On the evening of March 21, veteran vocalist and stage actress Anna Bergman presented a program called Falling In Love With Love, featuring the romantic songs of Richard Rodgers to support the Actors' Temple (339 West 47th Street) at its 3rd Annual Fundraising Gala, one year shy of Congregation Ezrath Israel's centennial (that's the official name of the synagogue). Prior to Bergman's show (produced by recently elected Temple Board President Carol Ostrow), Rabbi Jill Hausman and outgoing Temple Board President Robert Reicher, both of whom received awards, gave warm and funny speeches, making eminently clear why the Actors' Temple is known as “the Cool Shul.”
'Words & Music: The Songbook Series', a four-program line-up of stellar cabaret entertainment curated by Tom Andersen, kicks off in Catskill on April 1 with five-time MAC Award winner Eric Michael Gillet in 'Man About Town: The Wit and Wisdom of Noel Coward'. This stylish and sophisticated evening will be presented at 8:00pm in Bridge Street Theatre's intimate 'Speakeasy', located at 44 West Bridge Street in the Village of Catskill.
42nd Street Moon continues its 23rd season with a company favorite, THE BOYS FROM SYRACUSE, a musical adaptation of Shakespeare's THE COMEDY OF ERRORS with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and book by George Abbott. Scroll down for a sneak peek at the cast in costume!
Patti LuPone is bringing her no-nonsense Broadway swagger to the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre this spring in a new show titled, DON'T MONKEY WITH BROADWAY, as part of Symphony Space's 'Project B-Way/95' series.
Every time I attend something in jazz pianist Ronny Whyte's estimable weekly series at the welcoming, modern Saint Peter's Church (619 Lexington Avenue at 54th Street), I'm glad I came. The place is airy, peaceful, and sunny with spacious pew and tiered seating. Acoustics are splendid. The audience is respectful. And they have Billy Strayhorn's piano.
Yesterday's easy-going hour featured Alex Leonard on piano and vocals (one forgets how fine a vocalist he is), David Kingsnorth on bass, and veteran Al Gafa on guitar.
Veteran cabaret performer Richard Holbrook peppers his show, 'Sings Richard Rodgers With a Lot of Hart' (at the Metropolitan Room this past Monday night) with facts about Rodgers' life and career. It's obvious the performer feels strongly about his subject's work. Unfortunately, the same energy, volume, and mood predominate throughout. Arrangements are highly similar. Holbrook's musical self consciousness overrides lyric content. His show presents spirit and heart, but inadequate direction.
On the Upper West side of New York City's Manhattan, there's a very special public elementary school named after one of the greatest composers in American theatre, Richard Rodgers. One of the many reasons this school is so unique, is that it's one of the only public elementary schools where kids from Kindergarten through grade five get music, art and dance EVERY SINGLE WEEK. With an emphasis on expanded arts programming throughout the year, PS166, The Richard Rodgers School of Arts and Technology, is prioritizing arts education.
42nd Street Moon continues its 23rd season with a company favorite, THE BOYS FROM SYRACUSE, a musical adaptation of Shakespeare's THE COMEDY OF ERRORS with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and book by George Abbott. Scroll down for a sneak peek at the cast in costume!
Next week, FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz and beyond. Scroll down for details!
On Sunday, February 21st at 9:30pm, Jonathan Larson Award and Mary Rodgers/Lorenz Hart Award winners Tim Rosser and Charlie Sohne will be back on the Feinstein's/54 Below stage for the first time in over 2 years. Hear selections from some of their latest projects including Run Away Home, Talk To Me, The Boy Who Danced on Air, and their new slash fiction boy band pilot Truth Slash Fiction.
Attending a Ben Vereen show these days is like worshipping at the altar of Happy. As he displayed once again on Monday's opening night of his latest run at Feinstein's/ 54 Below, the veteran entertainer exudes palpable pleasure at being on stage while repeatedly expressing gratitude to his audience. Performance is deeply sincere. Vereen seems possessed by spirit. When not singing, eyes often closed, his body echoes the sinuous (Bob Fosse) movement that helped established his early reputation.
Today in 1940, Pal oey opened at Broadway's Ethel Barrymore Theatre. Pal Joey is a musical with a book by John O'Hara (from his novel of the same title) and music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart based on a character and situations O'Hara created in a series of short stories published in The New Yorker. It includes two songs that have become standards: 'I Could Write a Book' and 'Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered'.
Today in 2008, the third Broadway revival of Pal Joey opened at Studio 54, where it ran for 85 performances. Pal Joey is a musical with a book by John O'Hara (from his novel of the same title) and music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart based on a character and situations O'Hara created in a series of short stories published in The New Yorker. The original 1940 Broadway production was directed by George Abbott and starred Gene Kelly. There have been several revivals since, including a 2008-09 Broadway run, and a 1957 film adaptation starring Frank Sinatra, Rita Hayworth and Kim Novak.
Birdland was abuzz this past Thursday night in celebration of Barbara Fasano's fresh-off-the-press CD, Busy Being Free. Industry types table-hopped among civilians--they know a good thing when they hear it--as anticipation swelled. Gift wrapped in tapestry blue, Fasano was accompanied by three of the six excellent musicians on her recording: Musical Director/Pianist/Arranger John di Martino, with Boris Koslov on bass, and Vince Cherico on drums.
Librettist/Lyricist Michael Colby will bring a concert adaptation of his well-received memoir, THE ALGONQUIN KID: ADVENTURES GROWING UP IN NEW YORK'S LEGENDARY HOTEL to Winter Rhythms at Urban Stages, 259 West 30th Street, NY 10001 on Dec. 13th at 2:00pm.
Entering New York University's Skirball Center for the Performing Arts on November 5, 2015, dancers from Troy Schumachers's group, BalletCollective, were already warming up on stage. You could feel the excitement in the air. All one had to do was scream 'go' and the dancers, high on performance octane, would have made a dash for it.
Fourteen years since his debut at Don't Tell Mama, Marcus Simeone has evolved into a fearless singer who is able to climb inside any song and deliver it home with ease. Aside from eclectic solo work, he has also partnered with others over the years with mixed results. Currently, he has joined forces with two cabaret artists in two totally unrelated songwriter showcases running simultaneously in two different clubs. One salutes a controversial folk pioneer and the other pays homage to three Broadway icons.
Porchlight Music Theatre and Artistic Director Michael Weber present the first production in the third season of Chicago's smash "lost" musicals in staged concert series, Porchlight Revisits…BABES IN ARMS, featuring book by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, music by Rodgers and lyrics by Hart, with direction by Jess McLeod, music direction by Alex Newkirk and musical staging by James Beaudry. BABES IN ARMS is presented for three-nights-only through tonight, Oct. 8 at 7:15 p.m. and is performed on the set of Porchlight's SIDE SHOW (September 11 - October 25) on nights when there are no performances at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave. BroadwayWorld has photos from the October 6th opening night festivities below!
Ninety percent of the way into her ebullient show last night at Birdland, So, As I Was Saying, Anita Gillette quotes a 1977 review of her performance in Neil Simon's Chapter Two that stated the warmth she exudes could melt glaciers. (The artist wasn't bragging, but was referring to her then difficulty in finding any glaciers, i.e., men to melt.) The description applies today.
A packed audience comprised both of devoted civilian fans and theatrical luminaries cheered on the latest iteration of Gillette's dramatized life. Once again directed by Barry Kleinbort with musically directed by Paul Greenwood (who also appealingly sings duets), with Ritt Henn on bass and John Redsecker on drums, the show is as sincere and bubbly as the lady herself.
