Jessye Norman News

Kaufman Center and New York Festival of Song (NYFOS, www.nyfos.org), will present Voices of the Jewish Diaspora on Tuesday and Thursday, February 10 and 12, at 8 PM at Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center. It is the third subscription program this season for the New York Festival of Song, whose 2008 CD Spanish Love Songs, featuring Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Joseph Kaiser, Steven Blier and Michael Barrett (Bridge Records) was named one of the 'Best Of the Year' by Opera News. The program features songs in many languages celebrating the culturally diverse Jewish communities that flourished as the tribes of Israel spread out across the globe: Sephardic melodies arranged by Roberto Sierra; Second Avenue specialties by Irving Berlin and Abraham Ellstein; art songs by Ravel and Mahler; plus music by Gershwin, Bernstein, and Harold Rome.

Ford's Theatre Society will host a Grand Reopening Celebration on Wednesday, February 11, 2009, at Ford's Theatre (511 10th Street NW). The invitation-only evening will include the presentation of the Lincoln Medal to filmmaker George Lucas and screen legend Sidney Poitier, whose accomplishments exemplify the character and lasting legacy of President Abraham Lincoln.

After receiving rave reviews and playing to sold out audiences & standing ovations in over 200 performances, Marion J. Caffey's 3 Mo' Divas (www.3MoDivas.com) has been awarded its first PBS television special. '3 Mo' Divas (Smashing Musical Barriers)' will air nationally March 1st-10th and June 1st-15th. (check local listings for exact dates and times). In celebration of the PBS Special, 3 Mo' Divas will also release their debut CD 'Smashing Musical Barriers' on March 1st and a Hi-Def & Blu-Ray DVD recording of the PBS special on May 12th. 3 Mo' Divas brings down the house with thrilling performances of an amazing 10 styles of music, including Opera, Broadway, Jazz, Blues, R&B, Soul, Disco, Rock & Roll, Spiritual & Gospel. The show begins with the classical sounds of Puccini then segues into songs from hit Broadway musicals like Wicked, Ragtime and Rent. This is soon followed by hot and familiar tunes of Billie Holiday, Whitney Houston and Tina Turner. By the end of every performance, the Divas have audiences up out of their seats rockin', singing and dancing in the aisles. 3 Mo' Divas is an extraordinary musical event - all music, all passion and all fun. 3 Mo' Divas performs 10 styles of music, spanning 233 years and sung in 3 languages.

The 14th Annual Ford Honors will be held on January 24th at 6pm in Rackham Auditorium, 915 East Washington Street in Ann Arbor. The event will honor the Royal Shakespeare Company and its artistic director Michael Boyd, as well as the retiring U-M Professor of English Ralph Williams. The Ford Honors Program is a benefit that supports UMS's nationally-acclaimed arts education program. It is sponsored by Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services. The Ford Honors Program celebrates the partnership between the University Musical Society, University of Michigan and the Royal Shakespeare Company. The evening will pay tribute to Boyd and Williams and will include a performance by members of the RSC. Following the performance there will be a benefit dinner held at the Michigan League Ballroom. There will be a presentation of the UMS School and Educator of the Year Awards. The gala dinner includes the presentation of the UMS School and Educator of the Year Awards, sponsored by DTE Energy Foundation. Tickets may be purchased for the concert only, or for the gala dinner (which includes concert tickets).

Kaufman Center and New York Festival of Song (NYFOS, www.nyfos.org), will present Voices of the Jewish Diaspora on Tuesday and Thursday, February 10 and 12, at 8 PM at Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center. It is the third subscription program this season for the New York Festival of Song, whose 2008 CD Spanish Love Songs, featuring Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Joseph Kaiser, Steven Blier and Michael Barrett (Bridge Records) was named one of the 'Best Of the Year' by Opera News. The program features songs in many languages celebrating the culturally diverse Jewish communities that flourished as the tribes of Israel spread out across the globe: Sephardic melodies arranged by Roberto Sierra; Second Avenue specialties by Irving Berlin and Abraham Ellstein; art songs by Ravel and Mahler; plus music by Gershwin, Bernstein, and Harold Rome.

George Street Playhouse is celebrating the December holidays in a big way with a series of musical performances for a special Holiday Cabaret. The musical celebration will feature the talents of Tony Award nominee Robert Cuccioli, who is currently performing at George Street Playhouse in Conor McPherson's The Seafarer. Mr. Cuccioli received a Tony Nomination and is perhaps best known for playing the title role in Broadway's Jekyll & Hyde. Joining Mr. Cuccioli will be fellow Tony nominee Sally Mayes from the recent Broadway revival of She Loves Me. Christopher Howatt will serve as musical director and performer for the revue. Performances take place Saturday, December 20 at 2 and 8PM, and Sunday, December 21 at 2PM.

