News

The 36th GLAAD Media Awards now have a host.

Shrinking star Michael Urie has been tapped to host the Los Angeles awards event on March 27. And he said he’s “honored” to get the gig. “Our queer siblings across the country who are being unfairly persecuted and villainized deserve a night that reminds them that they’re not alone,” said the multi-hyphenate talent. “Media is one of the strongest tools we have to fight against stereotypes and hate. I am inspired by the power that art and media can have on society and proud to honor and celebrate our nominees.”

Urie will be joined at the event by a list of confirmed attendees including Maren Morris, Jay Shetty, Doechii, Cooper Koch, Nava Mau, Abby Wambach, Glennon Doyle, Rodrigo Reyes, Racquel Chevremont, Brandon Scott Jones, Jonathan Bennett, viral “holding space” journalist Tracy E. Gilchrist, the cast of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Khalen Saunders and more.

Michael Urie is one of those mega-talented actors who seems to jump effortlessly from theater to television, with a genuine love for both. On this episode, he talks in-depth about his acting process with a humility and a humor that is infectious. He explains why he decided to always be off-book on day one, how he came to believe in himself as an actor after starting out wanting to be a director, tells an interesting story about the temptation to […]

The post “You Really Have To Let Go and Trust That Something Funny Will Happen”: Michael Urie, Back To One, Episode 312 first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Michael Urie is one of those mega-talented actors who seems to jump effortlessly from theater to television, with a genuine love for both. On this episode, he talks in-depth about his acting process with a humility and a humor that is infectious. He explains why he decided to always be off-book on day one, how he came to believe in himself as an actor after starting out wanting to be a director, tells an interesting story about the temptation to […]

The post “You Really Have To Let Go and Trust That Something Funny Will Happen”: Michael Urie, Back To One, Episode 312 first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

In 2020 – for the first time in seven years – the Best Supporting Actress Oscar category saw a lone nomination, meaning that a film was recognized there and nowhere else. This achievement is attributed to Kathy Bates (“Richard Jewell”), who competed for no major precursors except the Golden Globe but still managed to bump Critics Choice, SAG, and Globe nominee Jennifer Lopez (“Hustlers”). Perhaps unsurprisingly given the length of the streak she broke, there has yet to be a lone contender in any of her category’s subsequent lineups.

Since the introduction of the two gendered supporting Oscars in 1937, there have been 57 female lone nominees and 54 male ones, with over half of the entrants on the former roster having been added before 1977. The one who directly preceded Bates was Helen Hunt, whose inclusion in her lineup was much more heavily predicted. Coincidentally, both women had the perceived advantage of being former Best Actress champions,...

A revival of Monty Python’s classic musical Spamalot officially opened on November 16 at Broadway’s St. James Theatre.

The musical began performances on October 31 and stars Tony award-winning actor James Monroe Iglehart, known for his roles in Aladdin and Hamilton, who portrays the character of King Arthur. He is joined by Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer from Beetlejuice as The Lady of the Lake, Tony nominee Christopher Fitzgerald from Waitress as Patsy, Tony nominee Ethan Slater from SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical as The Historian/Prince Herbert, Taran Killam from Hamilton and Saturday Night Live as Lancelot, Jimmy Smagula from Billy Elliot as Sir Bedevere, Drama Desk Award winner Michael Urie from Shrinking and Torch Song as Sir Robin, and Nik Walker from Hamilton as Sir Galahad.

The musical is based on the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail and follows King Arther and the Knights of the Round Table...

Casting for Broadway’s upcoming Spamalot revival is well underway, with James Monroe Iglehart, Michael Urie, Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, Jimmy Smagula and Nik Walker set to reprise their roles from the popular Kennedy Center production and Ethan Slater and Christopher Fitzgerald joining as newcomers.

Performances of the Monty Python musical comedy begin Tuesday, October 31, at the St. James Theatre ahead of an official opening night of Thursday, November 16.

Also returning from the Washington D.C. production is Josh Rhodes as director and choreographer.

With a book & lyrics by Python’s Eric Idle and music by John Du Prez and Idle, the original 2005 Broadway production was nominated for 14 Tony Awards and won three including Best Musical.

The creative team for the revival, also announced today in addition to the casting, includes scenic and projection design by Paul Tate dePoo III, costume design by Jen Caprio, lighting design by Cory Pattak,...

Unlike other major awards bodies, the Tony Awards decide their nominations via a committee of industry members who commit to seeing every single production that opens during the Broadway season. This committee can thus make informed decisions on what shows, performers and creatives should earn recognition from New York theatre’s top honor.

In 2023, 40 theatre professionals saw all 38 eligible musicals and plays and selected the nominees in 26 competitive categories.

