Diana Ross News

PITTSBURGH – Rock 'n roll icons Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo join the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra on stage for a night of symphonic rock at Heinz Hall on June 30 at 7:30 p.m.

This smash-hit show had its world premiere in 2013 and since then has played to packed houses and thunderous applause throughout Australia and New Zealand. Having recently completed a sell-out season at Arts Centre Melbourne this incredible show returns one more to the Sydney Opera House - for one week only from 12 to 17 July.

Next week, FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club & Private Event Destination, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.54Below.com/Feinsteins or call (646) 476-3551.

The West End production of Motown the Musical has proven its popularity in London.

Verve/UMe is proud to announce, as part of Verve's 60 th anniversary celebration, new vinyl reissues on June 24 for two long unavailable live performance classics by a pair of jazz legends the peerless Ella Fitzgerald's Mack The Knife: Ella In Berlin and funk-master Jimmy Smith's Root Down: Jimmy Smith Live!.

Electric Youth (EY), the international touring ensemble of singer-dancers trained at the Franklin School for the Performing Arts (FSPA), will perform at THE BLACK BOX in downtown Franklin on Saturday, June 18 at 7:30 p.m. The event is a Bon Voyage Concert for Electric Youth, coming just days before the ensemble departs on June 23rd for a three-week concert tour of Austria and Italy. The group's 13th European tour will include a return Fourth of July show at Aviano Air Force Base to entertain U.S. Troops and families stationed abroad.

The Hollywood Pantages, a Nederlander Theatre, is proud to announce the addition of four new productions, all with strictly-limited engagements, during the 2016/2017 Winter season. The new lineup will include three Hollywood Pantages return engagements and one L.A. Premiere.

Sunday June 12th marks the last of Interval Productions' current Made in LDN season, which launched at The Cockpit in March. The season has been designed to present new British Musical Theatre writing, curated and presented by Interval Productions' Creative Director, Tori Allen-Martin, and supported using public funding by Arts Council England. So far the Made In Ldn season has showcased work from thirteen UK based writers and/or composers and now Declan Bennett joins the line up, performing in An Innocent Evening of Drinking, an exciting piece of new theatre that he co-wrote/created with Phil Griffin. Declan has asked curator Tori Allen-Martin to join him as part of the cast, which also features Jamie Muscato and Callum Fitzgerald. This performance will premiere brand new material from the show.

Reji Woods opens his second series of the diva tributes with a Diana Ross super-night.

Virginia Repertory Theatre announces the opening of Dreamgirls on June 24 at the Sara Belle and Neil November Theatre, 114 West Broad Street. The production runs through August 7, 2016. With music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen, this megawatt Broadway crowd-pleaser electrifies the stage with Motown dreams and powerhouse voices. Loosely based on Diana Ross and the Supremes, the story follows the turbo-charged rise to fame of the Dreams.

Award-winning recording artist Rachael Sage has released the official video for her single 'I Don't Believe It', the first video from her recently released full length, Choreographic (MPress/ILS/Caroline).

That old idiom, "History is written by the victors" kept ringing in my head last night as I watched the National Touring Company of "Motown: The Musical" at the Paramount Theatre. Or rather one could say, "History is written by the one telling it." This retelling of the life of Berry Gordy and his creation of Motown Records with a book written by Berry Gordy based on the autobiography by Berry Gordy comes across like a jock in the locker room bragging about all his conquests. But with such bad writing and storytelling coupled with an overabundance of half songs the show feels like a bunch of skewed half-truths and amounts to a tepid and forced evening.

'On The Spot' is the only show in New York City that combines the dulcet tones of cabaret, with frantic hilarity of improv comedy. It has been in existence for over a year, and will soon celebrate the six-month anniversary of its open ended weekly run at the Broadway Comedy Club. It has an excellent critical reputation, being described as 'spot-on', 'fun-filled', 'top-notch' and 'laugh-out-loud'. As well as being 'a show that takes 'anything for a laugh' to new heights of bravery!' (Hi! Drama, Ludus NYC, Culture Catch) Audiences love it, and singers between shows love coming down between gigs to contribute to the fun. Guest artists have included Brian Falduto, better known as the hilarious young stylist 'Fancypants' in Richard Linklater's 'School of Rock', as well as Amanda Nicholas, one of the stars of cult Off-Broadway Sensation 'Bayside! The Musical!, and Billboard Top 40 singer Janine Berenson. It's clearly a show with staying power.

This June, FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz and beyond. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.54Below.com/Feinsteins or call (646) 476-3551.

The full cast has been announced for Exposure The Musical - Life Through A Lens. It runs at St. James Theatre, for a limited season, from 16 July until 27 August 2016, with press night on Thursday 28 July 2016. 

The full cast for ExposureThe Musical - Life Through A Lens are David Albury (Jimmy), NatalieAnderson (Tara), Andy Barke (Ensemble), Rhiannon Duncan(Lust/Ensemble), Zeph Gould (CEO/Sloth/Ensemble), Michael Greco(Miles Mason), Kurt Kansley (Jimmy's Father/Envy/Ensemble), StevieMahoney (Ensemble), Niamh Perry (Pandora), Cassie Rogers(Ensemble), Lauren Stroud (Ensemble), Jahrel Thomas (AidWorker/Gluttony/Ensemble), Manny Tsakanika(Ensemble) and Ella-RoseWhitehouse (Ensemble).

Reji Woods, a Lancaster area stage and song fixture, has a full plate this summer, with his PORTRAIT OF A LADY series and two summer shows in Philadelphia and Vermont. He talks about producing and performing at the same time.

The Houston Symphony announced today an additional performance of Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Saturday, July 23. The second performance will take place at 7:30 p.m. the same day.

Ballet Hispánico, the nation's premier Latino dance organization, presents the next installment of its choreographic institute, Instituto Coreográfíco,with a showing and reception on Thursday, May 26, 2016 at the company's headquarters at 167 W. 89th Street, NYC.

Award-winning recording artistRachael Sagehas released her latest full-length studio album,Choreographic(MPress/ILS/Caroline). Self-described as 'ballet-pop', Sage delivers a musically ambitious and emotionally accessible tribute to her very first love: Dance.