Dolly Parton News

The Meeting* hosted by Justin Sayre, the acclaimed comedy/variety show, will return  to OASIS (298 Eleventh Street, San Francisco CA) on Saturday, December 12 at 7:00 PM after two packed shows earlier this year. The Meeting* has been called "delicious and delightfully droll" by The New York Post and "hilarious and sardonic" by The Village Voice. A story for Slate.com called the evening "so deliciously icy that it left me shivering with fear and delight." The New York run of The Meeting* - currently running monthly at Joe's Pub at The Public Theater - has been sold out since the New York Times "Arts & Leisure" piece ran last September. Special musical guests for the Oasis performance will be announced. Tickets are $20 and are available at SFOasis.com.

This week 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, visitwww.54Below.com/Feinsteins or call (646) 476-3551.

Kiki Ebsen, daughter of legendary TV/film/theater star Buddy Ebsen will be appearing live in New York City for one night only on Thursday, October 8th at 9:30 PM at The Metropolitan Room jazz club in a multimedia concert tribute to her dad. The live show, 'TO DAD, WITH LOVE -- A TRIBUTE TO BUDDY EBSEN,' will feature Kiki performing at the piano and singing with her jazz band including noted NYC musicians sax man David Mann, keyboardist Henry Hey and drummer Clint de Ganon.

This October, FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW presents an exciting lineup of the brightest talent from Broadway and beyond. Located just below the legendary Studio 54 at 254 West 54th Street. For

GABRIELLE STRAVELLI - the celebrated pop/jazz vocalist and songwriter called an "outstanding singer" by The Wall Street Journal and "hotter than the equator" by The Village Voice - has released the new single that is currently available on iTunes here, a passionate reworking of the Cole Porter classic "Dream Dancing." The track, a selection from her upcoming album If Only Love, has an arrangement by Pat O'Leary and features Art Hirahara on piano, Pat O'Leary on bass and Eric Halvorson on drums. "Dream Dancing" is produced by David Cook (Taylor Swift, Jennifer Hudson, Marianne Faithfull) with cover photography by Shervin Lainez (St. Vincent, Cat Power, Ellie Goulding).

Broadway and TV actress/singer Megan Hilty performed a splashy show at Valley Performing Arts Center at CSUN, Northridge on Thursday, September 24 at 8 pm to a packed audience of her fans. Hilty is best remembered for playing Glinda in Wicked for four and a half years - she replaced Kristin Chenoweth on Broadway - and also for premiering the role of Doralee Rhodes, played in the film by Dolly Parton, in  the musical of 9 to 5 at the Ahmanson and on Broadway. She also starred in NBC's musical Smash as actress Ivy Lynn, who creates a Marilyn Monroe character for a fictional musical Bombshell, for two seasons on NBC to great acclaim.

SPARKLE & CIRCULATE with JUSTIN SAYRE - the official monthly podcast of the International Order of Sodomites - has posted its eleventh episode, which features an interview with Brendan Maclean, the acclaimed Australian singer and songwriter. Maclean - hailed as "infectious and hypnotic" by BuzzFeed - discusses his new EP Thought I'd Cry For You Forever, his role in Baz Luhrmann's film The Great Gatsby, his upcoming album with RuPaul's producer Lucian Piane and collaborating with Neil Gaiman on a new song. Also, Justin gives the back story behind his debut novel Husky, released this month from Penguin Books. The show is available on iTunes here.  

Last Friday, at a restaurant in downtown Dallas, the cast of Broadway's newest hit musical, MOONSHINE: THAT HEE HAW MUSICAL, celebrated their crowd-pleasing opening night amidst cocktails and cheers. Except it wasn't the celebration of their Broadway opening night they were celebrating: it was a party celebrating the press opening of Dallas Theatre Center's exciting new local production, currently being produced in hopes of soon landing on the Great White Way. Still, with the amount of talent on stage, and the brilliant writing, staging, costumes, set design, etc., this production felt a lot more 'Big Apple' than 'Big D.'

The Flat Rock Playhouse 2015 season will continue with the delightful feel-good musical Pump Boys & Dinettes, which will run from October 1st through October 25th on the Clyde & Nina Allen Mainstage in the village of Flat Rock.

