Stephen Sorokoff News

I don’t know if Peggy Lee ever performed in Del Ray Beach but last night Ann Hampton Callaway masterly brought the music and life of the sultry-voiced Jazz singer of ‘Fever’ to a packed audience in the Arts Garage.  The patrons were in for an added treat as Ann, who is also a gifted pianist accompanied herself for this engagement.

 KT Sullivan, Artistic Director of the Mabel Mercer Foundation hosted the finals of The 5th Adela & Larry Elow American Songbook High School Competition yesterday in the Laurie Beechman Theater at The West Bank Cafe. The competition prize money was endowed by Board Members Adela and Larry Elow to encourage teenagers to learn and perform The Great American Songbook, which was composed between the years 1900-1970.

Even though they are not related, there must be a common music DNA molecule that exists in George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein, and Billy Joel, that was also passed on to Jason Robert Brown. His performance last night at Feinstein’s/54 Below encompassed some of the creative talents of all of those musical giants. Jason Robert Brown, the composer, the arranger,  the lyricist, the pianist, and the singer, was on the stage of Feinstein’s/54 Below with nine (yes, nine) great musicians, plus vocalists Anastasia Talley and Cheeyang Ng. 

59E59 Theaters is presenting New Golden Age by Karen Hartman, part of the inaugural VOLT Festival at 59E59. Presented by Primary Stages and directed by Jade King Carroll (Proof of Love), New Golden Age opened May 11 for a run through June 9, 2022.

FEINSTEIN’S/54 BELOW, Broadway’s Supper Club, will welcome Tony Award® nominee Ann Hampton Callaway in Ann Hampton Callaway: Fever! The Peggy Lee Century, streaming live and in person with a tribute to her personal icon, Peggy Lee, in honor of the star’s 100th birthday. 

Ken Page needs to move back to New York City- IMMEDIATELY!  It’s an emergency and we need him now, every single day!  People often say things like, “blew the roof off the place” but, last night, truer words could not have been spoken as the theatre legend and gifted vocalist debuted a show called, “KEN PAGE: There’s So Much To Talk About”…(And Sing About, Too!). 

In a time when the people that live on our planet can’t seem to agree on anything, being in a room where everyone was on the same page celebrating the importance and brilliance of American Popular Music and honoring some of it’s most talented artists was truly a joy.  

The Town Hall will present Broadway By The Year: From The Ziegfeld Follies To Moulin Rouge on Monday, May 23 at 8pm. Created, written, directed and hosted by Scott Siegel for The Town Hall, the evening will continue Broadway By The Year’s 21st landmark season at The Town Hall (123 W. 43rd Street).

Anne Steele debuted her latest show, THE SONG REMEMBERS WHEN, last night, at The Green Room 42, here in New York City. The show is aptly named, as it was a very personal song list and displayed the lady’s talents handsomely. 

The Countess Luann de Lesseps, arguably the most popular cast member of THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NEW YORK CITY reality series in the BRAVO franchise, was on fire last night at Feinstein’s/54 Below.

Bob Merrill is usually spinning albums and interviewing celebrities on Legends Radio but last night he left the studio and “Legends After Dark” to hear the Great American Songbook live and in person at the Pelican Cabaret. 

Last night, after a 2 year wait and a number of re-schedules, Lucie Arnaz hit the stage of the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center with all cylinders on burn and guns ablaze! She performed an evening she calls “I GOT THE JOB” and kept the audience entranced from beginning to end, garnering multiple standing ovations that seemed as natural as breathing. For 90 minutes, she owned the stage, dressed to work, in black tights with tuxedo rhinestone striping and a dazzling orange silk blouse with glimmering buttons and cuffs. Basic, simple, perfect. This woman comes with all the equipment to perform, entertain and break your heart. She’s a master storyteller with impeccable timing and the

“My name is Linda Eder and I’m a singer... and that’s all you need to know!”  That’s how Linda Eder greeted her audience and began a great evening of musical thrills as the RRazz Room presented Ms. Eder at the Eissey Theater in North Palm last night. Music director Billy Stritch was at the keyboard heading a formidable band of some of the finest musicians in the industry.  

The amalgamation of music you hear accompanying and supporting a melody line are most times just as important for the arousal of your musical senses as is the original tune itself.  The mood of the song is set by the arrangers ( really composers) who create those sounds.

The years have been extraordinarily kind to Christine Andreas. The timbre and fidelity of her voice, the beauty in her face, and the spirit of her spunky personality, have defied the aging process. So much so that after being in the audience at The Kravis Center last night for her show Piaf- No Regrets (which I have seen several times at different venues), I revisited my observations and photos of her from past engagements. My prior impressions of Christine are as true today as they were then, as Christine enters her 7th decade.

There isn’t a doubt in my mind that Lee Roy Reams is a National Treasure. Even if he didn’t sing and dance (which he does) one could sit and listen to  him tell stories. But, last night, he opened a brand new show titled LEE  ROY REAMS: GOODBYE, KENTUCKY! HELLO, BROADWAY! and it is funny, moving, informative, emotional, celebratory and reflective.

Anyone who lives in New York City, or visits (people from South London and Scotland were in the house) knows that the hottest spot on a Tuesday night is Susie Mosher’s “The LINEUP” at the Birdland Theater, downstairs of the legendary Birdland Jazz Club. I must also share with you that the staff are wonderful, as are the cocktails, service and food menu.

Last night, playing to a packed room at the legendary BIRDLAND Jazz Club, an auspicious solo musical  debut happened for a young man named Sam Gravitte.

Emmy, SAG, and Tony Award nominee Norm Lewis will premiere a new solo concert program with The New York Pops, led by Music Director and Conductor Steven Reineke this evening, Friday, March 4.

As the old joke goes “he has a face for radio”….Well, Bob Merrill, Legends Radio host and interviewer, also has the face, demeanor, and musicianship to be a vocalist/bandleader. He brought the group Sunnnyside Swing to the Persson Hall at The Kravis Center last night for an evening of hits from The Great American Songbook.