George Harr News

B.B. King Blues Club & Grill is located at 237 West 42nd Street (between 7th and 8th Avenues) New York, NY 10036

Twist & Shout will be come to the Colonial on October 10 at 7PM. Tickets for the performance are $45 and $25 and can be purchased in person at the Colonial Ticket Office at 111 South Street Monday-Friday 10AM-5PM, performance Saturdays 10AM-2PM, by calling (413) 997-4444 or online at www.thecolonialtheatre.org.

The internationally-acclaimed Beatles concert, RAIN - A Tribute To The Beatles, makes its debut at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County with a limited FIVE-show engagement from Friday, October 8 through Sunday, October 10, 2010 in the Sanford and Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House.

The Paley Center for Media will celebrate the life and work of John Lennon starting this October, with panel discussions, screenings, a musical tribute performance, and a photo exhibit that will give Lennon fans never-before-seen insight into his life both before and after the Beatles. To coincide with the week of Lennon's birthday on October 9, our Lennon salute will include major previews of Nowhere Boy and LENNONYC, a performance by the Quarreymen, and special screenings of Imagine and The U.S. vs. John Lennon for John Lennon's actual birthday on Saturday, October 9.

The New York Times reports today that MERCHANT OF VENICE star Al Pacino will star in a new movie from HBO about Phil Spector, the famed music producer who is not in prison (possibly for life) on murder charges. David Mamet will write the script for the as-of-yet-untitled project. Rain Man director, Barry Levinson, is executive producing.

The Orange County Performing Arts Center's 2010-2011 Cabaret and Jazz Series are star-studded celebrations of award-winning singers, musicians and artists from Broadway to the Metropolitan Opera, from television to motion pictures and from concert stage to the top clubs in the country.

The internationally-acclaimed Beatles concert, RAIN - A Tribute To The Beatles, makes its debut at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County with a limited FIVE-show engagement from Friday, October 8 through Sunday, October 10, 2010 in the Sanford and Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House.

The Magic Castle is transformed into the hippest nightclub in town for 'An Evening with His Royal Hipness, Lord Buckley'. The politically topical, Jake Broder, star and co-writer of the acclaimed 'Louis & Keely: Live at the Sahara' takes off on a sonic adventure of spoken word and music, celebrating the life of the iconic, subversive, ultra hipster. Featuring Michael Lanahan, Derek Yellin (Piano), Mark San Filippo (Drums), Ryan Feves (Bass).

Twist & Shout will be come to the Colonial on October 10 at 7PM. Tickets for the performance are $45 and $25 and can be purchased in person at the Colonial Ticket Office at 111 South Street Monday-Friday 10AM-5PM, performance Saturdays 10AM-2PM, by calling (413) 997-4444 or online at www.thecolonialtheatre.org.

On Monday, September 20th at 8:00pm, the Bleecker Street Theater Company will present a reading of Charles Messina's astoundingly hilarious new Broadway-bound comedy, 'A ROOM OF MY OWN' as part of that theater's Play Development Series.

'The award-winning Beatles concert, RAIN: A Tribute to The Beatles, returns to Atlanta's Fabulous Fox Theatre from September 17-19. Like The Beatles, the onstage members of RAIN are not only supreme musicians, but electrifying performers in their own right. You can see the show here before it makes its Broadway debut in October. Make plans today to experience RAIN with your loved ones and friends. Tickets are on sale now at all Ticketmaster outlets, by calling 800-982-2787, online at www.ticketmaster.com and at the Fox Theatre Box Office.'

On Friday, September 17, at 7:00pm, LEON RUSSELL plays the Boulder Theater.

The Paley Center for Media will celebrate the life and work of John Lennon starting this October, with panel discussions, screenings, a musical tribute performance, and a photo exhibit that will give Lennon fans never-before-seen insight into his life both before and after the Beatles. To coincide with the week of Lennon's birthday on October 9, our Lennon salute will include major previews of Nowhere Boy and LENNONYC, a performance by the Quarreymen, and special screenings of Imagine and The U.S. vs. John Lennon for John Lennon's actual birthday on Saturday, October 9.

