54 BELOW has a successful series of one-offs where a talented cast sings the music of a certain show or group. Last Saturday the popular venue hosted 54 BELOW Sings Heart. Channeling the cherished goddesses of rock with might and candor, the cast left the audience pumped and euphoric.
There's nothing quite like it in the United States. Teatro ZinZanni is part circus, part theatre cabaret, and part delicious multi-course feast wrapped into a whirlwind evening of entertainment underneath a beautiful, authentic spiegeltent. So, it's no wonder that Teatro ZinZanni has become a must-see experience synonymous with Seattle arts and entertainment.
Exciting. Electric. Exhilarating. Rocking. Phenomenal. All of these words have been used to describe HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH on Broadway. And, one of Broadway's hottest talents is helping to ensure that these adjectives are justified. The incomparably charming and charismatic Tony Award Winner Lena Hall, co-starring as Yitzhak, recently talked to me about her Tony win, HEDWIG, and her band, The Deafening.
San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus (SFGMC) named winner for "I Am Harvey Milk" in the Soundtrack / Cast Recording Album category at the 13th Independent Music Awards (The IMAs). "I Am Harvey Milk" is an emotional celebration of an American icon. Part choral work, part theater piece, it weaves the story of Harvey Milk's life -- from boyhood to his rise as the first openly gay man to hold public office in California and to his untimely assassination.
The original cast recording of Andrew Lippa's I Am Harvey Milk was just named by Music Resource Group (MRG) as the winner of Best Soundtrack/Cast Recording in The 13th Independent Music Awards (The IMAs), the influential awards program for independent music and fans. Representing the broad spectrum of today's global independent music scene, the nominees in over 80 Album, Song, Music Video and Design categories were culled from thousands of submissions from North America, South America, Asia, Africa, Australia, Greenland and Europe.
Twenty-five years ago, Vicky and Guy Laliberte cast appraising eyes on Indian Wells and liked what they saw. Successful restaurateurs in Santa Fe, New Mexico, they envisioned recreating their Land of Enchantment experience in the Land of Eternal Sun and set about doing just that. They named their expansive and airy dining house Vicky's of Santa Fe and carefully crafted the ambience of its art filled courtyard, Saltillo tile floors, aged wood plank ceilings, American Native-themed copper lamps, and a grand piano lounge for live music.
Today we are talking to a Broadway leading lady making a major mark in the gender-bending role of Yitzhak in the new Broadway production of John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask's masterful rock musical HEDWIG & THE ANGRY INCH starring Neil Patrick Harris, the affable and idiosyncratically alluring Lena Hall. Discussing sharing the stage with NPH in the raucous and wild rock showpiece, Hall offers a vivid view of her participation in the Broadway iteration of the cult hit - ranging from polishing her vocals for a cover of Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" to donning a prosthetic penis and much more. Additionally, Hall opens up about the larger themes of the prescient and timely musical, as well as shares her affection for the rock, pop and punk sound the score so evocatively emulates and recreates. On that note, Hall also sheds some light on her other ongoing endeavor, as lead singer of the band The Deafening, and shares some of her favorite songs to sing at gigs around town - including an upcoming show at Arlene's Grocery later this week. As if that were not enough, Hall also looks back on some of her most fondly remembered roles to date, reflecting on her time spent in the corps of CATS and the lace-ups of KINKY BOOTS through to a new jukebox musical project featuring the music of iconic rock songwriter Holly Knight. All of that, throwback tales involving NPH and much, much more in this wide-ranging conversation with one of the most uniquely compelling Broadway stars of the new season.
San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus (SFGMC) joins nearly 400 exceptional self-released and independent label artists, as well as former major label acts named by Music Resource Group (MRG) as Nominees in The 13th Independent Music Awards (The IMAs), the influential awards program for independent bands and fans. SFGMC's original cast recording of 'I Am Harvey Milk' is nominated for 'Best Soundtrack/Cast Recording.' 'I Am Harvey Milk' is an emotional celebration of an American icon. Part choral work, part theater piece, it weaves the story of Harvey Milk's life - from boyhood to his rise as the first openly gay man to hold public office in California and to his untimely assassination.
With his soulful voice, trademark fedora and earthy, Southern manner, Michael Grimm charmed millions of viewers as a contestant on Season Five of NBC's popular America's Got Talent. Parlaying his substantial singer-songwriter appeal into a first-place finish, Michael took home the one-million-dollar prize and headlined the first-ever national America's Got Talent Tour. Now he's hitting the road with his Grimm's Fairytale Tour, which tells the rollercoaster story of his life in song. Opening for Grim is Austin's legendary Bill Carter.
