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If you have a theater fan in your life who has been extra hyped these days, it’s likely because the 2017 Tony Awards are nearly here.

The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre (as the Tonys are officially known) recognize the highest honor in U.S. theater — the equivalent of television’s Emmys or the film industry’s Oscars.

With no Hamilton-sized hit this year, the race in the top categories has been pretty wide open and hard to predict — with only Bette Midler’s turn in the revival of Hello, Dolly! a lock for the best actress in a musical prize.

It takes a village to recreate the giant world of War and Peace in a supper club-style Broadway theatre. Chief of that village is Rachel Chavkin, who earned her first Tony nomination for Best Direction for her ingenious work on Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812. Below, watch as she explains why the show's long journey to the Imperial has been so rewarding.

by Dancin' Dan

Broadway has never seen anything quite like Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812. Oh, pieces of it have been seen before - the modern-meets-traditional costumes were done in Hamilton, ensemble members have been playing their own instruments since at least John Doyle's landmark revival of Sweeney Todd, and actors have been performing in the aisles since time immemorial. But still, it's never been done quite like this.

For one thing, for an adaptation of mammoth Russian novel War and Peace, it's amazingly entertaining.

Since taking the stage on the Great White Way, Josh Groban has hit pause on his personal life.

Last year, the Grammy winner made his Broadway debut in Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, and Groban says he’s been hyper-focused on the show since.

“I’ve never worked harder in my life, and I’ve never seen people work harder in my life,” Groban, 36, tells People of the musical, an avant-garde adaptation of Tolstoy’s War and Peace.

That hard work has certainly paid off: Groban is nominated for leading actor in a musical at the Tonys June...

They’re the toughest tickets to get right now on Broadway. And on Tuesday morning, seats to Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, Dear Evan Hansen and Hello Dolly! just got that much harder — as all three shows scored top nominations in their respective categories for the 2017 Tony Awards.

Jane Krakowski and Hamilton alum Christopher Jackson announced the candidates Tuesday morning, live from the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center.

Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 — the Josh Groban-led musical inspired by a 70-page section of War and Peace — led the new musical nominations with 12 in total,...

Stars: Harry Reems, Cara Lott, Ginger Lynn, Amber Lynn, Herschel Savage, Tom Byron, Rick Savage, Steve Drake | Written by Steve Scott, Will Kelly | Directed by Steve Scott

Dutch (Harry Reems, Deep Throat) has it all! He’s the money, the looks, a happening nightclub called “The Paradise Club”, the reputation and of course; the girl. That is until his girl Jessie (Cara Lott, Taboo 2) has had enough of his attitude and lack of appreciation. Fortunately for Dutch However, a new dame isn’t hard to find especially in your own club! On the same night of his split, Dutch sets his sights on the young Katharine (Ginger Lynn, New Wave Hookers), a new girl in town who sells cigarettes at the club. He soon finds out that Katherine (whom he decides to call Kitty) is a little too innocent, timid and ultimately a tad inexperienced. This leads him to reach...

Josh Groban will make his Broadway debut in September 2016 in the new musical “Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812,” producers announced Monday. The pop opera, which premiered Off Off Broadway in 2012, is an adaptation of about 70 pages of Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” created by Dave Malloy. Groban, a Grammy nominee, will play a dissolute Moscow aristocrat named Pierre who’s drawn into the drama surrounding a too-easily corrupted young countess, Natasha. Rachel Chavkin will direct the Broadway production as she has previous versions. Howard & Janet Kagan and Paula Marie Black will produce. Also Read: 'The Color Purple'.

[caption id="attachment_40653" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Picture shows: Natasha Rostov (Lily James)/caption]

A+E Networks announces its four-week limited event series War and Peace. This adaptation of Tolstoy's epic novel stars Paul Dano, Lily James, James Norton, Jim Broadbent, and Gillian Anderson.

The War and Peace TV show will be simulcast on A+E Networks' channels Lifetime, A&E, and History. War and Peace premieres Monday, January 18, 2016 at 9:00pm Et/Pt.

Read More…...

The BBC on Wednesday released first-look images of event drama War and Peace, adapted for the British public broadcaster by Andrew Davies. The pictures show Lily James (Downton Abbey) as Natasha, Paul Dano (12 years a Slave) in the role of Pierre and James Norton (Rush) as Andrei. Gillian Anderson and Jim Broadbent also star. { "nid": 644313, "type": "news", "title": "The Weinstein Co. Boards BBC's 'War and Peace' Adaptation", "path": "http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/weinstein-boards-bbcs-war-peace-644313", "relative-path": "/news/weinstein-boards-bbcs-war-peace-644313" } The six-part mini-series series is directed by Tom Harper

read more...

Dave Malloy has a thing for the Russian romantics. His recent electropop opera Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 — presented in a big tent fabulously tricked out as a Czarist nightclub, if there were such a thing — was based on a slice of Tolstoy’s War and Peace. (Tolstoy survived the surgery.) His new piece, Preludes, being given a spectacular production at LCT3, sets its sights on Sergei Rachmaninoff. Though subtitled (like some of some of the composer’s solo piano works) a “fantasia,” it is more faithful to the facts, if not the implications, of its subject’s life than many recent musicals purporting to be actual history. Malloy focuses on a period of several months in 1900, when the composer, at 27, was still suffering from a monumental case of writer’s block brought on by the disastrous premiere of his first symphony three years earlier. As he...

