Barbara Cook News

The Major League Baseball All-Star break (the game is on Tuesday night) has always been considered the midpoint of the season and as a lifelong fan I've always enjoyed reading those analyses from writers that assess the best performances of the first half. Since July is also the middle of the calendar year, I thought it might be fun to present a cabaret equivalent of a baseball midseason report. So . . . (drum roll) . . . presenting the Best (and My Favorite) 20 New York Cabaret Shows and Performances of (the first half) of 2013.

Fresh off the heels with rave reviews for his conducting debut with the Pasadena POPS, Michael Feinstein returns to lead the orchestra in a performance celebrating the legendary films of MGM. Michael Feinstein's MGM Movie Classics tonight, July 13 features rare and stunning arrangements from the golden age of the silver screen, and the orchestra will be joined by guest vocalists Ron Raines, Christine Ebersole, the cast of Hollywood Revisited, and the Debbie Allen Dance Academy Tap Ensemble.

Bay Area Cabaret presents Tony Award nominee Norm Lewis in his West Coast concert debut. A commanding yet affable presence, Lewis took Broadway by storm, starring opposite Audra McDonald in the highly-acclaimed The Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. His performance brought the singer/actor critical praise, as well as Best Leading Actor nominations for the Tony, Drama Desk, Drama League, and Outer Critics Circle Awards.

Pasadena Symphony Association President Diane Rankin and Chief Executive Officer Paul Jan Zdunek today announced the extension of Principal Pops Conductor Michael Feinstein's contract through 2016. His current contract was for a 1-year term, but fresh off the heels with rave reviews for his conducting debut to capacity crowds on June 1st, the leadership of the Pasadena Symphony Association immediately offered Feinstein a multi-year contract extension. The decision represents a confident commitment to Feinstein and support for his vision for the Pasadena POPS Summer Concert Series at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden.

Bay Area Cabaret, devoted to presenting audiences with top performers who expand the definition of cabaret, enters its 10th season this fall with a gala series at the Fairmont San Francisco's historic Venetian Room. To celebrate this significant milestone, Bay Area Cabaret presents a star-studded lineup of performers making their Bay Area Cabaret debuts, as well as the return of a few favorites from the past decade. Opening the season Saturday, September 21, 2013 with a bang is Broadway's Megan Hilty, known to millions as the powerhouse 'Bombshell' on NBC's television program Smash. The season continues October 20, 2013 with Tony nominee Norm Lewis (The Gershwin's Porgy and Bess) and November 10, 2013 with 'America's romantic piano sensation,' multi-platinum selling recording artist Jim Brickman, joined by special guest Broadway heartthrob David Burnham.

Fresh off the heels with rave reviews for his conducting debut with the Pasadena POPS, Michael Feinstein returns to lead the orchestra in a performance celebrating the legendary films of MGM. Michael Feinstein's MGM Movie Classics on Saturday, July 13 features rare and stunning arrangements from the golden age of the silver screen, and the orchestra will be joined by guest vocalists Ron Raines, Christine Ebersole, the cast of Hollywood Revisited, and the Debbie Allen Dance Academy Tap Ensemble.

Tonight, June 22 at 8:30pm and Sunday, June 23 at 4pm, Caramoor kicks off the 68th Summer Festival with its first ever Broadway production, She Loves Me. Joining the cast will be John Cullum, Ryan Silverman, Brad Oscar, Etai BenShlomo and Jonathan Freeman. Michele Lynch will choreograph.

Five-time Tony Award-winner Audra McDonald was honored in Chicago on Monday, June 17, by the Sarah Siddons Society's 2013 award. Scroll down for new photos of her at the event!

Five-time Tony Award-winning Broadway royalty Audra McDonald was feted on Monday night in Chicago when she was honored by the Sarah Siddons Society and presented with their 2013 award.

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. 'The Jungle Book' opens, Audra and Sondheim visit, Stephen Wallem's St. Louis 'Shrek,' Make Music Chicago, 'The Land Of Smiles,' the Auditorium's cabaret series, Idina in Aurora and more!

The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel has announced the line-up of performers for the upcoming fall and winter seasons at the legendary Cafe Carlyle. The Cafe Carlyle will host Sutton Foster, Clint Holmes, Judy Collins, John Pizzarelli & Jessica Molaskey, and Steve Tyrell for back to back engagements from September into December.

Bay Area Cabaret concluded its 2012-2013 season by honoring the memory and legendary career of composer Marvin Hamlisch on June 2, 2013. Selections from his work (A Chorus Line, The Way We Were, They're Playing Our Song) were performed by special guests, including Broadway stars Lisa Vroman (The Phantom of the Opera, Sweeney Todd) and Karen Mason (Mamma Mia!, Sunset Boulevard), Grammy Award winner Billy Stritch, 2012 Bay Area Teen Idol winner Bobby Conte Thornton, Academy Award-winning songwriters Alan and Marilyn Bergman, and more. Scroll down for photos from the celebration!

