John Boswell News

JASON GRAAE, the L.A. DRAMA CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD winner and Broadway and cabaret star, opens his acclaimed tribute to Jerry Herman, 'PERFECT HERMANY' at The Laurie Beechman Theatre in West Bank Cafe, 407 West 42nd Street, on Tuesday, October 18 at 7 PM.

Jason Graae, the L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award winner and Broadway and cabaret star, will bring his acclaimed tribute to Jerry Herman, 'PERFECT HERMANY' to The Laurie Beechman Theatre in West Bank Cafe, 407 West 42nd Street, on October 18-25, 2011. Performances will be October 18, 18 and 24th at 7 PM and October 25 at 9:30 PM. There is a $20 cover and two drink minimum. Reservations (212) 695-6909.

JASON GRAAE, the L.A. DRAMA CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD winner and Broadway and cabaret star, opens his acclaimed tribute to Jerry Herman, 'PERFECT HERMANY' at The Laurie Beechman Theatre in West Bank Cafe, 407 West 42nd Street, on Tuesday, October 18 at 7 PM.

Willows Theatre Company and Esses Productions conclude their third and final presentation of their SING FOR YOUR SUPPER Concert Series benefiting The Food Bank of Contra Costa & Solano with a Gala Variety Show featuring singers and performers from Television, Theatre, and Cabaret.

Chanson d'amour stars two of the most illustrious cabaret singers ever to grace the stage, Amanda McBroom and Lee Lessack, exploring the works of the Belgian singer/songwriter Jacques Brel and esteemed French composers Michael Legrand, Charles Aznavour and Gilbert Bécaud. Backed by Music Directors Michel Brourman (piano & vocals) and John Boswell (piano), and musicians Stephan Oberhoff (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Larry Tuttle (bass), Debra Dobkin (percussion & vocals), and David Boswell (guitar), McBroom and Lessack in both duets and solo performances explore the great French love songs of the 20th Century at the Ford Amphitheatre on Friday, October 7, 2011 at 8:00 PM.

From the Great White Way to the Champs-Elysees, Chanson d'amour is a journey through the Great French Songbook from an American perspective. Led by two of the most illustrious cabaret singers ever to grace the stage, Amanda McBroom and Lee Lessack, Chanson d'amour explores the works of such French composers as Jacques Brel, Michael Legrand, Charles Aznavour and Gilbert Bécaud.

Chanson d'amour stars two of the most illustrious cabaret singers ever to grace the stage, Amanda McBroom and Lee Lessack, exploring the works of the Belgian singer/songwriter Jacques Brel and esteemed French composers Michael Legrand, Charles Aznavour and Gilbert Bécaud. Backed by Music Directors Michel Brourman (piano & vocals) and John Boswell (piano), and musicians Stephan Oberhoff (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Larry Tuttle (bass), Debra Dobkin (percussion & vocals), and David Boswell (guitar), McBroom and Lessack in both duets and solo performances explore the great French love songs of the 20th Century at the Ford Amphitheatre on Friday, October 7, 2011 at 8:00 PM.

Kritzerland at the Gardenia presents a Very Special Evening!A Broadway Love Story Wednesday, October 5, 2011 9:00 pm - 11:00 pm Starring Alet Taylor

The RRazz Room, San Francisco's premier nightclub, offers the finest in world-class Classic Soul, R&B, Traditional Pop, Jazz, Comedy, Revue and Cabaret entertainment.

The RRazz Room, San Francisco's premier nightclub, offers the finest in world-class Classic Soul, R&B, Traditional Pop, Jazz, Comedy, Revue and Cabaret entertainment.

The RRazz Room, San Francisco's premier nightclub, offers the finest in world-class Classic Soul, R&B, Traditional Pop, Jazz, Comedy, Revue and Cabaret entertainment.

Jason Graae, the L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award winner and Broadway and cabaret star, will bring his acclaimed tribute to Jerry Herman, 'PERFECT HERMANY' to The Laurie Beechman Theatre in West Bank Cafe, 407 West 42nd Street, on October 18-25, 2011. Performances will be October 18, 18 and 24th at 7 PM and October 25 at 9:30 PM. There is a $20 cover and two drink minimum. Reservations (212) 695-6909.

The RRazz Room, San Francisco's premier nightclub, offers world-class Classic Soul, R&B, Traditional Pop, Jazz, Comedy, Revue and Cabaret entertainment.

