News

Amber Heard has been announced as part of the cast for Spirit of the People.The project is a departure for the actress into theatre as it’s a new play by Jeremy O. Harris set to premiere at the 2025 Williamstown Theatre Festival. He said about the work: “I wanted to challenge myself.”The 79th edition of the Massachusetts-based festival, which begins its summer run next year, will include Spirit of the People as a centrepiece. The production is directed by Katina Medina Mora and will feature 38-year-old Amber alongside Brandon Flynn, 30, and Lío Mehiel, 33. Harris, 35, known for Slave Play and the film Zola, and is leading the festival’s new Creative Collective, a shared leadership model also comprised of model and actor Kaia Gerber, 23, producer Alyssa Reeder, entrepreneur Alex Stoclet and choreographer Christopher Rudd.The play’s cast also includes Tony Award nominees Ato Blankson-Wood, 39, and James Cusati-Moyer, 35, as well as Amandla Jahava,...

Amber Heard has lined up a comeback project, but it won't be on the big or small screens. Instead, the Aquaman actress has joined playwright Jeremy O. Harris’ stage production, Spirit of the People.

Heard will be part of the Williamstown Theatre Festival's world premiere production of the play, according to Variety. Harris has also cast Brandon Flynn (True Detective and The Parenting) and Lío Mehiel (Dear Evan Hansen), in addition to previously-announced cast members Amandla Jahava (Dmz), Emma Ramos (New Amsterdam) and Julian Sanchez (Jack Ryan).

Amber Heard Lines Up Comeback With Stage Drama

Tony Award nominees Ato Blankson-Wood and James Cusati-Moyer round out the cast of Spirit of the People, along with Zachary Booth (Damages) and Tonatiuh (Kiss of the Spider Woman). Spirit of the People is told through dual languages – Spanish and English – despite the fact that Harris didn't actually speak Spanish before writing the play.

“I wanted to challenge myself,...

Exclusive: Magnify has bolstered its Cannes sales slate with international rights to Pete Ohs’ recent SXSW genre-bender The True Beauty Of Being Bitten By A Tick.

The Narrative Spotlight premiere stars Zoë Chao, whose credits include Bubble & Squeak, as a young woman whose idyllic rural escape unravels after a tick bite triggers a series of unsettling transformations.

The cast includes Callie Hernandez, Jeremy O. Harris (The Sweet East), and James Cusati-Moyer (Maestro).

Ohs, Hernandez, Harris, Chao, and Cusati-Moyer co-wrote the screenplay, and the producers are Ohs, Hernandez (Invention), Harris (Slave Play. Not a Movie. A Play.), and Josh Godfrey...

Celebrating the independent filmmaking spirit of NYC, the Lower East Side Film Festival returns this Thursday as the 15th edition runs through May 5. Featuring the Opening Night selection, the New York Premiere of Pete Ohs’ SXSW selection The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick, the lineup also includes Joel Vargas’ Sundance and New Directors/New Films selection Mad Bills to Pay, and Amy Landecker’s For Worse, starring Bradley Whitford, Nico Hiraga, Missi Pyle, Gaby Hoffmann, and Ken Marino. Ahead of this anniversary, we’re pleased to exclusively debut a new trailer celebrating 15 years of the festival.

John Fink said his SXSW review of The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick, “It might help to know the creative process going in. Tick was made collaboratively by its main cast: as Ohs explained during the SXSW premiere, they isolated on location at a country home where they...

The 15th anniversary of the beloved Lower East Side Film Festival (Lesff) has a star-studded lineup. IndieWire can announce that Lesff 2025 will open with the New York premiere of Pete Ohs’ “The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick” May 1. The festival will conclude May 5 with Lola Rocknrolla’s true crime documentary “The Big Johnson” about drag queen Dean Johnson.

“Our Opening and Closing Night films are proof that indie filmmaking packs a punch,” Roxy Hunt, Lesff Co-Director and CEO of Bfd Productions, said. “Pete Ohs and Lola Rocknrolla are true badass filmmakers, telling stories that are daring, original, and unapologetic. At a time when Hollywood is playing it safe and overlooking bold, visionary voices, independent film is where authentic stories have the freedom to break through. Lesff has always been about championing that spirit, and this year is no different.”

“The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick...

This year’s South by Southwest Film and TV Festival was a more star-studded affair than ever. Big movie stars from Nicole Kidman to Ben Affleck and Jenna Ortega descended on the city of Austin, TX to celebrate the premieres of their latest projects. Meanwhile, the festival also served as an exciting showcase of some of the most promising up-and-coming talents in the indie film scene.

From blockbusters to indie gems, this writer saw a total of 51 movies at this year’s SXSW Film and TV Festival. Although narrowing it down to our top ten was challenging, we have decided which films we think you don’t want to miss — whether they come out a few weeks from now or are still looking for a distribution deal.

