Your Own Thing Tour 1970 - Articles Page 11

Today we are talking to one of the world's foremost cabaret artists and jazz vocalists - also known for her famous rapport with sibling and fellow Broadway baby Liz Callaway - who has written and recorded hundreds of songs over her thirty-year career - including 'I've Dreamed Of You' for Barbra Streisand's A LOVE LIKE OURS, among many others - but, perhaps she is most famous for the unforgettable theme from the highly syndicated hit 90s sitcom THE NANNY starring Fran Drescher - the one and only Ann Hampton Callaway! Discussing all aspects of her brand new album and duets show with sister Liz - titled after the music of their youth; so, being baby boomers growing up with the music of the 1960s and 1970, the oh-so-apropos title is BOOM! Covering Cole Porter to Rosemary Clooney to Ella Fitzgerald, Carly Simon, Stephen Sondheim and Laura Nyro, Callaway and I dissect many facets of songwriting, singing, performing and the nature of live versus studio recording, memories of starring in the musical revue SWING! on Broadway, and, she also reveals her own fondest recollections of working with her sister and many of her most fascinating collaborators over the years. Plus, we have first news of her new Streisand-based symphony show coming up in 2012, as well as the new Christmas show she is starring in with Liz later this year, YULETIDE, as well as her thoughts on filming THE GOOD SHEPARD and soundtrack scoring, as well as her opinions on GLEE, AMERICAN IDOL and much, much more!

Tony-Award Winning Star Donna McKechnie Returns to TheatreZone -- Takes on lead role as Marmee in Little Women: The Broadway Musical Broadway star and legendary entertainer Donna McKechnie returns to TheatreZone in Naples, cast as Marmee in Little Women: The Broadway Musical, announced artistic director Mark Danni. Based on Louisa May Alcott's classic novel, the musical follows the adventures of the four remarkable March sisters coming of age during the American Civil War era.

Tony-Award Winning Star Donna McKechnie Returns to TheatreZone -- Takes on lead role as Marmee in Little Women: The Broadway Musical Broadway star and legendary entertainer Donna McKechnie returns to TheatreZone in Naples, cast as Marmee in Little Women: The Broadway Musical, announced artistic director Mark Danni. Based on Louisa May Alcott's classic novel, the musical follows the adventures of the four remarkable March sisters coming of age during the American Civil War era.

Today we are continuing the male-centric portion of our ongoing series of interviews with the stars of Lifetime's DROP DEAD DIVA with the boss of the legal practice on the show and the main love interest for Kate Levering's character, Kim: the affable and charming stage and screen star Josh Stamberg. In addition to dishing all about Season 3 of DROP DEAD DIVA and the future for Parker, Kim and company at the legal firm, Stamberg and I also discuss many of the various guest stars on the show this season and seasons past - Liza Minnelli, Sharon Lawrence and Faith Prince included - as well as how he sees Parker himself, his own insights into the complex character and what he feels the future holds for his relationships on the show - Kim, Jane and beyond. In addition to all things DIVA-related, Stamberg and I also discuss his many past stage and screen appearances, including: his unforgettable work as Sarge on SIX FEET UNDER and what it was like working with creator Alan Ball, as well as his role on the Aaron Sorkin-scripted series STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP, plus: working at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and Atlantic Theatre Company, doing the workshop of A STEADY RAIN (and eventually getting replaced by Hugh Jackman), doing FRACTURED with Ryan Gosling and Anthony Hopkins, acting alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Naomi Watts in Clint Eastwood's forthcoming film J. EDGAR, his favorite work experiences so far, roles he is yearning to essay in the future both near and far and much, much more! Over the course of the last several weeks, we have been taking an extensive look at the sights and sounds both onscreen and onset of the hit TV dramedy series DROP DEAD DIVA - new episodes airing Sunday nights at 9 PM on Lifetime - featuring exclusive interviews with the leading lady divas and stalwart supporting men on the LA-based supernatural legal series. Featuring a memorable collection of musical performances and Broadway guest stars over the years - Paula Abdul, Rosie O'Donnell, Delta Burke and many more included - DROP DEAD DIVA is the quintessential TV series for Broadway babies looking for some laughs and levity - the latter available in many more ways than one, given the show's heavenly aspirations. DROP DEAD DIVA centers on a legal eagle named Jane whose body acts as the means for the indomitable spirit of a model, Deb, who loses her life, to make a second chance and how the girl inside must learn to adjust to looking like the woman on the outside that she is now. In other words, a model finds out what it means to look like everybody else in a delightfully quirky twist of fate - and learns to be a lawyer along the way, as well. Season Three picked up with the cliffhanger car crash that closed last season in a dark and shocking way. Questions and posed and answered so far: What will Grayson remember of the conversation he had with Jane pre-crash? What will Jane do to save him? What about his engagement (to somebody else)? What will happen back at the office with Teri, Kim and Parker? What about Stacy and Fred? Indeed, all of these questions and many more will most assuredly be answered come the next two Sunday nights! Plus, as always, there's always a musical number or two not too far off if you stay tuned - such as last month's BroadwayWorld exclusive world premiere of "Lean On Me"! Will there be a musical grand finale after all? We shall soon see! Also, don't forget to check out the past interviews in this BRIDGING TV & THEATRE series - Margaret Cho, Kate Levering, April Bowlby, Sharon Lawrence, Faith Prince and Jackson Hurst included! There are only a few episodes of Season Three left - airing Sundays at 9 PM on Lifetime, as always, throughout September until the finale on September 25 - so be sure to check back here in coming weeks for chats with Ben Feldman and the titular diva herself, plus maybe even a surprise or two, too!

