Here are the Five Shows you need to see: This Weekend in AL (5/11-5/13)
Ty Taylor’s Nouveau Mid-Century Romance Songbook – The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts
May 11th
The For the Record team is presenting the official album release concert for Ty Taylor. While he’s known by many as the lead singer of Vintage Trouble, he’s also equally adept at performing a wide range of songs. The new recording showcases his songwriting skills with material he’s written in the style of the great jazz standards. Joining him for this one-night only event are Matthew Morrison, Tracie Thomas, Brenna Whitaker and Chris Pierce. The evening kicks off with a jazz showcase featuring Spencer Day and others.
An Evening with Audra McDonald – Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall
May 11th
Fresno’s best gift to the world is this six-time Tony Award winning actress and singer. She won her Tony Awards in both Lead Actress and Featured Actress categories for both plays (Master Class, A Raisin in the Sun and Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill) and musicals (Carousel, Ragtime and The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess). With this concert in Costa Mesa she begins a swing through the West Coast. She will also be performing with the LA Opera Orchestra at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on May 20th. Her recordings run the gamut from classic songs from the American songbook to new work by some of the theatre’s most interesting voices. All of which are performed by one of the finest singers around. Don’t trust me? Check out one of the concerts!
Jackie Hoffman “Memoircita” – The Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Renberg Theatre
May 11-13
If you only know Jackie Hoffman from her role as “Mamacita” in Ryan Murphy’s Feud, then you are missing out. She’s been on Broadway in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Xanadu, The Addams Family and Hairspray. You’ll get a chance to see the full range of Hoffman when she dishes up all the T with perhaps a little shade in her new live show. And she might even explain her reaction at the Emmy Awards that went viral around the world.
Rigoletto – LA Opera
May 12th – June 3rd
Verdi’s opera seems like it fits in perfectly with current events in the United States. After all, it features an ego-centric ruler who thinks he can get away with anything, a daughter who is shamed and a father’s anger. It also happens to feature one of the best known arias in all of opera: “La donna e mobile.”
Juan Jésus Rodriguez plays the title role; Lisette Oropesa plays Gilda and Arturo Chacón-Cruz plays The Duke for the first three performances. For the final three performances the roles will be played by Ambrogio Maestri, Adela Zaharia and Michael Fabiano. Artist-in-Residence Matthew Aucoin conducts. There will also be After Hours events after the May 19th and June 3rd performances that Aucoin curates himself. Look for our interview with Aucoin about conducting Rigoletto and working with LA Opera early next week.
Reid & Riley – LA Master Chorale
May 13
The centerpiece of this Mother’s Day evening concert is the world premiere of dreams of the new world by composer Ellen Reid. This is a 40-minute work written for the LA Master Chorale and also the ensemble group wild Up! who will be joining the LAMC. For more information on the specifics of dreams… check out our interview with Reid here. Opening the concert is the classic minimalist work by Terry Riley titled In C.
Main image of Rigoletto: Photo by Ken Howard/LA Opera