George Gershwin News

???????AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, the most awarded new musical of 2015 and winner of four Tony Awards, will play Las Vegas' The Smith Center for a one week engagement April 11 - April 16, 2017.

The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts continues its star-packed 25th anniversary season in April 2017 with an amazing array of musical performances from Broadway to Motown, from classy Nat King Cole to classic Cole Porter, from piano masterpieces to Pokemon. Also, a soul searing drama (Judgment at Nuremberg) and a side-splitting comedy (Sex Tips for Straight Women from a Gay Man).

On April 1, 2017, R. Scott Williams will release 'An Odd Book: How the First Modern Pop Culture Reporter Conquered New York,' a biography of the life of Oscar Odd McIntyre, the first modern pop culture and entertainment reporter. It will be available on Amazon.com and through IngramSpark. As the highest-paid and most-read columnist of his era, Odd McIntyre achieved great fame and fortune in the early twentieth century. Raised in Gallipolis, Ohio, eventually he moved to New York and became close friends with many of the leading personalities of the day, including writers Edna Ferber, Ernest Hemingway, and F. Scott Fitzgerald; entertainers Fred Astaire, Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., Billie Burke, and Will Rogers; composers George Gershwin and Meredith Willson; actors Rudolph Valentino and Charlie Chaplin and many others. In his daily column, 'New York Day by Day,' and in national magazines like Cosmopolitan and Life, Odd captured a time and place undergoing great transition and innovation in communication, politics, art and entertainment. As the country shifted from the Gilded Age to the Progressive Era and through the Great Depression, new technologies and methods of communication were being quickly adopted around the world, as were new ideas regarding journalism and the role of media in American politics and society. Odd, living and writing in New York, was at the epicenter of this new modern age. 'Odd documented the stories of what was happening backstage and behind the scenes with popular culture around the world,' said Williams, who is the chief operating officer of the Newseum in Washington, D.C. 'Odd was there as the telegraph changed the news business, and then as radio changed everything. He covered live entertainment as it shifted from vaudeville to something new and exciting on Broadway, and he had a literal front-row seat as moving pictures evolved first to nickelodeons, then to silent films, and finally to talkies.' As a young journalist and editor in Ohio, Odd was one of the very first reporters to interview the Wright brothers in Dayton, and he worked side by side with early muckrakers to fight government corruption in Cincinnati. After moving to New York and working briefly as an assistant editor for Hampton's Magazine, he got a job as a Park Row newspaper reporter. One of his first assignments was interviewing Titanic survivors as they stepped onto the pier in New York. Later, McIntyre began working for music publisher Leo Feist on Tin Pan Alley, promoting songwriters, vaudeville and Broadway performers, musicians, and 'song pluggers.' His success there led to many years as the press agent for Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., where he got to know many of the most popular performers of the day. In Paris, he became friends with F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and others who came to be known as the 'Lost Generation,' while back in New York, he had a long-time feud with members of the group known as the 'Algonquin Round Table.' His experience and connections in New York allowed him and his biggest champion, his wife Maybelle McIntyre, to start a daily column that they mailed from their small New York apartment to newspapers around the country. Eventually, Odd's column grew to reach more than seven million readers each day, making him a media superstar. In his 1938 obituary, a reporter for The New York Times wrote, 'His greatest stock-in-trade was his incarnate rapture at the glories of a New York recognizable to none but himself. To him the towers of Manhattan were studded with minarets and the neon lights of Broadway flickered like jewels.' Only Odd's wife and closest friends knew his biggest secret. Throughout adulthood, he struggled with social anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder and severe depression that were likely brought on by undiagnosed pernicious anemia. Despite the extroverted 'man-about-town' image he projected to the world, his disorder eventually drove him to a reclusive lifestyle. He left his home only at night, and observed New York's nightlife from the window of his chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce. A special launch event will take place on Saturday, April 22, 2017 at the Ariel-Ann Carson Dater Performing Arts Centre in Odd's hometown of Gallipolis, Ohio where The Ohio Valley Symphony will perform Meredith Willson's 'O.O. McIntyre Suite.' In anticipation of the book, Williams has also launched several social media initiatives to help the public learn more about Odd McIntyre and his work. Photos of the people, places and pop culture icons that Odd covered in his daily column will be featured at Instagram.com/ anoddbook, and short excerpts from Odd's articles will be shared on Twitter.com/anoddbook. Williams noted, 'Because Odd's writing style frequently included short, cleverly written sentences, they still resonate remarkably well today in the 140-character Twitter format.' Additional content about Odd McIntyre and 'An Odd Book' will be shared on YouTube and at Facebook.com/anoddbook. Links to these social network accounts, along with much more information about Odd McIntyre and the book launch, can be found at AnOddBook.com. About R. Scott Williams R. Scott Williams is the author of 'An Odd Book: How the First Modern Pop Culture Reporter Conquered New York,' available April 1 on Amazon.com and through IngramSpark. Williams is the chief operating officer and senior vice president of sales and marketing at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. Williams earned his degree in journalism from the University of Memphis. He then held positions at several advertising agencies and organizations, including Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. He currently serves on the board of the D.C. chapter of the American Advertising Federation and on the board of the Historical Society of Washington, D.C. He lives with his wife and daughters in historic Arlington, Va. Passionate about discovering and sharing forgotten stories from the past, in his spare time he explores the history of the American South, especially around his home in West Tennessee. His first book was 'The Forgotten Adventures of Richard Halliburton: From Tennessee to Timbuktu.' High-resolution photos available on the book's press page at AnOddBook.com/press.