And if you keep reading after our top 10, you’ll catch some of our additional thoughts on other films that we saw at this year’s festival.

Falling somewhere between a horror film and dark comedy about wellness crazes, The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick is, like director Pete Ohs’ previous Jethica, a film that suggests watching a play within a movie. Both features are difficult to discuss without spoilers––they seem to operate on a wavelength beyond genre boxes.

It might help to know the creative process going in. Tick was made collaboratively by its main cast: as Ohs explained during the SXSW premiere, they isolated on location at a country home where they would write three scenes at a time, film and analyze said scenes, and then move forward. The result is a kind of mumblecore version of an Ingmar Bergman film that feels both loose and heavily controlled. But if you’re not on the film’s wavelength it may feel like a disjointed mess. Like the wellness cures offered by...

Life’s already a circus, right? You’re juggling work, relationships, and your own existential dread, and then someone suggests you go to the countryside for a peaceful escape. You’re thinking fresh air, calm vibes, and maybe some organic veggies on the side. But instead, what you get is a series of weirdly overenthusiastic conversations, a questionable bowl of soup, and—oh yeah—a tick bite that might just turn your whole world upside down.

Well, welcome to The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick, a film that promises tranquility but delivers tension, weirdness, and a whole lot of strange vibes. Director Pete Ohs isn’t just playing with horror here—he’s toying with your mind, nudging you into a world where nothing feels quite right. Like a bad trip to a wellness retreat, it leaves you questioning everything.

Zoë Chao in The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick...

Yvonne (Zoë Chao) needs to get out of the city and she needs to do it fast. A tragic accident has brought down on her the kind of crushing trauma response that can only be resolved by removing herself from her situation. Thankfully, her good friend Camille (Callie Hernandez) has a place in the country where she can go to rest and recuperate. However, when Yvonne arrives, she discovers that Camille is also housing two new friends, real estate agent Isaac (Jeremy O. Harris) and his boyfriend A.J. (James Cusati-Moyer). Uncomfortable with the situation, but in desperate need of a break, Yvonne sticks around, and before long, things get very strange. Camille and her buddies have given themselves over to a super hippie-dippy lifestyle, living...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Our chronic need for self-care can sometimes feel like its own illness. Whether you’re slapping on your daily deodorant or attending a weekly therapy session, “taking care” of yourself means managing the symptoms of being a living-breathing person… forever. It’s annoying, time-consuming, and, in the world of wellness marketing, a lucrative and consumable constant. In “The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick,” filmmaker Pete Ohs examines snake oil culture as a means for exploiting both anxiety and fear.

Co-written by the director/editor/producer and the movie’s four lead actors, this sunny-yet-claustrophobic nightmare asks if the faux “healing” mentality — seen here as a stranger-danger version of a weekend getaway you only think you know — is really what’s making modern people sick. Foregoing the influencer-inspired sheen of something like the beauty thriller “Skincare,” this decidedly strange SXSW premiere follows the grieving Yvonne (Zoë Chao) into...

Wellness culture takes sinister form in “The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick,” a horror-adjacent domestic drama that can’t quite sustain its tongue-in-cheek delights. Directed by Pete Ohs (“Jethica”), and co-written by Ohs and his four lead actors, the ultra-indie SXSW discovery’s wry tone is accompanied by strange characters and even stranger sound design, and yields a wildly enjoyable initial half. However, like its grieving lead character lost in her millennial malaise, it loses itself down a rabbit hole of metaphors.

After Yvonne (Zoë Chao) experiences a personal tragedy — the surprising details of which are hinted at over a phone call, before gradually coming to light — she drives to the isolated, woodland home of her old college friend Camille (Callie Hernandez), only to discover a pair of surprise guests when she expected time alone. Camille’s real estate agent Isaac (Jeremy O. Harris) and his partner A.

Pete Ohs is bringing the horrors of domesticity to the screen in his third collaboration with Jeremy O. Harris. Ohs, who previously edited Harris’ documentary “Slave Play. Not a Movie. A Play.” and is helming the upcoming indie “Erupcja” starring Harris and Charli Xcx, directs and co-writes SXSW feature “The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick.” This is the first film to be released by Harris’ new production company, bb².

Zoë Chao leads “The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick” as a grieving woman who spirals into paranoia after being (as the title teases) bitten by a tick while on vacation. Chao co-wrote the film with Ohs, Harris, and fellow actors Callie Hernandez and James Cusati-Moyer. Ohs, Hernandez (in her third collaboration with Ohs after by “Obex” and “Jethica”), and Harris and Josh Godfrey of bb² all produce as well.

The official synopsis reads: “After a tragic event,...

