#sam champion

[jgroffdaily]

Good Morning America performance of Splish Splash, with photos from Broadway World.

[jgroffdaily]

Out and The Advocate Pride Cover Party celebrates LGBTQ+ and Allied Theater community

The "cover party," put on by Equal Pride, the media company that publishes 'Out' and 'The Advocate' magazines, is a celebration of the new c

Photos from Out Magazine, Jelani Remy and heykc.ig, with a brief interview at the link above.

CHELSEA, Manhattan (WABC) -- June is Pride Month, a celebration and acceptance of the LGBTQ community, and on Monday night in Chelsea, there was no shortage of well-known celebrities at an event focused on Broadway.

The Out and Advocate Pride Cover Party: Pride of Broadway honored members of the LGBTQ+ and allied theater community.

It was put on by Equal Pride, the media company that publishes 'Out' and 'The Advocate' magazines. It celebrated the new magazine covers and the people that are featured on them.

"The covers of 'Out' and 'The Advocate' are celebrations of two of its biggest stars right now Jonathan Groff and Wayne Brady. So, we're excited to have him here at the event and to really celebrate the Great White Way, this is really a community that uplifts LGBTQ folks. We'd love to see them," Reynolds said.

Reynolds says, 'Merrily We Rolled Along,' starring Jonathan Groff, and 'The Wiz,' starring Wayne Brady, are both must-see shows.

"When I saw Jonathan Merrily, I was gasping," Reynolds said. "I think he's a shoe in for the Tony -- knock on wood. Hopefully, our covers can help with the visibility of the show. But you know, they have sold out shows and I think 'The Wiz' as well is also a hit. So you know, we're so proud of both of them."

[jgroffdaily]

PrEP & kicking bigot butt: Jonathan Groff & Wayne Brady talk reasons for Pride

At a party celebrating their Pride covers of Out and The Advocate, the Broadway stars discuss what June means to them this year.

Jonathan Groff and Wayne Brady shared what makes them proud this June at a “Pride of Broadway” party celebrating the launch of their May/June covers of Out and The Advocate magazines, respectively.

At the Monday fete thrown by parent company equalpride, host Sam Champion (Eyewitness News, WABC-TV) brought the out Broadway stars up on the stage at Somewhere Nowhere NYC for a short Q&A on Pride and prejudice.

Turning to the cover stars, Champion then praised Broadway as “a home and a beacon for LGBTQ+ creatives.” He paraphrased a line from Spamalot: “You don't succeed on Broadway if you don't have gays.”

With that, Brady and Groff took the stage. In a short interview, Champion asked them what it meant to grace the covers of the LGBTQ+ publications. “It's such an honor to be part of this and this family and to be recognized for it,” said Brady, who came out as pansexual last year and is now starring in The Wiz.

“I was really flexing for my life,” joked Groff, who bared arms for his Out cover. Groff is a leading Tonys contender this year for his lead role in the revival of Merrily We Roll Along, and he shared what taking him theater’s top prize might mean to him: “If I win, it's gonna light up the closeted homosexual that was 16 years old listening to Ethel Merman…. It would light him up like a Christmas tree.”

“Isn't it amazing that when you are living your authentic inside and out, that there are no barriers to what you can succeed [in],” replied Champion, who then asked the cover stars if they wanted to send a special message this Pride season.

“I'm single,” Groff said to the cheers of the crowd. “I’m feeling full of Pride and PrEP.

Said Brady: “If there's any time to stand together and to preach and to use our art, you know, those of you in the art community, let's try to transform some of these minds because Lord knows there are so many bigots and closeminded people that think one way. Let's either kick their asses or change their minds all the while singing and tapping through it.”

[jgroffdaily]

Jonathan at the Out Magazine Pride Cover Party on Monday with Sam Champion and Wayne Brady.

As posted by kwprime on X/Twitter, Jonathan said in his speech:

“I’m single. I’m feeling full of pride. And PrEP.”