Exclusive: Lily James (Disney’s Cinderella) and Sam Claflin (The Hunger Games) are circling to star in Lone Scherfig’s Their Finest Hour And A Half. James, currently filming Burr Steer’s Pride And Prejudice And Zombies, is one of Britain’s hottest young actresses and is also attached to the plum role of Natasha in The Weinstein Company’s War And Peace miniseries.

Their Finest Hour And A Half, based on Lissa Evans’ 2009 novel that was nominated for Britain’s prestigious Orange literary prize, follows the misadventures of a British movie crew trying to make a patriotic film to boost morale after the Blitz during World War II. TV writer Gabby Chiappe is adapting. Principal photography is set for summer 2015.

The prestige picture is being produced by Wild Gaze’s Amanda Posey (A Long Way Down) and longtime associate Stephen Wooley (Byzantium) through his Number 9 Films. The pair previously...

You’ve heard pop, and you’ve heard opera, and maybe you’ve heard a chapter or two of War and Peace, but it’s probably safe to say that you’ve never heard anything that combines the three like the smash off-Broadway musical Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812.

Billed as an electro-pop opera, Dave Malloy’s stunning musical (based on a most scandalous portion of Tolstoy’s jumbo Russian saga) has been the talk of the city since it burst onto the scene last fall at Ars Nova. Since then, it played an acclaimed run in New...

You’ve heard pop, and you’ve heard opera, and maybe you’ve heard a chapter or two of War and Peace, but it’s probably safe to say that you’ve never heard anything that combines the three like the smash off-Broadway musical Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812.

Billed as an electro-pop opera, Dave Malloy’s stunning musical (based on a most scandalous portion of Tolstoy’s jumbo Russian saga) has been the talk of the city since it burst onto the scene last fall at Ars Nova. Since then, it played an acclaimed run in New...

There are many Billboard Music Awards -- far too many to give out on the live show. You may, however, still want to learn who won each of the top prizes. Check out the 2013 Billboard Music Awards winners list here.

It's not just Nicki Minaj, Carly Rae Jepsen and Madonna -- although each of these artists did win.

The winner in each category has been bolded.

Milestone Award

Justin Bieber

Bruno Mars

Taylor Swift

Top Artist

Justin Bieber

Maroon 5

One Direction

Rihanna

Taylor Swift

Top Hot 100 Song

Fun. -- "Some Nights"

Gotye feat. Kimbra -- "Somebody That I Used to Know"

Carly Rae Jepsen -- "Call Me Maybe"

Maroon 5 -- "One More Night"

Maroon 5 feat. Wiz Khalifa -- "Payphone"

Top Billboard 200 Album

Adele -- "21"

Mumford & Sons -- "Babel"

One Direction -- "Take Me Home"

One Direction -- "Up All Night"

Taylor Swift -- "Red"

Top Duo/Group

Coldplay

Fun.

There are many Billboard Music Awards -- far too many to give out on the live show. You may, however, still want to learn who won each of the top prizes. Check out the 2013 Billboard Music Awards winners list here.

It's not just Nicki Minaj, Carly Rae Jepsen and Madonna -- although each of these artists did win.

The winner in each category has been bolded.

Top Artist

Justin Bieber

Maroon 5

One Direction

Rihanna

Taylor Swift

Top Hot 100 Song

Fun. -- "Some Nights"

Gotye feat. Kimbra -- "Somebody That I Used to Know"

Carly Rae Jepsen -- "Call Me Maybe"

Maroon 5 -- "One More Night"

Maroon 5 feat. Wiz Khalifa -- "Payphone"

Top Billboard 200 Album

Adele -- "21"

Mumford & Sons -- "Babel"

One Direction -- "Take Me Home"

One Direction -- "Up All Night"

Taylor Swift -- "Red"

Top Duo/Group

Coldplay

Fun.

Maroon 5

Mumford & Sons

One Direction...

The NAACP Image Awards have announced the nominees for their 44th annual awards show during a live press conference from the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills, CA. Anthony Anderson (Guys with Kids), Niecy Nash (The Soul Man), Yvette Nicole Brown (Community), Garcelle Beauvais (Flight), Tyler James Williams (Go On), and Zendaya (Shake It Up!) announced the categories and nominees.

The NAACP Image Awards celebrates the accomplishments of people of color in the fields of television, music, literature and film and also honors individuals or groups who promote social justice through creative endeavors. Winners will be announced during the two-hour star-studded event, which will air live on Friday, February 1 (8 Et live/Pt tape-delayed) on NBC.

Following is the list of categories and nominees for the 44Th NAACP Image Awards:

Television

Outstanding Comedy Series

"Glee" (Fox)

"Modern Family" (ABC)

"The Game" (Bet)

"The Mindy Project" (Fox)

"The Soul Man" (TV...

To recap... now that summer movie season 2012 is a wrap, we're polling contributors, friends and You about your favorite and least favorite things of the summer. It's just a glass of something light and bubbly to raise, gulp down quickly and bring a little closure before the heavier stuff hits.

In Part 1, we heard from a few good men and here's two more voices for Part 2. Parts 3 and 4 are the podcast this weekend!

Katey

who you know and love from Cinema Blend and the occasional podcast here...

Best Movie I Saw All Summer:

I'm surprising myself by answering Magic Mike. It's got more confidence, more imagination and more willingness to let it all hang out than most anything else the studio system produced all year.

Scenes I ♥ So Much I Thought My Heart Would Burst:

1) Natasha's interrogation scene at the beginning of The Avengers-- I've always been wishy-washy...