Single tickets to the 2013-2014 Texas Performing Arts season go on sale Friday, June 14th. In celebration, tickets to all season performances will be discounted for one day only. From midnight - 11:59 p.m. on Friday, June 14th, single tickets to all 2013-2014 season performances will be priced at 15% off face value. Tickets will be available at all authorized ticket outlets, which include the Bass Concert Hall Box Office, most H-E-B stores and all Texas Box Office outlets, online at www.texasperformingarts.org, or by calling (512) 477-6060 or (800) 982-BEVO.

About a third of the way into Tony Award-winner Faith Prince's new show at 54 Below last Wednesday night (the second of a five-show run over six days), it hit me that I could be watching a potential future cabaret legend in action. You know, in the Barbara Cook, Marilyn Maye, Andrea Marcovicci, Ann Hampton Callaway category. I felt Prince's new effort--'Have a Little Faith'--was one of the few shows I've seen at 54 Below--especially from a Broadway star--that was a true 'cabaret show' in the way most people define cabaret.

Today we are concluding BroadwayWorld's 2013 Tony Awards Clip Countdown with a special spotlight focused on Broadway's favorite leading lady, who continues to provide inspiration for divas new and old nearly fifty years after her Broadway debut, the one and only Liza Minnelli.

Bay Area Cabaret will conclude its 2012-2013 season by honoring the memory and legendary career of composer Marvin Hamlisch. Selections from his work (A Chorus Line, The Way We Were, They're Playing Our Song) will be performed by special guests including Broadway stars Lisa Vroman (The Phantom of the Opera, Sweeney Todd) and Karen Mason (Mamma Mia!, Sunset Boulevard), Grammy Award winner Billy Stritch, 2012 Bay Area Teen Idol winner Bobby Conte Thornton, Academy Award-winning songwriters Alan and Marilyn Bergman, and other guest artists to be announced. Having performed with Bay Area Cabaret for the grand re-opening of the Venetian Room in 2010, Mr. Hamlisch will always hold a special place in Bay Area Cabaret's history. This tribute to his legacy will take place on the late composer's 69th birthday, tonight, June 2, 2013, at 8pm in the historic Venetian Room of the Fairmont San Francisco (950 Mason Street). Tickets ($75 - $100) are available at www.bayareacabaret.org or by phone at City Box Office (415) 392-4400.

Charles Zukow Associates (CZA), a San Francisco-based public relations and marketing firm, announced today the addition of four new clients to their diverse roster throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. With years of experience managing public relations for a range of arts, entertainment, lifestyle and nonprofit clients that includeSteve Silver's Beach Blanket Babylon, American Conservatory Theater, Meals On Wheels of San Francisco, and San Francisco General Hospital Foundation, Charles Zukow Associates is proud to now be representing a vast array of new clients, including Oprah's new favorite tea, DAVIDsTEA, the highly anticipated nightclub venue Feinstein's at the Nikko, Mick Berry's one-man show Keith Moon: The Real Me and the North Bay's Wells Fargo Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa.

On Saturday, June 22 at 8:30pm and Sunday, June 23 at 4pm, Caramoor kicks off the 68th Summer Festival with its first ever Broadway production, She Loves Me. Joining the cast will be John Cullum, Ryan Silverman, Brad Oscar, Etai BenShlomo and Jonathan Freeman. Michele Lynch will choreograph.

New Dramatists, Tony Honor recipient and the nation's premiere playwright development workshop, just honored entertainment lawyer and New Dramatists Chairman of the Board Seth Gelblum with their 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award at its 64th Annual Spring Luncheon tribute, earlier today, May 21 at the New York Marriott Marquis. Among those performing tributes were Tony Award nominee Keith Carradine (Hands on a Hardbody, The Will Rogers Follies) and Tony Award winner Tonya Pinkins (Caroline, or Change; Jelly's Last Jam). The event co-chairs are Roger Berlind, Roy Furman, and Barry and Fran Weissler. BroadwayWorld brings you photos from the festivities below!

New Dramatists, Tony Honor recipient and the nation's premiere playwright development workshop, has announced that they will honor entertainment lawyer and New Dramatists Chairman of the Board Seth Gelblum with their 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award at its 64th Annual Spring Luncheon tribute, to be held today, May 21 at the New York Marriott Marquis. Among those performing tributes will be Tony Award nominee Keith Carradine (Hands on a Hardbody, The Will Rogers Follies) and Tony Award winner Tonya Pinkins (Caroline, or Change; Jelly's Last Jam). The event co-chairs are Roger Berlind, Roy Furman, and Barry and Fran Weissler.