David Clarke - Page 27

Patti LuPone, living Broadway legend and Two-time Tony winner, returns to 54 Below with her acclaimed solo show THE LADY WITH THE TORCH. Showcasing her breathy alto and stunning belt, Patti LuPone 'belly ache[s]' (her words) her way through an inspired evening of well-known torch songs. And once the diva takes the stage, there is simply no denying that LuPone's grace, poise, and power are pure magic.

Imagine that ska-era No Doubt had a baby with the soulful divas of 70s disco and their horn sections. That is what Amy Lynn & The Gunshow sounds like. After being blown away by a live performance at 54 Below, I knew I had to get my hands on their album DON'T TRIP ON THE GLITTER, which is just as impressive, catchy, and fun as I expected it to be.

The sounds of the seventies are alive and well in musical theatre. Taking lessons he has learned from previous outings, Michael Freidman's compositions for THE FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE fly based on his keen ear for integrating disparate musical modalities into the fabric of musical theatre. These elements gel perfectly for Ghostlight Records' mesmerizing release of THE FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE (Original Cast Recording).

JACK THE RIPPER first premiered at London's Players' Theatre. Yet, this musical's unique original cast album would take 40 years to see the light of day. On March 30, 2015 Stage Door Records released the odd and intriguing JACK THE RIPPER (Original London Cast Album).

New York City based string quartet Well-Strung returned to 54 Below on Friday, March 27, 2015. Performing to a sold-out house, the always charming and handsome performers delighted audiences with an encore engagement of their entertaining hit show POPssical. While reprising much of what they performed the last time I reviewed them in late October, the guys' charismatic set had a handful of new surprises.

The Bechdel family is moving into Broadway's Circle in the Square Theatre. To get the inside scoop on the highly-anticpated Broadway transfer from The Public Theater, BroadwayWorld chatted with Emily Skeggs, who plays Medium Alison, about the universally relatable musical.

Celebrating the release of SING YOU TO SLEEP, Anika Larsen made her solo concert debut at Birdland on Monday, March 23. Joined by her BEAUTIFUL castmates Jessie Mueller and Jarrod Spector and her XANADU castmate Kenita Miller, Larsen's set featured songs from her album and thematically appropriate solos that featured her guests' talents too. Thus, the evening was the perfect night cap to an otherwise manic Monday.

Following the success of his debut single 'All American Boy,' Steve Grand began working on his debut album of the same title. Raising over $325,000, his album is currently the third most funded project in Kickstarter's history. Tomorrow, March 25, 20115, the stellar game-changing country album ALL AMERICAN BOY will be available for purchase.

Simply hearing the name Ben Vereen uttered invokes the magic and allure of Broadway. From originating key roles in JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR and PIPPIN, Vereen has called the stages of Broadway home for years. Therefore, it is no surprise that he commands an audience with charm and pizzazz, easily entertaining a full house at 54 Below with his new cabaret show STEPPIN' OUT.

Tony Yazbeck returned to 54 Below with The Floor Above Me, his tap filled cabaret show. Co-written and Co-directed by Yazbeck and Howard Emanuel, it explores the charismatic performers love for dance, his road to Broadway, and his career. Yazbeck unleashes his larger-than-life charm and talent, gifting audiences with a spellbinding performance.

Broadway veteran Brian Gallagher is a bona fide singer/songwriter. His debut album ALL THAT'S AHEAD, featuring a healthy handful of appearances from his wife Megan Hilty, is informed by the emotional sincerity and unembellished structure of the blues tradition and the genuine strength of singer/songwriters. ALL THAT'S AHEAD offers the best of the blues and singer/songwriter genres with a footprint that is uniquely his own.

SoHo Playhouse is known for presenting NYC with some of the finest hysterical yet thought-provoking material that modern theatre has to offer. Enter Baba Brinkman's RAP GUIDE TO RELIGION, a comical 90-minute one act that explores the Darwinian and psychological imperative and power the construct of religion has for the continued evolution of the human species.

The hills are still alive with THE SOUND OF MUSIC. With THE SOUND OF MUSIC - 50th ANNIVERSARY EDITION fans of the film will have every sung moment and more orchestral cues all on one disc, making this re-release of the cherished score one worth climbing every mountain and fording every stream for.

Forget the freshly slaughtered lamb that Richard is preparing. Playwright Peter Sinn Nachtrieb's HUNTER GATHERERS is an all-you-can-eat buffet of betrayal, sexual awkwardness, blood, red wine, lust-filled passions, and a blurring of the lines between civilization and primal instincts. The hysterical play is getting its long overdue New York City premiere. Playhouse Creatures Theatre Company keeps the laughs coming with their riotous production of the amusing play.

Making their 54 Below debuts together, Emily Padgett and Erin Davie crafted a cabaret show that was filled with humor and heart. Singing duets and solo numbers, the lovely ladies who played Violet and Daisy Hilton in this season's Broadway revival of Side Show at the St. James Theatre skillfully entertained the dinner time crowd and left us looking forward to the next time they tread the boards on the Great White Way.

Despite growing up in Texas, I more or less hated country music for most of my life. If only more of it had sounded like Rachel Potter's first full length album NOT SO BLACK AND WHITE. If it had, I may have been a fan of the genre earlier. Mixing in sensibilities of pop and rock, Rachel Potter's brand of country is fresh and bold. Most refreshing of all is that her take on country is uniquely hers. There is no artifice or facade; there's just great music.

ALTAR BOYZ opened Off-Broadway at Stage 4 of Dodger Stages on March 1, 2005. The award-winning, hit musical comedy closed after 2,032 regular performances on January 10, 2010. For two very special performances at 54 Below on March 1, 2015, actors who played the now iconic fictional Christian boy band took to the stage to celebrate the show's 10th anniversary with pizzazz, wit, and a whole lot of harmonizing.

Following its successful Off-Broadway run at New York City's Theatre 80 in the Fall of 2014, LIBERTY: A MONUMENTAL NEW MUSICAL kicked off a crowdfunding campaign via Indiegogo for their cast recording. Early in 2015 the cast of LIBERTY and its writers went into the studio at John Kilgore Sound & Recording to make a cast album. BroadwayWorld was invited in for a sneak peek and to hear some of the recording as it happened.

Playing her debut NYC solo show I Came From Jersey For This to a sold out house at 54 Below, Jessica Vosk took the intimate venue by storm. Dazzling audiences with her talent, energy, sincerity, and humor, she put up a perfectly crafted cabaret tribute to her journey from singing with her dad in the living room of their New Jersey home to landing roles on Broadway.

The funk soul of Motown is being modernized and reshaped by big name acts like Bruno Mars and Fitz and The Tantrums; however, no one is doing it quite like Amy Lynn & The Gunshow. Strip away the frills of a large record label, throw in a ton of sass, mix with wit and charisma, and garnish with an explosive horn section. That is the recipe for Amy Lynn & The Gunshow's style, and it leaves a whole lotta shakin' goin' on!