Below, a complete list of the 2023 Tony Awards nominating committee members including their professions plus past Tony nominations and wins:

Warren Adams, choreographer, director and producer

Tony winner for Best Revival of a Musical for “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” (2014)

Becky Ann Baker, actor

Pun Bandhu, actor and producer

Two-time Tony winner for Best Revival of a Play for “Glengarry Glen Ross” (2005) and Best Musical for “Spring Awakening” (2007) and Tony nominee for “Beetlejuice” (2019)

Brenda Braxton, actor and author

Tony-nominee for Featured...

To celebrate the release of Bros – released on DVD & Blu-ray 6th February – we have a Blu-ray up for grabs!

From the ferocious comic mind of Billy Eichner and the hit making brilliance of filmmakers Nicholas Stoller and Judd Apatow, comes Bros, a smart, swoony and heartfelt comedy about how hard it is to find another tolerable human being to go through life with.

Starring Billy Eichner, the first openly gay man to co-write and star in his own major studio film, and Luke MacFarlane (Killjoys), the film featuring an entirely LGBTQ+principal cast, including Guy Branum (The Other Two), Miss Lawrence (Star), Ts Madison (The Ts Madison Experience), Dot-marie Jones (Glee), Jim Rash (Community) and Amanda Bearse (Married… with Children). The film also features appearances by Emmy winner Debra Messing (Will & Grace) and legendary four-time Tony winner Harvey Fierstein (Torch Song Trilogy).

Funny, heartwarming and deliriously entertaining, Bros is the...

To celebrate the release of Bros – released on DVD & Blu-ray 6th February – we have a Blu-ray up for grabs!

From the ferocious comic mind of Billy Eichner and the hit making brilliance of filmmakers Nicholas Stoller and Judd Apatow, comes Bros, a smart, swoony and heartfelt comedy about how hard it is to find another tolerable human being to go through life with.

Starring Billy Eichner, the first openly gay man to co-write and star in his own major studio film,and Luke MacFarlane (Killjoys), the filmfeaturing an entirely LGBTQ+principal cast, including Guy Branum (The Other Two), Miss Lawrence (Star), Ts Madison (The Ts Madison Experience), Dot-marie Jones (Glee), Jim Rash (Community) and Amanda Bearse (Married… with Children). The film also features appearances by Emmy winner Debra Messing (Will & Grace) and legendary four-time Tony winner Harvey Fierstein (Torch Song Trilogy). Funny, heartwarming and deliriously entertaining, Bros is the perfect...

The writer/director of The Love Witch talks about her favorite classic women’s pictures.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

The Love Witch (2016)

Baby Face (1933)

Stromboli (1950)

Europa ’51 (1951)

Fear (1951)

Duel In The Sun (1946)

The Scarlet Empress (1934)

Blonde Venus (1932)

Nora Prentiss (1947)

Woman On The Run (1950)

Wait Until Dark (1967)

Rosemary’s Baby (1968)

Imitation of Life (1969)

Little Women (2019)

Emma (2020)

My Cousin Rachel (2017)

Sex and the City (2008)

Mamma Mia! (2008)

Mildred Pierce (1945)

The Reckless Moment (1949)

Sudden Fear (1952)

Torch Song (1953)

Captain Marvel (2019)

Other Notable Items

The Captain Trips virus in Stephen King’s novel The Stand (1978)

Marlene Dietrich

Mae West

Jennifer Jones

Joan Crawford

Joan Bennett

Gene Tierney

Barbara Stanwyck

The Hays Code

Cary Grant

Marilyn Monroe

Ingrid Bergman

Roberto Rossellini

The Academy Awards

Bette Davis

Jennifer Jones

Gregory Peck

Joseph Cotten

Travis Banton

Josef von Sternberg

Catherine the Great

The Criterion Collection

Kent Smith

Dan Duryea

Douglas Sirk

Jane Austen

Mildred Pierce TV miniseries...

Rising folk artist J.S. Ondara made his U.S. television debut for CBS This Morning‘s Saturday Sessions, where the Kenyan-born singer-songwriter delivered three tracks off his recent album Tales of America.

For the performance of “Lebanon,” “Saying Goodbye” and “Torch Song,” Ondara – one of Rolling Stone’s Artists You Need to Know –was backed by Soul Coughing bassist Sebastian Steinberg along with Dawes’ Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith.

Ondara’s Tales of America arrived in February 2019; a deluxe reissue, dubbed Tales of America: The Second Coming, is out September 20th.

Open relationships, throuples, polyamory — 21st century sexual configurations have not always received the most nuanced cinematic renderings. Few filmmakers have truly interrogated what polyamory looks like in real life without resorting to cheap thrills and even cheaper jokes. Which is what makes “Lavender,” an elegantly crafted short film starring “Ugly Betty” star Michael Urie, such a revelation. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival where it was quickly nabbed by Fox Searchlight’s brand new short film distribution arm and became a Vimeo Staff Pick premiere as of today.

“Lavender” is the second narrative short from gay filmmaker Matthew Puccini, who wrote and directed the short. His first film, “The Mess He Made,” starred Max Jenkins (“High Maintenance”) as a man waiting for the results of an HIV test. “Lavender” is just as plaintive in tone, though its themes are slightly lighter. The film centers around a young man...

