Broadway
Grammy News: Into the Woods, Viola Davis, Beyonce, Adele, Encanto and Lin-Manuel Miranda
Into the Woods 2022 Broadway Cast won Best Musical Theater Album.
Viola Davis reached EGOT status after winning a Grammy for the audiobook performance of her memoir Finding Me. The 57-year-old actress made history as the third Black woman to achieve the honor, following Whoopi Goldberg and Jennifer Hudson. Davis has won an Oscar, two Tonys and an Emmy. She won the won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2017 for her role as Rose Maxson in 2016’s Fences. She won Tony awards for King Hedley II, and the Broadway production of Fences.
Beyonce, missed her milestone moment where she took home her 32nd gold gramophone trophy. She thanked her husband, children, and her late gay uncle. Queen B broke the all time record for most wins ever at the Grammy Awards ever. She won the Grammys for Best R&B Song, Best Traditional R&B Performance for Plastic Off The Sofa and Best Dance/Electronic Recording for Break My Soul before the awards show aired live coast-to-coast.
Adele won the award for best pop solo performance for her song “Easy on Me.”
Encanto won three Grammy Awards, including Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media, Germaine Franco for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media, and Lin-Manuel Miranda and the songwriting team for Best Song Written for Visual Media, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”! Miranda, who did not attend the ceremony, beat Beyonce (“Be Alive”), Taylor Swift (“Carolina”), Lady Gaga (“Hold My Hand,” a current Oscar nominee), Billie Eilish (“Nobody Like U”) and Jessy Wilson (“Keep Rising”).
One of the best parts of the night was The 50th-anniversary tribute with electric performance featuring a star-studded lineup, including: Ice-T, Public Enemy, Nelly, Queen Latifah, RUN-D.M.C., Missy Elliott and younger stars Lil Baby and GloRilla. The tribute was co-curated by six-time Grammy Winner Questlove, and the Roots performed as the supporting band. At a later date, there will be a longer tribute.
The Grammys memorial tribute included Loretta Lynn and Christine McVie. Kacey Musgraves performed a tribute of “Coal Miner’s Daughter.” Lynn died at age 90 in October.
Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt and McVie’s Fleetwood Mac bandmate Mick Fleetwood honored her with a touching performance of “Songbird.” McVie died at age 79 in November.
Kim Petras made Grammy history as the first transgender woman to win a Grammy in the best pop duo/group performance category. She won alongside Sam Smith. “I want to thank all the incredible transgender legends before me who’ve kicked these doors open for me so I could be here tonight.” Petras paid homage to her late friend and music producer Sophie, who she says always believed in her. She also thanked Madonna for fighting for LGBTQ rights.
And Harry Styles wins Best Pop Vocal Album of the year.
Here is the amazing cast of Spamalot. Christopher Fitzgerald as Patsy, James Monroe Iglehart as King Arthur, Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer as The Lady of the Lake, Ethan Slater as The Historian/Prince Herbert, Jimmy Smagula as Sir Bedevere, Michael Urie as Sir Robin, Nik Walker as Sir Galahad andTaran Killam as Lancelot.
I was so inspired I drew the whole cast.
To read T2C’s review click here.
Art
Ahead of the Broadway Opening of Lempicka The Longacre Theatre Is Showcasing Art Work By Tamara de Lempicka
The Longacre Theatre (220 W 48th St.), soon-to-be home of the sweeping new musical, Lempicka, is showcasing a curated selection of renowned artist Tamara de Lempicka’s most famous works. Eschewing traditional theatrical front-of-house advertising, the Longacre’s façade now boasts prints, creating a museum-quality exhibition right in the heart of Times Square. The musical opens on Broadway on April 14, 2024 at the same venue.
The Longacre’s outdoor exhibition includes works of Self Portrait (Tamara in a Green Bugatti) (1929), Young Girl in Green (1927), Nu Adossé I (1925), The Red Tunic (1927), The Blue Scarf (1930), The Green Turban (1930), Portrait of Marjorie Ferry (1932), Portrait of Ira P. (1930), Portrait of Romana de la Salle (1928), and Adam and Eve (1932).
Starring Eden Espinosa and directed by Tony Award winner Rachel Chavkin, Lempicka features book, lyrics, and original concept by Carson Kreitzer, book and music by Matt Gould, and choreography by Raja Feather Kelly.
Spanning decades of political and personal turmoil and told through a thrilling, pop-infused score, Lempicka boldly explores the contradictions of a world in crisis, a woman ahead of her era, and an artist whose time has finally come.
Young Girl in Green painted by Tamara de Lempicka (1927). Oil on plywood.