NOC Review: ‘West Side Story’ is a Beautiful Retelling Worth Seeing

December 3, 2021December 3, 2021 Sophia Soto

Directed by Steven Spielberg, with a screenplay by Tony Kushner, West Side Story revives the classic tale of fierce rivalries and young love in 1957 New York City. Now, fans of the Broadway show and original film might be wondering not only why it was remade, but if it’s worth going to see or if it does the story justice. With the stellar performances and amazing musical numbers, West Side Story has all the elements that make the story a classic and is definitely worth a trip to the movies.

Television, Theatre

The Cast of ‘Annie Live’ Discuss Bringing the Broadway Classic to Live TV

November 29, 2021 Anjali Contreras

The Nerds of Color knows all about a “Hard Knock Life” since we named a podcast after the classic song from Annie. On December 2, it’ll be a hard knock life for the whole world as NBC brings the Broadway classic to live television with Annie Live!

Hard N.O.C. Life, Marvel

Hard NOC Life 244: Nice Podcast, Bro

November 29, 2021 Hard NOC Media

Hard NOC Life is back and so is Brother Nate Milton as he joins Dominic and Britney to break down Marvel Studios’ latest Disney+ series, Hawkeye.

Movies, Music, Streaming

High School Performing Arts Students Celebrate ‘tick… tick… BOOM!’

November 19, 2021November 19, 2021 Laura Sirikul

It’s hard to not feel something when you listen to the work of the late composer and playwright Jonathan Larson. From his Tony Award-winning musical RENT to his futuristic rock opera Superbia to his autobiographical rock monologue-now-turned-film tick… tick… BOOM!, Larson has inspired many musicians and composers throughout the years. EGOT winner Lin-Manuel Miranda, known for his award-winning work on Broadway and off, was one of the many that were influenced by Larson’s work after seeing RENT as a performing arts teenager.

Movies, Music, Theatre

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande to Star in Movie Adaptation of Broadway’s ‘Wicked’

November 4, 2021November 5, 2021 Laura Sirikul

Wicked, Universal Pictures’ film adaptation of the Tony Award-winning musical, has found Elphaba and Glinda in Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, respectively. The film adaptation is being helmed by In the Heights director Jon M. Chu.

Movies, Streaming, Theatre

Official Trailer for Netflix’s ‘tick, tick… BOOM!’ Has Arrived

October 4, 2021October 4, 2021 Lauren Lola

Years before Jonathan Larson’s hit rock musical, Rent, exploded in the theatre world, he was a struggling, up-and-coming composer, making ends meet by working at a local diner in New York, while the AIDS epidemic was raging on and taking lives of people he knew. All this and more was documented in an autobiographical musical he wrote called tick, tick… BOOM!, which originally premiered Off-Broadway in 2001, five years following his untimely death.

Interview, Music

Super Smack is Ready to Smash Stereotypes and the Industry with New EP

October 1, 2021October 1, 2021 Bray Lawrence

Super Smack is a Filipino American rapper that has been leveling up in the music game ever since his first ep, Neon Red, hit streaming services. With a unique blend of gaming culture, anime references, good vibes, and a message for change, Super Smack’s pens music that blend pop and rap in ways that make the nerd in any of us step on the dance floor.

Podcasts, Theatre

FDI Cast 120: I Want to Cast in America!

September 24, 2021September 24, 2021 Jamie

When you’re a NOC you’re a NOC all the way from your first bubble tea to your last dying day! The boss, Keith Chow, stops by to talk musicals!

Hard N.O.C. Life, Television

Hard NOC Life 235: Emmys So What

September 20, 2021 Hard NOC Media

Keith, Britney, and Dominic rant about who won — but more importantly, who didn’t — during the Emmy Awards last night. Then, they break down the new Hawkeye trailer and recap the latest episode of What If.

Movies, Theatre

Here’s the Official Trailer and Poster for Steven Spielberg’s ‘West Side Story’

September 15, 2021September 15, 2021 Sophia Soto

The Walt Disney Company has just shared a new trailer, poster, and stills for Steven Spielberg’s film adaptation of the iconic musical, West Side Story. The screenplay comes from Tony Kushner and will tell the classic tale of fierce rivalries and young love in 1957 New York City. The cast includes Rachel Zegler, Ansel Elgort, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Mike Faist, Josh Andrés Rivera, Ana Isabelle, Corey Stoll, Brian d’Arcy James, and Rita Moreno.

Interview, Movies, Streaming

NOC Interview: Idina Menzel Discusses Her New Film, ‘Cinderella’

September 2, 2021 Sophia Soto

The talented Idina Menzel plays the role of Vivian in the Amazon Original movie Cinderella. The new film is a musically-driven bold version of the traditional story you grew up with, following an ambitious young woman whose dreams are bigger than the world will allow. Cinderella is coming to Prime Video on September 3.

Streaming, Theatre

Broadway Smash, ‘Come From Away’ is Coming to Apple TV+

August 27, 2021August 31, 2021 Mike Manalo

Since the pandemic closed theaters, the Big Apple has been longing for the amazing allure of the Broadway lights, sights, and songs! Thankfully, Broadway is making a major comeback this fall, so fans can immerse themselves in the glory of the stage once more. But while we all await the rise of live curtains, theater geeks everywhere can at least get their fix through the magic of streaming, from the debut of Hamilton on Disney+ last year, and now once more with the upcoming premiere of Come From Away on Apple TV+.

