Mahalia Jackson News

Blue Note Entertainment Group has announced its first-annual NEW YORK BRASS AND HERITAGE FESTIVAL, a celebration of New Orleans music and culture today, January 7-12, 2014.

Renowned Broadway star Frenchie Davis, seen in RENT on Broadway, American Idol and The Voice, stars in her very own Cabaret Show at The Metropolitan Room.

On January 21, 2014, Shanachie Entertainment/Euphonic Records will release Jennifer Holliday's highly anticipated label debut, The Song Is You, an enchanting collection of R&B and Jazz numbers that showcase Holliday at her best. Listen to a sampling of the album below!

Former RENT star Frenchie Davis will bring THE FRENCH & KAT SHOW to the Metropolitan Room for a series of performances in February 2014.

Blue Note Entertainment Group has announced its first-annual NEW YORK BRASS AND HERITAGE FESTIVAL, a celebration of New Orleans music and culture January 7-12, 2014. Artists including THE REBIRTH BRASS BAND, THE BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA, THE DIRTY DOZEN BRASS BAND, KELLER WILLIAMS AND THE TRAVELIN' MCCOURYS and more will take to the stage at Blue Note Jazz Club, B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, The Highline Ballroom, Lucille's Bar & Grill, and Drom, bringing a mix of New Orleans jazz-fusion, blues and brass for six nights of unforgettable Southern comfort.

Jennifer Holliday is undeniably one of R&B and Broadway's greatest voices. Endowed with a commanding and irresistible voice, immeasurable range and artistry that few can rival, Holliday has long stood in a class by herself. The dynamic songstress' now legendary show-stopping, heart-wrenching performance of the torch ballad "And I'm Telling You, I'm Not Going" in the smash hit Broadway musical, Dreamgirls, made her a household name and introduced her big soulful voice to the world. Her portrayal of Effie "Melody" White, a role she co-created, not only brought theatergoers to their feet for eight performances a week, but also garnered her a Tony-Award for Best Actress in a Musical and her first Grammy-Award for Best R&B Female Vocalist. From Broadway to major TV appearances including (Ellen, Ally McBeal and Touched By An Angel) and half-a-dozen soundtrack credits, Jennifer Holliday is one of the most distinctive, enviable and revered voices in modern music. Through the years, Holliday has collaborated with everyone from Barbra Streisand, Luther Vandross, David Foster and Paul Simon, to Michael Jackson, Maurice White and Foreigner. She has also sung with the Boston Pops and The Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra with Peter Nero, among numerous other esteemed orchestras. She considers herself to be a Broadway Baby and theater continues to be a significant part of her career. Her illustrious resume includes such theatre credits as Sing Mahalia Sing: The Mahalia Jackson Story, Downhearted Blues: The Bessie Smith Story, Harlem Suite (with Aretha Franklin), Chicago (starring as "Mama Morton"), Grease (starring as "Teen Angel") and Black Nativity (starring as the "Angel of God"). The in-demand star has also been invited to participate in Chaka Khan's induction into the Apollo Legends Hall of Fame ceremony to take place June 10 at the Apollo Theatre and broadcast later on BET. Considering herself a "bi-partisan songbird," Jennifer is both honored and grateful to have performed at the White House for President Ronald Reagan, President George Bush, President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush.

One of the first theater influences for me as a kid wasn't a play or musical, but a touring company of Alvin Ailey Company that came through Jones Hall in Houston Texas. By the end of the solo piece "Cry," I was in tears, baffled by how I'd just watched a three act play with no words being spoken. The shifts from love and defiance were dizzying at times, but never melodramatic. And the storytelling was rooted in such truth that carried a legacy of history of those who had danced the piece before her. Flash forward to my first trip to New York in Junior Year of High School where I took a very expensive nap during one of my first Broadway shows until a helicopter onstage woke me up. It was no fault of the actors for not holding the interest of an over-stimulated teenager, but in hindsight, I could see how technology and budget robbed the intimacy of the story being told.

The historic Saenger Theatre, slated to reopen Sept. 27, will host a free performance of 'Gracias Christmas Cantata' by the world renowned Gracias Choir and Orchestra tonight, Oct. 6 at 7 p.m., the theatre announced today. Tickets to this free concert event, presented by Good News New Orleans Church, are now available to the general public.

