Cyndi Lauper Joins Justina Machado in Amazon Series ‘Horror of Dolores Roach’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Cyndi Lauper has signed on for a recurring guest role in the upcoming Amazon series “The Horror of Dolores Roach,” Variety has learned exclusively.
Lauper will appear in the show opposite previously announced lead Justina Machado as well as cast members Alejandro Hernandez, Kita Updike, K. Todd Freeman, Marc Maron, Jean Yoon, Judy Reyes, and Jeffery Self. The series, which is produced by Blumhouse Television, Spotify Studios, and GloNation Studios for Amazon, was ordered to series in February. It is based on the Gimlet podcast of the same name. Amazon has given the half-hour show an eight episode order.
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In the series, Dolores Roach (Machado) is released from prison after 16 years and returns to a severely-gentrified Washington Heights with $200 and the clothes on her back. Her boyfriend missing, her family long gone, Dolores reunites with an old stoner buddy, Luis (Hernandez), who gives her room and board and lets her give massages for cash in the basement under his dilapidated storefront Empanada Loca, the only remnant of her former life. When the promise of her newfound stability is quickly threatened, “Magic Hands Dolores” is driven to shocking extremes to survive, and in the face of unexpected professional success, Dolores and Luis become dangerously symbiotic, and Luis must unleash his own peculiar predilections.
Lauper will play Ruthie, a Broadway theatre usher who moonlights as a private investigator and stirs up trouble for Dolores Roach.
Lauper is best known for her stellar music career, with her worldwide record sales exceeding 50 million. She is also the first woman in history to have four top five singles from a debut album. She has released 10 more studio albums to date, which include hit songs like “Time After Time,” “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” and “True Colors.” She is a Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Award-winner. She is also no stranger to acting, having appeared on shows like “Mad About You,” “That’s So Raven,” “Bones,” and the CBS reboot of “Magnum P.I.”
She is repped by WME and So What Management.
Aaron Mark, who wrote and directed the original podcast, and Dara Resnik serve as co-showrunners and executive producers alongside Gloria Calderón Kellett and Roxann Dawson, with Dawson having directed the pilot. Kellet executive produces under her GloNation Studios banner, which is currently under an overall deal at Amazon. Jason Blum, Chris McCumber, and Jeremy Gold of Blumhouse Television also executive produce, as does Daphne Rubin-Vega along with Dawn Ostroff, Mimi O’Donnell, and Justin McGoldrick for Spotify.
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