Theater Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Nick Cordero's legacy will live on in Broadway's. As the Sara Bareilles musical prepares to return to the stage this fall, the show will honor Cordero every night. The late Broadway actor, who died following a lengthy battle with COVID-19 in July 2020, originated the role of Earl in the Broadway show back in 2016. Cordero's battle and the positivity of his wife, Amanda Kloots, served as inspiration to many during the pandemic's early days.

franchise, Aaron Tveit got to star in not one, but two very bloody installments of Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk’s spinoff,. Following the premiere of episode six, “Feral,” the actor and 2020 Tony Award nominee hopped on the phone with ET to explain how he got involved with the series, how the pandemic allowed him to do more TV, including appearing on, and how he’s feeling about returning to Broadway in September.

Broadway is “Opening Up” — just like in “Waitress” — but we’ll all be masking up to watch our favorite shows.But its return means so much more than the chance to watch some soft-shoe with overpriced warm wine and snacks.For three-time Tony Award-winning producer Bonnie Comley, who was appointed president of the Drama League’s board of directors in June, it was heartbreaking to watch the doors shut on Broadway’s 41 theaters amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reflections,” a roughly 2½-hour-long show that features a four-course dinner and displays of rope bondage, is serving up entertainment with a side of kink. As city stages remain dark due to COVID-19 shutdowns, the swanky downtown performance — advertised only through word of mouth — has helped fill the void, selling out each of its seven sultry performances since debuting in April at Duane Park in Noho.

Putting It Together: How Stephen Sondheim and I Created Sunday in the Park with George, to be published on the day of the digital livestream, Tuesday, Aug. 3, at 7 p.m.Christine Baranski, who starred in the original Off Broadway production of Sunday in the Park with George, will moderate the conversation between the two living theater legends and creative partners who were also behind Into the Woods and Passion.

, Cecily Strong is starring in her first original series, a musical comedy titled While the actor has made a number of appearances on everything from to, the Apple TV+ project marks the first time the longtime and Emmy-nominated performer is stepping out on her own as the lead, playing one-half of a couple who gets stuck in a 1940s musical town during a backpacking trip to save their relationship. But any time a cast member embarks on solo projects, that typically marks the end of their tenure

Kandi Burruss' resume wasn’t long enough, the GRAMMY winning star of Bravo's is adding another title to her list of credits: Broadway producer. ET can exclusively reveal that Kandi has joined the producing team behind the new play, which is set to star Broadway's first all-Black, male cast.

reopening in September, will take shape.The agreement between producers and the Actor’s Equity Association calls for full vaccination of all traveling company members and free weekly COVID tests, both groups said Monday night. “These protocols will allow tours to restart in the coming months as safely as possible,” Equity announced via Twitter last night.Touring shows play a key role in the theater industry, which went dark for 15-months during the pandemic.

Andrew Lloyd Webber is intent on opening up his six London theaters in less than two weeks, even if it means he’s arrested for violating social distancing protocols.

Beasts of the Southern Wild, has mined some of the more unforgettable aspects and experiences from her childhood — including Alibar growing up in a small farmhouse on a watermelon field in the Florida Panhandle, and helping her dad, a lawyer who defended death row inmates, by serving as his occasional part-time legal secretary when she was only a fourth-grader.Alibar starred in Throw Me On The Burnpile and Light Me Up when the one-woman play premiered in Los Angeles in 2016.

return to the Great White Way in September.Stars from “Hamilton,” “The Lion King” and “Wicked” appeared together on “Good Morning America” to confirm that each show will return when Broadway is set to raise the curtain again Sept.

@MusicManBway@sfosternyc#TheWinterGardenTheatre#Broadwaypic.twitter.com/HhZNKrZRseAdditionally:reopens Sept. 14.is set for Sept. 17.reopens Sept.

Blindness should feel like onboarding for a voyage to outer space. The Shakespeare Theatre’s first in-person presentation in over a year — and this critic’s first trip in 14 months to the interior of any theater — represents both a welcome return to the familiar, and in several senses, a bold exploration of a strange new world.Under any circumstances, the international hit sound and light installation, produced by London’s Donmar Warehouse, would promise a thrilling and disorienting ride.

ticketed live performances have returned to New York City after more than a year of dark, locked-up venues and out-of-work actors, creatives and staff. However, what’s onstage today — like our waistlines — looks a little different from the art form we waved goodbye to on March 12, 2020.

