MUSICALS:

AMERICAN PROPHET – Arena Stage – Washington, D.C. – July 15^th – August 28^th

The writings and speeches of abolitionist and statesman Frederick Douglass serve as the inspiration for this new musical from composer/lyricist Marcus Hummon and director/creator Charles Randolph-Wright.

This show was a recipient of the Edgerton Foundation New Play Awards prior to this world premiere.  Cornelius Smith Jr. stars as Frederick Douglass with Kristolyn Lloyd (original Broadway cast of Dear Evan Hansen) as his wife, Anna.

For tickets and more information, please go here.

BETWEEN THE LINES – 2ndStage – New York – June 14^th – October 2^nd

This musical is based on the young adult novel by  Jodi Picoult (Wish You Were Here) and her daughter, Samantha van Leer, from 2013. The story surrounds, Delilah, a young girl infatuated with Prince Oliver in a book she loves. Her world and his in the novel come together when he starts speaking to her.

Timothy Allen McDonald collaborated with Picoult and van Leer to write the book. Kate Anderson and Elyssa Samsel wrote the the music and lyrics. Jeff Calhoun (Newsies) directs with choreography by Paul McGill (Hedwig and the Angry Inch).

For tickets and more information, please go here.

FUNNY GIRL – August Wilson Theatre, New York – Open-ended run

When this musical opened this spring on Broadway it was the fact that it had been 58 years since the musical Funny Girl opened on Broadway and turned Barbra Streisand into one of the world’s greatest stars. Then came the whirlwind of controversy about whether Beanie Feldstein was miscast in the role.

She is no longer in the musical. Her understudy, Julie Benko, will be taking over the role until Lea Michele (Glee) assumes the role of Fanny Brice on September 6^th. 

Enter Beanie Feldstein who is tackling the role of Fanny Brice. Like Streisand, Feldstein has only played a supporting role in one musical before this one (Hello, Dolly!). Joining her are Ramin Karimloo as love-interest Nick Arnstein and Jane Lynch as Mrs. Brice (through September 4^th). Tovah Feldshuh will assume the role on September 6^th.  Jared Grimes, the sol recipient of a Tony nomination for this production, dazzles in the role of Eddie Ryan.Michael Mayer directs the show which has a revised script by Harvey Fierstein.

For tickets and more information, please go here.

INTO THE WOODS – St. James Theatre – New York – Now – October 16th

This often-produced musical by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine was such a hit at New York City Center’s Encores series that it was inevitable the show would transfer to Broadway…and it has and the reviews and ticket sales are proof that was a great idea.

If you don’t know the musical, multiple fairytales are all taking place in the same forest at the same time. We’re big fans of Act II where not everything is as happy as it first seems. (Our favorite act is the second act.)

Lear deBessonet directs an all-star cast including Sara Bareilles as the Baker’s Wife, Gavin Creel as Cinderella’s Price and the Wolf, Joshua Henry as Rapunzel’s Prince , Brian D’Arcy James as the Baker, Patina Miller as the Witch and Phillipa Soo as Cinderella.

The recent announcement of an extension means there will be some cast changes that have yet to be announced.

For tickets and more information, please go here.

MJ THE MUSICAL – Neil Simon Theatre, New York – Open-ended run

It was, of course, inevitable that there would be a jukebox musical showcasing the countless hit songs by Michael Jackson. What may set this musical apart from failed attempts to use songs by The Beach Boys, Cher John Lennon and more is that the book is by two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Lynn Nottage and the show is directed and choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon.

Myles Frost makes his Broadway debut as MJ and was the recipient of a Tony Award for his performance. The show also won Tony Awards for Lighting and Sound Design. The other Tony Award recipient was Wheeldon for his choreography. (Kudos to the outstanding company of dancers that perform this show.) 

We’ve seen the show and while it does gloss over much of the controversy that surrounded Jackson, it is wildly entertaining. Based on the audience response, this show is likely to run for a very long time.

For tickets and more details, please go here.

MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL – Al Hirschfeld Theatre, New York/Touring Company: Currently at The Pantages Theatre, Hollywood – STRONGLY RECOMMENDED

Why turn Baz Luhrmann’s ground-breaking film into a musical? Because you can can can. It might seem impossible to out-Baz Baz, but director Alex Timbres has done exactly that. This is bigger, louder, more song-filled than Luhrmann’s film. Surprisingly it loses nothing in translation.

