How 2023 Became One of the Biggest Years for Jewish Theater: ‘That Lifeblood Has Risen’

A sitting U.S. senator has been censured by his own party for supporting a pro-marriage equality bill.Delegates of the North Carolina Republican Party voted overwhelmingly, by a 799-361 margin, to reprimand U.S.

The winners of this year’s recipients of the Walter Cronkite Awards had a common theme: Combating misinformation.

Cuomo” host would affirm her hope that Donald Trump would end up in prison.“Ashley” from San Francisco called into Cuomo’s 8 p.m. show Friday, and loaded her question in a way that froze the former CNN primetime anchor in his tracks: “Based on your legal expertise, what evidence in the indictment is most likely to lead to prison time?” she asked.Cuomo started to answer one way, then stopped himself:“Prison time? None,” he said. “This isn’t going to be about prison time.

Fox Nation has scheduled a comedy special with Rob Schneider for June 18 titled Rob Schneider: Woke Up in America.

One of the biggest personalities in world media and politics is no more.

While she was ebullient about Leopoldstadt‘s Tony Award wins, including a crowning one for Best Play, producer Sonia Friedman offered some sobering thoughts about plays of its scale and cost.

McKinley Franklin editor Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s production banner Artists Equity states that it “did not consent” to the use of a monologue from the film “Air” in a new campaign ad for Donald Trump. On Saturday, Trump shared a fundraising video on his Truth Social platform. The ad features footage and images of the former president throughout his life, accompanied by audio of Damon’s climactic monologue from the film “Air.” In the spring release, Damon’s Nike exec gives the speech to a young Michael Jordan to convince him to sign a sponsorship deal with the shoe company. “We had no foreknowledge of, did not consent to and do not endorse or approve any footage or audio from ‘Air’ being repurposed by the Trump campaign as a political advertisement or for any other use,” a spokesperson for Artists Equity told Variety on Sunday. “Specifically in terms of any and all rights available to us under U.S. copyright and intellectual property law, we hereby, expressly give notice that in the case of any use of material from ‘Air’ by the Trump campaign where approval or consent is required, we do not grant such consent.” 

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon aren’t too happy right now after Donald Trump used an audio clip from their new movie to raise some cash for his presidential campaign!

Lindsey Graham was one fired-up Donald Trump devotee the minute George Stephanopoulos introduced him on Sunday’s “This Week,” immediately contrasting Trump’s indictment with Hillary Clinton’s emails, and when the ABC journalist tried to get him back on track, the South Carolina Senator went ballistic.After Stephanopoulos mentioned the 37 criminal counts Trump faces for his alleged mishandling of classified documents, he asked Graham if he believed Trump when he said he did nothing wrong. And, with that, Graham’s deflection began, attempting to turn the spotlight on Clinton’s use of a private server when she was Secretary of State.“Here is what I believe: we live in an America where if you are the Democratic candidate for president, Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State, you can set up a private server in your basement,” Graham said.Stephanopoulos interrupted, saying that Graham wasn’t answering his question.

Donald Trump’s use of a monologue from the Ben Affleck and Matt Damon film Air has been condemned in a statement from the production.

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck‘s production company have called on the Trump campaign to stop using footage from their recent movie Air.It comes after Donald Trump posted a video yesterday (June 10) on his Truth Social platform that included a monologue from the Amazon Affleck directed movie in which Damon plays the Nike marketing and sales representative Sonny Vaccaro.“Money can buy you almost anything,” Damon can be heard saying in the video as footage of Trump is shown.

Gordon Cox Theater Editor As they say in “Into the Woods”: It takes two.  And not just in “Into the Woods.” The 2023 Tony nominations remind us several times over that sometimes an actor’s role is so closely tied to another that it’s difficult to imagine a performance without the organic give-and-take shared with a co-star.    From “Into the Woods,” there’s Sara Bareilles and Brian D’Arcy James, both contenders for Tony Awards as lead performers for their work in the tightly linked roles of the Baker and the Baker’s Wife. Among their fellow nominees, there’s Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond as an accused murderer and the steadfast wife who strives to exculpate him in “Parade,” plus Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford as the murderous barber and the baker who loves him in “Sweeney Todd.” And the two lead roles in “Topdog/Underdog” and “Some Like It Hot” are so intertwined that these co-stars find themselves competing in the same category against a castmate.  

About 24 hours after a federal indictment against Donald Trump was unsealed, the former president appeared at a Georgia rally and not at all surprisingly blasted the Justice Department and mocked special counsel Jack Smith.

