Bessie Smith News

The 'King of Swing' will make his way to the Centenary Stage to lead the Benny Goodman Tribute on Saturday, January 12 at 8 PM, when the Stan Rubin Orchestra arrives with its 15 piece big band to launch the January Jazz Fest in Hackettstown.

Don't just hunker down during Cleveland's upcoming season of discontent and snow, support the local theatres. BTW…tickets or gift cards to local theatres make great holiday presents!

Warner Bros. Records has announced that it has signed vocalist and award-winning actress Emmy Rossum to its roster. The New York City native will release her first album for the label, a collection of covers of classic songs that span the '20s to the '60s entitled Sentimental Journey, on January 29th, 2013.

Warner Bros. Records is pleased to announce that it has signed vocalist and award-winning actress Emmy Rossum to its roster. The New York City native will release her first album for the label, a collection of covers of classic songs that span the '20s to the '60s entitled SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY, on January 29th, 2013.

Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, announces a special holiday line-up of 7' and 12' vinyl releases, some created especially for Record Store Day 2012's Back To Black Friday, celebrated at the nation's independent record stores on Friday, November 23, 2012.

Opera Exposures, the not-for-profit organization dedicated to presenting concerts and recitals featuring seasoned professional musicians and young operatic artists in accessible venues at affordable prices, will celebrate National Opera Week by presenting a FREE recital today, October 28, at 3 PM at St. Marks Church, 131 East 10th Street at 2nd Avenue in Manhattan.

Following its celebrated opening at Seattle Repertory Theatre, Pullman Porter Blues travels across the country to sweep D.C. audiences along for a ride in its world-premiere co-production at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Inspired by her grandfather's work on the postal trains, playwright Cheryl L. West, whose work at Arena Stage includes Jar the Floor and Play On!, returns with the tale of three Pullman train porters whose journey is underscored by Midwest blues songs, including "Sweet Home Chicago" and "This Train." Directed by Lisa Peterson (Arena's The Rainmaker and The Quality of Life), Pullman Porter Blues runs November 23, 2012 - January 6, 2013 in the Kreeger Theater.

The most exciting moment in ZACH's Theatre's history will happen this fall with the opening of the new Topfer Theatre. The once-in-a-lifetime first season will include a world premiere, an American musical with a full orchestra for the first time at ZACH, a beloved classic made new, an international concert guest star, and the biggest, snowiest holiday favorite of all time, all taking full advantage of the technological capabilities of the extraordinary new theatre.

Now running at Arena Stage through November 4, ONE NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN is a living, breathing collage of musical theatre, time capsule, and reunion concert with the late Janis Joplin. Performer Mary Bridget Davies was born to play Janis Joplin and Johnson has given her the perfect vehicle for her talents.

Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? opens this evening, Saturday, October 13, 2012, at the Booth Theatre (222 West 45th Street), exactly 50 years to the day of the play's original Broadway opening on Saturday, October 13, 1962.

Trav'lin - The New 1930s Harlem Musical, will receive its Regional Premiere production at Fort Worth's Jubilee Theatre in Spring 2013. The musical, which received a developmental production in 2010 as part of the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF), runs March 29, 2013 through April 28, 2013.

Fresh off its acclaimed run at the Cleveland Play House, One Night with Janis Joplin will take D.C. audiences on a musical journey into the life and inspirations of one of rock 'n' roll's greatest legends. The production is led by Cleveland native Mary Bridget Davies, who performs with Joplin's original band Big Brother and the Holding Company, and also features Sabrina Elayne Carten as the Blues Singer who pays homage to the artists that influenced Joplin's incomparable blues-rock blend. Created, written and directed by Randy Johnson, the production is produced in partnership with Cleveland Play House in association with Todd Gershwin and Daniel Chilewich of Premiere Media, with support from The Estate of Janis Joplin and Jeff Jampol of JAM, Inc. One Night with Janis Joplin runs September 28 - November 4, 2012 in the Kreeger Theater. Check out photos from the show's opening night party below!

