Harold Arlen News

Known for their signature themed concerts, The Palm Beach Pops will launch its 2011-2012 season with acclaimed performances of the most requested songs from the past 20 years of concerts and bring back all-time favorite performers such as Clint Holmes, Lillias White, David Burnham and Lynn Roberts, as well as showcasing some of today's top performers including John Pagano and Lea Salonga.

Old Hollywood glamour will come alive in the Barn Theatre premiere production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's SUNSET BOULEVARD. Popular daytime television star Kim Zimmer will star as iconic silent film star Norma Desmond!

Bay Area Cabaret, the local non-profit organization devoted to presenting audiences with top performers who expand the definition of cabaret, has announced its Fall 2011 lineup for the 2011-2012 season, Venetian Evenings.

Ann Hampton Callaway jokes about her Diva of America status in the music world, but it is a well known fact that this lady is a singer's singer. Like Barbara Cook in the world of theatre, although many, many years her junior, Callaway is the top in the world of jazz/pop and all singers flock to hear her perform. Her meticulously clear phrasing, magnificent range, ability to scat and overall great vocal instrument make her a fantastic night club singer and recording artist. In her set at Catalina Jazz Club July 28-31, Callaway had a rather short list of songs, but what she did to enhance each and every tune was nothing less than remarkable.

The West Bank Café announces upcoming performances to be presented in The Laurie Beechman Theatre. The West Bank Café is located at 407 West 42nd. St., at Ninth Avenue. For reservations, please call 212.695.6909.

It is one of the most highly anticipated shows of the twenty-first century, if only because the most successful composer of all-time - and the man behind not one, but both of the longest-running musicals in Broadway history - Andrew Lloyd Webber, has taken perhaps the most beloved American film of all, THE WIZARD OF OZ, to the London stage and has outfitted it with a number of new songs and musical sequences from his own hand and brazenly titledit ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER'S THE WIZARD OF OZ. Rumors of a Broadway opening ring out as the show sells out every night in London. And the show itself? Well, it certainly lives up to the title - and then some! But, what about the cast album? Re-teaming with his Oscar-winning collaborator on JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR and EVITA, Sir Tim Rice - who wrote THE LION KING and AIDA with Elton John in the interim, among many other musicals - and securing the most celebrated star of the stage in the modern age and the original Phantom in THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA himself, Michael Crawford, as the Wizard, Lloyd Webber proceeded to procure a Dorothy through the nouveau means of a 2010 reality TV casting competition, OVER THE RAINBOW: THE SEARCH FOR DOROTHY, and he certainly found a more than acceptable heir to the mantle left by Judy Garland in the 1939 film version in newcomer Danielle Hope. So, now, here we are, with the lushly produced West End cast album starring Hope, Crawford and Hannah Waddingham as the Witch glistening in its jewel case before us, so should we be joyously jumping over the rainbow or singing the red shoes blues?

According to the star's official website, Michael Crawford has just extended in the hit London production of THE WIZARD OF OZ through February 5, 2012. Audiences have been following the yellow brick road over the rainbow to see Crawford and Danielle Hope, winner of BBC TV's Over the Rainbow, at The London Palladium where the show began previews in early February and opened in March to great reviews.

NEW YORK FESTIVAL OF SONG (NYFOS) creates intimate concerts that breathe new life into an art form that is rich and emotionally resonant, yet is too often treated as genteel, intellectual, and predictable.

Brooklyn philharmonic has just announced their 2011-12 season:

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. A summer theater tour of Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and northern Indiana, plus the Muny in St. Louis and some thoughts upon returning from Toronto.

Porchlight Music Theatre, American Musicals. Chicago Style, opens its 17th season with its 14th production of a work by Stephen Sondheim, Putting It Together, directed by Brenda Didier with music direction by Austin Cook, at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave.

The West Bank Café announces upcoming performances to be presented in The Laurie Beechman Theatre. The West Bank Café is located at 407 West 42nd. St., at Ninth Avenue. For reservations, please call 212.695.6909.

On October 29, 2011, San Diego theatre aficionados will be captivated by the impeccable talents of the legendary LINDA EDER IN CONCERT with TOM WOPAT - the Tony Award Nominated Broadway star! This rare appearance in concert is a 'must see,' giving audiences a chance to experience these renowned artists in the beautifully restored, historic Balboa Theatre. For one night only, audiences will be enchanted by two of the greatest contemporary voices of our time singing some of their well-known favorites.

Auditions for The Green Room Community Theatre's opening show for the 2011-2012 season, The Wizard of Oz, are scheduled for Sunday, July 10 & Monday, July 11, 2011.

Join your North Carolina Symphony in celebrating our nation's 235th birthday with a concert of classical favorites and patriotic tunes capped by some of the area's biggest fireworks displays.

Auditions for The Green Room Community Theatre's opening show for the 2011-2012 season, The Wizard of Oz, are scheduled for Sunday, July 10 & Monday, July 11, 2011.

DANNY AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA is an early piece by playwright John Patrick Shanley, but you wouldn't know it, since it's filled with the same kind of crackling dialogue and troubled characters that populate most of his work. I was reminded more than once of Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler's classic composition 'Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea', not just because of the obvious similarities between the titles, but due to Koehler's lyrics like: 'I don't want you/but I hate to lose you' and 'I want to cross you off my list/but when you come knocking at my door/fate seems to give my heart a twist/and I come running back for more'. Those words really seem to fit this pair of damaged individuals who are searching for something positive in their lives, despite their inability to connect with anyone, at least until they meet up with one another. The NonProphet Theatre Company's presentation is a real stunner, powered by two great performances that make it must-see viewing.

The 2011 London Palladium cast recording of Andrew Lloyd Webber's stunning new production of The Wizard Of Oz is currently available digitally and will be in stores June 28th through Decca Broadway in America. This 24 track set includes all the much-loved songs from the Oscar-winning movie score by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg, plus new songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.