THIS IS THE TWELFTH AND LAST OF OUR BEST OF 23 REVIEW OF INTERVIEWS: There aren’t too many actors who have appeared in productions of West Side Story, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Follies and A Little Night Music. Not many can also hold the distinction of originating a role in Company. One person who has done all five shows is Tony Award-winner Donna McKechnie.

She was the original Kathy in Company – one of the trio of women who sing “You Could Drive a Person Crazy.” As for her Tony Award, she originated the role of Cassie in A Chorus Line.

Company was, of course, written by Stephen Sondheim. As were Forum, Follies and A Little Night Music. Leonard Bernstein wrote the music for West Side Story and the lyrics were Sondheim’s.

After earning rave reviews for her show Take Me to the World: The Songs of Stephen Sondheim at 54 Below in New York, McKechnie is bringing the show to Los Angeles for two performances this week at Catalina Jazz Club. She will also perform at the Purple Room in Palm Springs on January 13th and January 14th. Next week she’ll bring the show to Feinsteins At The Nikko in San Francisco.

Last week I spoke with McKechnie who was in her apartment on the Upper West Side of New York City. We spoke about her career, her relationship with Sondheim, the joy in singing his music and, of course, A Chorus Line. What follows are excerpts from our conversation that have been edited for length and clarity.

For those who know you were in the original Broadway cast of Company, they might think that was your first introduction to Stephen Sondheim. But if my research is correct, you were actually in a touring production of West Side Story.

Oh my God. Yes, you’re right. Wow.

But when you auditioned for the the touring production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum that was the first time you sang… 

It was my first singing audition and Stephen – that’s the first time I ever met him. Of course, I barely remember anything because I was so nervous. I was so nervous that I could not control my hand from shaking when I read for George Abbott, the director. I couldn’t find my timing. I kept losing my way and inadvertently it made him laugh so much. He actually fell off the chair.

Can you imagine my first time out in a role, coming from the chorus of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, to be in that? First of all, it took me a whole year on the road practically to find those laughs again because I didn’t know what I was doing. But what a great way to learn from the best people; a great cast. And a great way, when you’re 19, 20 years old, to see the country. 

Do you remember the moment where an awareness clicked in with you that what Stephen Sondheim did was different?

It was so sophisticated – as much as I could be sophisticated in those days. It was clever, witty, funny. It was very edgy. I appreciated all of that. I mean, the show was fantastic and this was his first Broadway show, of course, where he wrote both lyrics and music. It was great. They cast it very well and including me, I think. I did learn on the job. I had a great time. 

When you do a Sondheim show does it give you a skill set that is different than it might have been had you done other shows? 

I was lucky to work with so many great composers. But, any time I do a Sondheim show, it always makes me feel I’m a better singer and I’m a better actor because of really digging in to that material. Because that’s how he writes. He writes from a character-driven point-of-view and there’s so much finesse in it. I always improve. 

I heard him say over the years that he was always looking for actors who could sing versus singers who could act. If you are approaching your career as a singer/dancer does a vote of confidence from someone like Sondheim make you think there is more to me as an actor than perhaps I imagined?

I’ve always acted. It’s always been my basis for anything. Many years ago it pushed me into a place of resenting being labeled as a dancer/singer because everything I did had that acting. I studied. I was a professional student. My first chorus job, my only one, really, How to Succeed... I had never seen anything like a roomful of people telling a story with music and movement. I thought I have a job now. If I go to acting class and voice lessons I can learn how to sing and act. Then I can have a career perhaps longer than a dancer’s life. That was the whole plan.

Naturally I had to really work. But there was always an affinity for connecting with the character. That’s why I love Sondheim so much and and so many people. Michael Bennett was all character-driven. As was Jerome Robbins. We’re telling stories in a very specific way.

You’re someone who has sung the music and lyrics of Marvin Hamlisch, Edward Kleban, Cy Coleman, Dorothy Fields, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter. The list goes on and on. But when you sing Stephen Sondheim what resonates most with you as a person when you’re singing his songs? 

I just relate to it so much because he is so clear and decisive. There’s so much clarity in his work. He doesn’t want it to be a cookie cutter of any idealized performance, some imagined performance. He wants you to bring yourself to it completely and fully and bring it alive. He wrote it for actors to do that. There’s not just one way to do it. The new revival of Company had his blessing and it was totally changed. Very different but quite fantastic to hear that score again.