The musical won 10 Tony Awards including Best Musical. The Broadway production currently stars Ashley Loren as Satine and Derek Klena as Christian. The touring company stars Courtney Reed and Conor Ryan (with Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer as an alternate in the role of Satine).

For tickets and more information on Broadway, please go here. For touring dates, tickets and more information, please go here.

A STRANGE LOOP – Lyceum Theatre, New York – Open-ended run STRONGLY RECOMMENDED

The 2022 Tony Award for Best Musical and the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for drama went to Michael R. Jackson’s musical A Strange Loop. It’s an aptly named meta-musical about a gay Black man who’s writing a musical about a gay Black man who is writing a musical about…You get the picture.  

Stephen Brackett directs A Strange Loop. The ensemble features Antwayn Hopper, L Morgan Lee, John-Mihael Lyles, James Jackson, Jr., John-Andrew Morrison, Jaquel Spivey and Jason Veasey.

This is a wholly original musical that challenges everything we imagine a Broadway musical to be. Jackson does it in all the best possible ways.

For tickets and more information, please go here.

OPERA:

SANTA FE OPERA – Now – August 27^th

Isabel Leonard as Carmen; Mitchell Harper choreographing The Barber of Seville; Quinn Kelsey as Falstaff; the first-ever Santa Fe Opera production of Tristan Und Isolde and the world premiere on Saturday of M. Butterfly by composer Huang Ruo and librettist David Henry Hwang are all good reasons to attend this year’s season at Santa Fe Opera.

If you’ve never been, you owe it to yourself to experience this amazing venue. And be prepared to tailgate!

For tickets and more information, please go here.

PLAYS:

HERE THERE ARE BLUEBERRIES – La Jolla Playhouse – La Jolla, CA – July 26^th – August 21^st

Anytime Moisés Kaufmann and Tectonic Theater Project have a world premiere, it’s a reason to go to the theatre. They’re the team behind The Laramie Project Cycle, The Tallest Tree in The Forest, I Am My Own Wife and more.

This new play is an investigation into the Hoecker Album of photographs from Germany during World War II.  They are named after Karl-Friedrich Hoecker who was an SS officer for the Nazis. Most of the photographs were taken in the summer and fall of 1944.

As the webpage for this production asks, “What hidden secrets can a photograph reveal?” Kaufmann (who co-directs with Amanda Gronich) and Tectonic Theater Project will make it mesmerizing.

For tickets and more information, please go here.

ORESTEIA and HAMLET – Park Avenue Armory – New York – Now – August 13^th

Director Robert Icke received an Olivier Award as Best Director for Oresteia, an adaptation of the three Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus. The show was a critical and commercial success in London.

Equally acclaimed was his production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet at The Almeida Theatre in London. Alex Lawther stars as the conflicted prince. 

Both shows appear in repertory. For tickets and more information for Orestia, please go here. For tickets and more information for Hamlet, please go here.

PRIMA FACIE – National Theatre Live – Beginning July 21^st (check local listings)

Jodie Comer (Killing Eve) stars in this play by Suzie Miller as a young lawyer whose main clients have been men accused of sexual assault. Her perspective on what she’s doing gets challenged when she gets assaulted herself.

It’s a powerful role for Comer and she is considered a front-runner for the Olivier Award next year. She’ll also potentially be up for a Tony nomination as the play is scheduled to open in New York in the 2022-2023 season. So, too, might director Justin Martin.

But you can watch the play in a theater near you as it is part of National Theatre Live’s programming. To locate a theater near you and to get tickets, please go here.

For our weekly Best Bets, please check every Monday for that week’s selections.

Main Photo: Conor Ryan and Courtney Reed in Moulin Rouge The Musical Touring Production (Photo by Matthew Murphy/Courtesy Broadway in Hollywood)

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Anaïs Mitchell wrote the book, music and lyrics for Hadestown. The show is directed by Rachel Chavkin (Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812). Hadestown actually began life as a concept record by Mitchell which was released in 2010. The premiere of the musical took place in 2016 at the New York Theatre Workshop (the same place where Rent had its premiere.)

As befits a musical based on these two myths, the show takes place on earth and in the underworld. The set (by Rachel Hauck) feels like we’re in a New Orleans venue much like Preservation Hall.

