Randy Newman News

The Hollywood Bowl hosted its 15th Annual Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame concert last night, June 21, featuring Hall of Fame inductees Emmy and Tony-winner Kristin Chenoweth, iconic all-female band The Go-Go's, and the eclectic band Pink Martini. Presenters included Oscar and Emmy winner Helen Hunt, Grammy-nominated singer Natasha Bedingfield, Hollywood icon Barbara Eden, actress/comedienne Carol Burnett, and Oscar-nominated actress Taraji P. Henson, as well as a special guest appearance by Lea Michele.

Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts announces its 2014 summer symphony productions.

Rising cabaret star Marissa Mulder's most recent performance of 'Living Standards' at the Metropolitan Room was certainly up to the high standard she has set for herself over the past couple of years. In fact, she's so consistently solid that she overcame the show's misguided and clunky premise that some very good contemporary songs should be thought of as 'standards.'

President and CEO Tania Castroverde Moskalenko unveiled the 2014-15 season at the Center for the Performing Arts - home of the Palladium. The new season represents multiple series, including Country, Printing Partners Classical, The Stratford Songbook, Taft Law Jazz & Blues, Coca-Cola World Stage, and The Buck Group Dance. In addition to the six series, the Center will present Drewry Simmons Vornehm Pop & Rock, Spotlight, Holiday, and CNO Financial Group Family shows.

In celebration of her new blues/folk inspired pop/rock album Speed Bump, San Francisco-based singer/songwriter LIZ KENNEDY (www.lizkennedymusic.com) brings her soulful sound to Fenix on Sunday, July 27 at 6:30 p.m.

Tony Award winning playwright Enda Walsh will be represented once again at Rogue Machine Theatre when PENELOPE opens on June 14th at 8pm.

Porchlight Music Theatre begins its 20th Anniversary season with a benefit concert, Chicago Sings Disney featuring the music created by the Walt Disney Studios, Monday, Aug. 25 at 7 p.m. at Mayne Stage, 1328 West Morse Ave. The evening includes a thrilling roster of Chicago's top theatre artists performing familiar Disney classics and nostalgic treasures, a silent auction, cash bar and complimentary desserts at intermission, generously provided by Bespoke Cuisine. General admission tickets are $50 in advance and $65 at the door. VIP Tickets are available for $100, which includes a pre-show reception and premier reserved seating. Tickets may be ordered at773.777.9884 or porchlightmusictheatre.org. Proceeds from this concert benefit Porchlight productions and educational programs at The School at Porchlight.

Michael Cerveris, Isaiah Johnson, Randy Newman, Laura Osnes, Vonda Shepard, Brooklyn Shuck, Tony Vincent and Broadway Inspirational Voices have been cast in Randy Newman's Faust: The Concert, which will be performed on July 1 as the second Encores! Off-Center presentation of the 2014 season. Faust will be directed by Thomas Kail and choreographed by Marcos Santana. Jeanine Tesori is the Encores! Off-Center artistic director; Chris Fenwick is its music director.

Luminato Festival is excited to present the world premiere of SLEEPING IN THE DEVIL'S BED: THE MUSIC OF DANIEL LANOIS, an all-star salute to an incomparable musical legacy. Producer Hal Willner has crafted legendary concerts interpreting and celebrating the work of Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, Randy Newman and Nino Rota, among many others. His salute to Lanois, featuring Bill Frisell, Kevin Drew, the Handsome Family, Emmylou Harris, Mary Margaret O'Hara, Anna McGarrigle, Martha Wainwright and more, celebrates five decades of artistic brilliance.

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? Today's big news: HEDWIG hits the shelves, while IF/THEN holds a CD signing, THE BULLPEN and POWER PLAYS begin off-Broadway, featuring some amped up playwriting talent, and ATOMIC meets the press!

The Lobby Project, a series of free pre-show events presented in conjunction with New York City Center's Encores! Off-Center series, will feature a free pre-show event before the Saturday, June 28 performance of Jonathan Larson's tick, tick… BOOM!. 54 Below Meets 55 Above will feature selections of Larson's rarely heard work, curated by Jennifer Tepper (programming director of the cabaret venue 54 Below) sung by Broadway performers Nick Blaemire, Joe Iconis, Anne L. Nathan, Taylor Trensch and Alysha Umphress.

Classic rock for all generations is on tap for the BPO's 2014-15 Rock Series.

Summer in New York is traditionally a quiet time for Broadway, although the now-previewing Tupac Shakur musical, Holler If Ya Hear Me is certainly creating quite a buzz. Perennials like Shakespeare In The Park and the New York International Fringe Festival always draw mobs of playgoers looking for a great time, but everywhere you turn in this arts-crazy city there's somebody putting on a show.

Tony Award winning playwright Enda Walsh will be represented once again at Rogue Machine Theatre when PENELOPE opens on June 14th at 8pm.

I never thought that writing a rave review would be more difficult than constructing a less than positive critique, but Carole J. Bufford, damn her, is causing me creative problems. That's because for the third time in three years I'm compelled to praise this attractive powerhouse cabaret singer to the skies (you can find my two previous essays on her unassailable talent here and here) and my author's arsenal contains only so many superlatives. With yet another outstanding performance last Thursday night at the Metropolitan Room, the young woman who was named BroadwayWorld.com's 2013 Cabaret Vocalist of the Year has snatched my mental thesaurus (not to mention my online one) and trampled all over it. She's given me the writer's block blues.

Singer/songwriter Ruth Carlin returns to the Laurie Beechman Theater this spring with an illuminating exploration of the eclectic repertoire of iconic folkie turned cabaret favorite, Judy Collins. 'A Light in the Window - Songs of Judy Collins.' Performances are tonight, May 17th at 7:30pm and June 12th at 7pm.

The Lobby Project, a series of free pre-show events presented in conjunction with the second season of New York City Center's Encores! Off-Center series, will take place June 25 - July 19 at City Center. The events will place each Off-Center musical in the context of its legacy and provide insightful explorations of the work the audience is about to experience.

Broadway headliner and SCANDAL standout star Bellamy Young discusses her role on the hit ABC drama series as well as sheds some light on her Broadway past and her devotion to HEDWIG & THE ANGRY INCH as part of a new interview.

The New York Philharmonic will present Pixar in Concert, a program illustrating Pixar's mastery of film scoring to underscore its celebrated storytelling. Clips from all 14 Pixar films released to date - the Toy Story trilogy; A Bug's Life; Monsters, Inc. and Monsters University; Finding Nemo; The Incredibles; Cars and Cars 2; Ratatouille; Wall·E; UP; and Brave - will be screened as the Orchestra performs the music live, led by film composer and conductor David Newman. The concerts take place tonight, May 1, 2014, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, May 2 at 8:00 p.m.; and Saturday, May 3 at 8:00 p.m.