Did you like the production if you saw it? 

I did. I went opening night. It was thrilling and it was very different. I decided to just give myself over to that world and let them take me. And they did. And it was just fantastic. The ghosts of the past would come on stage and I would have to kind of live dually with them.

Another project you did put you on the stage of the Shubert Theater in March of 1973, which was Sondheim: A Musical Tribute. Basically anybody who was anyone who had been in a Sondheim show was involved. You were also the choreographer of that event. So you’re working with all these people who have performed his work. What do you remember most about that March evening? 

The last number of the show. We’re at the dress rehearsal and Bert Shevelove (librettist of A Funny Thing…) is the director. He’s asking all the stars on stage to gather around the piano. It’s like they’re in Steve’s living room. There’s Angela Lansbury and there’s Chita Rivera and Jack Cassidy, Dorothy Collins, Alexis Smith, and Larry Kert. That time is one of the most exciting times of my life because of all of these people; the collaborative effort that went into it and and working with Angela. With Chita who said, “Well, what do you got for me?” And I went, “Oh, God, what are we going to do?” And I showed it to her in a very timid way. And she went, “Oh, yeah. Don’t you know that actors ask why, but dancers just do it.” She’s adorable. Love her.

Working with Angela was intimidating, and I learned a lot from her. I had this incredible very busy dance going on while she sang her big number. I was out of breath when I showed it to her. I finished and I looked at her and she looked at me and said, “I think I’ll just stand here and sing, if you don’t mind.” I didn’t mind. What a mistake I made giving her so much to do. She was so generous and kind. I learned a great lesson that sometimes the power is to just stand there and sing.

Two years later the Shubert Theater became a very important home for you because that’s where A Chorus Line played when it opened on Broadway. In your Tony Award acceptance speech you called A Chorus Line “a personal experience that taught me so much about performing and about people and humanity.” What has doing the work of Stephen Sondheim and his various collaborators taught you? 

I worked on all of this material at a very difficult time when we were going through COVID. He found the most beautiful and poetic expression of every experience and the human condition. There’s so much and it’s rich. When I do Losing My Mind, as much as I did it in [Follies], I’m still finding deeper ways to go. I’m unearthing different things and different feelings. You hope that is communicated to the audience, but the response has been really great. It’s a very wonderful thing to be able to do especially since losing him.

I feel his presence so much because of the material that I’m doing and I’m associated with. But it’s just to keep him alive in that way. He worked and loved his work so much and was so generous. He was also a great teacher and a friend. He cared so much about, not just his work, but everyone’s work and making it better. It’s all there; the human frailty. He doesn’t skip over things very easily. Sometimes when I’m working on the material, I go, How did he know that?

As for Follies, you played Sally at Paper Mill Playhouse in 1998. You then played Carlotta in 2005 at Barrington Stage Company. I looked up then New York Times critic Ben Brantley‘s review of the 2005 production. He said, “In superb voice, McKechnie endows her solo with a warm and even elation, as well as a truthfulness that suggests her Carlotta has not just survived, but enjoyed the bumpy road that is her life.”

Have you enjoyed the bumpy road that is your life? 

Yes. Mostly, yes. Because I appreciated that that’s what it was going to be. I loved being given the chance to do what I love. I’m able to pass it on to younger students of theater. I say, “You’re going to get rejected a lot.” You’re set up for it. So you have to really love what you’re doing. And the humor you have to have. Sometimes I get it after the fact. I’m going through something and it’s kind of it feels traumatic and chaotic. Then after you think about what happened it’s hilarious. So I’m more easy with things now.

Sammy Williams (the original Paul in A Chorus Line) told me that actress Celeste Holm said to him after he won his Tony Award for A Chorus Line to understand that this was not the peak of your career, this was just a moment in your career. And to expect those bumps and to expect highs and lows. I’m assuming you agree with her advice. 

Especially after you get an award! You go, “Okay, where are they?” The work doesn’t always happen that way. You always have to keep creating the demand. It’s really hard not to worry about it when you don’t have a set future. Now I have more work than I ever expected. 

Send in the Clowns is in your setlist for Take Me to the World. How does that song resonate with you now 22 years after you performed it in the context of the show? 