Reeve Carney (Penny Dreadful; Spider-man: Turn Off the Dark) plays Orpheus. Eva Noblezada (Miss Saigon revival) plays Eurydice. Patrick Page (Spring Awakening), who originated the role of Hades is currently filming, so Tom Hewitt (The Rocky Horror Show) assumes the part until Page returns on November 2nd. Amber Gray (Natasha, Pierre…) plays Persephone. André De Shields (The Full Monty) plays Hermes who serves as our guide through the story.

I got the feeling watching this show and witnessing the audience response that Hadestown is going to be the next hot show in New York. The music is terrific. The performances are uniformly great (including a trio of women called “Fate” who serve as sort of moral guardians in the musical). The choreography by David Neumann serves the story well. And Chavkin’s direction keeps the story moving and leaves you with numerous images that will linger long after the show is over.

It should also be noted that the instrumentation is sparse but energetic. The orchestra employs only seven musicians playing a piano, violin, cello, guitar, trombone, glockenspiel, double bass, drums and percussion. They are on stage and just as much a part of Hadestown as the cast.

Main photo: Eva Noblezada, André De Shields and Reeve Carney in “Hadestown.” All photos by Matthew Murphy

For tickets go here.

Update:  HADESTOWN won 8 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Direction of a Musical, Best Score and Best Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical

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The Living Room Recitals take place on Thursdays. With today’s recital by tenor Ashley Faatoalia, LA Opera will have presented over 40 recitals from the artist’s living rooms. Most of these recitals are still available for viewing. His recital takes place at 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT.

Faatoalia is from Los Angeles and has performed locally in Invisible Cities from Yuval Sharon and The Industry; Candide with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and The Festival Play of Daniel with LA Opera.

His repertoire for this recital will include spirituals, art songs and arias. That’s one of the things that’s great about this series, the artists get to pick and choose what they will perform. And with whom they perform. Louise Thomas serves as Faatoalia’s accompanist.

Last week, mezzo-soprano Taylor Raven sang music by African American composers Florence Price, Leslie Adams and Charles Brown in addition to some classic arias.

Soprano Ana María Martínez sang music by Dvorak and Spanish songs in her recital. She performed in Hector Berlioz’s Carmen, Giuseppe Verdi’s Don Carlo and Manuel Penella Moreno’s El Gato Montes with LA Opera. She is slated to be part of LA Opera’s production of Don Giovanni scheduled for early next year. The status of that production is unknown as of press time.

Tenor Russell Thomas, who appeared in Mozart’s The Clemency of Titus and sang the title role of Otello in concert at the Hollywood Bowl with the LA Phil, performed works by Ralph Vaughan-Williams, Pietro Mascagni, Samuel Barber and Verdi.

Soprano Guanqun Yu, who has also appeared in The Clemency of Titus and was scheduled to appear in The Marriage of Figaro this year, performed a recital that included works by Claude Debussy, Franz Liszt and Frédéric Chopin. She is scheduled to be part of LA Opera’s production of Verdi’s Il Trovatore next fall.

Tenor Lawrence Brownlee performed works by Marc Blitzstein, Gabriel Fauré and Tyshawn Sorey. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 2007 in Gioachino Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia. He and bass-baritone Eric Owens performed a very memorable concert at Walt Disney Concert Hall in 2019.

Bass Morris Robinson performed works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert and Verdi. He has appeared with LA Opera in productions of Rigoletto, Satyagraha by Philip Glass and is scheduled to appear in Mozart’s Don Giovanni in the abbreviated 2020-2021 season. We’ll have to see if any productions go forward this season. He is also to be in Il Trovatore and Wagner’s Tannhäuser at LA Opera next fall.

Tenor Arturo Chacón-Cruz has appeared in Verdi’s Rigoletto and Macbeth, El Gato Montes and Giacomo Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi with LA Opera. He has performed all over the world after winning the 2005 Operalia Competition.

Soprano Angel Blue, who so memorably sang the role of Bess in George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess at the Metropolitan Opera, started her recital with a moment of silence in acknowledgement of the turmoil the country was facing at the time of her performance. She was announced as part of the cast of this season’s Il Trovatore by Verdi. When the schedule was revised, she was no longer attached to the production.