On Wednesday September 7 Bruce Kimmel's Kritzerland at the Gardenia celebrated its first anniversary honoring the work of Frank Loesser. Loesser, if you recall, wrote Guys and Dolls, considered by many to be one of the most perfect musicals of all time. He also wrote music and lyrics for 1962's Pulitzer Prize winning How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying currently receiving a sold out revival on Broadway starring Daniel Radcliffe, or as Kimmel referred to him, Harry Potter. Loesser's The Most Happy Fella, my personal favorite, incurable romantic that I am, has some of the most gorgeous songs of all time like 'My Heart Is So Full of You' and 'Somebody Somewhere'. Participating in the evening were an all female contingent: Laura Wolfe, filling in wonderfully and on short notice for the previously announced Shannon Warne, Kim Huber - such a great singer - Alet Taylor, Ruth Williamson - wonderful character actress and singer - Kelsey Scott, and of course, prolific little Melody Hollis, who has been appearing in Kritzerland shows for several months. And last but hardly least, musical director extraordinaire John Boswell.

From the Great White Way to the Champs-Elysees, Chanson d'amour is a journey through the Great French Songbook from an American perspective. Led by two of the most illustrious cabaret singers ever to grace the stage, Amanda McBroom and Lee Lessack, Chanson d'amour explores the works of such French composers as Jacques Brel, Michael Legrand, Charles Aznavour and Gilbert Bécaud.

Another wonderful evening of song from Kritzerland, Bruce Kimmel's production label, at the Gardenia on Wednesday August 3, this time saluting the music of Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones, and congrats are in as this show marks Kritzerland's 12th consecutive show in its series at the Gardenia! Schmidt and Jones penned The Fantasticks, I Do! I Do!, among the most famous, and less so: 110 In the Shade, Collette Collage, Celebration and even a musical entitled The Bone Room. On hand to perform were musical director John Boswell and special guest Rex Smith, Lauren Rubin, Michaelia Leigh, Will Collyer, Camille Saviola, Michael Hawkins, 13 year-old Melody Hollis and even Guy Haines - I mean, Bruce Kimmel himself - singing. And I'm here to tell you, he didn't sound half bad! Kimmel as always introduced the evening with interesting composer trivia and anecdotes. The music showcased included well known tunes and lesser known or unfamiliar ones. Schmidt and Jones may not have had the popularity of Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Lowe, or Kander and Ebb, but one thing is certain they sure did pen some eclectically beautiful songs!

On Wednesday July 6 Kritzerland at the Gardenia presented a salute to the lesser known music of Kander and Ebb - The Kander and Ebb Album - two of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. Think Chicago or Cabaret, and you need go no further. These two wildly popular shows still receive international mountings and provide us with some of the greatest Broadway pop tunes ever. Ahead of their time, Kander and Ebb produced shows with a substantially dark and biting edge not found in other composers' music and lyrics. Bruce Kimmel, whose Kritzerland recording company continues to enjoy enormous success worldwide, again served as narrator of the evening telling short, funny anecdotes about his encounters with John Kander and also detailing Kander and Ebb's failures as well as successes. Liza Minnelli's Broadway career soared because of K & E - it started with Flora the Red Menace in the 60s and continued through the next couple of decades with hits and flops such as The Rink and 1977's The Act, which began in LA as Shine It On. K & E certainly didn't fare too badly either with Liza's name on their bill. Think of what she did for the movie Cabaret with her Academy Award winning turn as Sally. However, such was not the case with their film New York, New York which received some pretty scathing reviews in the late 70s; the pair were none too pleased that a small musical The First Nudie Musical (Bruce Kimmel)fared far better than their multi-billion dollar disaster. It's always such fun for theatre lovers to hear about the down side of the business, and particularly via Kimmel's straight-forward, droll take on it.

The Colony Theatre is excited to present musical theatre dynamo JASON GRAAE in "PERFECT HERMANY: JASON GRAAE SINGS JERRY HERMAN" with musical direction by John Boswell, and directed by Lee Tannen.

The Colony Theatre is excited to present musical theatre dynamo JASON GRAAE in "PERFECT HERMANY: JASON GRAAE SINGS JERRY HERMAN" with musical direction by John Boswell, and directed by Lee Tannen.

ollowing its most lucrative successful January/February ever, Executive Producer Michael Sterling of Sterling's Upstairs at Vitello's in Studio City, CA says 'We are blessed to have enjoyed the most lucrative beginning of any year since our 2006 opening. This success is largely due to the unprecedented advance sales of our annual 6-week musical theatre talent competition LA's Next Great Stage Star 2011, and a series of spectacular debuts by such outstanding Broadway/Nightclub headliners as Nita Whitaker, Jason Graae, Maxine Lapiduss, and Suzanne Petrela. Notable Southland Musical Directors such as James Lent, Nelson Kole, John Boswell, and Michael Orland (of American Idol) also contributed to our 2011 kickoff.'