It seems actually perfect. I’m that much older and living a completely different kind of life. I’m not really that different, actually, but different in my head. It just fits perfectly because I find the personal connections in it that I relate to. If you think of it you could do that song so many different ways about so many different situations. But it is a woman dealing with the irony of what she was expecting, what she experienced. When you look at yourself and have an honest moment with yourself. It’s tough and it goes through all of these different changes. It’s touching. It’s funny. It’s sad. It can be anything as long as your truth is there.

That’s such an important word. That was very true with any company of A Chorus Line, too. Baayork Lee (the original Connie in A Chorus Line) who’s taken it all over the place, if she had a chance to give one note it would be just play the truth of your character.

Has your relationship with A Chorus Line changed? 

Oh, yes. It makes me appreciate it even more – if that’s possible. Having the great opportunity to go back in the show ten years later at 45. Not just getting back into shape and doing the show, but also emotionally and with a different perception. It was very gratifying. I had a better time.

The first time around it was Chorus Line fever. It was so hard and we were tired. We were very happy for the success, but we were just spinning. To be able to take a break and come back to it and really experience it and what everybody did, what everybody contributed, it was great.

I think a lot of people who are fans of A Chorus Line know that it took actress Marsha Mason to say Cassie needs to be cast in the show just before the finale. Do you think the show would have been successful had Michael Bennett not taken that advice?

It would not have been successful. He was smart enough to see that immediately. Don’t forget, we were locked in this little black box of a theater. He and Bob Avian, they’re there every day and you lose objectivity. You would invite your friends, your savvy friends. He invited Neil Simon and Marsha and a lot of people. Sondheim, Hal Prince, they would all come and give their feedback. Only people that he really respected and could trust. As soon as it was brought up he immediately went, “Oh yeah.”

He couldn’t see that if you don’t give any anyone any hope…In other words, if Zach doesn’t give her the job, he didn’t see it yet that she was the symbol for second chances. He was trying to be true to what would really happen, I think. He did the same thing with Promises, Promises, to try to make it to realistic. He had to raise the the heightened reality a little bit.

We’re now just a little bit over two years away from the 50th anniversary of A Chorus Line. What are your hopes, not just for this 50th anniversary, but how the show will be considered in another 50 years?

It’s bigger than any one of us. It’s bigger than the theater. It’s human beings connecting in such an artful, positive way and over generations. The lives it saved. The people it’s inspired. It’s even inspired some people not to get into the business. It looks so rough there. It has given so much. It’s the gift that keeps giving and I love it.

You told Playbill in 2010, on the occasion of Stephen Sondheim’s 80th birthday, that the highest compliment he ever gave to you was when he said, “Tonight I saw the actress and the character come together.” If Steve were able to have been at 54 Below last year or was able to be in Los Angeles to see Take Me to the World, what do you think his response would be and why do you think he’d have that response to the way you’re celebrating his work?

You just made me cry. I would hope that he would approve and like the way I was doing it. I have a feeling he would and I think he would appreciate the fact that there’s so much love and really good arrangements servicing his music and his intent. And doing a different interpretation, perhaps. I feel proud that he might really approve. I would love it if he would give me notes because his notes are so great. 

Photo: Donna McKechnie (Courtesy Chris Isaacson Presents)

The post Bo23: Donna McKechnie: The Music and No Mirror appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

The pandemic did Catalina (both the woman and the club) no favors. It took a lot of effort and the support of jazz music fans from around the world to keep the club afloat. But she’s still here and so is her club. But Popescu still faces very changing times in the music industry.

Her dream, the shifting sands of live music and the future of her club were all on the table when we spoke last week. What follows are excerpts from our conversation that have been edited for length and clarity. To see the full interview, please go to our YouTube channel.

About 13 years ago, you did an interview with Agenda Magazine where you were asked about favorite artists that had performed at Catalina. Part of your answer was, “There is really something to learn about somebody that is going through life in different places and different social environments.” You were in a different place as anyone would be after those 13 years. That also included the pandemic. How has your perspective changed on life, the business of live music and the role of live music in your own life? 

This period has been very difficult. We tried as much as possible to keep music alive even in that period. I still feel there is nothing like live music. Everybody tried all kinds of virtual things to do this. Yes, it was fine for the moment, but it’s nothing like live music. When we came back and we presented again live music, everybody that came to see the shows. They felt like they were born again. 

