Paramount+ acquired the Cyndi Lauper documentary Let the Canary Sing and has set the premiere date for June 4 in the United States and Canada, Deadline noted. Let the Canary Sing “chronicles Lauper’s meteoric ascent to stardom and her profound impact on generations through her music, ever-evolving punk style, unwavering feminism and tireless advocacy,” a release stated. Also, a companion album of the same name will be released by Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment; songs include many of her songs from her days in Blue Angel to her breakout single “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” to “True Colors” and “I Drove All Night,” among others.
The queer theatrical production Lempicka—the new musical about the Art Deco artist Tamara de Lempicka—will end its Broadway run just a month after the production opened on the stage of the Longacre Theater, Artnet noted. “We are so proud of our production and the countless artists and artisans who’ve shaped it,” the musical’s producers said in an Instagram post. “Few knew better than Tamara de Lempicka that art isn’t easy but always worth the effort.” The show, which recently scored three Tony nods, will end May 19.
Trans social-media figure Dylan Mulvaney will debut a new solo musical at Scotland’s Edinburgh Fringe this summer, marking her first solo musical production as well as her Fringe debut, Playbill noted. The production will run at Assembly George Square Studios from July 31 to Aug. 25. Titled FAGHAG, the show will look at Mulvaney’s life behind the scenes of her TikTok series Days of Girlhood, which documented her gender transition. Mulvaney said, “I am over the moon excited to return back to my theatre roots! FAGHAG is a campy, queer love letter to my younger self, and my way of taking my story off of social media and onto the stage. I have a deep respect for the solo performance art form, and I can’t think of a more iconic place to premiere it than Edinburgh Fringe.”
Tom of Finland Foundation announced that the entry window for the 2024 Tom of Finland Emerging Artist Competition, sponsored by DIESEL, will close May 31, per a release. Now in its 12th iteration, the Tom of Finland Emerging Artist Competition is a biennial, juried art prize. This year’s jury is composed of performance artist Cassils, fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier, book editor Dian Hanson, photographer/director Nick Knight, 2022 Tom of Finland Grand Prize-winning painter Łukasz Leja, DJ/curator Princess Julia, writer/musician Brontez Purnell and filmmaker Gus Van Sant. Prizes for competition winners include Tom of Finland limited-edition fine art prints, catalogues of Tom of Finland artwork provided by David Kordansky Gallery, gifts provided by Peachy Kings and $5,000 for the grand prize winner. For more info, visit https://www.tomoffinland.org/tom-of-finland-emerging-artist-competition/.
Nick Jonas and Paul Rudd will star in the latest musical movie from Jon Carney, the director behind Once and Sing Street, according to Playbill, citing The Hollywood Reporter. The news came on the heels of online speculation following the cancellation of the European leg of the Jonas Brothers’ latest tour. The movie, now filming in Dublin, is likely the “exciting project” fans were told took precedence over the summer tour dates. The film, titled Power Ballad, will follow a wedding singer (Rudd) and a pop star (Jonas) who are thrown together to try and save their careers, with comedic results.
The HBO Original concert special Gaga Chromatica Ball will debut Saturday, May 25, at 7 p.m. CT on HBO and will be available to stream on Max, per a press release. In front of a sold-out crowd of 52,000 people, 13-time Grammy and Oscar winner Lady Gaga performed at Los Angeles’s Dodger Stadium during her 2022 Chromatica Ball Tour. Released exclusively on HBO and streaming on Max, Gaga Chromatica Ball delivers live performances of some of Gaga’s biggest hits, including “Stupid Love,” “Bad Romance,” “Just Dance,” “Poker Face,” “Shallow,” “Rain On Me” and more.
