TheImproper

Nicholas Lampiasi Burns Up Boards in Newsies, Now Hollywood Calls

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Nicholas Lampiasi, currently on Broadway in the hit musical Newsies is a certified stage veteran, and he’s only 10. The show follows his turn in the national tour of Billy Elliot, which he joined at age seven. Now Hollywood is calling. His first movie, “Molly’s Theory Of Relativity,” from acclaimed director Jeff Lipsky, comes out March 1. How did he get to be this big, this fast?... Read More...
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Broadway Lights Still Bright, Despite Pounding by Nemo

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The Great White Way really is white, for the moment, but the lights are still bright on Broadway, despite the arrival of a classic “nor’easter” that dumped almost a foot of snow on New York City. Most Broadway and Off-Broadway shows are keeping regular schedules, even though transportation is still difficult around the city and surrounding suburbs, which were hit even harder.... Read More...
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Scarlett Johansson Feels the Heat in Broadway’s ‘Cat on Hot Tin Roof’

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Scarlett Johansson puts her sizzling sexuality to the test against some of the titans of stage and film in her debut as Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Would you believe Elizabeth Taylor, Jessica Lange, Kathleen Turner, Ashley Judd and Anika Noni Rose? Johansson seemed to have all of the requisite moves as she stripped to her negligee in front of an audience for the first time Thursday night in her official debut. The show also stars Benjamin Walker, Ciarán Hinds and Debra Monk.... Read More...
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Cuba Gooding Jr., Vanessa Williams Add ‘Trip to Bountiful’ Starpower

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Cuba Gooding Jr. and former Miss America Vanessa Williams will add more starpower to the 14-week run of Horton Foote classic The Trip to Bountiful. Grand Dame Cicley Tyson is already on board for the play. Tony Award nominee Condola Rashad rounds out the new additions. She’s appeared in Lifetime’s “Steel Magnolias” and Broadway’s Stick Fly. The play revolves around Carrie Watts (Tyson), an elderly woman who dreams of returning to her small hometown... Read More...
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Cicley Tyson, a Film, Stage Icon, Back on Broadway in Foote Classic

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After a 30-year absence, Cicley Tyson is returning to Broadway for a limited engagement in a new production of Horton Foote’s classic, The Trip to Bountiful, directed by Michael Wilson and produced by Nelle Nugent. Foote, who died in 2009, was a playwright and screenwriter. He’s best known for writing the 1962 film “To Kill a Mockingbird” with Gregory Peck and the 1983 film “Tender Mercies,” with Robert Duvall. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1995 for his play The Young Man From Atlanta.... Read More...
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Broadway Makes Post-Sandy Bounce Over Thanksgiving Holidays

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Broadway is back again after taking a beating from Hurricane Sandy. The Great White Way’s 31 shows, including standards like Wicked, The Lion King and Spider-Man, grossed $27 million over the Thanksgiving holidays, according to the Broadway League. Usually one of the theater district’s biggest weekends, this year’s holiday topped the previous week’s gross of $20.88 million from 33 shows by more than 30 percent. But it didn’t take home the turkey. But it came close.... Read More...
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R. Kelly Ready to Take His Hip-Hop Opera to Broadway

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Rapper and R&B singer R. Kelly is getting hot again at 45 with “Trapped in the Closet,” which he calls a hip-hop opera. The show has been appearing on cable television an Kelly says he’s geared up to do a Broadway production in the near future. The International Film Channel (IFC) has been airing the opera, which Kelly has written in chapters. It’s been described as bizarre and a guilty pleasure with distinctive characters like Twan, Sylvester, Pimp Lucius and “the package.” In other words, it may be just the right formula for a rollicking Broadway musical. Kelly hinted he might star in the production himself.... Read More...
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Broadway Going Dark During Super Storm Sunday, Monday

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Sandy the superstorm and a subway shutdown have delivered a one-two punch to shows on Broadway. Starting Sunday evening (Oct. 28) through at least Monday (Oct. 29) all Broadway performances are being cancelled, the Broadway League announced. “The safety and security of theatregoers and employees is everyone’s primary concern,” said Broadway League Executive Director Charlotte St. Martin in a statement. “As a result of the suspension of public transportation by government authorities in preparation for Hurricane Sandy, evening performances will be cancelled tonight, Sunday, Oct 28, and Monday evening, Oct 29,” she added.... Read More...
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Mia Matthews Nods to Hollywood Bombsells in One Woman Show

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Actress Mia Matthews will pay homage to some of film and music’s most celebrated sexy bombshells in a new one-woman show at the Plaza Theatre in Palm Beach, Fla. Titled Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend, she’ll sing tributes to Mae West, Marilyn Monroe, Madonna, among others. Broadway musical director and arranger, Barry Levitt and acclaimed theatrical director Donald Birely lead the team behind the show. Backing up Mia in “Diamonds” are Boy Bombers Jamison Stern and Kevin B. McGlynn.... Read More...
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Julie Taymor, Producers Settle Bitter Spider-Man Lawsuit

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Julie Taymor, the director who was ousted from the troubled Broadway production, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, has reached an out-of-court settlement with the producers after a protracted legal battle. “The parties in this action have reached an agreement in principle,” U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest in Manhattan declared in a brief order. She was seeking at least $1 million in damages. Details of the settlement were not immediately available, but the order gives each party 60 days to restart the case, if necessary.... Read More...
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Usher Signs for Two Shows Off-Broadway in ‘Fuerza Bruta’

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R&B star Usher is making a special visit to off-Broadway show Fuerza Bruta: Look Up for two performances later this month at the Daryl Roth Theatre in Manhattan. The show marks his return to New York theater. His seventh studio album, Looking for Myself, is set for a June 12 release. His seventh studio album, Looking for Myself, is set for a June 12 release. Usher will play the boxing great Suger Ray Leonard, along with Robert De Niro, on the big screen.... Read More...
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Latin Sensation Ricky Martin Returns to Broadway in ‘Evita’

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Ricky Martin, who debuted on Broadway nearly two decades ago, will be back in the spotlight in a starring role as “Che” in the musical production of “Evita.” Co-star Elena Roger will debut as Eva Peron. Martin said he was drawn to the role of Che, short for Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara, because he “can be so many people at the same time. He’s a chameleon.”... Read More...
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Jack Kerouac’s Lost Play to be Produced in Mass. Hometown

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Jack Kerouac, the ’50s beat generation writer about to be celebrated on film, will also be featured on stage. The only play he ever wrote, titled Beat Generation will be produced in his hometown of Lowell, Mass. Kerouac, who would have turned 90 on Monday (Feb. 12), lived for a time on Long Island in Northport, NY. He was a literary celebrity by then, in 1958, but was remembered by locals as someone who spent most of his time at a tiny town bar called Murphy’s.... Read More...
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Keith Girard is Editor and Pubilsher of TheImproper Magazine, New York City’s cutting edge arts, entertainment and lifestyle Web magazine. Before that, he was editor-in-chief of Billboard magazine and a reporter for the Washington Post.