Lynne Meadow (Artistic Director), Barry Grove (Executive Producer), and Mandy Greenfield (Artistic Producer) have announced that THE EXPLORERS CLUB, the world premiere comedy by Tony nominee Nell Benjamin (Legally Blonde), will be directed by Marc Bruni (Ordinary Days, Old Jews Telling Jokes) featuring Obie Award winner Steven Boyer and Tony Award winner Richard Easton.

The universal language of the blues 'speaks eloquently in this scorching, Tony-nominated musical! The twenty-six hot, torchy numbers that tell the sweet, sexy and sorrowful stories of four colorful inhabitants of a 1930s Chicago saloon, will leave audiences energized, inspired and ready to wail. This dynamite revue features blues classics from Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Bessie Smith and many more, packed into a larger-than-life score that'll bring down the house!'

Opera Exposures, the not-for-profit organization dedicated to presenting concerts and recitals featuring seasoned professional musicians and young operatic artists in accessible venues at affordable prices, will celebrate National Opera Week by presenting a FREE recital on Sunday, October 28, at 3 PM at St. Marks Church, 131 East 10th Street at 2nd Avenue in Manhattan.

The RRazz Room, San Francisco's premier nightclub, will present a very special night with vocalist DENISE PERRIER tonight, October 2 as part of their "Legendary Bay Area Giants of Jazz" Concert Series. The show "Both Sides Now" will feature two sets, one accompanied by cello and violin with Musical Director Tammy Hall, the second to highlight Ms. Perrier's soulful side with funky hits of the 1970s and 80s. She will include selections from her latest CD The Second Time Around.

Preview performances of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? begin this evening, Thursday, September 27, 2012, at the Booth Theatre (222 West 45th Street). Opening night is set for Saturday, October 13, 2012, exactly 50 years to the day of the play's original Broadway opening on Saturday, October 13, 1962.

The RRazz Room, San Francisco's premier nightclub, will present a very special night with vocalist DENISE PERRIER on Tuesday, October 2 as part of their "Legendary Bay Area Giants of Jazz" Concert Series. The show "Both Sides Now" will feature two sets, one accompanied by cello and violin with Musical Director Tammy Hall, the second to highlight Ms. Perrier's soulful side with funky hits of the 1970s and 80s. She will include selections from her latest CD The Second Time Around.

On the evidence of the book, and as echoed in the show, Alice Walker finds permanence and monogamy rarer than more fluid arrangements. I mentioned forgiveness, and it plays large here; the characters find, in various ways, that they must accept that their loved ones love them back only with divided hearts.

Today we are talking to a Tony Award-winning star known for her many impressive appearances on Broadway in JELLY'S LAST JAM, PLAY ON!, THE WILD PARTY and her tremendous title turn in the towering CAROLINE, OR CHANGE - the one and only Tonya Pinkins. Opening up about her career and many of her most memorable roles, Pinkins lets us in to her world and shares experiences of working with some of the most noted names in theatre - George C. Wolfe, Harold Prince, August Wilson, Stephen Sondheim, Lloyd Richards, Daniel Sullivan, David Esbjornson and many more among them - on everything from MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG, her Broadway debut, to her many musical roles to August Wilson's THE PIANO LESSON and RADIO GOLF all the way to last season's Shakespeare In The Park double-header of THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR and MEASURE FOR MEASURE. Most importantly, Pinkins fills us in on all the details about her upcoming Ethel Waters tribute at 54 Below and what we can expect from one of musical theatre's most dynamic divas taking on the song catalog of an entertainment pioneer in this New York premiere of the in-development new musical solo spotlight showcase. Additionally, Pinkins shares some candid reminiscences about some of her most fondly remembered film and television roles - such as ABOVE THE RIM, BEAT STREET, ROMANCE & CIGARETTES, ENCHANTED and others - as well as offers her thoughts on the ever-changing world of soaps, having appeared in major roles on both AS THE WORLD TURNS and ALL MY CHILDREN. All of that, comments on her two upcoming feature films - HOME and NEWLYWEEDS - and much, much more!