A festival in Las Vegas featuring a lineup that included Alicia Keys, Mary J. Blige, Janet Jackson and Gwen Stefani was canceled on the eve of its opening due to high winds, CNN noted. According to the “Lovers & Friends” festival’s official website, “the National Weather Service has now issued a High Wind Warning, including dangerous 30-35 mph sustained winds with gusts potentially more than 60 mph. Following advice from the National Weather Service and in consultation with local public officials, we must make the safest decision for our fans, artists, and staff, and cancel tomorrow’s Lovers & Friends Festival.” Other acts slated to perform included Usher, Snoop Dogg, Ludacris, Nelly Furtado, TLC and M.I.A.
Olivia Colman and John Lithgow head the cast of Jimpa—a multi-generational family tale involving a nonbinary teenager and her mother who take a trip to see their gay grandfather, per Variety. The Australia- and Europe-set film is directed by Sophie Hyde (Good Luck to You, Leo Grande). The film is currently being shot in Amsterdam and will later shoot in Adelaide, Australia and Helsinki, Finland. Lithgow also played a gay role when he co-starred with Alfred Molina as a same-sex couple in the 2014 film Love Is Strange, other outlets have noted.
Out basketball legend Candace Parker has a new job as president of women’s basketball at Adidas, per WGN-TV. The three-time WNBA champion (with one of those titles with the Chicago Sky) announced her retirement as a player on April 28 after 16 seasons. Adidas announced Parker, a Naperville native, will help create a platform “aimed at influencing and elevating the future of women’s sports.” She will also oversee the brand’s women’s basketball products.
Ava Max, Keke Palmer, Billy Porter, Expose and Sapphira Cristál are scheduled to headline the 2024 Capital Pride Concert on June 9, Metro Weekly noted. Additionally, Porter and Palmer will be grand marshals of the Capital Pride Parade on June 8. The theme of this year’s Pride, produced by the Capital Pride Alliance and presented by Amazon, is “Totally Radical.” For more info and updates, visit www.capitalpride.org.
The Bear, Bluey, Reservation Dogs, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, The Last of Us and Jury Duty were among the series set to receive this year’s Peabody Awards, Variety noted. HBO/Max led the wins with seven total, followed by PBS with five, and then three for Amazon MGM Studios and two each for FX and The Washington Post. Peabody also announced that Oscar- and Emmy-nominated comedian/actor/writer Kumail Nanjiani will host this year’s 84th annual Peabody Awards at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on Sunday, June 9—the first in-person event since 2019.
Tommy Dorfman (13 Reasons Why) surprised fans by confirming on Instagram that she and her longtime girlfriend, Elise, were married “[toward] the end of last year,” HuffPost noted. Dorfman’s post coincided with the publication of a Vogue essay in which she spoke about her relationship with Elise, whom she met on the dating app Hinge. Dorfman publicly reintroduced herself as a transgender woman in a 2021 essay published by Time magazine. The following year, she split from husband Peter Zurkuhlen, to whom she’d been married since 2016.
Actor Dylan O’Brien (the Maze Runner movies; Ponyboi; TV’s Teen Wolf) recently opened up to Vulture about having a trans non-binary sibling as well as the importance of having LGBTQ+ people in his life, according to Instinct. “I have a trans, non-binary sibling and I know people in my personal life as well who are queer and I am so grateful for how much it deepens my experience in this world,” O’Brien said. Dylan seems to have a close relationship with his sibling Julz O’Brien, who has referred to their actor sibling on social media as their “very first best friend.”
The Idea of You star Nicholas Galitzine rose to fame playing queer characters in the film Red, White & Royal Blue and the miniseries Mary & George, but he identifies as straight, per E! News, citing a British GQ article. “I identify as a straight man,” Nicholas told the publication, “but I have been a part of some incredible queer stories.” The Bottoms actor went on to admit that his sexuality has, at times, made him second-guess taking on such roles.In March, he told Huffington Post UK that one of the “plethora of reasons” he agreed to Red, White & Royal Blue was his strong belief that more LGBTQ+ love stories need to be told.
