McDonald News

PBS announced today, as part of its co-production partnership with the BBC, that a new three-part live event, AUTUMNWATCH - NEW ENGLAND, will air Wednesday-Thursday, October 17-18, 2018, at 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET and Friday, October 19, 2018 at 8:30-9:30 p.m. ET. 

Xiuhtezcatl (pronounced Shoe-Tez-Caht), young and progressive hip-hop artist, made it into the public eye as an activist speaking out on critical issues including climate change and Indigenous rights. He also performed and supported the Standing Rock movement. When he first started to write bars, he initially meant them to be a creative outlet for his activism.  Xiuhtezcatl recalls “I saw this album serving as a call to action for the world. Calling my generation to overcome the limitations and boundaries our broken world has placed on us. Calling on our communities to break free from the oppression and injustice that we face.” But as the album and tracks progressed the artistic process took hold, and became less about his work as an activist, and more of a reflection of Xiuhtezcatl's growth and self-discovery as a young man and an artist. Xiuhtezcatl is due to release his powerful debut album, Break Free, on October 5th.

Bicoastal indie-pop duo EXES, composed of Brooklyn-based Allie McDonald and Venice beach-based producer Mike Derenzo, are preparing to release their new project Before You Go this Friday, October 5th. In anticipation, today the project is available to stream in full via Live Nation's Ones To Watch alongside an in-depth Q&A with the band. About the new project, EXES comment: “As we're growing, our sound is also maturing. “Before You Go” feels like a great next step for us. We're still creating music based on our real life struggles, heartbreaks, fears, and joys- but the sounds and the ideas are more unique and explorative. We weren't afraid to try new things this time around.”

The Hackensack Main Street Business Alliance and the City of Hackensack are excited to announce the latest group of musical artists to participate in second annual 'PAC the House' series at the Hackensack Performing Arts Center (HACPAC). Tickets for the performances range from $40 to $60.

Fascinating Aida's Adele Anderson is confirmed to join Mark Williams, who plays Doctor Dolittle, in the UK & Ireland Tour of Doctor Dolittle. Adele will play Lady Bellowes/Poison Arrow at the first six venues of the tour - Bromley, Salford, Oxford, Wolverhampton, Newcastle and Hull. There will be a national press night on Thursday 17 January 2019 at the Oxford New Theatre.

The York Theatre Company (James Morgan, Producing Artistic Director; Evans Haile, Executive Director), dedicated to the development of new musicals and rediscovery of musical gems from the past, presents the Off-Broadway premiere of the acclaimed new musical Midnight at The Never Get, with book, music, and lyrics by Mark Sonnenblick, co-conceived by Sam Bolen, by arrangement with Visceral Entertainment and Mark Cortale Productions.  Directed by Max Friedman, with choreography by Andrew Palermo, and music direction/arrangements by Adam Podd, the cast will feature Sam Bolen, Jeremy Cohen, and Jon J. Peterson.  Performances begin Tuesday, October 2, 2018 for a limited engagement through Sunday afternoon, November 4, 2018 at The York Theatre Company at Saint Peter's (entrance on East 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue). Opening Night is Thursday evening, October 11, 2018 at 6:45 p.m. 

GHOSTLIGHT RECORDS has announced the release of How We React and How We Recover, the new album from three-time Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown, on physical CD online and in stores today, Friday, September 28.

To open their 2018-2019 season, Theater Latte Da presents the multi Tony Award winning musical ONCE at the Ritz Theater in Northeast Minneapolis.  Adapted by Edna Walsh with worlds and lyrics written or composed by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, ONCE recalls the story of a guy and girl who meet through fate for six days in Dublin, Ireland. The Girl, a Czech immigrant ready to begin a new life, intersects at a train station with an Irishmen who repairs Hoovers while pondering on abandoning his musical career. Together, in an old Dublin shop where pianos are sold, Girl plays her accompaniment to Guy's lyrics. The two indeed "make beautiful music together," while Latte Da's production keeps the musical drama and their audiencenes, as a song from the musical quotes, "walking on moonbeams." 

