By WALTER ANG
MARCH 6, 2024 | USA.Inquirer.net
NEW YORK — Filipino American actors Isa Briones and Eva Noblezada will bask in the spotlight on Broadway as they take on lead roles in the musicals "Hadestown" and "The Great Gatsby," respectively.
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| Isa Briones (left) with Jon Jon Briones. |
Briones will take over the role of Eurydice in the Tony-winning (Best Musical, Best Original Score) retelling of the ancient Greek myth of Eurydice and Orpheus.
Briones is making her Broadway debut. She had been one of the youngest actors to join one of the many touring productions of "Hamilton," playing the roles of Peggy Schuyler and Maria Reynolds.
On television, she has starred in Paramount+'s "Star Trek: Picard" (where she played two sets of twins, totaling four characters) and Disney+/Hulu's "Goosebumps."
Jon Jon Briones was last seen on Broadway as The Engineer in the revival of Miss Saigon. He is a regular on Ryan Murphy-produced TV shows including "American Horror Story" and, recently, "Ratched" on Netflix.
He played Maurice in ABC's made-for-television special "Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration" opposite Fil-Am celebrity singer H.E.R. (Gabriella Wilson) as Belle.
The musical by singer-songwriter Anais Mitchell incorporates folk and jazz music and is playing at the Walter Kerr Theatre.
Great Gatsby
Eva Noblezada will play the role of Daisy Buchanan in "The Great Gatsby" opposite Jeremy Jordan ("Newsies" on Broadway and "Supergirl" on TV) in the titular role.
Noblezada previously played Eurydice in "Hadestown," Eponine in "Les Miserables," and Kim in "Miss Saigon" on both the West End and on Broadway.
Both Noblezada and Jordan are reprising their roles from the world premiere of the musical last year at New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse, which broke its all-time record for ticket sales in a single day and went on to sell out its entire run before its first performance.
Based on the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel of the same title and set in the Roaring 1920s, the musical follows millionaire Gatsby and his tragic pursuit Buchanan, whom he has loved since his youth.
Previews will begin March 29 at the Broadway Theatre, with opening night scheduled for April 25.
The Broadway Theatre was recently the home of "Here Lies Love," a disco musical about Imelda Marcos.
"The Great Gatsby" features jazz and pop influenced music and lyrics by Tony nominees Nathan Tysen and Jason Howland and book by Kait Kerrigan. Direction is by Marc Bruni ("Beautiful: The Carole King Musical") and choreography is by Dominique Kelley ("Mariah's Magical Christmas Special").
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https://usa.inquirer.net/145877/fil-ams-take-on-lead-roles-in-hadestown-great-gatsby-on-broadway