Petula Clark News

Maxine Linehan, one of New York's rising star concert and cabaret vocalists, sure knows how to celebrate the newly-crowned National League Champion New York Mets and their sudden home-run slugging superstar Daniel Murphy. The Irish-born Linehan recently took to the roof of her midtown westside residence to sing a special song in honor of fellow Irishman Murphy, who recently set a Major League Baseball post-season record for belting a home run in six consecutive playoff games. What song did Linehan pick as her love ode to the Murphy and the Mets? What's else but a parody of that iconic Irish ballad 'Danny Boy,' the original of which Linehan featured in her critically acclaimed cabaret show Beautiful Songs. As you'll see and hear in the video below, Maxine Linehan knocked this one out of the park.

In her show entitled, FROM THE BRILL BUILDING TO THE METROPOLITAN ROOM: SANDRA PILLER SINGS RUTH ROBERTS, the audience will hear songs recorded by such artists as Petula Clark, Dean Martin, Buddy Holly, Jimmy Dean, Lawrence Welk, Freda Payne, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and many more.

Glen Street Theatre is excited to announce their 2016 season of entertainment at the beautiful Belrose venue. A diverse programme of drama, music, satire and comedy plus a series of kids shows promises something for everyone.

Alistair Izobell and the Baxter Theatre Centre pay tribute to Cape Town's iconic Luxurama Theatre this festive season with a brand new production REMEMBERING THE LUX.

With four Broadway revivals, two West End productions, a movie and an already existing television version, some may scoff that Gypsy is done too often, but really, you can't blame great actresses for wanting to take on one of the American musical theatre's greatest roles.

For the first time in its 53 year history, two-time Tony Award-winning Goodspeed Musicals is offering a Two Theatre - Five Show Package. Today Michael Gennaro, Goodspeed's Executive Director, announced the five fantastic shows set for 2016.

This week, Mark Nadler made his solo television debut on WNET (New York/13) and WLIW (Long Island/21) in the latest installment of the new Public Television series 66th & Broadway (photo below). My friends, in the contemporary cabaret world, this is a BIG DEAL. Let's face it: When 100 people show up to a show on the same night it is an event, so the possibility of thousands (or--dare we dream--millions) of people watching Mr. Nadler perform in the comfort of their homes is beyond exciting. It is Cabaret Nirvana, Shangri-La, and Xanadu combined, the kind of exposure a cabaret artist dreams about but rarely receives.

The World Premiere of Pure Imagination, which celebrates the songs of Leslie Bricusse, one of the most prolific and well loved film and musical theatre songwriters of our time, opened at St James Theatre, London.  Below, we have a first look at the cast and VIP guests celebrating opening night!

I first saw Julie Reyburn in her 2011 cabaret show Winter Songs, where she wonderfully explored in music the beauty of winter from its cool, autumnal evenings to the somber tranquility of a snow fallen night. It was a terrific act. So I was excited when Reyburn announced she would reprise her 2000 cabaret debut show, Fate Is Kind, which pretty much put her on the New York cabaret map and earned her MAC and Bistro Awards in 2001 for "Best Female Cabaret Debut." On September 14, Reyburn's show was the second in Stephen Hanks' monthly New York Cabaret's Greatest Hits Series (produced by his own Cabaret Life Productions) at The Metropolitan Room. The big questions with a series like this are: Do these shows and performances withstand the test of time? Are they really worth bringing back? In Reyburn's case, 15 years after debuting the show the answer is a resounding-YES!

After a critically acclaimed 2014 run of her solo show Maxine Linehan: Beautiful Songs, Maxine will bring back her stunning 2009 cabaret show, What Would Petula Do? A Tribute to Petula Clark, on Monday, November 2 at 7 pm. The show is the third installment of New York Cabaret's Greatest Hits, Producer Stephen Hanks' new Cabaret Life Productions Series at the Metropolitan Room (the Associate Producer of the Series is Fr. Jeffrey Hamblin, MD). The show's director is Scott Siegel (Creator, Writer, Director and Host of The Town Hall's Broadway By The Year series and Writer, Director and Producer of Michael Feinstein's concert at Jazz at Lincoln Center) with musical direction by Ryan Shirar. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at www.metropolitanroom.com or by calling 212-206-0440.