Each and every recital (and there are far more than are listed here) allows you not just to hear and see great music, but you also get to act out some voyeuristic tendencies and see how all the performers live.

These are not slickly-produced recitals. In fact, the rawness of them makes them even more interesting and impressive. Plus there is no charge to watch them.

One additional advantage is the ability to watch the recital live as it happens or to be able to go back and watch it later. It is worth noting that some of the recitals are no longer available due to rights issues. At press time, I counted only four of the recitals shown on the LA Opera at Home pages as being unavailable.

There is other programming available as part of Los Angeles Opera At Home. I encourage you to check it out. They are also rolling out a new program called Digital Shorts that will pair performances of works by such composers as Matthew Aucoin, David Lang, Missy Mizzoli, Ellen Reid, Sorey and Du Yun with animators, filmmakers and choreographers. As we get more details on that program, we’ll be sure to share them with you.

Each week there is new programming added. If you’re missing being at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles or any other opera house around the world, I think it is worth taking some time to explore LA Opera at Home and have some Living Room Recitals in your own home.

Photo of Ashley Faatoalia singing at a MUSE/IQUE concert courtesy of his website.

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There are nine episodes of Sound/Stage and the programming begins on Friday, September 25th. These performances will be available on the LA Phil’s website, so anyone, anywhere in the world, can watch. All performances were filmed with full social distancing guidelines.

Update: All episodes will remain available for one year from the original streaming date.

No matter how much we felt the distinct absence of not having Hollywood Bowl concerts to enliven our summers, the players of the Los Angeles Philharmonic certainly felt that even more profoundly. For these concerts the Bowl itself was empty, but at least it was filled with the sound of this wonderful music.

Programs will remain available as new episodes go online. There’s a diverse and exciting line-up. Here it is:

September 25th: Love in the Time of Covid

Performers: Los Angeles Philharmonic; Gustavo Dudamel, conductor; María Valverde, narrator; J’Nai Bridges, mezzo-soprano

Program: Peter Lieberson: Neruda Songs: “Amor mio, si muero y tú no mueras”; George Walker: Lyric for Strings and Gustav Mahler: Adagietto from Symphony No. 5

This episode will also include an interview with J’Nai Bridges and an exclusive performance from The Ford.

Note: Peter Lieberson wrote the five-song cycle Neruda Songs based on the poetry of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. The work was composed for his wife, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson. She passed away in 2006 – only a year after the work was given its world premiere in a concert by the LA Phil conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen. Neruda Songs was a co-commission between the LA Phil and the Boston Symphony. The composer passed away in 2011.

October 2nd: Salón Los Ángeles

Performers: Los Angeles Philharomonic; Gustavo Dudamel, conductor; Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano

Program: Arturo Márquez: Danzón; George Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue

This episode includes an interview with Arturo Márquez, a performance by Grandeza Mexican Folk Ballet Company, Mexican boleros and an online photo exhibit by Alicia Ruiz.

Note: Pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet is a regular performer with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He appears at both Walt Disney Concert and is a regular part of the Hollywood Bowl season. He had been scheduled to appear at the Bowl with the LA Phil on July 28th in a performance of Franz Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2. Last October I spoke with Thibaudet about his then 44-year relationship with Gershwin’s music. You can read that interview here.

October 9th: Power to the People!

Performers: Los Angeles Philharmonic; Gustavo Dudamel, conductor; Andra Day, vocalist

Program: Jessie Montgomery: Banner; William Grant Still: Sorrow from Symphony No. 1, “Afro-American”; Andra Day: Rise Up from her 2015 album Cheers to the Fall

This episode includes an interview with Jessie Montgomery, J’Nai Bridges performing Florence Price songs and a performance from the La Reina digital festival at The Ford.

Note: Power to the People! was planned as a major part of the spring programming at the LA Phil earlier this year. That festival was truncated by the pandemic.

William Grant Still was an American composer. His best known work is the symphony being performed in this episode. In 1936 he conducted his own works at the Hollywood Bowl. His opera, Troubled Island, was the first American opera performed at the Metropolitan Opera. Those performances also marked the first time an opera by an African-American composer was performed by a major company.

October 16th: Andra Day

Performer: Andra Day

Day is front and center in this program that features both performances and an interview with the Grammy Award-nominated singer/songwriter. Amongst the songs on this program are her hit Gold (also from Cheers to the Fall) and the classic Nina Simone song, Mississippi Goddamn.