George Street Playhouse is celebrating the December holidays in a big way with a series of musical performances for a special Holiday Cabaret. The musical celebration will feature the talents of Tony Award nominee Robert Cuccioli, who is currently performing at George Street Playhouse in Conor McPherson's The Seafarer. Mr. Cuccioli received a Tony Nomination and is perhaps best known for playing the title role in Broadway's Jekyll & Hyde. Joining Mr. Cuccioli will be fellow Tony nominee Sally Mayes from the recent Broadway revival of She Loves Me. Christopher Howatt will serve as musical director and performer for the revue. Performances take place Saturday, December 20 at 2 and 8PM, and Sunday, December 21 at 2PM.

The 22nd Annual City Meals-on-Wheels Power Lunch for Women was held at New York City's Rainbow Room on November 21, 2008.

New York Festival of Song, whose recent 'A Bernstein/Bolcom Celebration' was performed with 'Comic and dramatic flair,'(The New York Times) presents Fugitives, songs by composers who fled Hitler's Europe, on November 18 and 20 at the newly restored Merkin Concert Hall in New York. The program will feature music from Broadway, the concert stage and Berlin cabaret by Kurt Weill, Erich Korngold, Alexander Zemlinsky and many others.

Last night, October 7th, 2008, Roundabout Theatre Company's production of 'A Man For All Seasons' had its official Broadway opening at the American Airlines Theatre.

Anna Deavere Smith returns to Cambridge and the American Repertory Theatre with a moving assortment of characters in search of grace in tow

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Mara Manus) 2008 Summer Gala honored Public Theater Board Member David Rockwell for his outstanding leadership and commitment to the institution for the past 20 years.

The Actors Fund concert series entitled Musical Mondays, a series of Cabaret events in the lobby of the historic Pantages Theatre, will return this year. Produced by John Bowab and Martin Wiviott, all shows include pre-show cocktail reception at 7:30 pm and post-show dessert reception with the artists. On Monday March 24, the series kicks off with a tribute to Ron Abel. Scheduled to appear are Lucie Arnaz, Loretta Devine, Joely Fisher, Joey Gian, Marsha Kramer, Wayne Moore, Valarie Pettiford, Linda Purl and Giselle Wolf. The reception begins at 7:30 and the program at 8:30. The Pantages Theater Lobby is at 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA. Tickets are $125 per concert. Call 323-933-9244 ext. 59.

'Musical Mondays,' the Actors Fund concert series in the lobby of the historic Pantages Theatre, returns Monday March 24 at 8:30PM with Ron Abel and appearances by Lucie Arnaz, Loretta Devine, Joely Fisher, Joey Gian, Marsha Kramer, Wayne Moore, Valarie Pettiford, Linda Purl and Giselle Wolf

On March 3rd at 7:30PM the University of Michigan Entertainment Coalition (UMEC) and the U of M Club of New York will present Bravo Blue! This 'Musical Homecoming' Concert will feature over 40 U of M alumni professionals and friends in a fast paced sampler of musical theatre, classical and contemporary music, jazz, opera, and dance. The performance will be held at the Peter Norton Symphony Space, Leonard Nimoy Thalia on Broadway at 95th St at 7:30PM.

New York Festival of Song (NYFOS) continues its 20th Anniversary season by presenting Bastianello and Lucrezia, two newly commissioned comic operas by composers John Musto and William Bolcom with libretti by Mark Campbell. The concerts will take place on Tuesday, March 11 and Thursday, March 13 at 8PM, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, West 57th Street and 7th Avenue.

Three Mo' Tenors, currently playing off-Broadway at The Little Shubert Theater, recently celebrated Jessye Norman's 62nd Birthday by singing to the opera diva at Chez Josephine restaurant in Hells Kitchen on September 15.

Purchase College will mark its 40th Anniversary on November 12, 2007 with a gala at the Millenium Broadway Hotel/Hudson Theater to honor Jessye Norman, Helen Frankenthaler, Merce Cunningham, Douglas Durst and Ming Cho Lee with the first Nelson A. Rockefeller Awards for their contributions to the visual and performing arts or the environment.

At 8 pm on Wednesday, May 9th and Thursday, May 10th, the New York Festival of Song will perform We Open in Paris. Paris is the backdrop for four musical theatre works in vest-pocket NYFOS productions, including Jacques Offenbach's La Vie Parisienne and Cole Porter's Fifty Million Frenchmen.

Mother Courage, presented by the Public Theater, opened at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park on August 21st after beginning previews on August 8th