Posts Tagged ‘Theater’
TomKat do Jersey Boys Down Under
July 6th, 2009 / Author: Chris Morran
Jude the Obscure
June 19th, 2009 / Author: matt
Mya: Why I’m a Vegaquarian
June 17th, 2009 / Author: OK! Staff
Inspired by a friend who has been a vegetarian for seven years, Mya, 30, made the switch to a vegetable-heavy diet. But, she adds, “I do eat fish.”
Why did she cut the steak?
“Sometimes meat gets you thick,” she tells me. “I feel a lot better. I’m not opposed to people eating meat, but it’s something that I do for myself to keep in shape, stay lean and prevent sickness.”
Samantha Harris’ Triple Duty
June 12th, 2009 / Author: OK! Staff
Dancing With The Stars’ sexy host Samantha Harris says it won’t be easy going from interviewing stage performers to taking on the big stage in Broadway’s Chicago as Roxie Hart next month.
“There’s going to be a lot of frequent flier miles racked up!” says Samantha, who will be balancing life as a Broadway star on top of being a wife and mother to 1-and-a-half-year-old daughter Josselyn, and serving doing double duty as a host for the Insider.
“I have dreamed of being on Broadway since I was a kid!” Samantha tells OK!. “To be honest, I didn’t necessarily know that would be an option for me just being that I stepped away from my musical theater background to focus on hosting.”
Samantha, 35, will take on the role Roxie Hart – which in the past has been played by celebrities including Brooke Shields, Ashlee Simpson and Melanie Griffith, for six weeks from July 7 through August 16 at the Ambassador Theatre in NYC.
The brunette bombshell was surprised it was her DWTS hosting gig that helped to thrust her into the Broadway spotlight.
“I’m so glad and grateful that Dancing With The Stars has given me an audience who sees me maybe in that light,” Samantha says. “Even though I’m just asking the questions and not dancing the dance!”
By Laura Lane
Ana Ortiz’s Broadway Dream Deferred
June 11th, 2009
Ana Ortiz hid her baby bump last season on her hit show Ugly Betty but there was one role she was vying for where she couldn’t disguise her curves.
“I was actually gonna audition for [Chicago] and then I got pregnant!” Ana, who’s due with a baby girl on June 27, told OK! at the Ambassador Theatre in NYC, where Grey’s Anatomy star Chandra Wilson was making her debut performance as Mama Morton in Broadway’s Chicago on June 8.
“I sort of would love to do either Velma or Roxie,” says Ana, 38, who wants to “definitely” audition after she has her baby. “It’s where I started! It’s where all of us in Betty (started). We’re all like theatee geeks.”
Ana, who starts filming season four of Ugly Betty in just a few weeks, won’t have any trouble getting back into shape post-baby.
“Because they didn’t write (my pregnancy] into the show, it was kind of important to me to try to stay as much in shape as possible,” Ana says. “It’s the first time I ever worked with a trainer because I didn’t know how far to push everything.”
With just a couple weeks to go, Ana says she’s prepared to run out the door at a moment’s notice. Well, almost.
“The bag is packed – mostly,” she says. “I need to get some toothbrushes.”
By Laura Lane
Kathie Lee Gifford Makes Sacrifices For Kids
June 8th, 2009 / Author: OK! Staff
Kathie Lee Gifford is truly a supermom.
How does she maintain the work-life balance between her Today show gig, marriage to Frank Gifford, 78, and being a mom to Cody, 19, and Cassidy, 15?
“Usually not very well at all,” the talk-show veteran, 55, laughs. “Oh, you know, I think if you always make your family your first priority, everything else will fall into place.”
She tells me, “I was asked to do Broadway years ago when my daughter was one-year-old. And I had to say ‘no’ to Mary Poppins – Julie Andrews herself. I said ‘my daughter’s one. She’ll only be one for one year, and I’ll never have this time again.’ And she answered me in the most beautiful, proper English accent. She said [theatrics] ‘Kathie, you know I had to make those same decisions when my children were little. You’ll never regret putting your children first. You’ll always regret when you don’t.’”
Hoda Kotb chimes in. “If you meet her kids, too, they’re salt-of-the-earth, really, really terrific, well-adjusted, sweet, nice kids. People ask her all the time ‘how did they turn out that way?’ And both Kathie Lee and Frank were so present in their children’s lives, and figured out priorities. It seems so basic when you stand on the outside and watch it.”
