Born to Sing 1996 - Articles Page 3.4

The Beatles! Rihanna! Michael Jackson! Johnny Cash! Kanye West! The Rolling Stones! Aretha Franklin! Bob Dylan! Miles Davis! Nirvana! BWW Reviewer Peter Nason chooses the greatest albums from the rock and rap era (1950-2020); see if your favorites made the grade!

BWW Reviewer Peter Nason chooses the best film musicals since the sound era began; see if your favorites made the list!

MaryJo Mundy, the highly acclaimed and beloved cabaret singer and founder of the longest running open mic at the famed Gardenia, hosts the 4th night of what celebrates and fosters musical theatre/cabaret performers, while also showcasing her own remarkable talent. On the third Saturday of every month Ms. Mundy (co-hosted monthly by Alexis Gach and singer/songwriter/producer Hillary Rollins ) throws a 'cabaret party' on-stage at the Gardenia along with three guest performers.

MerleFest, presented by Window World, is proud to announce the next round of artist additions for MerleFest 2020, which will be held April 23-26. Melissa Etheridge, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, The Marcus King Band, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, and John Cowan will be joining the annual homecoming of musicians and music fans on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. 

Award winning cabaret singer Lisa Viggiano enters her 20th year in cabaret by kicking off 2020 at The Beach Cafe with a new show. Stephen Mosher chats with the powerhouse performer as 2019 comes to a close.

The legendary bass-baritone returns to Chicago for his first performance at Lyric in nearly 15 years. Previously acclaimed here for his portrayals of Sweeney Todd, Don Giovanni, Leporello, and Falstaff, among others, the Welsh singer is also a successful recitalist of international renown. His russety and resonant voice, piercing interpretive insight, and demonstrative personality will make for an unforgettable experience.

City Winery Chicago, 1200 W. Randolph Street, announces two-time Grammy-winning jazz saxophonist Ernie Watts with Corky Siegel's Chamber Blues, Chicago's own Miki Howard, and more. The following shows go on sale to the public on Friday, November 8 at noon. Tickets will be available at citywinery.com/chicago.

Mary J. Blige, the legendary Grammy and Golden Globe winning and Oscar nominated singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist and honorary Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, will release an immersive box set of her biggest 1990s hits along with rare remixes, HERstory, Vol. 1, on December 6 via UMe. The collection will be released in three physical forms: a set of eight standard-weight black 7” vinyl records, a 1CD version, a 2LP set and a digital version. From her solo 1992 hit “You Remind Me” to the 1993 remix of “What's the 411” featuring K-Ci (of K-Ci and JoJo) and the Notorious B.I.G., HERstory, Vol. 1 tells the story of Blige as she first established herself as a tour de force of '90s R&B.

I really enjoyed the Eran Kolirin's 2007 Israeli-Egyptian film 'The Band's Visit' . The story involved the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra who get lost in Israel on their way to a concert performance at the Arab Cultural Center in a large city named Petal Tikvah and instead the bus they take arrives at the small town of Bet Hatikva. With the next bus not due until the next day, the musicians are invited to spend the night with the town natives (there is no hotel) and have dinner. The moving film tackles the subject of Egyptians and Israelis in 1996 who in 1967 had a hard-fought war on the Sinai Peninsula.

'No Day But Today!'

The MET Orchestra returns to Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage for a series of three concerts this May and June. For the first concert on Saturday, May 18 at 8:00 p.m., Valery Gergiev leads the orchestra in Schumann's Piano Concerto featuring pianist Daniil Trifonov and Schubert's Symphony No. 9, Great. On Monday, June 3 at 8:00 p.m. new Music Director Yannick N zet-S guin leads The MET Orchestra for the first time at Carnegie Hall in a program of French works with mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard singing Dutilleux's Le temps l'horloge and Ravel's Sh h razade, alongside Debussy's La mer and Ravel's Daphnis et Chlo Suite No. 2. Maestro N zet-S guin returns the following week on Friday, June 14 at 8:00 p.m. with the orchestra and mezzo-soprano El na Garan a singing Mahler's R ckert Lieder on a program that also includes Bruckner's Symphony No. 7.

The International Festival of Arts & Ideas today announced complete details for Festival 2019, which opens on June 8 and continues for two weeks through June 22 in New Haven, Connecticut.

DCINY (Distinguished Concerts International New York) presents Vocal Colors, a celebration of choral tradition and innovation, featuring composer and conductor Alexander L'Estrange and his popular work Zimbe!, a choral arrangement of traditional African songs performed by an international choir of children and adults and accompanied by a jazz quintet.  At the second act of the evening, conducted by Matthew Melendez, the Great Bend Chorale performs the world premiere of composer John Muehleisen's Borders, commissioned by the choir, and Andrey Stolyarov's Out of the depths. The concert will be held on Friday, May 24, at 7 pm at Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall. Tickets start at $20 and may be purchased by visiting DCINY.org.

