Ira Gershwin News

The Velocity of Autumn, a new two-character play from Cleveland-based playwright Eric Coble, opens at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater under the direction of Artistic Director Molly Smith and by special arrangement with HOP Theatricals, LLC.

Dallas Summer Musicals, Inc. (DSM)announces their 2013-2014 season of shows, with eight touring Broadway productions and two specials coming to the Music Hall at Fair Park. DSM has been entertaining North Texas audiences with the finest in professional live theatrical entertainmentfor 74 seasons, since 1941.

Dallas Summer Musicals, Inc. (DSM)announces their 2013-2014 season of shows, with eight touring Broadway productions and two specials coming to the Music Hall at Fair Park. DSM has been entertaining North Texas audiences with the finest in professional live theatrical entertainmentfor 74 seasons, since 1941.

Park Square Theatre invites the public to its annual summer extravaganza as single tickets for all shows in the 2013-2014 Season go on sale today, July 18, beginning at 11:30 a.m. The free event takes place over the lunch hour at the theatre on West 7th Place in downtown Saint Paul.

Robyn Spangler returns to Palm Desert's Arthur Newman Theatre with 'Riddle, Ronstadt & Robyn' today, July 14th at 2 PM.

Park Square Theatre invites the public to its annual summer extravaganza as single tickets for all shows in the 2013-2014 Season go on sale Thursday, July 18, beginning at 11:30 a.m. The free event takes place over the lunch hour at the theatre on West 7th Place in downtown Saint Paul.

Fresh off the heels with rave reviews for his conducting debut with the Pasadena POPS, Michael Feinstein returns to lead the orchestra in a performance celebrating the legendary films of MGM. Michael Feinstein's MGM Movie Classics tonight, July 13 features rare and stunning arrangements from the golden age of the silver screen, and the orchestra will be joined by guest vocalists Ron Raines, Christine Ebersole, the cast of Hollywood Revisited, and the Debbie Allen Dance Academy Tap Ensemble.

Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre's production of Crazy for You is a phenomenal evening of entertainment filled with fantastic tap-dancing and great Gershwin standards. The 1992 musical comedy featuring music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin and an updated book by Ken Ludwig was a perfect evening of entertainment in the incredibly talented hands (and tap dancing feet) of the Shenandoah Summer Music Theater company.

Pasadena Symphony Association President Diane Rankin and Chief Executive Officer Paul Jan Zdunek today announced the extension of Principal Pops Conductor Michael Feinstein's contract through 2016. His current contract was for a 1-year term, but fresh off the heels with rave reviews for his conducting debut to capacity crowds on June 1st, the leadership of the Pasadena Symphony Association immediately offered Feinstein a multi-year contract extension. The decision represents a confident commitment to Feinstein and support for his vision for the Pasadena POPS Summer Concert Series at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden.

Bay Area Cabaret, devoted to presenting audiences with top performers who expand the definition of cabaret, enters its 10th season this fall with a gala series at the Fairmont San Francisco's historic Venetian Room. To celebrate this significant milestone, Bay Area Cabaret presents a star-studded lineup of performers making their Bay Area Cabaret debuts, as well as the return of a few favorites from the past decade. Opening the season Saturday, September 21, 2013 with a bang is Broadway's Megan Hilty, known to millions as the powerhouse 'Bombshell' on NBC's television program Smash. The season continues October 20, 2013 with Tony nominee Norm Lewis (The Gershwin's Porgy and Bess) and November 10, 2013 with 'America's romantic piano sensation,' multi-platinum selling recording artist Jim Brickman, joined by special guest Broadway heartthrob David Burnham.