With his soulful voice, trademark fedora and earthy, Southern manner, Michael Grimm charmed millions of viewers as a contestant on Season Five of NBC's popular America's Got Talent. Parlaying his substantial singer-songwriter appeal into a first-place finish, Michael took home the one-million-dollar prize and headlined the first-ever national America's Got Talent Tour. Now he's hitting the road with his Grimm's Fairytale Tour, which tells the rollercoaster story of his life in song. Opening for Grim is Austin's legendary Bill Carter.
This September, The Granada Theatre is striking the jazz and blues chords with two back-to-back performances within one week. The Granada Theatre is proud to welcome three well-known modern masters of the smooth jazz genre - Peter White, David Benoit, and David Pack. This triple bill will perform on Friday, September 13 at 8pm. The following Friday, September 20 at 8pm, Dr. John will take the stage and perform his New Orleans-style rhythm and blues. Lovers of contemporary jazz and psychedelic blues will not want to miss these incredible performances!
This summer, the Essential Theatre Festival is continuing its tradition of connecting local artists with the communities in which they live with their 2013 lineup:
The 5th Avenue Theatre presents Hairspray in Concert, featuring some of Seattle's favorite musical theatre stars and the powerful voices of the 250-member Seattle Men's Chorus.
The 5th Avenue Theatre has announced complete casting for Hairspray in Concert, featuring some of Seattle's favorite musical theatre stars and the powerful voices of the 250-member Seattle Men's Chorus. Celebrating the 10th anniversary of Hairspray's 2002 Broadway debut, this unique concert event will play for six very special performances of glorious and irreverent John Waters-inspired wackiness (Friday-Sunday, June 20-23). In 2002, Hairspray was The 5th Avenue Theatre's first world premiere musical to head for Broadway where it won the 2003 Tony Award for Best Musical and launched The 5th's unprecedented track record for sending new works to New York. Now the smash hit musical comes home, as audiences have never seen it before.
The emotional memory play 'Dancing at Lughnasa,' running through June 9th at Dunwoody's Stage Door Players, is alternately touching and harrowing. This bittersweet duality is due in large part to deep, layered performances by a skilled cast and the insightful direction of three-time Suzi Bass Award winning actress Tess Malis Kincaid. Even though the play's setting is thousands of miles and the better part of a century removed from present day Atlanta, each character, and their individual and collective struggles, seems remarkably contemporary. While the play, by Tony-winner Brian Friel, is not the traditional comic summer fare, its lighthearted moments, mixed in amongst heartbreak, are genuinely emotional.
Tom Griffin's 'THE BOYS NEXT DOOR' is a tricky script…its subject matter is a group home in the Boston area housing four mentally-challenged adult men; Arnold, Norman, Lucien and Barry. They have a caretaker, Jack, who lives offsite, and the play progresses through a series of vignettes illustrating the challenges of their everyday lives. As depressing as that may sound, the script has many comic moments, and it's a tightrope to balance the humor with the pathos. It was made into a mildly effective television movie in 1996 featuring Nathan Lane, Courtney B. Vance and Mare Winningham. I say 'mildly effective' because the play has an extra layer of difficulty in that the humor is generated by the plight of its characters…the audience laughs at the behavior and reactions of these damaged men, and without careful direction and acting skill, there could be guilt and self-loathing in the laughter rather than charm and warmth. The TV version fell victim to this, but STAGEright Theatre Company presents a beautiful rendering of the show under the direction of Jay D. Irwin.
Eminent artists, friends and peers of this year's seven honorees converged in Washington, D.C., on December 2, 2012 to present entertaining and heartfelt tributes at THE 35TH ANNUAL KENNEDY CENTER HONORS. Below, check out highlights of the special evening!
Kennedy Center Honoree David Letterman got personal with fellow recipients Led Zeppelin and Dustin Hoffman on CBS's LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN. Check out the clips below!
Eminent artists, friends and peers of this year's seven honorees converged in Washington, D.C., on December 2, 2012 to present entertaining and heartfelt tributes at THE 35TH ANNUAL KENNEDY CENTER HONORS, an entertainment special to be broadcast Wednesday, Dec. 26 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Get a sneak peek below!
The honorees included the surviving members of Led Zeppelin John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant; ballerina Martina Makarova, Dave Letterman, Dustin Hoffman and Buddy Guy. Check out photos outside of the stage door below!
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