Katie Brayben: Last News

Naman Ramachandran The Royal Shakespeare Company’s theater adaptation of Studio Ghibli’s “My Neighbor Totoro” swept the Olivier Awards on Sunday, taking home six out of the nine categories it was nominated in, including the Sir Peter Hall Award for best director, awarded to Phelim McDermott and the Noël Coward Award for best entertainment or comedy play. The Almeida Theatre also had a successful night, with three of its productions taking home awards. Will Keen won best supporting actor for his performance in “Patriots” and “Tammy Faye” garnered two acting awards – Katie Brayben for best actress in a musical and Zubin Varla for best actor in a supporting role in a musical. Rebecca Frecknall’s revival of Tennessee Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire” won best actor for Paul Mescal’s portrayal of Stanley Kowalski and best actress in a supporting role for Anjana Vasan’s performance as Stella. The play also won the best revival award.

Elton John and the Scissor Sisters’ Jake Shears have come together to collaborate on the creation of a brand new musical based on the life of the legendary televangelist and LGBTQI icon, Tammy Faye Messner. The new musical, entitled Tammy Faye is slated to begin its run at the Almeida Theatre in London’s West End in October 2022.The cast of Tammy Faye, which includes Beautiful’s Katie Brayben, The Book of Mormon’s Andrew Rannells, and Zubin Varla, began rehearsals for the show this week. Tammy Faye will feature music by Elton John, with lyrics by Jake Shears. John has also famously written music for The Lion King and Billy Elliott. Elton John was nominated for a Tony Award in 1998 for Best Original Score for his work collaborating on the score for The Lion King and was nominated again in 2009 for Best Original Score for his work on Billy Elliott.The musical is based on the life of the iconic Tammy Faye Messner, who along with her former husband Jim Bakker fronted the PTL Club television ministry during the 1970s and 1980s.

EXCLUSIVE: Shondaland’s Bridgerton spinoff about Queen Charlotte has just added another subject. Connie Jenkins-Greig will play the recurring character of Young Violet Ledger in the Netflix series that’s set to premiere in 2023.

EXCLUSIVE: The Bridgerton spinoff about the origins of Queen Charlotte is expanding its kingdom. Deadline has learned that British actors Katie Brayben and Keir Charles will play recurring characters Vivian Ledger and Lord Ledger, respectively.