Kathie Lee laughs, “Now they don’t want us anywhere near them.”
These days, Cody and Cassidy are busy studying their craft. “My son’s in college studying film, and my daughter’s studying acting. She’s my little budding actress, and he’s my budding director/writer.”
Of course, Cody and Cassidy got some superstar advice along the way.
“The last time I was here for this American Cancer Society benefit, Rosie O’Donnell was one of my guests,” Kathie Lee says. “Rosie sat at my kids’ table, and she kept eating their French Fries and the crust off their grilled cheese sandwiches, and telling them ‘don’t smoke crack.’ That’s what I remember!”
In the elevator, she dishes that daughter Cassidy admires Audrey Hepburn.
Tonys Set Has No Love for Bret Michaels
June 8th, 2009
As any Broadway vet will tell you, one thing you always need to be aware of when you’re on stage is the set itself. One wrong step and you could be in a world of hurt. That’s a lesson Bret Michaels learned the hard way during Sunday night’s Tony Awards.
As part of the show’s opening number, the rock ‘n’ reality star had joined his band Poison to sing their bar band classic "Nothin’ But a Good Time" with the cast of Broadway hit Rock of Ages. And when the Rock of Love star went to make his exit from the stage — wham! — he came face-to-face with a piece of scenery that was being lowered down onto the stage.
Ouch!
Though it looked pretty bad at the time — early reports indicated that Bret’s nose had been broken — a spokesperson for the Tonys says the rocker’s schnoz is still intact and that the whole incident was a matter of Bret "missing his mark."
OK! Live Blogs the Tony Awards
June 7th, 2009 / Author: OK! Staff
Forget the Oscars, the Emmys, the Golden Globes, the VMAs… If you’re a Broadway fan, there’s only one awards show that matters to you — the Tonys! Scroll down to check out OKmagazine.com’s live coverage of the event…
SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT!!!
FOR THOSE OF YOU ON THE WEST COAST, DON’T READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU WANT TO FIND OUT FOR YOURSELF WHO THE BIG WINNERS ARE!
Constantine Talks About Rocking the Tonys
June 7th, 2009 / Author: OK! Staff
The Tonys will be rocking in every which way tonight. And at the rehearsal for the show, OK! caught up with American Idol’s Constantine Maroulis, who busts it out eight times a week in the Broadway hit Rock of Ages.
Maroulis plays Drew Bowie, a hopeful wine-cooler drinking rocker who dreams of making it to the big time. And he’s the first Idol contestant to snag a Tony nomination for Best Leading Actor in a Musical.
Where were you when you heard that you were nominated for a Tony?
I was in my apartment in the city and I woke up right in time as they announced my name in my category. My mom and my cousins called. And I had the obligatory agent/manager calls, the publicist and producers. Basically, the phone hasn’t stopped ringing since. It was crazy. My mother was blown away. She is still hung up on me not winning American Idol. She can’t believe her boy didn’t win. But this is what I’ve always dreamed of. I’ve been watching the Tonys since I was a little kid.
Who are you bringing to the Tonys?
My family will be with me — my beautiful mother will be my date. I’m also bringing my sister Anastasia, my brother, Athan, his wife, and some friends. I got a bunch of $900 tickets. I’m the youngest of three, but we have a massive family. It’s really awesome to bring everyone together. And all the cousins in Brooklyn and Long Island all going to be watching. It’s been quite a ride for them these last few years.
How are you preparing for the Tonys?
I’m trying to stay focused and do my show. Unlike every other award show, we do ours every night and it’s very challenging. It’s lot fun and we feed off the energy of the audience, but wailing Journey and Whitesnake eight shows a week is not an easy task. So I’m taking it day by day and not thinking of what’s at stake.
What is it like performing at the Tonys?
It’s different. We’re comfortable in our theater. We’re comfortable with the sound levels and the way the stage feels underneath us. Radio City is massive and one of the most famous venues in the whole world. There’s a whole new crew. There’s an elevator that’s bringing us in. And of course, there are about 100 cameras on us as well. I worked with this TV crew on American Idol. A lot of the camera guys, the assistant director, and the guys in the booth worked on American Idol because they’re the best in the business. So they got the best to do this show. It’s sort of like a crash course in Radio City performing. I’ve never been up on that stage. I’ve never been to the Tonys either. So I’m thrilled and honored.