Out of all the nominees spread across the 26 categories at the 2018 Tony Awards, 20 of them stand out as particularly noteworthy. Check out the complete list of nominations here.

The following Broadway productions from this past season were completely shut out by the nominating committee: “Head Over Heels,” “Straight White Men,” “Pretty Woman,” “The Nap,” “The Lifespan of a Fact,” “American Son,” and “True West.”

This year marks the second time this decade that the category of Best Musical consisted of five nominees, the first being in 2016. It’s also the third time for both Best Play (which had five nominees in 2014 and 2018) and Best Play Revival (which had five nominees in 2016 and 2018). And this year marks the fourth instance when the category of Best Musical Revival had only two nominees; the previous times were in 1995, 2002, and 2011.

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Two of this year...

“To Kill a Mockingbird” was snubbed for Best Play! Glenda Jackson is noticeably absent from Best Actress! But three of the five characters represented in the Featured Actor in a Play category are gay, so it’s all good! Let’s take the 2019 Tony Awards nominations category by category.

Best Play

The nominees are: “Choir Boy,” “The Ferryman,” “Ink,” “Gary: A Sequel To Titus Andronicus” and “What The Constitution Means To Me”

Will Win: “The Ferryman.” Long. British playwright. Northern Irish setting. Impressive. An event. Wiih dancing, even. And it provides employment to geese, rabbits, and babies. Though most of the action happens in the last five minutes.

Left Out: “To Kill A Mockingbird,” which can console itself with running for years; “Network” (People liked the presentation more than the play); “American Son”; “The Nap” (some snored); “Bernhardt/Hamlet”; “The Lifespan of a Fact”.

Best Musical

The nominees are: “Ain’t Too Proud,...

This year’s Tony Award nominations did not favor Network or To Kill a Mockingbird in the Best Play race, but lead actors Bryan Cranston and Jeff Daniels are both expressing their gratitude for their Best Actor in a Play nominations.

“It has been an honor to play Atticus Finch on Broadway,” Daniels said in a statement. “And now this. Thank you, American Theatre Wing.”

Cranston, nominated for his turn as Howard Beale, said, “It’s hard to stay Mad as Hell when you’re nominated for a Tony! Thank you to the members of the American Theater Wing & the Broadway League for this recognition.”

The revival of Lanford Wilson’s Burn This is up for Best Revival of a Play and star Adam Driver earned a nomination for Best Actor for his high-energy interpretation of Pale, a role originated by John Malkovich.

“It’s hard to articulate the honor it is to be nominated,...

Refresh for updates The lush, very-downtown musical Hadestown topped the Tony Awards nominations list with 14, with the more traditional jukebox musical Ain’t Too Proud coming in at second with 12, a one-two punch as clear a sign as any that Tony voters are in a very expansive mood this year.

At #3, Tootsie has 11 nominations; The Ferryman 9 and Beetlejuice 8.

But the big surprise were the no-votes in the Best Play category for both To Kill A Mockingbird and Network, particularly for Aaron Sorkin’s gloriously reviewed and wildly popular adaptation of Harper Lee’s novel. That omission might be the single biggest Tony snub in years, if not decades.

Deadline will examine that omission and other surprises in a complete analysis of the Tony nominations by Deadline theater critic Greg Evans, coming shortly. Check back soon.

The nominations for the 2019 Tony Awards were announced live by Brandon Victor Dixon and Bebe Neuwirth...

Nominations for the 73rd annual Tony Awards were announced on April 30 by two-time Tony winner Bebe Neuwirth and three-time nominee Brandon Victor Dixon. While the roster of contenders was determined by 48 theater professionals, the winners will be decided by 831 members of the Broadway community.

Three years after making his Emmy-winning debut as the host of these top theater honors, James Corden is returning to preside over the June 9 ceremony from Radio City Music Hall that will air live on CBS. This edition of the Tonys celebrate the best of the 2018/2019 theater season. Corden won a Tony in 2012 for his comic turn in the play “One Man, Two Guvnors.”

The full and complete list below includes all 26 competitive categories.

Musicals

Best Musical

“Ain’t Too Proud”

“Beetlejuice”

“Hadestown”

“The Prom”

“Tootsie”

Best Musical Revival

“Kiss Me, Kate”

“Oklahoma!”

Best Actor (Musical)

Brooks Ashmanskas, “The Prom”

Derrick Baskin, “Ain’t Too Proud”

Alex Brightman,...