Sistas Spoilers February 5, 2025: Next week on Sistas on BET, if you were on the edge of your seat this week, then buckle up. Hudson (James Cusati-Moyer) tries to convince Gary (Chido Nwokocha) to forget about Andi (K.J. Smith Black), claiming that unlike her, he’ll never stab him in the back. Meanwhile, Tamara (Joi […]

The post Sistas Spoilers February 5, 2025: Big Drama appeared first on Soap Opera News.

Since the Golden Age of Hollywood, fantasy has been a cornerstone of the film industry's success, from Greek mythology epics like Clash of the Titans to '80s cult classics like Labyrinth. Covering everything from wizards, knights, and dragons to ancient gods and superhero stories, the genre continues to prove itself one of the most diverse in the industry -- and studios continue to establish their new big thing.

Fantasy movies are typically the flagship blockbuster projects of major studios, with many of the industry's record-high budgets being spent on the genre. While iconic hits like The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter carried studios to billion-dollar box office draws, attempts by rival studios to emulate this success have often fallen short. From disastrous book adaptations to attempts at new shared universes, filmmakers usually miss the mark when giving a studio their next big hit.

Black Adam Failed to...

Sistas Spoilers November 27, 2024: Next week on Sistas on BET, in the episode titled “Game Recognizes Game,” is some unexpected drama. The investigation is out of control, and the drama is just heating up! Dr. Leed (Christopher Gurr) informs Hudson (James Cusati-Moyer) that the heroin was laced with fentanyl! Andi (K.J. Smith Black) finds […]

The post Sistas Spoilers November 27: Robin and Fatima Face Off appeared first on Soap Opera News.

While its always great for audiences to show their support for the hard work the production crew and stars put into a movie, some post-credits scenes truly were not worth the wait. To make a feature film is a major endeavor, so its important to give the crew their due and stick around for the credits, but if the only reason a viewer was watching them was to see the final scene or catch a hidden Easter egg, plenty of films would leave them disappointed. As post-credits scenes have become more common in recent years, in some cases, they feel needlessly tacked on and without much depth or interest.

The best post-credits scenes offer something new and exciting for viewers to look forward to. This could be the introduction of a long-awaited character, a new plot point that lays the groundwork for a sequel, or even just one final gag...

A Black Adam vs. Superman concept trailer brings the iconic DC titans together in an epic cinematic crossover after the Black Adam post-credits scene tease. It has been nearly two years since Dwayne Johnson joined the Dceu movie timeline as Black Adam, best known as Shazam's greatest enemy. One of the biggest unfinished plot points that was introduced in the post-credits scene of Black Adam was Johnson's titular anti-hero coming face-to-face with Henry Cavill's iteration of Superman.

While there were plans to have Superman and Black Adam fight down the line, the concept was quickly scrapped as Warner Bros. Discovery decided to reboot their DC brand on TV and in film. However, in a proof-of-concept trailer from Screen Culture, Cavill and Johnson's DC characters finally face each other.

Pitched as Black Adam v Superman: Dawn of Justice II, the footage uses a lot of material from Zack Snyder...

Game of Thrones star Kit Harington will return to the London stage in the upcoming production of Jeremy O. Harris’ acclaimed and controversial Slave Play.

Despite the star casting, Slave Play playwright Jeremy O. Harris assures audiences that Harington’s presence will not be a “distraction.”

In an interview with London’s The Guardian, Harris said Harington was emphatic that the ensemble piece not be turned into “the Jon Snow experience” (a reference to Harington’s character on Thrones).

“Kit was saying ‘I don’t want this to be Kit Harington in Slave Play, this is an ensemble play and I’m not even the lead,’” Harris told the newspaper. “He knows the weight his name carries and how that could become a distraction, if we allowed it to be.”

Harington will play the role of Jim, originated on Broadway by Paul Alexander Nolan. The character is involved in a troublesome interracial,...

Kit Harington is heading back to the stage for the West End production of Broadway hit Slave Play!

The 37-year-old actor, best known for playing Jon Snow on Game of Thrones, will star as Jim in acclaimed play alongside I’m a Virgo actress Olivia Washington as Kaneisha.

Here’s the play’s synopsis: “At the MacGregor Plantation the Old South is alive and well. The heat in the air, the cotton fields and the power of the whip. Yet nothing is quite as it appears… or maybe it is.”

The Jeremy O. Harris play will run in London from June 29 through September 21 at the Noel Coward Theatre. Tickets go on sale later this week.

Several cast members from the Broadway production, including Inventing Anna actor James Cusati-Moyer, will reprise their roles in London.

It was recently announced that Kit will reunite with a Game of Thrones co-star for a new movie!

Emmy-winning executive producer David E. Kelley and Oscar winner Barry Levinson lead Peacock psychological crime thriller “The Calling.”

Kelley, known recently for “Big Little Lies” and “The Undoing,” serves as showrunner, writer, and executive producer of the series, premiering November 10 on the NBCU streamer. Levinson directs multiple episodes including the pilot, as well as executive produces. Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro are co-composers for the gritty police procedural with a twist.

