Aretha Franklin News

Concluding the 60th Anniversary season at the Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival (FLMTF) is Beehive - The 60s Musical. The show runs September 21 through October 6 at the Merry-Go-Round Playhouse in Emerson Park.

Billy Porter won a Tony Award for his performance as Lola in Kinky Boots. His other Broadway credits include Shuffle Along, Miss Saigon, Five Guys Named Moe, Grease, and Smokey Joe's Caf . Off-Broadway,

Good morning BroadwayWorld! Today's top stories: the cast recording of Pretty Woman is now available, the National Tour of Miss Saigon launches today, and more!

This first concert of the 2018-2019 season marks 15 years on stage for Seattle Women's Chorus (SWC). And SWC wants Northwest audiences to Hear Me Roar! The concert is filled with throwback favorites, pop extravaganzas, and fresh choral sounds that mark where the chorus has been...and where they are going.

Following the release of his critically acclaimed Spring album Eclipse, three-time GRAMMY® nominee Joey Alexander embarks on an exciting fall that includes the release of new music, some high-profile U.S. performances and the unveiling of three compelling in-studio videos from his Eclipse sessions. Alexander shares his musical voice via two unique new jazz releases evoking themes of Faith, Goodwill and Peace. All showcase different facets the 15-year-old's expanding artistic depth and versatility.

New York New Works Theater Festival and Theatre Row proudly present the Off-Broadway premiere of THE CULTURE OF NOW, an epic mixed-media play featuring an international ensemble in a one night only performance September 20 at 8:30 p.m. After the much anticipated sold out opening night at Manhattan's Dixon Place on September 8, this production was added as a special presentation to this year's New York New Works Theatre Festival taking place at Theatre Row's Acorn Theatre.

Black Ensemble Theater continues its 2018 Season (Movers and Shakers) with Women of Soul, (With a Tribute to the Queen) written and directed by Black Ensemble Theater Associate Director Daryl D. Brooks.

Finding Neverland, the enchanting Broadway musical set to soar on tour this fall, will be making its way to The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts Wednesday, January 2 - Sunday, January 6. One of seven shows in The Hanover Theatre's 10th Anniversary Broadway Series, Finding Neverland is generously sponsored by Commerce Bank, a division of Berkshire Bank. Tickets are now on sale.

L.A.-based arranging and composing phenomenon Benjamin Wright will perform with The Philly POPS and his all-star band of musicians on October 20, 2018 at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in the show, Experience Benjamin Wright, a Heritage Music Group production.

Aretha Franklin, The Queen of Soul, who passed away on August 16th, will be celebrated in story and song at Feinstein's/54 Below on Sunday, October 7th, at 9:30pm, in a concert directed and produced by Robert W. Schneider.

New York New Works Theater Festival and Theatre Row proudly present the Off-Broadway premiere of THE CULTURE OF NOW, an epic mixed-media play featuring an international ensemble in a one night only performance September 20 at 8:30 p.m. After the much anticipated sold out opening night at Manhattan's Dixon Place on September 8, this production was added as a special presentation to this year's New York New Works Theatre Festival taking place at Theatre Row's Acorn Theatre.

City Winery Chicago, 1200 W. Randolph Street, announces a special holiday show with “American Idol” winner Kris Allen and more. The following shows go on sale to the public on Thursday, September 20 at noon. All tickets will be available at citywinery.com/chicago.

Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, a dynamic hub for the lively arts and vital community resource, presents a dozen classical, jazz and contemporary music programs featuring some of the era's most compelling musical artists during the 2018/2019 season. World premieres, programs with thought-provoking social commentary and timeless iconic works are among the offerings.

LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS & McCOY RIGBY ENTERTAINMENT (celebrating its 25thSilver Anniversary at the theatre) in association with T&D Productions, LLC are thrilled to present Mary Bridget Davies, Broadway's original "Janis" starring in her Tony nominated performance A NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN, with choreography by Patricia Wilcox, musical direction by Brent Crayon, and created, written & directed by Randy Johnson. A NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN will preview on Friday, September 14, 2018 (with a press opening on Saturday, September 15 at 8pm) and runs through Sunday, October 7, 2018 at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd in La Mirada.  

In association with RCA Inspiration, Chew Entertainment, helmed by music power couple Ray Chew and Vivian Scott Chew, presents the Voice Your Inspiration contest, to discover the next great artist that will be a voice of inspiration.  Open nationwide to musicians who can be a solo act, duo, or small band ensemble, artist submissions are under way, to audition by submitting videos to https://www.VoiceYourInspiration.org.  Seeking artists whose work can showcase their spirit of what keeps them inspired on their daily journey to greatness, artists can submit their auditions on the Voice Your Inspiration site until October 15th, or perform at live auditions being held in New York City at SIR Studios on Tuesday September 18th, from 3 pm – 11 pm.

On Saturday, The Tennessee Department of Tourist Development presented the Six Degrees to Tennessee Roots Jam to kick-off Tennessee Music Pathways, a statewide program designed to guide visitors to musical points of interest through an online travel-planning experience featuring hundreds of landmarks and attractions.

Brainfeeder is proud to release Resistance - a 2018 Funk odyssey by keyboard maestro, vocalist, composer, producer, arranger and astraltraveller Brandon Coleman. A regular fixture in the Kamasi Washington band, wylin' out on the keys or wielding his keytar, he is introduced onstage at gigs as “Professor Boogie” by his longtime friend and collaborator. Resistance represents a new chapter in the Funk dynasty that spans George Clinton / Parliament Funkadelic and Zapp through to Dr. Dre, DJ Quik and Dam Funk as the Los Angeles resident salutes his musical heroes - Herbie Hancock, Peter Frampton, Roger Troutman - and honours their ethos of freedom and experimentation in his search for Funk's future. Resistance, featuring an all-star cast of guests including Kamasi Washington, Miguel Atwood Ferguson, Ronald Bruner Jr, Patrice Quinn, Techdizzle, and more, is out now and streaming everywhere.

Like a comet that burns far too brightly to last, Janis Joplin exploded onto the music scene in 1967 and, almost overnight, became the Queen of Rock 'n' Roll. Davies carries on and mimics the unmistakable raspy voice filled with raw emotion and tinged with Southern Comfort to a tee, her stage presence making it easy to see what made Joplin a must-see headliner from Monterey to Woodstock and beyond even to this day, so many years after her too-soon passing at the age of 27. After listening to Davies' sharing of Janis' life, it is easy to think the rock legend died from not only from drugs and alcohol but from her lonely co-dependent longing for a man to share her life, equaling her love of the spotlight and adoration received from a live audience, which she could never find. Davies' renditions of Joplin favorites, including “Summertime,” “Piece of My Heart,” “Cry Baby,” and “Me and Bobby McGee” among others, ignite the stage and audiences alike with a passion no man in her life could ever match.

On Saturday, The Tennessee Department of Tourist Development presented the Six Degrees to Tennessee Roots Jam to kick-off Tennessee Music Pathways, a statewide program designed to guide visitors to musical points of interest through an online travel-planning experience featuring hundreds of landmarks and attractions.

La Mirada Theatre For The Performing Arts presents Mary Bridget Davies, Broadway's original "Janis" starring in her Tony nominated performance A NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN, with choreography by Patricia Wilcox, musical direction by Brent Crayon, and created, written & directed by Randy Johnson. A NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN will preview on Friday, September 14, 2018 (with a press opening on Saturday, September 15 at 8pm) and runs through Sunday, October 7, 2018 at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd in La Mirada.