Gordon Cox Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Gordon Cox Theater Editor With the new production of her comedy “The Thanksgiving Play,” Larissa FastHorse has become the first known Native American female playwright on Broadway. Now she can cross it off her to-do list. Listen to this week’s “Stagecraft” podcast below: “I’ve had this goal for a long time,” FastHorse, a winner of the MacArthur Foundation’s “Genius Grant,” said on “Stagecraft,” Variety‘s theater podcast. “I told my agent probably 10 years ago that I wanted to be the first Native American female playwright on Broadway, because sadly we haven’t had one that we know of. I was very clear that I wanted to be that person.”

Gordon Cox Theater Editor The Tony-winning Broadway icon Bernadette Peters has long been considered one of the foremost performers of composer Stephen Sondheim‘s work. But as Peters revealed in the latest episode of “Stagecraft,” Variety‘s theater podcast, it wasn’t quite love at first sight when she initially performed his tunes. It was more like love at second sight.

Gordon Cox Theater Editor Even if you don’t know “The Notebook,” you know there’s a romantic couple at the heart of the story. But in the new Broadway musical adaptation of “The Notebook,” there’s not just one couple — there’s three: Three actors playing each of the two characters at different times of their lives.

Gordon Cox Theater Editor What’s a theater influencer and how do you become one? On the latest episode of “Stagecraft,” Variety’s theater podcast, Kristin Hopkins and Ashley Hufford, two influencers with strong social media presences on Instagram and TikTok, explained how they did it. Listen to this week’s “Stagecraft” podcast below: The first thing to know: They both have day jobs. “I’m not making tons of money from this,” laughed Hufford, who is a video content editor by day.

Gordon Cox Theater Editor When Sterlin Harjo, the co-creator of “Reservation Dogs,” started writing his first play with the other members of The 1491s, the sketch comedy troupe of which he was member, he and the group began working on the project in the same way they would have brainstormed one of their comic YouTube shorts: “The first day of working, we sat around and drew dicks on a dry-erase board for half the day,” he said. Listen to this week’s “Stagecraft” podcast below: Harjo recalled the process in a conversation with Bobby Wilson, another one of the five members of The 1491s, during the latest episode of “Stagecraft,” Variety’s theater podcast. The play, “Between Two Knees,” was commissioned by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival as part of a series of plays focused on U.S.

Gordon Cox Theater Editor Fresh off an early workshop of “The Light in the Piazza,” the actress Kelli O’Hara had a passing thought: What if there was an ambitious musical adaptation of “Days of Wine and Roses,” the 1962 addiction drama that starred Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick? It could give her a chance to reunite with “Piazza” composer Adam Guettel and with the actor Brian D’Arcy James, with whom she had starred in the short-lived Broadway musical “The Sweet Smell of Success.” Listen to this week’s “Stagecraft” podcast below: “I just thought: What an awesome acting challenge and rich, artful experience [it could be],” O’Hara said in a conversation with James on Variety‘s theater podcast, “Stagecraft.” “Adam was intrigued by the idea and without me knowing, he went off and got the rights to it!” It took 21 years of on-and-off work, but “Days of Wine and Roses” finally had its world premiere at Off Broadway’s Atlantic Theater last year and has just begun performances on Broadway. Both performers said they relish the opportunity to return to songs that can be challenging both for singers and for audiences.

Gordon Cox Theater Editor Sara Bareilles has always spoken openly about the fact that her work on the musical “Waitress” changed her life. “My life is in two categories: It’s before and after ‘Waitress,’” she said on the new episode of “Stagecraft,” Variety’s theater podcast.

Gordon Cox Theater Editor While the cast of the new Broadway production of “Spamalot” is cracking up audiences, they’re all trying their best not to crack up as well. Listen to this week’s “Stagecraft” podcast below: On the new episode of “Stagecraft,” Variety’s theater podcast, actors James Monroe Iglehart, Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer and Michael Urie gave listeners a glimpse of the shenanigans that threaten their poker faces. “There’s this part where [co-star] Ethan Slater, as a mime, is miming dropping a baby off a balcony and it makes me laugh every night,” Urie says.

Gordon Cox Theater Editor To hear the actress Sierra Boggess tell it, Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman’s Broadway musical “Harmony” couldn’t have a more apt title. Listen to this week’s “Stagecraft” podcast below: “They sing in harmony the entire show,” said Boggess (“The Little Mermaid,” “Love Never Dies”), speaking in a conversation with “Harmony” director-choreographer Warren Carlyle on the new episode of “Stagecraft,” Variety’s theater podcast. “There’s no sound like it on Broadway right now.” Carlyle (“After Midnight,” “The Music Man”) described the sound of “Harmony,” about a real-life troupe of singers called the Comedian Harmonists, as “a cross between the Manhattan Transfer and the Marx Brothers.” He went on to reveal his take on how the hitmaking duo Manilow and Sussman work together.