“The Calling” centers on NYPD Detective Avraham Avraham (Jeff Wilbusch) whose belief in mankind is his superpower when it comes to uncovering the truth. Guided by a deep sense of spirituality and religious principles, Avraham is left to question his own humanity when a seemingly routine investigation turns upside down. The series is based on Dror Mishani’s novels of the same name, which showrunner Kelley calls a “riveting and emotionally complicated series of books.”

“Avi is a deeply mysterious,...

Black Adam Review — Black Adam (2022) Film Review, a movie directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, written by Adam Sztykiel, Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani and starring Dwayne Johnson, Aldis Hodge, Pierce Brosnan, Noah Centineo, Sarah Shahi, Quintessa Swindell, Marwan Kenzari, Bodhi Sabongui, Mohammed Amer, James Cusati-Moyer, Jalon Christian, Benjamin Patterson, Odelya Halevi, Henry Winkler, [...]

Continue reading: Film Review: Black Adam (2022): Dwayne Johnson’s Science Fiction Movie Looks Great But is Messy and Often Incoherent...

Click here to read the full article.

Inventing Anna actor James Cusati-Moyer has signed with Img Models.

The powerhouse agency will focus on nabbing editorial opportunities and fashion and lifestyle endorsements for Cusati-Moyer. He plays high-end fashion stylist Val in Inventing Anna, Shonda Rhimes’ miniseries that stars Julia Garner as Anna Delvey, the real-life scammer who gained entry into New York’s elite circles by posing as a wealthy German heiress.

Cusati-Moyer’s other credits include recently boarding Warner Bros.’ upcoming D.C. film Black Adam alongside Dwayne Johnson and Pierce Brosnan, Paramount’s Evil, Peacock’s The Missing, Wbtv/Fox’s Prodigal Son, ABC’s Time After Time, Amazon’s Red Oaks, Hulu’s The Path and Blue Bloods on CBS.

Cusati-Moyer is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama. In 2020, he received a Tony nomination for best featured actor for his performance in Slave Play. He made...

DC Comics fans are getting a closer look at Dwayne Johnson’s “Black Adam” in a new, action-packed trailer.

“Black Adam” stars Johnson as the powerful anti-hero and sworn nemesis of Shazam, who was played by Zachary Levi in a 2019 origin movie and in the upcoming sequel, “Shazam: Fury of the Gods,” coming next year. After over a decade in development, “Black Adam” will be released on July 29.

Johnson was originally supposed to enter the DC universe as Black Adam in 2019’s “Shazam;” however, his role was scrapped when the spinoff for his character was greenlit in 2017.

In October of 2021, Johnson debuted a first look at the film on Twitter — which showed Black Adam breaking out of imprisonment after 5,000 years of captivity. “This character, this film, this universe has been a gigantic passion project of mine for a very long time,” said Johnson in the October video. “And the truth is,...

With The Batman‘s release swiftly approaching, Warner Bros. has unveiled new footage from its other upcoming DC superhero films, including Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Black Adam and The Flash.

The first footage from the second Aquaman film, set for release on December 16, sees Momoa’s superhero overlooking a valley and sitting on his throne. Specifics as to the film’s plot have been kept under wraps, but Amber Heard will also appear, alongside Patrick Wilson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Dolph Lundgren, Nicole Kidman, Randall Park and more.

The footage from Black Adam, starring Dwayne Johnson, offers a look at members of the Justice Society of America, including Dr. Fate (Pierce Brosnan). The Shazam! spin-off centered on that film’s anti-hero of the same name also stars Aldis Hodge, Noah Centineo, Quintessa Swindell, Marwan Kenzari, James Cusati-Moyer, Mohammed Amer, Bodhi Sabongui and Uli Latukefu, and debuts in theaters on July 29.

Then,...

New footage of DC’s “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” “Black Adam” and “The Flash” has been revealed in a new clip posted to social media.

While the video teases only a brief look at Jason Momoa standing above a valley and sitting on Aquaman’s throne, it serves as the first official footage from the long-awaited sequel. Also starring Amber Heard as Mera and Willem Dafoe as Nuidis Vulko, “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” premieres in theaters on Dec. 16. Patrick Wilson, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Nicole Kidman will appear in supporting roles.

The video also provides a ton of new footage from “Black Adam,” featuring Dwayne Johnson in action as the title character. The footage marks the first look at the Justice Society of America: Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan), Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo) and Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell). After over a decade in development, “Black Adam...

False Positive Review Video — False Positive (2021) Video Movie Review, a movie directed by John Lee, written by John Lee and Ilana Glazer, and starring Ilana Glazer, Justin Theroux, Gretchen Mol, Sabina Gadecki, Pierce Brosnan, Josh Hamilton, Nils Lawton, Sullivan Jones, James Cusati-Moyer, Lucy [...]