LIVE BY THE LAKE, the hotly anticipated series of outdoor summer concerts at Kenwood House, marks the welcome return of the English Heritage concert season. Produced by the young dynamic agency, Rouge Events, Live By The Lake's outstanding lineup of world class music is scheduled over six days – August 23rd-25th and August 30th-September 1st; each show promises to attract up to 10,000 music and film lovers to enjoy the music and share a picnic with friends and family in more than 100 acres of Kenwood House's beautifully landscaped gardens. Boasting the perfect mix of pop, rock, soul, classical, musical theatre and film, LIVE BY THE LAKE promises something special for every music lover in the land. Tickets are now on sale at www.kenwood.seetickets.com and there are a limited number of discounts for residents in many of London's northwest postal districts. Ticket holders will be able to choose a variety of reasonably priced tickets for each concert and to decide whether or not to bring their own picnic and all-weather paraphernalia! For those who want to rock up unhampered, the best of Carluccio's Italian picnics can be ordered in advance and picked up on the day of each orchestral concert. (NB: Suede and Keane concerts will be standing room only, so picnics and chairs should be left at home and a range of drinks and delicious food will be available from the on-site concession stands. PROGRAMME at a glance: August 23rd: SUEDE and special guests BRITISH SEA POWER August 24th: ROYAL CHORAL SOCIETY and the ROYAL PHILHARMONIC CONCERT ORCHESTRA August 25th: KEANE and special guest LAURA MVULA August 30th: 'SINGIN' IN THE RAIN' – film screening, score performed by the ROYAL PHILHARMONIC CONCERT ORCHESTRA August 31st: ANA MARIA MARTINEZ and the ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA ORCHESTRA September 1st: MICHAEL BALL and friends sing GERSHWIN Nathan Homan of Rouge Events says: “We are absolutely delighted to be producing the first LIVE BY THE LAKE at Kenwood House in association with English Heritage. We've got a wonderful lineup of world class performers and I think Kenwood's beautiful grounds are the perfect setting for what promises to be a seriously great series of summer concerts. Even in this digital age, the appetite for live performance is greater than ever – the calibre of artists who are appearing at Live By The Lake is a testament to their own enjoyment of playing outdoor concerts and I think audiences across the six nights will love every minute of it.” Publicity: judy.lipsey@premiercomms.com and Robbie.wilson@premiercomms.com 020 7292 8330 www.livebythelake.co.uk THE PROGRAMME in detail: Kicking off proceedings on Friday August 23rd are the multi-platinum selling, mighty SUEDE (left), Britpop progenitors, one of the world's most exciting rock bands and whose sixth studio album 'Bloodsports' was released in March, after a ten year gap, to much critical acclaim. Suede's special guests are the splendid Brighton-based indie rockers BRITISH SEA POWER, the title of whose current album, 'Machineries of Joy', was inspired by a collection of short stories by the great sci-fi author, Ray Bradbury. The band recently performed their soundtrack for the documentary film 'From the Land to the Sea', directed by Penny Woolcock, at the Sundance London Film and Music Festival at the 02 and at the Sheffield Documentary Festival. On Saturday August 24th it's a feast for classical music lovers with the Royal Choral Society and the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra conducted by Roderick Dunk, performing a wonderful selection of arias from, among others, Carmina Burana, Madame Butterfly, Verdi's Requiem and many more. The night will end with a spectacular firework display. Roderick Dunk will be well known to BBC Radio 2 listeners as the BBC Concert Orchestra's regular guest conductor for the long running Friday Night is Music Night. To complete the perfect first weekend on August 25th the Brit Award winning, Grammy nominated, 10 million selling KEANE will take to the stage; fronted by the charismatic Tom Chaplin, the band's fourth studio album, Strangeland, was released in May 2012 and immediately topped the UK charts. KEANE are delighted to have as their special guest the uniquely gifted soul singer/songwriter LAURA MVULA, whose debut album, 'Sing To The Moon', was released this year and instantly catapulted her into the musical stratosphere and a headlining slot at this year's Isle of Wight Festival. Friday August 30th offers a truly rare opportunity to film fans: the screening of the 1952 musical romantic comedy 'Singin' In The Rain' to a LIVE score performed by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra. Starring the legendary Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds, and choreographed and directed by Gene Kelly, the film offers an entertaining depiction of a 1927 Hollywood caught up in the transition from silent films to talkies. The RPO, conducted by Neil Thomson, will bring the film's iconic soundtrack to life while the re-mastered film is shown on the big screen. Saturday August 31st is Opera Alfresco night with the English National Opera Orchestra and a special appearance by the incomparable Grammy Award winning American soprano, Ana Maria Martinez whose lyrical, elegant style has seen her grace all the grand opera houses around the world. The ENO together with principal soloists Wynne Evans, Fiona Murphy, Kai Ruutel and David Webster will perform some of the world's greatest and most popular arias from the works of Bizet, Mozart, Puccini, Verdi and more. On Sunday September 1st MICHAEL BALL, double Olivier Award winner ('Hairspray', 'Sweeney Todd'), multi-platinum recording artist, and radio and TV presenter will close Live By The Lake's programme of events with a special evening of music by George and Ira Gershwin. Britain's top musical theatre star will be inviting friends from the West End stage such as Kerry Ellis, Gina Beck, and David Shannon to join him in performing some of the Gershwin's best loved songs including Summertime, I Got Rhythm, S'Wonderful, Shall We Dance, and many more.

