Theatre producer Katy Lipson - who is producing artistic director of the Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester, as well as being an independent producer and who has recently taken on the road shows such as The Addams Family - is bringing Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1989 musical Aspects of Love to Southwark Playhouse which began at Hope Mill in August 2018. Here, we discuss what makes a good producer, her passion for theatre, and how the show resonates with the present times.
This month, the popular theatre podcast Broadwaysted released It's A Broadwaysted Life!--a theatre-filled parody of Frank Capra's It's A Wonderful Life! written by co-host Kevin Jaeger and featuring original songs written by Jaeger and composer Jason Pomerantz.
This poetic new play with music follows Ed, a gay Jesuit priest who leaves the Catholic church to reconcile with his estranged brother in an isolated and icy township in Alaska. As Ed confronts his tragic past and tenuous future, he unexpectedly finds love beneath the starry Alaskan sky, and support from an unlikely ally. Introducing an auspicious new voice in American theatre, The Hour of Great Mercy by Miranda Rose Hall, is a tender, insightful and compassionate story about our collective relationship to illness, family, and redemption.
Following a show-stopping performance on last night's season finale of NBC's The Voice (watch here), singer-songwriter Brynn Cartelli has released her new song “Last Night's Mascara” – available now via all DSPs (stream here). The self-penned track sees her collaborating with Jesse Shatkin (Kelly Clarkson, Sia) and Mozella (Madonna, Miley Cyrus) for a brilliantly candid anthem. “I'm so excited about releasing 'Last Night's Mascara' because it showcases my love for storytelling in a real, stripped down, raw way” said Cartelli.
Singer Steve Ross has been knocking 'em dead on the cabaret circuit in New York and other theatre cities for many years. He has released several solo albums. His latest is It's Almost Christmas Eve but features an ensemble of singers. Ross took time from his busy touring schedule to talk to me from Boston about the album and his love of old music.
Long Beach Opera (LBO) presents the U.S. premiere of The Black Cat in collaboration with the Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra January 19 and 20 at The Beverly O'Neill Theater, 300 East Ocean Blvd., Long Beach CA 90802. The Black Cat is performed in English.
German baritone Benjamin Appl, hailed as "the current front-runner in the new generation of Lieder singers," by Gramophone magazine, will embark on his first U.S. recital tour with pianist James Baillieu from January 6-20, 2019, performing in New York, NY (January 6, 8, 10; Park Avenue Armory); Portland, OR (January 13, Portland Friends of Chamber Music); New Orleans, LA (January 15, 16; New Orleans Friends of Music); Cleveland, OH (January 18, Art Song Festival at CIM; and Washington, DC (January 20, The Phillips Collection). Benjamin Appl was mentored by one of the greatest singers of the twentieth century, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, and records exclusively for Sony Classical. His U.S. tour follows his second Sony album featuring the music of J.S. Bach, which was released in September 2018.
For an artist who started out playing DC's iconic Howard Theater and Atlanta's legendary Peacock, as well as getting his big break at Hollywood's famed Whiskey A Go Go, the only way to kick off one's 76th trip around the sun is to take it on the road. So Country Music Hall of Famer Ronnie Milsap will do just that.
As seen on NBC's TODAY, country music star, and Grand Ole Opry veteran Tim Atwood was recently reunited onstage with fifty-one year Grand Ole Opry member, and country music icon, Jeannie Seely. Atwood & Seely - who've accompanied each other many times over the years on the Grand Ole Opry stage - performed a duet of Bill Gaither's gospel classic “There's Something About That Name' at Lipscomb University's Allen Arena for the Fifth Annual 'Nashville Senior Christmas ShinnDig.'
Singer Steve Ross has been knocking 'em dead on the cabaret circuit in New York and other theatre cities for many years. He has released several solo albums. His latest is It's Almost Christmas Eve but features an ensemble of singers. Ross took time from his busy touring schedule to talk to me from Boston about the album and his love of old music.
After a sold out run last fall, the recent revival of The Diary of Anne Frank, by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett and newly adapted by Wendy Kesselman ('97 Broadway version) will return for a limited engagement previewing January 11, 2019.
Lila Blue is diving into 2019 head first, starting the new year off with a string of performances at the Public Theater as part of Under the Radar Festival. The first group of shows, on January 5th, come as a reunion of The Chekhov Project, a yearly gathering of actors and musicians reinterpreting a selected Chekhov play through original songs and soundscapes. At the festival, a reunited group of these musicians will perform a selection of songs from the project - one of Lila's foundational musical experiences, coming full circle a decade on.
The Handel and Haydn Society has announced the addition of three new principal musicians to its Orchestra. Emi Ferguson joins the orchestra in the principal flute position, Heather Miller Lardin joins in the principal bass role, and Jonathan Hess joins as the principal timpanist. All three musicians were selected by a committee either by appointment or following a series of auditions with an international field of candidates
Tony Award and Emmy Award-winner Lillias White, Kissy Simmons (Nala in The Lion King), Natalie Weiss (Everyday Rapture, Les Miserables) and other surprise guests will join singer-songwriter Anthony Nunziata in concert on Saturday, Jan. 12 at 7pm at The Green Room 42.
Theatre-Rites and 20 Stories High reunite following the success of their show for young people The Broke 'N' Beat Collective. Big Up! is a show for 3 to 6 year olds to share with everyone that looks after them, combining hip-hop, puppetry and live music.
Fort Worth Opera is delighted to announce today that renowned soprano Jennifer Rowley will headline the company's Southern Soiree Gala on May 4 at The Stonegate Mansion, as part of the 2019 Fort Worth Opera Festival. Praised by The New York Times as "a singer of enormous gift and promise," a "force of nature" by OperaWire, and called "spectacular" by The Wall Street Journal, Ms. Rowley continues to garner critical praise for her exceptional voice, arresting stage presence, and richly varied repertoire. Her triumphant Metropolitan Opera role debut as Roxane in Alfano's Cyrano de Bergerac was universally acclaimed, and she returned to the hallowed stage during the 2018 season to perform the title role in Puccini's Tosca and Leonora in Verdi's Il trovatore.
Camerata New York, now in its 18h year, kicks off the holiday season with the glorious and eternal masterpiece, Handel's Messiah with the St. Jean Baptiste Festival Chorus and top soloists in St. Jean Baptiste Church, NYC on Sat. Dec. 15 at 7:30PM "The audience is in for an exceptional presentation of all three segments of Handel's masterpiece; starting with the Annunciation, Passion, and concluding with the celebration of our Lord's resurrection. It is a great honor and glorious opportunity for the orchestra, myself, the singers and soloists to present this Beautiful work which celebrates our savior in selections from the Old and New Testament."
Peter Mulvey has been a singer, songwriter, road-dog, raconteur, and an almost-poet since before he can remember. With a career spanning nearly three decades, eighteen albums, and countless live performances worldwide, Mulvey has built his life's work on collaboration and on an instinct for the eclectic and the vital. On February 15th, he'll release his most vivid album yet titled There Is Another World via Righteous Babe Records. Today he unveiled the first look at the new record with the lead song 'The Fox,' a hypnotic pulse of altered guitar within a swirl of sounds: wineglass rims, the long breaths and clatter of a bass clarinet, and icy accordion tones underneath Mulvey's gravel baritone vocals.
