Billie Holiday News

Cumbe: Center for African and Diaspora Dance (Cumbe), a thrilling and diverse dance studio championing African Diaspora dance and music returns to Brooklyn, resuming its well-loved classes on September 25. After being pushed out of its prior location in Downtown Brooklyn two years ago, Cumbe found a new home via its partnership with RestorationART at Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation's dynamic new 21st Century Complex. A community day opening on Saturday, September 23, will offer $5 classes.

On Thursday, September 28 at 7pm, The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at WNYC - in partnership with Apollo Theater - presents 'Black Creativity,' a special evening of conversation and performance with composers Toshi Reagon and Daniel Bernard Roumain.

Vocalist / bandleader Keith A. Dames (left) and veteran NY-based guitarist Marvin Horne (right) are greeted by Patricia  Rampolla (center)  of Love Productions Records - the seven-year old  LLC headed by Patricia Hall -which produces the   popular  Monday Night  Jazz Series @ Harlem's   Farafina Cafe & Lounge. The musicians performed two sets of jazz and blues tunes on Labor Day (Sept. 4th) evening.  

MIGHTY REAL: A FABULOUS SYLVESTER MUSICAL, the Broadway-bound musical (headed to The Great White Way in 2018) celebrating the life and music of the original 1970s 'Queen of Disco,' Sylvester, will give a special performance at the inaugural RuPaul's Drag Con NYC this weekend.

Midtown Direct Rep (MDR) launches its 2017-18 reading series, Theater at The Woodland, with a free presentation of SOMETHING TO LIVE FOR, a new play with music, written by Rob Zellers, directed by Billy Porter, with music supervision by Zane Mark and musical direction by Darryl Ivey. 

Orchestra of St. Luke's returns to Carnegie Hall for three concerts in the fall including its annual subscription series presented by Carnegie Hall, opening on October 12 with Conductor Laureate Pablo Heras-Casado on the podium. He leads Beethoven's Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21, and Mozart's Mass in C Minor, K. 427 ('Great'), featuring the Westminster Symphonic Choir, and guest vocalists sopranos Camilla Tilling and Susanna Phillips, tenor Thomas Cooley, and bass-baritone Michael Sumuel.

Herman Leonard: The Rhythm of Old New York will be on view at Robert Mann Gallery September 7 - October 14, 2017, with an opening reception set for September 7 from 6 to 8 p.m.

The Billie Holiday Theatre (The Billie) is launching its 46th Season in the newly-renovated theater with a production of The Old Settler, written by Brooklyn-born playwright John Henry Redwood and directed by Tony Award nominee Michele Shay.

Theatre Communications Group (TCG) and Project1VOICE (P1V) have announced a screening series tour for the #LegacyLeaders video of Douglas Turner Ward coming to three cities this fall.

Axis Theatre served as the incubator and theatrical home for East 10th Street: Self Portrait with Empty House (2009), In the Park (2014), and Attorney Street (2016), the three poignantly peculiar solo plays that make up New York's monologizing cult sensation Edgar Oliver's New York Trilogy.

Tony, Grammy and Emmy winning star Audra McDonald returns to Segerstrom Center for the Arts for an up close and personal concert on Friday, May 11, 2018 in the Rene?e and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. Accompanied by her trio, McDonald will bring her vivacious personality and artistry to hit show tunes, classic film songs and selections written expressly for her by many of today's leading composers. The New York Times wrote of her Carnegie Hall concert, "That sense of excitement, in which she tugs a song forward emotionally, is inherent in the quickness and tang of her vibrato, as though feelings are pouring out of her almost faster than they can be reined in."

Portland Stage has announced the kick-off to its 2017-2018 Season with Lady Day At Emerson's Bar and Grill by Lanie Robertson, starring Tracey Conyer Lee. 

New York based vocalist Teri Roiger recently released her fourth recording as a leader, 'GHOST OF YESTERDAY: Shades of Lady Day', a heartfelt tribute to Billie Holiday. Since Ms. Holiday provided the initial spark that led to a lifelong commitment to jazz, this one is especially personal to Teri.

Vocalist, pianist, lyricist, composer and teacher Teri Roiger will appear at Mezzrow on September 12th at 8:00pm & 9:30pm along with Frank Kimbrough, John Menegon and Steve Williams.

This September, Feinstein's/54 Below, Broadway's Supper Club & Private Event Destination, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond.

OBIE Award Winning actor, HSA alum and Artist in Resident, Chris Myers present 'INTERFEST,' a free three-day arts & ideas festival promising an energized experience for emerging artists and thinkers to explore the future of culture and community.

Callaway has crafted an exciting night of music centered on the songs of women songwriters who have inspired her. Billie Holiday's "God Bless the Child," Carole King's "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?", and Dorothy Field's "The Way You Look Tonight" are among the gems carefully chosen by he Platinum-selling composer and lyricist. Classics by Peggy Lee, Joni Mitchell, and Cynthia Weil, as well as songs by friends Michelle Brourman and Amanda McBroom reflect the unique female perspective on love, life, and the pursuit of happiness. And expect to enjoy moments of Ann at the piano singing the best of her original songs. Don't miss BroadwayWorld.com's "Performer of the Year" in this stirring night of song and story!

This September, Feinstein's/54 Below, Broadway's Supper Club & Private Event Destination, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond.

Following her sold out performances at The Pheasantry earlier this year, award-winning singer and musical theatre star Patti Boulaye brings to the Crazy Coqs, her wonderful, moving one-woman show 'Billie and Me,' in which she discusses the parallels of her life and career with that of the great singer Billie Holiday on Friday September 29.

Marilyn Maye always packs the Celebrity Room at Dino's Backstage in Glenside, PA, and now fans can get another chance to see this legendary performer as she returns there on September 14, 15 and 16. The month starts off with two performances by Paula Johns and Michael Richard Kelly on September 8 and 9. The duo will be accompanied by The Tom Adams Trio, with Tom Adams on piano, Steve Varner on bass and Grant MacAvoy on drums. On September 22 and 23, the multi-media tribute performer Randy Roberts will showcase his impersonations of famous women. Michael Richard Kelly and Paula Johns and The Tom Adams Trio wrap up the month with two performances on September 29 and 30.