Betty Buckley Should Find Us a Find, You're Gonna Hear James Monroe Iglehart Roar & More Lessons of the Week

Happy Friday! Whatever your wild weekend plans might be, we hope they involve watching this while drinking this. It’s been a crazy week on the Great White Way, from some Fun Broadway name checks at the Grammys to Betty Buckley introducing us to our new favorite Australian. Check it all out below with Lesson of the Week!

Betty Buckley Should Be Our Matchmaker
She can win a Tony for belting an E flat while in a cat suit. She can shove Olivier nominees under pianos. This week, we learned of another potential accolade on Betty Buckley’s résumé: Broadway matchmaker. While in Sydney for the Defying Gravity concert, Buckley posed with Aussie hunk David Harris. Our reaction is not unlike hers. Why don’t you visit us sometime, Betty Lynn? Bring your friend.

Kate Reinders Is Into Some Heavy Stuff
When Something Rotten! favorite Kate Reinders stopped by for #LiveatFive, she pointed out that 2016 marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, and that there should be a zombie ritual in the Bard’s honor. She took it a step further and suggested she visit his grave while wearing a cape—presumably to exhume his corpse, or something. What if we just put zombie makeup on Christian Borle? That’d probably cost less and also would be less terrifying.

Jeanine Tesori Is Grammy Famous
Hamilton blew us all away at the Grammys, and shortly after sharing their opening number with America, the show won Best Musical Theater Album. True to his brand, Lin-Manuel Miranda rapped his acceptance speech. We haven’t done the full extensive research, but we’re pretty sure no one has rapped Jeanine Tesori’s name on a nationally broadcast Grammys acceptance speech before. Yet another first for Hamilton!

Marin's Bringing Out the Hoop Skirt Again
We’re thrilled for Marin Mazzie, who after revealing last month that she's in remission following her battle with cancer, announced she's coming back to Broadway in The King and I. We suspect she’ll have no trouble “getting to know” those ornate costumes, as Mazzie is at one with the hoop skirt after Passion and Kiss Me Kate. The thought of her floating in those gowns while singing Rodgers and Hammerstein is—all together now—A-Marin-Mazing.

Adam Kantor Is an Expert Edamame Feeder
Fiddler on the Roof’s Alix Korey has said that Burstein’s face belongs in the dictionary next to “Mensch,” but what about the castmate who feeds you edamame? Because that’s what you get when you’re in a show with Adam Kantor. As they explain in Motel Citizen, the two go way back, as Korey taught Kantor during an NYU Tisch summer program. Years later, they’ve reunited on Broadway, and that’s cause for a “L’chaim.” And edamame.

There's Too Much Sugar at the Nederlander
In the first episode of Help!, Jennifer Simard gave us a glimpse of backstage life at Disaster!. The Nederlander Theatre was a Valentine’s Day wonderland thanks to Kerry Butler. Think paper hearts, balloons and candy. Like, unhealthy amounts of candy. We’re impressed with the cast’s self control and the lack of reports of sugar-fueled outbursts from 41st Street. If you happen to have any surplus peanut butter cups, Jennifer, please include them with your footage for the next episode.

Carmen Cusack Will Sing for Chocolate
After appearing in shows all around the world, Carmen Cusack is finally making her Broadway debut in Bright Star this spring. Still, we can’t help but wonder if she would have been here sooner had we offered her chocolate. Cusack revealed that as a child, she would sing at church only if her pastor gave her first pick of the candy stash. Hey, Carmen, we hear there’s chocolate over at the Nederlander.

Iglehart Was a Growling Youngster
Speaking of singing at church, James Monroe Iglehart developed his smoky voice singing about bullfrogs and butterflies in choir. The Aladdin Tony winner explained to Susan Blackwell that as a kid, he was inspired by the voice of a fellow churchgoer, who was in turn inspired by the signature growls of Reverend James Cleveland. We suppose we have Cleveland—and the aforementioned church goer—to thank for this.

Jessica Hecht Is a Fiddler Fanfic Writer
When she’s not singing opposite Danny Burstein in Fiddler, Jessica Hecht enjoys some Bock and Harnick retcon. Hecht, who plays Golde in the current revival, explained her surprisingly specific theory for what happens to youngest daughters Shprintze and Bielke: they grow up and eventually start Loehmann’s. Perhaps Hecht is just the person to write that long-awaited Fiddler sequel: Designers In the Bronx.

We Can Write "Breaks Penis" in Emoji
We’ve been recapping this season of Younger (partially) in emoji, so for those of you wondering how to say, “Miriam Shor broke someone’s penis” in emoji, we’ve got you covered. And not only did her character Diana break his penis—she broke his penis while wearing one of her famed statement necklaces. Let’s see fellow statement necklace connoisseur Christine Baranski do that on The Good Wife.