Did you feel born again in that moment, too? 

Absolutely. And believe me it wasn’t that easy. When we got back everything in the place was broken from not being used, including air conditioning, freezers, refrigerators, everything. So as we were fighting with all of that, we had the music going on. And believe me, that made the big difference. 

How have you seen the jazz scene change in Los Angeles since you first opened the club?

The jazz scene in Los Angeles has been having some ups and downs during all these 36 or 37 years. I have had times when jazz was very up and cool. And I have had times when the jazz was put to the backburner like nobody was interested. Now I feel that everybody’s thirsty for live jazz. And people come young, old, in between, and they enjoy every little bit of it.

Did the move from Cahuenga to Sunset Boulevard require a complete rethinking? Were there things that you learned in that move that you’ve now been able to apply for the 20 years or so that you’ve been on Sunset?

We looked for this place for more than three years prior to finding it, because we wanted to have a place which was bigger. But to resemble in some way the old place so people wouldn’t feel that they had to change everything. This was a warehouse before, so I designed everything to look almost like the old place. I still have people coming saying that they like better the other place. That was fine, but was very small. What I try [sic] to do is to find a place that had a lot of parking, to find a place that was safer and the place that had good sound.

What are the challenges in booking major jazz artists today? 

Big challenges. Especially after the pandemic. Everybody was sitting without doing anything. So when everything else opened, everybody felt that they are now in a pot of gold – which maybe was true. Some was not. But we still have a lot of problems booking because of pricing. Everything went up. The airline tickets are up. The hotel prices are up. Everything going crazy. And, of course, musicians, because they lost so much money, feel that they need to recoup everything.

Even before the pandemic artists like Brad Mehldau or Jason Moran can play a week at the Village Vanguard in New York. But when they come to Los Angeles, they feel the need to play Walt Disney Concert Hall or the Soraya. 

Here in Los Angeles they have more possibilities, more places to choose from. I don’t understand what the problem is. But now we are almost the only place still standing and we still have a very difficult time bringing these musicians that you mentioned because of prices. 

How do you work around that?

We find them sometimes on the way in a tour. So if they don’t have anything else, they would make a stop here. Or we try to do better price-wise. Even if we lose a little bit of money, it’s okay. I have to have a lot of thinking and a lot of calculation in everything that I do. 

I’ve spoken to several jazz artists who say that they would love to find a smaller venue in Los Angeles, but they suggest that you require they rent out the facility rather than being paid as booked artists. Is that true?

No, that’s not true. None of it is. 

How would they get that impression?

I don’t know. That’s never true to do that. Never. The way we work sometimes if somebody is totally unknown, we ask them for a deposit, and that is only to get them involved. The moment we got the people in and we got the show on, they get the deposit back. So no, that’s not true.

In the early days of the club your dream was to get Dizzy Gillespie there. Who in on your list of people you’d love to see perform there now? 

When he came and I saw him on my stage here, I had to pinch myself. I just couldn’t believe it. Who I would like to see? I would like to see more of the musicians I already worked with. Like the ones you mentioned, like Stanley Clarke, like Marcus Miller to come back. Probably he will be back in in October. I would like to see more singers like Oleta Adams. Let me see what else? Because we lost a lot of them. That was very painful.

Not too long ago we lost Ahmad Jamal. He was one of our dearest friends when we opened this place. Ahmad Jamal was scheduled to perform for the opening and we didn’t get the permit from the health department. So myself, my husband and Ahmad Jamal, we are here in the audience looking at the beautiful piano on the stage, not being able to [have a] show.

I was able to find an interview that you did as part of a story about Geri Allen with the Los Angeles Times in 1992. She was about to make her debut at Catalina. You said, “She’s a young talent and her music is very exciting, very appealing. And the fact that she is a woman artist is a big thing to me.” How far has the jazz world come since 1992 in terms of advancing, supporting and recording women in jazz?

I don’t think it has advanced a lot in regards to that. She was a wonderful woman, wonderful performer and she was a wonderful mother. She was a great person. I have worked with a couple of other ladies. The women in jazz, you know, I am not sure they are at the place that they should be. 

What do you think it will take for them to get to to a more elevated level? 