The Actors Fund, the national human services organization for everyone in performing arts and entertainment, announced today their lineup of performers to pay special tribute to this year's honorees at their Annual Gala on Monday, April 29, 2019. Michael Urie Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song hosts the evening that will include performances by Amber Gray Hadestown, Beth Leavel, Michael Potts, Matthew Sklar The Prom, Damon Daunno,Rebecca Naomi Jones Rodgers amp Hammerstein's Oklahoma, Sarah Stiles Tootsie and a special appearance by Chairman of The Actors Fund Brian Stokes Mitchell. Luke Hawkins amp Evan Ruggiero will open the Gala with an original tap dance number. Additional presenters and guests include Annette Bening,Kenny Leon, Jawan M. Jackson, Tony Kushner, Will Roland, Brandon Uranowitz, Eric William Morris, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Gideon Glick and more. Performers and guests are subjects to change.

The current revival of “Oklahoma!” scored the most Drama Desk love with a whopping 12 nominations. Not far behind was the stage adaptation of “Tootsie” with 11. Bu even with those tallies, Broadway shows were shut out in several top categories, including includes Lead Actor in a Play. That Tony Awards race may be stacked, but the Drama Desk nominating committee spurned big names like Bryan Cranston and Jeff Daniels and cited only Off-Broadway performances.

The vehicles for those two stars (“Network” and “To Kill a Mockingbird” respectively) similarly couldn’t crack the Best Play lineup. Despite a stellar year for new plays on Broadway, the only Tony eligible productions the Drama Desk voters invited to the party were Jez Butterworth’s Irish epic “The Ferryman” and Heidi Schreck’s acclaimed auto-drama “What the Constitution Means to Me” (which transferred from Off-Broadway within the same season).

Big names on Broadway were shut...

Daniel Fish’s wildly re-imagined revival of Oklahoma! leads New York’s Drama Desk Awards nominations with 12, including Revival of a Musical. No big surprise there — but the head-scratcher came in the Best Play category: To Kill a Mockingbird, one of the best reviewed productions of the season and a box office smash, was snubbed. See the full list below.

Unlike the Tony Awards, though, the Drama Desk Awards cover both Broadway and Off Broadway, significantly lessening the nominations’ prediction factor. Mockingbird almost certainly will be among the nominees when the Broadway-only Tony roster is announced Tuesday.

Some other notable considerations for the Desk roster is that this season’s Broadway productions of Hadestown, Torch Song and Choir Boy were ineligible from some major overall categories because each had been staged in previous seasons as Off Broadway productions. For the Broadway productions, the Drama Desk nominating committee chose to consider...

Ugly Betty alum Michael Urie, former Wrecked star Zach Cregger, Vella Lovell (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) and Gil Ozeri (Big Mouth) are set as the leads in Friends-In-Law, NBC’s multi-camera comedy pilot from The McCarthys creator/executive producer Brian Gallivan, The Conners executive producer Tom Werner and Warner Bros. TV.

Written by Gallivan, Friends-In-Law centers on Brian (Urie) and Jake (Cregger), polar opposites who must quickly figure out how to coexist when their respective best friends Margaret (Lovell) and Randy (Ozeri) decide to get married.

Urie’s Brian fears that his best friend Margaret’s (Lovell) potential marriage to Randy (Ozeri) will leave him left out. He forms an unlikely partnership with Randy’s best friend, Jake (Cregger), to disrupt their union.

Cregger’s Jake is handsome and a little too arrogant. Jake has been best friends with Randy since kindergarten, and he rejects the unwanted additions of Margaret and Brian in his life.

Cardi B, Lili Reinhart (“Riverdale”), Keke Palmer and Julia Stiles have joined Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu in the upcoming film “Hustlers,” STXfilms announced on Tuesday.

Inspired by a viral 2016 New York Magazine article, the film follows a crew of savvy former strip club employees who band together to turn the tables on their Wall Street clients. They get their revenge on wealthy, drunk and abusive clients by maxing out their credit cards after they’ve passed out.

The film begins shooting on March 22, 2019 in New York City.

Also Read: Jennifer Lopez's 'The Hustlers at Scores' in Talks to Move to Stx Entertainment After Exiting Annapurna

Mercedes Ruehl (“Broadway’s Torch Song”) also joined the cast, and Mette Towley (“Cats”) and Trace Lysette (“Transparent”) are in negotiations to join the film.

“We could not have asked for a more exciting or talented lineup of performers to join our cast,...

Gold Derby’s 2019 Tony Awards prediction center is now open! Broadway productions must open by an April 25th cutoff date in order to be eligible for Tony consideration. So it’s time to make your early predictions in the race for Broadway’s highest honors.

Last year, “The Band’s Visit” stormed the ceremony with a whopping 10 wins, including Best Musical. David Yazbek finally became a Tony winner for his intimate Middle Eastern inspired score, and he will be back in contention this year for “Tootsie.” The musical adaptation of the classic film stars previous Tony nominee Santino Fontana (“Cinderella”) in the role Dustin Hoffman made famous. The show will face serious competition from “Hadestown,” a riff on the Orpheus and Eurydice myth with a folk opera score from Anais Mitchell. Director Rachel Chavkin (“The Great Comet”) has guided the show through successful runs Off-Broadway and in London, and is...