Continue reading: Video Movie Review: False Positive (2021): A Homage to Rosemary’S Baby That Leaves One Longing for the Original...

2021 DC FanDome Black Adam First-look Video Footage — Black Adam first-look video footage from the 2021 DC FanDome has been released by Warner Bros. Cast and crew Black Adam stars Dwayne Johnson, Noah Centineo, Pierce Brosnan, Quintessa Swindell, Aldis Hodge, Sarah Shahi, Marwan Kenzari, James Cusati-Moyer, Bodhi Sabongui, Mo Amer, and Uli [...]

Continue reading: Black Adam First-look Video Footage: Dwayne Johnson is the DC Comics Anti-Hero [DC FanDome 2021]...

Broadway has just reopened after shuttering on March 13, 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. To mark the return of the rialto, the 74th annual Tonys were handed out on Sunday, September 26 at the Winter Garden theater. This two-part ceremony, which will be hosted by six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald on Paramount+ and “Hamilton” star Leslie Odom, Jr. on CBS, comes almost one year after nominations were announced on October 15, 2020.

Two new musicals – “Jagged Little Pill” and “Moulin Rouge!” — lead the Tony Awards nominations with 15 and 14 bids respectively including Best Musical. A third tuner, “Tina – The Tina Turner Musical,” reaped a dozen bids as did the new drama “Slave Play.” While the nominees were decided by 48 theater professionals, the winners were voted on by 831 members of the Broadway community.

Below, the 2020 Tony Awards winners list in all 25 competitive categories.

See Broadway insiders dishing the 2020 Tony Awards nominations in our theater forum

Musicals...

“Slave Play” made history back in October when it received 12 Tony Awards nominations, the most ever for a play. Five of those citations recognize members of its stellar ensemble, including a bid in Actress, two in Featured Actor, and two in Featured Actress. While “Slave Play” is the frontrunner for Best Play according to our exclusive Tony Awards predictions, none of its cast will take home trophies. But could an upset be looming?

Though it seems counterintuitive that Tony voters would award a play the top honor without recognizing at least one of its performers, it has happened six times in the past 20 years, including the two most recent. In 2019, Jez Butterworth’s “The Ferryman,” an expansive family drama about The Troubles in Ireland, won the top prize and trophies for Director (Sam Mendes), Scenic Design, and Costume Design, but didn’t pick up awards for its three nominated performers: actor Paddy Considine,...

Exclusive: Young Rock actor Uli Latukefu, who plays the college football era Dwayne Johnson on the NBC hit series, is reuniting with the action star for New Line/DC’s Black Adam.

Latukefu’s role is being kept under wraps. The Australian native made his U.S. network TV debut in the Young Rock this past February. He was hand picked by Johnson to play his younger self, beating out thousands of hopefuls for the role. Young Rock premiered on NBC to the network’s highest comedy ratings of the season. The season one finale is scheduled for Tuesday, May 4.

On the film side, Latukefu recently wrapped Black Site opposite Michelle Monaghan, Jason Clarke and Jai Courtney. He will next appear in Searchlight’s Next Goal Wins for Taika Waititi opposite Michael Fassbender and Elisabeth Moss which tells the true story of the perennially losing American Samoa soccer team as...

Exclusive: Stand-up comedian Mo Amer is the latest to join Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam posse for New Line/DC.

Details of his role are being kept secret, but he joins an ever-growing cast that includes Johnson in the title role, Pierce Brosnan as Dr. Fate, Aldis Hodge as Hawkman, Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher and Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone, with Marwan Kenzari, James Cusati-Moyer and Bodhi Sabongui rounding out the cast.

Amer is known for his Netflix comedy special Mo Amer: The Vagabond and the award-winning Hulu sitcom Ramy on which the comedian stars as Ramy Youssef’s Muslim cousin Mo, who owns a diner. Amer is one-third of the comedy troupe Allah Made Me Funny. He appears in the upcoming comedy film Americanish.

Jaume Collet-Serra, who also directed Johnson and Emily Blunt in Disney’s upcoming July 30 theatrical release Jungle Cruise, is directing Black Adam. Johnson, Dany Garcia...

After all these years, Black Adam is now finally ready to begin filming, and star Sarah Shahi, whose role has remained relatively mysterious, may have now revealed who she is playing. Shahi recently took to social media to celebrate the start of filming on the DC outing, referring to her character as "Adrianna," and thus likely confirming and ongoing rumor that she will, in fact, be playing Adrianna Tomaz.

After a long, long wait, it seems the upcoming live-action Black Adam movie is on the track to completion. Dwayne Johnson, who plays the lead role in the movie, and is also the producer, has been responsible for keeping the project alive since it was first announced back in 2016. The actor took to Instagram to celebrate the first day of the shoot for Black Adam, calling it an honor to be a part of the project.

