Randy Newman News

Manhattan Theatre Club will present its annual Winter Benefit, an evening of cocktails and dinner followed by a special one-night-only cabaret-style show featuring Broadway's brightest stars on Monday, January 28, 2013 at The Allen Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Fredrick P. Rose Hall (Broadway & 60th Street).

Directors Lab West Steering Committee has announced the dates for the 14th annual Directors Lab West. The 2013 Lab will take place May 18-25 in residence at Pasadena Playhouse. The Lab will continue its tradition of bringing together dedicated theatre directors, choreographers and master artists for a week of intense discussions and exploration of the art form.

Showcasing one of the most powerful and unique voices in modern popular music, NCM Fathom Events and Warner Bros. Records will present 'JOSH GROBAN LIVE: All That Echoes.' Broadcasting the superstar singer's new album release event to select movie theaters nationwide on Monday, Feb. 4 at 7:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. CT and tape delayed at 7:30 p.m. MT/PT, this intimate one-night event will feature Groban as he performs hits from his 12-year career, highlighted by exclusive selections from his new album, 'All That Echoes.'

Broadway's master song man, Mandy Patinkin, accompanied by Paul Ford on piano, will bring his critically acclaimed theater concert to Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 1-2, at 8 p.m.

By the last August, I had fallen so far behind on writing reviews of cabaret shows from the spring and early summer (I guess it's a positive when there are more performers and shows in New York than days in the week) that I decided to play catch up by combining a bunch of critiques into one big column. I hadn't planned on doing that again, but this fall there were so many shows that once again I couldn't keep up. but at least I've beaten my self-imposed deadline New Year's Eve deadline of posting these reviews of 12 shows, all staged between September-December by lovely, attractive women (okay, so one is a gender-bender) of varying talents and levels on the cabaret depth chart, from established stars to MAC and Bistro Award-winners to comeback 'kids' to interesting beginners and occasional performers who are in the game to follow their bliss. Whether their performances were rave-worthy, earning of qualified praise, or not quite up to snuff, they all deserve kudos for taking the plunge.

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra's (LACO) enlightening five-concert "Baroque Conversations" series showcasing exceptional Baroque music, which this season explores the legacy of JS Bach and his sons, launches its seventh year with a program of four Bach sonatas on Thursday, January 17, 2013, 7 pm, at Zipper Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles.

The classic film 'Rocky' Sylvester Stallone, who won the story of underdog boxer Rocky Balboa 1976 three Oscars celebrated on 18.11.2012 re-premiere, this time in the category Musical in Hamburg Operettenhaus.

Today we are talking to a versatile performer first known to the world at large through her iconic early-career movie theme recordings - singing the Oscar-winning 'The Morning After' from THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE, as well as the classic themes from THE TOWERING INFERNO, SUPERMAN and musical material and a memorable musical moment in AIRPLANE!; in addition to her many full-length studio albums later in life - who then emerged as a compelling theatrical performer with a string of roles on Broadway, Off Broadway and in regional theater - a replacement star of NINE, as well as THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE, as well as original cast member of 1989's THE 3 PENNY OPERA, 1984's premire production of BROWNSTONE, and, most recently, a Broadway featured cast member in LITTLE WOMEN - the radiant and vocally resplendent Maureen McGovern. Looking back on her remarkable career and taking us on the journey from Hollywood to Broadway and beyond, McGovern reflects on some famous co-stars and her side of the riveting productions she participated in both onstage and onscreen, as well as opens up about some of her favorite recordings and composers to date insofar as her recording career is concerned, to say nothing of her proud position as the so-deemed self-confessed 'Disaster Theme Queen'. We also outline her cabaret work over the years, in anticipation of McGovern's week of shows at 54 Below, titled HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, beginning December 18 and running through December 23, where she will be sharing some of her favorite seasonal songs, new and old, as well as reviving some of her show-stopping standards and iconic movie themes and perhaps a surprise or two, too. Additionally, we touch upon her bio-musical, CARRY IT ON, her new women writer retrospective concert show and much, much more!

The Public Theater (Artistic Director, Oskar Eustis; Executive Director, Patrick Willingham) announced today that the cast of the acclaimed epic musical GIANT will enter the recording studio in January to create an original cast album, which will be released by Ghostlight Records in spring 2013. GIANT officially opened at The Public on November 15 and features a book by Sybille Pearson, music and lyrics by Michael John LaChiusa, and direction by Michael Greif. The show will end its limited run at The Public Theater at Astor Place on Sunday, December 16 following a final two-week extension.

Der Filmklassiker 'Rocky' von Sylvester Stallone, der mit der Geschichte des Underdog-Boxers Rocky Balboa 1976 drei Oscars gewann, feierte am 08.12.2012 erneut Uraufführung, diesmal in der Kategorie Musical im Hamburger Operettenhaus.Hier der Review Roundup

At a press conference today at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, Red Hot Chili Peppers' bassist and 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Flea announced the list of performer inductees and Ahmet Ertegun Award recipients for induction.