I really don’t know. Maybe the society changes a little bit, maybe appreciating them more. I know they work a lot and they put all they have in their music. But it’s still very difficult as a woman. And in business, I am by myself now. I don’t have my husband with me since 15 years ago. So it’s not easy.

What would you like to see happen with Catalina Jazz Club when you’re no longer able to be a part of it on a daily basis?

I don’t know. I feel a lot of times if it’s not me here, nothing will happen anymore. Because you have to put all your heart and all your life into something that you love very much. You have to dream about it, to sleep on it, to eat with it, to do everything. So I don’t really know what will be. I really wouldn’t. But for right now I am planning to work and to have this place going until we finish our lease, then we’ll see.

When is that?

Eight years from now.

Let me take you back in time to that Easter weekend in 1987 when your dream came true and Dizzy Gillespie was on the stage at Catalina Bar and Grill. Anybody who was anyone was in the audience that night. If you could think back to who you were back in 1987 and look at where you are now, what would you have to say to the young version of yourself about everything that you’ve accomplished and everything you’ve endured and where you are today?

A lot of times people ask me if I would do it again. How would I do? What do I change? And my answer is I will never do it again, because it was very hard.

That Easter weekend was like the most exceptional and the hardest weekend of my life because I was going in it without knowing a lot. We had the best musician in the world, the most well-known. Everybody was coming to see him. We really didn’t know how to handle everything. I was trying so hard to make it and I made it. But it was very difficult.

The next day, Easter Sunday, my husband went out and he bought a whole lamb and invited everybody, all the musicians, to lunch and they had the best time of their life. That’s what happened in that Easter weekend.

I’ll tell you a little story from that time. I was seating people at the door and all kinds of people came in and I didn’t have any idea who anybody was. One guy was really pushy and I put him right in his place. Then when I went to a table, they said, “Oh, can you tell Miles to join us?” I said, “Miles?” So they said, “Miles Davis.” The one that I was pushing and I was really strong with – that was Miles Davis. I said to myself, Oh my God, what did I do because I felt very bad.

Looking back at the girl… I was not a girl, but I was much younger. I would say I grew up with this place. I turned into a very strong woman. Nothing bothers me anymore. I love all these people I work with. And if you don’t love music, don’t get in it. That’s all I can say.

Do you still love music?

I love music to the core of my heart.

To see the full interview with Catalina Popescu, please go here.

Main Photo: Catalina Popescu (Photo by Aaron Jay Young/Courtesy Catalina Jazz Club)

The post Catalina Popescu Still Loves Music Deeply appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

Their concert is being live-streamed for those who are unable to attend in person. If you’re a fan of great vocals and swinging jazz, this should be a thoroughly entertaining program.

Elling was recently named in the DownBeat International Critics Poll the Best Jazz Vocalist Male. In October he will release a new album called SuperBlue. The first single, Sassy, has already been released.

Elling has been awarded two Grammy Awards and has 14 nominations to his credit – so far. His most recent Grammy came for his 2020 album Secrets Are the Best Stories.

Charlap, whose most recent album was 2017’s Uptown, Downtown, will be joined for this concert by Carl Allen on drums; Steve Wilson on alto sax and David Wong on bass. He’s been nominated for four Grammy Awards and won for the 2015 album he did with Tony Bennett called The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern.

I spoke to Charlap in 2018 about a Leonard Bernstein concert he was doing. He told me this about how he and his fellow musicians approach the music they play:

“We are always playing the music every night in a new way. We try to approach it like it’s the first time we’ve ever played it.  The ability to really have a conversation all the time and reassess what we are doing, to renegotiate a line or rhythmic phrase, before you get to the end of it, is one of the great joys of jazz.”

Fans of Charlap’s music will also be interested in another 92nd Street Y concert on July 27th. He and his trio (Kenny Washington and Peter Washington) will be joined by vocalist Dianne Reeves. This is a first-time collaboration. This concert will be both a live event and a streaming event. You can find details here.

For in-person tickets (whether in person or streaming) to see Elling and Charlap, please go here.

Kurt Elling will join John Beasley’s Monk’estra for four sets at Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood beginning on July 30th. For his full schedule, go here.

Photo: Kurt Elling (Photo by Anna Webber/Courtesy 92nd Street Y)

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Our top pick, previewed yesterday, is a reading of Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart on Saturday. We also have some great jazz music for you (both traditional vocals and a very contemporary performance), a London production of Chekhov that earned rave reviews, a tribute to two of Broadway’s best songwriters, chamber music and a contortionist. After all, it’s Mother’s Day weekend. Don’t all mothers just love contortionists?

