Armed with twice the vocal power and awash with plenty of real, fiery chemistry, Broadway vets -- and real-life married couple -- Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley's romantically-themed cabaret showcase titled 'He Said/She Said' played to packed audiences at the Samueli Theater in Costa Mesa over Valentine's Day Weekend, February 14 - 16. The touring concert act was cheekily explained as the couple's true love story told via specially-selected tunes that span Broadway and the Great American Songbook.
Bay Area Cabaret presents the Bay Area concert debut of Britain's dazzling Elaine Paige. Dubbed 'The First Lady of Musical Theatre,' Ms. Paige will perform an evening of the career-defining showstoppers that earned her a place among Broadway and the West End's most treasured performers.
Cabaret Icon Michael Feinstein returns to the McCallum Theatre with 'The Sinatra Project,' for two performances - Friday, March 1 and Saturday, March 2 -- dedicated to the great Frank Sinatra. Michael reflects Sinatra's sensibility by interpreting the songs in conceptually different styles from Sinatra's own renditions. The results are fascinatingly unique and memorably beautiful. Billed 'The Sinatra Project', the concert is presented in two parts on these consecutive evenings. In the second concert, Michael reinterprets songs by such greats as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peggy Lee, and more. 'The second volume is really about Sinatra and his friends,' says Michael. 'It's about the people he influenced and who influenced him.'
I had the pleasure of attending the Teatro Lirico D'Europa MADAMA BUTTERFLY last evening at The McCallum Theatre and was once again swept away in Puccini's exquisite score and timeless love story. The vocalists were stellar; every one - everything else in the production was a little sub-par. Even though the singers were truly thrilling, their characters were cold and distant and it was difficult to find any empathy for them - except what was inherent in the score itself. But, even with its deficits, it was a wonderful way to spend an evening in the theatre.
Edward Watts will star as Superman in the New York City Center Encores! production of It's a Bird…It's a Plane…It's Superman, runningMarch 20- 24 at City Center. Stay tuned for the identities of the actors portraying Lois Lane, the evil Dr. Sedgwick and other inhabitants of the city of Metropolis.
Live From Lincoln Center presents 'Kristin Chenoweth: The Dames of Broadway…All of 'Em!!!', a specially conceived concert for Lincoln Center's 2013 American Songbook series, which salutes the great roles for leading ladies and the sidekick scene stealers from an array of Broadway composers and lyricists, creating a performance that promises to be at once intimate and filled with her trademark 'razzle dazzle.' 'Kristin Chenoweth: The Dames of Broadway…All of 'Em!!!' is hosted by Live From Lincoln Center series host Audra McDonald and will air on PBS stations on Sunday, March 24, at 8 p.m. (ET) (check local listings).
Today we are talking to a tremendously successful recording artist and performer who has won the hearts of millions with his five best-selling studio albums and chart-topping songs, as well as with his copious concert appearances and theatrical endeavors - the charming and immensely gifted Josh Groban. Analyzing all aspects of this evening's Fathom live concert event - available to view in select cities nationwide at 7:30 PM - Groban and I shine a light on what we can expect from the unprecedented concert showcase (including a live Q&A) as well as what songs culled from his vast oeuvre we can anticipate enjoying. Also, Groban opens up about the inspiration, song selection process, recording and refining of his new album, ALL THAT ECHOES, and shares stories and insights into his previous efforts, as well. Plus, Groban shares his enthusiasm for CHESS and recounts backstage stories of his participation in two legendary presentations of the iconic 1980s rock opera - including cast-mates like Idina Menzel, Kerry Ellis, Adam Pascal, Sutton Foster, Raul Esparza and many more - and reveals his desire to pursue doing the show again in the future. Additionally, Groban and I discuss his appearances on GLEE and THE OFFICE, the possibility of a Broadway show in the near future, his affection for the music of Stephen Sondheim and much, much more in this career-spanning chat!
Eric Michael Gillett's Careless Rhapsody: An Evening Dedicated to the Lyrics of Lorenz Hart, will play 54 Below, tonight, February 4 at 7pm, February 7 at 9:30pm and February 26 & 27 at 7pm.
