Aretha Franklin News

Worcester will learn a thing or two when Sister returns to teach her Late Nite Catechism at The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts on Thursday, June 14 at 8 p.m. Tickets are now on sale to theatre members and go on sale to the general public Tuesday, March 6 at 10 a.m.

Broadway fave and former Elphaba, Shoshana Bean, has just dropped her cover of the Oscar-nominated anthem, This Is Me, from the musical The Greatest Showman. All proceeds of the song will go to benefit the LA LGBT Center. You can find the song on Spotify and other music streaming platforms. 

Legendary singer Johnny Mathis, celebrating his 62nd year as a recording artist, will perform his greatest hits and personal favorites in The Voice of Romance Tour at The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts on Saturday, June 16 at 8 p.m. Tickets go on sale to theatre members on Thursday, March 1 at 10 a.m. and go on sale to the general public Friday, March 2 at 10 a.m.

The Marsh San Francisco adds three free performances of Brian Copeland's The Waiting Period, due to ongoing support from a GoFundMe campaign. This deeply moving and surprisingly funny work outlines Copeland's own struggles with depression and suicidal thought, and is presented at no cost to remove all barriers for those who may be struggling with depression themselves. Featuring humorous, poignant, and riveting insights, the solo show written by Copeland and directed by David Ford, will take place 5:30pm Sundays March 25 - April 29, 2018 (see exact schedule below), at The Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia Street. General admission for this performance is free, although reservations ($55-$100), are recommended. To reserve tickets or for more information, the public may visit www.themarsh.org or call 415-282-3055 Monday through Friday between 1:00pm and 4:00pm.

The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts announces three more critically-acclaimed acts to its 2018 Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts (PIFA). They are Toshi Reagon -- a talented singer, composer, and producer with roots in folk, blues and rock; Nobuntu - an all-female a capella group from Zimbabwe; and Inventive Mothers: A Tribute to Frank Zappa performed by Studio Dan from Austria. Each will enhance the stellar lineup of artists already planned for PIFA 2018. The 11-day festival is packed with more than 50 performances ranging from music and dance to 360-degree immersive spectacle experiences, and will attract regional visitors to Philadelphia from Thursday, May 31 through Sunday, June 10.

Broadway Dance Lab (BDL), a non-profit choreography incubator supporting new works of dance-driven theatre, has announced that former New York City Ballet principal dancer, and Tony Award nominee, Robert Fairchild, will join Loni Landon and Ray Mercer as guest choreographers for the company's Spring 2018 Cycle. The Lab is set to begin on Feb. 26, and will culminate with a Gala performance on April 2 at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre.

The biographical musical Soul Doctor tells the incredible story of real-life 'singing rabbi' Shlomo Carlebach and his unlikely friendship with Nina Simone, the high priestess of soul. Together their music became an important voice of social change.   A smash hit off Broadway, this spirited San Diego production begins Tuesday, April 3 and will run for three weeks only at the Lyceum Theatre in downtown San Diego, the first stop on a major tour which heads to the Saban Theatre in Los Angeles, May 3- 13 and then to the Hirsch Theater in Jerusalem.

On Saturday, February 24, Shoshana Bean will perform her album release show - Spectrum - at Ace Theater Downtown Los Angeles. Spectrum, Bean's fourth studio album which will be released on February 9, is a fresh new take on the classic tradition of big band with arrangements by Grammy award-nominated arranger Alan Ferber. This concert will feature Bean along with an 18 piece big band performing a carefully-selected collection of standards, classics and modern favorites, while still including a few Bean-penned gems. Bean made her Broadway debut in the original cast of Hairspray before taking over for Idina Menzel as Elphaba in Wicked and has performed all over the world with artists such as Ariana Grande, Brian McKnight, Postmodern Jukebox (PMJ), David Foster and Michael Jackson.

NEIL BERG'S 50 YEARS OF ROCK 'N' ROLL at Rockland Community College

Prepare to be beamed up for an unforgettable evening with William Shatner, live on stage at The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts, Tuesday, April 3 at 7 p.m. Audiences will enjoy a screening of the classic film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan on the big screen, followed by a live conversation with the original Captain James T. Kirk. Tickets are on sale now for theatre members and go on sale to the general public on Friday, February 23 at 10 a.m.

