RIP Shannon Tavarez

Shannon Tavarez, an 11-year-old girl who played young ‘Nala’ in The Lion King on Broadway has died after a battle with leukemia.

She made her Broadway debut in September 2009 but was forced to quit in April after falling ill.

After her diagnosis and no bone-marrow match was available, she made PSA videos urging people to sign up as bone marrow donors.

Celebrities including Alicia Keys and Rihanna tried to spread the word in an effort to find a donor. Cast members also held donor registration drives but a match still wasn’t found.

Melissa Leo on her two films, ‘Welcome to the Rileys’ and ‘The Fighter’

When I interviewed Melissa Leo a couple months back, it was an absolute thrill. She’d always been one of my favorite actresses since she was on Homicide and with her Oscar nominated performance in Frozen River, it seems like she’s been working non-stop – which is great! She’s finally getting her due.

She’s currentlly starring in Conviction and Welcome to the Rileys and about to be seen in The Fighter.

She talked to the New York Post about Rileys and the upcoming The Fighter.

PopWrap: What drew you to this film?
Melissa Leo: One of the things I really loved about it has nothing to do with me – but as I was reading the script, I turned every page expecting, “he’s gonna f*** that little girl, he’s gonna f*** that little girl, he’s gonna f*** that little girl.” And he didn’t. It’s so beautiful. What a statement to put out into the world, I gotta be a part of that!

PW: What about Lois?
Melissa: Well, it was also selfish — I wanted to do something so still and quiet and internal. I wanted to be her. I thought it was phenomenal that this director knew I had it in me. That in a very deep way fascinated me. Jake Scott’s trust in me as an actor made it very comfortable way to walk onto the project. Everyone says, ‘oh, you were my first choice,” but come on.

PW: I found it intriguing that most of your scenes in the first half of the film are just you and mostly dialogue free.
Melissa: It’s rare in film to get non-dialogue scenes. Yet I am a person who spends a surprising amount of time all alone – enough that I’ve had time to examine it in my life. And there’s something about being our truest selves when we are alone that was fun to explore. Seeing Lois finding her own true self again was wonderful. If you were able to hold your breath for three minutes, you would really notice breath when you started breathing again. And that’s kind of what happens to her.

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Clips from the new Broadway musical, ‘The Scottsboro Boys’

Here are 2 video of clips from the new John Kander and Fred Ebb musical, The Scottsboro Boys.

Directed by 5-time Tony^® Award winner Susan Stroman (The Producers), its based on the famous  “Scottsboro” case in the 1930s, in which 9 African-American men were unjustly accused of rape in the Depression-era south.

For tickets, click here.

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‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ All-Star Benefit

What would an all-star version of The Rocky Horror Picture Show look like?

Click the video below and see!

It was held last Thursday as a benefit for the Painted Turtle, part of the late Paul Newman’s Hole in the Wall Foundation for sick children.

The actors shared all the roles but the highlights were Glee‘s Lea Michelle and Matthew Morrison as ‘Brad and Janet’, Danny DeVito and Jack Nicholson as the ‘Narrator’ and High School Musical‘s Lucas Grabeel as ‘Riff-Raff’. And that’s Nicole Scherzinger as ‘Trixie’ to singing ‘Science Fiction, Double Feature’.

Washington D.C.: Looking for Bald Guys with Tattoos

Central Casting is looking for Caucasian males with strong acting ability between 25 and 45yrs old with shaved or bald heads and visible tattoos and a muscular build. This will be for a dayplayer role in an industrial.

Please submit headshot, resume, sizes and phone number ASAP to dagmar@centralcastingusa.com.

No phone calls please.

If you do not fit the requirements above; you do not need to reply, but you may forward this to anyone you think would be interested.

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