The Actors Fund has named playwright Harvey Fierstein, actress Rita Moreno, Broadway producer John Gore and Iatse president Matthew D. Loeb as its 2019 Medal of Honor recipients. The awards will be handed out at the Fund’s annual gala on Monday, April 29.

“Harvey, John, Matthew and Rita are legends in our community,” said Brian Stokes Mitchell, Chairman of The Actors Fund. “They are rightfully due this highest honor from The Actors Fund, both for their dedication to performing arts and entertainment and for the leadership they provide in guiding the way for the next generation of artists and arts workers.”

The gala at the New York Marriott Marquis will include special tribute performances by guests to be announced.

The Actors Fund is a national human services organization that fosters stability and resiliency and provides a safety net for performing arts and entertainment professionals over their lifespan. Through offices in New York,...

Fox Searchlight has acquired rights to Lavender, a short film from writer-director Matthew Puccini that just premiered in the Shorts Program at the Sundance Film Festival. The studio plans to make the pic available on its social media channels.

Lavender stars Michael Urie, Michael Hsu Rosen and Ken Barnett and tells the story of a young gay man as he develops a complicated relationship with an older married couple. Urie and Rosen recently starred in the recent Broadway revival Torch Song, while Barnett toplined the Tony-winning Fun Home.

Searchlight toppers Nancy Utley and Stephen Gilula said the they were “always looking for fresh filmmaking talents, and the short film world led us to a talented director in Matthew Puccini.”

The movie, produced by Casey Bader, Tyler Rabinowitz and Corey Deckler, was supported by the Creative Culture program at the Jacob Burns Film Center. Jason Michael Berman, Sam Abbas and Natalé Olsen are executive producers.

Fox Searchlight Pictures has acquired the short film “Lavender,” which screened as part of the Shorts Program at the Sundance Film Festival, chairmen Nancy Utley and Stephen Gilula and Evp, global acquisition & co-prod, Tcf acquisitions Ray Strache announced Friday.

“Lavender” is written and directed by Matthew Puccini. The film will be available on Fox Searchlight social media channels.

“Lavender” follows the story of a young gay man as he develops a complicated relationship with an older married couple. It is a tender, poignant look at an unconventional relationship as it blossoms and ultimately unravels.

Also Read: Ashton Sanders' 'Native Son' Acquired by HBO Films

The film stars Michael Urie, Michael Hsu Rosen, and Ken Barnett. Urie and Rosen recently starred in the Broadway production of Harvey Fierstein’s “Torch Song.” Barnett recently starred in the Tony Award-winning “Fun Home.”

“Lavender” is produced by Casey Bader, Tyler Rabinowitz and Corey Deckler.

The 2019 Tony Awards may be months away, but the Tony Awards Administration Committee is busy determining category placement for shows from the 2018-2019 Broadway season.

The committee met for the second time this season to determine Tony Award eligibility for ten Broadway productions. The shows discussed were: “American Son,” “The Cher Show,” “The Lifespan of a Fact,” “The Ferryman,” “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “The New One,” “Network,” “The Prom,” “Torch Song,” and “The Waverly Gallery.”

Here is the full list of decisions made by the committee:

Paddy Considine and Laura Donnelly will be eligible for Lead Actor/Actress in a Play for “The Ferryman.”

Joan Allen, Michael Cera, and David Cromer will be eligible for Featured Actress/Actor in a Play for “The Waverly Gallery.”

Mercedes Ruehl will be eligible for Featured Actress in a Play for “Torch Song.”

Brooks Ashmanskas, Beth Leavel, and Caitlin Kinnunen will be eligible for...

Over 40 years ago, Harvey Fierstein did something that seemed impossible. He shared a story of a gay man, a drag queen, who was looking for love and a “normal” life. His three plays, originally called Torch Song Trilogy, ended up being produced on Broadway and earned him Tonys for Best Actor and Best Play in 1983, beating out Marsha Norman’s ‘Night, Mother.

The original production closed on Broadway in May 1985 and was was later made into a movie, which also starred Matthew Broderick. Last year, Torch Song was revived (with...

Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song will end its Broadway run on Sunday, January 6, 2019 at the Hayes Theater before embarking on a national tour next fall with star Michael Urie reprising his Broadway role.

The tour launches next fall at Los Angeles’ Center Theatre Group at the Ahmanson Theatre, with Urie as Arnold Beckoff.

Torch Song, which opened to mostly good reviews on November 1 but has done middling box office, will have played 26 preview performances and 77 regular performances when it closes. In addition to Urie, the Broadway production stars Mercedes Ruehl, Ward Horton, Roxanna Hope Radja, Michael Hsu Rosen, and Jack Difalco.

No word on additional cast for the touring production.

“Since we first began the Torch Song journey, I have heard from people all

over – including our director Moisés Kaufman, who first met Arnold when Torch Song Trilogy toured in the ‘80s – that Arnold’s pride, strength, and frankness helped them come out,...

