Backstage With “Billy Elliot’s” Ballet Girls

Billy Elliot is a boy with a dream–of dance.  It’s a dream that’s shared by pretty much everyone in the cast of Billy Elliot the Musical.

Billy Elliot the Musical is based on the 2000 British drama film written by Lee Hall and directed by Stephen Daldry. It’s set during the 1984-85 coal miners’ strike, and tells the story of a young boy named Billy who inspires an entire community by pursuing his passion against all odds.

The show features music by Elton John, book and lyrics by Lee Hall, choreography by Peter Darling and is directed by Stephen Daldry.

Billy Elliot the Musical was the winner of ten 2009 Tony Awards including Best Musical and has entertained audiences all over the world on tour.

The Billy Elliot the Musical tour recently stopped in San Diego, and I got a chance to chat with one of the adorable”Ballet Girls,” 12-year-oldSamantha Cutler, who has been with the show for 2 1/2 years.

Click on the video below to find out how she keeps up with her schoolwork on the road and what she enjoys most about being on tour!

Final Weekend to See “Federal Jazz Project” in San Diego

This is your final weekend to see the world premiere of Federal Jazz Project at the San Diego REP.

The show was created by Richard Montoya (co-founder and lead writer for the Culture Clash) and features an original jazz score by trumpet virtuoso Gilbert Castellanos.

Set in Downtown San Diego, South of Broadway, from 1929 to the present, Federal Jazz Project also features two talented “sisters”–San Diego and Tijuana.  San Diego (Lorraine Castellanos) is an incredibly talented singer and classical guitarist, and Tijuana (Claudia Gomez) is a hoofer (a really great one, I might add).

The music is incredible and each night, two new local musicians are brought in to show their stuff in the second act.

Federal Jazz Project is playing through this Sunday, May 5 at The Lyceum Stage at Horton Plaza.  For show times and ticket information, visit www.sdrep.org.

Watch an Amazing Cirque du Soleil Performance for Just $5 (and help out a great cause)!

Between now and March 31st, you can watch an incredible show featuring more than 230 Cirque du Soleil artists and guest performers, and help out a great cause at the same time!

For a donation of $5 or more to ONE DROP,  the non-profit organization established by Cirque du Soleil Founder Guy Laliberté, which strives to ensure that water is accessible to all, today and forever, you can view the full performance of One Night for ONE DROP. 

The performance was filmed with 12-cameras on World Water Day, March 22nd, at the “O” Theatre at Bellagio in Las Vegas.

Special guest performers included “America’s Got Talent” stars, singer Jackie Evancho and performance painter David Garibaldi, who created a painting live on stage; Victoria’s Secret model Oluchi Orlandi’s unveiled a specially-designed Roberto Cavalli gown; Sonya Tayeh from “So You Think You Can Dance” choreographed a powerful dance piece and award-winning composer Danny Elfman created an original composition.

Here’s a preview:

An Inside Look at the Art of Motion Picture Costume Design Exhibition

Dress from “Snow White and the Huntsman”

Five films were nominated this year for the Oscar for Best Costume Design ~ Anna Karenina (winner), Les Misérables, Lincoln, Mirror Mirror and Snow White and the Huntsman ~ and costumes from each of those films are among the dozens now on display at a FREE exhibit at the FIDM Museum & Galleries in Los Angeles.

Costumes from “Les Miserables”

The 21st Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design Exhibition also features

Costumes from “Argo” & “Lincoln”

costumes from such memorable 2012 movies as Best Picture winner Argo, Django: Unchained, Hitchcock, Sparkle and Skyfall.  There’s even a tribute to last year’s Best Costume winner, The Artist.

I got a tour of the exhibit from FIDM Spokesman, fashion designer and former Project Runway contestant Nick Verreos, and learned all kinds of fun facts about how the costumes were made!

 The Art of Motion Picture Costume Design Exhibition continues every Tuesday-Saturday from 10am-5pm through April 27th. FIDM Museum & Galleries, 919 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90015. Admission is FREE.