Laguna Playhouse Artistic Director Ann E. Wareham is thrilled to announce the fourth show in the Laguna Playhouse 2016-2017 season, Hershey Felder as OUR GREAT TCHAIKOVSKY, written  by Hershey Felder, music by Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and directed by Trevor Hay. "This might be the most powerful piece of work that Hershey and Trevor have ever brought to the Playhouse. Tchaikovsky's story is as relevant and important today as it was in the 1800s," says Wareham.  OUR GREAT TCHAIKOVSKY will begin previews on Today, March 1; will open on Sunday, March 5 at 5:30pm and will run through Sunday, March 26, 2017 at the Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach.

After a sold-out, standing-room-only Toronto engagement from November 2016, through January 2017, COME FROM AWAY will return to Toronto's Royal Alexandra Theatre in a new Canadian production beginning performances Tuesday, February 13, 2018.

The North American tour of AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, winner of four Tony Awards®, welcomes McGee Maddox in the role of Jerry Mulligan this April. Maddox, a former Principal Dancer with The National Ballet of Canada, replaces Garen Scribner who will play his final performance on Sunday, April 16 in Las Vegas.

Broadway Rush, Lottery & Standing Room Only Ticketing Policies - updated on 2/24/2017.

Maestro Luke Frazier and The American Pops Orchestra - Washington, DC's innovative hometown orchestra - will continue their all-star 2016-2017 season with a new take on the classic tale  Cinderella: A Magical, Musical Tale on Saturday, March 11 at 2:00 PM at Live! at 10th and G (First Congregational UCC, 945 G Street NW, WDC 20001).

Philadelphia Orchestra Music Director Yannick Nezet-Seguin and President and CEO Allison Vulgamore today released The Philadelphia Orchestra's 2017-18 season. Nezet-Seguin begins his sixth season in Philadelphia with a commitment to lead the world-renowned ensemble through at least 2025-26, continuing a relationship between music director and musicians that has garnered praise around the globe.

Symphony Space's PROJECT BROADWAY, a celebration of all that's new and exciting on the Great White Way, returns for its second installment, March 27 - April 2. This year's theme is 'The Art of Collaboration,' spotlighting the alchemy that turns music, book, choreography, and staging into theatrical magic.

Joe's Pub at the Public has announced its nightly performances, February 22 - March 5, 2017. Scroll down for details, or visit www.joespub.com for a complete list of shows!

Three-time Tony Award winner Bernadette Peters makes her Auditorium Theatre debut, and her first Chicago appearance in over 10 years, on March 31 when she joins the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra for a special, one-night-only performance. 

Music Director Carl St.Clair and Pacific Symphony announce the 2017-18 Hal and Jeanette Segerstrom Family Foundation Classical Series and special events.

Victoria Theatre Association (VTA) presents the popular lunchtime arts preview series Mid-Day Arts Cafe on Today, Feb. 21, 2017 in the Mathile Theatre, located inside the Benjamin & Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center. February features the Central State University Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Hal Melia, performing instrumental and vocal jazz in a variety of styles. Tickets can be purchased at www.TicketCenterstage.com or by calling 937-228-3630 or 888-228-3630.

Larry Alexander, Marius in Les Miserables on Broadway and the opening act for one of Liza Minnelli's world tours, brings his new show 'My Broadway' to TheatreZone for one performance only at 8 p.m. today, Feb. 21.

Birdland Jazz Club has announced its schedule for February 27-March 5, including John Pizzarelli Trio, Michael Mott & Friends, Charlto & the John di Martino Trio, and more. Scroll down for details!

Broadway Rush, Lottery & Standing Room Only Ticketing Policies - updated on 2/17/2017.

Actor Etai Benson sings and dances his way to The Hobby Center this month in Theatre Under the Stars' production of AN AMERICAN IN PARIS. Today, Benson joins us to talk life on the road, dole out some advice, and explain what it's like playing an American in Paris -- spoiler -- 'S Wonderful'!

Find out what's happening next month at Napa Valley Performing Arts Center at Lincoln Theater!

Jamie Wilson and Gavin Kalin are delighted to announce that Caroline Flack will make her stage debut as 'Irene' in the national tour of the Watermill Theatre's acclaimed production of 'CRAZY FOR YOU'. Caroline joins the previously announced Tom Chambers as 'Bobby'. From the producers of 'Sister Act' and 'Nativity! The Musical', the national tour of 'CRAZY FOR YOU' opens at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth on 17 August 2017.