It's May already, and with a new month brings new shows to binge.
18.04.2024 - 02:17 / variety.com
Naveen Kumar A flight of imagination born of the trippy 1970s, “The Wiz” can shoulder a lot of interpretation. Sidney Lumet’s shadowy film, starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson, sets the Black spin on L. Frank Baum’s children’s story “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” in a blighted, nearly bombed-out New York City.
High schools and community theaters have surely long made do with their prop closets, as the musical by William F. Brown (book) and Charlie Smalls (music and lyrics) is a vibes-based vehicle for a familiar plot and foolproof hits like “Home” and “You Can’t Win.” But the maximalist revival that opened at the Marquis Theater on Broadway tonight, following a 13-city national tour, diminishes some of the show’s reliable pleasures with unmitigated, candy-colored exuberance. This family-friendly approach — bright, broad, unironic — aligns with the musical’s legacy as a VHS favorite, but even kids could use help knowing where to look.
Dizzying visuals and overamplification too often swallow both actors and storytelling in a swirling sensory overload. Directed by Schele Williams, the production begins promisingly with an intimate exchange between Dorothy (newcomer Nichelle Lewis) and Aunt Em (Melody A. Betts), comforting her city-girl niece who’s being bullied at her Kansas school.
Rendered in grayscale as an homage to the Judy Garland film, the scene invites tender emotional engagement with the reluctant, soon-to-be heroine. But that opportunity for connection swiftly gets swept away in the one-way twister to Oz, where a hypercolor surge of stimulation competes for audience attention. Excess is the defining trait of a fantastical realm otherwise lacking a unified look: storybook scenery (by “Black Panther” designer
.It's May already, and with a new month brings new shows to binge.
Mon dieu!Too bad, because there is some fun to be had on the kooky “Metalstorm” set in director Drew Leitch’s film. Sandy and orange, the movie looks like it’s trying to be “Dune” while actually landing more on “Battlefield Earth” territory.
Russell Brand has revealed he is getting baptised to “leave the past behind”.The comedian was accused of multiple counts of rape, assault and emotional abuse between 2006 and 2013 in a joint investigation between Channel 4, The Times and Sunday Times last year. The star has strongly denied all the accusations.In a post shared on Instagram last week, Brand confirmed that he was “taking the plunge” and “getting baptised”.“What’s been explained to me is, it’s an opportunity to die and be reborn,” he said.
Meena Harris For more than half a century, “Cabaret” — the iconic American musical set in Nazi Germany — has been produced, revived and revived again. This story, which touches on sex work, abortion and a complex female protagonist in Sally Bowles, has spoken to audiences generation after generation. But another element of the production stayed true for nearly the same amount of time: on Broadway, “Cabaret” has exclusively been directed by men.
Another day, another buzzy project to hit the Cannes Market. Deadline reports that Adam Scott will have a package for his feature directorial debut for sale on the Croisette next month: “Double Booked,” a revenge thriller set to star Sterling K.
Christian Lewis F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel “The Great Gatsby,”which captured the roaring twenties with shocking clarity,is a staple of high school curricula and has been immortalized in two famous film adaptations (in 1974 by Richard Clayton and in 2013 by Baz Lurhman). It’s most remembered for the titular character’s lavish parties, though as any good reader of the novel will tell you, the party’s are all razzle dazzle — what really matters is what’s underneath.
EXCLUSIVE: No decision has been made official, but sources tell Deadline that New Line is the favorite to land the package that is based on the biography The Chris Farley Show with Paul Walter Hauser attached to play the legendary comedian. The pitch is based on the book by Farley’s brother Tom Farley Jr. and Tanner Colby and will be adapted by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber with Josh Gad directing. Lorne Michaels, who found and cast Farley in Saturday Night Live in the ’90s, is producing through his Broadway Video.
A Scottish tourist had the trip of her life after getting closer than most ever will to a wild bear… But she paid the price.
The brothers who co-founded fashion giant PrettyLittleThing have announced they are teaming up on a new business venture together.
Manchester United are being linked with several potential new signings ahead of the summer transfer window.
Bethenny Frankel is revealing much more about the difficult marriage she had to ex-husband Jason Hoppy.
Frank Rizzo There’s a moment in David Adjmi’s play “Stereophonic” when a discordant, mid-’70s band-on-the rise hears one of its songs played back to them in the recording studio for the first time, with all its multiple tracks layered together into an artful whole. It leaves the ever-bickering band suddenly speechless, emotionally stunned and still with the realization that they have just heard something truly great.
The CW has opted not to renew affiliations with E.W. Scripps-owned stations in seven markets.
The Broadway revival of The Wiz is officially open!
Get ready to return to the South Side of Chicago. Earlier today, Paramount+ with SHOWTIME released the first official trailer and key art for the second half of season six of their acclaimed original drama series “The Chi,” which is set to return on May 10, 2024.
Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer The Sundance Film Festival may kick the snow off its boots once and for all. The annual celebration of independent film announced on Wednesday that it is open for pitches from cities across the United States on becoming the new permanent home of the festival starting in 2027. Sundance has taken place in the luxury mountain haven of Park City, Utah since 1981 (except for two virtual years during the pandemic).
Coronation Street's Ciaran Griffiths has seemingly married his partner and confirmed the news by sharing a photo on social media. The 41-year-old actor, known for his role as Damon Hay, posted a picture of him posing with his new wife on a boat in front of the Sydney Opera House.
Broadway‘s spring newcomers continued pulling in the city’s tastemakers, tourists and the merely curious last week, with overall box office down about 10% from the previous week but most new shows filling at least 90% of their seats.
spotted wearing her wedding band on Friday despite the announcement that she and her husband Gerry Turner were filing for divorce after just three months of marriage.The 70-year-old reality star was seen outside of her New Jersey office building sporting the dazzling, 18-diamond eternity band on her ring finger. That’s not to be confused with her engagement ring, given to her by Turner on the show, was noticeably missing.“It’s beautiful, beyond.
Joe Leydon Film Critic Winner of an audience award at the 2023 SXSW film fest, “The Long Game” is an utterly predictable yet thoroughly engaging period drama. Set in 1950s Texas, the film focuses on the true-life story of five Mexican-American youths who triumph against all odds while overcoming adversity, prejudice and periodic self-doubts in their pursuit of a Texas State High School Golf Championship trophy.