"History in the making, extremely excited and what a humbling moment to share with you. Officially kicking off Day 1 of filming our Black Adam⚡️Our Director and maestro, Jaume Collet-Serra. Our Academy Award nominee (Joker), Director of Photography, Lawrence Sher. We have an all star production crew - incredibly talented, galvanized, committed and focused to raise the bar and deliver something Special for the world.

This one is an honor."

In the comics, Black...

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's upcoming DC outing, Black Adam, has added a crucial new cast member, with rising actor Bodhi Sabongui, whose role is being kept a secret at present, but it has been described as "a key role in the Black Adam-dc canon". Sabongui joins the recently cast Tony Award nominee James Cusati-Moyer who has also joined Black Adam in a mysterious role.

Bodhi Sabongui is no stranger to the world of DC having starred in the CW's Legends of Tomorrow. He has also had starring roles in the likes of the television series' A Million Little Things, and The Baby-Sitters Club. James Cusati-Moyer meanwhile is known on screen for roles in the likes of Prodigal Son and was recently nominated for a Tony Award in the featured actor/play category for his turn as Dustin in Jeremy O. Harris' Slave Play.

Black Adam will join the pantheon of DC cinematic heroes and villains,...

Exclusive: Deadline has learned that James Cusati-Moyer has joined the cast of New Line/DC’s upcoming Black Adam in a role that’s being kept under wraps.

Cusati-Moyer is currently nominated for a Tony Award in the featured actor/play category for his turn as Dustin in Jeremy O. Harris’ Slave Play. Cusati-Moyer originated the role when the play premiered Off Broadway at New York Theater Workshop and continued the role on Broadway until the pandemic shutdown last spring. (A date for the postponed Tony ceremony has not been announced.)

Cusati-Moyer recently wrapped production on the Shonda Rhimes Netflix series Inventing Anna starring Julia Garner. His additional credits include Wbtv/Fox’s Prodigal Son series, Amazon’s Red Oaks and Hulu’s The Path. Cusati-Moyer made his Broadway debut in Tripp Cullman’s Six Degrees of Separation. Off-Broadway, he starred in Terrence McNally’s Fire and Air at Classic Stage Company.

After playwright Jeremy O. Harris’ hit show Slave Play had its final performance at the Golden Theatre on January 19th, 2020, he was applauded by some for changing the way audiences engaged with Broadway theater — but also found many detractors. Harris had insisted on being a co-producer of the show, made sure to offer more affordable tickets ($39 rather than the average $124), and hosted a “Black Out” performance, which reserved all 804 seats for black students, performers, journalists, and artists. It seemed a shoe-in for Tony accolades, then the coronavirus pandemic shuttered Broadway...

“I was really taken aback by how much I was delighted and disturbed by the play,” explains Ato Blankson-Wood of “Slave Play.” The actor scored his first ever Tony nomination for his work as Gary in Jeremy O. Harris’ searing look at racism in America. Watch the exclusive video interview above.

“I recognized that Jeremy is a very singular voice,” says Blankson-Wood as he thinks back on his first impressions of “Slave Play.” The actor saw a student production of the show at Yale before starring in the Off-Broadway and Broadway mountings. The story opens with three interracial couples partaking in “Antebellum Sexual Performance Therapy” to work through their issues. As the script eventually reveals, these issues are often rooted in the systemic racism of American society.

See ‘Slave Play’ breaks Tony nominations record for a play with a staggering 12 bids

Since the script refuses to shy away from any topic,...

“Slave Play” actor James Cusati-Moyer has booked a recurring role on Netflix’s upcoming limited series “Inventing Anna,” TheWrap has learned.

The 10-episode series from “Scandal” creator Shonda Rhimes adapts the New York Magazine article by Jessica Pressler about Anna Sorokin, a.k.a. Anna Delvey, the 28-year-old who faked being a German heiress to swindle New York elite out of more than $200,000.

Cusati-Moyer will play Val, a stylist and fashion director who experiences firsthand the whiplash of a whirlwind friendship with Anna.

He joins a cast which includes “Ozark” star Julia Garner as the titular fake heiress, “Veep” alum Anna Chlumsky, “Orange Is the New Black” star Laverne Cox, “Scandal’s” Katie Lowes and “The Bold Type” actress Alexis Floyd. Rhimes is creator and executive producer on the series, alongside Shondaland’s Betsy Beers. “The Devil Wears Prada’s” David Frankel directs.

Cusati-Moyer was nominated for a Tony Award...

Yesterday, the nominees for the 74th annual Tony Awards were announced. Honoring Broadway’s best, it comes as the industry is shut down due to Covid-19, reminding us all that the film industry isn’t the only one feeling the brunt of Coronavirus. Covid may have shut down the theaters, but the show will go on, Tony-wise. In terms of what faired the best with these nominations, the musical Jagged Little Pill led the way with a whopping fifteen nominations, with Moulin Rouge! next in line at fourteen. They led the pack, though also getting double digit citations were Slave Play and Tina: The Tina Turner Musical at a dozen each, while The Inheritance managed eleven. Here are all of the Tony nominees for this year: Best Play Grand Horizons by Bess Wohl The Inheritance by Matthew Lopez Sea Wall/A Life by Simon Stephens and Nick Payne Slave Play...

