Hollywood Today
Leona Lewis puts aside pop world to get her nails in 'Cats'
NEW YORK (AP) — When she was not yet 10, Leona Lewis was taken to see "Cats" in London. It turned out to be theatrical catnip.
"It was so magical and it was such a spectacle, just the music and the dance, everything was so emotional. I just remember loving it," she recalled. "After seeing the show, I went to my singing teacher and I went, 'I want to learn "Memory.'" So I ended up learning 'Memory' when I was like 9."
More than two decades later, Lewis is leading the Broadway revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's still-frisky musical.
In the years since she first encountered "Cats," Lewis won the TV contest show "X Factor," earned three Grammy nominations. She became the first British female solo artist to top the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart in more than 20 years.
Broadway represented a career shake up following a disappointing reception to "I Am," her fifth studio album and the first since she left Simon Cowell's record label.
"It's a lot of work and it's very focused and dedicated and you have to literally eat, sleep, live, breathe the theater. That was a whole new challenge for me and something I wanted to take on," she said. "I feel like it will improve me as a performer — it already has."
Lewis, 31, is playing Grizabella, a once-elegant but now faded and isolated creature in a shabby coat. It's a role immortalized by Elaine Paige and Betty Buckley.
"It's thrilling to see Leona step into the shoes of a character that has inspired thousands of theater fans for almost four decades," said choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler. "From the start of our work on this production, she has jumped in with such openness and courage."
Court order sharply narrows Prince's potential heirs
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota judge overseeing Prince's estate narrowed down the wide pool of potential heirs for the late superstar's fortune on Friday, ruling out nearly 30 claimants while ordering genetic testing for six purported family members.
Carver County Judge Kevin Eide's order requires genetic testing for Prince's sister, Tyka Nelson, plus three half-siblings: Sharon Nelson, Norrine Nelson and John Nelson. Ken Abdo, the attorney for the three half-siblings declined to comment. Tyka Nelson's attorney did not immediately return a voicemail.
Eide also ordered testing for Brianna Nelson, who has claimed to be Prince's niece, and possible grand-niece Victoria Nelson. The pair has claimed Briana Nelson's father was Prince's half-brother. Their attorney, Andrew Stoltman, declined to comment.
It's unclear why the judge did not order testing for Omar Baker or Alfred Jackson, two men who were listed as half-brothers in the original petition for the court to name a special administrator to the estate. Jackson's attorney, Justin Bruntjen, declined to comment. An attorney for Baker could not be immediately reached.
Prince died April 21 of a drug overdose. The process of determining his heirs and parceling out his estate has fallen to the courts because he had no known children and left no will. A DNA test has already ruled out a Colorado prison inmate who claimed to be Prince's son.
Barring any others who could come forward claiming ties, Eide's order drastically limits who may benefit from Prince's fortunes — an estimated $300 million or more — or gain control of his legacy.
Among those excluded from potential heirship in Eide's order are five unidentified people with shaky claims that Prince was their biological father. For example, one woman who said she was adopted claimed Prince was her father because "based upon the general description of the lifestyle of her biological parents, her fascination with the Decedent and physical similarities."
The order also tosses out a handful of claimants who alleged that Prince's father was someone other than John L. Nelson, who is listed in court records as Prince's father.