Ramin Karimloo is a musical theater rockstar. Though he made his Broadway debut in 2014 as Jean Valjean in the popular Les Misérables reboot, Karimloo has long been known to theater fans for his roles across the pond. He first appeared in West End and concert productions of Les Misérables and The Phantom of the Opera. Indeed, his performance as the Phantom was kind of a big deal: he acquired a devoted fan base and achieved the distinction of being the first Iranian to take up the mask in a West End or Broadway production.
The second year of the outdoor musical festival Elsie Fest is in full swing. Co-creator and producer Darren Criss (Glee, Hedwig) visited The Elvis Duran Show this morning and spilled the much-anticipated details including new venue information and the lineup. The musical festival, which debuted in 2015, has been hailed as the “Broadway Coachella” by fans and Criss due to its casual atmosphere. Last year’s guests included favorites such as Hamilton‘s Leslie Odom Jr. and Grease: Live‘s Aaron Tveit. Elsie Fest 2016 will take place on September 5 (Labor Day)
Fellow musical theater nerds, rejoice: our queen, Laura Benanti, will be debuting a new show in San Francisco next week, “Tales from Soprano Isle.” Taking its name from Benanti’s joke that sopranos will soon be exiled to an island to make room for belters on Broadway, her new one-woman show promises to be as delightful, refreshing, and delicious as a pint of vanilla ice cream. We recently spoke with Laura about her show, the power and perils of social media, and why The Sound of Music should be required viewing for all Americans. PC:
“If there’s somethin’ strange in your neighborhood Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!” The reboot of the 1984 classic Ghostbusters is, overall, a fun, laugh-filled film that is sure to delight audiences of all ages. New York City is threatened by an influx of millions of ghosts, released by a bullied, crazed genius. Abby Yates (Melissa McCarthy), Erin Gilbert (Kristen Wiig), Jillian Holtzmann (Kate McKinnon), and Patty Tolan (Leslie Jones) join together to form Ghostbusters in order to learn about and fight the paranormal. Months and months before the film–or trailer–was