Chatting With the Stars of “Jekyll & Hyde The Musical”

Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical, starring American Idol finalist and Tony Award-nominee Constantine Maroulis and Grammy-nominated recording artist Deborah Cox, opens TONIGHT at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood!

The Pantages run (February 12-March 3) is the last California stop of its pre-Broadway tour. The show will open on Broadway in April.

Maroulis stars as both Dr. Henry Jekyll and his diabolic alter-ego Edward Hyde.  Cox stars as Hyde’s lust interest Lucy.

I got a chance to speak with both of them about their roles, the show and what it’s like to work with each other when the tour kicked off in San Diego!

To see my interviews and get a sneak peek of Jekyll & Hyde, click on the video below!

Nominations Announced for 85th Academy Awards®

Nominations were announced today for the 85th Academy Awards®!

The nominees in each category are listed below.  I’d love to hear what YOU think!  Did YOUR favorites get nominated? Is there someone YOU think got snubbed?  Let me know!

Performance by an actor in a leading role Bradley Cooper in “Silver Linings Playbook” Daniel Day-Lewis in “Lincoln” Hugh Jackman in “Les Misérables” Joaquin Phoenix in “The Master” Denzel Washington in “Flight” Performance by an actor in a supporting role Alan Arkin in “Argo” Robert De Niro in “Silver Linings Playbook” Philip Seymour Hoffman in “The Master” Tommy Lee Jones in “Lincoln” Christoph Waltz in “Django Unchained” Performance by an actress in a leading role Jessica Chastain in “Zero Dark Thirty” Jennifer Lawrence in “Silver Linings Playbook” Emmanuelle Riva in “Amour” Quvenzhané Wallis in “Beasts of the Southern Wild” Naomi Watts in “The Impossible” Performance by an actress in a supporting role Amy Adams in “The Master” Sally Field in “Lincoln” Anne Hathaway in “Les Misérables” Helen Hunt in “The Sessions” Jacki Weaver in “Silver Linings Playbook” Best animated feature film of the year “Brave” Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman “Frankenweenie” Tim Burton “ParaNorman” Sam Fell and Chris Butler “The Pirates! Band of Misfits” Peter Lord “Wreck-It Ralph” Rich Moore Achievement in cinematography “Anna Karenina” Seamus McGarvey “Django Unchained” Robert Richardson “Life of Pi” Claudio Miranda “Lincoln” Janusz Kaminski “Skyfall” Roger Deakins Achievement in costume design “Anna Karenina” Jacqueline Durran “Les Misérables” Paco Delgado “Lincoln” Joanna Johnston “Mirror Mirror” Eiko Ishioka “Snow White and the Huntsman” Colleen Atwood Achievement in directing “Amour” Michael Haneke “Beasts of the Southern Wild” Benh Zeitlin “Life of Pi” Ang Lee “Lincoln” Steven Spielberg “Silver Linings Playbook” David O. Russell Best documentary feature “5 Broken Cameras” Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi “The Gatekeepers”  Nominees to be determined “How to Survive a Plague”  Nominees to be determined “The Invisible War”  Nominees to be determined “Searching for Sugar Man”  Nominees to be determined Best documentary short subject “Inocente”  Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine “Kings Point”  Sari Gilman and Jedd Wider “Mondays at Racine” Cynthia Wade and Robin Honan “Open Heart”  Kief Davidson and Cori Shepherd Stern “Redemption”  Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill Achievement in film editing “Argo” William Goldenberg “Life of Pi” Tim Squyres “Lincoln” Michael Kahn “Silver Linings Playbook” Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers “Zero Dark Thirty” Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg Best foreign language film of the year “Amour” Austria “Kon-Tiki” Norway “No” Chile “A Royal Affair” Denmark “War Witch” Canada Achievement in makeup and hairstyling “Hitchcock” Howard Berger, Peter Montagna and Martin Samuel “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” Peter Swords King, Rick Findlater and Tami Lane “Les Misérables” Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score) “Anna Karenina” Dario Marianelli “Argo” Alexandre Desplat “Life of Pi” Mychael Danna “Lincoln” John Williams “Skyfall” Thomas Newman Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song) “Before My Time” from “Chasing Ice” Music and Lyric by J. Ralph “Everybody Needs A Best Friend” from “Ted” Music