Sandra Bernhard News

Broadway veteran Sandra Benhard is set to debut her new show, I LOVE BEING ME, DON'T YOU, at New York's Town Hall on June 8 at 8PM. The event will feature special guests Liza Minnelli, Justin Bond, and Rufus Wainwright.

Today we are talking to the eponymous star of SHELLS herself - Roslyn Hart - in addition to the writer/director of the (mostly) one-woman-show, Nick Chase, that is equal parts 21st century party girl antics, Sandra Bernhard-esque confessionals, songs evocative of Kiki & Herb, and Joan Rivers-style in-your-face humor - all with an ultra-twenty-first century, tongue-in-cheek spin parodying the vacuous personalities of the people on magazine covers today and sending up the excesses of our own society and what we value. Plus, there are some specially selected song choices on display for all to enjoy, as well - ranging from outrageous original material to covers of songs such as Marilyn Manson's 'The Beautiful People' and Janet Jackson's 'If' - and, as a special bonus, performance clips of both those numbers from SHELLS are also available at the end of the article! SHELLS opens tomorrow night at 9:30 PM at Joe's Pub. Tickets are available here.

Houston Grand Opera presents its 43rd world premiere, a newly commissioned chamber opera by Azerbaijani composer Franghiz Alizadeh. Your Name Means the Sea opens on May 21, 2011 at the Cullen Theater in the Wortham Theater Center, with additional performances on May 24 and 26. Commissioned as part of the HGOco Song of Houston: East + West project, Your Name Means the Sea unites two cultures, two countries and one love in a tale about Denise, a young American painter and Seymur, a young singer from Baku, Azerbaijan.

With uncanny precision and unforgettable pizzazz, John Epperson - also known as Lypsinka - pays homage to ultimate screen-queen Joan Crawford. Using the actress' own words, The Passion of the Crawford is a fantasia on the persona of this 20th Century cultural icon. Washington City Paper has called Lypsinka 'certifiably fabulous,' while the Los Angeles Times dubbed her 'a geyser of glamour!' Daily Variety raved: 'Watching a Lypsinka show is like channel-surfing in Heaven.'

Houston Grand Opera presents its 43rd world premiere, a newly commissioned chamber opera by Azerbaijani composer Franghiz Alizadeh. Your Name Means the Sea opens on May 21, 2011 at the Cullen Theater in the Wortham Theater Center, with additional performances on May 24 and 26. Commissioned as part of the HGOco Song of Houston: East + West project, Your Name Means the Sea unites two cultures, two countries and one love in a tale about Denise, a young American painter and Seymur, a young singer from Baku, Azerbaijan.

With uncanny precision and unforgettable pizzazz, John Epperson - also known as Lypsinka - pays homage to ultimate screen-queen Joan Crawford. Using the actress' own words, The Passion of the Crawford is a fantasia on the persona of this 20th Century cultural icon. Washington City Paper has called Lypsinka 'certifiably fabulous,' while the Los Angeles Times dubbed her 'a geyser of glamour!' Daily Variety raved: 'Watching a Lypsinka show is like channel-surfing in Heaven.'

On Thursday, April 21 at 8pm, legendary downtown diva and extraordinary mistress of music Joey Arias will join the ranks of Billie Holiday, Nina Simone and Bob Dylan, with a Town Hall debut in Joey Arias: Live at Town Hall! Presented by Josh Wood Productions, this one-night-only musical event is conceived and created by Arias and musical director Ben Allison with artistic direction my Manfred Thierry Mugler.

Billie Holiday made her debut in 1948. Nina Simone first graced its stage in 1955. In 1963 Bob Dylan played the notorious venue.

On Thursday, April 21 at 8pm, legendary downtown diva and extraordinary mistress of music Joey Arias will join the ranks of Billie Holiday, Nina Simone and Bob Dylan, with a Town Hall debut in Joey Arias: Live at Town Hall! Presented by Josh Wood Productions, this one-night-only musical event is conceived and created by Arias and musical director Ben Allison with artistic direction my Manfred Thierry Mugler.