The City of New Orleans, Canal Street Development Corporation and ACE Theatrical Group invite locals and visitors to officially toast the Saenger Theatre's highly anticipated reopening during a Grand Opening Gala, tonight, Oct. 3, and concert event featuring Kristin Chenoweth and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Oct. 5.

The Segal Centre will swing into its 2013-2014 Theatre Season with the Tony Award-winning musical Ain't Misbehavin', The Fats Waller Musical Show, conceived by Richard Maltby Jr. and Murray Horwitz. Presented in Montreal for the first time in over twenty years, this classic jazz-age musical revue is revived at the Segal Centre under the direction of Roger Peace and featuring a stellar cast led by Kim Richardson and Toya Alexis. In co-production with Copa de Oro Productions and sponsored by KPMG, Ain't Misbehavin' runs from tonight, September 29th to October 20th, 2013 in the Segal Theatre.

The historic Saenger Theatre, slated to reopen Sept. 27, will host a free performance of "Gracias Christmas Cantata" by the world renowned Gracias Choir and Orchestra on Sun., Oct. 6 at 7 p.m., the theatre announced today. Tickets to this free concert event, presented by Good News New Orleans Church, are now available to the general public.

The Segal Centre will swing into its 2013-2014 Theatre Season with the Tony Award-winning musical Ain't Misbehavin', The Fats Waller Musical Show, conceived by Richard Maltby Jr. and Murray Horwitz. Presented in Montreal for the first time in over twenty years, this classic jazz-age musical revue is revived at the Segal Centre under the direction of Roger Peace and featuring a stellar cast led by Kim Richardson and Toya Alexis. In co-production with Copa de Oro Productions and sponsored by KPMG, Ain't Misbehavin' runs fromSeptember 29th to October 20th, 2013 in the Segal Theatre.

The historic Saenger Theatre, slated to reopen this fall, will celebrate its community by hosting a special, free concert event with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra on Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 10 a.m. Free tickets will be distributed to area schools and are also currently available to the general public.

Arturo O'Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra perform tonight, August 11, 2013 at 7:00 pm. Tickets are $19-$29 with Premium tickets available for $39. Students with ID's are $12. Tickets are available online at www.harriscenter.net or from Harris Center Ticket Office at 916-608-6888 from 10 am to 6 pm, Monday through Saturday, and two hours before show time. Parking is included in the price of the ticket. Harris Center is located on the west side of Folsom Lake College campus in Folsom, CA, facing East Bidwell Street.

The producers of the national tour of THE BOOK OF MORMON, winner of nine Tony Awards including Best Musical, and East Jefferson General Hospital Broadway in New Orleans announced today that single tickets will go on sale Friday, August 16 at 10 a.m. An exclusive online pre-sale for American Express Cardmembers will begin at Tuesday, August 13 at 10 a.m. Tickets will be available at BroadwayInNewOrleans.com, www.BookofMormonTheMusical.com, the Mahalia Jackson Theater Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets or by calling 1.800.982.ARTS (2787). Group discounts for 15 or more are available by calling 504.287.0372.

The City of New Orleans, Canal Street Development Corporation and ACE Theatrical Group invite locals and visitors to officially toast the Saenger Theatre's highly anticipated reopening during a Grand Opening Gala, Oct. 3, and concert event featuring Kristin Chenoweth and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Oct. 5.

Cape May Stage, South Jersey's premiere Equity theatre, is overjoyed to welcome Broadway star and jazz and blues singer, Sandra Reaves-Phillips performing in her one-woman show Me, Myself and You. Join Ms. Reaves-Phillips in an intimate tour-de-force performance on Monday, August 12 at 8 p.m.

With support provided by L.A. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, the Signature Series concludes this summer on Saturday, August 10 at 8 p.m., when Angelenos can experience an evening of dance featuring a special appearance by Complexions Contemporary Ballet, who mark their return to Los Angeles with a mix of repertory and new works and a performance by Los Angeles' own Lula Washington Dance Theatre. Scroll down for a sneak peek at the groups!

After its workshop production at the York Theatre in NYC in Nov. 2011, Chance - A Musical Play about Love, Risk & Getting it Right -will be having the its world premiere staging at The Alcove Theatre in SF, beginning tonight, July 5, and running through July 28, 2013.

The Segal Centre for Performing Arts and Copa de Oro Productions are pleased to announce the casting for their upcoming co-production of the Tony Award-winning musical, Ain't Misbehavin, The Fats Waller Musical, presented September 29th to October 20th, 2013 in the Segal Theatre.