Hours after the nominations for the 2020 Tony Awards were finally unveiled on October 15, I sat down with another Broadway buff, David Buchanan, to dish all the surprises and snubs. We also predict how this year’s races will play out. We are still waiting on a confirmed date for this year’s ceremony. Watch the full video above.

As I note, “there are famous A-Lister names but they also celebrate these hardworking theater actors who aren’t necessarily household names, who are nevertheless doing incredible work.” We were both pleased to see the likes of Paul Hilton (“The Inheritance”) and “Slave Play” standouts like Ato Blankson-Wood and James Cusati-Moyer. I was particularly overjoyed to that Cora Vander Broek, the unsung hero of “Linda Vista,” reaped a bid. I note that her final line in the play marked “one of the few times this season where I experienced an entire audience...

Blame the coronavirus for this year’s drastically reduced roster of eligible Tony Award nominees, and Tony nominators for overlooking at least a few possibilities. Even with only 18 Broadway productions in the running for a 2020 award, feelings were bound to be hurt.

Let’s start with the good news: The list of nominees for the 74th Annual Tony Awards is a solid one, with no noticeable contenders – at least to my eye – sneaking in due to the decreased competition. Good luck to voters parsing their choices for one castmate over another – Sea Wall/A Life‘s Jake Gyllenhaal or Tom Sturridge? Slave Play‘s Ato Blankson-Wood or James Cusati-Moyer, and Chalia La Tour or Annie McNamara? Jagged Little Pill‘s Kathryn Gallagher, Celia Rose Gooding or Lauren Patten?

Of course we’ll never know how the list would be different if Six, West Side Story...

In an unprecedented year for the Broadway community, the Tony Awards just gifted theatre fans with a reason to celebrate: Jeremy O. Harris’ audacious and brilliant “Slave Play” now holds the record for the most play nominations in a single season with a whopping dozen.

That eclipses by one the benchmark set by the 2018 revival of Tony Kushner’s “Angels in America,” which scored 11 bids including Best Revival, Director (Marianne Elliott), Actor (Andrew Garfield), Featured Actor (Nathan Lane), two in Featured Actress, Original Score, and Scenic, Costume, Lighting, and Sound Designs. “Angels” took home three trophies for Revival, Garfield, and Lane.

See the complete list of 2020 Tony Awards nominees

“Slave Play” leap-frogged “Angels in America” in part because of its impressive showing in the acting categories. From its all-around sensational ensemble five reaped bids: Lead Actress (Joaquina Kalukango), two Featured Actors and two Featured Actresses. Its strongest competitor, “The Inheritance,...

The Tony Awards nominations were announced on Thursday, October 15 by Tony winner James Monroe Iglehart (“Aladdin”). The reveal of the roster of contenders was carried on the Tonys YouTube channel. While the nominations for the 74th annual Tony Awards were determined by 41 theater professionals, winners will be decided by 784 members of the Broadway community.

Only 18 shows were eligible for consideration by the nominating committee. On the play side, there are 10 original works and four revivals in the running. Over on the musical side, four new tuners are in contention; no musical revivals qualified. The cutoff date for eligibility was February 19, 2020. As both the Bob Dylan tuner “Girl From the North Country” and a new revival of “West Side Story” opened after that, don’t look for them on the list of nominations below.

Broadway has remained closed since March 13 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Tony Awards had been set...

With the 2020 Tony Awards delayed by the global pandemic, it’s been months since nominators have seen this season’s contenders. So here’s a last minute Tonys wish list. A reminder of outstanding performances that deserve to be recognized when nominations are unveiled on Thursday October 15. Let’s cross our fingers for these underdogs.

Featured Actor in a Musical: Ryan Knowles, “The Lightning Thief”

“The Lightning Thief” is squarely aimed at young theatergoers, and in that realm it greatly succeeds. The teens sitting around me in the audience had an absolute blast cheering on the heroes of this musical. Thankfully, Ryan Knowles burst onto the stage as a multitude of characters to provide humor for the adults in the room. I guffawed as he swished across the moody underworld as a pitch perfect Paul Lynde impression escaped his mouth. I doubt any of the kids knew of Lynde, or...

