Peggy Lee News

Start spreading the news…because Liza Minnelli is making her debut at Peter Mac's Supper club inside the French Market. The show stars critically acclaimed and renowned Tribute Artist, Peter Mac. Mac is best known for his loving and sympathetic portrayal of Minnelli's "Mama", Judy Garland. This time Mac is taking over the role the lady who Fred Astaire once dubbed as "Hollywood's Crown Princess".

When award-winning cabaret singer SUZANNE CARRICO & Broadway actress JOI DANIELLE PRICE both found themselves "in the family way," they did the only thing they could. They decided to spend their summer with GREAT EXPECTATIONS, for three every Sundays, July 29 & August 5 & 12, at Metropolitan Room. They will be accompanied on this musical journey through 9 months of waiting, not by a midwife, but by Musical Director, DON REBIC, with Special Guest, TRACY STARK on the piano on August 5th & 12th.

Popular NJ husband/wife musical duo FRANCINE EVANS & JOEL ZELNIK will be appearing for the first time ever on an Off-Off Broadway production this fall. DESTINATION: Las Vegas - A Musical Journey will begin a run on Sun., Oct. 7 @3pm and continue through Sat, Oct. 13 @7:30, Sun., Oct. 21 @3pm and Weds., Oct. 24 @3pm.

Start spreading the news! Big Band Legends, a dazzling new production that honors the great crooners and songbirds from Bing Crosby to Michael Bublé, is entertaining theatregoers of all ages at the Huron Country Playhouse through July 14th.

For the first time back in the U.S. since 1978, British pop-art band 10cc performs at The Concert Hall in New York City, on Friday, July 13, part of a two-date flying visit to North America. The other show is a headline spot at Ottawa BluesFest in Canada.

This summer, audiences are invited to visit the Huron Country Playhouse to jump and jive withan original production that swings, scats, stomps, and soars through the most memorable tunes of the greatest crooners and songbirds. The Canadian premiere of Big Band Legends runs for three weeks beginning tonight, June 27th through July 14th.

Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, Peggy Lee, Johnny Mathis, Ray Charles, Patsy Cline, Neil Diamond, Connie Francis, Sammy Davis, Jr. - their names are as familiar as our own, and their songs rekindle the memories of a lifetime. Now, the distinctive styles and memorable music of these incomparable artists are brought together in one truly amazing "concert" entitled, Unforgettable, which will be presented July 20-August 5 -Fridays & Saturdays at 8PM, Sundays at 2PM. Fountain Hills Theater 11445 N. Saguaro Blvd., Fountain Hills, AZ 85268.

On Thursday, three-time Tony Award-winning Broadway composer Richard Adler passed away at the ripe old age of 90. Responsible for two of the biggest Broadway smash hits of the 1950s, THE PAJAMA GAME and GAMN YANKEES, Adler never quite managed to equal his career-high double-hitter of that era, yet his earlier work with Tony Bennett ('Rags To Riches'), Doris Day ('Everybody Loves A Lover') and Marilyn Monroe (the iconic 'Happy Birthday, Mr. President') surely shall solidify his place in the firmament of entertainment history along with his two classic musicals from the Golden Age. Winning both Best Score and Best Musical for both THE PAJAMA GAME and DAMN YANKEES, Adler's partnership with lyricist Jerry Ross - which began on Broadway in 1953 with JOHN MURRAY ANDERSON'S ALMANAC - was tragically cut short just months after the DAMN YANKEES premiere when Ross was diagnosed with lung disease and passed away soon thereafter. Yet, thanks to the beloved film versions of THE PAJAMA GAME and DAMN YANKEES and continued interest in the entities as expressed in the revivals and reappraisals of both onstage from Broadway to Biloxi to Bombay year after year, the snappy, snazzy tunes of Adler and Ross live on eight times a week all around the world - even now, more than fifty years after they premiered. Unfortunately, Adler's subsequent shows with other collaborators post-1955 failed to capture the early magic of his previous projects with Ross and his earlier musical and theatrical endeavors in the pop arena, with the racially charged KWAMINA flopping on Broadway in 1961 (though he took home a Best Composer Tony Award for his efforts anyway) and the awkwardly titled MUSIC IS failing to recreate the magic of its source material, Shakespeare's TWELFTH NIGHT, in 1976. A MOTER'S KISSES, starring Bea Arthur and a young Bernadette Peters, died on the road, as well. In the intervening years, Adler attempted musical adaptations taken from a number of intriguing sources - OF HUMAN BONDAGE and others among them - though only his ballet scores seemed to reach an audience; particularly his last, commissioned for a new production of Lorca's THE HOUSE OF BERNARDA ALBA in 1998. Of course, THE PAJAMA GAME has had two Broadway revivals - most recently the rapturously received Kathleen Marshall-directed production starring Harry Connick, Jr. and Kelli O'Hara; and DAMN YANKEES famously returned to the Great White Way with much ado in 1994 starring Victor Garber. Now seems particularly ripe for remounting YANKEES, as we approach twenty years in its absence - especially given the musical's seriously smashing showing at Encores! in 2007. Who knows, perhaps some risky producer will even take a chance on a new production of KWAMINA, MUSIC IS, A MOTHER'S KISSES or one of the bottom drawer shows someday soon to see if they possess any of the limitless potential shown by Adler's earlier work. Or maybe a stage treatment of his TV musical GIFT OF THE MAGI (originally composed for then-wife Sally Ann Howes)? Or, better yet, how about a revue? What a stupendous songstack Adler created over the course of his career - 'Whatever Lola Wants' to 'Hey There' to 'Hernando's Hideaway' to 'You Gotta Have Heart' to 'Steam Heat' to the aforementioned Bennett, Day and Monroe standards and so many more chestnuts.