by Walter Murphy; Lyric by Seth MacFarlane “Pi’s Lullaby” from “Life of Pi” Music by Mychael Danna; Lyric by Bombay Jayashri “Skyfall” from “Skyfall” Music and Lyric by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth “Suddenly” from “Les Misérables” Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg; Lyric by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil Best motion picture of the year “Amour” Nominees to be determined “Argo” Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck and George Clooney, Producers “Beasts of the Southern Wild” Dan Janvey, Josh Penn and Michael Gottwald, Producers “Django Unchained” Stacey Sher, Reginald Hudlin and Pilar Savone, Producers “Les Misérables” Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward and Cameron Mackintosh, Producers “Life of Pi” Gil Netter, Ang Lee and David Womark, Producers “Lincoln” Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers “Silver Linings Playbook” Donna Gigliotti, Bruce Cohen and Jonathan Gordon, Producers “Zero Dark Thirty“ Mark Boal, Kathryn Bigelow and Megan Ellison, Producers Achievement in production design “Anna Karenina” Production Design: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey“ Production Design: Dan Hennah; Set Decoration: Ra Vincent and Simon Bright “Les Misérables”  Production Design: Eve Stewart; Set Decoration: Anna Lynch-Robinson “Life of Pi”  Production Design: David Gropman; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock “Lincoln”  Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Jim Erickson Best animated short film “Adam and Dog” Minkyu Lee “Fresh Guacamole” PES “Head over Heels” Timothy Reckart and Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly “Maggie Simpson in “The Longest Daycare”" David Silverman “Paperman” John Kahrs Best live action short film “Asad” Bryan Buckley and Mino Jarjoura “Buzkashi Boys” Sam French and Ariel Nasr “Curfew” Shawn Christensen “Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw)” Tom Van Avermaet and Ellen De Waele “Henry” Yan England Achievement in sound editing “Argo” Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van der Ryn “Django Unchained” Wylie Stateman “Life of Pi” Eugene Gearty and Philip Stockton “Skyfall” Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers “Zero Dark Thirty” Paul N.J. Ottosson Achievement in sound mixing “Argo” John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Jose Antonio Garcia “Les Misérables”  Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson and Simon Hayes “Life of Pi” Ron Bartlett, D.M. Hemphill and Drew Kunin “Lincoln”  Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom and Ronald Judkins “Skyfall” Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell and Stuart Wilson Achievement in visual effects “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”  Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and R. Christopher White “Life of Pi” Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott “Marvel’s The Avengers”  Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams and Dan Sudick “Prometheus” Richard Stammers, Trevor Wood, Charley Henley and Martin Hill “Snow White and the Huntsman” Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Philip Brennan, Neil Corbould and Michael Dawson Adapted screenplay “Argo” Screenplay by Chris Terrio “Beasts of the Southern Wild” Screenplay by Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin “Life of Pi” Screenplay by David Magee “Lincoln” Screenplay by Tony Kushner “Silver Linings Playbook” Screenplay by David O. Russell Original screenplay “Amour” Written by Michael Haneke “Django Unchained” Written by Quentin Tarantino “Flight” Written by John Gatins “Moonrise Kingdom” Written by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola “Zero Dark Thirty” Written by Mark Boal

Watch the Academy Awards Nominations Here LIVE!

Nominations for the 2013 Academy Awards will be announced live from Hollywood at 5:30 AM Pacific Time TODAY, January 10, 2013!

You can watch the nominations LIVE, right here On The Entertainment Beat (just click on the player below)!  I will also post the full list of nominees, once they’re announced.

Afterward, let me know what YOU think of this year’s nominees, and be sure to stay tuned for much more coverage of this year’s Oscars!