Since 2004, GRAMMY®-winning guitarist Earl Klugh has been bringing world-renowned artists together with jazz enthusiasts for his one-of-a-kind weekend getaways at 2 Five-Star, Five-Diamond properties; The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, and The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island, South Carolina.

Since 2004, GRAMMY®-winning guitarist Earl Klugh has been bringing world-renowned artists together with jazz enthusiasts for his one-of-a-kind weekend getaways at 2 Five-Star, Five-Diamond properties; The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, and The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island, South Carolina.

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) has announced a full slate of musical productions, a developmental reading series and special events for their eighth annual festival. This year's Festival will begin September 26th and continue through October 16th.

There are singers...and then there are great singers, the best singers...like soul, R&B legend Freda Payne. This lady is not only a sensational vocalist but on top of that, intelligent, warm and beautiful. Her 'Band of Gold' was a # 1 Bestseller and gold record back in 1970, but what many do not realize is that Freda Payne can scat and sing Ella...Fitzgerald, that is, Sarah Vaughn, Dinah Washington...and Lena Horne. Payne's a great pop vocalist, yes, but it is in these areas of jazz and the unforgettable standards of the Great American Songbook where she truly excels. In her hour, forty-five minute set at the Catalina Jazz Club on Sunday evening July 17, she payed a glowing tribute to Ella, Sarah and Lena, showing the way Freda is now, wisely leaving her own hit tunes as encores and memories of what she used to be.

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) has announced the next round of invited musical productions, a developmental reading series and special events for their eighth annual festival. This year's Festival will begin September 26th and continue through October 16th. A breakdown of newly added performances for this year follows.

Experience Hendrix LLC and Legacy Recordings proudly announce four new titles representing the fourth wave of releases in the monumental Jimi Hendrix Catalog Project, available everywhere Tuesday, September 13.

Stephen Sondheim's COMPANY is in over five hundred movie theaters starting on Wednesday and that simple fact is enough to make one want to celebrate with a thousand vodka stingers - and imbibe in the delectable Sondheim zingers. I was lucky enough to see COMPANY last week and I can tell you that not only is it the best live representation of the show that any audience could ask for - Broadway babies, Sondheim neophytes and everything in between and far, far beyond - but a considerable reexamination of the themes, elements, emotions and the steely, chrome machinations ringing within the heartbeat of the show's cynical core. Lonny Price's COMPANY is something unique in modern entertainment, on Broadway, on film or anywhere else - it is multi-dimensional in a revolutionary way that is, frankly, unprecedented. This is Broadway in the 21st century at its best with a cast led by the brightest stars in the Broadway and TV universe on full display for a film audience and if this enterprise is successful, the mind marvels at the endless possibilities this format could afford in the future, both near and far. Yes, this is what you have been waiting for - whoever you are. If you love music, if you love wit, if you love comedy, if you love to laugh and think simultaneously - COMPANY is for you. Yes, this is that kind of review - and, thank goodness it is. It's due all the praise of a birthday boy like Bobby - with a generous dose of icing black as death; or, night. Icing

ABC kicked off its 2011-12 season pickups with five comedies - 'Apartment 23,' 'Last Man Standing' (formerly 'Tim'), 'Man Up,' 'Suburgatory,' 'Work It' - and seven dramas - 'Charlie's Angels,' 'Good Christian Belles,' 'Pan Am,' 'Revenge,' 'Once Upon a Time,' 'The River,' 'Scandal' - receiving series commitments.

Conquering the Broadway stage in ASSASSINS, CABARET and PROOF; commanding the attention of Radio City (and the world) at the 2009 Tony Awards; racking up rave reviews for SWEENEY TODD at the NY Philharmonic and RENT on tour, plus directing the latter last year at the Hollywood Bowl - these are just a few of the reasons why Neil Patrick Harris made COMPANY: LIVE IN CONCERT, with the NY Philharmonic, one of the biggest nights on Broadway this - or any - year. With recent news confirming that the star-studded Lonny Prince-directed concert production of the timeless 1970 Stephen Sondheim/George Furth concept musical comedy would be filmed for release in movie theaters nationwide for airings in June, it has now become the theatrical event of the season world-wide when it opens in cinemas in June. Last night, Neil was kind enough to take some time out to talk about what the work of Stephen Sondheim means to him, his take on the tricky central role of Bobby, as well as working with his celebrated co-stars Patti LuPone, Stephen Colbert, Christina Hendricks, and more, on this exceptionally exciting entertainment event! Plus, we take a look back at some of his past roles - plus, will he be returning in his Emmy-winning role of Bryan Ryan on GLEE? - and a look ahead to the season finale of his smash hit CBS comedy HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, and the third film in the HAROLD & KUMAR series, A VERY HAROLD & KUMAR CHRISTMAS, coming later this year - in addition to news on his self-directed pilot just completed - as well as a whole lot more! We also have first news on what roles Neil wants to tackle next - MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG. perhaps? What about BARNUM? A solo album? Yet, one vital question remains above all else...

