MUSIC THEATER REVIEWS

Jazz fans were at San Diego's Balboa Theatre to see Chris Potter, one of the best sax players in the world, and bass-playing legend Dave Holland. But why was half the audience in saris?? Well, the other five musicians in the Crosscurrents band are from India, and some of them are far better known in...

Okay, maybe not with Father John Misty. But I did spend a month with his music. Last month, at Massey Hall in Toronto, Father John Misty (FJM) performed to a sold-out crowd of energetic fans. I didn't know what I was getting myself into. His musical style left such an impression on me, I decided to ...

For 57 years Sergio Mendes has been a driving force in the world of popular music. since 1966. Starting withHerb Alpert presents Sergio Mendes and Brazil '66, he took Brazilian and Bossa Nova music and bought it to the masses. His recordings of such pop songs as The Look of Love and Mas Que Nad...

'To understand where you're going, you gotta know where you've been.' -- Slam Allen...

There is no slowing down for Sam Smith. He dropped a new song titled 'Pray' Oct. 6 and announced his sophomore album 'The Thrill of It' with a release date of Nov. 3...

Leonard Bernstein was arguably one of the most versatile musicians the world has ever known. If you are a lover of classical music, you know that his recordings and compositions were the stuff legend is made of; and if you are a musical theatre geek, you know that Bernstein wrote some of the most in...

One Direction member, Niall Horan just dropped his smooth, new single 'Too Much To Ask.' It is one of the first songs he wrote for his upcoming solo debut album 'Flicker' set to release on October 20 via Capitol Records....

Sam Smith Fans, The Wait Is Finally Over! The Songbird is Officially Back With His Powerful New Single 'Too Good At Goodbyes.'...

Swifties rejoice! Taylor Swift is back after a three year break with her brand new single 'Look What You Made Me Do' in which she dropped Thursday August 24. It comes off her highly anticipated sixth album 'Reputation' coming out on November 10....

Reji Woods Productions offers its annual PORTRAIT OF A LADY series. The divas are back and they're bigger than ever....

Latin jazz inspired the latest concert in the San Diego Symphony's Bayside Summer Nights series. Gilbert Castellanos, the creative force behind the Symphony's jazz concerts, assembled an all-star Latin band for a tribute to past masters such as Tito Puente, Celia Cruz and Mongo Santamaria. As usual,...

Peter and Will Anderson, the brilliant musicians known as The Anderson Twins, have produced and created Songbook Summit at 59E59 Theaters with presentations that celebrate great American Songbook composers during the month of August....

A worse-for-wear Dr. John walked slowly to the piano with the help of two canes. He was no quicker while leaving the stage at the end of the set. But for over an hour in between, he and his sextet kept up an infectious funky beat, and his voice and piano playing erased half a century of his 76 years...

The Kenyan - by way of Seattle - singer-songwriter kicked off her 2017 tour in grand style in a small courtyard garden....

JACQUES BREL IS ALIVE AND WELL AND LIVING IN PARIS receives a first-rate mounting with a cast of powerful singer/actors, backed by a nimble four-piece musical ensemble, and directed and staged with ingenuity of movement that complement the Jacques Brel tales being performed. These Jacques Brel song...

Spell-binding jams that beg you to dance and dance. CARAVAN PALACE 'blew the roof' off of the Phoenix Concert Theatre last night, performing as part of the TD Toronto Jazz Festival. The seven-member virtuosic electro-swing ensemble pushes the boundaries of jazz with an inventive mesh of music - even...

The Celtic Woman returned to Central New York this week for a one-night-only engagement of the group's current concert tour, Voices of Angels. They were welcomed with open arms once again to Syracuse, a city full of Irish pride, as they passionately performed music and dance of the Emerald Isle at t...

In the pop music world there are certain artists who only need to be introduced by their first names. When you hear Cher, Madonna, or Barbara, there is instant recognition. The same holds true in the musical theatre world. When you hear the names Idina, Sutton, or Audra you know exactly who these pe...

After producer Fred Hamlin christened Columbus Circle's Majestic Theatre with a spectacular musical extravaganza based on L. Frank Baum's 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' (The show had nothing to do with the classic MGM film.), he sought to follow up with another memorable production with a family-frien...

Music faculty at Florida SouthWestern State College presented an eclectic concert to an audience of students, faculty, friends, and community members....

For HERO, Tyce's rocker persona is front and center as he sings the best of Jim Steinman. Across the dual disc album, he uses an edgy bravado when singing the songs, skrelts when the music calls for it, but doesn't fully commit to the gritty emotions of these beloved rock hits....

Perfection! A Noise Within produces a stunning, modernistic, most entertaining take on MAN OF LA MANCHA, the tale of Don Quixote and his man servant Sancho during the sixteenth century Spanish Inquisition. Co-Producing Artistic Director Julia Rodriguez-Elliott most skillfully directs her very talent...

The National Symphony Orchestra's (NSO) Principal Pops Conductor Steven Reineke has always put together musical programs that are fun and classy. This Sophisticated Ladies: 100 Years of Ella and Company, which played this Kennedy Center's Concert Hall this past weekend, was no exception....

An aural and visual feast, TO SAIL AROUND THE SUN is wonderfully inventive and will hopefully set the stage for similar multidisciplinary programming in the future....

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