Wayne Brady & More to be Featured in Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles 45th Season

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles has revealed its 2023-2024 Season, which is now in its 45th year. The Season features nearly 200 Chorus members, led in performance by Music Director & Conductor Ernest H. Harrison at some of Los Angeles’ most majestic and historic venues. Tickets for the three-concert package are now on sale at Click Here.

The season begins in December at the historic Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills with HOORAY FOR HOLIDAYS, a joyous celebration of holiday music from cinema and television. Joining as guest artist is Emmy Award-winner and Grammy Award-nominee Wayne Brady (Broadway and The Hollywood Bowl’s Kinky Boots, Hamilton, upcoming Broadway return of The Wiz Spring 2024), a true TV and theatre superstar, lauded vocalist, and great friend of GMCLA. In March 2024, GMCLA is back at the Saban for WE ❤️ BOY BANDS! paying tribute to the pop music that melted our hearts and the boys who made us swoon. And in June, the season culminates with SOLID GOLD: ARETHA, DIONNE, & WHITNEY – the timeless music of three legendary and iconic artists for one show only at the beautiful Pasadena Civic Auditorium.

“The 45th Season builds upon a banner season that culminated in June 2023 with the moving, sold-out performances of Disney PRIDE in Concert, which was truly historic,” shared Lou Spisto, GMCLA’s Executive Director & Producer. “This Season promises to be just as exciting in these amazing venues, perfect for the size and sound of the Chorus with repertoire and musical arrangements that show off GMCLA’s extraordinary vocal power and showmanship. We are delighted that our dear friend Wayne Brady, who was scheduled to be with us in July 2020 (canceled due to the pandemic), is joining us for our Holiday show. Wayne is a unique and magical talent, and we are really looking forward to celebrating so much with him in December.” 

GMCLA Season 45 Schedule

HOORAY FOR HOLIDAYS

Saban Theatre | Beverly Hills
December 16 and 17, 2023
 
HOORAY FOR HOLIDAYS celebrates the season with the Chorus singing over twenty timeless holiday melodies from the golden age of cinema’s Meet Me in St. Louis, White Christmas, and Mame to contemporary classics The Polar Express, The Muppet Christmas Carol, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Love Actually. The program will feature standards from the Great American Songbook to hits made famous by pop icons Bruce Springsteen, The Beach Boys, and Wham! 

Los Angeles' favorite holiday tradition will be more special this year as GMCLA is joined by five-time Emmy-award winner and Grammy-nominee Wayne Brady. With dance numbers and a few surprises in store, Hooray for Holidayswill surely be something to shout about!  Single tickets will be available at a later date in October.

WE ❤️ BOY BANDS!

Saban Theatre | Beverly Hills
March 23 and 24, 2024
 

WE ❤️ BOY BANDS! is a tribute to the music that melted our hearts and the boys who made us swoon. The Chorus pulls out the stops for nineties legends NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, 98 Degrees, New Kids on the Block, Boyz II Men, and New Edition, recent chart-toppers One Direction and BTS, and top it off with a dash of The Bee Gees, The Beatles, and more! Classic four-part harmonies explode with energy and joy as 200 Chorus voices perform brand new arrangements, sing and dance, for the boys we love! If ever there was a perfect pop cannon of songs for GMCLA, this is it!

  

SOLID GOLD: ARETHA, DIONNE, & WHITNEY

Pasadena Civic Auditorium | Pasadena
June 30, 2024
 

SOLID GOLD: ARETHA, DIONNE, & WHITNEY celebrates three of the most legendary and iconic artists in music history as the Chorus performs timeless hits by the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, music legend and longtime HIV/AIDS activist Dionne Warwick, and the undisputed voice of a generation, Whitney Houston. Songs like Respect,Freeway of Love, Chain of Fools, Say a Little Prayer, Don’t Make Me Over, I Will Always Love You, I Wanna Dance with Somebody, and The Greatest Love of All have been the soundtrack of our lives. The Chorus will bring its own brand of magic to these unparalleled songs and many more, along with dance and production, promising to be one of GMCLA’s most soulful, joyous, and moving shows ever! 

GMCLA Season 45 three-concert packages are now on-sale at www.GMCLA.org  Tickets for HOORAY FOR HOLIDAYS will go on sale at a later date to be announced.

GAY MEN’S CHORUS OF LOS ANGELES

under the leadership of Executive Director & Producer Lou Spisto and Music Director & Conductor Ernest H. Harrison, returns for its 45th year in 2023-2024. GMCLA continues to garner acclaim for artistic excellence while remaining deeply rooted in service to the Los Angeles community and beyond by promoting civil rights, tolerance, and acceptance through music. Founded in 1979 during the emergence of the gay rights movement, GMCLA spreads its message of love and acceptance with concerts across the globe and has raised its collective voice in the movement toward equality, social justice, the fight against the AIDS crisis, the fight for marriage equality, and all those seeking to find their own voice. GMCLA’s free community concert program has provided access to concerts to tens of thousands over the decades, and its research-based education programs have served over 85,000 young people throughout the Los Angeles region. In June 2023, GMCLA returned to Walt Disney Concert Hall to perform the extraordinary multi-media Disney PRIDE in Concert to two sold-out houses as the finale of Season 44, which also included I’m With Her, a celebration of boundary breaking women in music, as well as the beloved and sold-out holiday production, A Motown Holiday. In recent years, GMCLA has performed at Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl (with Hugh Jackman). Reaching global audiences, a GMCLA appearance at the 2020 Film Independent Spirit Awards has gained more than 7 million online views. During the pandemic, GMCLA presented virtual concerts, special events, and school programs, reaching thousands of new and longtime fans. From Los Angeles and Ireland to Brazil and New Zealand, GMCLA’s streaming concerts were incredibly well received. Critics have proclaimed the Chorus “inspired” and “expressive, innovative and utterly moving,” and hailed GMCLA for presenting “meaningful entertainment.”

Photo credit: Jason Michael Fordham