Disney/Pixar's newest star, 13-year-old Anthony Gonzalez, who voiced the role of Miguel in the 2017 smash hit, Coco, will be honored with the first-ever 'Breakout Young Entertainer of the Year Award' at the third annual Young Entertainer Awards on Sunday, April 15, 2018.

Share the fun and laughter as five girlfriends go from heartbreak to happiness during a wild night of karaoke. Back by popular demand, Girls Night: The Musical returns to The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts for one night only on Thursday, May 10 at 8 p.m. Tickets are now on sale.

The spoken word and music come together in new and powerful ways when actor and comedian Bill Murray and award-winning cellist Jan Vogler team up to present Bill Murray, Jan Vogler and Friends: New Worlds, an evening of music, poetry and prose. This unique show will play at The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts on Sunday, April 22 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are now on sale to theatre members and go on sale to the general public on Friday, February 16 at 10 a.m.

Carnegie Hall today announced that world-renowned jazz vocalist Dianne Reeves and critically-acclaimed trombonist Wycliffe Gordonwill join NYO Jazz as special guest artists for the ensemble's Carnegie Hall debut on July 27, 2018. Following its New York concert, NYO Jazz will embark on its first-ever tour to Europe, which includes performances in The Netherlands, Germany, and Great Britain, July 30 - August 10, 2018. Dianne Reeves will also be featured as a guest artist on NYO Jazz's European tour.

AnthonyKen, LLC (Anthony Wayne and Kendrell Bowman, Producers) presents the premiere of QUEENS OF SOUL: A TRIBUTE CONCERT TO OUR REIGNING DIVAS. Featuring some of New York City's best vocal talent - culled from Broadway stages and church choirs alike - performing the beloved songs of soul singers such as Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle, Diana Ross, Chaka Khan, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Mary J. Blige and many more, QUEENS OF SOUL will be performed on Saturday, April 7th at 7:00 PM and Sunday, April 8th at 7:00 PM at The Triad Theatre (158 West 72nd Street, 2nd Floor, between Amsterdam & Columbus). For tickets and information, visit www.AnthonyKen.com or call 212-279-4200.

Blossom Music Center, The Cleveland Orchestra's summer home, marks its 50th anniversary this summer. The Cleveland Orchestra will present a special season for its annual Blossom Music Festival and a summer-long celebration for this milestone year.

You want to talk about singers? This lineup is something to look forward to. The Dynamic Duo ANTHONYKEN, LLC. (Anthony Wayne and Kendrell Bowman, Producers) are pleased to announce TONY Winner Lillias White, The Voice's Sasha Allen, The Color Purple's Jeannette Bayardelle and R&B Soul Singer Monifah will join the premiere of QUEENS OF SOUL: A TRIBUTE CONCERT TO OUR REGNING DIVAS which will be performed for two shows exclusively the first weekend of April (April 7th & 8th). Additional powerhouse vocalists will include Jacqueline B. Arnold (PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT, AN EVENING WITH PHYLLIS HYMAN), Enga Davis (AN EVENING WITH PHYLLIS HYMAN), Rashidra Scott (BEAUTIFUL), DeAnne Stewart (MIGHTY REAL: A FABULOUS SYLVESTER MUSICAL), Lady Pepper (A SOULFUL CHRISTMAS), Trish Divina, Milah Jae, Kareema Khouri and many more surprise guests as well.

The story and music of America's Composer come to life on stage with Seattle Repertory Theatre's presentation of Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin, a play-with-music written and performed by award-winning actor and musician Hershey Felder (Broadway's George Gershwin Alone, Off-Broadway's Maestro; Our Great Tchaikovsky, and others). Directed by Trevor Hay, Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin will play the Bagley Wright stage February 23-March 18, 2018 (opening night is February 28, 2018), and tickets are on sale now through the Seattle Rep Box Office at 206.443.2222 and online at SeattleRep.org.  

Earlier this week, BroadwayWorld's Katie Lynch chatted live with Broadway veteran Shoshana Bean, who just released her fourth studio album- Spectrum. 

The Bickford Theatre celebrates the 100th anniversary of the birth of jazz legend Thelonious Monk on Thursday, February 22, with a concert featuring his son, the acclaimed drummer, educator and composer T.S. Monk who will perform with his sextet introducing vocalist April May Webb.