Pearl Bailey News

Legendary performer and 17-Time GRAMMY winner Tony Bennett, who celebrates his 86th birthday on Friday, August 3rd, releases his latest CD, TONY BENNETT: VIVA DUETS, worldwide on Tuesday, October 23rd on Columbia Records.

The economy is the worse it's been in fifty years and a bunch of Delawareans decide to cheer things up by staging a musical at Longwood Gardens. Sound familiar? This is how The Brandywiners got their start in the Great Depression when Frances Tatnall and W.W. (Chick) Laird staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirate of Penzance way back in 1932. Of course, it didn't hurt that Pierre du Pont, owner of Longwood Gardens at the time, was Lairds's uncle and had just built Longwood's beautiful Open Air Theatre. Now, 80 years later, and in the midst of another economic turndown, The Brandywiners are doing it again with Hello, Dolly! , one of the greatest American musicals of all time. Opening in 1964, Hello, Dolly! set a record for Tony Awards (10) and performances (2,844). The title role of Dolly was originated by the legendary Carol Channing, and has been played by a who's who of female stars including Barbra Streisand, Mary Martin, Ginger Rogers, Betty Grable, Pearl Bailey, Ethel Merman and even Phyllis Diller. Hello, Dolly! is a lavish Broadway-style musical that is as humorous as it is heart warming. Based on Thorton Wilder's The Matchmaker, it tells the story of Dolly's matchmaking mis-adventures in New York City just before the dawn of the 20th century. In keeping with the times, Director Cal Bracken has given The Brandywiners' production a feminist twist to an otherwise over-the-top sexist plot line. The women in this show do more than "clean out the stables" as they join the budding suffragettes demanding respect and equal rights. In another timely line, two of the characters sing "JP Morgan scrapes and bows to us" as they try it impress their girl friends. In true Brandywiners' fashion, this production brings eye-catching costumes, a professional orchestra and a cast of nearly sixty talented performers singing and dancing their hearts out. The Brandywiners' shows come as close as you can get to touring Broadway show quality and at less than half the price. Hello, Dolly! is playing July 26-28 and August 2-4 at Longwood Gardens Open Air Theater. Tickets are available by calling 800 338 6965 or through www.brandywiners.org.

Catalina Bar & Grill will present "A Birthday Tribute To Billie Holiday" starring Billie Holiday's pianist Corky Hale and singer Freda Payne, with Special Guest, singer Tricia Tahara for One Night Only!!! The performance will be presented on Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 8:30 p.m. at Catalina Bar & Grill; 6725 West Sunset Boulevard (just east of North Highland Avenue); Los Angeles, CA 90028. There is $20 Cover Charge. Valet Parking is available.

The Howard Theatre, the historic arts landmark that launched the careers of Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Marvin Gaye and The Supremes, announces their grand re-opening after a $29 million renovation and a 32-year hiatus. The Howard Theatre will re-open the week of April 9 with an opening lineup that includes Wale, Wanda Sykes, The Roots, Robert Randolph, Taj Mahal, Yasiin Bey (aka Mos Def), Meshell Ndegeocello, Bad Brains, Chuck Brown, Chuck Berry, Esperanza Spalding and a weekly Sunday Brunch featuring the Harlem Gospel Choir. The full schedule is available at www.thehowardtheatre.com.

Vicki Lewis (Damn Yakees, Chicago) and Tony Winner Gary Beach (The Producers, La Cage aux Folles, Beauty and the Beast) star in 'It's Gettin' Hot in Here, Take Off Your Sunday Clothes.'

The Arizona Broadway Theatre has announced its upcoming 2012-2013 season. The season includes OKLAHOMA!, ANNIE, HELLO DOLLY, BUDDY: THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY, 9 TO 5, INTO THE WOODS, JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT, and THE GREAT AMERICAN TRAILER PARK MUSICAL.

The Maltz Jupiter Theatre presents the final show of its 2011/12 season Hello, Dolly! through April 1, directed by Tony®-nominated director and choreographer Marcia Milgrom Dodge and starring Broadway veteran Vicki Lewis and Tony® winner Gary Beach. Composer and lyricist Jerry Herman was in the audience at last night's show. Herman, who won a Tony Award for Hello, Dolly!, came backstage after the show and congratulated the cast on the performance. Check out the photo below!