CHANDLER, Ariz., Sept. 18, 2015 /PRNewswire-iReach/ With over 300 million copies of his books sold worldwide, James Patterson is one of the most prolific and successful authors on the planet. While he continues to write the suspenseful thriller novels his devotees clamor for as well as the children's books that have gained him a whole new fan base, he's also become a major champion for literacy. He recently pledged to donate $1.75 million to school libraries through a grant program with Scholastic Reading Club. 'I'm really passionate about getting kids reading,' said Patterson in a recent interview with Story Monsters Ink magazine. 'If kids aren't competent readers in middle school, they're going to have a really hard time getting through high school and getting through life.' Patterson also discussed his career, his newest books and how he instilled a love of reading in his own son.

The Smith Center will welcome Paul Anka to Reynolds Hall this fall. Very few performing artists have made as great an impact on popular culture as Anka, who will perform his greatest hits accompanied by his backing band in Reynolds Hall today, Sept. 18 at 7:30 p.m.

THE MEETING* hosted by Justin Sayre, the acclaimed comedy/variety show, will return to JOE'S PUB at The Public Theater on Sunday, September 27 at 9:30 PM to open the Fall 2015 Season. The September 2015 show will feature a celebration of Whitney Houston, with special guests Darius de Haas, Natalie Joy Johnson, Jaime Cepero, Inyang Bassey and others to be announced. Tracy Stark serves as the show's Music Director.

REELING, the second-oldest LGBTQ+ film festival in the world and a beloved Chicago cultural institution for more than 30 years, features a host of events of interest to the theater community. GREY GARDENS Tony Award winner Mary Louise Wilson will be present for the Chicago premiere of SHE'S THE BEST THING IN IT, a documentary about Wilson also featuring Frances McDormand, Melissa Leo, Tyne Daly, Estelle Parsons, Valerie Harper and Charlotte Rae.

GABRIELLE STRAVELLI - the celebrated pop/jazz vocalist and songwriter called an "outstanding singer" by The Wall Street Journal and "hotter than the equator" by The Village Voice, will celebrate her upcoming self-titled CD with her debut solo engagement at 54 Below for four concerts directed by Grammy Award nominated nightlife legend Marilyn Maye, starting on Tuesday, September 29. The new album, produced by David Cook (Taylor Swift, Jennifer Hudson, Marianne Faithfull), will be released later this season. The recording's first single - a passionate reworking of the Cole Porter classic "Dream Dancing" - will be available on iTunes on Friday, September 25. The show's centerpiece is a selection of Gabrielle's sophisticated original songs, in addition to classic standards and numbers by Bob Dorough ("Where Is the Song?"), Brian Wilson ("Busy Doin' Nothin'") and The Indigo Girls ("The Power of Two"). For the engagement, Stravelli will be joined by Joshua Richman on piano, Pat O'Leary on bass and Eric Halvorson on drums.

When Dolly Parton, who starred in the hit movie version, 9 to 5, and Patricia Resnick premiered 9 to 5: The Musical in Los Angeles in 1980, they probably never imagined it would go on to receive the most Drama Desk Award nominations in Broadway history as well as four Tony Award nominations. More so, here it is 35 years later and the show is still packing houses all over the country and still with pertinent messages. The Alhambra Theatre & Dining, the nation's longest running professional dinner theater, will run 9 to 5: The Musical presented by Brumo's Automotive from tonight, September 16, 2015 through October 18, 2015.

Rhonda Vincent has been celebrating the season all year; writing new Christmas material, then combining the new originals with the classics. The result is something unique and it's sure to set the perfect tone for this Holiday Season!

Tonight, September 12, 2015 at 8:00 PM, Ray Stevens will return home to Branson at the Andy Williams Moon River Theatre.

Singer/songwriter/recording artist KIKI EBSEN, daughter of legendary TV/Film/Theater star Buddy Ebsen will be appearing live in New York City for 1 night only on Thursday, October 8th at 9:30 PM at THE METROPOLITAN ROOM jazz club in a multimedia concert tribute to her dad.

The X Lounge at the OUT Hotel has the ultimate dining and show experience, 'Diva Royale' It is performed every Saturday night with general admission starting at $25.

Dave Thomas Brown, recently of Heathers: The Musical at New World Stages, leads a cast that also includes Wayne Duvall (O Brother Where Art Thou?, Leatherheads), Matt McGrath (Cabaret, Hedwig and the Angry Inch), Keith Nobbs (Lombardi, 'The Black Donnellys') and Afton C. Williamson ('Nashville,' 'Homeland'), in Matthew Lopez's THE LEGEND OF GEORGIA McBRIDE, opening tonight, September 9, 2015 at MCC Theater. Let's see what the critics had to say...