Gordon Cox Theater Editor Scar in “The Lion King.” The Green Goblin in “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.” The titular green guy in “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” The actor Patrick Page (“Hadestown“) has played every one of those Broadway villains—and he brings all that experience to bear in the Off-Broadway solo show he both wrote and stars in, “All the Devils Are Here.” Listen to this week’s “Stagecraft” podcast below: Subtitled “How Shakespeare Invented the Villain,” the show delves into all the ways the Bard depicted bad guys and evil-doers with depth, nuance and humanity that were, at the time, revolutionary. In the latest episode of “Stagecraft,” Variety’s theater podcast, Page theorized that his famously deep voice has probably contributed to his frequent casting in villain roles. “There’s a strong tradition in the theater of those roles being more bass roles.

Gordon Cox Theater Editor The 2023 edition of Variety’s annual theater breakfast was all about the Business of Broadway. But that didn’t keep things from getting spiritual, too. In a panel discussion featuring the starry cast of “Merrily We Roll Along” — held during the Business of Broadway breakfast Oct.

Gordon Cox Theater Editor Leslie Odom Jr. isn’t just the star of the new, critically acclaimed Broadway revival of “Purlie Victorious.” He’s also one of its producers. The combination is really working for him.

Gordon Cox Theater Editor For every production of “Merrily We Roll Along,” there is always a question. Ever since the ignominious failure of its Broadway premiere, Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s 1981 musical has carried the reputation of being too flawed, too facile, too conceptual ever to satisfy — while at the same time, a cult of creatives and fans have remained steadfastly convinced the show’s a masterpiece, needing only the right staging to reveal it. The same question, then, haunts every revival: Is this the version that finally fulfills the promise of “Merrily We Roll Along”? Judging from critical and audience response, the latest New York production may be the one that achieves it.

Gordon Cox Theater Editor “Smash,” the TV series about the making of a fictional Broadway musical, takes an early step toward becoming a real-life Broadway musical on Sept. 22, with a pair of industry readings led by Tony nominees Robyn Hurder and Kerry Butler.

Gordon Cox Theater Editor Rachel Bloom remembers the exact moment that she decided her latest stage project, “Death, Let Me Do My Show,” couldn’t be the lightweight standup show she was hoping it would be. It was when she stood in front of a white board looking at an outline of the jokes she intended to tell, reading phrases like “pregnancy tests” and “my butthole is like the hurricane.” Listen to this week’s “Stagecraft” podcast below: “There’s nothing dumber than seeing standup bits or comedy songs bullet-pointed out,” Bloom says on the latest episode of “Stagecraft,” Variety’s theater podcast.

Gordon Cox Theater Editor Stephen Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein, the musical “If/Then”: These aren’t the usual conversational touchpoints in a discussion about a video game. But all three of those musical theater references, and many more, were brought up by the creators of the new video game Stray Gods on the latest episode of “Stagecraft,” Variety’s theater podcast.

Gordon Cox Theater Editor News has been grim in the theater sector lately, as economic headwinds have forced organizations around the country to reduce programming, lay off staff, pause production or, in some cases, fold entirely. In a conversation with two of his colleagues in the field, one theater leader said out loud what all the headlines seem to imply: “When we think about these models and we say it was broken — it’s not only broken. It was also doomed,” said Kelvin Dinkins Jr., the executive director of American Repertory Theater, on the latest episode of “Stagecraft,” Variety‘s theater podcast.

Gordon Cox Theater Editor Jason Alexander’s latest theater project, the new comedy “The Cottage,” opened on Broadway last night — and it’s just the first of a string of theater projects that stand poised to keep the former “Seinfeld” star busy in the theater for the next year or more. Listen to this week’s “Stagecraft” podcast below: Alexander revealed what he’s got coming up on the latest episode of “Stagecraft,” Variety‘s theater podcast.

