Cole Porter News

Today in 1955, Silk Stockings opened at the Imperial Theatre, where it ran for 478 performances. Silk Stockings is a musical with a book by George S. Kaufman, Leueen MacGrath, and Abe Burrows and music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The musical is loosely based on the Melchior Lengyel story Ninotchka and the 1939 film adaptation it inspired. It ran on Broadway in 1955. This was the last musical that Porter wrote for the stage.

The Oakland East Bay Symphony and Music Director/Conductor Michael Morgan will continue their 25th anniversary season with a concert featuring the world premiere of Bay Area composer-pianist-vocalist Mary Fineman's song cycle, It's About Love, featuring guest vocalist Wesla Whitfield, and the Symphony's Young Artist Competition winner Matthew Linaman performing Bloch's Schelomo tonight, February 21, 2014.

The Hershey Symphony Orchestra will whisk you away from the winter winds to a warm summer night when it heats up the stage with its 'South of the Border' concert, tonight, February 21, 2014 at 8 p.m. at the Hershey Theatre.

As the classic Cole Porter musical sings, 'Another Opening, Another Show,' Arizona Broadway Theatre (ABT) is set to open another crowd-pleasing spectacle with Kiss Me, Kate on February 28. First produced on the ABT stage in 2002, this production of one of Broadway's greatest treasures will be onstage for the ABT revival through March 23. Tickets can be purchased now at azbroadway.org or by calling the ABT box office at (623) 776-8400. Check out just-released promo shots below!

El próximo viernes 21 de febrero, el actor y cantante Paco Arrojo se unirá a Natalia Millán, Marta Valverde y Alberto Vázquez en su espectáculo '¿Hacemos un trío? Algo más que un cabaret'. Será en el Teatro Infanta Isabel de Madrid, en la función de las 23h.

FST's Court Cabaret heats up with TOO DARN HOT tonight, February 19, and will run through June 7, 2014. The show is developed by Richard Hopkins, Jim Prosser, and Rebecca Hopkins.

The 9th Annual Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival (TOsketchfest) has added to the stellar 2014 festival line up with Sh**ting Rainbows by one of Canada's top comedians, Gavin Crawford, on Monday, March 10 at Randolph Theatre. Sh**ting Rainbows features many new characters and impressions, including Gavin's astounding one-man Downton Abbey, Heterosexual spokesman Hugh Jackman, a special message from our premier Kathleen Wynne, Rufus Wainwright's ode to Luminato, Cole Porter's grindr, Future Rob Ford, and much more!

The first glimpse of Liza Minnelli on stage caused the audience to leap to their feet and heap on the kind of applause usually reserved for encores.

On the heels of their one-year wedding anniversary, distinguished entertainers Christine Reisner-Rebic (an international cabaret chanteuse and dancer) and Don Rebic (Broadway and cabaret musical director and composer) will join forces for the New York City debut of their first full-length cabaret act as a duo. 'Look Who's in Love' features their original songs as well as songs by veteran Broadway composer Albert Hague (Christine's uncle) and timeless jazzy standards by Irving Berlin, Jule Styne, Jimmy Van Heusen, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. The show is directed by Michael Bush. The performance is set for Wednesday, February 19, 2014 at The Laurie Beechman Theatre at the West Bank Cafe, 407 West 42nd Street (at 9th Avenue), NYC. TICKETS: $20 cover charge ($15 for MAC members) plus a $15 food/beverage minimum. RESERVATIONS: 212-695-6909 or www.LaurieBeechmanTheatre.com.

St. James Studio has announced its March 2014 events and performances. Details below!

Whether you are looking for a girls' night out or some romantic time together, Valentine Pops is the perfect choice! John Pagano, a modern age singer who performs well-known standards with a freshness and unique style all his own, performs with the Stockton Symphony tonight, February 15, at 6:00 p.m. at the Atherton Auditorium on the San Joaquin Delta College campus in Stockton. The performance is repeated again on Sunday, February 16, at 2:30 p.m.

Birdland Jazz Club's March 2014 schedule will feature Quest: with Dave Liebman, Richie Beirach, Ron McClure & Billy Hart, Billy Hart Quartet, Kevin Mahogany, Cheyenne Jackson; Now This: with Gary Peacock, Marc Copland & Joey Baron, Bill Charlap Trio, Jim Caruso's Cast Party, Billy Stritch; and more! Check out full details below!

Toronto repertory theater company Soulpepper kicked off its inaugural Salon Series lastnight with an exploration of the music from pre and post-war Germany and its influence on the Great White Way.

As the classic Cole Porter musical sings, 'Another Opening, Another Show,' Arizona Broadway Theatre (ABT) is set to open another crowd-pleasing spectacle with Kiss Me, Kate on February 28.

After sell-out seasons in New York, Sydney, Hong Kong, Hobart, Auckland, Perth and Edinburgh Fringe where he earned five stars, Jersey Boys star Michael Griffiths will be back in Adelaide with not one but two shows during the 2014 Adelaide Fringe Festival performing at Le Cascadeur in the Garden of Unearthly Delights.

Hotel Nikko and Michael Feinstein will welcome renowned San Francisco Bay Area jazz vocalist, Paula West, to Feinstein's at the Nikko for a four-week engagement - tonight, February 13 - March 9, 2014.

Marin County Singer, Actor, and Writer Noah Griffin is pleased to announce the establishment of The Cole Porter Society, a non-profit organization that aims to preserve the musical legacy of Cole Porter by working with music departments in schools and universities to introduce students to the composer and the importance of his music to the shaping and understanding of American culture. A concert celebrating the new non-profit, An Evening of Cole Porter, will take place on Friday, February 28 at 8pm at the Barn Theater, 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd, Ross, CA 94957. Ticket prices for this inaugural benefit concert are $50 general admission ($25 of which is tax-deductible) and can be purchased through Brown Paper Tickets www.brownpapertickets.com/event/567203 . For more information call 415-421-6272. Proceeds from this event will benefit The Cole Porter Society and Ross Valley Players. www.noahgriffin.com

Coming up this week, 54 BELOW, the performance venue located just below the legendary Studio 54 at 254 West 54th Street, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz and beyond:

Today we are talking to a legendary leading lady famous for a few of the most iconic roles in some of the most memorable musicals of the 1980s and 1990s as well as a versatile vocalist and concert performer set to make her cabaret debut later this month - the ingratiating and amusing Randy Graff. Looking back at originating the role of Fantine in the original Broadway production of mega-hit mega musical LES MISERABLES and singing the unforgettable 'I Dreamed A Dream' eight times a week (and on the best-selling cast recording) as well as recounting her Tony Award-winning work in the endlessly entertaining Cy Coleman/David Zippel musical comedy CITY OF ANGELS, Graff share stories from behind the scenes and gives us a rare look at theatrical history in the making and her elemental role in both productions. Additionally, Graff opens up about some of her other most fondly remembered work, including her fantastic turn in Ed Kleban's A CLASS ACT, William Finn's FALSETTOS, Cole Porter's HIGH SOCIETY, the stage play and documentary MOON OVER BUFFALO co-starring Carol Burnett, the most recent revival of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF and much more. Most importantly, Graff generously outlines what we can expect from her upcoming solo shows at NYC hotspot 54 Below titled MADE IN BROOKLYN, in what will actually be the stalwart star's solo show premiere. In addition to all of that, Graff also touches upon some of her big screen and small screen work, ranging from LAW & ORDER to RENT, as well as recounts some theatrical tales involving theatre greats such as Stephen Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein, John Simon and more. All of that and much, much more awaits in this rich resume recounting retrospective with one of Broadway's best!