Note: Andra Day is starring as legendary singer Billie Holiday in the upcoming film The United States vs. Billie Holiday. Directed by Lee Daniels (Precious, The Paperboy, Lee Daniels’ The Butler), the film is scheduled for release in early 2021.

October 23rd: Beethoven

Performers: Los Angeles Philharmonic; Gustavo Dudamel, conductor

Program: Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 7

Note: Beethoven’s 7th symphony had its world premiere in 1813 in Vienna. The work doesn’t require a very large orchestra (making it perfect for this series). It is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani and strings. The first Los Angeles Philharmonic performance of this symphony was on April 1, 1921.

October 30th: Kamasi Washington: Becoming

Performer: Kamasi Washington

Program: Saxophonist Kamasi Washington performs music from the documentary Becoming and also appears in interviews

Note: On May 6th of this year Netflix began streaming Nadia Hallgren’s documentary Becoming. The film follows former first lady Michelle Obama on the book tour for her memoir of the same name.

The recording of Washington’s score features 15 tracks running approximately 30 minutes.

November 6th: Solitude

Performers: Los Angeles Philharmonic; Gustavo Dudamel, conductor

Program: Thomas Adés: Dawn (US Premiere); Duke Ellington: Solitude

This episode will also include a performance by Jean-Yves Thibaudet of Erik Satie’s Gymnopedie No. 1 plus an interview with jazz legend Herbie Hancock and more.

Note: Adés’s Dawn was given its world premiere by the London Symphony Orchestra with Simon Rattle conducting in August. The composer is quoted on Faber Music’s website as saying about the work, “In this piece the sunrise is imagined as a constant event that moves continuously around the world. This eternal dawn is presented as a ‘chacony’ – in the word that Purcell used some 330 years ago, a mile or two away.”

Faber Music also states that this seven-minute work was designed to be performed by varying sizes of orchestras positioned any desired way around the performance space. Making it perfect for 2020.

November 13th: Chicano Batman

Performers: Chicano Batman

Note: Los Angeles-based band Chicano Batman released their self-titled first album in 2010. They followed that up with 2014’s Cycle of Existential Rhyme, 2017’s Freedom Is Free and this year’s Invisible People. The members of the band are Eduardo Arenas, Carlos Arévalo, Bardo Martinez and Gabriel Villa.

Bardo Martinez, in an interview with Lanre Bakare of The Guardian, said of their music, “We’re trying to bring something that’s from our heritage. Everyone knows that black people have the funk and soul, but we’ve got that too. In the 70s in Latin America people were getting funky and getting down. We’re showing people that that exists.”

November 20th: Finales

Performers: Los Angeles Philahrmonic; Gustavo Dudamel, conductor

Program: Ludwig van Beethoven: Finale from Symphony No. 7; Gabriela Ortiz: Corpórea: “Ritual Mind – Corporeous Pulse”; Maurice Ravel: The Fairy Garden from Mother Goose

This episode will include an interview with Gabriela Ortiz, a conversation with filmmaker Alejandro G. Iñarritu (The Revenant; Birdman) and more.

Note: This is not the first time Gabriela Ortiz’s music has been paired by the Los Angeles Philharmonic with a work by Beethoven. In October 2019 the orchestra gave the world premiere of Yanga with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. I spoke with her about that work and sharing the stage with not just one of the most-beloved composers in the world, but with his masterpiece. You can read that interview here.

It goes without saying that nothing takes the place of us all being in the same place with the musicians hearing this music live. With Sound/Stage at least we get to see the musicians together in the same venue creating new performances for us to watch safely at home.

Photo by Natalie Suarez for the Los Angeles Philharmonic/Courtesy of the Los Angeles Philharmonic

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These events are not free, but they are not expensive at all. For a mere five dollars, you can get an entire month’s worth of Friday performances. In other words, for approximately the same price as your daily coffee, you can get a month of jazz. That’s a bargain in my book!

When you see the line-up announced so far for Fridays at Five, you’ll realize exactly how great this offer is.

May 22nd is the first of three celebrations of saxophonist Wayne Shorter.

Shorter, who spent time as part of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and Miles Davis’ Second Great Quintet before fully launching his solo career, has been battling serious health issues and medical bills since early 2019. When he was unable to perform at SFJazz, a series of celebrations of him were put together. These concerts are from January 2019.

