Aretha Franklin News

Musical director Rickey Minor (American Idol, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno), Stevie Wonder and friends take the Hollywood Bowl on a tour of soul sounds across cultures, genres and generations, Sunday, July 24, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. as part of the KCRW World Festival series.

Town Hall Theater began a tradition a few years back with Middlebury Does Motown, in which the best local singers and musicians got together to play through the Motown songbook.

As a super-special Spring extension of BroadwayWorld's SOUND OFF column, every day until the Tony Awards on June 12 we will be presenting a spectacular new entry in the SPOTLIGHT ON THE 2011 TONY AWARDS series featuring a particularly entertaining, interesting, relevant and exciting Tony Awards-related clip from the last sixty-three years of the ceremonies (and subsequent seasons on Broadway) with a rundown and commentary on the sights, sounds and showmanship on display in each carefully chosen selection - all, of course, coming in anticipation of Broadway's biggest night, which will be broadcast on CBS this year, as always. Once again this year, BroadwayWorld is the official home of the 2011 Tony Awards and we will also be featuring exclusive interviews, articles, photos, video content, interactive features and more in the coming days and weeks leading up to the event so be sure to check back daily for your theatre fix!

Disco and R&B singer Melba Moore is recording a new album, 'Forever Moore,' for Universal Motown this summer, according to the NY Post. The album will be her first in almost 20 years.

Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts announces its entire 2011 summer season, featuring 99 performances at the majestic Filene Center amphitheater, eight evenings of opera at The Barns at Wolf Trap, and 70 performances at Wolf Trap's Children's Theatre-in-the-Woods.

Kristin Chenoweth is one of Broadway's biggest standout exports since Barbra Streisand. It used to be that Broadway actors would go to LA for pilot season and very often come home empty handed. Ever since her first appearance on Broadway in STEEL PIER, the Kander & Ebb musical, directed by Scott Ellis with choreography by Susan Stroman, the girl hasn't stopped. It was WICKED that threw her fully into the mainstream and she didn't even win the Tony that year.

The Official Blues Brothers Revue is coming to the Omaha Community Playhouse August 12-21, 2011. Starring Wayne Catania as Jake, Kieron Lafferty as Elwood and XXX as Aretha Franklin, The Official Blues Brothers Revue is the only Blues Brothers show to be officially sanctioned by Dan Aykroyd and wife of the late John Belushi, Judith Belushi.

French Artist Oriane Hazan, best known to the industry and friends as "Oriane," brings her powerful voice to the studio with famed Grammy Award winning maestro Walter Afanasieff and British producer Tom Nichols (All Saints, Celine Dion, Hall & Oats, and Kylie Minogue).

The Associated Press has released a detail of the celebrity farewell to Oprah, which will air on May 23 and May 24, just before the last Oprah Winfrey Show airs on May 25. On hand to pay tribute to the queen of daytime talk was the segment's host, Tom Hanks, Jerry Seinfeld who performed a routine, Madonna, Tom Cruise, Halle Berry, Beyonce, John Legend, Patti LaBelle and mroe. Aretha Franklin sang Amazing Grace and stage and small screen favorite Kristin Chenoweth led a performance of Wicked's For Good. As she performed, nearly 300 Morehouse College scholarship students, endorced by Oprah in one of her many charity endeavors, walked the aisles of the United Center where the event was being filmed. Simon Cowell was also on hand and Rosie O'Donnell additionally performed a Broadway-inspired number.

In the tradition of Middlebury Does Rock and Roll and Middlebury Does Woodstock, terrific local musicians return with hits by Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Gladys Knight, the Jackson Five, the Temptations and more.

Legends in Concert® (http://www.LegendsinConcert.com) Myrtle Beach officials have announced the summer lineup for the leading tribute artist show.

The Associated Press has released a detail of the celebrity farewell to Oprah, which will air on May 23 and May 24, just before the last Oprah Winfrey Show airs on May 25. On hand to pay tribute to the queen of daytime talk was the segment's host, Tom Hanks, Jerry Seinfeld who performed a routine, Madonna, Tom Cruise, Halle Berry, Beyonce, John Legend, Patti LaBelle and mroe. Aretha Franklin sang Amazing Grace and stage and small screen favorite Kristin Chenoweth led a performance of Wicked's For Good. As she performed, nearly 300 Morehouse College scholarship students, endorced by Oprah in one of her many charity endeavors, walked the aisles of the United Center where the event was being filmed. Simon Cowell was also on hand and Rosie O'Donnell additionally performed a Broadway-inspired number.

The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park celebrates the fabulous girl groups and female singers of the 1960s as U.S. Bank presents the rafter-raising musical tribute, BEEHIVE.

Ford's Theatre Society will host its annual gala on Sunday, June 5, 2011, at Ford's Theatre (511 10th Street NW) followed by a seated dinner at the National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian American Art Museum (750 Ninth Street NW).

In a few weeks, Shadowbox Live will open its annual greatest hits production that reprises audience favorite songs and sketches from the last season, The Best of Shadowbox Live 2011.

Legends in Concert® (http://www.LegendsinConcert.com) Myrtle Beach officials have announced the summer lineup for the leading tribute artist show.

ESSENCE is proud to announce that multi-platinum selling, chart- topping, Grammy award-winning powerhouse USHER will headline the 2011 ESSENCE MUSIC FESTIVAL being held July 1, 2, and 3 in New Orleans.

The Associated Press has released a detail of the celebrity farewell to Oprah, which will air on May 23 and May 24, just before the last Oprah Winfrey Show airs on May 25. On hand to pay tribute to the queen of daytime talk was the segment's host, Tom Hanks, Jerry Seinfeld who performed a routine, Madonna, Tom Cruise, Halle Berry, Beyonce, John Legend, Patti LaBelle and mroe. Aretha Franklin sang Amazing Grace and stage and small screen favorite Kristin Chenoweth led a performance of Wicked's For Good. As she performed, nearly 300 Morehouse College scholarship students, endorced by Oprah in one of her many charity endeavors, walked the aisles of the United Center where the event was being filmed. Simon Cowell was also on hand and Rosie O'Donnell additionally performed a Broadway-inspired number.

Diane Warren, considered the most prolific and successful songwriter of our time, will present Due Voci: The Music of Diane Warren on interactive, multichannel retailer HSN during a LIVE one-hour primetime special of her greatest hits on HSN on Thursday, June 2 at 11p.m. (EDT).

Jacob's Pillow Dance, recent recipient of a prestigious National Medal of Arts, announces its full 2011 Festival calendar, including more than 120 ticketed performances and 200 free events, performances, talks, exhibits, and tours.