Edinburgh International Festival returns for its 73rd year on 2 - 26 August 2019, bringing the best of theatre, music and dance from across the world to Scotland's capital.

It's time to strike up the band for the 7th annual concert by the McCallum Theatre Concert Band, with conductor and McCallum Theatre President & CEO Mitch Gershenfeld, on Sunday, March 24, at 3:00pm. Highlights of this year's concert will be a performance of the beloved "Carnival of the Animals" by Saint-Saens featuring pianist Jeffrey Siegel and a new text written and performed by David Gonzalez, and special guest appearances by Gavin MacLeod (narrator) and former TEN Tenor Chad Hilligus (guest vocalist). And, after the concert, there is free ice cream for everyone!

Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts and Film Independent present a special, one-night only live read of the 1981 comedy My Dinner with Andre, starring Emmy Award-winning writer and comedian John Mulaney ('Saturday Night Live,' Kid Gorgeous) and noted film and Broadway actor Nick Kroll (Loving, Big Mouth, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse), on Tuesday, March 19, 2019, at 7:30 pm. Elvis Mitchell, Film Independent Curator will host.

André Raphel conducts the Detroit Symphony Orchestra on March 8 and 9, 2019 in its annual Classical Roots Concert taking place in Orchestra Hall.  The Saturday, March 9 performance will be a gala concert and a live webcast.  This year's tribute honors  George Walker,  the esteemed composer, pianist and educator who was the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1996 for Lilacs, and who passed away this past August at age 96.  Composer Robert A. Harris will be a special Classical Roots Honoree.   It will be the 41st year that the DSO has presented Classical Roots, honoring the achievements of African American composers. 

The McCallum Theatre presents the 20th Anniversary Tour of Rent for five performances, Friday, February 8, through Sunday, February 10. In 1996, an original rock musical by a little-known composer opened on Broadway and forever changed the landscape of American theatre. Two decades later, Jonathan Larson's Rent continues to speak loudly and defiantly to audiences across generations and all over the world. I had the chance to chat with Lencia Kebede who plays Joanne in this current production, as the tour is making its way to The McCallum, about her personal journey and her journey with Rent. Here are a few excerpts from that conversation.

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Happy Monday! Kick off your week with today's top stories!

The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at the University of British Columbia presents the inimitable, genre-defiant music of Bobby McFerrin on February 17, 2019, at 7pm in the Chan Shun Concert Hall. The concert will feature Gimme5 - McFerrin's newest band comprised of veterans from his a cappella Voicestra group Joey Blake, Dave Worm, Rhiannon, and Judi Vinar - and local choral ensemble musica intima. The program will be based on Circlesinging, a musical practice and philosophy that McFerrin has been honing since he began as a solo a cappella performer, assigning vocal parts to his onstage collaborators and audience members - transforming sold-out houses into glorious impromptu choirs.

San Francisco Playhouse celebrates the magic of the holiday season with the hit Broadway musical Mary Poppins. Susi Damilano will direct the Playhouse production, with music direction by Katie Coleman and choreography by Kimberly Richards.

Jim Messina's legacy spans five decades and three acclaimed rock super groups: Loggins & Messina, Buffalo Springfield, and Poco. And he's had a vibrant solo career, plus a dizzying array of producing and engineering credits for such luminaries as The Doors, Joni Mitchell, and Herb Alpert. Performing with his band in Folsom, the concert will include songs we all know and love, from across his storied career. Get ready for "…a splendid good-timey sensibility and professionalism" (Los Angeles Times).

San Francisco Playhouse celebrates the magic of the holiday season with the hit Broadway musical Mary Poppins. Susi Damilano will direct the Playhouse production, with music direction by Katie Coleman and choreography by Kimberly Richards.

Jim Messina's legacy spans five decades and three acclaimed rock super groups: Loggins & Messina, Buffalo Springfield, and Poco. And he's had a vibrant solo career, plus a dizzying array of producing and engineering credits for such luminaries as The Doors, Joni Mitchell, and Herb Alpert. Performing with his band in Folsom, the concert will include songs we all know and love, from across his storied career. Get ready for "…a splendid good-timey sensibility and professionalism" (Los Angeles Times).

What if God turned out to be a Puerto Rican steam bath attendant, assisted by a butler named Gottlieb? Renowned stand up comedian and actor Paul Rodriguez stars in a revival of Steambath, the 1970 off Broadway hit comedy by Bruce Jay Friedman that also became a PBS television special. Odyssey Theatre Ensemble artistic director Ron Sossi directs for an Oct. 20 opening at West L.A.'s Odyssey Theatre, where performances will continue through Dec. 16.