LOVE/language covers everything from romantic love to self-love, and from love of family to love of community. It opens Rep Stage’s 28th season with streams available this weekend.“I wanted to create an event for this moment we find ourselves in and create an opportunity for local regional artists in our industry, who have been deeply affected by the pandemic,” says Joseph W.

the first time in a year Friday with a live performance to mark the anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic — as well as the theater industry’s forthcoming “rebirth.”The Times Square Alliance hosted the “We Will Be Back” pop-up show in Duffy Square, with a host of “celebrities, performers and dozens of art workers from the Broadway community.”“The event aims to provide a sense of hope as the industry and city move forward from the challenges brought on by the past year, by shining a spotlight on

shutdown of Broadway in New York City.

The Viral Storm.A virus hunter dedicated to predicting and preventing pandemics, Wolfe makes for timely subject matter in the fascinating new one-person show The Catastrophist by Lauren Gunderson, who just happens to be married to him.For award-winning actor William DeMeritt, performing the role of Wolfe in Round House Theatre and Marin Theatre Company’s world premiere production required doing his homework.

is now nominated for two Golden Globes thanks to the film version that debuted on Disney+ last year. This comes six years after the hit musical first debuted on Broadway in 2015 and made stars of its creator and lead performer, Lin-Manuel Miranda, as well as cast members Daveed Diggs, Leslie Odom Jr.

Dark City, an episodic video game conceived, written, and programmed by Strasser that will also feature the voices of local theater artists, plus an original score by Friend.Dark City is part of a new slate of bold, diverse programming dubbed “4615 Go” that officially launches this week with It’s For You. The work of iterative, slightly improvised poetry takes shape during hour-long phone conversations between local playwright Britt A Willis and one audience member at a time.

and, the 29-year-old queer actress of Puerto Rican descent is bringing authenticity to a new era of inclusive movie musicals centering marginalized voices. “I have always wanted to make art that I thought was a conversation starter,” DeBose tells ET.

plays the titular role in NBC’s telecast, airing Dec. 9 from 8 to 10 p.m.

74th annual Tony Awards to be postponed, the nominees for the shortened 2019-2020 theater season were finally revealed during an announcement hosted by award-winning actor James Monroe Iglehart. While the eligibility for any given year is typically near the end of April, it was previously announced that only 18 shows — both musicals and plays — that opened before Feb. 19 would be considered for the 2020 ceremony.

Tony Award winner Ari’el Stachel portray two princes, Rupert and Amir, eager to settle down into their happily ever after in season 3 of the fantasy podcast,. Of course, the only way to express their feelings is through song — and ET has the exclusive debut of the original number, “In Just Three Days.”  After seasons 1 and 2 saw Rupert and Amir come to terms with their feelings and falling in love, all while saving their realms from evil magic forces, the two are ready to get married.

Drew Droege, that meant cutting short his hilarious and witty production of, the follow-up to Patterns, which was directed by longtime friend and creative partner, Michael Urie. The theater actor and former star opens up to ET about the inspiration to capture the show on screen for Broadway HD, his own return to TV on the upcoming final season of , and his hopes for the 2020 Tony Awards. , which is now streaming and is presented by Urie, is a one-man show telling the story of Doug (Droege), who

Ben Brantley, the influential New York Times theater critic, will leave the job next month. “This pandemic pause in the great, energizing party that is the theater seemed to me like a good moment to slip out the door,” Brantley said in a statement.News of Brantley’s departure was announced on Twitter by the newspaper’s theater reporter, Michael Paulson.Brantley joined the Times as its second-string theater critic in 1993, taking the chief critic job three years later.

Bid for Roundabout,” a fund-raiser to support the company and its portfolio of venues that, like many artistic institutions, have been hard hit by the COVID-19 shutdown.Tony Award winners Idina Menzel, Kristin Chenoweth and Kelli O’Hara are offering 30-minute private voice lessons.

The 2020 Helen Hayes Awards are being presented in a series of individual award events held on Zoom and posted to YouTube — with upcoming dates Friday, Sept. 4, Tuesday, Sept.

GARRETT CLAYTON’S A GAY IN THE LIFE Former Disney Channel star and out Hollywood actor Garrett Clayton (King Cobra) recently launched a weekly LGBTQ series on YouTube with the long-term goal of humanizing the stories and struggles of contemporary LGBTQ rights and peoples around the world. Co-created and co-hosted by Clayton’s fiancé Blake Knight, the series also intends to reveal how LGBTQ identities, attitudes, and experiences vary greatly from one country and culture to the next.

Princess Diana is getting the musical treatment. The story of Lady Spencer’s life as a royal and relationship with Prince Charles is the subject of the musical,, which Netflix will film ahead of its Broadway debut in 2021.From director Christopher Ashley and writers Joe DiPietro and David Bryan comes a story about a young princess thrust into the world stage.