Broadway legend Barbara Cook returns to Segerstrom Center to celebrate her 85th birthday year with a performance in the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall on Saturday April 13 at 8 p.m.
Now, Disney Theatrical Productions has confirmed that Aladdin, a new musical based on the Academy Award winning animated film, will play its pre-Broadway engagement at Toronto's Ed Mirvish Theatre(formerly the Canon) November 13, 2013 to January 12, 2014 and will open at Broadway's New Amsterdam Theatre in 2014. The show will feature music by Alan Menken; lyrics by the late Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Chad Beguelin with a book by Beguelin. Casey Nicholaw will direct and choreograph.
You don't have to travel all the way to NYC in order to hear songs from theatre, jazz, Great American and International Song Books and classical stages performed by award-winning singers & instrumentalists. At Classic Quiche in Teaneck, NJ on the last Friday of each month, through November, Broadway Concerts Direct presents top performers in a cozy, intimate salon type setting, with an eclectic mix of musical styles and delicious food. -- All in one evening! "Imported" by Broadway Concerts Direct producer, John Hiller, BCD is hoping to turn this into an ongoing Salon series of musical treasures.
In the Paramount's production, directed and choregraphed by Rachel Rockwell, the show lives and breathes in the very music that a con man and flim-flam artist, "Professor Harold Hill," uses to sell band instruments, uniforms and instruction booklets to the parents of young boys he knows he cannot really teach. Music is everywhere,...
As a kid growing up in the Philippines, I remember being completely enamored by the incredibly talented Lea Salonga, one of my native country's premier superstars. Much to my delight, this Tony Award-winning international star agreed to answer a series of silly, rapid-fire questions from me before her cabaret concert appearance on January 19 at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa.
On September 25, award-winning guitarist JESSE COOK, who has sold over a million albums during the course of his recording career, released his eighth studio album, The Blue Guitar Sessions. Cook's independently produced television special 'Jesse Cook - Live in Concert' airs this fall on Public Television stations throughout the U.S., and he will embark on a five-month U.S. tour beginning this January, in over 60 markets.
On Saturday January 12 and Sunday January 13 internationally renowned Cabaret pianist/singer Steve Ross, who has been called the 'Crown Prince of Cabaret', brought one of his many evenings of song The Music of Fred Astaire called Puttin' On the Ritz to Vitello's Upstairs in Studio City. Ross began his career, some forty years ago, primarily as a pianist, at Ted Hook's Backstage in New York. With no singing experience, he thrust himself into the spotlight singing at the piano, developing his unmatched, uncanny style of song and repartee... and the rest is history.
Legendary singer-actress Lainie Kazan and versatile performer Maurice Hines will be honored, along with 16 others, at the 28th Annual Bistro Awards gala, which recognizes outstanding achievement in New York cabaret, jazz, and comedy. The celebration will take place on Monday, March 4 at Gotham Comedy Club, 208 West 23rd Street (between 7th & 8th avenues).
Eric Michael Gillett's Careless Rhapsody: An Evening Dedicated to the Lyrics of Lorenz Hart, will play 54 Below, February 4 at 7pm, February 7 at 9:30pm and February 26 & 27 at 7pm.
Making it on Broadway is one thing - but staying on Broadway is quite another. Four Broadway legends - Joel Grey, Barbara Cook, Sheldon Harnick and Mary Rodgers - visit 92Y on Monday, Jan. 21 to share unique and intimate insights on how they endured as entertainers over the long haul, and how they remain active and relevant in their octogenarian years. The talk, moderated by WNYC's Leonard Lopate, is part of 92Y's ongoing "Relevant Octogenarians" series. It also includes Dennis S. Charney, M.D., Dean of Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and co-author of the new book, Resilience. Dan Kaplan, former 92Y Board Chairman and President who has produced many 92Y galas, is the event's producer and the creator of the "Relevant Octogenarians" series.
The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. This week: Our TOP TEN HOT TOPIX for the second half of 2012!!