The first of those celebrations features Los Angeles-based musicians Kamasi Washington (saxophone), Terrace Martin (saxophone/keyboards) and Shorter’s touring musicians Danilo Pérez (piano), John Patitucci (bass) and Brian Blade (drums).

May 29th features Afro-Cuban jazz pianist, composer and arranger Chucho Valdés with his backing band Irakere 45. This performance took place in February of 2019. Valdés has six Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards.

June 5th finds the Marcus Shelby Quintet teaming up with Angela Davis in a program centered on her book Blues Legacies and Black Feminism. The book puts three jazz and blues legends front and center: “Ma” Rainey, Bessie Smith and Billie Holiday.

This clip is from a different concert, but will give you an idea of the musicianship involved.

Shelby, a bass-player, is joined by saxophonist Tia Fuller, pianist Tammy Hall and drummer Terri-Lyne Carrington. There are also special guests vocalists at this concert which took place May 24, 2019.

June 12th‘s concert features Rhiannon Giddens in one of the final series of concerts before SFJazz had to suspend performances earlier this year.

Giddens is the Grammy-wining singer/composer/violinist and banjo player whose most recent release was There Is No Other on Nonesuch Records.

Joining her for this concert were pianist/instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi and bassist Jason Sypher.

June 19th finds Gypsy swing taking center stage with the ensemble Paris Combo. The ensemble features Belle du Berry on vocals, David Lewis (trumpet/keyboards), Benoît Dunoyer de Segonzac (bass), François Jeannin (drums), Rémy Kaprielan (percussion) and Potzi (guitar.)

Paris Combo performs a hybrid version of Gypsy swing all its own by added Spanish, French and German elements to their arrangements.

June 26th will be the Wayne Shorter Celebration Pt. 2. Joining his band for this performance are the legendary Herbie Hancock, composer/musician Terence Blanchard and Terrace Martin.

Additional performances will be announced, but we do know that Part 3 of the Wayne Shorter Celebration is scheduled for July 31st and will feature Branford Marsalis and Terence Blanchard.

To help support the musicians, there is a virtual tip jar you can use just as you might in a club. In the case of the Shorter Celebrations, 100% of those tips will go to his ongoing medical bills.

As more Fridays at Five performances get announced, we’ll keep you updated!

Photo of Wayne Shorter courtesy of his Facebook Page.

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Joining Fleming for this conversation is singer, songwriter and opera composer Rufus Wainwright (Prima Donna). The conversation will be moderated by Elliot Forest of WQXR Radio New York.

Amongst the topics to be discussed is Richard Strauss’ Four Last Songs, a work Fleming has made a central part of her repertoire. The 84-year-old Strauss wrote these songs in 1948. They were first performed in 1950, one year after his death.

The songs are Frühling (Spring), September, Beim Schlafengehen (When Falling Asleep) and Im Abendrot (At Sunset). 

Fleming was most recently seen in the Adam Guettel musical, The Light in the Piazza. She appeared on Broadway in the most recent revival of Carousel and appeared opposite Ben Whishaw in Norma Jeane Baker of Troy.

If you’ve been following the weekly streamed operas from the Metropolitan Opera, she is regularly featured in the productions they have selected.

Wainwright is the perfect person for this conversation. Not only are he and Fleming friends, but one could argue that in addition to writing pop songs, he composes 21st century art songs. He just released an EP called, appropriately enough for our times, Alone Time. His next album, Unfollow the Rules, is scheduled for release in July.

As a reminder, if you cannot watch Renée Fleming Live with Carnegie Hall as it happens, you will be able to see it archive on Carnegie Hall’s website approximately 90 minutes after its conclusion.

Photo of Renée Fleming courtesy of her website.

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Feinstein, who performs around the world, believes so passionately in the Great American Songbook (songs by the likes of the Gershwins, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Johnny Mercer), that he founded the Great American Songbook Foundation 13 years ago.

In addition to his work as a performer, Feinstein is the Principal Pops Conductor for the Pasadena Symphony. He’s also a nightclub entrepreneur with Feinstein’s at the Hotel Nikko in San Francisco, Feinstein’s at Vitellos in Studio City and Feinstein’s/54 Below in New York.

