Tony Bennett News

The one change Tony Butala, original founding member of The Lettermen, would have made in the 45-plus year career of one of the most popular vocal groups in history is a surprising one. 'We chose the wrong name!' he exclaims.

CROSS THAT RIVER - A New Musical About the Black West - with music, lyrics and original concept by the celebrated jazz vocalist Allan Harris, book and direction by 4-time Emmy winner Andrew Wilk, and choreography by Tony Award winner Donna McKechnie, - an official selection of the 2009 New York Musical Theatre Festival, at the TBG Theatre (312 West 36th Street).

A new musical about a runaway slave who becomes one of America's first Black Cowboys will debut this fall when CROSS THAT RIVER is presented by The New York Musical Theatre Festival and Patricia Harris, starting October 12, 2009 at TBG Theatre (312 West 36th Street - 3rd Floor) in New York City.

The Dramatists Guild of America has announced their DuoLogues seminar series season opener, featuring a conversation between celebrated composers Carol Hall and Peter Mills, occurring Tuesday, October 27, 2009, at 5:30 p.m. The conversation will take place at the Dramatists Guild's New York office, in the Frederick Loewe Room. This seminar is free to the public, but reservations are required. To enter the building at 1501 Broadway, you will need to present photo ID.

The guys are gambling, the dolls are dancing, and the audience will come up a winner when Cabrillo Music Theatre launches its 2009-2010 season with Guys and Dolls. Returning is Director Nick DeGruccio, whose previous Cabrillo production of Jekyll & Hyde led to three Ovation Awards, including Best Director. Returning with DeGruccio is Choreographer Roger Castellano, Ovation-nominated for Jekyll. Musical Direction is by Darryl Archibald, and the production will be overseen by Artistic Director Lewis Wilkenfeld. Cabrillo?s production of Guys and Dolls, created exclusively for the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, will open on Friday, October 16th, 2009 and run through Sunday, October 25th, for Cabrillo Music Theatre in the 1,800-seat Kavli Theatre at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, located at 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks.

The guys are gambling, the dolls are dancing, and the audience will come up a winner when Cabrillo Music Theatre launches its 2009-2010 season with Guys and Dolls. Returning is Director Nick DeGruccio, whose previous Cabrillo production of Jekyll & Hyde led to three Ovation Awards, including Best Director. Returning with DeGruccio is Choreographer Roger Castellano, Ovation-nominated for Jekyll. Musical Direction is by Darryl Archibald, and the production will be overseen by Artistic Director Lewis Wilkenfeld. Cabrillo?s production of Guys and Dolls, created exclusively for the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, will open on Friday, October 16th, 2009 and run through Sunday, October 25th, for Cabrillo Music Theatre in the 1,800-seat Kavli Theatre at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, located at 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks.

Following a sold-out Canadian tour, Michel Legrand returns to New York for a special one-night engagement at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center on Saturday, November 21st at 8PM. The multiple Oscar and Grammy-winning pianist and composer will be joined by French singing sensation Mario Pelchat. Five-time Grammy Award winner Dionne Warwick is the special guest star. The trio will be accompanied by a quartet of musicians, including Catherine Michel, the harp soloist at Opera de Paris, for a night of classical film scores by Maestro Legrand, as well as jazz and Hollywood hits, built around the romance and nostalgia of French ‘chanson.'

The guys are gambling, the dolls are dancing, and the audience will come up a winner when Cabrillo Music Theatre launches its 2009-2010 season with Guys and Dolls. Returning is Director Nick DeGruccio, whose previous Cabrillo production of Jekyll & Hyde led to three Ovation Awards, including Best Director. Returning with DeGruccio is Choreographer Roger Castellano, Ovation-nominated for Jekyll. Musical Direction is by Darryl Archibald, and the production will be overseen by Artistic Director Lewis Wilkenfeld. Cabrillo?s production of Guys and Dolls, created exclusively for the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, will open on Friday, October 16th, 2009 and run through Sunday, October 25th, for Cabrillo Music Theatre in the 1,800-seat Kavli Theatre at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, located at 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks.

CROSS THAT RIVER - A New Musical About the Black West - with music, lyrics and original concept by the celebrated jazz vocalist Allan Harris, book and direction by 4-time Emmy winner Andrew Wilk, and choreography by Tony Award winner Donna McKechnie, - an official selection of the 2009 New York Musical Theatre Festival, at the TBG Theatre (312 West 36th Street).

A new musical about a runaway slave who becomes one of America's first Black Cowboys will debut this fall when CROSS THAT RIVER is presented by The New York Musical Theatre Festival and Patricia Harris, starting October 12, 2009 at TBG Theatre (312 West 36th Street - 3rd Floor) in New York City.

South Coast Repertory kicks off the 2009-10 Season with Putting It Together, a compilation of Stephen Sondheim songs, that the composer put together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, creating a narrative set at a cocktail party in an elegant Manhattan condo. The non-traditional musical, led by Broadway and television star Harry Groener, has a cast of five (a glamorous but slightly jaded couple, a starry-eyed younger couple and a savvy observer) who sing more than 30 songs that reflect their lives, lifestyles and moods of the moment. Some of the songs will be familiar, some less so, a few were even cut from their original musical scores, but they are all sophisticated, smart and drop-dead droll. All, in other words, Sondheim.

As part of Michael Feinstein's Standard Time series, ‘A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening...The Songs of Jimmy McHugh' will be presented at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall on October 7.

I Feel a Song Coming On: The Life of Jimmy McHugh by Alyn Shipton is the first biography of this remarkable composer. Available from the University of Illinois Press, the book will be launched in New York with a Michael Feinstein Zankel Hall concert at Carnegie Hall and a performance/booksigning event at Barnes & Noble.

Michael Feinstein Carnegie Hall Concert and Barnes & Noble Booksigning Celebrate New Biography of Great American Composer Jimmy McHugh, 'I Feel a Song Coming On: The Life of Jimmy McHugh' by Alyn Shipton. This is the first biography of this remarkable composer. Available October 5th from the University of Illinois Press, the book will be launched in New York with a Michael Feinstein Zankel Hall concert at Carnegie Hall and a performance/booksigning event at Barnes & Noble.

The Emelin Theatre Performance Schedule December 2009 The Really Big Once | $25 Dec 3 @ 8 pm

As part of Michael Feinstein's Standard Time series, ‘A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening...The Songs of Jimmy McHugh' will be presented at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall on October 7.

I Feel a Song Coming On: The Life of Jimmy McHugh by Alyn Shipton is the first biography of this remarkable composer. Available from the University of Illinois Press, the book will be launched in New York with a Michael Feinstein Zankel Hall concert at Carnegie Hall and a performance/booksigning event at Barnes & Noble.

I Feel a Song Coming On: The Life of Jimmy McHugh by Alyn Shipton is the first biography of this remarkable composer. Available from the University of Illinois Press, the book will be launched in New York with a Michael Feinstein Zankel Hall concert at Carnegie Hall and a performance/booksigning event at Barnes & Noble.

SAMMY, a new musical about the life of Sammy David Jr. currently in previews at The Old Globe, is gearing up for it's much anticipated opening on October 2nd and the buzz has begun. After all, what $2.5-million production about an icon with a 13-piece orchestra and list of award-winning actors wouldn't generate excitement?

The following are the October-December events at the King Center.