At a press conference today at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, Red Hot Chili Peppers' bassist and 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Flea announced the list of performer inductees and Ahmet Ertegun Award recipients for induction.

Today we are talking again to one of Broadway's recent rising stars all about his sensational sophomore solo album, STILL DREAMING OF PARADISE, as well as his role in this weekend's invitation-only reading of the new musical AMAZING GRACE - 2011-2012 season standout and JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR Tony Award nominee Josh Young. Espousing on the many elements that converged to make his solo album a reality, Young outlines his process with his close collaborators by discussing the imperative inspirations, subsequent arrangement experimentation, actual studio recording, scientific song selection process, major project goals and a lot more, as well as shares memories of what many of the album's tracks mean to him on a personal level and what we can expect from albums from him in the future, near and far. Plus, Young reveals his affection for his first major New York post-SUPERSTAR production, AMAZING GRACE, as he shares his enthusiasm for the daring subject, rich source material - no less than the life of controversial historical figure John Newton - and the purportedly thrilling new score composed for it and the unique and compelling tale behind it as the new musical takes this next step in its developmental process in the Lincoln Center-set industry presentation. Additionally, Young touches upon his favorite memories from the Tony Awards and participating in the Transport Group's recent concert production of BABY - and much, much more!

Two titans of entertainment, NOW That's What I Call Music! and Walt Disney Records , have teamed up for today's November 6 release of NOW That's What I Call Disney, a new album collection showcasing beloved music classics.

Sony Classical releases the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of SKYFALL™ today, November 6, 2012, consisting of original music written by leading film composer Thomas Newman. From Albert R. Broccoli's EON Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and Sony Pictures Entertainment, the film is the 23rd James Bond adventure and coincides with the 50th anniversary of the James Bond film franchise.

Stephen Hawking and his fellow physicists may not have yet figured out the formula for traveling through the time-space continuum, but apparently the Metropolitan Room discovered the secret. Last Friday night (October 26), I walked through the curtain into the main performance space and entered a time tunnel that took me from the 21st century into the 1960s and '70s. Two lovely, rising young stars of cabaret, Lauren Fox and Jennifer Sheehan (photo left), had obviously hurtled though that same time warp because in two separate shows on the same evening, they performed songs that had been written and recorded 15 to 25 years before they were born. In the process they transported this particular Baby Boomer joyously back to his youth and to the days of cultural upheaval, generation gaps, peace, love, war, and some of the best pop/rock music ever written.

Proving that class is indeed a rare commodity these days, this lady, who co-starred on Broadway with Sergio Franchi in Nine, presented a marvelously varied bill of fare which highlighted songs from Amanda McBroom, Randy Newman, Stephen Sondheim, Kurt Weill, Jacques Brel and by the evening's musical director, renowned composer Michele Brourman - by no means your typical evening of predictable songs. Apart from having an exquisite soprano voice, Barnett is down-to-earth, warm and very funny.

Music legends Bonnie Raitt and Mavis Staples come together for the first time on Austin City Limits (ACL) in a powerful new episode airing Saturday, October 20, on PBS (check local listings for times). The two incredible artists deliver passionate performances and represent a perfect pairing of blues, soul, rock and R&B. Nine-time Grammy winner Bonnie Raitt returns for her third appearance on Austin City Limits, and legendary soul/gospel singer Mavis Staples makes her ACL debut.

Today we are talking to one of Broadway's biggest homegrown stars who has appeared in the original New York productions of many memorable modern-day classics, among them THE WHO'S TOMMY, AIDA, THE LAST FIVE YEARS and DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS, in additions to highly-regarded turns in the first replacement cast of RENT, the Tommy Tune/Jeff Calhoun revival of GREASE, the Off-Broadway curiosity DEBBIE DOES DALLAS, the first (and only) LA mounting of Randy Newman's FAUST, as well as her starring role in the recent Lincoln Center Theater's production of WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN, and, of course, her own rapturously-received, award-winning solo showpiece, EVERYDAY RAPTURE - the convivially mesmerizing, one-of-a-kind Sherie Rene Scott. Discussing the major transitions in her life, including her transformation from ingenue to leading lady to solo performer, Scott illustrates a unique and varied career as well as opens up about the themes, songs, stories, experiences and encounters that formed the basis for her new solo piece premiering at 54 Below this week, PIECE OF MEAT. Additionally, Scott touches upon her work as the co-owner of the revolutionary Sh-K-Boom Records with her husband, Kurt Deutsch, as well as her own album work over the years, in addition to stories related to the recording of many of their most celebrated titles and the composers whose work is prominently featured on their releases - Tom Kitt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Michael John LaChiusa and many more included. All of that, plus Mennonites, music and meat - and much, much more!