Barbara Cook News

Ashley Brown, Broadway and Symphony Pops star, will be making her debut at Birdland tonight, November 19th at 7pm. Ashley's show Ashley Brown: Call Me Irresponsible will feature many of her favorite songs from Broadway and the American Songbook including selections from her PBS Special, which received a Telly Award. Yaron Gershovsky (Manhattan Transfer) will be her Music Director. Ashley's special guests will be Gavin Lee (Mary Poppins), Brad Haak & Emily Jones Ryan.

The York Theatre Company honors legendary Broadway Music Director and Conductor Paul Gemignani with the Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre at the 21st Annual Oscar Hammerstein Award Gala tonight, November 19, 2012 at The Edison Ballroom (240 West 47th Street).

The JazzTime Band swings with Band Members Don Shelton, Allen Goodman, Larry Holloway and Terry Trotter with new world-class guests that join the band each and every week.

Ashley Brown, Broadway and Symphony Pops star, will be making her debut at Birdland on Monday, November 19th at 7pm. Ashley's show Ashley Brown: Call Me Irresponsible will feature many of her favorite songs from Broadway and the American Songbook including selections from her PBS Special, which received a Telly Award. Yaron Gershovsky (Manhattan Transfer) will be her Music Director. Ashley's special guests will be Gavin Lee (Mary Poppins), Brad Haak & Emily Jones Ryan.

DRG Records announces the release of the cast recording of FORBIDDEN BROADWAY: ALIVE AND KICKING, The UN-Original Cast Album, produced by Hugh Fordin, andavailable on iTunes and in stores on November 27, 2012. The recording will be available for download for $9.99 on iTunes; individual tracks will be available for $.99 each. FORBIDDEN BROADWAY: ALIVE AND KICKING, The UN-Original Cast Album, is also available for pre-order on amazon.com for $14.99.

Tony® Award-winner George Hearn (La Cage Aux Folles, Scandoulous) joins the The York Theatre Company (James Morgan, Producing Artistic Director), to honor legendary Broadway Music Director and Conductor Paul Gemignani with the Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre at the 21st Annual Oscar Hammerstein Award Gala to be held next Monday, November 19, 2012 at The Edison Ballroom (240 West 47th Street).

Barbara Cook and the Los Angeles Philharmonic launch the 2012/13 Songbook Series at Walt Disney Concert Hall tonight, November 14 at 8:00 PM to celebrate the legendary Broadway lyric soprano's 85th birthday. For their first performance together at Walt Disney Concert Hall, Cook and the Los Angeles Philharmonic will explore the American songbook and timeless classics. The evening's performance also marks the first time the LA Phil performs a concert in the Songbook Series.

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) honors Broadway star and multiple time Tony Award and Drama Desk nominee Kelli O'Hara for her work in the theater at the NYMF 2012 Annual Gala taking place tonight, November 11th at The Hudson Theatre (145 W. 44th Street) beginning at 6:00pm.

In this week's edition of 'Regional Highlights of the Week', we bring you the most-read stories for the week of November 5. Sit back and catch up on all the latest theater happenings around the nation and the world!

The RRazz Room, San Francisco's premier nightclub, will present the Bay Area debut of "Jim Caruso's Cast Party" tonight, November 6 at 8:00 PM. "Jim Caruso's Cast Party" is a wildly popular weekly event that has been bringing a sprinkling of Broadway glitz and urbane wit to the legendary Birdland in New York City every Monday night for the past nine years. The hilariously impromptu evening has also been celebrating local talent across the country, in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, Cleveland, Austin, Orlando, Pittsburgh, and on the high seas.

Shana Farr, who last month won The Mabel Mercer Foundation's 2012 Julie Wilson Award as "a cabaret singer who is a rising star," has just completed her debut CD, titled Shana Farr: Out Of The Shadows , which will be introduced at a CD release party and performance at The Players Club, 16 Gramercy Park South, in New York City on Friday, November 30, at 9 PM. Ms. Farr is backed by a trio comprised of Music Director Jon Weber (piano), Adam Fisher (cello) and Dan Levinson (clarinet).

