Ralph Blane News

Seven-time GRAMMY® Award winner Carrie Underwood’s first-ever Christmas album, My Gift, debuts #1 on the Billboard Country, Christian and Holiday charts this week.

Seven-time GRAMMY Award winner and five-time CMA Female Vocalist of the Year, Carrie Underwood, released the track list and special guests for her first-ever Christmas album, My Gift, available globally on digital and CD on September 25 and on red vinyl on October 30. 

Sometimes it a simple, yet beautiful show is exactly what the doctor ordered. With the hustle and bustle that comes this time of year, it is important to stop and remember the important things in life - family, home, and loved ones around us. That is what makes Connecticut Theatre Company's fantastic production of MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS the perfect escape to cure the holiday blues.

Grammy®, AMA, ACM and CMA award winning country music singer and Grand Ole Opry member Crystal Gayle has digitally reissued her 1986 holiday album, A Crystal Christmas, for the first time ever. Like he did on You Don't Know Me, Crystal's son Christos Gatzimos, returned to the studio and remastered his mother's collection of traditional Christmas compositions for digital release. The newly remastered album is now available at Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play and Amazon.

Sierra Repertory Theatre is celebrating 41 years of continued artistic and entertainment excellence in Tuolumne County. The recently announced 2020 Season of plays and musicals has already seen an influx of Season Subscribers rushing to reserve their tickets. 

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), a professional membership organization of songwriters, composers and music publishers, announces the top ASCAP holiday songs of 2018. According to an ASCAP analysis of streaming and terrestrial radio data, the hit classic “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” written by ASCAP songwriter Walter Afanasieff and pop star Mariah Carey, holds the #1 song position for the second year in a row.

American Repertory Theater will be presenting the classic Americana story MEET ME IN ST LOUIS in a radio-play/ song & dance format set in the 1940's. Showdates are December 14th & 15th, 21st & 22nd with all showtimes at 8 pm. There will be one Saturday matinee on December 15th at 4 pm. All shows will be performed at the company's new how at 545 Elmwood Avenue, in the heart of Buffalo's Elmwood strip. Prices are $20 General Admission and $15 for students and members of the WNY arts community. 

PS CLASSICS, the label that celebrates the heritage of Broadway and American popular song, has released its groundbreaking new recording Philip Chaffin: Will He Like Me? today, Friday, November 9. The album is featured in The New York Times "2018 Holiday Gift Guide," which raves, "From 'When I Marry Mr. Snow' to 'I Got Lost in His Arms,' Chaffin tells a familiar story that has never sounded so new." 

PS CLASSICS will release the groundbreaking new recording Philip Chaffin: Will He Like Me? online and in stores November 9, 2018.

The Muny announced today its full cast, design and production teams for the theatre's centennial season closing production of Meet Me In St. Louis, August 4 - 12. 

The Muny announced today the parental powerhouse that will star in the theatre's closing centennial season production,Meet Me In St. Louis, August 4 - 12. Tony-nominated Erin Dilly will star alongside real-life husband Stephen R. Buntrock as Mrs. Anna and Mr. Alonso Smith, respectively.

The Muny announced today the directors, choreographers and music directors for The Muny's 2018 centennial season, which opens on June 11 with the first production in the world of Jerome Robbins' Broadway since it's Tony - award winning Broadway and national tour productions.

Based on the heartwarming film of the same name, Meet Me In St. Louis takes audience members on a musical journey back to the early 1900's, on the brink of the 1904 World's Fair. In the show's center are the Smiths, a humble middle-class family made up of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, their four daughters Rose, Esther, Agnes, and Tootie, and their son Lon.

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), a professional membership organization of songwriters, composers and music publishers, announces its Top Holiday Songs for 2017. According to an ASCAP analysis of streaming and terrestrial radio data, 1994's 'All I Want For Christmas Is You,' written by Walter Afanasieff and Mariah Carey, moves to #1, joining enduring Christmas classics like 'A Holly Jolly Christmas'(written by Johnny Marks, 1962) and 'Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow'(written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne, 1945), at the top of the charts. (Check out ASCAP's interview with Afanaseiff about writing 'All I Want' at http://bit.ly/2k8S9E0)

This December, the magic of music is in the key of Christmas at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO).

This December, the magic of music is in the key of Christmas at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO).

'For 47 years, the world of entertainment was blessed with a force of nature called Judy Garland,' Michael Feinstein begins, 'and for Judy, it all began at MGM.' As the artist takes his time with Arthur Schwartz/Howard Dietz's 'That's Entertainment,' screens on either side of the stage show clips from the film of the same name deftly edited to reflect every lyric. A coda of special material makes 'star' recognition even more specific. In Feinstein's A HOLIDAY TO REMEMBER at Feinstein's/54 Below, we hear songs from Garland's films and appearances, some iconic, others less known. Despite a life of trials, we're told, the performer left a legacy of optimism and joy. She had a quick-witted sense of humor, especially about herself. On one occasion, when Lucille Ball was praised for her humor, she responded that it was scripted, while Judy Garland's was spontaneous. The show is peppered with illuminating anecdotes.

Oh, for the love of God, we get it, we get it: The superwomen – who might best be described as the superheroines of Nashville's theaterati and assorted non-stagey types – of SuperMAS love each other, admire each other's mad musical theater skills and get along as well as a bunch of Canadians trying to out-courteous one another! But just imagine how much fun it would be if the quintet of superior performers could somehow show us the seamy underbelly of their interactions and artistic collaborations, exposing us to the histrionics of the Real Housewives reality of their relationships…complete with overturned tables, repeated air kisses and trips to faraway lands where they redefine the term “ugly Americans.”

The Hawai'i Symphony Orchestra (HSO) will take concertgoers Over The Rainbow and beyond on Friday, March 18 at 7:30 pm at A Tribute to Judy Garland featuring acclaimed vocalist and recording artist Hilary Kole. A Tribute to Judy Garland celebrates the timeless wonder of music made famous by Garland - the singer Fred Astaire called 'the greatest entertainer that ever lived.' Tickets start from $27 and are on sale now.

? Judith Clurman's Essential Voices USA (EVUSA), one of New York's preeminent choral ensembles, presented SING CHRISTMAS, a sing-along of traditional carols and holiday songs by Broadway's finest, last night at Feinstein's / 54 Below.