Marilyn Bergman News

Bay Area Cabaret presents the one and only Broadway legend Chita Rivera in a unique solo concert event celebrating her 80th Birthday: CHITA: A LEGENDARY CELEBRATION. The nine-time Tony nominee, two-time Tony Award winner (Kiss of the Spider Woman, The Rink) and first Hispanic woman ever to receive the Kennedy Center Honor, will share perspectives and recreate signature moments from her legendary career.

Join two-time Emmy and five-time Grammy nominated Michael Feinstein as he rings in the New Year with two special performances tonight, December 31 at 7:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. at Feinstein's at the Nikko (222 Mason Street, San Francisco). Considered one of the premier interpreters of American standards, Michael will perform a range of classics from the Great American songbook.

Judith Clurman's Essential Voices USA will be performing as part of The New York Pops holiday concerts, under the baton of Steven Reineke, at Carnegie Hall on December 19 and 20, 2013. Ms. Clurman will perform Stephen Paulus' choral work Wishes and Candles with her chorus and the orchestra, to honor her friend and colleague Stephen Paulus. It will be performed in a newly orchestrated version by Steven Mercurio. Wishes and Candles was composed in 1998. The text is by Alan and Marilyn Bergman. It is dedicated to Judith Clurman and the Lincoln Center Tree Lighting.

Bay Area Cabaret celebrates the New Year by welcoming back Grammy-nominated jazz guitarist/vocalist John Pizzarelli and Broadway actress/singer Jessica Molaskey. The charming husband and wife duo will perform their critically acclaimed Cafe Carlyle show This Must Be the Place, which The New York Times called, 'brilliant,' praising Ms. Molaskey as 'a singer whose radar yields infallible insight into a song's emotional crosscurrents.' Pizzarelli and Molaskey will perform 5pm, Sunday, January 19, at the historic Venetian Room of the Fairmont San Francisco, 950 Mason Street. Tickets ($48) are available at www.bayareacabaret.org or by phone at City Box Office (415) 392-4400.

Two sensational new performance clips from the hotly anticipated PBS debut of legendary stage and screen icon Barbra Streisand's new concert special BACK TO BROOKLYN are now available to view.

Jack Jones celebrates his fiftieth anniversary in show business in a special one night only concert at The McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert tonight, November 23, at 8 p.m.

Incomparable tage and screen icon Barbra Streisand recently headlined an international world tour titled BACK TO BROOKLYN, kicking off in her hometown of Brooklyn, New York, at the newly-opened Barclays Arena, no less, and the careful preservation of those shows via a new DVD and CD coming out next month is now available for pre-order and a track listing has at last been revealed.

The very first complete song performance sneak peek from international icon Barbra Streisand's upcoming CD, DVD and PBS special is now available to view, featuring the incomparable stage and screen legend lending her characteristic brilliance to Cole Porter's 'You're The Top' - with a few Brooklyn-ese alterations!

An alluring new promotional spot showcasing legendary stage and screen star Barbra Streisand's eagerly anticipated new CD and DVD based on her recent worldwide smash hit BACK TO BROOKLYN tour is now available to view.

Katharine “Kat” Kramer, producer of Kat Kramer's Films That Change The World, will celebrate the film series' Fifth Anniversary on Wednesday, November 13, 2013 by presenting a one night only screening of the North American Premiere of FALLOUT

Jack Jones celebrates his fiftieth anniversary in show business in a special one night only concert at The McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert on Saturday, November 23, at 8:00pm. Jones won two Grammys for 'Best Pop Male Vocal Performance' with his singles 'Lollipops and Roses' and 'Wives and Lovers.' He was also nominated for 'The Impossible Dream,' and his recording of 'Wives and Lovers' was nominated for 'Record of the Year'. His hit records include 'The Race Is On,' 'Lady,' 'Call Me Irresponsible,' and 'What I Did for Love.' He is a leading interpreter of musical theater, with acclaimed performances in Guys and Dolls, South Pacific, She Loves Me, Pajama Game, and as Don Quixote in the national tour of Man of La Mancha. Jones's credits also include film and television roles, an internationally syndicated TV variety show, and performances at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and the White House and he has performed and recorded theme songs for film and TV, including 'Love with a Proper Stranger" and 'The Love Boat.'

Join two-time Emmy and five-time Grammy nominated Michael Feinstein as he rings in the New Year with two special performances on Tuesday, December 31 at 7:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. at Feinstein's at the Nikko (222 Mason Street, San Francisco).

Some people, especially some cabaret reviewers and cabaret fans, might think it's lazy or a copout or both for a performer to keep recycling previous shows. But when the Café Carlyle comes a'callin' you: A) May not have enough time to create a totally new show or B) Want to pitch the big game with your best stuff or C) All of the above. Since I only started reviewing cabaret in late 2010, I missed the Laurie Beechman Theatre debut of Jennifer Sheehan's 2009 show You Made Me Love You: Celebrating 100 Years of the Great American Songbook, and missed it again when she brought it to the Metropolitan Room in 2010. So I, for one, am not complaining that she dusted off the critically praised set again (with the new slug 'Timeless Classics and New Treasures' from said Songbook show) for her debut last Saturday night at the prestigious Café Carlyle. Sheehan may have been booked for the room's new 10:45 late night series and not the prime time slot, but at least the Carlyle is giving opportunities to exciting young cabaret performers like Sheehan (and Marissa Mulder, who will make her debut at the room on November 7). With You Made Me Love You, Sheehan made everything old new again-at least for me.

Rollingstone.com reports that Tony Award winner Cyndi Lauper is among this year's nominees for the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Continuing its 10th Anniversary Season, Bay Area Cabaret presents America's Romantic Piano Sensation, Jim Brickman in concert. Making his first San Francisco appearance in nearly ten years, Mr. Brickman will perform solo at 8pm, and with special guest Broadway tenor David Burnham at 5pm, Sunday, November 10, at the historic Venetian Room of the Fairmont San Francisco, 950 Mason Street. Tickets ($43-$48) are available at www.bayareacabaret.org or by phone at City Box Office(415) 392-4400.

Incomparable stage and screen icon Barbra Streisand recently headlined an international world tour titled BACK TO BROOKLYN, kicking off in her hometown of Brooklyn, New York, and the preservation of those shows via a new DVD and CD coming out next month is now available for pre-order.

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 seas tonight, 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.

Continuing its 10th Anniversary Season, Bay Area Cabaret presents Tony Award-nominated Broadway star Norm Lewis. Mr. Lewis comes to the Bay Area for this special one-night-only engagement 5:00pm, Sunday, October 20, at the historic Venetian Room of the Fairmont San Francisco, 950 Mason Street. Tickets ($43-$48) are available at www.bayareacabaret.org or by phone at City Box Office (415) 392-4400.

Considered one of the premier interpreters of American standards, the two-time Emmy and five-time Grammy nominated Michael Feinstein will bring his new show, Swingin' Back Home, to Feinstein's at the Nikko for four performances only - tonight, September 11 and September 13, 14 and 15, 2013.

The Crazy Coqs October schedule begins with Steven Brinberg, who returns following his sell-out show earlier this year with Simply Barbra (October 1- 5), followed by Les Miserables actress and singer Frances Ruffelle and her show Paris Original (October 8 - 12). New York singer-pianist Billy Stritch performs his show I've Got Your Number - The Jazz of Cy Coleman (October 15- 19). As part of the London Festival of Cabaret, Karen Kohler and KT Sullivan will duet together in their show Vienna to Weimar (October 22- 26) followed by KT Sullivan with Rhyme, Women and Song (October 29 - November 2).