26 | entertainment | Wednesday, April 29, 2015 theprovince.com buzzreport jian ghomeshi Reporter writes book on ex-host TORONTO — A book on disgraced former radio star Jian Ghomeshi, written by Toronto Star investigative reporter Kevin Donovan, is slated for release in late June. Kobo and ECW Press say they’ve partnered to co-publish Jian Ghomeshi — Secret Life. Kobo says the book will reveal details and background about Ghomeshi and explore how he came to be fired as host of CBC Radio’s Q. Ghomeshi is charged with seven counts of sexual assault and one of overcoming resistance by choking, but his lawyer has said he will plead not guilty to all charges. musicals American, Fun Home vie for Tony Awards NEW YORK — The musicals An American in Paris and Fun Home each received a leading 12 Tony Award nominations on Tuesday, showing two very different sides of this Broadway season. One side is sunny — the danceheavy stage adaptation of the 1951 musical film choreographed by Gene Kelly — and the other moody — the dark show based on Alison Bechdel’s coming-of-age graphic novel about her closeted and suicidal dad. award Museum honours Muppets’ Miss Piggy NEW YORK — A prestigious award from the Brooklyn Museum honours women who have made outstanding contributions in their fields. This year’s surprise honoree is … Miss Piggy. The Muppets character joins a distinguished list of recipients of the Sackler Center First Awards. They include theatre director Julie Taymor and former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. grand marshal Furnish to lead pride parade this summer TORONTO — David Furnish will celebrate his first Pride Toronto parade in style as he returns to his hometown to serve as grand marshal of the annual event. Furnish’s husband, music legend Elton John, will be on tour in Europe when the Toronto native takes part in the parade on June 28. — Postmedia Wire Services Julio Fuentes, left, Luc Roderique and Caleb Di Pomponio star in In the Heights, from April 30 to June 7. — David Cooper Show brings a heavy workload in the heights: Roderique remarks on ‘invigorating and exhausting’ preparations Dana Gee The Province For actor Luc Roderique, preparing to play Usnavi in the Arts Club’s production of the musical In the Heights has been a real workout. “It’s been the most invigorating and exhausting rehearsal process I have had in my whole life,” said Roderique, who, it should be noted, has a fair bit of a Shakespeare on his resume. “Shakespeare, you can sometimes get a little emotionally exhausted from just working the text and getting invigorated by the text, but here this musical is a whole different beast,” said Roderique at Studio 58 alumni. “I haven’t done any huge musicals like this in my career yet, so it is one of those balancing acts where I have to try and figure out how to maintain my voice, how to do choreography for eight hours a day and still come back and want to do it the On stage In the Heights Where: Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage When: April 30-June 7, 8 p.m. Tickets and info: $29 and up, artsclub.com, 604-687-1644 next day. But it’s been a fantastic process so far and everyone has been really amazing.” Lucky for Roderique his pivotal character, the bodega owner Usnavi, delivers a lot of his points in a manner familiar to Roderique. “My character mainly raps for the most part. I feel pretty confident about that. I used to rap in high school,” said Roderique, who hails from Ottawa but has called Vancouver home for the past decade. Set in the Washington Heights area of New York, In the Heights, looks at family, home, communi- ty and the fight to figure out where you belong. The show’s words and music are by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who also starred in original Broadway production. “I believe he is going to be the next Sondheim,” said Roderique, who had just been to New York to see Miranda’s latest offering, the hit Hamilton. For Roderique the power of Tony Award-winning In the Heights, directed here by Bill Millerd, goes far beyond an enjoyable night at the theatre. He sees it as a generational magnet that has the potential to invigorate theatre in general. “The best thing about in The Heights is it is something fresh and new and appeals to the next generation of theatre artists, the next generation of humans, North Americans, immigrants, but it still holds true to all those musical theatre roots,” Roderique said. “People who love old school theatre are going to find things they love in this show. People who love hip-hop are going to find things they love in this show. People who love salsa and dance are going to find things in this show they love. It’s just so universal and the story is universal. It’s all about the community.” A big community that Roderique points to is younger adults — who, whether they are in Washington Heights or Mount Pleasant here, in Vancouver are faced with similar concerns around cost of living, gentrification and displacement. It’s those very contemporary issues that will connect with a younger, not so financially liquid audience. “I think it is a call to action for playwrights to write stories about us,” Roderique said. “To write contemporary stories about what we are going through so theatre doesn’t die.” dgee@theprovince.com twitter.com/dana_gee