B.B. King Blues Club & Grill is located at 237 West 42nd Street (between 7th and 8th Avenues) New York, NY 10036

B.B. King Blues Club & Grill is located at 237 West 42nd Street (between 7th and 8th Avenues) New York, NY 10036

On this very day in 1943, Michael DiFiglia was born in Buffalo, New York, and the world of Broadway would simply never be the same. Cutting his teeth with the accomplished choreography for A JOYFUL NOISE, PROMISES, PROMISES, SEESAW and COCO was merely the beginning of a career that would virtually rewrite and revolutionize the ways and means by which a director could yield ultimate control over a project. With COMPANY and FOLLIES, the later co-directing with Hal Prince, Bennett solidified himself as one of the most talented and brilliant choreographers of his generation and, shortly thereafter, proved with A CHORUS LINE that he was a master theatrical engineer with few, if any, peers. Worldwide success, Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize were just the gravy. Who else but Michael Bennett would then, or ever, receive - or should I say, earn - the credit "Entire Production Conceived, Produced and Directed by," besides him? While BALLROOM failed to live up to A CHORUS LINE in mostly every way, he soon after reinvented the wheel yet again with DREAMGIRLS in 1981. We never got to see his productions of CHESS and SCANDAL, both of which he was in the latter stages of developing at the time of his death in 1988. Broadway has never been the same since he's been gone. So, today, on the day following a glittering new production of COMPANY at Lincoln Center - with the complete dance sequence "Tick Tock" fully restored, now with five dancers - we take a tip of the top hat to the tops in taps, temerity and truthfulness onstage - the one and only Michael Bennett.

Three-time Tony Award-winning scenic designer ROBIN WAGNER and esteemed costume designer LEWIS BROWN are among the 2011 TDF/Irene Sharaff Awards recipients. The awards will be presented at a ceremony on Friday, April 8 at 6:30pm at the Hudson Theatre (145 West 44th Street). Mr. Brown was selected to receive the 2011 TDF/Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award for costume design, and Tony Award-winning scenic designer Robin Wagner will receive the Robert L.B. Tobin Award for Sustained Excellence in Theatrical Design. Sadly, Mr. Brown passed away in January of 2011. His award will be accepted by his long-time colleague and friend, Albert Wolsky, who was the recipient of the 2010 TDF/Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award

The Homecoming closes March 27, 2011, at the American Conservatory Theater (415 Geary Street, San Francisco).

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) continues its 2010-11 season with a revival of Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter's most provocative play, The Homecoming, directed by A.C.T. Artistic Director and longtime Pinter collaborator Carey Perloff.

Three-time Tony Award-winning scenic designer ROBIN WAGNER and esteemed costume designer LEWIS BROWN are among the 2011 TDF/Irene Sharaff Awards recipients. The awards will be presented at a ceremony on Friday, April 8 at 6:30pm at the Hudson Theatre (145 West 44th Street). Mr. Brown was selected to receive the 2011 TDF/Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award for costume design, and Tony Award-winning scenic designer Robin Wagner will receive the Robert L.B. Tobin Award for Sustained Excellence in Theatrical Design. Sadly, Mr. Brown passed away in January of 2011. His award will be accepted by his long-time colleague and friend, Albert Wolsky, who was the recipient of the 2010 TDF/Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award

At the heart of the sixth season from Artistic Director Jonathan Church and Executive Director Alan Finch will be 'a Festival within a Festival' celebrating the achievements of playwright Terence Rattigan in the centenary year of his birth.

Celebrated rhythm and blues, soul and funk acts from the 60s, 70s and 80s, will perform the hits as part of the 6th Annual 98.5 KLUC Love Affair at the Orleans Arena on Saturday, February 12 at 7:30 p.m.

B.B. King Blues Club & Grill is located at 237 West 42nd Street (between 7th and 8th Avenues) New York, NY 10036

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) continues its 2010-11 season with a revival of Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter's most provocative play, The Homecoming, directed by A.C.T. Artistic Director and longtime Pinter collaborator Carey Perloff.

Celebrated rhythm and blues, soul and funk acts from the 60s, 70s and 80s, will perform the hits as part of the 6th Annual 98.5 KLUC Love Affair at the Orleans Arena on Saturday, February 12 at 7:30 p.m.