Kennedy Center Honoree Barbara Cook takes to the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall stage with a performance showcasing her silvery soprano voice tonight, November 3 at 8pm. In her first performance ever at the Meyerhoff, Ms. Cook will celebrate her 85th birthday through inspiring performances from jazz, swing and pop songs. Note: The BSO does not perform on this program. Please see below for complete program details.

The 2013 Lincoln Center American Songbook series has just been announced via the New York Times.

On the evening of October 27, 2012, an almost full-capacity house at Segerstrom Hall in Costa Mesa definitely had two reasons to celebrate: first, that five-time Grammy-nominated singer/composer Michael Feinstein is back in concert in Orange County; and, second, that he's brought with him an awesome, 17-piece big band to perform an enjoyable musical tribute to Frank Sinatra. The one-night-only concert -- part of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts' 2012-2013 Cabaret series -- didn't disappoint, bringing the O.C. an entertaining mixture of rousing jazz-swing numbers, heartfelt ballads, and amusingly-delivered historical facts about the legendary icon, with Feinstein serving as both charming lecturer and talented headliner all in the same breath.

Bay Area Cabaret kicks off its 2012-2013 season with Motown legend Mary Wilson, back for her first show in the historic Venetian room since performing there with the "Supremes" more than two decades ago.

Matthew Broderick (Nice Work If You Can Get It), Tony Danza ("Who's The Boss"), Kathleen Marshall (Nice Work If You Can Get It, The Pajama Game), Greg Naughton (Founder: Blue Light Theater Company), James Naughton (Chicago), Anthony Rapp (Rent), Tom Kitt (Next To Normal), Peter Cincotti (How Deep Is The Ocean) Eric Leviton (How Deep Is The Ocean), Lorinda Lisitza (Triumphant Baby!), and Michael Ogborn (Baby Case) and others to be announced will appear at the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) 2012 Annual Gala honoring Broadway star and multiple time Tony Award and Drama Desk nominee Kelli O'Hara on Sunday, November 11th at The Hudson Theatre (145 W. 44th Street) beginning at 6:00pm. Kelli is currently starring on Broadway in Nice Work If You Can Get It, and was seen on Broadway in South Pacific, The Pajama Game, The Light In The Piazza and many others.

A 2011 Kennedy Center honoree and one of popular music's greatest soprano voices, her impressive career spans over 50 years from Broadway ingenue to legendary recording artist. On Wednesday, November 7 at 7:30pm, join McCarter Theatre Center in celebrating Barbara Cook's 85th birthday through an awe-inspiring performance of Broadway and American Songbook classics.

Barbara Cook and the Los Angeles Philharmonic launch the 2012/13 Songbook Series at Walt Disney Concert Hall on Wednesday, November 14 at 8:00 PM to celebrate the legendary Broadway lyric soprano's 85th birthday. For their first performance together at Walt Disney Concert Hall, Cook and the Los Angeles Philharmonic will explore the American songbook and timeless classics. The evening's performance also marks the first time the LA Phil performs a concert in the Songbook Series.

Celebrating the American Spirit, performed by Essential Voices USA (EVUSA) and conducted by Judith Clurman along with guest artists, Broadway stars Kelli O'Hara and Ron Raines and composer-arranger Larry Hochman, represents an American songbook for the 21st century.

I've said it before, but it is hard to find a more perfect venue than The McCallum Theatre for just about any theatrical production of any genre. And it was great to be back, as The McCallum kicks off it's 25th Anniversary Season - a season that promises to feature something for everyone - from Howie Mandell to Jackie Evancho, from Rock of Ages to Beauty And The Beast to West Side Story, and from Barbara Cook and Michael Feinstein to Yo Yo Ma and Chris Botti. Last night The McCallum played host to a multi-media touring production called THIS IS THE 60's and it was a great "warm up act" for everything that will follow. For those who came back for the second half, after a somewhat "underwhelming" first Act (there was a minor exodus in the parking lot at intermission), it turned out to be a rousing evening or musical nostalgia that brought the crowd to their feet dancing in the aisles - literally.