Here are the Top 10 Best Bets: May 7th – May 10th

*TOP PICK* PLAY READING: The Normal Heart – ONE Archives Foundation – May 8th – 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT

We previewed this event yesterday as out Top Pick, but here are the pertinent details:

Director Paris Barclay has assembled Sterling K. Brown, Laverne Cox, Jeremy Pope, Vincent Rodriguez III, Guillermo Díaz, Jake Borelli, Ryan O’Connell, Daniel Newman, Jay Hayden and Danielle Savre for a virtual reading of Larry Kramer’s play.

The reading will be introduced by Martin Sheen.

There will be just this one live performance of The Normal Heart. It will not be available for viewing afterwards. There will be a Q&A with the cast and Barclay following the reading. Tickets begin at $10 for students, $20 for general admission.

PLAY READING: Rachel – Roundabout Theatre Company’s Refocus Project – Now – May 7th

Angelina Weld Grimké’s 1916 play Rachel, is the second play in the Refocus Project from Roundabout Theatre Company. Their project puts emphasis on plays by Black playwrights from the 20th century that didn’t get enough attention or faded into footnotes of history in an effort to bring greater awareness to these works.

Rachel tells the story of a Black woman who, upon learning some long-ago buried secrets about her family, has to rethink being a Black parent and bringing children into the world.

Miranda Haymon directs Sekai Abení, Alexander Bello, E. Faye Butler, Stephanie Everett, Paige Gilbert, Brandon Gill, Toney Goins, Abigail Jean-Baptiste and Zani Jones Mbayise.

The reading is free, but registration is required.

JAZZ: Joel Ross & Immanuel Wilkins – Village Vanguard – May 7th – May 9th

You’d be hard-pressed to find a more compelling pairing of jazz musicians than vibraphonist Joel Ross and alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins.

The two have been collaborating for quite some time. Wilkins is a member of Ross’ Good Vibes quintet.

Nate Chinen, in a report for NPR, described a 2018 concert in which Ross performed with drummer Makaya McCraven this way. “Ross took one solo that provoked the sort of raucous hollers you’d sooner expect in a basketball arena. Again, this was a vibraphone solo.“

Wilkins album, Omega, was declared the Best Jazz Album of 2020 by Giovanni Russonello of the New York Times.

I spoke to Wilkins last year about the album and his music. You can read that interview here. And if you’re a fan, Jason Moran, who produced the album, told me that this music was “just the tip of the iceberg.”

Tickets for this concert are $10.

PLAY: Uncle Vanya – PBS Great Performances – May 7th check local listings

Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya is performed by a cast headed by Richard Armitrage and Toby Jones. Conor McPherson adapted the play for this production which played at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London and was directed by Ian Rickson.

Arifa Akbar, writing in her five-star review for The Guardian, said of the production:

“Ian Rickson’s exquisite production is full of energy despite the play’s prevailing ennui. It does not radically reinvent or revolutionise Chekov’s 19th-century story. It returns us to the great, mournful spirit of Chekhov’s tale about unrequited love, ageing and disappointment in middle-age, while giving it a sleeker, modern beat.

“McPherson’s script has a stripped, vivid simplicity which quickens the pace of the drama, and despite its contemporary language – Vanya swears and uses such terms as “wanging on” – it does not grate or take away from the melancholic poetry.”

CHAMBER MUSIC: Beyond the Horizon – LA Chamber Orchestra – Premieres May 7th – 9:30 PM ET/6:30 PM PT

This is the 12th episode in LACO’s Close Quarters series and definitely one of its most intriguing. Jessie Montgomery, the composer who curated the previous episode, curates this episode as well. She is joined by her fellow alums from Juilliard, mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard (who directs) and music producer Nadia Sirota.

The program features Alvin Singleton’s Be Natural (a pun any music major will understand); Mazz Swift’s The End of All That Is Holy, The Beginning of All That is Good and Montgomery’s Break Away.

The performance portion of Beyond the Horizon is conducted by Christopher Rountree of Wild Up! Visual artist Yee Eun Nam contributes to the film as does art director James Darrah.

