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“Kinky Boots” leads 2013 Tony Award nominations

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 14:47:00 +0000

NEW YORK (AP) — The Cyndi Lauper-scored "Kinky Boots" has earned a leading 13 Tony Award nominations, with the British import "Matilda: The Musical" close behind with 12. Tom Hanks, making his Broadway debut, earned a nod as leading man in a play.

"Kinky Boots" is based on the 2005 British movie about a real-life shoe factory that struggles until it finds new life in fetish footwear. Lauper's songs and a story by Harvey Fierstein have made it a crowd-pleaser.

"I walked my dog early this morning so I'd be back in time to listen to the announcement. It's so great. It's so great. I'm done crying a little bit. But I'm still thrilled and a little stunned," Lauper said.

The haul did not match the record number of nominations for a musical, which is 15, set by "The Producers" in 2001 and "Billy Elliot" in 2009. "The Book of Mormon" nabbed 14 Tony nods in 2011.

"Lucky Guy," Nora Ephron's portrait of Mike McAlary, a gutsy New York City newspaper columnist who won a Pulitzer Prize for exposing that a Haitian immigrant had been sodomized by police officers in 1997, got six nominations, including one for Hanks as McAlary.

Rep. Steve Cohen deletes tweet calling Cyndi Lauper “hot”

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 16:50:00 +0000

Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., who made headlines a few weeks ago for seemingly suggestive tweets at a young woman who turned out to be his secret daughter, is in trouble with The Twitter again--this time, for a flirty, intimate tweet he sent to Cyndi Lauper.

On Tuesday, the congressman raised eyebrows with the following tweet, calling the singer "hot." He wrote: "great night,couldn't believe how hot u were.see you again next Tuesday.try a little tenderness." The tweet was up for only 21 minutes until Cohen deleted it, but it has been saved forever in all its glory thanks to site Politiwoops.

The Washington Post reports, however, that Cohen will hold a press conference at 1 pm ET to discuss the tweet, which may have been taken out of context. Cohen, a long-time supporter of the Memphis art scene, may have been referring to her performance at the White House's Memphis Soul night concert on Tuesday, and not her physical appearance.

Cyndi Lauper just wants to have fun on Broadway

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 13:08:00 +0000

NEW YORK (AP) — Writing her first musical turned into a time machine for Cyndi Lauper.

As the Grammy Award winner began work on the exuberant "Kinky Boots," it took her back to her childhood, where she was likely to be found listening endlessly to cast albums on a record player.

There was "There's No Business Like Show Business" and "My Fair Lady." And "South Pacific," of course. She remembers her grandmother coming downstairs and ripping "The King and I" off the player after one too many spins.

"My mother said I was a little odd as a kid," says Lauper, 59. "I was alone a lot but I didn't feel alone. When I sang with those records, I'd be Julie Andrews and there was Rex Harrison sitting on my mother's bed. I was Mitzi Gaynor. I was Ezio Pinza. I think she had Mary Martin, too — I was all of them. I was pretty good until they sang duets."

Sitting backstage at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, waiting to catch another preview of her 15-song debut as a Broadway lyricist and composer, Lauper is both nervous and humble. The little girl who listened compulsively to show tunes has now delivered her own.

"It's the closest thing to being 5," she says.

Former “Apprentice” Cyndi Lauper on Trump: “What kind of idiot are you?”

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 16:35:00 +0000

Donald Trump had better not ask Cyndi Lauper to appear on "All-Star Celebrity Apprentice."

Via Michael Musto at the Village Voice comes an interview in gay magazine Next with Cyndi Lauper, the 1980s pop star who wrote the music for a new Broadway show, "Kinky Boots." The singer and former "Celebrity Apprentice" competitor has strong words for her former "employer," Donald Trump:

"I felt that what he said about the gay community was disappointing because a lot of gay people work for him,” she admits. “It’s just sad. I thought he could have done better for his country than just go to the lowest common denominator and stir up the crap. It’s our country, it’s not wrestling. If you try and make our president fail, it doesn’t matter who he is, you make our country fail."

Lauper goes on to say that Trump is motivated to criticize President Obama (whose birth certificate he has publicly demanded) on the basis of race: "Our country is in trouble and he keeps wanting to make [Obama] fail. Let’s call a spade a spade. The guy’s a black man and that’s your issue? What kind of idiot are you? Come on."

Celebrities pitch in for Hurricane Sandy relief

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 20:20:00 +0000

As the East Coast continues to rebuild itself after last week's superstorm and then another nor'easter this week, celebrities--many with ties to the area--remain vocal and active about relief efforts. This week, Cyndi Lauper hosted a benefit concert and honored the memory of her uncle, who died in the hurricane. "I lost my Uncle George in the hurricane," she said. "He was old. He didn't want to leave his house. I was in Chicago, and I called and said [to relatives], 'Why did you guys leave him,' and they just didn't think it was going to get that bad.'"

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld, who grew up in Long Island, has added a performance there on Dec. 19 with plans to donate the proceeds to local relief organizations. "This is a tough time for this area and we're just glad to be able to help in the recovery," he said.