This summer, audiences are invited to visit the Huron Country Playhouse to jump and jive withan original production that swings, scats, stomps, and soars through the most memorable tunes of the greatest crooners and songbirds. The Canadian premiere of Big Band Legends runs for three weeks beginning June 27th through July 14th.

Billie Williams stages her debut cabaret show 'Fade to Blues' at the Metropolitan Room, June 15.

"Stand By Me," the song written by Leiber & Stoller and Ben E. King will receive the Towering Song Award at the 2012 Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) Gala Event to be held at the Marriott Marquee Hotel in New York City tonight, June 14, 2012, Songwriters Hall of Fame Chairman, Jimmy Webb, announced. Mike Stoller will accept the award along with Ben E. King, who will also be honored with the Towering Performance Award for his performance on the Leiber & Stoller produced recording of "Stand By Me."

Billie Williams stages her debut cabaret show 'Fade to Blues' at the Metropolitan Room, tonight, June 8 and June 15.

Sony Holland, the acclaimed vocalist who is a longtime San Francisco favorite, will return to The RRazz Room with a series of concerts to welcome her back to the Bay Area. Her all-star band will include Andy Langham on piano, David Hughes on bass, Jerry Holland on guitar and Kendall Kay on drums. Ms. Holland has toured Asia, performed in prestigious jazz festivals and in premier nightclubs such as the Blue Note, Catalina's, the Dakota and many more. Her recent CD Sanssouci (Van Ness, 2010) features Sony backed by an organic trio of acoustic guitar, upright bass and djembe drum.

"Mike Stoller In Conversation with Steve Barri" will be presented at the Skirball Cultural Center today, May 31, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. in the auditorium at the Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90049. Immediately following the program, Mike Stoller will signing copies of his book, "Hound Dog - The Leiber & Stoller Autobiography."

Sony Holland, the acclaimed vocalist who is a longtime San Francisco favorite, will return to The RRazz Room with a series of concerts to welcome her back to the Bay Area. Her all-star band will include Andy Langham on piano, David Hughes on bass, Jerry Holland on guitar and Kendall Kay on drums. Ms. Holland has toured Asia, performed in prestigious jazz festivals and in premier nightclubs such as the Blue Note, Catalina's, the Dakota and many more. Her recent CD Sanssouci (Van Ness, 2010) features Sony backed by an organic trio of acoustic guitar, upright bass and djembe drum.

Bea Arthur would have turned 90 years old on May 27, 2012. To celebrate her birthday, actor D.J. Schaefer is transformed as Bea Arthur and will join Judy Garland played by rewound tribute artist, Peter Mac in a very special show Bea Arthur and Judy Garland: Tribute Artists Celebrate 90th Birthdays.

Bea Arthur would have turned 90 years old on May 27, 2012. To celebrate her birthday, actor D.J. Schaefer is transformed as Bea Arthur and will join Judy Garland played by rewound tribute artist, Peter Mac in a very special show Bea Arthur and Judy Garland: Tribute Artists Celebrate 90th Birthdays.

Judy and Company with Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli, Peggy Lee, Tallulah Bankhead and Katie Hepburn, ladies of screen, theatre and TV all sharing top billing, as usual is a joyous Peter Mac show. At the all new Peter Mac Supper Club in Hollywood, Garland opens and closes with a bevy of her hits including, 'Almost Like Being in Love', 'This Can't Be Love', 'The Man That Got Away', 'The Trolley Song' and 'By Myself' from the film I Could Go On Singing. Garland is in rare form, never missing a beat, even getting in a dig about losing the Oscar for Star to Grace Kelly. Next comes Miss Tallulah Bankhead SINGING an outrageous 'Everybody's F------But Me' and 'Como te gusta mi pinga...', with Spanish making the obscenity sound acceptable, actually quite delicious. Jokes fly out of her trashy mouth, and there's even a raunchy Snow White fable. Following Tallu comes a hilariously, talk about stoned, Peggy Lee who gives her all to 'Is That All There Is?' and the politically incorrect 'Manana'. Lee's synthetic blonde wig gives Mac some great dish lines. Then, like a tornado from QVC, in flies the one and only Liza Minnelli - ablaze in red sequins - giving us not two but three numbers 'Say Yes', 'Liza with a Z' and 'Maybe This Time' with quite an interesting anecdote about how the former was actually written for Kaye Ballard but became a big hit in theCabaret film for Liza. The final guest is Kate Hepburn who treats us to her inimitable rendition of 'Coco' and 'The Glory of Love' echoing her unusual 27 year extra-marital relationship with Spencer Tracy.

As it continues to explore Yiddish culture in bold, new ways, the Drama Desk Award-winning National Yiddish Theatre - Folksbiene brings the internationally acclaimed Israeli theatre artist Mendy Cahan to New York for an exclusive three-show engagement tonight, May 19 and tomorrow, May 20.

"Mike Stoller In Conversation with Steve Barri" will be presented at the Skirball Cultural Center on Thursday, May 31, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. in the auditorium at the Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90049. Immediately following the program, Mike Stoller will signing copies of his book, "Hound Dog - The Leiber & Stoller Autobiography."