1997 TV Cinderella, Starring Brandy, Sets 25th Anniversary Reunion Special on 20/20
The event will feature original cast members Brandy, Whoopi Goldberg, Bernadette Peters, Victor Garber, and more.
The 1997 TV production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, starring Brandy and the late Whitney Houston, has set a 25th anniversary reunion special for ABC-TV’s 20/20, airing August 23 during Disney’s World Princess Week. The one-hour-long event will feature original cast members Brandy and Whoopi Goldberg, Paolo Montalban, Victor Garber, Bernadette Peters, Jason Alexander, Veanne Cox, along with Billy Porter, Todrick Hall, Jade Jones, and more reflecting on the impact of the movie musical. The special will be followed by the first broadcast TV airing of the film in more than two decades.
PUBLISHER’S NOTE: The “Star Trek” multiverse recently lost one of its brightest stars when Nichelle Nichols, the actress who portrayed Communications Officer, Lt. Nyota Uhura on the USS Enterprise in the original series and in six subsequent movies, passed away July 30 at age 89.
SIX welcomed its newest royals Brennyn Lark and Keri René Fuller August 9 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. See them take their first curtain call below.
Island City Stage’s 2021-2022 season is finishing up with a bang with their current production of Donja R. Love’s One In Two. The play, inspired by Love’s own experience as an openly HIV positive black gay man, gets its name from a statistic that’s hard to fathom, and one that is hard to fathom is so often ignored: as opposed to one in six gay or bisexual white men and one in four gay or bisexual latino men, one in two gay or bisexual black men will be diagnosed with HIV at some point during their life.
Olivia Newton-John, Star of Grease and Xanadu Films, Dies at 73
The singer and actor also enjoyed a string of hits, including “Physical,” “I Honestly Love You,” and “Have You Never Been Mellow.”
The angelic-voiced Olivia Newton-John, who rocketed to superstardom opposite John Travolta in the blockbuster film version of the Broadway musical Grease, passed away August 8, according to a statement from husband John Easterling. She was 73.
Anyone who’s ever felt like an outcast—or who’s ever had a special mentor or teacher whose guidance was essential to making them the person they are today—will likely find much to relate to in Educating Asher, a charming new work from first-time playwright Eytan Deraythat is currently premiering at the Wilton Manors venue Empire Stage.
LAUDERHILL, FL: Arts Center Management (ACM), a multi-platform theatre management company, will partner with the City of Lauderhill to produce the Broadway at LPAC Series at the Lauderhill Performing Arts Center in 2023. The blockbuster three-show season kicks off in January 2023. This year’s lineup will feature the smash hit musicals The Full Monty, 42nd Street and Always Patsy Cline!
JULY- one of the hottest months of the year in Florida that marks the middle of the Summer, tan-skinned, a break from school, and many beach Days. For many people, I am sure July brings some anxiety just by the sole fact that it is included in the Hurricane Season, while also being a month that brings people joy due to the Hallmark channel playing Holiday movies all month long to celebrate the manmade “Christmas in July”. For me, July has become a big month over the years, especially July 2022. This is not for any reason in particular or a month that marked significant change, but a month that recognizes a lot of constants in my life- and celebrates them.
The basic premise of Black Sheep, a play by Lee Blessing that premiered in 2001 at Florida Stage and is now reappearing in South Florida for the first time since courtesy of the Main Street Players, is one that is rife with dramatic potential. Karl, the proverbial black sheep of the obscenely wealthy Winship family, is set apart from his WASPy relatives not only by his sordid past, which involves a conviction for the murder and a ten year prison sentence, but by his skin tone, the result of an ill-fated interracial marriage. Though he has been disowned by his parents due to his crime, Karl’s uber-rich Uncle Nelson is all too eager to take him under his wing, as is the rest of Nelson’s quirky family: his wife Serene, his son Max, and Max’s soon-to-be fiance Elle.
