Billie Holiday News

Richmond CenterStage today announced the return of its acclaimed U.S. TRUST Life is a Cabaret Series: A Celebration of the American Songbook for its fifth season.

A funnel cloud split the sky in a terrifying twist of darkening wind as the Calgary Folk Festival began under a cold rain that swept over the prairie river valley. At the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, the Bow River embraces the city of Calgary in power and steam, all emptying into dry air under the incredulously spacious Alberta horizons.

BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center, the longest operating performance venue in lower Manhattan, proudly presents a wide range of events in the 2015-2016 Season, including The National Circus & Acrobats of China, performing on Wednesday, October 14 at 7:30pm, Beyond Third Wave (dance troupe), performing Friday, May 19 and Saturday, May 20 at 7:30pm through Sunday, May 21 at 3:00pm, David Gonzalez with City Of Dreams - Featuring the Poetic License Band performing Friday, October 23 at 8PM, and more! We also continue to present a diverse slate of Family programming, free film retrospectives, and a variety of dance, comedy, and special events.  All 2015-2016 events are listed below with more information. Tickets are $15-$25 and on sale soon. To purchase tickets, call 212-220-1460 and/or visit www.tribecapac.org.  

Live From Lincoln Center's telecast of SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET has won the Creative Arts Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Program. Therefore, six-time Tony Award-winner McDonald, is now just an Oscar Award away from the coveted 'EGOT' distinction.

Billie Holiday is coming to The Apollo Theater in Harlem thanks to Holligram USA this fall. The company has previously brought back Nat King Cole, Liberace and Buddy Holly. Now, Holiday will grace the stage and bring to life the music she made so iconic.

Meg McLynn was a huge hit with the audience last season in her tribute to Patsy Cline, so this time she returns with a tribute to one of the most iconic singers of all time, Judy Garland, in “I Could Go On Singing: The Judy Garland Songbook”. Musical director David Duvall will join Meg once again on the baby grand for the Sunday, September 13, 2015 at 2 PM performance at the Arthur Newman Theatre located at the Joslyn Center in Palm Desert as part of the Sundays In Summer Cabaret Series produced by Les Michaels.  

Den Zauber der Zerbrechlichkeit entfaltet Melody Gardot, die als eine der aufregendsten musikalischen Entdeckungen dieses Jahrzehnts gefeiert wird. Im Stile einer mysteriosen Nightclub-Diva scheint sie einem Cinema Noir-Klassiker zu entsteigen. Mit unsicheren Schritten bahnt sie sich den Weg auf die Buhne, wo sie Leidenschaft, Begehren und Enttauschung, Liebe, Leid und Lust in Songs packt, die das Publikum fesseln. Melody Gardot prasentiert ihre intensive Performance vom 7. bis 11. November in Leverkusen, Ingolstadt, Hamburg und Berlin.

Audra McDonald has a big year ahead of her! After embarking on a concert tour this fall, the six-time Tony winner, who recenty wrapped filming for Disney's live action Beauty and the Beast, will be back on Broadway, starring alongside Brian Stokes Mitchell, Billy Porter, Joshua Henry and Brandon Victor Dixon in SHUFFLE ALONG. Before all of that, McDonald will head to Provincetown, MA to take part in the acclaimed Broadway @ Town Hall concert series, hosted by SiriusXM radio star Seth Rudetsky. For one show only on Monday, August 24 (6:30 PM), she will be joined onstage by her husband and fellow Broadway star Will Swenson, with whom she is currently starring in Williamstown Theatre Festival's A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN. McDonald recently checked in with BroadwayWorld about Monday's concert, and updated us on all of her upcoming projects! Check out the full interview below:

Sally Kellerman, the legendary Oscar-nomInated 'Hot Lips' of the original 'M*A*S*H,' will bring her acclaimed show, 'A Little Jazz, a Little Blues, a Little Rock and Roll' to the Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood for a special return engagement tonight, August 19 at 8:30 PM.

The acclaimed Broadway @ Town Hall concert series in Provincetown, MA, produced by Mark Cortale, will welcome Audra McDonald -- the historic 6-time Tony-winner and star of Broadway's LADY DAY AT EMERSON'S BAR AND GRILL, PORGY AND BESS, RAGTIME, MASTER CLASS and TV's PRIVATE PRACTICE -- for one show only on Monday, August 24 at 6:30 PM. She will be joined onstage by a very special guest, her husband and fellow Broadway star Will Swenson.

Jazz singer/songwriter Abigail Rockwell, granddaughter of beloved American illustrator Norman Rockwell, will continue her New York cabaret debut on Thursday, September 3rd at 7 pm at the Metropolitan Room in "Bring In The Spring!".  Her first show was in late April and now she returns this fall with two more shows.  Ms. Rockwell will take the stage to share her songs - an eclectic mix of standards and original compositions - and her story after a long battle for truth contending with the recent fraudulent biography of her grandfather.  Sean Harkness, her musical director, will accompany her on guitar.  The show is directed by Bill Castellino.

Catherine Russell levels the playing field. With a connoisseur's passion for primarily 1930s-40s music, preternatural comprehension, and protean musical talent, this artist personifies the enduring relevance of vintage numbers with a freshness that makes the material feel immediate. Russell is never less than fully committed and infectiously entertaining. Thursday night at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola (Jazz at Lincoln Center), with city lights twinkling as a backdrop, she and her blue-chip band (Music Director Matt Munisteri on guitar; Mark Shane on piano, Mark McLean on percussion, and Tal Ronan on bass) played Russell's show Sultry Summer Swing to two sold-out houses of faithful and burgeoning fans.

Harold Lomax Ousley, born January 23, 1929 in Chicago, Ill., passed away yesterday, August 13, 2015.

In a unique collaboration between Verve Records and Walt Disney Records, the two esteemed labels have teamed up to present the compilation album WE LOVE DISNEY, which will be released on October 30th. The compilation features the hottest artists from across the pop, rock, R&B, and country worlds delivering their own unique interpretations of classic Disney songs. The album was produced by multi-platinum, 16-time Grammy Award-winning producer and Verve Music Group Chairman David Foster. The 12 artists to be featured are...

BWW:UK speaks to vocalist and impressionist Jess Robinson about her 2015 Edinburgh Festival Fringe show.

Comedy in many varieties will be the common refrain of the 8th annual Origin's 1st Irish Festival running from September 2 to October 4. In all seven mainstage productions seen in competition (4 US premieres, 3 world premieres), plus seven special events out-of-competition will make up the five-week, month-long festival.

MIGHTY REAL: A FABULOUS SYLVESTER MUSICAL, the hit musical celebration of the life and music of the original 1970s 'Queen of Disco,' Sylvester, continues to spread 'DISCO HEAT' across America, and will next play a special one-night-only performance on Saturday, September 5, 2015 at 7:00 PM (doors open at 6:00 PM) at The Variety Playhouse (1099 Euclid Avenue NE, Atlanta, GA 30307). Tickets ($65.00 - $75.00) will go on sale this Friday, August 7th. Visit www.FabulousSylvester.com for tickets and information.