Kip's Korner

  The 78 th  Annual Tony Awards are only TEN days away! Hosted by the Grammy, Emmy & Tony Award-winning Cynthia Erivo. Ms. Erivo is also a three-time Academy Award nominee, for most recently starring as Elphaba opposite Ariana Grande’s Glinda in WICKED Part One . And before we go any further, I’d like to make my first prediction right now. I predict that in 2026 Cynthia Erivo will become an EGOT after she wins the Oscar for Best Actress in WICKED: For Good , which has the release date of November 21, 2025. An EGOT is a term referring to someone who has won all four major performing arts awards: an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony Award. As of right now there are only 21 people who have achieved EGOT status. Now let's get back to the Tony Awards business... Where/How/When do you watch the Tony Awards: “The 78 th  Annual Tony Awards will air from the legendary Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Sunday, June 8 (7:00-10:00 PM, LIVE CDT) on the CBS Telev...

That’s a wrap on Les Misérables and on BTL’s 2024-25 Season! And once again, Les Misérables proved that it is Huntsville’s favorite musical, regaining the title of BTL’s #1 grossing show of all time!  Les Mis is not only Huntsville’s favorite show, but it won BroadwayWorld’s “Broadway Brackets” competition as the “Ultimate Best Musical” for the second year in a row. Why do we love Les Mis so much? I think because it’s a universal story that everyone can identify with, and today more than ever. It’s about love, redemption, broken dreams, new dreams, social justice, etc.....It checks off all the boxes with the magnificent sets, lighting, gives you all the “feels” and arguably has the best musical score ever written for the musical theater. As you know I toured with this beautiful show for years and I still absolutely love it. I equate that with "I worked in the kitchen of the restaurant but still love their food." You don’t get a better endorsement than that one! We c...

  There's a new Peter flying through the country on the National Tour of Peter Pan and his name is Kruz Maldonado!  I was particularly invested in his casting because I followed Kruz's journey last year in NYC when he was a Jimmy Awards nominee, having won Best Actor at the Joci Awards in San Antonio, Texas. Another Jimmy Awards success story!  To put it in perspective, the Joci Awards in San Antonio is what the Tallulah Awards will be in Huntsville next year. Can't wait to cheer on our first two Alabama high school theater students next year at the Jimmy Awards. It's getting real folks, and real fast! Anyway, I knew I must talk to Kruz on Kip's Korner because of the Jimmys connection. Here's a quick Bio of Kruz, before we dive into our interview: "Originally from San Antonio, TX, Kruz was awarded Best Lead Actor in a Musical (Joci Awards) for playing the title role in Pippin . Regional credits: Sweeney Todd (Tobias), A Bronx Tale (Calogero). In 2024, Kruz...

  Victor Wallace and I met in the summer of 1996, and we lived together in Los Angeles & also Chicago. Years later we both lived in NYC at the same time, then we were on tour together with Les Misérables , then back to living in NYC again. And all these years later we are still the best of friends. In fact, he's a close friend to my husband Jim as well and was at our wedding in New Rochelle, NY almost 12 years ago. So, when I found out that Victor was playing Sam on the 25 th Anniversary tour of Mamma Mia! (which will be here in Huntsville in just over a week), of course we needed to have a video chat for Kip’s Korner! And we chatted. And chatted. And chatted… We tried to “mostly” stay on topic and talk about things that might interest you. Now before I share that with you, here’s a little bio about Victor’s career: Victor Wallace      Broadway: Sam Carmichael in Mamma Mia! final cast. Off-Broadway: Far From Heaven at Playwrights Horizons (Cast Recor...