Trump subordinates hid documents in a bathroom, and photos of that same bathroom which contains a chandelier.“I know all of you probably feel like I do, that reading this was like reading a crime novel and also a comedy at the same time,” Reid said to the panel. “But there are sort of three buckets here. There is the sloppy handling, having the documents in the loo, having it in the bathroom, and that tacky ballroom, I feel like he should be indicted for the tackiness of the ’80s ballroom.”“Don’t forget about about the chandelier in the bathroom,” panelist and fellow MSNBC primetime host Alex Wagner interjected.“Listen, I mean, that is indictable all on its own, just from a taste point of view.

History has been made… again. A former President of the United States has been indicted… again. Only this time we’re talking about 37 federal charges, serious felonies that could land Donald Trump in prison for decades. (You can read all about the bombshell indictment HERE!)

We have all the latest deets in the Donald Trump indictment Part Deux — and it’s ALL bad news for the former POTUS.

alleged mishandling of confidential documents. The former White House adviser "will be staying far away from daddy," a source told Page Six. A separate source said, "Ivanka has disappeared."Ivanka has already declared that she will not be a part of her dad's 2024 presidential campaign, and she's been fairly apolitical since leaving the White House. After the former POTUS was indicted in the spring on charges related to a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels, Ivanka issued a brief statement.

At the age of 91, journalism legend Dan Rather remains on top of the news.

Just over an hour after a federal indictment of Donald Trump was unsealed, Special Counsel Jack Smith said in a brief statement on Friday in which he underscored the gravity of the case and why it should be brought.

The just unsealed indictment of Donald Trump over classified documents alleges that the former president “put at risk the national security of the United States”

Kim Kardashian reunited with Alice Marie Johnson to celebrate five years of her freedom.

second indictment of twice-impeached former president Donald Trump — Navarro and her co-hosts kicked off the day’s Hot Topics by applauding the Biden administration for announcing new initiatives to support the LGBTQ community.In that same vein, the women heavily criticized conservatives like DeSantis who are responsible for a significant increase in anti-LGBTQ legislation specifically targeting transgender people — particularly ones who are doing it under the guise of “protecting children.”“People, let me tell you this, drag queens don’t even like children,” Navarro said. “They don’t tip, and they don’t drink!”Then, she offered some advice on getting back at DeSantis directly to any drag queens watching.“I would say to all the drag queens: for the month of June, Pride Month, let’s celebrate by changing your names to Rhonda Santas.”As the discussion continued though, Navarro and her co-hosts got more serious — and more angry — about what’s happening across the country.“You are killing our children,” Whoopi said bluntly.

Donald Trump’s second indictment. According to the MSNBC host, those responses are nothing but “sleazy” sentiments that demonstrate an “absolute contempt for the United States of America.”The second indictment officially came down on Thursday, as part of Jack Smith’s ongoing investigation into the mishandling of classified documents that were eventually seized from Mar-a-Lago.

Well, we guess it was inevitable. Donald Trump has been indicted yet again, according to multiple outlets.

his Truth Social page, are true, the federal grand jury’s decision would mark the former president’s second indictment this year. He is the first former president to ever by criminally indicted.

Former President Donald Trump has been indicted on federal charges related to his handling of classified documents, multiple news outlets reported on Thursday.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Rusicals have been a “RuPaul’s Drag Race” institution since Season 6 and something audiences look forward to each season. Executive producer Tom Campbell credits fellow producers John Polley and Michael Seligman for coming up with this year’s “Wigloose: The Rusical.” Says Campbell, “They said ‘Wigloose,’ like ‘Footloose,’ and it writes itself.” The maxi challenge puts the queens’ performing skills to the test, through song, dance and acting, as they tell a musical story. Previous challenges have included “Moulin Ru: The Rusical,” Madonna, Cher and even Donald Trump’s presidency. The idea is that audiences already know the story of the Rusical and condense that into a production that’s less than 12 minutes long.

