Willkommen » rs had not been fully assessed relating to a propos

Kenny Leon is the Bill Belichick of musical directors. The lifelong Lakers fan might prefer a comparison to Phil Jackson, but the New England Patriots head honcho likeness seems a bit more fitting.Basketball teams cast just a few players on the court at a time, and everyone plays both offense and defense. Football teams are larger, requiring the precise orchestration of many, and the roles are complementary yet defined.With more than 50 cast members, Hairspray Live! meanders into pigskin-sport territory. Leon, who also directed NBCs The Wiz Live!, knows how to motivate a massive team in the direction of one universal goal.I have a saying: Everybody on the bed, or everybody on the floor, he said in a phone interview.That means either youre working toward a collective effort ... or youre not working.Hairspray Live!, which premieres on Wednesday at 8 p.m. EST on NBC, features an impressive lineup of stars, including Jennifer Hudson (playing Motormouth Maybelle), Ariana Grande (Penny Pingleton), Kristin Chenoweth (Velma Von Tussle) and Derek Hough (Corny Collins), all of whom will be working as one to ensure the shows success. The broadcast, with Grease: Live (Fox) and Peter Pan Live! (NBC), is the latest in a string of musicals televised on major networks in recent years.This small-screen version incorporates talent from other successful iterations of the musical and is led by executive producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who produced the 2007 movie. They were joined by the original songwriters, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, and the Broadway adaptations choreographer, Jerry Mitchell. Tony award winner Harvey Fierstein, who originated the role of Edna Turnblad in the Broadway production, came aboard to reprise the role. Also joining are stage veteran Ephraim Sykes (as Seaweed J. Stubbs), Dove Cameron (Amber Von Tussle) of the Disney Channels Liv and Maddie, Garrett Clayton (Link Larkin) and rookie Maddie Baillio (Tracy Turnblad).Based on the 1988 John Waters film Hairspray, which was adapted as a Broadway production that ran from 2002 to 2009 and further popularized by the 2007 New Line Cinema movie, the storyline has been captivating audiences for nearly three decades.The engaging plot, which is set in Baltimore circa 1962, tells the story of protagonist Tracy Turnblad, whose dream is to cut a rug on the all-white Corny Collins Show, a dance program loosely based on the real-life Buddy Deane Show. After getting on the show and gaining fame from the telecast, she sets her sights on diversifying the cast of performers. In the process, she befriends an African-American dancer named Seaweed, and they work together to fight racial justice and inequality and, finally, integrate the show.This story is set in the 60s, when integration dominated discourse, but the fight for racial equality is still present in cultural conversations today.When we did the movie over a decade ago, we felt like we were doing a period piece, Zadan said. Unfortunately, with whats going on in this country right now, [this project] feels contemporary.Sykes, who recently starred in the Broadway smash Hamilton and grew up singing in church, echoed Zadans sentiment.This is something God is calling on us to do, he said in a phone interview. This is the story he has put in front of us to tell because of what is happening.Although the cast boasts many household names and notable Broadway alumni often present the heartfelt scenes, it is newcomer Baillio who will steal the show. After beating more than 1,000 hopefuls for the role of Tracy Turnblad in an open casting process, the Manhattan College sophomore from League City, Texas, is making this her first professional theater credit.Growing up, Baillio played softball, swam and tried out gymnastics, but she didnt naturally gravitate toward sports.I hated all of it, and I just wanted to sing, she said.As a result, her mother enrolled her in a local community theater as a child, and now shes leaping into the big leagues.Hairspray Live! features 18 sets and numerous costumes. Its high-flying, with upbeat choreography and music that brings out everyones smile. All of these things, while pleasant to watch, make the show challenging to perform.The actors and dancers have to move among all the sets in a matter of seconds. The farthest distance that needs to be traveled is the length of a football field. That isnt an easy sprint when just focusing on the workout -- never mind while performing wardrobe changes and then having to sing and dance.Its a little bit of theater, a little bit of film and a little bit of television, Leon said. Its the best of all of those. Its like the Super Bowl.Stamina was not so much a concern as a necessity, and it was something Leon and choreographer Mitchell drilled from the moment rehearsals began. All members of the company were encouraged to run and do cardio training on their own, in addition to practices. No one could get sick, and everyone had to be in fighting shape. Doctors and masseuses were on set to help the cast stay healthy and overcome injuries.At times, it is damn near impossible, Sykes said of the difficulty of the show. The way you learn how to do it and make it possible is by doing it over and over again.According to Mitchell, the show has been in production for a couple months, and that rehearsal time is relatively standard. The difference is the lack of a preview run. By the time a musical premieres on Broadway, the cast has performed it anywhere from 30 to 60 times in out-of-town previews. The Live! concept doesnt have that luxury.We are going to get four run-throughs, and then we have to go live, he said. So we really have to be on our game.Rehearsals were no walk in the park, either. If someone was late, missed a beat or a line, everyone (including Leon) dropped and did 20 pushups as punishment.When one person does something out of line, we all do, Leon said.Leon and Mitchell once ran the shows closing number, You Cant Stop the Beat, five times back-to-back. The way Leon tells it, Mitchell led them through the number while he was shouting in the background, I dont want to see you breathing.Its one of the hardest finales to sing and dance, Mitchell said. You are literally singing and dancing full-out for the eight minutes.With such a high-energy show, it is essential for the cast to stay nimble throughout the performance. Every morning, the crew is led through an athletic warm-up. They jog and do jumping jacks, burpees and more exercises focusing on stretching and dance.It breaks a sweat, gets you warmed up and ready for the day, Mitchell said.?You have what you have, and you cant get any players off waivers now, Leon said. Weve got to do it.Wholesale Vapormax NZ . -- Adam Snyder returned to the San Francisco 49ers this season because the offensive lineman thought it was his best opportunity to win a championship. Vapormax New Zealand . -- Three close looks at the bucket, three misses. http://www.wholesalevapormaxnz.com/ . The 20-year-old Pelicans big man glanced up and smiled widely at the well-wishers -- a fitting end to a day he wont soon forget. Davis responded to his selection earlier in the day as a Western Conference All-Star with 26 points and 10 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 98-91 on Friday night. Buy Nike Vapormax NZ . Following a lopsided 5-2 loss against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night, Paul MacLean told reporters that "theres a lack of focus, theres a lack of leadership and theres a lack of preparation" with his struggling team. That came on the heels of Bryan Murray taking the unusual step of going into the locker room at the Prudential Center and addressing the players himself. Air Vapormax NZ . White came in fourth place in the event. He was the two-time defending gold medallist. The gold medal went to Swiss snowboarder Iouri Podladtchikov.ZURICH -- FIFAs former secretary general Jerome Valcke has had his ban from football cut from 12 to 10 years on appeal.Valcke was fired by FIFA in January over World Cup ticketing and broadcast rights scandal, plus expenses abuses.Within weeks, he was banned by FIFAs ethics committee for several charges of misconduct, including claims he destroyed evidence during the investigation.FIFA said Tuesday its appeals committee ruled that ethics judges were too severe with Valcke over the 2018-2022 World Cup TV rights case.Valcke can challenge the appeal verdict at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.The French former TV presenter also remains under criminal investigation by Switzerlaands attorney generals office.dddddddddddd That case was formally opened in March on suspicion of various acts of criminal mismanagement, federal prosecutors said then.Valcke had a partial victory on Tuesday because the FIFA appeals panel judged that mitigating factors had not been fully assessed relating to a proposed sale of television rights for the Caribbean for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.FIFA wanted to sell those rights to the control of now-disgraced former vice president Jack Warner for a fee far below their actual market value, FIFA said. ' ' '