‘Hamilton’ Alum Brandon Victor Dixon Joins NBC’s ‘Jesus Christ Superstar Live’

Brandon Victor Dixon

1999 Donna Reed scholarship finalist in musical theater is cast as Judas

Brandon Victor Dixon has been cast as Judas in NBC’s upcoming live staging of “Jesus Christ Superstar.” The production will air Easter Sunday, 7:00 p.m. CST.

Dixon won a Tony in 2014 as a producer of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” which won for Best Revival of a Musical. In 2006 Dixon was nominated for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his role as Harpo in “The Color Purple,” and again in 2016 for his role as Eubie Blake in “Shuffle Along.”

In addition to his Tony nominations, Dixon is known for taking over the role of Aaron Burr in the hit musical “Hamilton” from original star Leslie Odom Jr. Dixon played Burr for nearly a year at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. He currently co-stars on the Starz series “Power” as Terry Silver. His previous screen credits include “The Good Wife” and “The 40th Annual Kennedy Center Honors” in December.

Read the Variety article

Santino Fontana to Step Into Hello, Dolly! on Broadway

Santino Fontana steps into "Hello, Dolly" role.

The Tony Award nominee will temporarily replace Gavin Creel in the role of Cornelius Hackl beginning March 13.

Santino Fontana (2000 Donna Reed Festival acting scholarship finalist) is set to step into Hello, Dolly! on Broadway. The Tony Award nominee will take on the role of Cornelius Hackl beginning March 13, taking over for Tony winner Gavin Creel while he recovers from back surgery.

“Santino’s an amazing performer,” Creel said. “He'll be absolutely wonderful in the part.” An end date for his engagement has not yet been announced.

Fontana was last seen on Broadway in 2014 in Act One. His other Broadway credits include Cinderella, The Importance of Being Earnest, A View From the Bridge, Billy Elliot: The Musical, and Sunday in the Park With George.

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“Once Upon a Time” fairytale drama is ending with season seven.

Mekia Cox

Cast includes 1999 Donna Reed Scholarship finalist

Mekia Cox, a Florida State University graduate and Donna Reed scholar, plays Princess Tiana, the character from the Disney feature The Princess and The Frog. Her role is notable because she is the first black Disney Princess on television. She was initially cast as a recurring role in July amid several new cast additions for the rebooted Season 7. 

Cox burst onto the scene in 2009 as one of the lead dancers on Michael Jackson's concert tour This Is It and the subsequent movie This Is It. Not long after, she was cast as the vivacious DJ Sasha on CW's hit series 90210. From there she worked as a series regular on NBC's Undercovers, as well as TNT's Mob City. Most recently she starred in three primetime shows: TV Land's Impastor, ABC's Secrets and Lies and the NBC hit drama Chicago Med, in which she currently has a recurring role.

Read her rollingout.com interview

A musical adaptation of the 1982 comedy Tootsie premiers in Chicago this fall before heading to Broadway in spring 2019

Santino Fontana

Musical features 2000 Donna Reed scholarship finalist Santino Fontana

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s Santino Fontana will star as struggling actor Michael Dorsey, who auditions for a soap opera as the brassy middle-aged Dorothy Michaels and gets the part. Dustin Hoffman played the part in the 1982 film version of Tootsie, which earned Jessica Lange a Best Supporting Actress Oscar as his love interest, Julie Nichols.

In addition to playing Greg on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend from 2016 to 2017, Fontana provided the voice for Prince Hans in Frozen and has graced the Broadway stage numerous times. He was nominated for a Tony for his role as Prince Topher in the 2013 revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella and appeared in Billy Elliot, Sunday in the Park with George, The Importance of Being Earnest and Brighton Beach Memoirs.

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