Joining co-star Pedro Pascal in this honor a couple years later, Bella Ramsey earns her first Dazzler of the Day thanks to her ongoing quest on ‘The Last of Us‘. While I’m still not over the dirty they did us in this season’s second episode, Ramsey continues to enthrall and fascinate with her tender and tortured travails, giving her character the kind of nuanced, volatile, and heartachingly visceral ferocity of an atypically typical teenager on an impossible journey.
Currently making beautiful music and romantic magic with Helen J. Shen in the refreshingly novel musical ‘Maybe Happy Ending‘, Darren Criss earns a long-overdue Dazzler of the Day honor for a career of musical glory. This marks the first time he has originated a role on Broadway, after astounding audiences in stage roles as varied as ‘Hedwig and the Angry Inch’ and ‘How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying’. He’s perhaps best known for his role on ‘Glee’ and the subsequent Ryan Murphy series ‘The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story’ for which he won seemingly all the awards (Emmy and Golden Globe). For his charmingly robotic role in ‘Maybe Happy Ending’ he has been nominated for a Tony Award. Check out the enchanting show at the Belasco theatre while he’s in it – you won’t be disappointed.
She provides the desperate impetus that sets the plot of ‘Maybe Happy Ending’ into gloriously romantic motion, bringing Darren Criss’s Oliver to life in a way no robot thought possible. She is Helen J. Shen, currently starring in the rapturous new musical ‘Maybe Happy Ending’ currently playing at the Belasco Theatre. Thanks to her winning turn, Shen earns her first Dazzler of the Day crowning for a stunning Broadway debut. It’s a performance that wins over the loudest laughs of the show, and some of the most moving moments as well, all as her battery is slowly draining away. She embodies the survival of the human spirit, and the insanely insatiable search for love in all of its absurd poignance.
At the helm of one of the most revolutionary works of theater I’ve seen in almost fifty years, Kip Williams is named Dazzler of the Day for the written and directorial brilliance of ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray‘. The play is a technological wonder, requiring scientific precision and wizardry, and manages to bridge the wit and lasting relevance of Wilde’s words with a modern-day sensibility, resulting in a work of timeless genius. I was extremely excited to hear that Williams will next be working on a theatrical version of ‘Dracula’ with Cynthia Erivo. More dazzle is surely on the way… in the meantime, do visit his website here to fully explore his amazing body of work.
She is currently enthralling audiences in the most amazing theatrical performance I have ever seen in my almost-fifty years on this planet, so crowning Sarah Snook as Dazzler of the Day feels underwhelming at best. Alas, it’s all I have to give, and for her bravura efforts on stage in ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’, this is the least I can offer. Snook is perhaps best known for her work on ‘Succession’, and her extraordinary tour-de-force in ‘Dorian Gray’ under the revolutionary direction of Kip Williams is simply astounding. She’s only there until the end of June, so do whatever it takes to get yourself a ticket – it’s that amazing.
Ringleted and riding high on their current theatrical triumph ‘Oh Mary!’, Cole Escola is crowned as Dazzler of the Day – yet another award for the critical darling. Escola has been nominated for two Tony Awards this season as well as a Pulitzer Prize for Drama. This is just the cherry on that sweet sundae.
Some people were born to be Dazzlers of the Day, while others beg, bother and bemoan to the point that I just give them the title to shut them up. Both cases are partly true today, as Jeff Urbanczyk – a fellow Amsterdam High School alum – finally and blessedly earns his first Dazzler of the Day crowning, fulfilling a years-long quest, with a life-long body of first-responder work as a firefighter to justify it. He recently retired as Battalion Chief of the Amsterdam Fire Department, where he had the distinction of being the longest serving executive (union) board member in Local 2825 history. As someone who honors and appreciates those who risk their lives to help others, this is a small bit of gratitude for everything he’s done for my hometown. Congrats Jeff!
PS – You can stop sending pictures now.