Rundgren, IU's ninth Wells Professor, will teach the middle two weeks of a four-week, one-credit hour honors course designed for a maximum of 25 Wells Scholars and Hutton Honors Scholars. The class commences in late October and finishes in mid-November. Co-teaching the class will be IU Professor of Music Glenn Gass -- whose relationship with Rundgren helped make the professorship possible -- and IU Distinguished Professor of Sociology Bernice Pescosolido, who was instrumental in helping to plan the course. Gass, a professor at IU's world-class Jacobs School of Music, said he sees Rundgren's engagement at IU as the start of a trend in which legendary rock stars share their knowledge with a new generation. Rundgren, who performs frequently, gave a concert at Clowes Memorial Hall at Butler University in Indianapolis on Sept. 11. 'Todd is a treasure trove of memories, knowledge, stories . . .,' Gass said. 'This class is a way for him to celebrate what he's done and allows him to share his experiences with students who really want to hear what he has to say.' In addition to learning about the culture, politics and economics of the music business, from the 1970s through today, students will visit Professor of Anthropology Nicholas Toth at IU's Stone Age Institute to view some of the earliest tools used for making music. 'I think the students will love it. For us, the appeal of the class is really both Todd and Glenn,' said Professor of Physics Tim Londergan, director of the Wells Scholars Program. Londergan is a self-professed rock 'n' roll fan who has audited three of Gass' courses. The Rundgren course is currently full with a waiting list, and course auditors/visitors, including IU students not registered for the class, cannot be accommodated. During his stay in Bloomington, Rundgren will give a public lecture titled 'LONGHAIR: Todd Rundgren on the Beatles Effect' at 7 p.m. Oct. 28 in Ballantine Hall 013. He will also present a Halloween-night recital titled 'CLUSTER: The Birth of the T Chord' at 8 p.m. Oct. 31 in Auer Hall. Both are free and open to the public. Gass said he asked Rundgren to talk about the Beatles both because of Rundgren's collaborations with various members of the band and because of the window it will provide into his own music. 'If it was going to be 'Todd talks about Todd,' he may have felt awkward,' Gass said. 'By asking him to talk about the Beatles, we can get more insight into his music, too.' Rundgren's unique associations with the Beatles include a number of covers, participation in the Ringo All-Star Band and co-producing the power pop band Badfinger with George Harrison. When Harrison died, Rundgren did a highly acclaimed version of 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' for a tribute album. In 1980, Rundgren and his then-band Utopia, did a loving sendup of the Beatles (Deface the Music) that Gass calls 'just genius.' Rundgren is also a longtime Beatles fan who credits Harrison with inventing the 'lead guitar' player, Gass said. 'When Todd was in the band Nazz, he wasn't the lead singer -- he was the lead guitar player -- which in the 50s meant one of the backup musicians. Because of George, lead guitar now means you're one of the band's leaders.' Glenn Gass Print-Quality Photo Gass initially met Rundgren in Hawaii, when Gass and his wife were on sabbatical for a year (and where they spent the past two summers). 'The kids start taking the bus together and the next thing you know, you're going to cookouts at Todd's,' Gass said. 'I quickly learned that everything they said about him was true. He's brilliant, articulate, really interesting -- and interested in things far beyond his own work and even his music. He's just a really engaged human being.' Rundgren is also known for staying true to his artistic muse. 'He refused to take the easy way out,' Gass said. 'The easy way would have been to do five more songs like 'Hello, It's Me.' He paid a price for that, but in the long run, in 50 years, I think that's why he'll matter more than starts who may have had more hits.' Rundgren was the highest paid producer of the 1970s, producing bands that ranged from the New York Dolls, The Band and Patti Smith to Meat Loaf, Hall & Oates and Cheap Trick. On Aug. 1, 1981 -- the evening MTV debuted with 'Video Kills the Radio Star' by the Buggles -- Rundgren was ready with his music video for 'Time Heals,' which premiered on MTV the same evening. Always a fan of technology, Rundgren made his music available through online downloads about 10 years before iTunes ('Everyone had dial-up connections then,' Gass commented. 'His fate is always to be just a few years ahead of his time.'). Gass said after the Beatles broke up, he was personally attracted to singer-songwriters like James Taylor, Neil Young, Carole King, Joni Mitchell -- and Todd Rundgren. 'Todd was always one of the best and most interesting performers. Even in those early albums, it was clear he wasn't just a singer-songwriter,' Gass said. At turns, Rundgren played with electric guitar or classical riffs, producing his own double album in 1972, on which he also played all of the instruments. From the time he met Rundgren in Hawaii, Gass starting thinking of ways to bring the performer to IU. A confluence of events sparked by a Rundgren speaking engagement at DePauw University led to the IU professorship. DePauw's executive director of media relations, Ken Owen, is 'a huge Todd scholar -- Todd to him is like the Beatles to me,' Gass said. 'All of a sudden it went from being a day dream to being a real possibility, and now it's actually happening,' Gass said. 'He really can call himself Professor Rundgren. This is not a gimmick: He is the Wells Professor.' About the Wells Professorships The Wells professorships are made possible by gifts from the IU classes of 1941, 1942 and 1963. Previous Wells professors have included the Honorable Helen Suzman, a South African political leader (Class of 1941 Wells Professor in 1993), Sir Malcolm Bradbury, a novelist-screenwriter-critic (Class of 1942 Wells Professor in 1997), and Holocaust scholar Christopher Browning (Class of 1943 Wells Professor in 2003). The most recently appointed Wells Professors were Sir (now Lord) Timothy Garden (Class of 1941 Wells Professor) and artist Robert Colescott (Class of 1943 Wells Professor), both of whom taught at IU in 2004.