With more and more Republican presidential candidates who once supported Trump now publicly turning on him, “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough has a hunch as to why: According to the MSNBC host, it might me they know that more charges are coming.As part of Thursday morning’s discussion on “Morning Joe,” the hosts marveled at the fact that both former New Jersey governor Chris Christie and Trump’s own former VP Mike Pence have effectively come out swinging against him in their campaigns, with Pence saying on Wednesday that Trump “should never” be president again.“I must say, I didn’t expect Mike Pence to be as aggressive as he was yesterday,” Scarborough said.

attack on the United States Capitol that occurred on Jan. 6, 2021, reports CNN.“The interview was focused primarily on former President Donald Trump, his state of mind and what he knew about the baseless claims of widespread election fraud he was pushing leading up to the January 6 attack,” said a source close to Griffin, adding that the “View” star would “help prosecutors by providing first-hand accounts of times Trump seemed to acknowledge he lost the election.”One source told CNN that the talk show host was surprised over the prosecution’s focus on Trump’s mindset after the election.News of Griffin, 33, meeting with the special counsel comes after former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, 63, testified before a federal grand jury.

Pat Robertson, who built a broadcasting empire and led an influential coalition to make religion an integral aspect of politics on the right, has died. He was 93.

CNN reported Wednesday based on unnamed sources. Farah, who resigned from her role as communications director following the 2020 election, has been outspoken against former President Donald Trump since becoming a media personality.According to the report, the special counsel questioned Farah about Trump’s state of mind leading up to the Capitol riots, in addition to his knowledge of the false claims of election fraud he was touting following his loss to President Joe Biden. Farah was reportedly surprised by the prosecutors’ particular interest in Trump’s mindset following the election. Additionally, the prosecutors asked the former White House aide about former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows’ involvement in the Capitol attacks, as well as the efforts to coerce then-Vice President Mike Pence into overturning the election, according to CNN’s sources.Last week, Farah said on CNN that she played a key role in getting former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, who served under Meadows, to return to testify further before federal prosecutors on June 28 following previous interviews.

Well, this is a sad day for comedy fans…

Jay Johnson was arrested today in LA for his participation in the January 6 insurrection and attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Mike Pence on Wednesday officially launched his 2024 campaign for the White House, in a lengthy, polished video carefully constructed to position himself as the torch-bearer of American values, including Christian nationalism, while conveniently all but ignoring his four-plus years spent in service to Donald Trump, who recently was held liable by a jury for sexual abuse, is currently under a 34-count state felony indictment, and expected to soon be facing a slew of federal and state charges amid several other investigations.“I believe in the American people, and I have faith God is not done with America yet,” Pence tweeted atop his campaign video. “Together, we can bring this Country back, and the best days for the Greatest Nation on Earth are yet to come!”The well-known presidential historian Michael Beschloss, author of ten books, noted that it will “not be easy for a VP to separate himself from the President he served for four years.”READ MORE: Double Bombshell: Mark Meadows and Trump’s Secret Service Agents Have Testified, NYT ReportsAnd he made this critical observation: Pence’s “just-released announcement video cites ‘drag queens’ and Biden-Harris but not a single mention or image of You-Know-Who,” referring to Donald Trump.In fact, in Pence’s video (below), he falsely claims, “President Joe Biden and the radical left have weakened America at home and abroad.” “The American dream is being crushed under runaway inflation.

Daniel D'Addario Chief TV Critic The departure of CNN’s Chris Licht, following his turbulent year atop the cable news network, places a pause on one of the great media stories of the decade so far. But even non-media-junkies can appreciate just how strange and how strenuously rocking had been Licht’s time at the network: It played out across screens. The trouble with being the place that invented the 24-hour news cycle is that those hours can come back to bite when you’re the story. There it was in politics, when Donald Trump’s “Town Hall,” with purported rising star Kaitlan Collins, gear-shifted into the first televised rally of the 2024 presidential cycle — with CNN’s air being used to depict an audience of Trump supporters cheering on his jibes. (No less an eminence than Christiane Amanpour, a CNN icon, registered her dissent in public.) There it was on the business pages, with Licht’s overseeing the dismantling of streaming product CNN+, on orders from Warner Bros. Discovery head David Zaslav, setting the tone for his tenure. There it was at the Oscars, when Michelle Yeoh used her best actress acceptance speech to rebuke anchor Don Lemon’s bizarre on-air comments about a woman’s “prime” years. There it was in the gossip pages, after a Variety story about Lemon’s comportment toward his female co-anchors on the network’s flagship morning show, and then his ouster, leaked into the tabloids, and never seemed to be countered by any good news about the network. And, finally, there it was at length, with an all-access profile by the Atlantic’s Tim Alberta revealing Licht’s contempt for predecessor Jeff Zucker and the depths of his disdain for and, frankly, confusion about CNN’s mission.

The Atlantic: “You guys drive me crazy. All you want to do is talk about Trump.