Leonard Cohen News

Singer/songwriter LEONARD COHEN has just announced a second North American leg for his Old Ideas world tour. The newest dates will begin on March 2 at Oakland's Paramount Theatre and will include the cities of New Orleans, Memphis and Louisville.

France Joli makes her Off-Broadway Debut in Anthony J. Wilkinson's "My Big Gay Italian Wedding" on January 19th at St. Luke's Theatre for One Night Only! It's sure to be one of the most amazing and exciting nights for Anthony Pinnunziato and his Big Gay Italian Family and Friends!

BroadwayWorld brings you the Best of Ireland in the year 2012. Check out the Top Theatre Stories from each month during in the year 2012. We look forward to another exciting year of theatre in 2013!

2012 was indeed a very good year for the art of Cabaret in New York City. Here, BroadwayWorld.com Cabaret Reviewer and Columnist Stephen Hanks offers up his exclusive 'Best New York Cabaret Performers of the Year' for 2012, plus some surprising honorable mentions. Let the debates begin!

THE X FACTOR named Tate Stevens its winner tonight on part two of the FOX show's season finale. After knock-out performances of Mariah Carey's version of 'All I Want For Christmas' and a duet with Stevens on Miley Cyrus' 'The Climb', Broadway star and singing sensation Carly Rose Sonenclar took the second spot, followed by Fifth Harmony in third.

On last night's part one of THE X FACTOR season finale, Carly Rose Sonenclar pulled out all the stops to prove she has what it takes to land the $5 million record deal. The 13-year-old gave three performances: a second, more polished version of Nina Simone's 'Feeling Good,' a celeb-duet with LeAnn Rimes to 'How Do I Live,' and finally, Leona Lewis' version of Leonard Cohen's classic 'Hallelujah.'

THE VOICE's coaches Christina Aguilera, CeeLo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton, and the contestants of the NBC series began the performance finale last night with a rendition of Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah'. Each singer held a card with one of the names of the 26 victims in last week's shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Connecticut. Watch below.

The acclaimed Swedish singer-songwriter Elin Ruth released her Bang EP this week (11/27). The four song EP precedes her full length, eponymous US debut which comes out on January 29, 2013. Bang is available for a free download on her Facebook page HERE. You can also purchase the iTunes version HERE that includes a bonus track in which Elin covers Hank Williams' "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive".

Rod Stewart has just announced plans to launch his eagerly anticipated 'Live the Life' tour in North America this Spring. Stewart will be joined by legendary artist, Steve Winwood for an unstoppable evening of hits from two of rock music's most seminal artists.

The acclaimed Swedish singer-songwriter Elin Ruth released her Bang EP this week (11/27). The four song EP precedes her full length, eponymous US debut which comes out on January 29, 2013. Bang is available for a free download on her Facebook page HERE. You can also purchase the iTunes version HERE that includes a bonus track in which Elin covers Hank Williams' "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive".

Legendary singer/songwriter/poet Leonard Cohen will return to Detroit's Fox Theatre with a new live show tonight, November 26 at 8 p.m. The North American leg of the "Old Ideas World Tour 2012," promoted by AEG Live, celebrates Cohen's highly acclaimed twelfth studio album, Old Ideas, which debuted at No. 1 across the globe, and is the highest charting album of his career.

Acting Up Stage presents TAPESTRIES this Monday, a unique concert featurin the music of Carole King and James Taylor as arranged by Reza Jacobs. These concerts take place once a year and feature some of Canada's best and brightest musical theatre talent paying tribute to some of the most well-known and loved music of the past century. This year's show features Cynthia Dale, Josh Young, Jake Epstein, Arlene Duncan, Sterling Jarvis and more. Reza spoke to BWW about how he goes about putting the show together, how he feels about Toronto's musical theatre landscape and why people should come see the show.

Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, announces the release of an expanded two-disc 30th anniversary edition of Texas Flood, the electrifying debut album by the American blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, available everywhere Tuesday, January 29, 2013.

Broadway stars Emily Padgett and Matthew Hydzik will star as "Alex" and "Nick" in the world premiere of FLASHDANCE - THE MUSICAL, the stage adaptation of the 1983 hit film that defined a generation. Padgett and Hydzik will be joined on stage by the legendary Rachelle Rak in the role of "Tess." Sergio Trujillo, director and choreographer for the production returned to the home of FLASHDANCE and launch of the world premiere, Pittsburgh's Heinz Hall, to announce the lead casting from a press conference. Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Kevin McMahon, CEO of Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, were also on hand to welcome the cast and creative team to Pittsburgh and to make a proclamation, naming January 1, 2013 as FLASHDANCE DAY. Celebrating its 30th Anniversary,FLASHDANCE kicks off a national tour January 1-6 at Heinz Hall and continues on to more than 20 cities with additional bookings to be announced:

Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, announces a special holiday line-up of 7' and 12' vinyl releases, some created especially for Record Store Day 2012's Back To Black Friday, celebrated at the nation's independent record stores on Friday, November 23, 2012.

Stephen Hawking and his fellow physicists may not have yet figured out the formula for traveling through the time-space continuum, but apparently the Metropolitan Room discovered the secret. Last Friday night (October 26), I walked through the curtain into the main performance space and entered a time tunnel that took me from the 21st century into the 1960s and '70s. Two lovely, rising young stars of cabaret, Lauren Fox and Jennifer Sheehan (photo left), had obviously hurtled though that same time warp because in two separate shows on the same evening, they performed songs that had been written and recorded 15 to 25 years before they were born. In the process they transported this particular Baby Boomer joyously back to his youth and to the days of cultural upheaval, generation gaps, peace, love, war, and some of the best pop/rock music ever written.

Before the age of electrified amplification, songs had to be sung loudly in order to be heard. The introduction of the microphone introduced a new, intimate style of performing which became known as crooning. Todd Murray follows the history of crooning, beginning in the 1920's through today. With lush popular ballads, swing, Latin beat, all with lyricists such as Berlin, Porter, Lerner/Lowe, Hal David, and Leonard Cohen, Murray demonstrates that all popular music has its roots in crooning.

Texas Performing Arts presents "the most controversial organist alive" (Dallas Morning News). Cameron Carpenter's flamboyant style, dazzling performances, and profound musical intelligence have completely changed the game of his instrument.

Before the age of electrified amplification, songs had to be sung loudly in order to be heard. The introduction of the microphone introduced a new, intimate style of performing which became known as crooning. Todd Murray follows the history of crooning, beginning in the 1920's through today. With lush popular ballads, swing, Latin beat, all with lyricists such as Berlin, Porter, Lerner/Lowe, Hal David, and Leonard Cohen, Murray demonstrates that all popular music has its roots in crooning.

Lauren Fox, whose highly praised Joni Mitchell-Leonard Cohen show was considered one of the most artistically ambitious cabaret debuts in years, continues to explore the music of the '60s and '70s in a new show, "Canyon Folkies," premiering at the Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd Street, on Thursday October 11 at 7pm. In a major engagement consisting of four shows through November 2, Fox reunites with music director Jon Weber on piano, Peter Calo on guitar and Ritt Henn on bass.