[gwydionmisha]

Sam Champion Talks Extreme Weather and Climate Change

Weather isn't going to suddenly become less extreme, says the out meteorologist.

[allinmycorner]

It was Disney Plus Night on Dancing With the Stars! Which is essentially Disney night but since the show is now on Disney Plus, they decided to theme it to the streaming service. My guess is so they could expand some of their selections since not everything on Disney Plus is specifically Disney.

Disney Night is always one of my favorites though we didn't have as much Disney magic as usual. We did have Mickey and Minnie, so I'm happy.

(Though I'm a bit disappointed we didn't get anything to "We Don't Talk About Bruno." Bruno is right there! It would've made for such a great opening!)

So was tonight a fairy tale or nightmare? Let's review!

Sam and Cheryl: Poor Sam! His paso doble to "The Greatest Show" was certainly better than his samba last week and he was certainly stronger than Vinny. But the judges scored him lower and the votes just wasn't there. So far, it seems that landing in the bottom two one week is still the kiss of death even if you are saved, which is why I'm worried about Trevor. But thank you, Sam, for the dances you gave us in your time on the show and we'll see you in the finale!  

Charli and Mark: Once again Charli has one of the best scores and routines in the show, though she does admit she had an advantage with this one. Charli does have training in jazz and so was able to easily nail the routine to the theme from "The Simpsons," even while dressed as Marge. Her teachers were even there to support her. It was a great routine filled with Mark's creativity but it is starting to get a little boring. I feel guilty hoping anyone in the top three would slip up just for some variety but that's where we are.

Gabby and Val: Yep, Gabby is in the top again as well. And I can't really fault her routine. Her quickstep to "Mr. Blue Sky" while dressed as Gamora to Val's Starlord was very good. She seemed to relax and have a lot more fun this week, which I think also helped. I have a feeling it's going to be a fight between her, Charli and Wayne until the very end.

Wayne and Witney: Last time, I said I was looking forward to a freestyle from Wayne but I really meant "contemporary" and I really want it more after his jazz routine to "Wait for It" from Hamilton. If he danced this beautifully and emotionally for jazz, I can only imagine what his contemporary will look like. And it was a nice nod to give him this song since he did perform on Broadway.

Heidi and Artem: Heidi is definitely a contender now. Her Viennese waltz to "Chim-Chim-Cheree" was absolutely magical and likely one that contestants will copy in future seasons. I did notice Charli making the "loser" hand motion when Alfonso was interviewing Heidi about being Charli's competition now. Be nicer to your mother, young lady. She may just kick your ass in this competition.

Jordin and Brandon: This really was Jordin's best dance. Her connection to her song, "Remember Me," is so sweet and they even let her sing a bit before she launched into a fun jazz routine that really showed off her personality and her skills. I love her and I hope she continues this upward trajectory. Go, Jordin!

Selma and Sasha: The Muppets definitely looked CGI into the intro and Selma's package, right. And if they were live - yikes! Anyway, Selma had some concerns about dancing the quickstep with her limitations but as she has consistently done, she came out and delivered an amazing performance to "The Muppet Show Theme" that lit up the ballroom as much as her smile.

Shangela and Gleb: Shangela continues to be a ray of sunshine in the ballroom. And she knows Jenifer Lewis, who came to sang "Dig a Little Deeper" as Shangela and Gleb danced a Charleston. It was a lot of fun and definitely fit The Princess and the Frog perfectly. She's on her way up and I can't wait to see what she does next. Also, now we all know what a sickle foot is.

Jessie and Alan: I have to agree this was Jessie's best dance. I'm not sure if it will be the start of her coming from behind to be the women's dark horse but we'll have to see. Either way, she handled the jive well even dressed as Sarah Sanderson and while Alan was in full Billy costume. They performed to "One Way or Another" from Hocus Pocus 2.

