Make Me a Song - 2007 - Off-Broadway Articles Page 19

Porchlight Music Theatre's 25th anniversary season began with the 14th Annual Chicago Sings concert: Chicago Sings 25 Years of Porchlight, Monday, Aug. 5 at 7 p.m., at The Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave, directed by Christopher Pazdernik and Artistic Director Michael Weber with music direction by David Fiorello and a band featuring Kelsey Boltz, Cara Hartz, John McCreary, Greg Strauss, Celeste Park and Jake Saleh.

From the first bar of the opening song the audience quickly realizes this is not just another musical, it is an experience. The spectacular production of IN THE HEIGHTS opened Saturday, August 10 at Musical Theater Heritage in Crown Center under the direction of Nedra Dixon. This is the first production Dixon has directed for MTH and what a debut she made.

It's about human connection and how we all want to seek a little bit more in life, and how we can find that in the things that are seemingly mundane or small or delicate. It's really beautiful.

Composer Tyler Bates' score for Universal Pictures' Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw is officially out now. Featuring orchestral elements, Samoan drums and hundreds of guitar & bass tracks performed by Bates himself, the collection of music matches the high-octane intensity of the summer blockbuster, which just debuted at number 1 at the box office this past weekend.

Fox Concerts has announced that Boyz II Men will play at the Fabulous Fox Theatre on Friday, September 27 at 8 p.m.

Dusk Dances proudly presents its 25th annual season, returning to Withrow Park this summer with another week of exquisite dance works from Canada's finest dance makers! Dusk Dances is a renowned and beloved outdoor dance festival presented at Withrow Park each August. Dusk Dances 2019 features some of Canada's top choreographers and dancers, including Hanna Kiel, Meredith Thompson, Mix Mix Dance Collective, Denise Fujiwara and Yuichiro Inouo, Pulga Muchochoma & Naishi Wang, in a diverse program of dance.

MTV today unveiled the nominations for the 2019 a?oeVMAs,a?? which includes dozens of artists whose reach and influence have elevated the music industry and global cultural conversation. Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift lead the nominations with 10 nods each in categories including, a?oeVideo of the Year,a?? a?oeSong of the Yeara?? and a?oeBest Pop.a?? Other top contenders include first-time VMA nominees Billie Eilish and Lil Nas X who both entered the category of a?oeBest New Artist,a?? presented by Taco Bell®.  This year's show will introduce two new categories, a?oeBest K-Popa?? and a?oeVideo for Good.a?? 

They're back, oh yes they are! Hackney Empire is delighted to announce Grande Dame Olivier Award winner Clive Rowe will make his 13th pantomime appearance this Christmas starring as Sarah the Cook in Dick Whittington and His Cat joined by Hackney favourite Kat B who will star as Vincent the Cat and Tony Whittle as Alderman Fitzwarren. Rowe returns following a triumphant East End comeback in last year's 20th anniversary production of Aladdin which saw him receive the accolade for Best Dame in the 2019 Great British Pantomime Awards. Dick Whittington and His Cat will run from 23 November 2019 to 5 January 2020, with opening night for press on Wednesday 4 December 2019.

Following the Mystic Valley Band's recent reunion shows and a cover of his 2013 song “Dominos” on the critically acclaimed Better Oblivion Community Center album (which was the only one non-original Oberst/Bridgers composition), Taylor Hollingsworth's (Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band, Dead Fingers, The Dexateens) new LP Tap Dancin' Daddy is out August 2, 2019 on Flower Moon Records (the LA based label founded by Maria Taylor of Azure Ray).Today Taylor Hollingsworth shared the title track from the forthcoming release with PopMatters. About the song, PopMatters says, 'There's something beautifully fragile in Hollingsworth's performance on a song that calls to mind a '70s solo record from former Rolling Stone Bill Wyman or the country colors of Ronnie Lane's Slim Chance. And though it's a contemporary song, not a throwback, there is something about Hollingsworth's sincerity and the familiarity of the tale he tells that makes this a tune for any time.'

Dusk Dances proudly presents its 25th annual season, returning to Withrow Park this summer with another week of exquisite dance works from Canada's finest dance makers! Dusk Dances is a renowned and beloved outdoor dance festival presented at Withrow Park each August. Dusk Dances 2019 features some of Canada's top choreographers and dancers, including Hanna Kiel, Meredith Thompson, Mix Mix Dance Collective, Denise Fujiwara and Yuichiro Inouo, Pulga Muchochoma & Naishi Wang, in a diverse program of dance. 

Birdland will kick-off their exciting month of programming with John Pizzarelli: A Tribute to Benny Goodman, Dee Dee Bridgewater, David Matthews Trio, The Count Basie Orchestra, Charlie Parker Birthday Celebration, Chris Byars Original Sextet, Nicki Parrott, Gunhild Carling, Ken Peplowski and Diego Figueiredo, Birdography: Celebrating Charlie Parker, Lorin Cohen, Sam Behr, Laila Biali, Carole J. Bufford, The Lineup with Susie Mosher, Jim Caruso's Cast Party, and more!

The Tank will present their third annual Lady Fest, featuring new work by some of the most exciting lady-identified artists out there, in celebration of womxnhood and the female voice, in all its glory.

