Harold Arlen News

Courtney Freed and Rebecca Johnson will star in The Coco & Ruby Variety Hour, a dazzling trip down memory lane and a peek into the hilarious and wacky lives of these two ginger dames. Coco and Ruby mysteriously fell out of their humdrum lives in 1940's Newark, New Jersey and into modern day Hollywood to live the dream! These two characters from the hit web series, "Coco & Ruby," written by Rachel Roderman and directed by Steve Brian, will shuffle-ball-change right out of your computer screen on July 27th & 28th to bring you a LIVE show full of old-school comedy and musicianship reminiscent of Lucille Ball and Betty Hutton. The Coco & Ruby Variety Hour will include many of your favorite WWII era standards, as well as vintage takes on contemporary pop songs.

Gennaro Productions in association with The Midtown International Theatre Festival present Vincent Gorliormella's new outrageous comedy WHATTA YA NUTS! directed by Charles Messina, choreographed by Tricia Brouk, with musical Direction by Ray Naccari and songs by Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler, John Fogerty, Johnny Mercer, Henry Mancini, Wham!, Tom Jones, Les Reed, Geoff Stephens, and Neil Diamond. The show stars Al Sapienza, Ernest Mingione, Alex Ishkanian, Gina Ferranti, Autumn Ready Potter, Steven LaChioma and Valerie Smaldone. WHATTA YA NUTS! plays July 19 - August 5 at the June Havoc Theatre (312 West 36 Street - between Eighth & Ninth Avenues).

Cabaret show producer Joseph Macchia (who is also a host at the Metropolitan Room) will be staging a second presentation of "Boys Night Out: The Music of the Rat Pack" at the Met Room on August 6 (9:30 pm), which will give him a month to work out the kinks after the show's somewhat shaky opening at the Met Room on June 18.

Cape May Stage will welcome another Broadway legend to the Robert Shackleton Playhouse. On Monday, July 23rd at 8pm, Faith Prince brings her critically-acclaimed one woman show Total Faith to Cape May.

The closing night concert for the 2012 Johnny Mercer Foundation Songwriters Project was held on Friday, June 23, 2012. For the seventh year, the Johnny Mercer Foundation Songwriters Project hosted the nation's most promising songwriters across all genres including music theatre, pop, jazz, rock, and contemporary pop at Northwestern University. The night before the gala closing concert, the 16 artists showcased their latest creations. See below for photos of the songwriters and guests, including Ann Hampton Callaway and more!

Today we are talking to an iconic Tony Award-winning star who made her name as a teenager singing on TV variety shows - THE LAWRENCE WELK SHOW and SING ALONG WITH MITCH included - and then went on to a multimedia career in film and theatre, conquering Broadway with her Tony-winning turn in the Jule Styne/Arthur Laurents musical HALLELUJAH, BABY! in 1967 and returning to the stage in the subsequent decades in a host of Broadway productions, such as BLUES IN THE NIGHT, JERRY'S GIRLS, ANYTHING GOES, August Wilson's KING HEDLEY II and her celebrated Muzzy in THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE - a role she reprises in the new Muny production of the Tony Award-winning Best Musical beginning this week - the one and only Leslie Uggams. Taking a thorough look back at her career thus far, Uggams opens up about her many successes and how she has endured for fifty years in show business and shares recollections of many of her most noted co-stars and collaborators, all the way up to the recent 2012 Encores! PIPE DREAM. Additionally, Uggams comments on her film and TV appearances over the years, speaking about her work in INHERIT THE WIND, TWO WEEKS IN ANOTHER TOWN, ROOTS and beyond. Plus, she shares her candid opinions on GLEE, SMASH, Broadway then versus now, future plans for her Lena Horne solo show and thoughts on other roles she would enjoy pursuing - and much, much more!

On June 22 and 23, Broadway favorite Sherie Rene Scott will boldly step off the Broadway stage and into your heart for a rare, intimate appearance at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival. This brand new show of eclectic music and musings will feature songs by David Byrne, Harold Arlen, Toots and the Maytals, Jason Robert Brown and Yusef (the guy formerly known as Cat Stevens).

BroadwayWorld Chicago contributor Paul W. Thompson, author of the popular weekly column, THE SHOWTUNE MOSH PIT, will be performing his 2012 solo show, SONGS I'VE NEVER SUNG BEFORE, on the afternoons of June 21 and June 28 (both Thursdays). Both concerts last about an hour, and both concerts are FREE!!

The Coterie will present popular composer Georgia Stitt live in concert May 25th. Celebrating the release of her newest album, My Lifelong Love, Stitt is bringing her music back to Los Angeles.

The 20th Anniversary season of New York City Center's Tony Award-winning Encores! series will open on January 30, 2013 with Fiorello!, the show that launched the series in 1994. The season will continue with It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman, followed by On Your Toes. A Gala Encores! at 20 Celebration on November 12, 2012 will star Tony Award nominees and Encores! alumni Rauil Esparza and Kelli O'Hara.

Dress Circle have announced that on Saturday 21st July 2012 from 12pm -1pm, they will be joined by Dominic McHugh to sign copies of his new book 'Loverly: The Life and Times of My Fair Lady' - a behind the scenes look at My Fair Lady.

'The Wizard of Oz' by L. Frank Baum, book by John Kane, music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by E.Y. Harburg, directed by Jonah Hagans, will be presented on Tokyo International Players' mainstage tonight, May 17 through May 20.

THE WIZARD OF OZ, featuring Sophie Evans as Dorothy and Russell Grant as The Wizard, ust celebrated 500 performances at the London Palladium. Check out a photo of the cast on the big day, as featured on the show's official website!

92nd Street Y today announced the 2013 line-up for Lyrics & Lyricists™, 92Y's celebrated American Songbook series. Deborah Grace Winer returns for her fifth season as artistic director of the series, as well as one of the shows. Guest artistic directors leading the individual concerts are Rob Fisher (with host Sheldon Harnick), David Loud, Billy Stritch and Mark Lamos in his L&L debut.

NCTC is presents the San Francisco Premiere of THE Tom Judson SHOW by Tom Judson. The show runs now through May 12, 2012: Wednesday through Saturday at 8pm. All performances will take place at The New Conservatory Theatre Center (Walker Theatre), located at 25 Van Ness Ave., near Market St. in San Francisco. Tickets are $28-$41 each, and are available at the NCTC Box Office (415) 861-8972, or online at www.nctcsf.org.

Following the Brighton Beach and Downtown Brooklyn series, the Brooklyn Phil concludes its 2011-12 relaunch season with three free concerts in the heart of BED-STUY, in partnership with Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation and Brooklyn Public Library.

'The Wizard of Oz' by L. Frank Baum, book by John Kane, music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by E.Y. Harburg, directed by Jonah Hagans, will be presented on TIP's mainstage May 17-20. TIP has also announced several upcoming performances and the program for its 2012-2013 season.

Currently earning rave reviews in Broadway's revival of The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, leading lady Audra McDonald will perform at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center this Friday, April 20 at 8 p.m. with the New Jersey Symphony Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of Andy Einhorn. The program will include the songs of Irving Berlin, Harold Arlen, Frank Loesser, Lerner and Loewe, Stephen Sondheim and more.

The Smith Center for the Performing Arts announces an all-star summer line-up set to kick off in June. The summer will feature the legendary Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim, jazz songstress Diana Krall, instrumentalist Chris Botti, the multi-talented Steve Martin and many more. Tickets to all performances go on sale Friday, April 27. Season sponsors include Bank of Nevada and the Las Vegas Design Center.