Ray Henderson News

Theater Works presents The Best Things In Life Are Free, a tribute to Ray Henderson this Wednesday, February 10 at 7:30pm.

NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP, today joined Council Member Margaret Chin, State Senator Daniel Squadron, Susan Stetzer, Community Board 3 district manager and K Webster, president, Sara D. Roosevelt Park Coalition, and community members to celebrate the opening of the newly refurbished Lion's Gate Soccer Field at Sara D. Roosevelt Park. 

'Songs of the Harlem River: Forgotten one acts from the Harlem Renaissance' is a collection of one-acts written between 1920-1930 including works by Marita Bonner, Rafe M. Coleman, Georgia Douglas Johnson, Willis Richardson and Eulalie Spence as well as the poems of Sterling A. Brown, Langston Hughes and others. The evening is directed and choreographed by Shela Xoregos and will have its world premiere August 30 to September 6 in Theater for the New City's 2015 Dream Up Festival.

Following an electric evening of jazz performances at The Metropolitan Museum of Art this past January, Jazz & Colors returns with a more focused and intimate experience. Programmed in collaboration with Met Museum Presents, and titled Jazz & Colors: The Full Spectrum Edition, renowned jazz musicians will once again perform in various iconic Met spaces for a dynamic evening of sublime entertainment tonight, April 24, at 6:00 and 7:30 p.m.

Following an electric evening of jazz performances at The Metropolitan Museum of Art this past January, Jazz & Colors returns with a more focused and intimate experience. Programmed in collaboration with Met Museum Presents, and titled Jazz & Colors: The Full Spectrum Edition, renowned jazz musicians will once again perform in various iconic Met spaces for a dynamic evening of sublime entertainment on Friday, April 24, at 6:00 and 7:30 p.m.

MusicalFare Theatre has announced THREE upcoming events in their Premier Center Cabaret.

“Are You Havin' Any Fun?” the formidable Barbara Cook breezily asks in song with the intimacy of an old friend. Having had her first paid (50 cents) singing job at the age of eight, Cook looks back on a lengthy career feeling lucky. It's been weeks since she's sung due to health issues laying her low, but Cook is not, she assures us, by any means down and out. “I like to feel people are on my side and you sure sound like you are.” Throughout her show last night as part of the American Songbook series at Lincoln Center's The Appel Room, the artist performs with honesty, commitment, and the compelling interpretation for which she's well known. She asks that lights be turned up in order to see those with whom she communicates.

Last night, I attended the thrilling opening performance of Have Faith. Entering the quaint venue, I was fairly positive that a live performance of the album would be just as electrifying, if not more so, than the recorded tracks, and I'm ecstatic to report that Mary Testa, Michael Starobin, and cellist Alisa Horn absolutely exceeded my expectations and blew me away with their superb performances.

MARY TESTA -- the two time Tony Award nominated singer and actress -- and MICHAEL STAROBIN, the Tony Award winning orchestrator and arranger will perform four concerts in January to promote their new album Have Faith from Ghostlight Records.

Having seen Mary Testa in a cabaret concert in Houston, I feel I had an idea of what to expect from her and Michael Starobin's album HAVE FAITH. While I expected it to be eccentrically eclectic and haunting, nothing could have prepared me for how it was beautifully hypnotizing and simultaneously so unlike anything I've ever heard before. The unique album utilizes well-known pop songs (hits from The Beach Boys to Alanis Morissette) and songs written by William Finn and Michael John LaChiusa to explore thoughts on faith and doubt in ways that are equally alluring and unexpected.

Ghostlight Records has announced the release of the new CD from MARY TESTA - the two time Tony Award nominated singer and actress currently starring in Wicked on Broadway - and MICHAEL STAROBIN, the Tony Award winning orchestrator and arranger. The album will be available in stores and via online outlets today, December 2, 2014. Mary and Michael will perform a special CD release engagement at The Laurie Beechman Theater at The West Bank Cafe January 4-5,11-12, 2015 at 7:00 PM. For tickets, please visit www.lauriebeechmantheatre.com.

Every year, despite a litany of warnings they come to the Big Apple with big dreams. Warnings like: “You have to pay your dues.” “It's a tough business, kid.” “How are you going to survive?” There's no such thing as an overnight success, yet still they come to be at “the top of the heap,” as Kander and Ebb so eloquently put it. The four young performers featured here haven't yet vaulted to the top of the cabaret heap, but they've certainly made their marks with excellent shows during 2014, while exhibiting the potential to get there. The spotlight is already shining on Chrysten Peddie, Angela Dirksen, Rembert Block, and Kristoffer Lowe.

Ghostlight Records has announced the release of the new CD from MARY TESTA - the two time Tony Award nominated singer and actress currently starring in Wicked on Broadway - and MICHAEL STAROBIN, the Tony Award winning orchestrator and arranger. The album will be available in stores and via online outlets December 2, 2014. Mary and Michael will perform a special CD release engagement at The Laurie Beechman Theater at The West Bank Cafe January 4-5,11-12, 2015 at 7:00 PM. For tickets, please visit www.lauriebeechmantheatre.com.

Legendary film composer John Williams returns to the Hollywood Bowl to lead the Los Angeles Philharmonic in an exciting weekend of music from the silver screen this weekend, August 29 and 30, at 8 pm.

Legendary film composer John Williams returns to the Hollywood Bowl to lead the Los Angeles Philharmonic in an exciting weekend of music from the silver screen, Friday and Saturday, August 29 and 30, at 8 pm.

Two-time Tony Award winner Robert Morse showed off his vocal chops on the May 25th episode of AMC's MAD MEN.

A sterling new debut album from up-and-coming vocalist Nick Ziobro featuring a slew of musical theatre showstoppers titled A LOT OF LIVIN' TO DO is now available to order.

Warehouse Theatre Company will open it's 2014 season with the world premiere musical BIG VOICE: THE ETHEL MERMAN EXPERIENCE, a unique concert experience that features the music of Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Ray Henderson, Jule Styne, and George Gershwin.

Nick Ziobro, the 17 year-old pop/jazz vocal sensation, will release his debut album A Lot of Livin' to Do on Tuesday, May 20. The new disc, produced by Michael Feinstein - the two-time Emmy and five-time Grammy Award-nominated vocalist, pianist and musicologist - and available through Titanium Entertainment, will be available in stores and digital outlets such as iTunes and Amazon.com. The album's debut single 'This Guy's In Love with You' is now available on iTunes.

It's a simple tale, mostly predictable, but somehow perfect for the Goodspeed stage. It's light, fun and lends itself to big dance numbers and colorful costumes (Tracy Christensen, design), though nothing just smacks of the '20s, interestingly.