RI-RI’S ROAD TO SUCCESS
Hcan now turn up “Shut Up and Drive” while cruising down Rihanna Drive. On Barbados Independence Day, the Grammy-winning singer attended a ceremony renaming the street that she grew up in from Westbury New Road to Rihanna Drive. The Fenty Beauty brand founder was also in the news for criticizing the fashion and beauty industry for exploiting trans people. “I don’t think it’s fair that a trans woman, or man, be used as a convenient marketing tool,” she wrote on Twitter. wanted to be celebrated by Broadway in the worst way – and now he will be. The heralded Gypsy of the Year awards will open with a big number that skewers the disgraced producer, according to a Broadway insider. And that’s just the start. “The opening number is a big ensemble piece and the refrain is ‘Don’t let Harvey backstage,’” according to a showbiz insider. “That sets the tone for the whole show.” Gypsy of the Year, put on annually by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids, takes place Monday and Tuesday at the New Amsterdam Theatre. The show’s opening number is directed by and choreographed by Rehearsals started Saturday. “Last year they skewered this year they’re doing Harvey,” we’re told. According to our spy, show organizers see their criticism of Weinstein as significant. “Broadway is a step ahead – to take down one of their own,” we’re told. “He was big with ‘Finding Neverland’ and he even did the Rockettes one year.”
Weinstein’s “Finding Neverland” opened to a whirlwind of press coverage in April 2015, but met with mixed reviews and mediocre ticket sales before closing in August 2016. It received no Tony nominations. Weinstein also helped produce the Rockettes’ “New York Spring Spectacular,” in 2014, only to announce days before the opening that the show wasn’t ready to launch. It finally did, to mixed reviews, a year later.
“Even though he will always be part of Broadway’s past, Broadway is dealing with him,” we’re told. “Gypsy of the Year” features 150 Broadway performers and will include appearances by stars from shows including “A Bronx Tale,” “Come From Away,” “Dear Evan Hansen” and “Hamilton.” Awards for best performances are handed out at the end of the show. But Weinstein can expect to be a big loser for months to come, according to our Great White Way insider.
“This essentially marks the start of awards season,” says our source. “Expect the others to follow suit.”