Ty Defoe Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Brent Lang Executive Editor The American Theatre Wing has unveiled the panel of judges and eligibility details for the 2023 edition of the Obie Awards. The annual celebration of the best of Off and Off Off Broadway is now in its 67th year. The jury will be co-chaired by Obie-winning director David Mendizábal (“Sanctuary City”) and veteran theater critic Melissa Rose Bernardo.  New 2023 Obie judges are Dede Ayite, an Obie-winning and Tony-nominated costume designer who has worked on “Topdog Underdog” and “American Buffalo”; Ty Defoe, writer and Grammy Award winner; Ann C. James, Broadway’s first Black intimacy coordinator for Antoinette Nwandu’s “Pass Over”; Florencia Lozano, actor, writer, performance artist who has appeared in “Rinse, Repeat” and “Devil of Choice”; Dael Orlandersmith, playwright of “Stoop Stories” and “Yellowman”; and Carmelita Tropicana, an Obie-winning downtown performance artist.

Ain’t No Mo star and playwright Jordan E. Cooper, KPOP composer Helen Park, and Ojibwe and Oneida performance artist Ty Defoe are among the new members of the Tony Award nominating committee.

Angelica Ross is about to make history with her Broadway debut. Ross will become the first openly transgender woman to play a leading role on Broadway when she takes over as Roxie Hart in the long-running starting in September. Ross will step into the iconic role for a limited, eight-week engagement through November while also following in the footsteps of notable film and TV stars to take on Roxie, including Pamela Anderson, Mel B, Christie Brinkley, Erika Jayne, Brandy Norwood, Melanie Griffith, Robin Givens and many, many more. As Roxie, Ross will continue to break down barriers for the transgender community on stage.