David Byrne of Talking Heads will present Pussy Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova with the Dynamic Achievements in the Arts Award at the American Folk Art Museum benefit on May 16 in New York, a press release noted. The event will include an exclusive performance and conversation. The evening will feature a performance from Tolokonnikova as well as an in-depth conversation with Brooklyn Museum’s Carmen Hermo. Byrne joined the benefit for the Museum last year; that event included the artist/musician Lonnie Holley as well as Sun Ra Arkestra and Suzanne Vega.
Singer Billie Eilish announced two album listening parties in support of her third studio album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, which will be out May 17, per a press release. The free events (presented by American Express and produced by Live Nation) will take place Wed., May 15 in Brooklyn, NYC at Barclays Center, in association with YouTube Music; and Thursday, May 16, in Los Angeles at the Kia Forum, in association with Snapchat.
Legendary actors Faye Dunaway (Bonnie & Clyde) and Harvey Keitel (Bugsy) will co-star alongside Andrew McCarthy (The Blacklist) in Fate—a suspenseful, supernatural romance that will launch international sales via Highland Film Group at Cannes, Deadline noted. Set to enter production in Vancouver this month, the film’s plot is being kept secret; however, its key location, the fictional Vista hotel, is said to draw inspiration from the iconic Los Angeles movie theater of the same name that filmmaker Quentin Tarantino refurbished in 2022.
Madonna ended her “Celebration” tour at Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach, where she performed for approximately 1.6 million fans, NPR noted. It was the last performance during her globe-trotting retrospective tour as well as her only “Celebration” date in South America—and it was the biggest live crowd of her career. Copacabana Beach has a history when it comes to huge pop spectacles: In 2006, The Rolling Stones played for an estimated 1.5 million fans there, while a 1994 New Year’s Eve show with Rod Stewart reportedly attracted about 4.2 million attendees.
Out actor Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory) has four Emmys and a Golden Globe—but he recently received his first Tony nod for acting in Paula Vogel’s work Mother Play, according to Playbill. Mother Play is based on Vogel’s own life, as she (embodied in the character Martha) and her brother Carl moved from apartment to apartment with their mother, Phyllis—a single mother filled with resentment. In the play, the kids struggle with finding their own voice and coming out as queer—knowing that their mother might not accept them. Co-stars Celia Keenan-Bolger (Martha) and Jessica Lange (Phyllis) also received Tony nominations.
Rob Kearney recently retired from strongman competition, closing his career with a personal best, Queerty noted. The LGBTQ+ Massachusetts native—sporting a rainbow beard—recorded the fastest time in the car walk contest at the 2024 World’s Strongest Man event in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. “Well that’s it: the end of my career. It’s still really weird to say, but really fortunate I went out on the best event of my life,” he said after the event. “I went out with an overall win in my group, the fastest time of the competition on the car walk. I had an amazing reaction to the crowd, lots of tears, lots of emotion.” Kearney also gave a shout-out to his husband, Joey.
Legendary gay movie director/actor John Waters was released from the hospital following a car crash in Baltimore County, CBS Baltimore noted, citing The Baltimore Banner. Waters said that while he was hurt in the crash, he did not suffer any major injuries. “Since it hurts when I laugh, I will have no witty answer about being in a car accident that no one has said was my fault,” Waters said in a statement. “Hope you understand. I’m released from the hospital and all is ok.”
Game of Thrones actor Ian Gelder has died at age 74, per NDTV. The news of Gelder’s death was confirmed by his actor husband, Ben Daniels, who shared the announcement on social media. In a post on Instagram, Daniels expressed his grief, stating, “It is with huge huge sadness and a heavy heart broken into a million pieces that I’m leaving this post to announce the passing of my darling husband and life partner Ian Gelder.” Daniels revealed that Gelder had been battling bile-duct cancer since December, and his passing came swiftly. The two had been together since 1993.