Courtney Barnett is be returning to the US in a few days to start an exciting run of Fall tour dates. She'll be playing some of her biggest venues yet including a special show at The Greek Theatre on October 5th where she will be joined by Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks and Waxahatchee. 

She lives in New Orleans, on the other side of the street made famous by Tennessee Williams. She's won two Grammy Awards in a career spanning five decades and embracing rock, R & B, blues, pop, soul and jazz. She's No. 30 on VH1's 100 Greatest Women in Rock and Roll and her album, Piratesis 49 on NPR's list of the 150 Greatest Albums Made by Women. She's the inimitable Rickie Lee Jones.

This Fall Live @ Benaroya Hall demonstrates its commitment to supporting emerging artists with a series of four artists on the rise: Royal, Springs, Beving and Micarelli. The Live @ Benaroya Hall season continues through December and into 2019 with four added concerts: Brickman, The Tenors, The English Beat and Bowie. Tickets to those shows recently went on sale and good seats are available for all concerts in the lineup. More shows for the Spring of 2019 will be announced in late January. Tickets for the concerts listed above are on sale now, prices vary.

The "Take Me To The River: New Orleans LIVE" tour comes to the McAninch Arts Center, located at 425 Fawell Blvd. on the campus of College of DuPage, Oct. 14 at 6 p.m.This performance will be the 3rd in a tour beginning Oct. 12 in Milwaukee and continuing through November through the Midwest and Northeast.

Whether from disease, 19th century #MeToo-style abuse, or unrequited love, Opera Philadelphia's (OP) Festival O18 opening weekend showed us three ways that central female characters lost their grip on reality. While I considered only one of them a total success, audience openness to sometimes-demanding material made it clear that the company has found a formula that strikes at the hearts of opera-goers, new and old.

Playhouse on the Square, in partnership with super sponsor Dr. Thomas Ratliff, is proud to present the musical adaptation of an American masterpiece.

With a career that encompasses five Grammy Awards, numerous chart successes and personal and professional accolades, as well as collaborations with some of the world's most prominent artists, Michael McDonald remains an enduring force in popular music. The singer brings his Season of Peace: Holiday & Hits Tour to The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts on December 6 at 8 pm. Tickets are on sale now to theatre members and go on sale to the general public on Friday, September 28 at 10 am.

She lives in New Orleans, on the other side of the street made famous by Tennessee Williams. She's won two Grammy Awards in a career spanning five decades and embracing rock, R & B, blues, pop, soul and jazz. She's No. 30 on VH1's 100 Greatest Women in Rock and Roll and her album, Piratesis 49 on NPR's list of the 150 Greatest Albums Made by Women. She's the inimitable Rickie Lee Jones.

Music Theatre International Australasia, in partnership with AMICI Trust in New Zealand and producers Shane Bransdon and Daniel Stoddart, founders of OzTheatrics in Australia, and in collaboration with iTheatrics from the United States, will present the third annual Junior Theatre Celebration Australia in Newcastle, Australia on Friday 26th & Saturday 27th October and the second Junior Theatre Celebration New Zealand in Auckland, New Zealand on Friday 2nd & Saturday 3rd November 2018.

Peak Performances continues its galvanizing 2018-19 season with Liz Gerring Dance Company's field (October 18-21), the final installment in a trilogy of works Peak Performances has commissioned from the acclaimed choreographer. This work of movement, sound, and light marks the third collaboration between Liz Gerring, composer Michael J. Schumacher, and designer Robert Wierzel, following 2013's glacier and 2015's horizon.

Broadway concert series, hosted by Seth Rudetsky, will return to San Francisco. Kicking off the series will be Ramin Karimloo followed by Audra McDonald.

This is a Carnegie Hall Opening Night you will never forget. A pair of vocal superstars-Renee Fleming and Audra McDonald-join Perspectives artist Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony for an evening of favorites from opera and music theater. To add to the festive occasion, there's exhilarating orchestral music by Gershwin and Liszt's whirling waltz.