George Gershwin News

In cabaret, there are variety shows and there are VARIETY shows. Going on close to three years as a reviewer and attending a myriad of these affairs that can range in feel from Ed Sullivan to the Gong Show, I no longer have much patience for the lower case version. But every once in a while there's a multi-performer extravaganza that screams capital letters. It turns out that MAC-Award winning singer Lauren Fox has acquired the knack for staging 'Big V' variety shows because they are all about the themes, the stories, and the music, and not about the performers. And wouldn't you know it? With the egos being upstaged by everyone's joy and passion for the project, everybody wins . . . especially the audience. That was the case last night at 54 Below with the Fox produced 'One Night of Peace & Music: A Tribute to Woodstock.'

BroadwayWorld.com's SHOW BIZ: Rush, Lottery & Standing Room Only Ticketing Policies - updated on 8/16/2013.

Yoshi's San Francisco announces updated calendar for club and restaurant through September 15, plus new shows through December 2013. Details below!

Celebrated Russian actress and singer Larisa Dolina is the next international star to make her Broadway debut in the record-breaking, Tony Award-winning musical smash CHICAGO. In the featured role of Matron 'Mama' Morton, Dolina will play a limited eight-performance engagement at Broadway's Ambassador Theatre (219 West 49th Street), tonight, August 13 through Sunday, August 18.

Music Director Kim Aliczi puts together a selection of more than 30 musical numbers from members of the great American Songbook like Duke Ellington, Cole Porter, George Gershwin and Irving Berlin with medleys featuring tunes from one composer or themes, like songs about trains.

Famed singer, actress and Broadway star Eydie Gormé has died at age 84. Spokesperson Howard Bragman said 'Legendary singer and performer Eydie Gorme passed away peacefully today at Sunrise Hospital following a brief illness. She was surrounded by her husband, son and other loved ones at the time of her death.' In his own statement, Steve Lawrence said: 'Eydie has been my partner on stage and in life for more than 55 years. I fell in love with her the moment I saw her and even more the first time I heard her sing. While my personal loss is unimaginable, the world has lost one of the greatest pop vocalists of all time.'

Into the sunny heat of August, ESP introduces the cool breeze of witty comedy - the terrific play Biography, by S. N. Behrman. This 1932 Broadway hit concerns the return to the United States of the Tennessee expatriate Marion Froude, who has been leading a highly artistic lifestyle in between-the-wars Europe. A portrait painter, Marion has hobnobbed with the rich and royal and renowned, and has had passionate romantic affairs - always going her own way, sometimes to her cost.

THE PIANIST OF WILLESDEN LANE, starring internationally-acclaimed storyteller and pianist, Mona Golabek, which was recently extended due to popular demand through September 1, will host a special talk back discussion on Sunday, August 18 following with 3 p.m. performance. The talk back will feature a special guest appearance by Kindertransport survivor Ernst Heimann, member of the Speakers' Bureau at the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center. The production is adapted and directed by Hershey Felder and based on the book The Children of Willesden Lane by Golabek and Lee Cohen. The Chicago premiere has received rave reviews and follows successful productions in Los Angeles and Boston.

Hershey Felder in Abe Lincoln's Piano will have its world premiere in the Gil Cates Theater at the Geffen Playhouse as a limited fifteen-performance engagement starting January 3, 2014.

BroadwayWorld.com's SHOW BIZ: Rush, Lottery & Standing Room Only Ticketing Policies - updated on 8/9/2013.

Hershey Felder in Abe Lincoln's Piano will have its world premiere in the Gil Cates Theater at the Geffen Playhouse as a limited fifteen-performance engagement starting January 3, 2014.

The Laguna Playhouse Executive and Artistic Directors, Karen Wood and Ann E. Wareham will present their second special bonus offering of their 2013 season, the world premiere production of a new musical play, ROCKSTAR, featuring the music of Franz Liszt and others, written and performed by Hershey Felder and directed by Trevor Hay.

Don't let this summer end without seeing 'America's Favorite Original Boy Band'! Olney Theatre Institute presents a limited return engagement of Forever Plaid August 24 through September 15 on Olney Theatre Center's Historic Stage.

The Coachella Valley's premiere theatrical venue, The McCallum Theatre, has added an exciting new array of offerings to its' already jam-packed upcoming seaon. Comedy, jazz, world music, country royalty, pop icons and first ladies of American song have been added to the roster of McCallum Theatre's 2013-2014 season. 'We are always looking to add performances with the broadest appeal to Valley audiences,' said Mitch Gershenfeld, President & CEO of the McCallum. 'We are pleased that several terrific shows became available after our subscription brochure went to press and delighted to add them to what is already an exciting and diverse season of world-class entertainment.'

BroadwayWorld.com's SHOW BIZ: Rush, Lottery & Standing Room Only Ticketing Policies - updated on 8/2/2013.

The electrifying Susan Egan will perform her internationally acclaimed concert: The Belle Of Broadway at Le Centre Pierre-Peladeau in Montreal on Sat., Sept. 7 at 8 p.m.