Michael Feinstein vs. Dame Edna 'Feud' Continues with New Statement

While theatre insiders are speculating quite heavily that this current "feud" between Michael Feinstein and Dame Edna is just a hoax and that the two will soon announce that they'll be performing together, Michael Feinstein has released a new statement regarding the recent statements surrounding the announcement of his new Broadway entertainment All About Me.

Mr. Feinstein wished to share the following concerning Dame Edna's announced production of It's All About Me:

"Titles are not copyrightable. I wish Ms. Edna well. I've heard of her."

-Michael Feinstein

After almost two decades, Michael Feinstein will be coming back to Broadway in a new musical production tentatively titled ALL ABOUT ME.

ALL ABOUT ME will feature a small orchestra accompanying Michael as he performs the standards for which he is known plus songs he has not yet performed on Broadway.

Michael Feinstein last appeared on Broadway in 1990 in Michael Feinstein in Concert: Piano and Voice and performed on Broadway in 1988 in both Michael Feinstein in Concert: "Isn't It Romantic" and in Michael Feinstein in Concert. He received a special Drama Desk Award in 1988 for celebrating American musical theater songs in 1988.

Michael Feinstein - the multi-platinum selling, five-time Granny nominated entertainer dubbed of "The Ambassador of the Great American Songbook" - is considered one of the premiere interpreters of American Popular Song. His 150 plus shows a year have included Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl and major concert halls, as well as the White House and Buckingham Palace. More than a mere performer, he is nationally recognized for his commitment to the American popular song, both celebrating its art and preserving its legacy for the next generation.

The Sinatra Project - his new CD from Concord Records which celebrates the musical sensibilities of "Old Blue Eyes" - earned Michael his fifth Grammy Award nomination in 2009. Feinstein is currently preparing PBS-TV series, "Michael Feinstein: Man On A Mission" - to start airing in 2010 - in which Michael discovers treasures of the Great American Songbook around the world. He is designing a new piano for Steinway called "The First Ladies," inspired by the White House piano. Feinstein will also serve as the Artistic director of the Carmel Performing Arts Center, a $160 million three-theatre performing arts center in Carmel, Indiana which will host an annual international Great American Songbook festival, along with diverse live programming and a museum to house his rare memorabilia and manuscripts. Starting 2010, Michael will be taking the helm as the Director of the Popular Song Series at Jazz at Lincoln Center

Michael has written the score for two new stage musicals: The Day They Saved Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and The Gold Room, and he has just started to work with MGM developing The Thomas Crown Affair into a musical for Broadway.

His previous CD from Concord Records is Hopeless Romantics, a songbook of Harry Warren classics recorded with legendary jazz pianist George Shearing. In 2004, Michael completed a national tour with songwriting icon Jimmy Webb based on their CD, Only One Life - The Songs of Jimmy Webb. The disc was named one of "10 Best CDs of the Year" by USA Today.

In 2003, Michael received his fourth Grammy Award nomination for his release, Michael Feinstein with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, his first recording with a symphony orchestra. The year before, Rhino/Elektra Music released The Michael Feinstein Anthology, a 2-disc compilation spanning the years 1987 to 1996, featuring old favorites and previously unreleased tracks.

Michael hosted and produced The Great American Songbook, a PBS Special and DVD set from Warner Brothers Home Video that traces the history of popular music in our country. His own record label Feinery, a Concord Records subsidiary, released The Livingston & Evans Songbook, featuring Feinstein and special guest Melissa Manchester. Feinery also records favorite current artists and restore recordings & musical broadcasts from the golden age of popular song.

His Manhattan nightclub, Feinstein's at Loews Regency, has presented the top talents of pop and jazz such as Rosemary Clooney, Steve Tyrell, Barbara Cook, Tony Danza, Glen Campbell, Diahann Carroll, Jackie Mason and Dame Cleo Laine. He appears there for a sold-out holiday engagement every year. Michael also opened the new theater, Feinstein's at the Shaw, in London featuring such talent as Eartha Kitt, Dionne Warwick, Elaine Stritch, Chita Rivera and Boy George.

Michael started playing piano by ear when he was five. After graduating from high school in Columbus, Ohio, he worked in local piano lounges for two years, moving to Los Angeles when he was 20. Through the widow of legendary concert pianist-actor Oscar Levant, he was introduced to Ira Gershwin in July 1977. He became his assistant for six years, granting him access to numerous unpublished Gershwin songs, which he has since performed and recorded.

Gershwin's influence provided a solid base upon which Mr. Feinstein has not only evolved into a captivating performer, composer and arranger of his own original music, but has also become an unparalleled interpreter of music legends such as Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer, Duke Ellington and Harry Warren.

Through his live performances, recordings, film and television appearances, and his songwriting (in collaboration with Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Lindy Robbins and Carole Bayer Sager), Feinstein has been an important musical force during the past 15 years. In addition, he scored the original music for the film Get Bruce. His television credits include performances on "Caroline in the City," "Melrose Place," "Coach," and "Sybil."

The Library of Congress elected Michael to the exclusive "National Sound Recording Advisory Board" safeguarding America's musical heritage.

Photo Credit: Linda Lenzi

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