Ebersole is the two-time Tony Award winning actress (42nd Street and Grey Gardens) whose most recent appearance on Broadway was the musical War Paint with Patti LuPone. She regularly appears in film and television shows. Little known fact, she was a cast member of Saturday Night Live during the 1981-1982 season. She regularly tours with her cabaret act around the country.

Mezzo-soprano Alicia Hall Moran appeared on Broadway in The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess and also lead the national tour in the role of Bess. She collaborates with her husband, jazz musician and composer Jason Moran. She can been found on stages performing classical music and performing jazz.

Remember that if you cannot watch Michael Feinstein: Live with Carnegie Hall as it happens live on May 12th, you can always catch it on Carnegie Hall’s website approximately 90 minutes after the live stream event.

Photo of Michael Feinstein by Gilles Toucas/Courtesy of MichaelFeinstein.com.

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On March 22nd, composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim turned 90. This spring was scheduled to have countless concerts, tributes and special events. Of course, those had to be cancelled. So Raúl Esparza, who has appeared in several Sondheim musicals, decided to put together a virtual concert to celebrate the man he calls “Steve.” Take Me the World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration will be streamed on Broadway.Com’s website and their YouTube channel on Sunday, April 26th at 8 PM EDT/5 PM PDT.

Who did Esparza, who will also serve as host, get to celebrate Steve? Only some of the biggest names of stage and screen:

Meryl Streep who appeared in the film version of Into the Woods and also performed in The Frogs while a student at Yale.

Bernadette Peters who has appeared in Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, a revival of Gypsy (Sondheim wrote the lyrics), revivals of A Little Night Music and Follies, plus Bed and a Chair.

Mandy Patinkin who also appeared in Sunday in the Park with George.

Patti LuPone who has appeared in revivals of Sweeney Todd, Gypsy plus the recently postponed revival of Company and a concert version of the same show from 2012.

Katrina Lenk her co-star from Company.

Laura Benanti who played LuPone’s daughter in Gypsy. She also appeared in a revival of Into the Woods.

Michael Cerveris who appeared opposite LuPone in Sweeney Todd and was also in the Broadway production of Assassins, will appear. He also appeared in a production of Passion.

Audra McDonald who appeared in the same production of Passion. As will Donna Murphy who originated the role of Fosca in Passion.

Neil Patrick Harris will be performing. He appeared in the same production of Assassins with Cerveris and also a concert version of Company with LuPone.

Jake Gyllenhaal and Annaleigh Ashford who starred in the most recent revival of Sunday in the Park with George.

Christine Baranski who appeared in productions of Sweeney Todd in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. and a London concert performance of Follies.

Brian Stokes Mitchell who was Sweeney opposite Baranski in Washington, D.C.

Sutton Foster who played The Baker’s Wife in the Hollywood Bowl production of Into the Woods.

Kelli O’Hara who appeared in the 2001 revival of Follies. She also sang a gorgeous version of Take Me To The World from Evening Primrose on the recent one-night-only return of the Rosie O’Donnell Show.

Aaron Tveit who appeared in a production of Company.

Brandon Uranowitz who appeared in Encores! Off-Center production of Road Show with Esparza.

Maria Friedman who has appeared in London productions of Sunday in the Park with George, Passion and Merrily We Roll Along.

Lin-Manuel Miranda who has also appeared in a production of Merrily We Roll Along.

Melissa Errico who appeared opposite Esparza in a production of Sunday in the Park with George and also appeared in Do I Hear a Waltz? and an off-Broadway production of Passion.

Judy Kuhn, Errico’s co-star from that production of Passion.

Ben Platt and Beanie Feldstein who are currently starring in Richard Linklater’s film version of Merrily We Roll Along.

Elizabeth Stanley who appeared in Company with Esparza.

Linda Lavin who appeared in the Kennedy Center’s 2011 revival of Follies.

Chip Zien original cast member of the first production of Into the Woods.

Lea Salonga who played Mrs. Lovett in a production of Sweeney Todd in the Philippines.

Ann Harada, Austin Ku, Kelvin Moon Loh and Thom Sesma who all appeared in an off-Broadway production of Pacific Overtures.

Of course, you don’t have to ever have appeared in one of Sondheim’s shows to be part of this concert. Just ask Kristin Chenoweth, Josh Groban, Iain Armitage, composer Stephen Schwartz and Randy Rainbow who will be participating.