Hey, "Prodigal Son" fans. If you flipped on Fox earlier tonight, November 18, 2019, we're sure most of you were quite disappointed to see that the brand new episode 9 of this current season 1 did not air. Yeah, for some reason, Fox didn't air it. Instead, they are scheduled to air the new episode 9 next Monday night, November 25,2019 at approximately 8 pm central standard time. So, be sure to mark that very important date down on your TV show calendars right now. Instead of airing the new episode 9, Fox aired a rerun of Prodigal Son. The rerun they aired was the second episode of this current season 1. That episode is titled,"Annihilator." Fox's official description for it reads like this, "Bright jumps at the chance to help Arroyo solve a quadruple homicide for the NYPD. As Bright slips into the mind of this serial killer, he finds himself dealing with the repercussions of seeing...

Exclusive: James Cusati-Moyer, currently starring in Broadway’s Slave Play after originating his role in the sold-out Off Broadway production, is now a Paradigm client.

In Jeremy O. Harris’ Slave Play, Cusati-Moyer plays Dustin, an actor in an interracial relationship who refuses to identify as caucasian, though others are all too eager to do so for him. He originated the role at the New York Theatre Workshop staging, and is now on Broadway through the show’s run ending Jan. 19, 2020.

Cusati-Moyer’s often comic performance has been singled out by many critics. He made his Broadway debut in Trip Cullman’s Tony-nominated revival of Six Degrees of Separation alongside Allison Janney. Other theater credits include Terrence McNally’s Fire and Air at Classic Stage Company and ‘Romeo’ in Westport Country Playhouse’s Romeo and Juliet.

Television credits include appearances on Fox’s Prodigal Son, Netflix’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,...

Even though it’s early days in the 2019-2020 Broadway season, Jeremy O. Harris’s new drama “Slave Play” has just emerged as the first genuine Tony Awards contender in the play categories. After a critically-acclaimed, if not controversial, start at New York Theater Workshop last year, “Slave Play” officially opened at the Golden Theatre on October 6 for a limited run through the beginning of next year.

Directed by Robert O’Hara, “Slave Play” opens on three couples—Kaneisha and Jim (Joaquina Kalukango and Paul Alexander Nolan), Alana and Phillip (Annie McNamara and Sullivan Jones), and Gary and Dustin (Ato Blankson-Wood and James Cusati-Moyer)—all navigating the dynamics of power, race, and sex on the MacGregor Plantation. As the play progresses, though, Teá and Patricia (Chalia La Tour and Irene Sofia Lucio) enter and disrupt the unfolding narrative in a most surprising way.

Sign Up for Gold Derby’s free...

One of the first hints – an uneasy moment in a remarkable evening full of them – planted in Jeremy O. Harris’ Slave Play suggesting that all is not as it seems (and even what it seems isn’t entirely clear) comes shortly into the opening scenario. A black woman, dressed in Antebellum slave garb, and a white man, attired in the sort of short-hand plantation overseer costume we know from Roots and any number of similar period dramas, are in the midst of an encounter queasy with sexual overtones. No, not sexual. Rape overtones – the leering, bullwhip-toting man is using every bit of his inherent power to forecast what’s coming. The woman’s exaggerated patois – she pointedly says “massa,” not “master” – is loaded with a comic, fearful exaggeration that wouldn’t be out of keeping in an old Stepin Fetchit routine.

So that’s what seems to be happening, this enactment,...

A new Broadway season is gearing up, and there are currently nine productions of plays set to open this fall. Could we be seeing any of them contend at this year’s Tony Awards? Below, we recap the plot of each play as well as the awards history of its author, cast, creative types, the opening, and (where applicable) closing dates.

“Betrayal” (opens September 5; closes December 8)

In the third Broadway revival of Harold Pinter’s 1978 award-winning play, the story charts a compelling seven-year romance, thrillingly captured in reverse chronological order.

The original Broadway production received Tony nominations for star Blythe Danner and director Peter Hall. This production is coming in after a successful run in London’s West End earlier this year. The cast includes Emmy nominee Tom Hiddleston, Zawe Ashton, SAG winner Charlie Cox, and is directed by Laurence Olivier Award winner Jamie Lloyd.

“The Height of the Storm...

Jeremy O. Harris’ Broadway-bound Slave Play will arrive with most of its acclaimed Off Broadway cast intact, producers announced today.

Taking the stage at Broadway’s Golden Theatre next month will be Ato Blankson-Wood, James Cusati-Moyer, Sullivan Jones, Chalia La Tour, Irene Sofia Lucio, Annie McNamara, and Paul Alexander Nolan, all from last November’s New York Theatre Workshop staging. Joining the Broadway cast will be Joaquina Kalukango, taking over the role from Teyonah Parris, who co-stars in Disney Plus’ upcoming WandaVision.

Returning to direct is Robert O’Hara.

The Broadway staging will be produced by Greg Nobile and Jana Shea of Seaview Productions, Troy Carter, Level Forward, and Jake Gyllenhaal/Riva Marker-founded Nine Stories.

As previously announced, Slave Play begins a 17-week engagement at Broadway’s Golden Theatre on Tuesday, September 10, with an official opening night of Sunday, October 6.

Slave Play is set on what initially appears...