Our favorite gray-haired, funky-dancing, soulful-singing American Idol winner Taylor Hicks will join the Broadway cast of Grease on June 6, reports the AP. You'd think the former Idol, who's been missing in action since losing his deal with J Records after selling a respectable 702K albums, would go after a part like sexy Danny Zuko or troublemaker Kenickie. But, no, this Idol winner wants to be your Teen Angel, and plans to add his trademark soulful sound to his version of "Beauty School Dropout."Hicks joins a growing list of former Idols who have joined Broadway shows, including Fantasia (The Color Purple), Clay Aiken (Spamalot), Tamyra Gray (Rent) and more. Hicks considers his debut "the opportunity of a lifetime," and a great way to season his skills as a performer. And coming up this summer, Hicks will be finishing up his second album where he "had creative freedom and the time to write some of the best music that I've ever writen." And even though he's sans record deal, he add...read more
I have never seen any show transcend the boundaries of age, race, religion, weight and politics as beautifully as American Idol has in the past six years. I can discuss it with my husband's 70-year-old uncle (who thinks Sanjaya should be shot), my cabdriver (who cries when he hears Kat McPhee), my gynecologist (who thinks Paula's hysterical... in a bad way), and my 6- and 4-year-old cousins, who think the sun rises and sets with Simon Cowell. That's right, you heard me, they like Simon (not to mention all the cute boys on the show). So I asked some of my peeps what they thought were some of the best moments from American Idol, and this is what we came up with. — Erin FoxKelly Clarkson, "Stuff Like That There" | Watch on YouTubeThis was not only the moment I knew Kelly would win the first Idol title, it was the moment I knew she could literally sing anything.Fantasia Barrino, "Summertime" | Watch on YouTube I don't think there was a dry eye in America after this stunning, gooseb...read more
American Idol Season 1 finalist Tamyra Gray will join the cast of Broadway's Rent on May 29. During her run, she'll share the stage with original players Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp, who, despite middle age, return to their humble roots July 30.... Nathan Lane and Luke Duke himself, Tom Wopat, have been invited to appear in a workshop of Catch Me If You Can, a musicalization of the Steven Spielberg film. The same team that turned Hairspray into a Broadway blockbuster hope to cast Lane in the Tom Hanks role and Wopat as the juvenile con's dad. No word on who will fill Leonardo DiCaprio's disguises.... Weeds scribe Rinne Groff and others are turning Saved! into an off-Broadway musical to premiere next spring. —Reporting by Raven Snookread more
