Harold Arlen News

Grammy-Award winning soprano Jessye Normanreturns to Carnegie Hall on Saturday, February 14 at 8:00 p.m. with pianist Mark Markham for a special Valentine's Day program entitled Hooray for Love! The concert features classics from musical theater and the Great American Songbook including selections by Harold Arlen, Leonard Bernstein, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Rodgers and Hart, and Duke Ellington, plus songs by Satie, Weill, Poulenc, Bizet, and others. This performance marks Miss Norman's first solo recital in Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage since May 2008.

Alan Simon returns to the Laurie Beechman Theatre on January 27th and February 3rd, 2015 at 7pm in A Woman's Touch featuring Rebecca Holt (Broadway revival of How To Succeed...), Kristin Feeney (Goodspeed Opera House) and Kelsey Landon (The Acting Company) in a festive entertainment with humor, heart and hijinks.

The Musical Theater Project celebrates the 75th anniversary year of The Wizard of Oz by saluting the composer behind the music in "Over the Rainbow: The Songs of Harold Arlen," to be presented at Cuyahoga Community College's Eastern Campus Performing Arts Center on Sunday, January 18, 2015 at 3pm.

STING*chronicity offers an unexpected combination of monologues with a stunning variety of musical arrangements of the music of brilliant contemporary songwriter, Sting. The show is "set" in Madison Square Garden on the occasion of the final reunion concert of the iconic band, The Police, which was headed by Sting. STING*chronicity surveys the diverse audience, and their very varied interpretations of his music as the words of his songs are filtered by their unique lives and experiences. "A concert always brings people together who couldn't be further apart."

Tony Award winner Faith Prince will guest star on the episode entitled 'Two Balls' in the role of Sid's Mom.

Metropolitan Room, internationally acclaimed jazz cabaret, presents John Malino in "Home for the Holidays" on Sunday, December 28th at 1pm.

Join DorothyTM, TotoTM and the rest of the crew as they head to Emerald CityTM for a special two-night event brought to you by Fathom Events, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. "TCM Presents: The Wizard of Oz" will be shown in select U.S. cinemas

Equally enchanting and entrancing in one evening, the Skylight Music Theatre sends Milwaukee audiences to the Emerald City to revisit The Wizard of Oz in grand theatrical style. Over the holiday season, Dorothy and her four friends, Lion, Scarecrow, Tin Man and her beloved Toto, share a journey to where everyone wishes to return: a home overflowing with family and friends.

Today we salute one of Broadway's most influential artists in honor of his birthday this week, the one and only Ira Gershwin!

Having seen Mary Testa in a cabaret concert in Houston, I feel I had an idea of what to expect from her and Michael Starobin's album HAVE FAITH. While I expected it to be eccentrically eclectic and haunting, nothing could have prepared me for how it was beautifully hypnotizing and simultaneously so unlike anything I've ever heard before. The unique album utilizes well-known pop songs (hits from The Beach Boys to Alanis Morissette) and songs written by William Finn and Michael John LaChiusa to explore thoughts on faith and doubt in ways that are equally alluring and unexpected.

Happy Birthday, Ira Gershwin! A lyricist, Gershwin collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century. With George he wrote more than a dozen Broadway shows, featuring songs such as 'I Got Rhythm', 'Embraceable You', 'The Man I Love' and 'Someone to Watch Over Me'. He was also responsible, along with DuBose Heyward, for the libretto to George's opera Porgy and Bess. The success the brothers had with their collaborative works has often overshadowed the creative role that Ira played. However, his mastery of songwriting continued after the early death of George. He wrote additional hit songs with composers Jerome Kern ('Long Ago (and Far Away)'), Kurt Weill and Harold Arlen.

Annaleigh Ashford opened her solo cabaret Lost In The Stars at 54 BELOW last night. With a deft sense of humor, a glowing smile, a big spoon, and indefatigable pizazz, Ashford brought the 70s back to life with her inspired takes on disco classics and other pop anthems that we all know by heart. Ashford's Lost In The Stars gives audiences perfectly offers audiences a performance that ranges from mild to wild but never fails to impress.

Follow the yellow brick road to Surflight Theatre for THE WIZARD OF OZ, beginning Today, November 28 with performances through Sunday, December 21.

This week marks a notable homecoming on 54th Street: More than 10 years after he appeared as Tulsa in Gypsy, David Burtka is finally returning to the New York stage for two concerts at 54 Below, ending this evening.

On September 19, 2014, some of the biggest stars on Broadway were invited to perform at a benefit concert for the Amigos de Jesus Orphanage (http://www.amigosdejesus.org/) and the children of Honduras. Among the performances was a bilingual rendition of 'Let it Go,' sung by Robin de Jesus. Check it out below!

Every year, despite a litany of warnings they come to the Big Apple with big dreams. Warnings like: “You have to pay your dues.” “It's a tough business, kid.” “How are you going to survive?” There's no such thing as an overnight success, yet still they come to be at “the top of the heap,” as Kander and Ebb so eloquently put it. The four young performers featured here haven't yet vaulted to the top of the cabaret heap, but they've certainly made their marks with excellent shows during 2014, while exhibiting the potential to get there. The spotlight is already shining on Chrysten Peddie, Angela Dirksen, Rembert Block, and Kristoffer Lowe.

Follow the yellow brick road to Surflight Theatre for THE WIZARD OF OZ, beginning Friday, November 28 with performances through Sunday, December 21.

Singer and Broadway star T. Oliver Reid leads what he describes as "a club hopping journey through the swanky clubs and low down joints of 1934 Harlem," featuring the music of Duke Ellington, Harold Arlen, Andy Razaf, and more. In this new show, Reid performs each number with the unmistakable dramatic flair of a musical theater veteran, and he also provides an overview of the clubs, musicians, and social context of the music.

Jillian Laurain will be bringing the 'Met' to the 'Met Room' with 'A Touch of Class,' tonight, November 8, 2014 at 7pm. The performance will feature arias you would hear sung at the Metropolitan Opera, for the first time brought to the stages of the Metropolitan Room.

On Monday, November 17, 2014 at 10:00 p.m., New York Festival of Song presents a special NYFOS After Hours celebrating the record release of CANCIÓN AMOROSA: SONGS OF SPAIN with Corinne Winters and Steven Blier. The album is released the same day on GPR Records, distributed by Naxos.