NeNe Leakes joins final run of Broadway's 'Cinderella'
NeNe Leakes will be spending five weeks or so in New York City later this year to play the wicked stepmother Madame in the Broadway version of "Cinderella," which concludes its run January 3, 2015.
She will take over for Sherri Shepherd on November 25, who begins Sept. 9. The revival debuted on Broadway early last year.
Directed by Mark Brokaw, the production brings to the Broadway stage for the first time the tuner that originally aired as a TV special in 1957, starring Oscar winner Julie Andrews. This Cinderella features a completely re-imagined book by Douglas Carter Beane and additional Rodgers and Hammerstein songs originally composed for other musicals.
This acting stint will take NeNe away from "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" for a short bit but clearly, the Bravo show is allowing her to do so, as it did when she joined "The New Normal" for the 2012-13 television season. I'm sure NeNe will be thrilled to take a break from dealing with the drama as the last original member of the cast and in the midst of her seventh season.
NeNe has dabbled in different arenas outside of being herself on Bravo, including reality competition on "Celebrity Apprentice" in 2011 and "Dancing With the Stars' earlier this year, comedic acting on "Glee" and "The New Normal" and hosting a Cirque Du Soleil show in Vegas in June.
About the Author
Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.
