Rosemary Clooney News

Today we are talking to a busy and very recognizable actress who has appeared in over 100 TV and film properties since her debut in the 1970s and just this year played arcs on both the freshly-minted 2012 Emmy-winning Best Drama HOMELAND, as well as HBO's hit nighttime vampire series TRUE BLOOD - the accomplished and arresting Linda Purl. Discussing her roles on the hit HBO and Showtime series she has appeared on this year as well as her recent multi-episode stint on NBC's THE OFFICE, Purl sheds some light on her long and rich career and also shares stories from the sets of some of her most famous forays - HAPPY DAYS, VISITING HOURS and more included. Additionally, we shed some light on her upcoming two-night-stand at Feinstein's At Loews Regency, MIDNIGHT CARAVAN… TRAVELS THROUGH THE GREAT NEW YORK NIGHTCLUBS, with special guest Desi Arnaz, Jr., and she sets the stage for what we can expect from the noir-inspired cabaret piece featuring songs of the 1940s and 50s. Furthermore, Purl opens up about her theatrical roots - starring in plays and musicals like OLIVER, THE KING & I and THE MIRACLE WORKER growing up overseas, as well as observing no less than Tennessee Williams, a friend of her parents, as he oversaw a Tokyo production of IN THE BAR OF A TOKYO HOTEL and resided with the clan; and, later starring on Broadway in THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER,GETTING AND SPENDING and in regional revivals, such as six seasons at Williamstown and A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE at LA's Rubicon. Additionally, she gives insight into many notable friends and collaborators - Edith Head, Angela Lansbury, Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Laurence Olivier, Kim Hunter, Robby Benson and others. Plus, first news on the forthcoming studio album of MIDNIGHT CARAVAN - and much, much more!

Music industry innovator and VH1 President Tom Calderone was honored tonight by the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function (IMNF) with its 12th annual Music Has Power Award. The award was presented by IMNF Board Member Nick Stern at a musical fete at Feinstein's at Loews Regency, hosted by Michael Feinstein. Check out photos from the event beow!

In her current cabaret show at 54 Below, Marin Mazzie, who has starred in Passion, Ragtime, Kiss Me Kate, Man of La Mancha, Spamalot and Next to Normal, pays homage to her childhood and teenage years in Rockford, Illinois, to the songs her parents loved, and to some of the 1960s and 1970s hits that fed Mazzie's passion to be a singer. ("These songs were the foundation for what was to come.") And man, was she sexy doing it.

Milwaukee Repertory Theater's 2012/13 Season kicks off with the wacky, award-winning musical comedy, Gutenberg! The Musical! The play is written by Scott Brown and Anthony King with original Music Direction and Arrangements by T. O. Sterrett. and will be directed by Rep Associate Artist Laura Gordon, who directed last season's delightful production of In the Next Room or the vibrator play. Gutenberg! The Musical! features comedic actor and Rep Associate Artist Gerard Neugent, former Milwaukee Rep Acting Intern Eric Damon Smith and frequent Rep collaborator Musical Director/Pianist Paul Helm. Gutenberg! The Musical runs in the Stackner Cabaret from August 24 - October 14, and opens tonight, August 26.

Gutenberg! The Musical! runs in the Stackner Cabaret from tonight, August 24 - October 14.

Milwaukee Repertory Theater's 2012/13 Season kicks off with the wacky, award-winning musical comedy, Gutenberg! The Musical! Two men, one pianist, thirty baseball caps - and one massively misguided dream! In 1450, in Mainz, Germany, Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press; in 2012, in Nutley, New Jersey, Bud and Doug wrote a big, splashy musical about him, the evil monk trying to stop him and the beautiful girl who loved him. They may not have a cast, an orchestra or a clue, but with an unending supply of enthusiasm, they're pitching their hilarious, 16-song epic to Broadway producers who just might fulfill their bright-eyed ambitions! The play is written by Scott Brown and Anthony King with original Music Direction and Arrangements by T. O. Sterrett. and will be directed by Rep Associate Artist Laura Gordon, who directed last season's delightful production of In the Next Room or the vibrator play. Gutenberg! The Musical! features comedic actor and Rep Associate Artist Gerard Neugent, former Milwaukee Rep Acting Intern Eric Damon Smith and frequent Rep collaborator Musical Director/Pianist Paul Helm. Gutenberg! The Musical runs in the Stackner Cabaret from August 24 - October 14, and opens Sunday, August 26.

