Time has released their 2014 list of The 100 Most Influential People, and a host of stage favorites have made the cut. Among the honorees are The Book of Mormon and Avenue Q composer Robert Lopez and his wife, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, for their Oscar-winning work on Frozen, Tony-winning director Diane Paulus (Pippin) and stage and screen heartthrob Benedict Cumberbatch.
Lopez and Anderson-Lopez won an Oscar for the Frozen megahit “Let It Go,” making Lopez a member of the exclusive EGOT Club in a record-breaking 10 years. Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who teamed up with Lopez to write The Book of Mormon, told Time about the songwriting duo, “They are both completely steeped in the traditions of Broadway musicals, but they’re really smart and would never be happy just regurgitating what’s come before.” See the husband and wife team's completely adorable reaction to the honor in the video below.
Paulus is the artistic director of the American Repertory Theater in Massachusetts, where she will direct the upcoming production of Finding Neverland. Tony winner and Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill headliner Audra McDonald says of her former The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess director, “She’s open to the whole experience that is theater…nothing is sacred and everything is sacred. I can’t wait to see what she does next.”
Sherlock star Cumberbatch, who will shortly tackle the titular roles in Shakespeare's Hamlet on the London stage and Richard III in an upcoming BBC 2 film, won the “Triple Crown of London Theatre:” the Olivier Award, Evening Standard Award and Critics’ Circle theatre Award for his performance in the National Theatre’s Frankenstein.
Also appearing on the list is country music superstar and NBC’s The Sound of Music’s Carrie Underwood. Brad Paisley commended Underwood’s versatility in his statement to Time, noting, “When most singers tackle a Broadway musical, it’s in front of a thousand people. She did it in front of 20 million.”
Congratulations to all!