The Wiz, The Wiz Live! Queen Latifah, Mary J. Blige, Shanice Williams, NBC The Wiz Live! David Alan Grier, Elijah Kelley, Ne-Yo, Stephanie Mills, Uzo Aduba, Amber Riley. Common.
Rising star Shanice Williams, an 18-year-old New Jersey native is set to star as the character Dorothy in the NBC Network's holiday production of “The Wiz Live!"Thursday, December 3, 2015.
The new production will also co-star Queen Latifah (Oz), Mary J. Blige (Evillene) David Alan Grier (Cowardly Lion), Elijah Kelley (Scarecrow), Ne-Yo (Tin-Man) and Stephanie Mills (Auntie Em), Uzo Aduba (Glinda), Amber Riley (Addapearle) and Common (The Bouncer).
Selected out of hundreds of applicants to portray the iconic role of a Kansas farm girl, Shanice Williams is no veteran stage or film actress, yet a humble rising star in this latest production of the classic OZ story.
Shanice Williams is a humble rising star in this latest production
Entering into a unique partnership with NBC and “The Wiz Live!"— is Cirque du Soleil, whose new stage theatrical division will co-produce the live TV event and then present it as a major Broadway revival for the 2016-17 season.
THE NIGHT BEFORE, Seth Rogen, Joseph Gorden-Levitt and Anthony Mackie
(l.to r.) Joseph Gorden-Levitt, Seth Rogen and Anthony Mackie team-up for a hilarious new adult comedy for the holiday season in THE NIGHT BEFORE. Image Courtesy: SONY/Columbia Pictures
In THE NIGHT BEFORE,Seth Rogen(This Is the End, Pineapple Express, Superbad),Joseph Gorden-Levitt(The Dark Knight Rises, Inception) and Anthony Mackie (Captain America - The Winter Soldier, The Hurt Locker) portray three life-long friends who have annually gotten together, over the last decade, for a Christmas Eve reunion of debauchery, laughs and fun.
For THE NIGHT BEFORE, Rogen called upon most of his usual writers and creative team including: Director, Jonathan Levine(Warm Bodies, 50/50) and the writing team of Rogen himself along with Kyle Hunter (This Is the End), Ariel Shaffir (This Is the End, 50/50), and Evan Goldberg(This Is the End, Superbad). Early trailer releases of the film are not only exciting, but make the film look like a movie adult audiences will totally enjoy. (You'll want to leave the kids with sitters for this one.)
(l.to r.) Joseph Gorden-Levitt, Anthony Mackie and Seth Rogen "gettin'-down" in THE NIGHT BEFORE. Image Courtesy: SONY/Columbia Pictures
(Read my full feature article about this movie on www.ComedyE.com. Plus - see the "Official Movie Trailer"!)
New York Comedy Festival 2015, Ny Comedy Festival 2015, Kathy Griffin, Margaret Cho, Gilbert Gottfried, Seth Meyers, Jon Stewart, John Oliver, Ray Romano, Chris Botti, Bruce Springsteen, Hannibal Buress,
The New York Comedy Festivalreturns to NYC from Tuesday, November 10through Sunday, Nov. 15, 2015. The annual festival created in 2004, is a five-day event featuring more than 200 comedians performing in more than 60 shows and venues throughout the city.
Kathy Griffin set to perform her show "Like A Boss" at Carnegie Hall, on Thursday, Nov. 11, 2015 at 8:00pmas part of The New York Comedy Festival
Seth Meyers, Jon Stewart, John Oliver, Ray Romano, Chris Botti, Bruce Springsteen are all set to appear as this year's festivalkicks-off its opening night with"Stand Up For Heros: A Benefit For the Bob Woodruff Foundation". The show will be held on Tuesday, November 10, 2015 at 8:00pm at The Theater at Madison Square Garden.
Many other local comedy club venues will have big events during the week as well. On Monday, November 9, 2015, Carolines On Broadway, in Time Square, will play host to an all star line-up of top female comedians in"HERsterical". A portion of the proceeds from this show will be donated to Gilda's Club in honor of the late great comedian, Gilda Radner.
Hannibal Buress - Coming Soon to the New York Comedy Festival
Other top named comedy stars including Kathy Griffin, Margaret Cho, Gilbert Gottfried, Gabriel Iglesias will be performing in NYC during the week-long festival. By inclusing venues scattered throughout the five boros, event producers (Caroline's On Broadway and Comedy Central) have made it easy for the general public to attend. Tickets and festival passes can be purchased on-line or by contacting the venues directly. Events are geared towards mature adult audiences of 18 years or older unless accompanied by a parent or guardian. You can visit: The New York Comedy Festival for schedules and details.
The NBC comedy sit-com UNDATEABLE strikes a new chord with audiences as the show continues to go "live" this season.
The series, which originally premiered in July of 2014 and is now in its third season, centers around mismatched roommates Danny Burton (Chris D’Elia) and Justin Kearney (Brent Morin) and their group of oddball friends who all live in Detroit and mostly spend their time hanging out at Justin’s unsuccessful bar.
Friends include Danny’s sister, Leslie (Bianca Kajlich), Shelly (Ron Funches), Burski (Rick Glassman), Brett (David Fynn) and new waitress Candace (Bridgit Mendler), who quickly becomes like a little sister to the gang. Spending most of their time at Justin’s bar attempting to solve each other's problems over beers, they mostly give each other a hard time, while knowing deep down they've always got each other's back.
Danny himself is a 30-ish carefree single guy who has watched most of his friends move on to serious relationships. When his last remaining friend Shannon moves out to get married, Danny searches for a new roommate. The promising candidate is Justin, the owner of Black Eyes Bar in Detroit (frequently mispronounced "Black Guys Bar").
UNDATEABLE cast (l.to r.) Rick Glassman,
Ron Funches, David Fynn, Bianca Kajlich
and Bridgit Mendler.
Justin and his friends - the nerdy Burski, oddball Shelly, and recently out-of-the-closet gay guy Brett - all have certain qualities that make them appear "undateable".
While Danny himself has good luck getting women into bed, he is unable or unwilling to form a lasting commitment with any of them. Danny's attractive sister, Leslie, has similar fears about being undateable, having her own so called "baggage" of being a mid-30s divorcee.
UNDATEABLE is currently airing live on Friday nights on NBC, 8:00pm - 8:30pm (EST). NBC recently announced they have changed the game plan for the returning comedy series. After going "live" on both coasts in the third-season premiere (Oct 9, 2015) the multi-camera comedy was slated to switch to the Saturday Night Live model for the rest of the season. They would do a "live" show for the East Coast first. This show would be taped and later broadcast to the rest of the USA at a later time. That particular format was done only once. Starting with Episode 3 on Oct 16, 2015, the show switched to mounting two live performances on the night the show airs. NBC executives say this format should remain for the rest of the season.
