This Massive At-Home Performance of Hairspray’s ‘You Can’t Stop The Beat’ is the Perfect Antidote for a Dreary Pandemic Afternoon: WATCH
Approximately 150 alums from the various iterations of Hairspray (Broadway, film, live TV) plus some additional familiar entertainers including Marissa Janet Winokur, Harvey Fierstein, Laura Bell Bundy, Kerry Butler, Matthew Morrison, Jackie Hoffman, Sean Hayes, Nikki Blonsky, Kristin Chenoweth, Randy Rainbow, and Derek Hough came together for an at-home performance of “You Can’t Stop The Beat” which is sure to lift your spirits on a Monday afternoon.
The performance was created to support The Actors Fund during the coronavirus pandemic. If you liked it, you can make a donation HERE.
The Actors Fund fosters stability and resiliency, and provides a safety net for performing arts and entertainment professionals over their lifespan.
‘Friends’ star has something to say to anyone who takes issue with the show today
Whether the beloved ’90s sit-com Friends was homophobic still sparks fierce debate among modern audiences and longtime fans.
Speaking to the British Times, actress Lisa Kudrow is opening up about some of the recent criticisms of the show, which originally aired from 1994 to 2004.
“To me, it should be looked at as a time capsule, not for what they did wrong,” Kudrow says.
She adds that, despite the copious amounts of gay jokes, the show had plenty of meaningful storylines that were culturally relevant and even forward-thinking for the time.
“This show thought it was very progressive. There was a guy whose wife discovered she was gay and pregnant, and they raised the child together? We had surrogacy, too. It was, at the time, progressive.”
The storyline she is referring to was about Ross’ ex-wife, Carol, coming out as a lesbian and partnering off with another woman, Susan, with whom she later raised her child. The awkward dynamic between Carol, Susan, and Ross was a frequent subplot throughout the series’ ten-year run.
“I don’t see a reality where Friends was anything but good,” Kudrow reflects, adding that she looks back at is today as a “fun comedy” about “people connecting.”
Asked how the show might be different if it were to be re-created today, Kudrow replies, “Oh, it’d be completely different. It would not be an all-white cast, for sure.”
The cast of Friends was supposed to film an unscripted reunion special later this month for the launch of HBO Max, but coronavirus halted production. It’s unclear when the reunion will take place now.
Steve Linick, Ronan Farrow, President Xi, Bill Pullman, Jeffree Star, Apple Pride, Sarah Paulson, Andre Leon Talley, Ryan Phillippe: HOT LINKS
“GROSSLY INCOMPETENT” Asked about Obama’s remarks criticizing his administration’s response to the coronavirus, Trump responds, “Look, he was an incompetent president. That’s all I can say. Grossly incompetent.”
President Trump: “[President Obama] was an incompetent president. That’s all I can say. Grossly incompetent.” pic.twitter.com/Cw6CwgxUrT
STEVE LINICK. Trump fires State Department’s inspector general, who “was looking into [Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s] misuse of a political appointee at the Department to perform personal tasks for himself and Mrs. Pompeo.”
TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE? NYT runs hit piece on Ronan Farrow.
there is some stuff to chew on in here but this nitpicking would be far better directed at the NYT’s own routinely-dogshit political coverage t.co/OBywjfkYRF
CHINA. Xi announces $2 billion for coronavirus response at WHO meeting: “Xi also called for a ‘global review’ of the international response, but said it should be led by the WHO itself and launched only after the virus ‘is brought under control.’ Xi’s statement via video link came as more than 100 health ministers from around the world prepared to call for an independent evaluation of the WHO’s handling of the outbreak.”
OLDER VOTERS. Abandoning Trump? “The most startling shift, though, is among voters age 65 and older. Four years ago, Trump bested Hillary Clinton by 13 points, 55 percent to 42 percent, according to the Cooperative Congressional Election Study, a survey of more than 60,000 voters organized by Harvard University and administered by YouGov. But now Biden narrowly leads Trump 48 percent to 47 percent, based on an average of 48 national polls that included that age group.1 If those figures hold until November, they would represent a seismic shift in the voting behavior of America’s oldest voters.”
GHOSTING. Peter Thiel said to have abandoned Trump over COVID-19 response. “Though Thiel declared a year and a half ago that he supports Trump’s re-election, he so far hasn’t donated large sums to any of the major Trump campaign committees, and it is unclear to various Trump lieutenants if those contributions are forthcoming. Top officials in the president’s political orbit say that Thiel has been absent from 2020 discussions, with one proclaiming the famous investor had “ghosted” Team Trump lately.”
COVID-19 PROTECTION ROUTINE OF THE DAY. Naomi Campbell. “I think we must take every precaution that makes us protected and comfortable. I’m definitely going to be keeping traveling to a minimum.”
POLL WATCHERS. Republicans step up efforts to patrol voting: “The Republican program, which has gained steam in recent weeks, envisions recruiting up to 50,000 volunteers in 15 key states to monitor polling places and challenge ballots and voters deemed suspicious. That is part of a $20 million plan that also allots millions to challenge lawsuits by Democrats and voting-rights advocates seeking to loosen state restrictions on balloting. The party and its allies also intend to use advertising, the internet and President Trump’s command of the airwaves to cast Democrats as agents of election theft.”
