Here's a quick roundup of stories you may have missed today.
Clint Eastwood's Jersey Boys Talk Dirty
Those naughty Jersey Boys! Oscar-winning director Clint Eastwood's big screen adaptation of the Tony-winning Jersey Boys has been awarded an R-rating! The official reason? The “language throughout,” apparently. F-bombs or not, we know that the film’s stars, Tony winner John Lloyd Young, Vincent Piazza, Michael Lomenda and Erich Bergen, will be the apples of our eyes as Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, when the film officially lands in theaters on June 20.
The Frozen Storm Rages On
The Weekly Nielsen SoundScan numbers are in and, as Frozen songwriter and EGOT-er Robert Lopez tweeted April 16, “The #Frozen album just went double platinum, as is @IdinaMenzel’s version of #LetItGo.” According to The New York Times, the movie’s soundtrack has now sold a total of 2.1 million copies in the U.S.
Paul Robeson Playwright Phillip Hayes Dean Dies
Stage actor, director and playwright Phillip Hayes Dean died, aged 83, on April 14 in Los Angeles. According to the L.A. Times, the cause of death was an aortic aneurysm. Dean wrote Paul Robeson, which first opened on Broadway in 1978, starring James Earl Jones. It was subsequently revived on the Great White Way in 1988 and 1995. His other plays include The Sty of the Blind Pig.
See Inside Aladdin's Backstage World
ABC's Nightline featured a behind-the-scenes look at Aladdin April 15. Check out the video below and see everything from major last minute tweaks to the show from director and choreographer Casey Nicholaw, to James Monroe Iglehart's reaction when he won the role of the Genie (he taped it!) and how the magic carpet flies! OK, not the last one, but the rest.