On Monday, April 28, 2014, The New York Pops marks its 31st birthday with a grand gala evening celebrating the work of composer, lyricist, and arranger Marc Shaiman and director, lyricist, and writer Scott Wittman
Spring is in the air, as are the sounds of a nationally-acclaimed Iowa pianist in concert halls across the state. International Steinway Artist Jim McDonough and his orchestra are currently touring Iowa with his '2014 SPRING TOUR.' McDonough has sold a quarter- million CDs, and has performed breathtaking concerts for tens of thousands of Iowans.
On this week's Top-6 edition of AMERICAN IDOL Season XIII, we were “treated” to not one, but two, songs by each competitor. The theme, “A Little Bit Country, a Little Bit Rock 'n' Roll” gave the contestants an opportunity to channel their inner Donnys and Maries. Speaking of the beloved Osmond sibs, nothing about them screams either Country or Rock 'n Roll to me. But I digress; in most cases tonight, the double your pleasure set-up resulted in an extra helping of awesome, but (as is expected from this season) there was one singer whose combined performances resulted in confusion with a side of frustration.
The celebrated Tony-nominated costume designer Carrie Robbins (Irving Berlin's WHITE CHRISTMAS, GREASE, OVER HERE!), who has designed over 30 Broadway productions, turns playwright this spring with the world-premiere of two one-act plays, SAWBONES and THE DIAMOND EATER, running May 21st through June 7th Off-Broadway at the HERE Arts Center (145 Sixth Ave.) in NYC. Opening night is May 22nd.
Spring is in the air, as are the sounds of a nationally-acclaimed Iowa pianist in concert halls across the state. International Steinway Artist Jim McDonough and his orchestra are currently touring Iowa with his "2014 SPRING TOUR." McDonough has sold a quarter- million CDs, and has performed breathtaking concerts for tens of thousands of Iowans.
Now that AMERICAN IDOL has pared down its finalists to a manageable seven, the producers decided to bust out the most original theme in the show's 13 seasons, “Competitor's Picks.” How it basically works is, Randy Jackson did his only work of the season by playing stenographer as each contestant recommended songs for everyone else in the competition. Randy then handed pieces of paper to all seven remaining finalists, who subsequently picked their song for the week based off of that list.
Omaha Performing Arts presents trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis at the 1200 CLUB inside the Holland Performing Arts Center tonight, April 12, 2014, at 8:00 p.m. The performance is part of Omaha Performing Arts' 1200 CLUB 13/14 Series. The performance takes place in the intimate Scott Recital Hall. Tickets start at $30 and are available at TicketOmaha.com, 402.345.0606 or at the Ticket Omaha Office inside the Holland Center, 1200 Douglas St.
Just as it did last week, tonight's AMERICAN IDOL featured the Top-8 finalists. After an ill-advised use of the sole judge's save, Sam Woolf remained in the competition long enough to be mentored by former IDOL champ David Cook for this week's 80's theme. With the obvious negligence of 'full-time' mentor Randy Jackson, it is staggering to see how much progress can be made with a mentor who is actively engaged in helping the finalists become better singers, performers, and artists.
Despite the high drama of the judges finally opting to use their one and only 'save' of the season, FOX's AMERICAN IDOL results show pulled in a meager 7.72 million viewers