Todd Haimes, who led a theater company to Broadway, dies
Todd Haimes, who led the Roundabout Theatre Company from an off-off-Broadway company teetering on the edge of bankruptcy into a major theatrical force with works on five stages — including three Broadway theaters — and dozens of Tony Awards, has died.
Martin, McDonald, Porter join stars in telethon for Ukraine
A roster of film, TV and theater all-stars — including Steve Martin, Annette Bening, Billy Porter, Audra McDonald, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Chenoweth, David Hyde Pierce and Rosie Perez — have signed up for a 10-hour telethon to raise money for the victims of the war in Ukraine.
Tony-nominated Broadway star Rebecca Luker dies at 59
FILE - Rebecca Luker, left, and her husband Danny Burstein arrive at the 73rd annual Tony Awards in New York on June 9, 2019. Luker, 59, a three-time Tony nominated actor who starred in some of the biggest Broadway hits of the past three decades, died Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020, said Sarah Fargo, her agent. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)LOS ANGELES – Soprano Rebecca Luker, a three-time Tony nominated actor who starred in some of the biggest Broadway hits of the past three decades, died Wednesday. She was 59Her death was announced by her husband, veteran Broadway actor Danny Burstein, who said in a statement “our family is devastated. Luker made her Broadway debut in 1988 in “The Phantom of the Opera” first as an understudy to Sarah Brightman and then playing Christine opposite the legendary Michael Crawford.
Despite bleak 2020, celebrities make effort to brighten year
(AP Photo)LOS ANGELES – Yes, 2020 may seem like a complete fail with all the constant bad news and tragic moments. It’s been filled with gloom and doom(scrolling), but some celebrities and those inspired by them have tried to brighten a bleak year. He reassigned his 10 seamstresses in New York to produce thousands daily for health care workers on the frontlines. The singer and husband Emilio Estefan's restaurant Estefan Kitchen served up homemade meals for health care workers in Miami. The challenge coordinated offers by celebrities and athletes to raise funds to feed those in need during the pandemic.
Zemeckis’ ‘The Witches’ heads to HBO Max for Halloween
The Robert Zemeckis adaptation of “Roald Dahl’s The Witches” has found a new home on HBO Max this month just in time for Halloween. Warner Bros. said Friday that “The Witches” will debut on the subscription streaming service, owned by parent company WarnerMedia, on Oct. 22. Dahl’s 1983 novel about an orphaned boy who discovers a coven of witches that hate children was previously adapted for the big screen in 1990 by director Nicolas Roeg. It starred Angelica Huston, Mai Zetterling and Rowan Atkinson and was a box office flop, despite its critical acclaim. This new version has actor Jahzir Bruno playing the boy who must try to stop the witches from turning the world's children into mice.