Animation, Interview, Star Trek

Dawnn Lewis, aka Captain Carol Freeman, on the Return of ‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’

August 11, 2021August 11, 2021 Swara Ahmed

Dawnn Lewis does it all. Acting, voice acting, musicals, and more. And she can add Starfleet Captain to the list with her role as Captain Carol Freeman of the USS Cerritos. She’s a no nonsense captain who unfortunately has a lot of nonsense to deal with from her crew, including her own daughter Beckett, who may cause the most trouble of the bunch. Ahead of the Season 2 Premiere this Thursday, August 12, we at The Nerds of Color were able to speak with Lewis on how she approaches the role of Captain Freeman, her voice-acting career, what we can expect for her and Beckett’s mother-daughter dynamic, and the prospect of returning to Broadway for the musical Tina.

DC Comics, Television1 Comment

Jordan Fisher on ‘The Flash’ and Waving Through the Speed Force

July 13, 2021July 13, 2021 Keith Chow

When you’re running through the Speed Force, and there’s nobody around, do you ever really crash or even make a sound?

That’s one of the questions I didn’t ask the Dear Evan Hansen star Jordan Fisher when he sat down with me over Zoom to talk about his heavily hyped debut as Impulse on The Flash.

Cognitive Dissonance, Movies4 Comments

The ‘Heights’ of Anxiety and the Color Line: Racial Ambiguity in a Culture of Absolutes

July 9, 2021 Lara Stapleton

I once heard the great political philosopher and activist Angela Davis argue that Americans are so obsessed with race as an identifying feature that when we meet racially ambiguous people, we are anxious until we know on which side of the color line they fall. Upon hearing this, I was relieved by the articulation of something I had suspected was at the heart of my experience. It was like experiencing great art, that rush of adrenaline that comes with recognizing what we’ve known all along presented as fantastically new.

Hard N.O.C. Life, Marvel

Hard NOC Life 222: ‘Loki’ and the Multiverse of Mad Segues

June 21, 2021June 21, 2021 Hard NOC Media

This week on Hard NOC Life, Britney and Dominic break down episode 2 of Loki. And go on many tangents. From Spider-Man to Game of Thrones to Ms. Marvel and eventually back to Loki.

Hard N.O.C. Life, Movies

Hard NOC Life 221: There are 96,000 ‘Loki’ Variants ‘In the Heights’

June 14, 2021 Hard NOC Media

This week on Hard NOC Life, Britney, Keith, and Dominic discuss In the Heights and Loki.

Movies, Streaming, Theatre

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Directorial Debut ‘tick, tick… BOOM!’ Releases Teaser Trailer

June 10, 2021June 10, 2021 Laura Sirikul

When people think of Jonathan Larson, the first thing to come out is the Tony Award-winning musical Rent. But, Larson had done many musicals before that, one of which, is based on his life called tick, tick… BOOM!

Performed in 1990 Off-Broadway as a one-man show, tick, tick… BOOM! was an autobiographical rock monologue about his experience feeling rejected because of what he considered a failure for his musical, Superbia. After Larson’s death in 1996, it was reworked into a stage musical by playwright David Auburn and musical director Stephen Oremus. Now, making his feature directorial debut, Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner Lin-Manuel Miranda takes the story from stage to the big screen.

Interview, Movies1 Comment

NOC Interview: Lin-Manuel Miranda on the Making of ‘In The Heights’

June 10, 2021June 10, 2021 Keith Chow

Now that In the Heights is officially in theaters and streaming on HBO Max, what better time than now to re-up my convo with Lin-Manuel Miranda, originally recorded for the Hard NOC Life podcast.

Hard N.O.C. Life, Movies

Hard NOC Life 220: Issa Rae is Spider-Woman

June 7, 2021June 7, 2021 Hard NOC Media

This week on Hard NOC Life, Britney basks in the glory of her favorite superhero, Spider-Woman, finally getting shine as the crew — aka Keith and Dominic — break down news of Issa Rae’s casting in the Spider-Verse sequel, plus sneak peeks at Shazam: Fury of the Gods and Michael Keaton in The Flash.

Continue reading “Hard NOC Life 220: Issa Rae is Spider-Woman”

Interview, Movies

NOC Exclusive Interviews with ‘In The Heights’ Director Jon M. Chu and the Cast

June 7, 2021June 7, 2021 Laura Sirikul

For our review of the film, click here.

The anticipated release of WB’s In the Heights is set to release this week, but the long-lasting impact of the film will affect many BIPOC, especially those from the Latinx community, for a lifetime.

Movies, Theatre

Light’s Up on the Opening Number from ‘In the Heights’

June 7, 2021June 11, 2021 Keith Chow

Warner Bros. has moved up the opening of Jon M. Chu’s big screen adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes’s Tony Award-winning musical, In the Heights, a day early. So it won’t be long now!

To hold you over until Thursday night, Chu and Miranda went to social media to announce they’re releasing the first eight minutes of the movie — essentially, the entire opening number — even earlier.

Hard N.O.C. Life, Movies2 Comments

Hard NOC Life 219: Lin-Manuel Miranda! + The ‘Eternals’ Trailer Reaction

May 31, 2021June 15, 2021 Hard NOC Media

On a new Hard NOC Life, Keith finally talks to Lin-Manuel Miranda about adapting his first musical, In the Heights, for the big screen. But before that, he is joined by Dominic, Britney, and Shawn to break down the Eternals trailer.