

The legendary disco nightclub was opened by Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager in 1977 and quickly become a cultural sensation. Andy Warhol, Liza Minnelli, Truman Capote, Bianca Jagger and countless other celebrities made the venue their nighttime home-away-from-home, along with New York City’s most fabulous collection of gay, straight and trans nightclubbers. The club on West 54th Street in Manhattan is currently a Broadway theater operated by the Roundabout Theatre Company.

Trujillo has an impressive roster of Broadway credits, including Ain’t Too Proud, Memphis, Jersey Boys, The Addams Family, On Your Feet! and Summer: The Donna Summer Musical.

He was most recently Director/Choreographer of the new musical Real Women Have Curves, which debuted at American Repertory Theatre, and he served as choreographer for the upcoming movie musical Kiss of the Spider Woman starring Jennifer Lopez.

He was Emmy-nominated for his choreography for NBC’s Annie Live!

Krysta Rodriguez & Fellow “Smash” Cast & Crew to Mount Fully Staged & Choreographed Workshop This Month

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Krysta Rodriguez is one step closer to smashing it on Broadway again…

Smash, the stage musical adaptation of the NBC musical series of the same name starring the 39-year-old Latina actress/singer and Broadway star, is set to take another major step in its march to Broadway.

Krysta Rodriguez,The cast and crew will gather for six weeks starting this month to mount a fully staged and choreographed workshop, with an orchestra, culminating in five performances for recruited audiences.

The new Susan Stroman-directed musical, inspired by the NBC TV series, is slated for Broadway in the 2024-25 season.

In addition to Rodriguez, who starred on the original television series as Ana Vargas, the workshop cast includes Brooks Ashmanskas, Alex Brightman, Yvette Nicole Brown, Bella Coppola, newcomer Nihar Duvvuri, Casey Garvin, Robyn Hurder, Kristine Nielsen and Jonalyn Saxer.

The full company includes Wendi Bergamini, Giovanni Bonaventura, Jim Borstelmann, Zachary Downer, Tiffany Engen, Ashley Blair Fitzgerald, Megan Kane, Caleb Marshall-Villarreal, Connor McRory, JJ Niemann, Tanairi Sade Vazquez, Brian Shepard, Sarah Sigman, Jake Trammel and Katie Webber.

Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, who wrote songs for the series, also handle the score for the Smash musical, which will feature tunes from the TV show as well as new material. Book writers are Bob Martin and Rick Elice.

The musical is produced by Steven Spielberg, Robert Greenblatt and Neil Meron.

“Bob, Steven and I are thrilled to take this next big development step on the road to bringing ‘Smash’ where it was always meant to be: a Broadway theater,” Meron tells me. “Not a week goes by when someone doesn’t tell us how much they loved the original series, and it’s time to pull back the curtain on how we’re transforming this show into a funny, joyous stage musical.”

Greenblatt adds, “This workshop/rehearsal process will give the creative team a chance to get reactions from real theatergoers who will experience it for the first time in a theater setting. We’re so fortunate to be working with this fantastic cast of Tony and Emmy nominees, and it will be exciting to see the show on its feet, fully staged by Susan Stroman and choreographed by Josh Bergasse.”

Rodriguez’s previous theater credits include Cabaret, Into the Woods, West Side Story, Spring Awakening and The Addams Family.

Olmos to Take Part in Center Theatre Group’s 50th Anniversary Event

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It’s a special homecoming for Edward James Olmos…

The 70-year-old Mexican American actor will take part in a star-studded event to celebrate the Center Theatre Group’s 50 years of excellence.

Edward James Olmos

The event will feature a one-night-only production from writer, director and producer Robert Egan, followed by dinner in downtown Los Angeles’ Grand Park.

Co-Chairs Robert Greenblatt, chairman of NBC Entertainment, and Sue Tsao, Center Theatre Group board member will be joined by celebrated alumni like Olmos, Alfred Molina, Annette Bening, Matthew Bourne, Danai Gurira, Phylicia Rashad and more.

The celebration, taking place on May 20 at the Ahmanson Theatre, will spotlight Center Theatre Group’s education and community outreach programs as well as its continuing role in creating new work and helping to define the role of theatre both in Los Angeles and beyond.

“We are thrilled to have so many incredible artists returning to help us celebrate this exciting milestone, and the power of theatre to shape the cultural landscape of Los Angeles,” said Center Theatre Group Board President Kiki Ramos Gindler. “Our 50th Anniversary Celebration will bring together some of our most beloved and talented artists to reflect on Center Theatre Group’s proud history of world-class productions, innovative programs and field-defining new work.”

Olmos, an Academy Award nominee for his performance in Stand and Deliver, starred in the in the Center Theatre Group’s production of the Chicano protest musical Zoot Suit as El Pachuco back in 1978. Oscar-nominated actor Demian Bichir stepped into that role for the revival of the Luis Valdez play, also produced by the Center Theater Group.

The Final Season of Plaza’s “Parks And Recreation” to Air on Tuesdays Beginning in January

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It’s the beginning of the end for Aubrey Plaza…

NBC has scheduled the seventh and final season of Parks And Recreation, starring the 30-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress/comedian, to air on Tuesdays beginning in January.

Aubrey Plaza in Parks and Recreation

The series will premiere on January 13 and air back-to-back episodes from 8-9 PM until February 24, when it will wrap its run with an hourlong finale following the Tuesday cycle premiere of The Voice.

Throughout its run, Parks And Recreation had aired on Thursdays since its launch, as part of the network’s

signature Thursday comedy block.

The series will launch two days after NBC’s January 11 broadcast of the 72nd annual Golden Globes, co-hosted by Parks & Recreation star Amy Poehler and Tina Fey.

“Mike Schur and Amy Poehler, along with their incredible producers, cast, and crew, have given us one of the great television comedies of all time, and we’re inordinately proud of Parks And Recreation,” said NBC Entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt. “In an effort to give it the send-off it deserves, we wanted to ‘eventize’ the final season to maximize the impact of these episodes, which really do take the show to a new level.”

Parks & Recreation also stars Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Chris Pratt, Adam Scott and Jim O’Heir.

Last season, the series averaged a 1.6 rating in adults 18-49 and 3.8 million viewers overall in Live+7 averages. It was the third-most-upscale primetime series on the Big 4 in 18-49 living. It was also the youngest show on ABC, CBS or NBC last season, with a median age for its audience of 41.7.