The Rocket Summer's 'mastermind (Billboard),' multi-instrumentalist, producer, songwriter, and performer, Bryce Avary, shares his new video and single, 'Peace Signs,' today. The track is the third single from the forthcoming, new album, Sweet Shivers, due out this summer, on August 2, 2019. Anthemic and summery, the track has a groovy, beachy, cruising on the coast kind of feel. Describing the single, Avary says, 'Take it as a plea for peace, or take it as a bit of apathetic satire, but either way I hope you take a drive with your windows down blasting the new single Peace Signs this weekend.'

Following the Mystic Valley Band's recent reunion shows and a cover of his 2013 song “Dominos” on the critically acclaimed Better Oblivion Community Center album (which was the only one non-original OberstBridgers composition), Taylor Hollingsworth's (Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band, Dead Fingers, The Dexateens) new LP Tap Dancin' Daddy is out August 2, 2019 on Flower Moon Records (the LA based label founded by Maria Taylor of Azure Ray). Today Paste premiered 'Devil N Me' the first single to be lifted from the forthcoming release. About the song Paste says, “'Devil N Me' is thematic kin to Florence + The Machine's 'Shake It Off' but shares sound qualities with the latest from Gary Clark Jr.—that's to say, it's pure, hot blues. There's that sludgy guitar, smug harmonica and even what sounds like a washboard breakdown, but there's also weird pedal effects and a synthetic organ. Hollingsworth sings the blues in his gritty, old-school alto, repeating 'I've got the devil in me' until it sounds like he's finally expunged the evil from his insides.'

"I had been looking for a reason to come back, and do another show here, so I was pleased when my managers sent me to audition for TREASURE ISLAND [A MUSICAL ADVENTURE]. Doing new work is always great; I love that process where I get to be more involved in the actual creation." Broadway star Aaron Ramey is explaining how he has come to find himself back in Maine to play the plum role of Long John Silver in MSMT's East Coast premiere of Marc Robin and Curt Dale Clark's new epic musical which plays at the Pickard Theater from June 26 - July 13, 2019. Ramey had been an intern in 1997 while he was still a student at Otterbein University. "Ironically," he notes, "that was the summer of renovatios and MSMT performed at Crooker Auditorium, so this production will actually be my first time on the Pickard stage." He recalls the shows from that season: "I was in SWEENEY TODD, CAROUSEL, and TOMMY. I wasn't a good enough dancer to be in THE MUSIC MAN, but I did get to carry the pool table across stage, and in A CHORUS LINE, I played trombone in the pit," he laughs. "And then, too, I knew Michael Nigro [who plays Jim Hawkins] from a workshop we had both been in in New York, and he had urged me to audition."

On Sunday, June 16, Washington, D.C.'s theatre community gathered to celebrate the end of MICHAEL KAHN's 33-year tenure as Artistic Director of Shakespeare Theatre Company with musical and dramatic performances, special guests from the worlds of entertainment, politics, and media, and a mayoral proclamation.

The Rocket Summer's 'mastermind (Billboard),' multi-instrumentalist, producer, songwriter, and performer, Bryce Avary, shares the second single, 'Morning Light,' from his new album, Sweet Shivers, due out this summer, on August 2, 2019. 

"It's the kind of music that makes you feel regal," actress Felicia P. Fields says, describing the genius of Duke Ellington. "The word 'sophistication' isn't used as much today as it was back then. There was an elegance in the period." Fields, who is one of the stars of Maine State Music Theatre's new production of SOPHISTICATED LADIES, which runs at the Pickard Theater from June 5-22, 2019, believes that the production, directed by Marc Robin with three individual choreographers and an eleven piece orchestra perfectly captures the 1920s and 1930s and the big-band era.

McCarter will welcome a group of esteemed and emerging playwrights and theater artists to Princeton for the Sallie B. Goodman Artists' Retreat. The annual retreat in June is a centerpiece of McCarter's LAB, a platform and creative incubator devoted to ongoing theatrical development and artist cultivation. The 2019 Retreat will take place from June 12 - June 19.

Producers and stars of the critically acclaimed hit musical, “Sandy Hackett's Rat Pack Show,” Sandy Hackett and Lisa Dawn Miller, have launched a new stage production, “Sandy and Lisa: The Show!” (www.sandylisatheshow.com). The show features songs written by Miller and her father, legendary songwriter, Ron Miller and classic comedy by Hackett, son of legendary comedian, Buddy Hackett.

Producers and stars of the critically acclaimed hit musical, 'Sandy Hackett's Rat Pack Show,' Sandy Hackett and Lisa Dawn Miller, have launched a new stage production, 'Sandy and Lisa: The Show!'

Paper Mill Playhouse closes their 20182019 Season with a dazzling production of Disney's 'Beauty and the Beast, The Broadway Musical.' The show enjoys brilliant direction by the Playhouse's Artistic Director, Mark S. Hoebee, spirited choreographies by Alex Sanchez, the finest musical direction by Michael Borth, and a magnificent set.

To experience 'Once,' is to understand the heart of an artist. To experience 'Once' at The Phoenix Theatre Company (TPTC) is to see a glimpse of local artistry at the highest level. This could very well be the most impressive musical I have ever seen in Arizona.

Folks Operetta continues its Reclaimed Voices Series with Paul Ábraham's exotic jazz operetta, The Flower of Hawaii featuring soprano and former Ms. Illinois Marisa Bucheit (2014) as Princess Laya/Suzanne. 

Isaac Mizrahi returns to Cafe Carlyle for three special performances titled Isaac & on June 10, June 17, and June 24.