Gordon Cox Theater Editor The movie comedy “Theater Camp” is one of those dreams-come-true success stories that sometimes emerge from the Sundance Film Festival: Scrappy indie movie debuts in Park City, the audience falls in love with it, and overnight the movie is picked up for a multimillion distribution deal. Listen to this week’s “Stagecraft” podcast below:

Gordon Cox Theater Editor With a resumé that includes “How to Get Away With Murder,” “Fire Island” and the upcoming comedy “How to Die Alone,” Conrad Ricamora has gotten some of his best screen work playing queer characters. And the actor, now starring on Broadway in “Here Lies Love,” wouldn’t want it any other way. Listen to this week’s “Stagecraft” podcast below:

Gordon Cox Theater Editor With TV series like “Citadel,” “Hunters” and “Solos” under her belt, Tori Sampson is one of TV’s busiest young writers — and right now, that means she’s busy striking in solidarity with the Writers Guild of America. But as it turns out, she had plenty of work in the theater to keep her busy during the initial few weeks of the WGA’s walkout. Listen to this week’s “Stagecraft” podcast below:

Gordon Cox Theater Editor In a Broadway awards ceremony without a script, there were bound to be unexpected twists, turns and upsets. Here are the biggest snubs, surprises and standouts from the 2023 Tony Awards. SNUB: The WGA’s request to nominated membersAfter producers of the Tonys vowed not to include material written specifically for the awards show, the Writers Guild of America agreed not to picket the ceremony. But the union made a follow-up request: They asked Tony-nominated guild members not to attend the Tonys in solidarity, and to pre-tape acceptance speeches or have a non-member accept on their behalf. However, many of those union members, after conferring with the Dramatists Guild, made the decision to attend the Tonys anyway – and to use the nationally televised opportunity to get vocal about their support for writers and the WGA. Sure enough, writers spotlit the WGA’s cause starting with the evening’s very first award, when “Kimberly Akimbo” lyricist David Lindsay-Abaire opened his speech with a shout-out to writers. Later, host Ariana DeBose opened the CBS portion of the telecast by voicing her own support of the union.

Gordon Cox Theater Editor As they say in “Into the Woods”: It takes two.  And not just in “Into the Woods.” The 2023 Tony nominations remind us several times over that sometimes an actor’s role is so closely tied to another that it’s difficult to imagine a performance without the organic give-and-take shared with a co-star.    From “Into the Woods,” there’s Sara Bareilles and Brian D’Arcy James, both contenders for Tony Awards as lead performers for their work in the tightly linked roles of the Baker and the Baker’s Wife. Among their fellow nominees, there’s Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond as an accused murderer and the steadfast wife who strives to exculpate him in “Parade,” plus Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford as the murderous barber and the baker who loves him in “Sweeney Todd.” And the two lead roles in “Topdog/Underdog” and “Some Like It Hot” are so intertwined that these co-stars find themselves competing in the same category against a castmate.  

Gordon Cox Theater Editor The 2023 Tony nominations aren’t just a portrait of theatrical excellence. They’re also a snapshot of Broadway in progress.   After the events of 2020 prompted a wave of public pledges and new initiatives aiming to expand equity and diversity across all sectors of the business, this year’s nominations give theatermakers a chance to check on the change. No nominations list can render a complete picture of an industry and no one would argue that Broadway is done with the work, but all of this year’s nominees say they’re conscious of the ways the nominations reflect a larger, industry-wide shift.  “I think this year shows we are gradually getting better,” says Bonnie Milligan, a 2023 nominee (and, for many, the frontrunner) for featured actress in a musical. The plus-sized actor finds herself in the Tony conversation for “Kimberly Akimbo” after what she describes as years of “getting typed out of so many rooms because of my size.” 

Gordon Cox Theater Editor The writers of “Kimberly Akimbo” tell a story about the musical’s creation that feels as if it could be a scene in the show itself. Like the Tony-nominated production, now up for eight awards including best musical, it’s a tale that lands right in the overlap of humor and heartache. In the summer of 2017, just before composer Jeanine Tesori and bookwriter-lyricist David Lindsay-Abaire were scheduled to spend two weeks developing the first act of “Kimberly Akimbo” at the Sundance Theatre Lab, Tesori had a cerebral hemorrhage. She was in the ICU for 11 days, the Tony-winning composer (“Fun Home”) recalled. She missed the entire first week of the show’s time at Sundance.

Gordon Cox Theater Editor When Jessica Chastain explains how she and her collaborators created the standout moments in her Tony-nominated Broadway performance in “A Doll’s House,” one wouldn’t expect to hear her mention the Sam Raimi horror movie “Evil Dead.” Listen to this week’s “Stagecraft” podcast below:

Gordon Cox Theater Editor Thanks to her acclaimed performance in “Parade,” Micaela Diamond has found herself nominated for a Tony Award at just 23 years old. The attention could be overwhelming for any young actor, so it’s a good thing she knows someone who’s been through it before: her co-star and fellow nominee Ben Platt, who was nominated for a Tony (and won) at 23 for “Dear Evan Hansen.” Listen to this week’s “Stagecraft” podcast below:

Gordon Cox Theater Editor The recent Broadway revival of “Topdog/Underdog” may have ended its run, but for Corey Hawkins, the actor now nominated for a Tony Award for his role in the play, the experience left him with something that he’s still carrying forward into all his future work: “Fearlessness,” he said on the latest episode of Stagecraft, Variety‘s theater podcast. Listen to this week’s “Stagecraft” podcast below:

Gordon Cox Theater Editor The nominations for the 2023 Tony Awards are out — and for every pleasant surprise on the list, there were a few disappointments. Here are the biggest snubs and surprises from this morning’s Tony nominations announcement, plus the one great big question that could cast a real shadow over the ceremony. SURPRISE: Big Love for “Ain’t No Mo'”Jordan E. Cooper’s “Ain’t No Mo’,” a blistering comedy about racial injustice in America, was certainly one of the buzziest plays of the season, and many critics raved when it opened in December. But the show proved unable to find a foothold at the box office and closed just a few weeks later — a brief lifespan that could have put the play in danger of getting forgotten come awards season, especially in a crowded field of contenders. But nominators remembered “Ain’t No Mo'” so well they gave it six noms (including one for play and an acting nod for writer-performer Cooper), making it one of the most-nominated plays of the season.

Gordon Cox Theater Editor Ask Cameron Mackintosh if “The Phantom of the Opera” will be back, and he doesn’t play coy. “Of course it will return,” he says. “All the great musicals do.” But the British mega-producer, whose credits include “Cats” and “Les Misérables,” also speaks candidly about the forces pushing “Phantom,” the longest-running show on Broadway, to end its record run on April 16 after 35 years. Even before lockdown, the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, which had fallen into a boom-or-bust pattern of sales fluctuations based on seasonal tourism influxes, seemed to be reaching the end of its lifespan. “Over the years, the number of good weeks at the box office started to shrink,” Mackintosh says. “Some of the really bad weeks, we lost a lot of money, particularly in New York.”

Gordon Cox Theater Editor Here are two wildlife facts you won’t learn in “Life of Pi”: Orangutans are quiet, and zebras stay silent when they’re attacked. Listen to this week’s “Stagecraft” podcast below: You’d never guess either of those things from Broadway’s “Life of Pi,” because the creators and puppeteers of the show use all manner of tools and tricks to make their animal puppets feel life-like — including having them behave in ways that aren’t life-like at all. “Orangutans are very quiet beings,” explained Olivier Award-winning puppeteer Fred Davis on the new episode of Variety’s theater podcast, Stagecraft. “But if we had a very quiet orangutan for the duration of its time onstage, it wouldn’t have the same impact or believability as we need it to.”

Gordon Cox Theater Editor Celebrated playwright Tom Stoppard has a Broadway success on his hands with “Leopoldstadt,” his (very) loosely autobiographical play now in the sixth month of a long run currently set to close in July. He’s very pleased about that — but right now there’s something else that’s got him thoroughly distressed: Writer’s block. Listen to this week’s “Stagecraft” podcast below:

Gordon Cox Theater Editor The new play “Pictures From Home” is Tony Award winner Nathan Lane’s 25th Broadway show — and he’s threatening not to come back for a 26th. “This may be the last one,” Lane said on Stagecraft, Variety’s theater podcast. “This may be my swan song! Winters in New York — I don’t know how many more I can take. And eight shows a week is a big ask.” Listen to this week’s “Stagecraft” podcast below:

Gordon Cox Theater Editor Currently one of the stars of “Star Trek: Discovery,” Anthony Rapp has recently spent some time looking back and reliving his past. Off Broadway, he’s starring in “Without You,” his autobiographical show about his experiences in the original cast of “Rent” and the deaths of composer Jonathan Larson and his own mother. And in court, the actor — one of the first to come forward with allegations of sexual assault against Kevin Spacey — recently relived his experiences with Spacey during the proceedings for a civil suit brought by Rapp against Spacey. Listen to this week’s “Stagecraft” podcast below:

Gordon Cox Theater Editor The new musical “Kimberly Akimbo” has already beguiled New York critics. Now it has to win over Broadway audiences.  Based on David Lindsay-Abaire’s 2001 play of the same name, “Kimberly Akimbo” is the story of a teenage girl who is aging so rapidly, she appears to be a woman in her 60s. The musical, which premiered at the Atlantic Theater Company last winter, picked up awards from nearly every organization that hands them out, including the New York Drama Critics’ Circle. And it’s not surprising: Avoiding the usual Broadway spectacle, the intimate play instead sidles up to its heartbreaking conceit with sucker-punch poignance and oddball comedy.  

Gordon Cox Theater Editor Each year, Variety compiles a list of Broadway stars on the rise. This year, Variety fill fete this round-up of stage actors, directors and writers at its Business of Broadway Breakfast presented by City National Bank will take place on Oct.