Ray Charles News

The Pasadena Playhouse presents A NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN. Conceived, written and directed by Randy Johnson, with choreography by Patricia Wilcox and musical direction by Tyler Evans. A NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN stars Mary Bridget Davies, following her Tony Award nominated Broadway run. Pasadena native Kacee Clanton, also from the Broadway production of A NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN, will alternate the role of Janis Joplin with Davies. Check out Mary Bridget Davies and the Joplinaires on Good Day LA! 

Atlantic Records and YouTube Space LA are partnering to present the 'PAPER TOWNS #GetLostGetFound' Live-Stream Concert. Join in on the fun and help celebrate the upcoming motion picture PAPER TOWNS and its soundtrack as the event streams live on the Atlantic Records YouTube channel and at http://papertownsmovie.com tonight, July 17, 6pm PDT/9pm EDT.

Atlantic Records and YouTube Space LA are partnering to present the 'PAPER TOWNS #GetLostGetFound' Live-Stream Concert. Join in on the fun and help celebrate the upcoming motion picture PAPER TOWNS

Directed by Leigh Silverman and choreographed by Sonya Tayeh, THE WILD PARTY will run tonight, July 15, through July 18 at New York City Center.

   The name Ray Charles is a Star on Hollywood Boulevard's Walk of Fame. The name Ray Charles designates a superstar worldwide whose legacy shaped and forever changed the face of American music.  Fellow musicians called Charles 'The Genius,' an appropriate title for the ramblin' musician, who never worked in just one style, but blended and beautified all that he touched.  He also earned the nickname 'Father of Soul'.   In just about every Hall of Fame that has anything to do with music, be it Rhythm & Blues, Jazz, Rock & Roll, Gospel or Country & Western, Ray's name is very prominently displayed. 

Rebekah Lowin is a pretty, personable young woman with a voice that, at its best, can be ethereal. A recent Columbia University grad, Lowin first made an impression on cabaret audiences in October 2013 with an appearance at the Cabaret Convention and a show at 54 Below. Her new offering at the Metropolitan Room, I Know You By Heart, is built around the songs of Eva Cassidy, who inspired Lowin's devotion when she was in the sixth grade and held steadfast for five years of repeated listening. Virtually unknown outside Washington, DC during her lifetime, Cassidy's posthumous compilation Songbird topped the charts in 1998. (Ms. Cassidy died of cancer in 1996.) Lowin looks rather like her subject and appears to have similar range, if a less mature voice.

In 1970, legendary Motown songwriter Ron Miller penned the song, 'Heaven Help Us All,' becoming one of Stevie Wonder's first major hits. With its gospel-infused sound and poignant, timeless lyric, the song has been covered by multiple major label artists including, Joan Baez and Richie Sambora. The last song ever recorded by Ray Charles for his album,Genius Loves Company, Charles won multiple Grammy Awards (posthumously) for his version in 2004. Now, Miller's grandson, 14-year-old singer and multi-talented performer Oliver Richman (www.oliverrichman.com), releases a new recording and music video for a new generation. Click below to listen!

With much excitement and clamor, Broadway's N'Kenge returns to Alphine Theatre Project in Montana to star in 'Chicago' as Matron 'Mama' Morton, the Witch in 'Big Fish,' and various roles in 'Ring of Fire.' All three productions will be running in rotating repertory from July 9 - August 1.

BroadwayWorld has learned John Ellison Conlee, Tony nominee for THE FULL MONTY, has had to depart Encores! Off-Center's upcoming production of Andrew Lippa's THE WILD PARTY due to a scheduling conflict. Ryan Andes, who last starred on TV in PETER PAN LIVE! and in Broadway's BIG FISH, steps in.

Pianist and composer Dan Karlsberg reaches into the past to create something fresh and original, with his new jazz album “The 'Nati 6.”

PITTSBURGH – Performing in Pittsburgh for the first time since 1977, Randy Newman, whose music speaks to multiple generations, closes the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's Summer with the Symphony: Thursday Night Icons series on July 30 at 7:30 p.m. at Heinz Hall.

The Pasadena Playhouse announced today that The New Victory Theater in New York will present the Off-Broadway premiere of The Pasadena Playhouse/Crossroads Theatre Company production of FLY, by Trey Ellis and Ricardo Khan, the Tony Award-winning co-founder and former artistic director of Crossroads Theatre Company, to open March 11, 2016. FLY will be directed by Ricardo Khan.

   The name Ray Charles is a Star on Hollywood Boulevard's Walk of Fame. The name Ray Charles designates a superstar worldwide whose legacy shaped and forever changed the face of American music.  Fellow musicians called Charles 'The Genius,' an appropriate title for the ramblin' musician, who never worked in just one style, but blended and beautified all that he touched.  He also earned the nickname 'Father of Soul'.   In just about every Hall of Fame that has anything to do with music, be it Rhythm & Blues, Jazz, Rock & Roll, Gospel or Country & Western, Ray's name is very prominently displayed. 

Ballet NY will present the world premiere of What Ever, choreographed by Medhi Bahiri, as well as works by John Butler, William Forsythe and Stanton Welch, July 9 - 11 at Ailey Citigroup Theater, 405 West 55th Street (at 9th Avenue).

Jazz organist Bobby Floyd, jazz saxophonist Carl Sally, and jazz vocalist Nancy Wilson will take their place on the Lincoln Theatre Walk of Fame in an induction ceremony on Saturday, July 25, at 7 pm. Sponsored by the State Auto Insurance Companies, the event is free and open to the public.

The Pasadena Playhouse announced today full casting for A NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN.  Conceived, written and directed by Randy Johnson, with choreography by Patricia Wilcox and musical direction by Tyler Evans.  A NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN stars Mary Bridget Davies, following her Tony Award nominated Broadway run.  Pasadena native Kacee Clanton, also from the Broadway production of A NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN, will alternate the role of Janis Joplin with Davies.  

Following their massively successful international Sweet Home Chicago tour, The Chicago Blues Brothers are now returning to the UK with a brand-new action packed show coming to the King's Theatre Glasgow for one night only on Friday 10 July.

?Ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro, described by Rolling Stone as a music 'hero,' makes his Auditorium Theatre debut with The City Lights Orchestra, conducted by Rich Daniels, tonight, June 24 at 7:30 p.m., concluding the Auditorium's inaugural 'Made in Chicago' performance series.

While watching THE GOSPEL AT COLONUS, the African-American version of Sophocles' OEDIPUS AT COLONUS as created by Lee Breuer (with music by Bob Telson), I was reminded of the reimagining of the Old Testament by Marc Connelly in the 1930 Pulitzer Prize-winning THE GREEN PASTURES. Like GOSPEL, THE GREEN PASTURES serves up time-honored material by transposing it to a religious setting;. PASTURES relates the Old Testament as envisioned by a young Afro-American boy; thus, Heaven is one big fish fry. When I first saw the 1936 film version (which Connelly, a white man, scripted for Warners' director William Keighley), I found it a special experience -- a wonderful all-black cast was an anomaly for a young viewer in the late 1950's and early i60's; now, with the passage of time (and legislation), I can understand why modern audiences would find it politically incorrect (though that cast is still peopled with some amazing talent). Interestingly, Mr. Breuer eschews following Connelly's suit, and though he utilizes a Black minister and church service to tell his tale, he focuses instead on an ancient Greek tragedy rather than the Old -- or New -- Testament.