Randy Newman News

Coming up this week, 54 BELOW, the performance venue located just below the legendary Studio 54 at 254 West 54th Street, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz and beyond, including Jennifer Holliday, Chita Rivera, Jeff Daniels, Steve Kazee, After Midnight Swings the Holiday and more. Details below!

Warner Bros. Records (WBR) today announced the appointment of Dan McCarroll as President. McCarroll's responsibilities will include helping to forge creative strategy for the label and overseeing all A&R activities.

Arcadia Performing Arts Foundation presents its first season at the Arcadia Performing Arts Center - Air Supply on Saturday, January 25 at 8 pm; America on Saturday, February 22 at 8 pm; Broadway star Susan Egan, the original Belle of Beauty and the Beast, on Saturday, March 1 at 8 pm; and The Temptations on Saturday, June 7 at 8 pm.

One hundred fourteen scores from eligible feature-length motion pictures released in 2013 are in contention for nominations in the Original Score category for the 86th Oscars®, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today.

In a world where race cars talk, robots fall in love, rats aspire to be star chefs, and toys come to life, Pixar has created some of the greatest stories in movie history through the magic of computer animation, compelling stories and of course, music.

Donna Vivino, who starred for two years as 'Elphaba' in the First National Tour of WICKED and also in the role on Broadway, just released a jazzy new album called 'Beautiful Dreamer' via Ghostlight Records. This is Donna's first album, which came about in a spur-of-the-moment collaboration with her father, Jerry Vivino, who is part of Conan's Basic Cable Band -- the house band for O'Brien's late night show on TBS. Donna recently spoke with BWW about working with her father, her current project off-Broadway, and the upcoming third season of 'Submissions Only'.

Hotel Nikko San Francisco and Michael Feinstein are thrilled to welcome Tony Award nominee - and San Francisco legend - Sharon McNight to Feinstein's at the Nikko for two performances only - Thursday, January 16, 2014 (8 p.m.) and Friday, January 17, 2014 (8 p.m.). Making her Feinstein's at the Nikko debut, McNight will present her all-new show, The First 30 Years - an introspective retrospect from Moose Hall to Carnegie Hall (and all the gin joints on the way). Sharing her quixotic experiences from standing on a stage made from stacked beer cases in San Francisco's Castro District to starring on Broadway in Starmites and her indelible appearances in the world's bistros, McNight will perform songs by Irving Berlin, Billy Joel, Randy Newman, Willy Nelson and many new composers with her trademark comedy in-between. Joan Edgar will serve as Musical Director. Tickets for Sharon McNight range in price from $25-$35 and are available now by calling 866.663.1063 or visiting www.ticketweb.com.

MET MUSEUM PRESENTS has announced its January and February 2014 lineup.

Nominations for the 41st Annie Awards have been announced. Topping the list with 10 nominations each are Disney's Frozen and Monster's University.

Elegant themes and opulent variations by a wide range of Baroque composers set the tone for the holidays as the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) features critically acclaimed virtuoso John Schneiderman playing lute and Baroque guitar in the first of five "Baroque Conversations" concerts on Thursday, December 5, 2013, 7 pm, at Zipper Hall in downtown Los Angeles. LACO Concertmaster Margaret Batjer, who hosts and curates the concert, is joined by LACO's Tereza Stanislav, violin, Armen Ksajikian, cello, Nico Abondolo, bass, and Patricia Mabee, keyboard. The program opens with Passacaglia in D major by Sylvius Leopold Weiss and also includes Karl Kohaut's Lute Concerto in F major (No. 1); Tarquinio Merula's Ciaccona; three sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti; the Ciaconna from Mauricio Cazzati's Varii e Diversi Capricci, Op. 50; and Arcangelo Corelli's "La Follia," Op. 5, No. 12, among other works. Critics have called Schneiderman "dazzling' and "expressive," noting that, "Schneiderman's tone… turns delicate textures into sparkling jewels."

Hotel Nikko San Francisco and Michael Feinstein are proud to announce the upcoming lineup atFeinstein's at the Nikko for January 2014. Artists include actor and singer Tom Wopat, star of stage and screen Cheyenne Jackson, Broadway and West End star Sierra Boggess, Emmy Award winning actor and comedian Leslie Jordan, and more!

