Music Is

The Philadelphia Orchestra honored bassist Nathaniel West with the 2026 C. Hartman Kuhn Award, while three retiring musicians with 115 combined years of service and two 50-year veterans were also recognized.

Singer, actress and Broadway star Katharine McPhee has joined the late Dan Seals for a new duet version of Ronnie Bowman’s “The Healing Kind.' Listen to it now.

It's a very rare treat—particularly all the way here in Orange County, California—to hear Broadway songs and the stories behind them performed directly by the legendary composer himself, even for just a one-night-only event. But that is exactly the gift bestowed upon a rapt audience recently when the Irvine Barclay Theatre presented DEFYING GRAVITY: AN EVENING WITH STEPHEN SCHWARTZ & FRIENDS to a sold-out crowd on the evening of May 23, 2026.

Listening to SELECTED STORIES is a delight. The actors bring energy, nuance, intonation, inflection, and character to every aspect of the story they are telling. Having them do so live, in-person to a room full of enthusiastic audience member reactions made it even more so.

Peabo Bryson, the Grammy-winning R&B vocalist known for Disney hits 'Beauty and the Beast' and 'A Whole New World,' has died at the age of 75. His career spanned more than five decades across R&B, pop, and musical theater.

These performers may have received other awards and accolades, but a Tony Award is shockingly not on their résumé.

Singer, actress and Broadway star Katharine McPhee is the next artist to join the late Dan Seals for a newly reimagined version of “The Healing Kind,” releasing June 5.

Philip Glass will celebrate his 90th birthday with worldwide performances, including the world premiere of Symphony No. 15: Lincoln by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the 50th anniversary of EINSTEIN ON THE BEACH.

May 19's ESCAPE: THE MUSIC OF RUPERT HOLMES at AMT Theater was a cabaret with the songwriter himself in attendance, on-stage, and in good spirits, along with some cast members from the hosting J2 Spotlight Musical Theater Company

The Rogue Theater Festival returns to The Flea Theater in Tribeca for its 8th season, presenting 37 original productions in partnership with Abingdon Theatre Company, including fully staged plays, staged readings, and digital streaming performances.

Charles Dennis, interdisciplinary artist and co-founder of P.S. 122 and AVANT-GARDE-ARAMA, has died at his home in Hurley, NY. He performed in Robert Wilson's EINSTEIN ON THE BEACH and championed experimental arts in the Hudson Valley.

Music executive Dennis Arfa will be inducted into the Long Island Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Stony Brook, NY, as part of the two-day Billy Joel Symposium.

Battery Dance will present its 45th Annual Festival at Wagner Park, featuring a week of free nightly performances, community workshops, and a one-night commemorative show marking the U.S. semi-quincentennial.

Goodspeed Musicals has released the first episode of The Search for Sandy, a video series documenting the search for the shelter dog who will play Sandy in the company's 50th Anniversary production of ANNIE, opening October 30, 2026.

What is a pro-shot and how is it different than an adapted film? Pro-shot is an abbreviation for professionally shot, denoting a stage play that was captured in its native habitat: a theatre. In general, a pro-shot seeks to film the exact experience that audience members would have at a live performance of the show, in contrast with a feature film which actually adapts the piece into a new form, including different locations, the removal of theatrical aesthetic, and changes to make the script work as a film as opposed to as a live theatrical show.

Producers Paul Dainty and TEG Dainty, Ken Davenport and Bob Gaudio have announced the internationally acclaimed production A BEAUTIFUL NOISE: THE NEIL DIAMOND MUSICAL will play a strictly limited engagement at The Sydney Lyric from November 2026. 

The best of the New York City theatre community was at Town Hall for the 70th Annual Drama Desk Awards, the theater award honoring excellence across all of New York City’s theatrical landscape. Check out a full list of winners here.

The North/South Chamber Orchestra will present a retrospective concert honoring late Cuban-American composer Aurelio De La Vega at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music in New York, featuring five works spanning fifty years of his career.

Porchlight Music Theatre announced Klaus Peter Schuller as its new executive director and Michael Weber as The Elaine Cohen and Arlen Rubin Artistic Director, with Schuller set to join the Chicago company later this year.

The Musical Box will present 'And Then There Was Phil,' a live tribute to Phil Collins' early years fronting Genesis (1976-1980), at the historic Florida Theatre in downtown Jacksonville.

Blue Oyster Cult will perform at Long Island's Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts. Tickets range from $81 to $121 including fees. Tickets can be purchased both in person and online.

The Folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame and Rhino Records will present SHAKEDOWN AT BOSTON MUSIC HALL, a Grateful Dead 50th anniversary celebration featuring tribute act PLAYING DEAD at the Boch Center Wang Theatre.

Boz Scaggs will perform at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater on his Rhythm Review 2026 tour. The singer-songwriter, known for 'Silk Degrees' and hits like 'Lido Shuffle,' has tickets starting at $62.75.

Friendship is nearly always a side element in musicals. From the comic sidekick of the leading character to the backup pals who provide background vocals, friends are part of the fabric of many shows—but rarely are they the main event. 

Super Summer Theatre announced tickets are now on sale for its upcoming season, with NEWSIES leading a lineup that also includes 1776, THE ANDREWS BROTHERS, and COME FROM AWAY.