Carole Bayer News

Grammy award winning singer and songwriter Melissa Manchester has done it all.  Her first singing job, as a solo singer/pianist in the clubs of New York, is where she met Bette Midler.  She was hired as a back-up singer for Bette, as one of the famous, “Harlettes,” and six months later, she had her own recording contract!

Singer Scott Coulter joins Sheena Easton at the San Francisco Symphony July 23 for a concert of favorite Spy film music. The concert will include both instrumental-only and vocal-accompanied hits from James Bond, Austin Powers and more. Other summer film-themed concerts this month include the new Star Trek film and Back to the Future July 16 - 20. Coulter talks about his cabaret career and what to expect from The Spy Who Loved Me concert in our interview.

Feinstein's at the Nikko will welcome Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and actress, Melissa Manchester, for two performances only - Tonight, July 10 (8 p.m.) and tomorrow, July 11 (7 p.m.).

The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra will begin its summer series at Riverbend Music Center's Corbett Pavilion tonight, June 6 at 8 p.m. with a special 'Broadway Sing-Along' featuring classic Broadway hits and inviting the audience to sing along.

When an accomplished Broadway composer connects with a talented young lyricist, their professional success seems like a sure thing.  But as the partnership gets personal, life gets complicated.  Join Pierrot Productions for the Neil Simon classic 'They're Playing Our Song,' coming to Mercer County Community College's (MCCC's) Kelsey Theatre Fridays, tonight, May 29 and June 5, 2015.

Feinstein's at the Nikko will welcome Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and actress, Melissa Manchester, for two performances only - Friday, July 10 (8 p.m.) and Saturday, July 11 (7 p.m.). Manchester will perform songs off her acclaimed new album, 'You Gotta Love the Life,' as well as some of her greatest hits.

The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra will begin its summer series at Riverbend Music Center's Corbett Pavilion on Saturday, June 6 at 8 p.m. with a special 'Broadway Sing-Along' featuring classic Broadway hits and inviting the audience to sing along.

When an accomplished Broadway composer connects with a talented young lyricist, their professional success seems like a sure thing.  But as the partnership gets personal, life gets complicated.  Join Pierrot Productions for the Neil Simon classic "They're Playing Our Song," coming to Mercer County Community College's (MCCC's) Kelsey Theatre Fridays, May 29 and June 5, 2015.

For a symphony concert appearance this past weekend, Melissa Errico was asked to add a new song to her program especially for that evening, a duet with baritone Stephen Buntrock (A Little Night Music, Phantom). It was the great Marvin Hamlisch tune 'They're Playing Our Song,' set in a disco. She was in rehearsal in NYC with pianist-arranger Phil Hall ten days ago when he said, 'Really, the disco dress she wore MADE that number, or maybe it was vice versa, but that dress was WOW.'

What They Did For Love: The Songs of Marvin Hamlisch and Burt Bacharach continues at the Quality Hill Playhouse, 303 W. 10th, through May 17. J. Kent Barnhart, Producing Artistic Director of the Playhouse, accompanies Melinda MacDonald, Tim Noland, and LeShea Wright, on piano and vocally. Barnhart emcees the production displaying his wit and sense of humor as he reveals often little known history about the songs and their creators.

It's almost inconceivable that Joshua Warr, one of the current cabaret scene's truest powerhouses since his award-nominated debut some seasons ago, is at once so young, so accomplished, so poised and confident, and so adept at bringing a true sense of artistic sensibility to the arena unseen since the glory days of such 1970s clubs as Reno Sweeney and The Grand Finale. But with his new show at 54 Below, he hits it out of the park at every turn.

Coming up this week, 54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz and beyond. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.54Below.com or call (646) 476-3551.

Emerging as a pop diva in the 1970s, Maureen McGovern has been somewhere on the scene for decades. She still has a powerful, well-honed instrument, sufficient to perform confident acapella. However, It's difficult to tell from her new 54 Below show, Sing, My Sisters, Sing! Celebrating Women Singer/Songwriters, whether the artist's range has vastly diminished or arrangements and rhythms, often unsympathetic to original tunes, are so similar as to make an otherwise diverse selection of songs homogeneous.

MILWAUKEE, WIS. 02/02/2015 – The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Pops presents One Singular Sensation: A Tribute to Marvin Hamlisch tonight, February 14, 2015 at 8:00 p.m. at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. The performance celebrates four decades of his magnificent contributions to music. Hamlisch, who wrote timeless music for both Broadway and film, won three Oscars, four Grammys, four Emmys, three Golden Globes, and a Tony in his lifetime. The concert features conductor Larry Blank with vocalists Donna McKechnie, Jodi Benson, and Doug LaBrecque.

Today in 1979, They're Plaing Our Song opened at the Imperial Theatre, where it ran for 1082 performances. With a book by Neil Simon, lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager, and music by Marvin Hamlisch, the musical is based on the real-life relationship of Hamlisch and Sager- a wisecracking composer finds a new, offbeat lyricist, but initially the match is not one made in heaven. The two undergo a series of trials and overcome a number of hurdles before finding true love by the final curtain. They're Playing Our Song is essentially a two-character show. Vernon and Sonia are the sole characters on stage; each character has a three-person Greek chorus acting as their inner voices, and there are no big production numbers.

Tonight we recount the sensational songs of Burt Bacharach as performed on tonight's fresh new episode of GLEE.

MILWAUKEE, WIS. 02/02/2015 – The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Pops presents One Singular Sensation: A Tribute to Marvin Hamlisch on February 14, 2015 at 8:00 p.m. at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. The performance celebrates four decades of his magnificent contributions to music. Hamlisch, who wrote timeless music for both Broadway and film, won three Oscars, four Grammys, four Emmys, three Golden Globes, and a Tony in his lifetime. The concert features conductor Larry Blank with vocalists Donna McKechnie, Jodi Benson, and Doug LaBrecque.

Jennifer Kranz, winner of LA's Next Great Stage Star 2014; and Stage Star top finalist Adrienne Visnic make their respective headlining debuts at Sterling's Upstairs November 16th and 23rd.

While more than 30 years have passed, Virginia Repertory Theatre at Hanover Tavern's current production shows that the musical stands the test of time.

Virginia Repertory Theatre announces the opening of They're Playing Our Song today, November 7 at Hanover Tavern, 13181 Hanover Courthouse Road. The show runs through Sunday, January 4.