Daniel and Britt: Daniel had a bit of a stumble this week. He fell off the beat and struggled to recover given how fast the quickstep is. But he still seemed to have fun dancing to "Finally Free" from High School Musical the Musical The Series. And the little boy he's mentoring is absolutely adorable. Daniel really is inspiring for many, many reasons and I hope he bounces back next week.

Vinny and Koko: I think Vinny was overscored. It almost feels as if the judges have realized that he is popular with the voters and so are just pandering to them now. But Vinny and Koko did seem to have fun while dancing the samba to "Il gatto e la volpe" from Luca. And I guess that's really what the judges scored him on this week.

Joseph and Daniella: Daniella has been cleared to return to the ballroom and was reunited with Joseph. She gives him kudos before teaching him the Charleston for their performance to "A Star is Born" from Hercules. Joseph compares himself to Hercules, saying he was bullied for being skinny. Anyway, his Charleston was fun and pretty good. But I'm glad the judges have called out Daniella's overreliance on tricks and want to see him just dance.

Trevor and Emma: Trevor managed to get through his samba to "Life is a Highway" despite having an injured shoulder. There was some concern but he managed it. So it was a shame that he ended up in the final two. But will everyone's scores so close now, we'll probably see more of this as the weeks continue.

Next time we'll have two shows! Monday will see the return of "Most Memorable Year" while Tuesday will be "Prom"! It sounds like we'll have eliminations both nights so two people will go home next week.

See you then!

[dwtsfun]

Dancing with the Stars Season 31 Week 4: The Magic of Disney is Back (courtesy of Disney+)

Sorry y'all. I posted this on the wrong blog. Here is the recap for this week.

Yeah. I have to say that this was the best Disney night since season 20. I know it wasn't all Disney, so that may have helped. But it was so much more fun and felt less like a commercial than the past years have felt. Now, unfortunately I was reminded of why I was so happy Conrad left the show in the first place. I'll get to that a little later. Anyway, let's start the review.

Joseph and Daniella- Charleston (Score=28)- It's great to have Daniella back and I'm glad she's doing okay. I liked this dance. Joseph was super light on his feet and when things went well, they really went well. Unfortunately things also were rough at parts. I think he got a little excited and things got jumbled. I also did feel like there may have been too many lifts in this dance. That's it. I thought the score was appropriate and I cannot wait for these two to have their breakthrough.

Sam and Cheryl- Paso Doble (Score=25)- Ehh. This dance wasn't that good but I don't think that Sam was going to get any better. He was pretty stompy and his shaping was extremely off. He did have a good time though. I'm glad Sam got to have this experience and he and Cheryl got to do it together after being friends for however long. But after this dance, it was clear that she just wasn't going to be able to give more.

Jordin and Brandon- Jazz (Score=34)- I really really loved this dance. I think this was the breakthrough that Jordin needed. She was way more free than she had been and I felt a sense of confidence that I had yet to feel from her prior to this dance. There are still some issues that she can work on (we need a bit more confidence to go through her legs so she stays steady), but this is the way to go and I am so proud of her.

Wayne and Witney- Jazz (Score=36)- I'm very shocked that there were no 10s pulled out for this dance. It deserved at least one, maybe even two. Even though Wayne is obviously a front runner, I also felt like this dance was a breakthrough for him. He's been great but I don't think his performance has come together in the way that it did for this dance. Everything just clicked and I'm so ready to see the new dancer from here on out.

Daniel and Britt- Quickstep (Score=29)- So this dance was fine. Daniel did mess up quite a bit and his posture and frame, while better than last time, were still not the greatest. He mostly stayed on time. And his performance was good as always. But there were just way too many mistakes that happened here.

Shangela and Gleb- Charleston (Score=32)- I really enjoyed this dance and I really enjoy this couple. I think Shangela is making Gleb a lot more endearing and charming in a way that I have yet to see from him on this show. And his choreography has been light years above anything I've seen from him on DWTS. The dance itself was great. Shangela does have messy feet still. But other than that, it was good and so much fun. I really enjoyed seeing Jenifer Lewis and having her sing at the live show. That was a treat.

