Irving Berlin News

Birdland Theater is proud to present singer Carole J. Bufford in 'All By Myself' last night and tonight, November 12 and 13 at 7pm.  Carole J. Bufford returns to the Birdland stage with a concert featuring songs from her first solo album, 'All By Myself.'

On November 12 at Kaufman Music Center's Merkin Hall, Broadway Close Up host SEAN HARTLEY interviewed ETHAN MORDDEN, author of When Broadway Went to Hollywood, exploring how songwriters like Rodgers & Hart, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Yip Harburg, Irving Berlin and the Gershwin brothers navigated the often antagonistic culture of Hollywood with different degrees of success - and why they ultimately returned to Broadway.

Looking ahead, you'll find a number of new productions on tap, including a whole slew of holiday favorites, for your entertainment pleasure, thanks to the efforts of theater companies all over Middle Tennessee. Here's our calendar for November 12, 2018, to help you plot your course through next February...

This week finds Jeremy Benton - Broadway's favorite tap-dancing man - in Paducah, Kentucky, with the rest of the cast and crew of Irving Berlin's White Christmas, preparing for tonight's opening performance of the quintessential holiday season musical. He's spent so many holiday seasons performing in White Christmas, in fact (he joined the show back in 2005 and has been a part of the company off and on ever since) that it's become second nature to him now.

At an SRO ceremony held at Zion Lutheran Church in Pittsfield, the Board of the Berkshire Theatre Critics Association presented the Berkshire Theatre Awards on the evening of Monday, November 12, 2018. This was the third year the awards have been presented to honor and celebrate the excellence and diversity of theatre in the greater Berkshire region.

PS CLASSICS, the label that celebrates the heritage of Broadway and American popular song, has released its groundbreaking new recording Philip Chaffin: Will He Like Me? today, Friday, November 9. The album is featured in The New York Times "2018 Holiday Gift Guide," which raves, "From 'When I Marry Mr. Snow' to 'I Got Lost in His Arms,' Chaffin tells a familiar story that has never sounded so new." 

Legendary American song composer Harold Arlen will have a Hollywood Big Band tribute when Broadway powerhouse Eden Espinosa (Wicked) and Joseph Leo Bwarie (Jersey Boys) join Arlen's son Sam Arlen and singers Karon Blackwell and George Bugatti, for The Music of Harold Arlen, Wonderful Wizard of Song at the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts (The Soraya) on Saturday, December 1 at 8:00pm.

Rubicon Theatre Producing Artistic Director KARYL LYNN BURNS today announced programming for the company's JANET AND MARK L. GOLDENSON 2018-2019 Broadway Concert Series. According to Burns, the series offers an opportunity for audiences to enjoy the talents and personal stories and insights of some of the best and brightest concert and cabaret stars of the West End, Broadway and the West Coast.

The York Theatre Company has announced, today, legendary theater writers Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire will join Tony Award-winner Matthew Broderick who will host a company of 60 performers honoring Five-time Tony Award-winning musical theatre director/choreographer Susan Stroman

The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra announced the November 9 release of its latest album, American Originals: 1918, under the direction of Pops Conductor John Morris Russell. The recording is inspired by America's cultural awakening at the end of the First World War one hundred years ago and the distinctly American musical styles that reflect the country's diversity. This album celebrates and reimagines popular songs of this era that remain fresh and relevant today with acclaimed musical collaborators including Rhiannon Giddens, Steep Canyon Rangers and Pokey LaFarge. The 95th Cincinnati Pops album was recorded live at Cincinnati Music Hall November 10- 12, 2017, and is being released on the Orchestra's label, Fanfare Cincinnati.

California Pops Orchestra, the country's only all-request pops orchestra, returns with its beloved Christmas "Holiday With The Pops" show at Cupertino's Flint Center. Chock full of musical Yule logs and eggnogs, "Holiday With The Pops" performs one time only on Sunday, December 2, 2018, at 3 p.m.  Reserved seat tickets ($20-$55, standard ticket service fees apply), are available at Ticketmaster.com (https://www.ticketmaster.com/artist/2260227?tm_link=tm_homeA_header_search) or in person at the Flint Center box office.

Next week, FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club & Private Event Destination, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond.

This week finds Jeremy Benton - Broadway's favorite tap-dancing man - in Paducah, Kentucky, with the rest of the cast and crew of Irving Berlin's White Christmas, preparing for tonight's opening performance of the quintessential holiday season musical. He's spent so many holiday seasons performing in White Christmas, in fact (he joined the show back in 2005 and has been a part of the company off and on ever since) that it's become second nature to him now.

Rubicon Theatre Producing Artistic Director KARYL LYNN BURNS today announced programming for the company's JANET AND MARK L. GOLDENSON 2018-2019 Broadway Concert Series. According to Burns, the series offers an opportunity for audiences to enjoy the talents and personal stories and insights of some of the best and brightest concert and cabaret stars of the West End, Broadway and the West Coast.

This lively conversation between Todd S. Purdum and Ted Chapin, who is President and Chief Creative Officer of the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, was inspired by Purdum's recent book, Something Wonderful: Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway Revolution.

On December 8 & 9, the entire Northwest Associated Arts choral family will present their annual Christmas program at the Highline Performing Arts Center in Burien. This annual holiday extravaganza, titled Christmas Sounds in Burien features five choruses, over 100 singers ages 9 to 90, and is one of Burien's unique holiday traditions. From beloved favorites like Silent Night to a joyful medley of festive favorites by Irving Berlin.

Magic Thread Cabaret is proud to welcome back to Indiana for its final act of the 2017-18 season a shining star of New York City and beyond, dancer-singer-actress-choreographer Melissa Schott. The accomplished young artist will present her own cabaret November 16-18, 'Melissa Schott: The Key of Me,' at The Cat Theatre in Carmel the weekend before Thanksgiving.

The Naples Players (TNP), the oldest and premier theatre in Naples, celebrates its 65th anniversary this year. TNP's ETC Readers Theatre presents 'What Happens in the Theatre', an evening of original one-act plays, on Sunday, November 11, 2018 at 7 p.m. in the Tobye Studio Theatre. An evening of one acts that gives a behind-the-scenes look at life in the theatre and all the hijinks that goes with it.

Chanhassen Dinner Theatres (CDT) is decked for the holidays and offers twelve ways to celebrate the season in 2018. On the Main Stage is IRVING BERLIN'S HOLIDAY INN. This Chanhassen Dinner Theatres' 50th anniversary hit is a new staging that was reimagined for the Broadway stage in 2016 and is based on the classic 1942 film of the same title starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. It celebrates seven holidays from Thanksgiving to the Fourth of July and is the quintessential season showstopper. With over 20 Irving Berlin classic tunes and 13 celebratory production numbers, guests will be delighted with this entertainment spectacular for all ages.

FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents 54 Sings As Thousands Cheer on May 24, 2018 at 9:30 PM. Before there was SNL, The Daily Show, and Last Week Tonight, there was As Thousands Cheer, Irving Berlin and Moss Hart's famed musical revue. Opening on Broadway in September 1933, As Thousands Cheer brought laughter and joy to audiences at the Music Box Theatre. Now, 85 years after its Broadway premiere and 20 years since its last production in New York, Feinstein's/54 Below and a cast of New York's finest perform Irving Berlin's score. With classic songs including "Easter Parade," "How's Chances?," "Heat Wave," and "Harlem On My Mind,"  As Thousands Cheer will be a delightful evening of comedy, politics, showstopping songs, and everything in between!