The Good Fight is once again dipping into its rich Good Wife backstory, tapping Ugly Betty vet Michael Urie to reprise his role as Nsa lackey Stephen Dinovera in a Season 3 episode, TVLine has learned exclusively.

Urie, who is currently earning rave reviews for his starring role in the Broadway revival of Torch Song, played Stephen in a total of four Good Wife episodes. He often appeared alongside Silicon Valley‘s Zach Woods, whose Nsa contractor character Jeff Dellinger is not expected to return.

A rep for CBS All Access confirmed Urie’s Good Fight stint but declined to shed...

After a smash-hit run Off-Broadway, Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song has returned to Broadway for a strictly limited engagement. This critically acclaimed production of the Tony Award-winning comedy stars Drama Desk Award winner Michael Urie 'Younger,' 'Ugly Betty,' Buyer amp Cellar and Academy Award and Tony winner Mercedes Ruehl The Fisher King, Lost in Yonkers and is directed by Tony nominee Moises Kaufman The Laramie Project, I Am My Own Wife.

Up until just a few years ago, Michael Urie may have been best known as Marc St. Jame from the television series Ugly Betty. Now, however, Broadway fans have come to know him as a household name in the theatre community. Today, we're taking a look back on Urie's stage career, ahead of his return to Broadway this season in Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song.

Harvey Fierstein’s glorious voice, that frog with a human stuck in it, remains so powerful you might swear you still hear it, loud and, well, loud in a Torch Song that can often only shout over the Harvey-shaped hole at its center.

Last year’s hit Off Broadway revival, Torch Song (nee Torch Song Trilogy, the award-gathering marvel from 1982 that introduced Fierstein to the world) opens at Broadway’s Helen Hayes Theater tonight, its oh-so-cute bunny slippers in place. Michael Urie (Ugly Betty) and Oscar-winner Mercedes Ruehl (The Fisher King) reprise their Off Broadway performances as the big-hearted drag queen Arnold Beckoff and his caustic, disapproving but down-deep lovin’ Ma.

Okay, so the slippers fit better than the roles that were custom-made way back when by Fierstein and a soon-to-be-Golden Estelle Getty. And no some of the gags don’t land. Urie is too trim for big-boned jokes, Ruehl...

Jesse Tyler Ferguson, husband Justin Mikita, and their non-profit advocacy organization, Tie The Knot, are happy to announce their newest limited edition bowtie launching on November 1. The latest addition will honor the triumphant return to Broadway of Harvey Fierstein's iconic Tony-winning play Torch Song. The design will also add the show's star Michael Urie to Tie The Knot's extensive list of guest designers. The Torch Song bow tie will be available exclusively at the Hayes Theater store and online at The Tie Bar, with 20 of every 25 purchase will be donated directly back to Tie The Knot.

BroadwayCon announces that the Tony Award-winning Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has joined the BroadwayCon 2019 MainStage lineup. The panel will feature cast members from the hit show. Additional details will be announced at a later date. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child joins Mean Girls, Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song, Be More Chill, Come From Away, The Prom, and Pretty Woman as part of MainStage programming.

BroadwayCon has announced that Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song has joined the BroadwayCon 2019 MainStage lineup. The panel will feature members of the Torch Song cast and creative team. Additional panel details will be announced at a later date. Torch Song joins sold-out sensation Be More Chill, Tony Award-winning musical Come From Away, The Prom, and Pretty Woman as part of MainStage programming.

Broadway box office continued apace as fall settled on the theater district, with a raft of recent arrivals helping to push grosses up a slight 3% over last week to $34,344,693. Attendance for Broadway’s Week 21 (ending Oct. 21) was up from the previous week by the same percentage to 269,065, a strong 90% of capacity.

The week saw two opening nights: The Lifespan of a Fact at Studio 54 and The Ferryman at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (pictured above), both filling a goodly number of seats.

The Lifespan of a Fact, starring Daniel Radcliffe, Cherry Jones and Bobby Cannavale, took in $808,088, managing a $5,034 bounce over the previous week despite press and opening night comps. Attendance of 7,494 was at 93% of capacity, with average paid admission at $108.

The ecstatically reviewed Ferryman, with 98% of the 8,152 seats filled, pulled in $682,369, a dip from the previous week no doubt reflecting those comps. Average paid admission was $85.

In previews...

Broadway box office held steady as the fall season settled in, with a batch of recently arriving productions joined by Torch Song, last year’s Off Broadway hit taking up a limited engagement at Broadway’s Hayes Theatre. In all, the 33 shows took in $33,387,818 during Week 20 (ending Oct. 14), dead even with the previous week.

Total attendance was 262,241, up a bit from the previous week, and about 88% of capacity.

Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song, starring Michael Urie and Mercedes Ruehl, played its first seven preview performances for $238,957, with attendance of 3,498 at 86% of capacity.

