George Gershwin News

Kaufman Center and New York Festival of Song (NYFOS, www.nyfos.org) will present Where We Come From on Tuesday October 13, 8 PM at Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center.

Tony Award winner Brian Stokes Mitchell has announced several upcoming concert dates.

On Sunday, October 11, 2009 at 3:00 p.m., Jeff Lindberg's Chicago Jazz Orchestra (CJO) begins its 12th Annual Subscription Series with CJO/Gospel Choir Meets Big Band & Selections from the Duke Ellington Concert of Sacred Music, at the Second Presbyterian Church, 1936 S. Michigan in Chicago.

Following the run of Beethoven, As I Knew Him, which kicks off the 2009-10 Season at The Cleveland Play House, Hershey Felder will throw a dazzling party for Cleveland audiences with Hershey Felder in Concert: The American Songbook Sing-Along.

On Sunday, October 11, 2009 at 3:00 p.m., Jeff Lindberg's Chicago Jazz Orchestra (CJO) begins its 12th Annual Subscription Series with CJO/Gospel Choir Meets Big Band & Selections from the Duke Ellington Concert of Sacred Music, at the Second Presbyterian Church in Chicago.

Lower Manhattan, once known for music and merriment, later for formality and frugality, has finally returned to it roots as the city's newest cabaret hotspot; 'There's a new cabaret supper club in downtown New York that, with luck, may become a regular fixture.

Robert Cuccioli will step in for the previously announced Norm Lewis in the John W. Engeman Theater's 'Broadway Songbook' concert to be presented on Saturday, November 7 at 8PM.'Broadway Songbook' will feature five of Broadway's finest vocalists will celebrate some of their most memorable musical moments from 'The Great White Way', display their great versatility and share amusing behind-the-scenes anecdotes.

Songs by legendary composer George Gershwin that were left unfinished at the time of his death in 1937, will get a chance to be completed. Due to the decision made by the Gershwin estate, several dozen song fragments will be passed on to Former Beach Boy Brian Wilson. Wilson will finish the pieces and include them in a Gershwin compilation album that he is working on for Walt Disney Records. Details of the release will be announced at a later date.

FEINSTEIN'S AT LOEWS REGENCY, the nightclub proclaimed 'Best of New York' by New York Magazine and 'an invaluable New York institution' by The New York Post, will continue its star-studded Fall 2009 season with the celebrated chanteuse, MAUDE MAGGART. She will bring her critically-acclaimed show 'Parents and Children' back to New York. When it debuted last spring, The New York Times called Maude an 'increasingly fascinating entertainer' whose show was 'bewitching' and 'seductive.' The evening features songs by Stephen Sondheim ('Beautiful'), Rodgers & Hammerstein ('You've Got To Be Carefully Taught'), Dolly Parton ('Coat Of Many Colors'), George Gershwin ('The Man I Love'), Alec Wilder ('Be A Child') and Maury Yeston ('My Grandmother's Love Letters'). Maude is returning to Feinstein's for the first time since her New York nightclub debut as Michael Feinstein's guest in December 2001. All shows will take place at the Regency Hotel.

Eighty-Eight Entertainment, Samantha F. Voxakis and Lee Kaufman present Hershey Felder's COMPOSER SONATA at the Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place (175 E. Chestnut St.). The final bow of the trilogy will begin with Beethoven, As I Knew Him playing November 13 to December 6, 2009. COMPOSER SONATA, written and performed by Hershey Felder and directed by Joel Zwick, also includes Monsieur Chopin, which will play December 9 to 20, and George Gershwin Alone, which will play December 23 to 30, 2009. The "COMPOSER SONATA" trilogy will culminate in two special New Year's Eve presentations of The Great American Song Book Sing-A-Long. These shows will be filmed in Chicago before a live audience for future television broadcast and world-wide release.

The Sheldon presents Debby Lennon and Carolbeth True: Gershwin!, Tuesday and Wednesday, October 6 and 7, 2009 at 10 a.m. in the perfect acoustics of the Sheldon Concert Hall. Enjoy complimentary coffee and pastries at 9 a.m. in the beautiful Louis Spiering Room. With Carolbeth True on piano and Debby Lennon contributing her jazzy vocals, two of St. Louis' top talents join together for this tribute to American composer and pianist George Gershwin.

Musical Theatre West in Long Beach, CA opens its 57th season with MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS, the stage adaptation of the beloved Judy Garland classic. Previews of this production begin on October 30th and opens October 31, 2009 and runs through November 15, 2009 at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach.

The Sheldon presents Debby Lennon and Carolbeth True: Gershwin!, Tuesday and Wednesday, October 6 and 7, 2009 at 10 a.m. in the perfect acoustics of the Sheldon Concert Hall. Enjoy complimentary coffee and pastries at 9 a.m. in the beautiful Louis Spiering Room. With Carolbeth True on piano and Debby Lennon contributing her jazzy vocals, two of St. Louis' top talents join together for this tribute to American composer and pianist George Gershwin.

Following the run of Beethoven, As I Knew Him, which kicks off the 2009-10 Season at The Cleveland Play House, Hershey Felder will throw a dazzling party for Cleveland audiences with Hershey Felder in Concert: The American Songbook Sing-Along.

The John W. Engeman Theater at Northport is pleased to announce BROADWAY LEADING LADIES on Friday November 6, 2009 at 8PM AND BROADWAY SONGBOOK on Saturday November 7, 2009 at 8PM, Produced exclusively for the theater by New York Casting Director Stephen DeAngelis.

After sold-out performances of George Gershwin Alone and Monsieur Chopin, award-winning performer Hershey Felder returns to The Cleveland Play House with the culmination of his Composer Sonata trilogy Beethoven, As I Knew Him.

The following are the October happenings at the Lawrence Art Center.

Kaufman Center and New York Festival of Song (NYFOS, www.nyfos.org) will present Where We Come From on Tuesday October 13, 8 PM at Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center.

On Sunday, October 11, 2009 at 3:00 p.m., Jeff Lindberg's Chicago Jazz Orchestra (CJO) begins its 12th Annual Subscription Series with CJO/Gospel Choir Meets Big Band & Selections from the Duke Ellington Concert of Sacred Music, at the Second Presbyterian Church, 1936 S. Michigan in Chicago.

Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) is proud to have Stephen Sondheim & James Lapine return to Studio 54 with Sondheim on Sondheim, a new original Broadway musical starring Barbara Cook, Vanessa Williams, Michael Arden & Leslie Kritzer. Music & lyrics are by Stephen Sondheim, conceived & directed by James Lapine. Sondheim on Sondheim will begin previews on March 19th, 2010 and open officially April 22nd, 2010 at Studio 54 on Broadway (254 West 54th Street). This will be a limited engagement through Sunday, June 13th, 2010.