Johnny Mercer News

Funny girl, singular talent, American icon. Fanny Brice hit stardom in the 1920s and, almost a century later, still inspires the public imagination. On May 3, 4, and 5, Lyrics & Lyricists pays tribute to Fanny with Ziegfeld Girl: The Many Faces of Fanny Brice, a night of songs she put on the Broadway map, led by artistic director Ted Sperling, music director of the smash 2008 Broadway revival of South Pacific. Vocalists Capathia Jenkins, Leslie Kritzer, Faith Prince and Clarke Thorell sing classics like 'Second Hand Rose' and 'My Man'-as well as songs she inspired in Funny Girl. In the exclusive video below, Sperling and Kritzer give a special sneak peek of the show, including clips of a Brice classic- 'My Man'

Jackie Hoffman (Hairspray, The Addams Family), Jake Epstein (Beautiful, Spiderman…) and John Tartaglia (Avenue Q, Shrek) are among the artists who will join Fred Ebb Award-winning songwriters Michael Kooman and Christopher Dimond for Kooman & Dimond: Still Not Famous May 5th at the York Theatre at Saint Peter's.

This just in! Leslie Odom Jr. ("Smash") will join Lin-Manuel Miranda and Karen Olivo in the New York City Center Encores! Off-Center production of Jonathan Larson¹stick, tick… BOOM!, running for five performances, June 25 ­ 28. The opening show of City Center's acclaimed Encores! Off-Center series of landmark Off-Broadway musicals will be directed byOliver Butler with choreography by Camille A. Brown and music direction by Chris Fenwick. Jeanine Tesori is Encores! Off-Center Artistic Director.

Artists in Partnership (AIP), a non-profit cultural arts organization, will host its 12th Annual Cabaret Festival May 15-18 at the Long Beach Public Library, 111 West Park Avenue, Long Beach, NY. All performances are FREE to the public. The festival will be a celebration of the cabaret genre honoring the Great American Songbook with performances by renowned local and New York City-based artists.

Tony and Grammy Award winner and 2011 Kennedy Center Honoree Barbara Cook will be returning to New York-area stages with her new concert ARE YOU HAVIN' ANY FUN? Barbara Cook in Concert, with upcoming performances scheduled for: Saturday, April 26 at Symphony Space in Manhattan; Saturday, May 10 at the Colden Auditorium at the Kupferberg Center at Queens College; Saturday, May 31 at the South Orange Performing Arts Center in South Orange, New Jersey; and at the Tarrytown Music Hall in Tarrytown, NY on Saturday June 14.

Margaret Whiting was one of America's favorite and most venerated singers for more than sixty years. She delivered stellar performances on record, radio, television, and the musical comedy, concert, and cabaret stages. She received twelve Gold Records. She offered a repertoire that ranged from Jerome Kern to Leon Russell, and from Rodgers & Hart to Michel Legrand and Alan & Marilyn Bergman.

Gary Naylor sees a show filled with songs from some of the last century's greatest singers - given full due by some of the West End's finest vocalists.

It took Lucie Arnaz her entire professional life to get booked for a solo nightclub/cabaret show at the Cafe Carlyle. It turned out to be worth the wait-for herself and her audiences-and her weeklong run at the stylish club (that began on April 13 and ends with shows tonight at 8:45 and 10:45) would no doubt have made her famous parents--Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz--beam with pride. Lucy might have erupted into a joyful crying jag, while Desi would have kvelled in his signature rapid-fired Spanish because when it comes to her performance on a cabaret stage, Lucie Arnaz doesn't 'got some 'splaining to do.'

4@15: Four New Fifteen-Minute Musicals, performed in conjunction with University of California, Irvine, will commence performances Friday, April 18 and Saturday, April 19, for three performances only at the Playroom Theater. Tammy Holder serves as Music Director; Brian Blythe directs.

Plaid Bird Productions in celebration of Blossom Dearie's 90th Birthday (April 28th, 1924) will present Jaye Maynard in 'Bird Amongst the Blossom-A Tribute to the First Blossom Dearie Songbook' on Sunday, April 27th at The Hour Glass Tavern in a Jazz Brunch 1pm, show at 2pm and Monday, April 28th at Don't Tell Mama. House opens 8:45; show at 9:15pm.

As the daughter of one of show business' most prominent couples, Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz, Emmy Award-winning singer/actress Lucie Arnaz has forged a distinct career of her own. She has had starring roles on Broadway, television and film, and has won awards including an Emmy, a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award. She brings her new show, Spring is Here, to The Carlyle for a limited five-night engagement, through April 19.

As the daughter of one of show business' most prominent couples, Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz, Emmy Award-winning singer/actress Lucie Arnaz has forged a distinct career of her own. She has had starring roles on Broadway, television and film, and has won awards including an Emmy, a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award. She brings her new show, Spring is Here, to The Carlyle for a limited five-night engagement, tonight, April 15 through 19.

Kerry Lambert's choreography keeps the show moving as seven badly behaved mountain men kidnap wives from the local town and hold them for the winter.

Billy Joel was a surprise guest April 9, 2014 at Glen Cove's Deasy Elementary School in Long Island, sitting in the audience to watch kindergartners through second-graders perform their spring concert, titled 'The River of Dreams: A Billy Joel Tribute.'

Funny girl, singular talent, American icon. Fanny Brice hit stardom in the 1920s and, almost a century later, still inspires the public imagination. On May 3, 4, and 5, Lyrics & Lyricists pays tribute to Fanny with Ziegfeld Girl: The Many Faces of Fanny Brice, a night of songs she put on the Broadway map, led by artistic director Ted Sperling, music director of the smash 2008 Broadway revival of South Pacific. Vocalists Capathia Jenkins, Leslie Kritzer, Faith Prince and Clarke Thorell sing classics like "Second Hand Rose" and "My Man"-as well as songs she inspired in Funny Girl.

The Fulfillment Fund has announced the 7th Annual 'The Songs of Our Lives' concert, which will pay special tribute to the songs of internationally acclaimed Songwriter's Hall of Fame and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee, songwriter Lamont Dozier and the legendary Songwriter's Hall of Famer, two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, singer-songwriter, David Crosby.

The rare pairing of Hollywood and recording icons Doris Day and Frank Sinatra is available for the first time on Blu-ray via a new edition of the 1954 movie musical YOUNG AT HEART.

92Y presents an evening with the cast and creative team behind the best-reviewed show of the season, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder. Robert L. Freedman (book/lyrics) and Steven Lutvak (music/lyrics) discuss the production's ten-year journey to Broadway, with performances from cast members Jefferson Mays, Bryce Pinkham, Lisa O'Hare, and Lauren Worsham on Sunday, May 11 at 8 pm. The original cast album is released today on Ghostlight Records.

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were established hit makers when they teamed up to make a musical about cowboys and farmers. What follows was a miracle-Oklahoma!, then Carousel and South Pacific; the list of extraordinary hits goes on. Tonight, April 5 and April 6 and 7 get to know these legends even better at Getting to Know You: Rodgers & Hammerstein, Lyrics & Lyricists first look at the two songwriters as a team. Guest artistic director, writer and host Ted Chapin, head of the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, shares an insider's perspective on the pair, gleaned from his years with the Rodgers and Hammerstein families; joined by vocalists Lewis Cleale, Mandy Gonzalez, Jonathan Groff, Rebecca Luker, and Phillipa Soo.