Cabaret on the Hudson series, a production in conjunction with NiCori Studios and Productions, returns to Irvington Town Hall Theater for its second season!

In her show entitled 'From the Brill Building to the Metropolitan Room: Sandra Piller Sings Ruth Roberts,' the audience will hear songs recorded by such artists as Petula Clark, Dean Martin, Buddy Holly, Jimmy Dean, Lawrence Welk, Freda Payne, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and many more.

Choose between creations worn by Mary Martin, Florence Henderson, Julie Andrews, Petula Clark, Marie Osmond and Summer Strallen.

The Marcus Center Presents series returns this fall with a special one-night only performance by THE MIDTOWN MEN, co-presented by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (MSO) and Marcus Center. This is the first of several collaborations planned for the 15/16 Season and beyond between the MSO and Marcus Center. Tickets go on sale today, Friday, September 11 at 12:00 pm at the Marcus Center Box Office (929 North Water Street, Downtown Milwaukee), by phone at 414-273-7206 or online at Ticketmaster.com or MarcusCenter.org. Groups 10 or more can call Marcus Center Group Sales at 414-273-7121 x 210. The MC Presents series is proudly sponsored by Envoy Restaurant and Lounge.

Theater for the New City presents BIKE SHOP, The Musical starring Elizabeth Barkan and directed by Gretchen Cryer starting at TNC's Cino Theater tonight, September 11th, and running thru September 27th. The libretto is by Elizabeth Barkan with lyrics by Caroline Murphy and music by Youn-Young Park. Gerry Deiffenbach is Musical Director.

Welcome to My World, starring Sami Staitman, is the first ever one-girl musical written for and about a fourteen-year-old. The musical will have its world premiere tonight, September 10, and continue through September 27, 2015 at the Grove Theatre in Burbank, CA. The official Press and Gala opening will be September 12th at 8pm.

Laugh-In's Sock-It-To-Me Girl also had a musical theatre career.

Welcome to My World, starring Sami Staitman, is the first ever one-girl musical written for and about a fourteen-year-old. The musical will have its world premiere September 10 and continue through September 27, 2015 at the Grove Theatre in Burbank, CA. The Disney Channel's Corey Fogelmanis ("Farkle" on Girl Meets World), who appears as a Special Guest on the show's upcoming Kritzerland Records' CD Cast recording, will be on hand opening weekend for a private Meet & Greet with fans who have donated to the production. The show is created and directed by prolific Bruce Kimmel, surely no stranger to LA theatre.

Back in January, BroadwayWorld's lead cabaret reviewer Stephen Hanks announced he was giving up critiquing shows to start his own company, Cabaret Life Productions, through which he would publicize, promote, and help book cabaret performers, and also produce cabaret shows. Hanks' first major production out of the box is a monthly series at the Metropolitan Room called New York Cabaret's Greatest Hits, that features talented artists recreating award-winning or highly-praised shows we wish we'd seen--a really good idea. Hanks' series launched Wednesday night with Mark Nadler's award-winning 2003 show Tschaikowsky (And Other Russians). The Metropolitan Room was filled to the gills and abuzz with anticipation, as most of the audience was only familiar with the show's second-hand praise and/or the CD version of Nadler's performance.

For diehard cabaret fans and lovers of live music, there's nothing like experiencing a classic show once again or seeing an award winning 'blast from the past' for the first time. That's how cabaret show producer and publicist Stephen Hanks felt and so through his new company, Cabaret Life Productions, he's launching a new monthly series at New York's Metropolitan Room (34 West 22nd Street) titled New York Cabaret's Greatest Hits. Hanks wanted the cream of the New York cabaret crop to open the series and tapped veteran cabaret star Mark Nadler, who the New York Times critic Stephen Holden has called 'Mr. Show Business' and 'an immensely talented latter-day Al Jolson.' On August 26 (7-8:30 pm), Nadler will perform his critically acclaimed show Tschaikowsky (And Other Russians), which won a 2003 Bistro Award for 'Raising Standards of Cabaret Performance,' and received MAC and Nightlife Award Nominations for 'Outstanding Performance in a Major Engagement.'