Netflix revealed the main cast and guest stars for the upcoming second season of hit supernatural mystery Wednesday, headlined by Jenna Ortega, Deadline noted. Joining the show as new series regulars are Billie Piper (Scoop), Steve Buscemi, Evie Templeton (Return to Silent Hill), Owen Painter (Tiny Beautiful Things) and Noah Taylor (Law & Order: Organized Crime). Additionally, four season-one recurring/guest star players are being promoted to series regulars: Catherine Zeta-Jones (Wednesday’s mom, Morticia Addams); Luis Guzmán (Wednesday’s dad, Gomez Addams); Isaac Ordonez (Wednesday’s younger brother, Pugsley Addams); and Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo (Sheriff Deputy Ritchie Santiago).
Warner Bros. Discovery U.K. & Ireland commissioned the latest installment of its popular “Vs.” series with Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun: Bad Blood, per a press release. It will premiere on discovery+ in the U.K. and on Max globally in June, adding to the format that includes Johnny vs. Amber, Kim vs. Kanye: The Divorce, and Vardy vs. Rooney: The Wagatha Trial.” The docuseries will see legal experts, journalists and those close to both Swift and Braun presenting each side of the argument.
On David Duchovny’s Fail Better podcast, Bette Midler recently recalled her stint as a sitcom star (on the 2000 show Bette) and called that experience a “mistake,” per Deadline. She also regretted not suing Lindsay Lohan after she dropped out of the show following the pilot. She added, “I had made theatrical live events. I had made films. I had made variety television shows. I had been on talk shows. But I had never done a situation comedy. I didn’t realize what the pace was. And I didn’t understand what the hierarchy was—and no one bothered to tell me.”
Pageant organizers backed a decision by Miss USA Noelia Voigt to step down to focus on her mental health, Deadline noted. In a joint statement, organizers of the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants said, “We respect and support former Miss USA Noelia Voigt’s decision to step down from her duties. The well-being of our titleholders is a top priority, and we understand her need to prioritize herself at this time.” Voigt, 24, was crowned Miss USA on Sept. 29, 2023; the Venezuelan-American competitor represented Utah, with her primary causes being violence awareness and prevention, mental health, anti-bullying and immigration issues.
The Simple Life alums Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie are reuniting, per Page Six. Sources told TMZ that the new project will differ from their early 2000s show. The unnamed series reportedly has been in the works for months, with the two celebrities going back and forth with different ideas until finally landing on one proposal. Although it is unclear which network snagged the new series, James Corden’s production company, Fulwell 73, reportedly won the rights to shoot it.
Kevin Spacey criticized a documentary about him, per Variety. The two-part Spacey Unmasked was slated to air in the UK on May 6-7; Max has acquired it for the United States. The project is described as featuring “never-seen-before interviews and archive” to examine the actor’s life “from childhood to early success on Broadway and subsequent meteoric rise to stardom.” A description also states, “In 2023, Spacey was acquitted of sexual offenses against four men in a U.K. trial. This two-part series will investigate Spacey’s conduct and talks to multiple men unconnected to that case about their experiences with Kevin Spacey, almost all of whom have never spoken before.”
Oscar nominee Hugh Jackman (Les Misérables; X-Men) and Emmy winner Jodie Comer (Killing Eve) are attached to star in new movie The Death Of Robin Hood, Deadline noted. The film is a darker reimagining of the classic Robin Hood tale. The film will see the title character grappling with his past after a life of crime and murder. It’s due to start production in February 2025.
Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy have joined the cast of magical family adventure feature The Magic Faraway Tree, based on the children’s classic, Variety noted. The film follows Polly (Foy) and Tim (Garfield) as well as their children Beth, Joe and Fran—a modern family who has to relocate to the remote English countryside. Soon after the family’s arrival, the children discover a magical tree and its residents, including treasured characters Moonface, Silky, Dame Washalot and Saucepan Man.
The Indianapolis Star barred sports columnist Gregg Doyel from covering WNBA player Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever this summer following his exchange with the WNBA rookie in her introductory news conference, Yahoo! noted, citing the Indianapolis Star. Doyel, according to sources, was also suspended without pay for two weeks. Doyel apologized for the awkward exchange, which involved him flashing a heart sign with his hands at Clark.