How Being an Understudy Prepared ‘Wicked’ Star Brittney Johnson for Her History-Making Role

Brittney Griner (Photo by Lorie Shaull)

Peaky Blinders’ Arthur Shelby actor Paul Anderson looks a world away from the tough ‘hardman’ role he plays on the BBC drama. The show has just kicked off its sixth and final series with Cillian Murphy’s character Tommy Shelby’s older brother Arthur becoming a fan favourite in the series, which follows the life of a gangster family living in Birmingham in the early 20th century. As perhaps the most brutal of the Shelby clan, Arthur is known for his intense fighting skills and violent behaviour - including beating someone to death with a hammer and killing a child at a boxing match.

WNBA superstar Brittney Griner has been arrested and detained in Russia on drug charges.

At Contenders Film: The Nominees, Deadline presented a panel with the director and star of perhaps the most historic nominated film at this year’s Oscars, Drive My Car, which represents Japan’s first-ever Best Picture nomination. It’s an astounding feat for a three-hour Japanese-language film, about a stage director’s personal crisis interweaved with his trip to Hiroshima to direct a production of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya.

Scott Huver The scene at Wednesday’s premiere of HBO’s “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty” at the Theatre at Ace Hotel was nearly as fast-paced and celebrity-packed as the 1980s Showtime era of the Los Angeles Lakers the series depicts — and even had a few gilded basketball hoops.Executive producers Adam McKay, Max Borenstein and Jim Hecht welcomed a deep-bench of the series’ performers, including both an all-star lineup of veteran pros — including John C. Reilly, Adrien Brody, Sally Field, Jason Clarke, Jason Segel and Michael Chiklis — and a slew of impressive newcomers. And despite playing roles that ultimately became godlike sports icons, the actors told Variety they were surprised by how much they related to their real-world humanity.

NEW YORK -- While many people spent Valentine's Day with the traditional flowers and chocolates, Brittney Johnson was making theater history.The young Broadway veteran was gently lowered onto the Gershwin Theatre stage to become the first Black actor to assume the role of Glinda full-time in “Wicked,” shattering a racial barrier on the day of love.“One of the most rewarding parts of this is that it’s not just for me. I think it’s the least amount about me,” she says.

Ryan Michelle Bathé Black History Month, pioneered by Dr. Carter G.

Ariana Grande is going to be playing Glinda in the movie version of Wicked and she took the time to see the musical again on Broadway this weekend!

Wicked, Brittney Johnson will float in a giant bubble, 30 feet above the stage. She will wear a dress that weighs 16 pounds, made of 68,200 sequins of 25 varieties. And on Valentine’s Day, Johnson became the 18th actor to star as Glinda on Broadway.