Bravo turns up the heat on its summer programming delivering a sizzling lineup of new and inventive competition and docu-series exploring food, design, music and pop culture. Adding to the network's already robust original schedule, summer premieres include 'Rocco's Dinner Party,' 'Million Dollar Decorators,' 'The Real Housewives of New Jersey' season three and 'Platinum Hit.' For more information, visit www.BravoTV.com and follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/BravoPR

i want to be evil, a new play by David Brind, gets a private industry reading on April 11th in Manhattan.

i want to be evil, a new play by David Brind, gets a private industry reading on April 11th in Manhattan.

Last night, April 4, The Point Foundation, celebrating LGBT leaders, hosted a benefit last night in New York City, co-hosted by Kelly Ripa and Sam Champion. Participants in the event included performers Montego Glover (Memphis), Kerry Butler (Catch Me If You Can) and Rob Thomas (Matchbox Twenty), Ellen Barkin, Iman, Isaac Mizrahi, John Benjamin Hickey (The C Word), Thomas Roberts (MSNBC) and Marsha Thomason (White Collar). BroadwayWorld was on hand for the event and brings you photo coverage below.

Kevin J. Thornton releases a 7 song EP,"January Dream," engineered and mastered by Marc Chevalier at Ravensound in Nashville, TN.

VANESSA WILLIAMS TO PERFORM SATURDAY, APRIL 2, AT PRELUDE BY BARTON G. AT THE ADRIENNE ARSHT CENTER WITH PROCEEDS FROM EVENT TO BENEFIT THE BARTON G. KIDS HEAR NOW FOUNDATION

VANESSA WILLIAMS TO PERFORM SATURDAY, APRIL 2, AT PRELUDE BY BARTON G. AT THE ADRIENNE ARSHT CENTER WITH PROCEEDS FROM EVENT TO BENEFIT THE BARTON G. KIDS HEAR NOW FOUNDATION

Today we are talking to the current Prior Walter in Michael Grief's off-Broadway revival of Tony Kushner's Pulitzer prize-winning ANGELS IN AMERICA, and also a headliner of Monday night's SPRING AT LAST! Gala to benefit The Harvey Milk School, late of ABC's smash-hit comedy UGLY BETTY, the charmingly candid and overwhelmingly talented Michael Urie! In this exclusive conversation we tackle topics ranging from Shakespeare to Sondheim to the power and legacy of ANGELS IN AMERICA and what songs and words of hope we can expect from him at the SPRING AT LAST! Gala alongside headliners Lance Horne and Wanda Sykes. Plus, Michael gives us the first news on a number of films he has coming out in the next year and much, much more!

March comes in like a lion for the 5th Smash Year of The Broadway Beauty Pageant! This not-to-be-miss event will be on Monday, March 21st, 2011 at 8:00 PM, benefiting The Ali Forney Center, NYC's primary housing resource for homeless LGBT youth.

Joe's Pub has just added: Preview of the Arts and Literature to Life presents Fahrenheit 451 (2/23), Arts and Crafts: A New Musical by Sandra Bernhard and Justin Bond (3/7), Danica Dora (3/12), Pedro Moraes (3/22), The Poison Tree (3/23), Matthias Loibner & Natasa Mirkovic (3/29), Build: CD Release w/ special guests Twi the Humble Feather (3/31), Morley (4/2), Leslie Kritzer IS Leslie Kritzer at Joe's Pub (4/17, 4/18 & 4/24), Lady Rizo (4/22), Chris Pureka w/ special guest Sea of Bees (4/26), SHELLS: Banker by day...Diva by night (4/28 & 5/26) & Lori Lieberman (5/1). Click any of the links to go to the show's page on www.JOESPUB.COM.

If Sandra Bernhard and Ryan Adams had a love child and hired Hedwig as a nanny it would be Kevin J Thornton. This musician, storyteller and stand-up comic will be will be making his world premiere in New York City and the Frigid New York Festival with his brand new one man hilariousness 'I Love You (We're F*#ked)' The production will close March 6 (Sunday) 1 p.m. at Under St Mark's Theatre, 94 St. Marks Place, between 1st Avenue and Avenue A, New York, NY, 10009 in the East Village.