Jose Manuel Carreño, a Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre since 1995, will retire from the Company in August 2011 following performances on the Company's tour to Asia. A New York farewell is scheduled for Thursday evening, June 30, 2011 at the Metropolitan Opera House. The evening will be highlighted by a special performance of Swan Lake featuring Carreño in the role of Prince Siegfried dancing opposite Julie Kent as Odette and Gillian Murphy as Odile.

On Monday, September 20th at 8:00pm, the Bleecker Street Theater Company will present a reading of Charles Messina's astoundingly hilarious new Broadway-bound comedy, 'A ROOM OF MY OWN' as part of that theater's Play Development Series.

When the opening chords of a familiar Beatles tune drifts out of the doors of the Fabulous Fox Theatre on September 17th, passers by might just think they stepped back in time 40+ years to Liverpool, England. And if they come see RAIN - A Tribute to the Beatles presented by Theater of the Stars September 17 - 19 they might just succeed in that time travel. RAIN - A Tribute to the Beatles, a show that has been called "the next best thing to seeing The Beatles," boasts a repertoire of Beatles favorites, ranging from such beloved songs as "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and "Hey Jude" to classic hits including "Revolution" and "Come Together." Playing all those familiar songs, in the guise of George Harrison is Joe Bithorn who will be a part of the show when it returns to Atlanta. I caught up with Joe to learn a little more about his journey.

On Sunday, August 29, Michael Lanning performed his 'Other Folks Songs' concert with Jeremy Schonfeld, Jessica Grove and Dan Cooney in New York City. BroadwayWorld was on hand to capture the concert and brings you photo coverage below.

A classic, cheesy 'B' movie is shown on our full-sized, in-house movie screen without its original sound. The Flick team of professional improvisers sits in the front row and creates all new dialog, sound effects and music live - all based on suggestions from that night's audience.

A classic, cheesy 'B' movie is shown on our full-sized, in-house movie screen without its original sound. The Flick team of professional improvisers sits in the front row and creates all new dialog, sound effects and music live - all based on suggestions from that night's audience.