Hotel Nikko San Francisco and Michael Feinstein are proud to announce the upcoming lineup at Feinstein's at the Nikko for January 2014. Artists include actor and singer Tom Wopat, star of stage and screen Cheyenne Jackson, Broadway and West End star Sierra Boggess, Emmy Award winning actor and comedian Leslie Jordan, and more! Tickets for all performances are on-sale now and available by calling 866.663.1063 or visiting www.ticketweb.com.

Now in its 16th season, Lincoln Center's acclaimed series American Songbook will continue to expand its scope celebrating the best in American singing and songwriting. New this year, the opening night concert will befree, in the David Rubenstein Atrium, on Wednesday, January 22, 2014. 'Live From Lincoln Center,' the Emmy Award-winning program broadcast nationally on PBS stations, will shoot four of the first week's American Songbook concerts in The Allen Room: by James Naughton, Lawrence Brownlee, Jason Isbell, and Patina Miller. These performances will be broadcast nationally beginning in Spring 2014. In addition, American Songbook concerts taking place in the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse at Lincoln Center will be live-streamed via http://watch.lincolncenter.org.

Coming up this week, 54 BELOW, the performance venue located just below the legendary Studio 54 at 254 West 54th Street, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz and beyond:

While it was billed as a presentation celebrating the release of his 13-song CD, Tales From the Bonus Round, and his 60th birthday, Steven Schalchlin's recent show at the Metropolitan Room was so much more than that. It was also one about fear, fortitude, anxiety, anguish, compassion, courage, and love, all expressed in poetic and often clever lyrics and melodies ranging from uplifting gospel to Billy Joel-sounding mid-tempo pop to sensitive ballads, many colored with musical theater undertones. At their core, most of the songs conveyed what Schalchlin has thought, felt and experienced since early 1993, when he was diagnosed with AIDS, launched one of the first internet diaries/blogs (in early 1996), stared death in the face on a daily basis, took an experimental AIDS drug (Crixivan), and ultimately regained his health and career. When you listen to his songs, it's not hard to believe Schalchlin when he claims that during those scary days writing music and the “healing properties of piano vibrations” also helped save his life, and the 17 years since are what he calls his “Bonus Round.”

Classic Stage Company, under the leadership of Artistic Director Brian Kulick and Executive Director Greg Reiner, in association with Staci Levine, will present Tony Award winner Mandy Patinkin and acclaimed actor/performance artist Taylor Mac in THE LAST TWO PEOPLE ON EARTH: AN APOCALYPTIC VAUDEVILLE, a workshop presentation with direction and choreography by Tony Award winner Susan Stroman, and music direction by Paul Ford, for a strictly limited engagement from Saturday, December 14 thru Tuesday, December 31. Performances of THE LAST TWO PEOPLE ON EARTH: AN APOCALYPTIC VAUDEVILLE will be presented at the Abrons Arts Center (466 Grand Street, NYC).

Ghostlight Records will release Beautiful Dreamer, the debut solo album from rising Broadway and vocal star DONNA VIVINO, in stores and via online outlets December 10, 2013. Beautiful Dreamer weaves 13 diverse songs into a thematically-cohesive collection from Broadway, Hollywood and Tin Pan Alley. Jerry Vivino - the veteran New York musician and longtime member of the Conan O'Brien house band - leads the disc's all-star jazz quartet and serves as producer. Taking a break from performing on Broadway in the smash hit Wicked, Donna will star Off Broadway inStars of David - a new song cycle celebrating Jewish identity, based on the bestselling book, with original music by the theater's top songwriters - fromNovember 13 to December 15. To pre-order Beautiful Dreamer, please visit www.sh-k-boom.com/donnavivino-beautifuldreamer.html.

It turns out that when it came to Tanya Moberly cabaret shows and this reviewer, the third time was the charm. After being blown away by Moberly's powerful voice and stage presence when I first caught her one-song performances at the Sunday Salon Open Mics three years ago, I wasn't crazy about either of her full-blown cabaret shows the past two years (Tanya Moberly Sings Di Franco/Tanya Moberly Sings Jonatha Brooke in 2011 and Tanya Lorraine Moberly Sings Barbra Joan Streisand in 2012—in spite of her receiving MAC and BroadwayWorld.com Best Female Vocalist nominations for the latter). But her new show that opened this past Friday and Saturday nights at Don't Tell Mama, I Love New York Songwriters, pressed many of my cabaret buttons—in a good way. While there were still some minor flaws—owing to a certain stubbornness in her approach to a cabaret show—this eclectic set of original songs written by some of the city's best “unknown” composers was consistently entertaining. In this particular show, Ms. Moberly was Tanya Terrific.