Catalina Bar & Grill will present "A Birthday Tribute To Billie Holiday" starring Billie Holiday's pianist Corky Hale and singer Freda Payne, with Special Guest, singer Tricia Tahara for One Night Only!!! The performance will be presented on Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 8:30 p.m. at Catalina Bar & Grill; 6725 West Sunset Boulevard (just east of North Highland Avenue); Los Angeles, CA 90028. There is $20 Cover Charge. Valet Parking is available.

The Maltz Jupiter Theatre is heading into the final show of its 2011/12 season. The Tony Award®-winning classic musical Hello, Dolly! bursts onto the Theatre's stage March 13 through April 1, directed by Tony®-nominated director and choreographer Marcia Milgrom Dodge and starring Broadway veteran Vicki Lewis and Tony® winner Gary Beach.

Creative Alliance and Coppin State University, CSU Sharing the Stage: Creating Community Through Dance, present Buster, Baby and Hawk: Masters of Maryland Tap Sat Mar 10, 7:30pm at James Weldon Johnson Auditorium, Coppin University 2500 W. North Ave.

The Maltz Jupiter Theatre is heading into the final show of its 2011/12 season. The Tony Award®-winning classic musical Hello, Dolly! bursts onto the Theatre's stage March 13 through April 1, directed by Tony®-nominated director and choreographer Marcia Milgrom Dodge and starring Broadway veteran Vicki Lewis and Tony® winner Gary Beach.

A benefit for Walk To End Alzheimer's at The Loft in The Mesquite Country Club on Thursday, February 23rd will feature an all-you-can-eat buffet dinner and the acclaimed one-man hit The Judy Show starring local celebrity Michael Holmes.

Creative Alliance and Coppin State University, CSU Sharing the Stage: Creating Community Through Dance, present Buster, Baby and Hawk: Masters of Maryland Tap Sat Mar 10, 7:30pm at James Weldon Johnson Auditorium, Coppin University 2500 W. North Ave.

The Maltz Jupiter Theatre is heading into the final show of its 2011/12 season with Hello, Dolly!, March 13 through April 1, directed by Tony®-nominated director and choreographer Marcia Milgrom Dodge and starring Broadway veteran Vicki Lewis and Tony® winner Gary Beach.

A benefit for Walk To End Alzheimer's at The Loft in The Mesquite Country Club on Thursday, February 23rd will feature an all-you-can-eat buffet dinner and the acclaimed one-man hit The Judy Show starring local celebrity Michael Holmes.

We are sad to report the news today, that Harry Kullijian, husband of Broadway legend, Carol Channing, passed away on Monday in Southern California, just a few short days of his 92nd birthday. Channing, performed the night before in 'A Carol Channing Chirstmas' at the Agua Caliente Resort & Casino in Rancho Mirage, California and the next day Kullijian collapsed at home, and died from what the Modesto Bee describes as an aneurysm related condition, that he had been treated for two years prior.

Entertainment One US will release CAROL CHANNING: LARGER THAN LIFE in New York and Los Angeles on January 20, 2012, with additional markets to follow. The film, directed by Dori Berinstein (ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway, Some Assembly Required, Gotta Dance), examines the life and career of Tony Award-winning Broadway legend, Carol Channing - her extraordinary stage life, her offstage struggles and survival and the extraordinary storybook romance that found her reunited with her junior high school sweetheart after over 70 years. BroadwayWorld has gotten a glimpse of the movie's trailer and brings you a sneak peek below!

Entertainment One US will release CAROL CHANNING: LARGER THAN LIFE in New York and Los Angeles on January 20, 2012, with additional markets to follow. The film, directed by Dori Berinstein (ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway, Some Assembly Required, Gotta Dance), examines the life and career of Tony Award-winning Broadway legend, Carol Channing - her extraordinary stage life, her offstage struggles and survival and the extraordinary storybook romance that found her reunited with her junior high school sweetheart after over 70 years.

On Friday, Nov 11th at 9pm Michael Raye, Kristen Gray & Bessye Scott return to Manhattan's Triad Theater, 158 West 72nd Street, in a triple-hitter of three amazing artists aptly titled, 'JUST THE THREE OF US.'

In celebration of the artist's 85th birthday, Columbia Records/RPM Records/Legacy Recordings will release Tony Bennett - The Complete Collection, an extraordinary compilation chronicling the entire career of the great American pop vocalist as documented in the albums and singles he's made for Columbia Records (beginning in 1952 through the present), as well as his recordings for Roulette (an historic encounter with Count Basie and Orchestra in 1959), MGM (1972-73), Improv (Bennett's own label from 1973-76) and Fantasy (a pair of sublime titles with pianist Bill Evans, released in 1975-76).