If that isn’t enough, there are scheduled to be special appearances by Victor Garber (Sweeney Todd), Joanna Gleason (Into the Woods), Nathan Lane (the Broadway production of The Frogs and a revival of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum) and director Steven Spielberg (the remake of West Side Story).

Mary-Mitchell Campbell, who also worked with Esparza on Company, is the music director for the concert. Take Me to the World also serves a fundraiser for ASTEP (Artists Striving to End Poverty,) an organization Campbell created with Juilliard students.

The date of April 26th was not casually chosen. It marks the 50th anniversary of the debut of the Sondheim/George Furth musical Company on Broadway. The revival of Company was set to open on March 22nd (Sondheim’s birthday). Producers hope to re-open the show, which had been in previews, once it is safe to do so.

So what will you be doing on Sunday? I know where I’ll be. Celebrating the 90th birthday of the greatest living composer of Broadway musicals. I’m looking forward to hearing each and every one of them Take Me to the World of Stephen Sondheim.

Photo of Stephen Sondheim by Emilio Madrid-Kuser for Broadway.com

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The old joke about how you get to Carnegie Hall seems like it was written about pianists. Taking the stage for a solo recital there is, arguably, the pinnacle of success for a classical pianist.

Ax made his own debut at Carnegie Hall in 1974 and had his first recital there in 1982. Bronfman had his debut there in 1976 with his first recital in 1989. Hamelin won the 1985 Carnegie Hall International American Music Competition for Pianists and had his first solo recital there in 1988.

Some key moments in Carnegie Hall’s history of piano performances:

1891: Jan Paderewski made his US debut

1906: Artur Rubinstein made his US debut

1909: Sergei Rachmaninoff made his Carnegie Hall debut

1925: George Gershwin gave the world premiere performance of Concerto in F

1928: Vladimir Horowitz made his US debut

1957: Glenn Gould made his Carnegie Hall recital debut

1960: Sviatoslav Richter made his Carnegie Hall debut

1981: Martha Argerich made her Carnegie Hall recital debut

1989: Maria Joao Pires made her Carnegie Hall recital debut

1990: Evgeny Kissin made his Carnegie Hall recital debut

1991: Stephen Hough made his Carnegie Hall recital debut

2001: Lang Lang made his Carnegie Hall debut

There’s a lot of history in this building which gives all three musicians a lot to talk about. Hopefully they will also perform. Either way, this is definitely going to be an interesting hour or so.

And if you can’t make the Emanuel Ax: Live with Carnegie Hall livestream on April 23rd, the video will be available a few hours after its conclusion on the Carnegie Hall website.

Photo of Emanuel Ax © Lisa-Marie Mazzucco/Courtesy of Carnegie Hall

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The focus of this Live with Carnegie Hall event will be next year’s Voices of Hope: Artists in Times of Oppression festival. Lemper, who will perform at Carnegie Hall in April of 2021, will be commemorating the 75th anniversary of the liberation of concentration camps.

The songs she will perform as part of that concert, and, no doubt, part of this live-streaming event, will focus on songs written during the Holocaust that celebrate rebellion, hope, defiance and so much more.

When I interviewed Lemper in 2015 for an appearance at The Wallis in Beverly Hills, she was already tackling some of this material. She told me why these songs were important to her.

“Many composers made it out of Germany, but there were a huge number that didn’t,” she says. “There was a [concentration] camp for the cultural elite, and composers were encouraged to keep writing to show off that the Nazis had a humane camp. There was unbelievable creativity in those years—a huge number of works created. But everyone there was sent to Auschwitz to be killed. Most of it is in Yiddish. The stories are completely, unbelievably heartbreaking. Some of them reflect the suffering, the slaughter of children, and the horrors of the camp. Others were entertaining as they were asked to write material to entertain the audiences and the Nazis who came to the show.”

Her performance was extraordinary and the years since that concert have given her more time to explore material, dig deeper into the songs she already knew and the end results will, I assure you, be very moving.

Don’t worry if you didn’t watch Ute Lemper: Live with Carnegie Hall today. You can watch the full show on Carnegie Hall’s website.

Photo of Ute Lemper by Steffen Thalemann/Courtesy of Carnegie hall

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