Ella Fitzgerald News

The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts continues its star-packed 25th anniversary season in March 2017 with amazing performances from Hollywood to Bollywood, several fascinating lectures, two of Broadway's biggest hits, and the much-anticipated return of Michael Feinstein & the Kravis Center Pops Orchestra.

Making its annual Kennedy Center appearance, the famed Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to the Opera House stage with seven performances, February 7-12. Led by Artistic Director Robert Battle, the Company's performances include a company premiere, four D.C. debuts, two new productions, and a total of 11 works by a range of distinct choreographers.

???????Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater inspires all in a universal celebration of the human spirit using the African-American cultural experience and the American modern dance tradition at the Van Wezel Performing Arts on Tuesday, February 21 at 8PM.

Jess here.  Last summer I had the opportunity to spend a week in Carmel, Indiana with 39 of the most talented teens I've ever met.  What happens in Carmel, you ask…?  THE SONGBOOK ACADEMY!  Now in its eighth season, the Songbook Academy is an annual week long summer music intensive designed for teens who are passionate about the music of the Great American Songbook.  Michael Feinstein, the multi-platinum-selling, two-time Emmy and five-time Grammy Award-nominated entertainer founded the Great American Songbook Foundation in 2007.  Each year he helms the program, and brings Broadway actors, Grammy and Emmy winners, and faculty from collegiate arts music programs to work alongside him in educating students about the rich history, songs and composers associated with the Great American Songbook. 

Franz Welser-Most to conduct three concerts, featuring Beethoven's Symphony No. 2, Beethoven's Symphony No. 7, an evening of opera favorites, and more. Blossom Summer Season includes 21 concerts of family-friendly programming on weekends from Fourth-of-July through Labor Day Weekend

As Black History Month launches, Ailey continues to inspire, enlighten and educate all people with national tours by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Ailey II, classes for aspiring dancers and the general public, and the launch of a new Arts In Education residency program for elementary school students. 

Producing Artistic Director Carolyn Griffin has announced that the 1978 Pulitzer Prize winning play The Gin Game, by D. L. Coburn, and directed by Thomas W. Jones II, will be in performance at MetroStage February 2-March 12 and feature Roz White and Doug Brown.

Proof Doubt Closer Theatre Company presents 'CARRIE' THAT TUNE: HIT SONGS FROM FLOP MUSICALS at BAR FEDORA starting Feb. 2. Conceived, written and directed by Trace Oakley, Musical Direction by Alena Bernardi, Choreography by Averi Quinn Yorek. Presented by Proof Doubt Closer Theatre Company.

This February at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, MetLiveArts includes The Lincoln Family Album, the male vocal quintet, Profeti della Quinta, Gerald Clayton Quartet and Quartet in Residence, PUBLIQuartet, returns to The Met with a program exploring, What is "American music"? with Jessie Montgomery's Banner. 

To cultivate kids' deeper interest in history and inspire them to feel their own significance in the present and future, stories about distinguished men and women including the Tuskegee Airmen Chief Civilian flight instructor Charles Alfred 'Chief' Anderson, the history-making commercial airline pilot Stephanie R. Grant, animator and Disney legend Floyd Norman, and physician, role model and activist Dr. Myiesha Taylor, will be presented as part of Disney|ABC Television Group's 'Be Inspired' interstitial series during Black History Month on Disney Channel, Disney XD and Disney Junior.

Emmy Award-winning personality Steve Harvey returns to host SHOWTIME AT THE APOLLO, a brand-new one-hour special and reimagining of the classic talent showcase series.

Two-time Tony Award-winning Goodspeed Musicals has assembled six exciting teams - three led by prominent women directors - to helm the diverse productions planned this season: a tap-happy musical comedy, a beloved classic, a completely reinvented musical from some of the finest creative minds in musical theatre, two bold new musicals, and a holiday show for all ages.

Just in time for Valentine's Day, World Cafe Live presents RetroLove, an all-original evening of poetry, songs, stories and jazz that capture sweet and sexy reminiscences of relationships before the Internet.

Creative Cauldron presents the Tony-Award Nominated Musical Blues in the Night, directed by Creative Cauldron's Artistic Associate, Matt Conner. Set in a rundown hotel in Chicago 1938, Blues in the Night was conceived and originally directed by Sheldon Epps.

The Performing Arts Center at Purchase College has released its Spring programming lineup. See the full schedule below:

Corky Hale, the legendary jazz harpist, pianist and vocalist, will perform her new show, 'An Evening With Corky Hale,' at the Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood on Wed., Feb. 1 at 8:30 PM.

Gabrielle Stravelli - the celebrated pop/jazz vocalist and songwriter - releases Dream Ago, her first major recording in a quickly rising career. The album, which is available starting today, January 27, 2017 from the Big Modern Music label, presents a joyous new voice of flexibility and range.

Parkinson's UK have announced that multimillion selling and award-winning recording artist Katie Melua will be performing alongside the world's most successful musical theatre group Collabro and comedian Josh Widdicombe at the Royal Albert Hall as part of Parkinson's UK presents: Symfunny No. 2 on April 19.

On January 24, Will Friedwald, producer, feature writer for The Wall Street Journal, author of nine books on popular music, countless articles, and liner notes, moved his nostalgic CLIP JOINT series to Lexington Avenue at 92nd Street Y. For the uninitiated, CLIP JOINT offers curated video clips---many not seen in decades---from a huge vintage collection of quality sources, DVD and 16mm (not downloaded from YouTube). Each themed program features writers, musicians, and/or vocalists associated with our American Songbook. Friedwald's economic commentary, encyclopedic knowledge, and openness to questions is a unique resource for fans and professionals alike.

Gabrielle Stravelli - the celebrated pop/jazz vocalist and songwriter - will release Dream Ago, her first major recording in a quickly rising career. The album, which will be available this week on January 27, 2017 from the Big Modern Music label, presents a joyous new voice of flexibility and range.