Other recent arrivals include American Son, starring Kerry Washington and Steven Pasquale at the Booth, grossing $514,931, about 58% of potential, with attendance of 4,826 at 78% of capacity. King Kong, Sro at the Broadway, took in $832,524 for six previews, 71% of potential with an average ticket price of about $80. The Ferryman at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre collected $693,826 for seven previews, filling 94% of seats.

Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song will begin previews Tuesday, October 9 ahead of a Thursday, November 1 opening night at Broadway's Hayes Theater 240 West 44th Street. Under the direction of Tony Award nominee Moises Kaufman, Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song stars Drama Desk Award winner Michael Urie and Tony and Academy Awardwinner Mercedes Ruehl. Previews for this limited engagement will begin Tuesday, October 9 ahead of a Thursday, November 1 opening night at the Hayes Theater.

Zachary Quinto’s got a big role on his bucket list — and it’s in a stage musical.

Listen to this week’s podcast for free below and at Apple Podcasts:

On the latest episode of Stagecraft, Variety‘s theater podcast, the “Star Trek” actor — currently starring in the Broadway revival of “The Boys in the Band” — reveals that he’s determined to play the title role in “Sweeney Todd” someday, after seeing the show as a boy and being, as he described it, blown back in his seat by it.

“I didn’t understand the power of theater until that moment, and so I feel like it’s a role I have to play someday,” he said of Sweeney. Although he hasn’t sung in a while, he trained to be a singer in school. “I went to Carnegie Mellon for musical theater, so I’ve got a piece...

Keep a watchful eye on the prize ahead of today’s casting roundup. Join the cast of the HBO TV pilot of “Watchmen,” based on the popular comic book series, now casting in Georgia. Plus, join a comedy web series from a major TV director, a low-budget feature is casting its two leads, and the upcoming Broadway production of the Harvey Fierstein play “Torch Song” is casting its understudies. “Watchmen” Casting is currently underway for the HBO TV pilot of “Watchmen,” based on the comic series by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. Talent, aged 18 and older, is wanted for multiple background and featured background roles. Acting ability is needed for certain roles, as well as specialized skills, such as the ability to cry on cue or play the piano. The production will shoot from May 30–31 in Cedartown, Georgia, and May 30–June 6 in Macon, Georgia. All roles correspond to specific shoot dates.

Michael Urie, TV’s former Ugly Betty actor heading to Broadway next season in Torch Song, will host the 63rd annual Drama Desk Awards ceremony in June, his third consecutive time as emcee.

“The Drama Desk is delighted that Michael Urie is hosting the Awards for a third time,” said Drama Desk president Charles Wright. “Michael’s enthusiasm for New York theater and his distinctive sense of humor add the perfect zest to this annual celebration.”

This year’s Drama Desk Awards are set for 8 Pm Sunday, June 3, at Manhattan’s Town Hall. Nominations will be announced April 26.

The awards are the only major New York City theater honors for Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway productions competing in the same categories. The awards are chosen by critics, journalists, editors and publishers covering theater.

“TheaterMania is honored to again present the Drama Desk Awards at New York’s famed Town Hall,...

Nyt Amanda Peet on why she doesn't read reviews

Variety Ron Howard to produce and direct much discussed political book Hillbilly Elegy. A very odd fit if you ask us, since Howard is skilled at broad-stroked popcorn pictures, not nuanced thematic drama

Nyt Radley Metzger, erotic cinema pioneer (The Lickerish Quartet, Score) has died at 88

Shadowplay looks back at Joan Crawford in Torch Song with some notes on Feud

Interview Mag talks to Pilou Asbaek (A War, Ghost in the Shell) 

Mnpp John Waters still making trouble onscreen and in print 

Theater Mania Provincetown's got an amazing lineup of concerts this summer including Sutton Foster and Megan Hilty

Coming Soon Some Scarlet Witch action from the Avengers: Infinity War set. It's always amusing to see how strange these things look before visual fx

i09 reviews the direct to video animated feature Teen Titans: Judas Contract, based on the classic...

'Father of the Bride': Steve Martin and Kimberly Williams. Top Five Father's Day Movies? From giant Gregory Peck to tyrant John Gielgud What would be the Top Five Father's Day movies ever made? Well, there have been countless films about fathers and/or featuring fathers of various sizes, shapes, and inclinations. In terms of quality, these range from the amusing – e.g., the 1950 version of Cheaper by the Dozen; the Oscar-nominated The Grandfather – to the nauseating – e.g., the 1950 version of Father of the Bride; its atrocious sequel, Father's Little Dividend. Although I'm unable to come up with the absolute Top Five Father's Day Movies – or rather, just plain Father Movies – ever made, below are the first five (actually six, including a remake) "quality" patriarch-centered films that come to mind. Now, the fathers portrayed in these films aren't all heroic, loving, and/or saintly paternal figures. Several are...