Heidi and Artem- Viennese Waltz (Score=34)- Hmm. Okay so a few things. This dance was good. I don't think it was 9 good. Heidi still has posture issues that leads to issues with her frame. And something about her moves were not as fluid as I would've liked for them to be. Maybe the use of the umbrella caused issues there, I'm not sure.

Gabby and Val- Quickstep (Score=36)- Yeah, here we go. This dance was riddled with mistakes and Gabby's frame was very loose and just not good. I'm gonna get to a dance that had similar frame problems later on. But the judges all conveniently overlooked all of the very obvious issues Gabby had and gave out an asinine score of 36. This dance should've gotten no higher than a 30. And herein lies my problem with Conrad. When he's been EP, Val and his partners were rewarded for lackluster dances. And it was the most frustrating thing to me about his initial era. I do not want this to continue this season. I'll be quick to give this up if we keep ignoring her very obvious flaws.

Trevor and Emma- Samba (Score=28)- It just wasn't great. It really wasn't. I guess I could see the potential but it was all just very awkward to watch. I understand that he is out of his comfort zone and that dancing takes some time to get used to, but it is not an excuse. And I refuse to let it be one like the judges are trying to do. That being said, I think he's a goner on either Monday or Tuesday next week unless he has two spectacular dances. Looking at what he has lined up, I doubt he knocks two of them out of the park and puts himself in a high enough position on the leaderboard to take him out of the elimination danger zone.

Vinny and Koko- Samba (Score=29)- So I have to say that I really saw just how much time Vinny spent in the studio and appreciated his attention to all of the small details. The difference between the first three weeks and this week was stark. This was his breakthrough. Even though he has a long way to go, what I saw on Monday night was promising and gives me Kelly Monaco vibes. We still need some better footwork, but I don't see him giving anymore cringey performances after what we saw this week. And that is super exciting to me. The 8 was a little high, but CAI tends to get carried away when stars make huge improvements like that, so it made sense with who she is as a judge. Also, Koko is doing a great job keeping Vinny's dances simple right now. Keep building the foundation and gradually make things more difficult (but reasonable) as the show goes on.

Selma and Sasha- Quickstep (Score=32)- So this is the dance I was referring to when I was talking about Gabby. Tbh, I thought this dance was better than what Gabby produced. There were less mistakes and I felt the performance from Selma was better than what Gabby gave. They also had similar frame issues. Derek called it out with them. He ignored it with Gabby. You see my issue? Anyway, I loved this dance and felt like it was another breakthrough.

Jessie and Alan- Jive (Score=31)- Nope. Absolutely not. This dance did not deserve a single 8. While this dance was a definite improvement, this dance looked slow and very heavy. As @mister-antonioonio said to me, it looked like she was trudging through mud. I couldn't have said it any better. Her feet were also not pointed and she's not only heavy footed, but she also dances very flat footed. I just don't understand the weird praise for this one. A dance like that does not deserve 8s. Straight 7s would've been just fine and it's exactly what they earned.

Charli and Mark- Jazz (Score=36)- Like Wayne, I felt like we should've seen a 10 or two for this dance. It was great. I don't have much else to say about it. It was that good. I really enjoyed Mark's choreo. I thought it was super interesting.

So we had Trevor and Sam in the bottom 2. That made complete sense to me. And I thought it was the right decision to eliminate Sam. He had plateaued imo. Next week we have two performance shows. So get ready for all of that. I'm not excited. Let me know your thoughts though and I will talk to you all soon. Also I will try to get better about getting these up within the day. The past month at work has been disastrous and it's taking everything in me to even be present from day to day.

[always-rolling-my-eyes]

Sam is a really nice guy but it was definitely the end of the road for him