Having charmed and entertained audiences for decades, Jean Smart is currently riding on a career high, having recently earned her sixth Emmy Award for her celebrated turn in ‘Hacks’. I still remember her fondly from ‘Designing Women’, and in addition to enthrallingly-varied appearances in ‘Frasier’, ‘The District’, ‘Mare of Easttown’ and ‘Watchmen’, she’s tread the boards of Broadway in ‘Piaf’ and ‘The Man Who Came to Dinner’. This marks her well-earned debut as Dazzler of the Day.
Known as The Fitness Marshall, Caleb Marshall has crafted a fitness empire and made himself into the world’s foremost fitness pop star of the moment. (He also brings back the booty to these booty-starved posts, simply scroll down.) For those reasons alone, he is crowned Dazzler of the Day. I first started following The Fitness Marshall after laughing hysterically to a clip of him doing a Halloween fitness as Richard Simmons in which his wig flew off mid-routine. Along with Allison Florea and Haley Jordan, Caleb has focused on an inclusivity for all types of bodies and people who just want to get in better shape, and has become a must-watch sensation even if you’re not going in the workouts. Check out The Fitness Marshall website here.
It’s a rarity to have two people named as Dazzlers of the Day at the same time, but sometimes a package deal is the very finest deal. Dennis Setteducati and Andrew Boza first met on a production of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’, and have been in a self-described show-mance ever since. They have taken their love of crafting and holidays and turned it into a full-fledged career, fueled by a theatrical flair that informs their presentations and sets them apart from more staid crafters. Check out their website here, as well as their charming and refreshingly-candid social media presence.
She was the effervescent injection of fun energy into this otherwise-lackuster season of ‘The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ but she will always hold a special place in my heart for her Oscar-nominated turn in ‘Bullets Over Broadway’. Jennifer Tilly has been thrilling audiences for years, and based on the glimpse we got of her fabulous life this past season, she’s made her daily existence into a work of art, hence this Dazzler of the Day crowning.
Sometimes all it takes to be Dazzler of the Day is one underwear shoot to launch a new brand of skivvies (at least new to the United States). Bonds has been an Australian underwear staple for years – only now does it find its way onto our weary shores, and it has a scintillating ambassador in the form of Dazzler of the Day Robert Irwin. Son of the late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, Robert has made a splash in his own right, which finds a nifty highlight in these shots displaying his, err, trouser-snake, among other creatures.
While Jonathan Tucker has already been crowned Dazzler of the Day in this post, he earns the title again thanks to my egregiously-late-to-the-game realization that he was in ‘The Virgin Suicides’ – Sofia Coppola’s haunting adaptation of one of my favorite novels. He’s also been quite busy in the four years since his original Dazzler post, earning accolades for his role in ‘Palm Trees and Power Lines’ and co-writing a song for Nick Jonas (lucky duck). More intriguing and impressive to me is his practice of transcendental meditation, proof that there is more than one way to dazzle.
Not to name-drop here, but I’ve been texting with Josh Groban.
Yes, that Josh Groban.
And there’s a good chance you have been too, as he posted his text number for anyone to sign up for announcements. So no, I’m not that special, and no, I don’t believe he’s personally sending out the automated messages, and no, I really don’t care. As a self-professed Grobanite, I came into his fandom kingdom when he was melting hearts on Broadway in ‘Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812’. Since then, I’ve revisited his musical catalog – richly varied and anchored with his incomparable vocal talent – and watched his entertaining appearances in live concerts and talk shows, as well as his social media feeds which reveal a hilarious, witty, and impressively-compassionate person.
Such a rarity these days, when most celebrities are afraid to be themselves because they either don’t know that for which they stand, or are simply too concerned with what others might think. Groban has seemingly and only ever been himself – a supremely talented performer with a love of theatrical arts who also happens to be a genuinely good person who cares for the well-being of others. Today he easily earns this Dazzler of the Day honor. Check out his official website here for all the excitement coming up (there are more than a few Gems on the way, and it’s gonna be alright.)
A recommendation from a wise friend with impeccable taste, our Dazzler of the Day is Franz Rogowski, currently starring with fellow Dazzler Barry Keoghan in ‘Bird’. Rogowski has received multiple accolades and awards for his turn in the 2023 film ‘Passages’, as well as work in ‘Great Freedom’, ‘Transit’, and ‘Freaks Out’. This marks his first crowning as Dazzler of the Day.