Veterans Day movies on TCM: From 'The Sullivans' to 'Patton' (photo: George C. Scott in 'Patton') This evening, Turner Classic Movies is presenting five war or war-related films in celebration of Veterans Day. For those outside the United States, Veterans Day is not to be confused with Memorial Day, which takes place in late May. (Scroll down to check out TCM's Veterans Day movie schedule.) It's good to be aware that in the last century alone, the U.S. has been involved in more than a dozen armed conflicts, from World War I to the invasion of Iraq, not including direct or indirect military interventions in countries as disparate as Iran, Guatemala, and Chile. As to be expected in a society that reveres people in uniform, American war movies have almost invariably glorified American soldiers even in those rare instances when they have dared to criticize the military establishment.

Robert Montgomery, Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Forsaking All Others Joan Crawford on TCM: Mildred Pierce, Flamingo Road, When Ladies Meet Schedule (Et) and synopses from the TCM website: 6:00 Am Forsaking All Others (1934) A woman pursues the wrong man for almost twenty years. Dir: W. S. Van Dyke. Cast: Robert Montgomery, Joan Crawford, Clark Gable. Bw-83 mins. 7:30 Am I Live My Life (1935) A flighty society girl tries to make a go of her marriage to an archaeologist. Dir: W. S. Van Dyke. Cast: Joan Crawford, Brian Aherne, Frank Morgan. Bw-97 mins. 9:15 Am Love On The Run (1936) Rival newsmen get mixed up with a runaway heiress and a ring of spies. Dir: W. S. Van Dyke. Cast: Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Franchot Tone. Bw-80 mins. 10:45 Am When Ladies Meet (1941) A female novelist doesn't realize her new friend is the wife whose husband she's trying to steal. Dir: Robert Z. Leonard.

Joan Crawford (right, in Daisy Kenyon) is Turner Classic Movies' next "Summer Under the Stars" star. On Monday, August 22, TCM will be showing 13 Joan Crawford movies, in addition to Peter Fitzgerald's documentary Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star, narrated by Anjelica Huston. (Curiously, Crawford is nowhere to be found in any of the 40+ films directed by Anjelica Huston's father, John Huston.) [Joan Crawford Movie Schedule.] As an MGM and WB star, Crawford is one of TCM's most visible stars. Every week, there's some Joan Crawford movie or other on TCM — at times, a number of them. Even so, there's plenty of room for variety, as Crawford made about 60 films between 1930 and 1950, roughly her (talkie) time at MGM (1930s and early '40s) and WB (late '40s). There would be even more room for variety if TCM bothered showing more of Crawford's silents. She appeared in about 25 of those, precious few of which have surfaced so far.

La-La Land Records has released a new soundtrack set for the sci-fi series Star Trek: The Next Generation. The 3Cd-set features more than three hours of previously unreleased music from the show by composers Dennis McCarthy, Jay Chattaway, Don Davis, John Debney and Fred Steiner. The Volume One set is limited to 3000 copies. To order the album and to listen to lengthy audio clips from the release, visit La-La Land Records’ website. Star Trek: The Next Generation created by Gene Roddenberry and starring Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner, Denise Crosby and Wil Wheaton aired from 1987 to 1994 and was the longest-running Star Trek series.

Here’s the complete track list of the set:

Disc One: Dennis McCarthy

1. Star Trek: The Next Generation Main Title (3rd Season) Narration: Patrick Stewart (1:49)

Music by Alexander Courage and Jerry Goldsmith, Arr. Dennis McCarthy

Recorded September...

Her tenacity, adventures in immorality and profound talent made Liz Taylor the star other stars wanted to be associated with

Elizabeth Taylor died on Joan Crawford's birthday: a wholly fitting date. The two leading ladies met on the set of Torch Song in the early 50s, a movie Crawford was filming with Taylor's second husband, Michael Wilding. And they did not hit it off; Crawford could see the future, and it was Taylor. When the younger actor declined to treat Crawford as the movie queen she was, the star branded her "a little bitch" and threatened to teach her some manners. Taylor rebuffed her with typical nonchalance, saying how lucky Wilding was to play a blind man in the movie and therefore be spared the horror of looking at Crawford.

If anything sums up Taylor's personality it's probably this meeting of minds, for it perfectly encapsulates her fierce independence,...

With pop’s first lady of bizarre – the indomitable Lady GaGa – returning to the o2 Arena tomorrow for a third time this year, crazy costumes, elaborate set pieces and irritatingly catchy electro/pop beats will once again reign supreme. Whilst GaGa has caused oodles of controversy with a large number of her outfits, there’s no denying that her fashion choices are anything less than theatricality at its most elaborate!

So when would be a better time to take a look at the bizarre offerings from movieland!? Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t, but below are ten costumes that have caused as much controversy, generated as many sniggers and left equal numbers perplexed as Lady GaGa’s pyjamas probably do…

10. Joan Crawford in Letty Lynton (1932)

Ok, so depending on taste this isn’t exactly terrible attire, but it is bizarre! Apparently Crawford hated her shoulders, which were very broad...