MUSE/IQUE, known for its counter-conventional performances that feel more like parties than formal concerts, launches 'Summer of Sound' 2013 with 'Lost in the Stars with Patti Austin,' featuring the Grammy Award-winning legend, tonight, June 29, 2013, 7:30 pm, outdoors at Caltech's Beckman Mall in Pasadena.

Only two nights removed from the last of my three solo debut shows at the Metropolitan Room celebrating the Don McLean Songbook, I was already experiencing the post-performance depression I'd heard tell about from cabaret veterans. I needed someone to lift me up where I belonged, so my instincts took me to Birdland for another trip through memory lane with Nostalgic Natalie Douglas. The last time I had heard the dynamic Ms. Douglas was 14 months before when she powered her way through her historically and politically passionate Freedom Songs. This time, Natalie's nostalgic trip was a much more personal adventure she called Scrapbook 2.0, which traversed everything from the musical influences of her late parents to the tunes she loved while growing up in Southern California. By the time Douglas was finished flipping the pages of her musical scrapbook--and delivering some adorably homey stories along with them--my gloom had been transformed into gladness.

Fresh off the heels with rave reviews for his conducting debut with the Pasadena POPS, Michael Feinstein returns to lead the orchestra in a performance celebrating the legendary films of MGM. Michael Feinstein's MGM Movie Classics on Saturday, July 13 features rare and stunning arrangements from the golden age of the silver screen, and the orchestra will be joined by guest vocalists Ron Raines, Christine Ebersole, the cast of Hollywood Revisited, and the Debbie Allen Dance Academy Tap Ensemble.

Robyn Spangler returns to Palm Desert's Arthur Newman Theatre with 'Riddle, Ronstadt & Robyn' on July 14th at 2 PM.

Scot Albertson (Vocalist - Performer - Producer - Recording Artist) - www.scotalbertson.com) announces his sixth CD release concert, set for tonight June 17, 2013 at 7:30p.m. at Symphony Space Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theatre, located at 2537 Broadway & West 95th Street, New York City, NY.

The producers of the Tony Award-winning musical comedy Nice Work If You Can Get It have announced that the Broadway production will play its final performance today, June 15, 2013 after 27 previews and 478 regular performances at the Imperial Theatre (249 West 45th Street). The production began performances on March 29, 2012 and opened on Apr 24, 2012. A national tour will be launched in the 2014-2015 season.

Scot Albertson (Vocalist - Performer - Producer - Recording Artist) - www.scotalbertson.com) announces his sixth CD release concert, set for Monday June 17, 2013 at 7:30p.m. at Symphony Space Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theatre, located at 2537 Broadway & West 95th Street, New York City, NY.

MUSE/IQUE, known for its counter-conventional performances that feel more like parties than formal concerts, launches 'Summer of Sound' 2013 with 'Lost in the Stars with Patti Austin,' featuring the Grammy Award-winning legend, on Saturday, June 29, 2013, 7:30 pm, outdoors at Caltech's Beckman Mall in Pasadena.