Whoopi Goldberg played one of the judges at “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” at the Broadhurst Theatre on Tuesday.
“The View” star was seen singing and dancing throughout the revamped Andrew Lloyd Webber classic that is set in the queer ballroom culture of Harlem of the ’70s and ’80s where vogueing was invented. Madonna appropriated the dance style and made it popular in the ’90s.
After the performance, Whoopi stayed on to meet the performers, including Sydney James Harcourt who plays Rum Tum Tugger, the show’s sexy male lead.
“The moment she saw me, she lit up and said, ‘There’s my guy,’” Harcourt said.
The cast of “Cats: The Jellicle Ball.” (Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)
Whoopi went on to speak passionately about how “impactful” the show is, and described the show “as a revolution that is going to fundamentally shift what kinds of stories get told on Broadway moving forward.”
Harcourt, an original cast member of “Hamilton,” is already receiving Tony buzz for his performance in the show. He said Whoopi remembered he had performed “Wait for It” from “Hamilton” at a benefit for We’ve Got Friends, a charity for children with autism.
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Also at “Cats,” a long line of stars including Zendaya, Nicole Scherzinger and Jesse Tyler Ferguson have been dancing in the aisles in the last week of previews.
The show stars Tony winner André de Shields and vogueing legends Junior Labeija, Dava Huesca, Baby Byrne and Leiomy.
Zendaya and Nicole Scherzinger. (Getty Images)
Busy Philipps attended a recent matinee with a group of friends to celebrate the birthday of “Queer Eye” star, Jonathan Van Ness, who was a celebrity judge that day.
During the show, Philipps jumped up from her seat when Harcourt took her hand and the two vogued to the show’s opening number, “Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats.”
The pair strutted up and down the “catwalk” through the aisles as the crowd went wild, whipping out their yellow and black fans to cheer the duo on.
The next day, Busy took to Instagram and said, “I went to see ‘Cats: The Jellicle Ball’ today … It’s like a joy bomb. It’s just what we need in this moment. We need queer joy, out loud, so loud, so fun.”
The show opens April 7.
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Some people felt pretty “foolish” on April Fools’ Day as they read a press release from sState Sen. Erik Bottcher unveiling a new law mandating toilet waste composting.
NY State Senator Erik Bottcher. (Santiago Felipe/Getty Images for MTV)
“The first-in-the-nation program will transform human bio-waste into nourishment for neighborhood street trees,” the release said.
Constituents would have to collect their feces in a bucket to be distributed on sidewalk trees. The release had realistic photos, graphs and bullet points.
But about halfway through, readers knew they’d been had.
“To promote optimal tree growth in the spring, residents will be encouraged to modify their diets beginning in January to include foods rich in nitrogen and phosphorus, such as walnuts … Residents will receive monthly dietary guidance aligned with neighborhood planting schedules.”
“Sometimes the best solution is the one you’ve been sitting on all along,” Bottcher was quoted. “The street trees will know where the nutrients came from, and they will be deeply grateful. Heck, they’re probably wondering what took us so long to do this.”
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Lisa Kudrow is “The Comeback” kid. Her third season of the TV show, which launched 20 years ago, comes 16 years after Season 2.
Lisa Kudrow in “The Comback.” (Erin Simkin/HBO)
She is getting help again from TV wunderkind Michael Patrick King. And, by the way, it’s shot on a little set where they did something called “Friends.” So no pressure.
“The entire thing is filmed at Warner Brothers, which is the history of Hollywood right there. It’s a risk,” he said.
But Kudrow feels it’s different because this season is about shooting the show like a documentary. “That makes it easy because you don’t know when the cameras on,” she said. “So you’ve got to just be listening and talking and ever-present even if the camera is not on you, which I do anyway.”
The results are Sunday nights at 10:30 on HBO.
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Architect Beverly Willis, known for her work on the Manhattan Village Academy, was a pioneering force.
During Women’s History Month, the Southampton Arts Center hosted a screening honoring her legacy and women in architecture. The program featured “Unknown New York: The City That Women Built,” a documentary directed by Willis, showcasing 234 Manhattan projects designed by women.
The film celebrates the overlooked role women have played in shaping New York’s complex urban fabric.
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Jon Hamm attends Apple TV’s “Your Friends & Neighbors” Season 2 premiere at New York Historical on Monday in New York City. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
Jon Hamm was on the New Heights podcast Wednesday where the Kelce brothers talked football with the born and bred Midwesterner. Hamm talked about playing football in high school and being recruited by three colleges. When Travis Kelce asked what was tougher, football or acting, Hamm instantly replied, “Football. No one is trying to tackle you during a scene.”
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Ray Kelly, the former NYPD commissioner of 14 years, was the guest of honor at philanthropist Jean Shafiroff’s lunch for The New York Women’s Foundation at Café Boulud in Palm Beach, Fla. Other guests included Kelly’s wife, Veronica; Ava Roosevelt; Ramona Singer; Pamela O’Connor, and wealth manager Martin Shafiroff.
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Meredith Schott, the daughter of socialite Christine Schott, was at (Sub)Mercer in SoHo to launch her first single, “Birthday Girl,” which she wrote and produced with Grammy-winning producer Justin Love and New Jersey rapper Shwiggy. Schott will next launch a line of clothing, including a collection of “Birthday Girl Pants.”