ANNIE, the new production of the Tony Award-winning musical, went into rehearsal today in New York City with its full company. The production begins previews October 3, 2012 and opens November 8, 2012 at the Palace Theatre (Broadway at 47th Street). Meet the full cast below!

Vicky's of Santa Fe in Indian Wells is described as 'the locale for the most exciting jazz series in the Desert presenting 6 Jazz Programs by The American Jazz Institute, proceeds of which benefit The American Jazz Institute's in school mentoring and music scholarship program in the Coachella Valley.'

Milwaukee Repertory Theater announced casting today for Gutenberg! The Musical, the first production in The Rep's 2012/13 season, and The Mountaintop, which opens this September.

Feinstein's at Loews Regency which opened in 1999, has presented the top talents of pop and jazz, including Rosemary Clooney, Steve Tyrell, Barbara Cook, Glen Campbell, Diahann Carroll, Jane Krakowski, Lea Michele, Cyndi Lauper, Jason Mraz and Alan Cumming amongst hundreds of other performers. The venue's namesake Michael Feinstein appears there for a sold-out holiday engagement every year and had previously said that 'Feinstein's at Loews Regency is the perfect place to hear the greatest and most exciting interpreters of American popular song. I'm proud to call it my home.'

For over twenty-five years, the late Bradshaw Smith (Founder & Executive Producer of "Broadway Beat" and Applause Video) was the theater world's preeminent videographer, capturing over 1,000 performances on Broadway, off-Broadway, in cabaret halls and beyond that now, because of him, live on today. Bradshaw Smith died on January 16, 2012, at age 57, following a sudden and severe stroke. To conclude the intimate memorial, Bradshaw's longtime friend and editor, Jonathan Frank, compiled the best of Bradshaw's work as a video artist. For a look back at your favorite performances nearly three decades long, all captured through Bradshaw's lens, click below!

Start spreading the news! Big Band Legends, a dazzling new production that honors the great crooners and songbirds from Bing Crosby to Michael Bublé, is entertaining theatregoers of all ages at the Huron Country Playhouse through July 14th.

Willie Nelson, American country singer-songwriter, actor and activist, makes his debut appearance at Concord NH's Capitol Center for the Arts with a one-night-only Willie Nelson & Family concert tonight, June 20, 2012 at 7:30 p.m.

The founding members of The Beach Boys, one of the world's most legendary bands in popular music history, have reunited for a global 50th Anniversary celebration, including a new album release, a major international tour, and commemorative catalog releases. Today, The Beach Boys release details about their new studio album, That's Why God Made The Radio, available today, June 5 by Capitol/EMI.

nternationally renowned singer/performer Debby Boone returns 'by popular demand' to Vicki's of Santa Fe in Indian Wells on Sunday, June 3 from 2:00 -5:00 pm to bring down the curtain on another highly acclaimed season of The Sunday Jazz Series. This is Ms. Boone's fourth sell-out appearance at Vicki's of Santa Fe. For this performance she will be backed by an all star band of Andy Langham on Piano, Allen Goodman on Drums, Jeff Jarvis on Trumpet, Gene "Cip" Cipriano on Saxophone, Woodwinds and Flute, Les Benedict on Trombone and Larry Holloway on Bass. Debby Boone earned instant fame when her first single, "You Light Up My Life", was an overnight hit. The tune claimed the #1 spot on the Billboard charts for 10 straight weeks and sold in excess of four million copies. "You Light Up My Life" ranks # 7 in Billboard Magazine's The Hot 100's All-Time Top-Charting Songs of the last five decades.

All summer and into the fall, Fox Valley Repertory presents beloved music, modern comedy, and staged readings of new plays never before seen on stage. The season includes: Theo Ubique's nostalgic musical revue, Some Enchanted Evening, the inquisitive innovation of Collider New Play Project, Heather Moran's musical story of Rosemary Clooney in Rosie! A Tribute..., FVR Youth Ensemble's return to Disney's High School Musical, Mike Toomey's multimedia comedic recollection of television in TV & Me, Chicago's finest improv troupe performing The Best of The Second City, and marriage, mermaids, and modern comedy in Sirens, at Pheasant Run Resort (4051 E. Main St., St. Charles, IL; 630-584-6342).

The Endangered Species Project's May reading will be Juno and the Paycock by Sean O'Casey. The play was last performed professionally in Seattle at the Bathhouse Theatre in 1985, and through the kind auspices of the Seattle Public Theatre, Juno returns to the Bathhouse there via ESP's May 21 reading, tonight.

Yoshi's Jazz Club on Fillmore Street announced upcoming performances at the San Francisco venue.