It's Friday, and what a week it's been for the Great White Way. We've learned a lot from our Broadway favorites over the past seven days, from a Color Purple Tony winner's likeness to several deities to what Matt Damon really thought of Idina Menzel's Elphaba. We're here to catch you up on these stories and more you may have missed; study up with the Lessons of the Week!
Todrick Hall Can Read Himself
As supermodel of the world RuPaul says, only Judy can judge me. But for Todrick Hall, he’s perfectly fine judging himself. The YouTube star gave a taste of his upcoming Kinky Boots star turn as he lip-synced for his life on the Drag Race set. Among those on the judges panel was an out-of-drag Todrick Hall. Wait, what? If you can’t judge yourself, how in the hell are you gonna judge somebody else?
Chenoweth Stuck a (Giant) Fork in It
We all know Kristin Chenoweth is a pocket diva, but we didn't realize she was nearly microscopic. Here's Cheno posing next to a completely normal-sized, definitely not enlarged fork. OK, fine. It's a prop for her guest visit to The Chew. We imagine it's a fairly impractical utensil. That is, of course, unless you were making a gargantuan batch of KC's signature salad. Remember, it's all about those Italian croutons.
Dreams Come True If You Talk About Them
After years of saying he wanted to play the Phantom, Norm Lewis eventually headlined The Phantom of the Opera. Similarly, Sutton Foster is at last playing Charity Hope Valentine, a role she claims to have brought up incessantly as her dream role. See, dreamcasting works! Now let’s get that Dance Moms musical in the works for a certain fork wielder.
DeBose Knows Her Drummer, Maybe
Who needs Craigslist Missed Connections when you've got a Broadway.com vlog? A Bronx Tale's Ariana DeBose and drummer Perry Cavari tried to figure out from where they knew each other. We’ve even crosschecked their résumés for a shared credit to no avail. But we think we’ve solved it: Here’s Cavari wearing a blazer. Here’s DeBose wearing a cardigan. Clearly, they met in the If/Then universe.
Rebecca Has a Curmudgeonly Offer
HBO gave Green Day the green light with a movie adaptation of American Idiot, with frontman Billie Joe Armstrong on board to star. Rebecca Naomi Jones, who also appeared in the rock musical, wants in as well. While she’s unsure if she could reprise her performance as Whatsername, she’d be down for playing anyone, including a “curmudgeonly hipster” bouncer. Hey, we know just the costume.
Elena Kampouris Wants Billy Off the Street
Quick, for a dollar: Do you think we could get Billy Eichner to see Elena Kampouris in Les Liaisons Dangereuses? The Fresh Face revealed that she feels she's kindred spirits with the Emmy-nominated Wicked tailgater and would love to have him attend a performance. We can't make any promises, but this seems doable. He even has a history with Elenas.
Nicky Silver Has a Folder of Failures
We’ve spoken to several prolific playwrights about their inspirations, but none have been as candid as Nicky Silver (take that, Terrence McNally). The This Day Forward scribe confessed to being driven by the success of other writers and even kept a folder with other writers' bad reviews to cheer him up. Wow. We’ve definitely never done anything like that. What screenshots of typos in press releases?
Reeve Carney Was His Own Scene Partner
Reeve Carney was on the other side of the pond for Penny Dreadful when he was being considered for Rocky Horror, so instead of a screen test, he sent in a self-tape. The Penny Dreadful crew offered to pitch in, which would have been awesome if perhaps creepy. Instead, he just did it solo. Well, almost solo. Carney acted with pre-recorded versions of himself speaking the other characters’ lines. Not creepy at all.
LaChanze Can Be All Sorts of Gods
LaChanze is currently experiencing the sensation of having The Color Purple—the show she won a Tony for—back on Broadway, and soon, another signature show of hers will make a return: Once on this Island. She has a genius idea for the latter: cast her as the gods. All of them. But what happens when they all have to sing “And the Gods Heard Her Prayer”? Don’t worry: Reeve Carney has a plan.
Yes, Matt Damon Loves You, Idina Menzel
Idina Menzel revealed that when her crush Matt Damon saw her in Wicked, he didn't seem to, uh, rejoicify over the show. That couldn't be further from the truth according to Damon, who finally revealed that he loved the show and even went back a second time. We're glad it's water under the bridge, but maybe don't wait 10 years next time, Damon. You don't want to anger the Queen of Swords. She has swords.