There is no charge to watch Beyond the Horizon.

CHAMBER MUSIC: MusiKaravan: A Classical Road Trip with Delerium Musicum – The Wallis Sorting Room Sessions – May 7th – May 9th

Music by Johannes Brahms, Charlie Chaplin, Frederic Chopin, Vittorio Monti, Sergei Prokofiev, Giacomo Puccini and Dmitri Shostakovich will be performed by Delerium Musicum founding violinists Étienne Gara and YuEun Kim. They will be joined for two pieces by bassist Ryan Baird.

The full ensemble of musicians that make up Delerium Musicum will join for one of these pieces? Which one will it be? There is only one way to find out.

This concert is part of The Sorting Room Sessions at The Wallis.

Tickets are $20 and will allow for streaming for 48 hours

MOTHER’S DAY OFFERINGS: MOMentum Place and A Catalina Tribute to Mothers – May 8th

Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum is celebrating Mother’s Day with MOMentum Place, a show featuring aerial artists, circus performers, dancers and musicians. The line-up includes circus artist Elena Brocade; contortionist and acrobat Georgia Bryan, aerialist and stilt dancer Jena Carpenter of Dream World Cirque, ventriloquist Karl Herlinger, hand balancer Tyler Jacobson, stilt walker and acrobat Aaron Lyon, aerialist Kate Minwegen, cyr wheeler Sarah Moser and Cirque du Soleil alum Eric Newton, plus Dance Dimensions Kids and Focus Fish Kids. The show was curated by aerlist/dancer Lexi Pearl. Tickets are $35.

Catalina Jazz Club is holding A Catalina Tribute to Mothers at 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT. Headlining the concert are singers Jack Jones, Freda Payne and Tierney Sutton. Vocalist Barbara Morrison is a special guest. Also performing are  Kristina Aglinz, Suren Arustamyan, Lynne Fiddmont, Andy Langham, Annie Reiner, Dayren Santamaria, Tyrone Mr. Superfantastic and more. Dave Damiani is the host. The show is free, however donations to help keep the doors open at Catalina Jazz Club are welcomed and encouraged.

JAZZ: Love in Exile – The Phillips Collection – May 9th – 4:00 PM ET/1:00 PM PT

There is no set program for this performance by pianist/composer Vijay Iyer, vocalist Arooj Aftab and bassist Shazad Ismaily. The website says Love in Exile performs as one continuous hour-long set.

Having long been a fan of Iyer, spending an hour wherever he and his fellow musicians wants to go sounds like pure heaven to me.

Iyer’s most recent album, Uneasy, was released in April on ECM Records and finds him performing with double bassist Linda May Han Oh and drummer Tyshawn Sorey. It’s a great album. You should definitely check it out.

There is no charge to watch this concert, but registration is required. Once Love in Exile debuts, you’ll have 7 days to watch the performance as often as you’d like.

DANCE: Past, Present, Future – ALL ARTS – May 9th – May 11th

ALL ARTS, part of New York’s PBS stations, is holding an three-night on-line dance festival beginning on Sunday.

If We Were a Love Song is first up at 8:00 PM ET on Sunday. Nina Simone’s music accompanies this work conceived by choreographer Kyle Abraham who is collaborating with filmmaker Dehanza Rogers.

Dancers (Slightly Out of Shape) airs on Monday at 8:00 PM ET. This is part documentary/part dance featuring choreographer Pam Tanowitz as she and her company resume rehearsals last year during the Covid crisis. It leads to excerpts from Every Moment Alters which is set to the music of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw.

One + One Make Three closes out the festival on Tuesday at 8:00 PM ET. This film showcases the work of Kinetic Light, an ensemble featuring disabled performers. This is also part documentary/part dance made by director Katherine Helen Fisher.

All three films will be accompanied by ASL and Open Captions for the hearing impaired.

BROADWAY: Broadway Close Up: Kander and Ebb – Kaufman Music Center – May 10th – 7:00 PM ET/4:00 PM PT

You know the work of John Kander and Fred Ebb: Cabaret, Chicago, Flora the Red Menace, Kiss of the Spider Woman, New York New York, The Scottsboro Boys and Woman of the Year.

Their work will be explored, discussed and performed with host Sean Hartley.

He’s joined by Tony Award-winner Karen Ziemba (Contact) who appeared in two musicals by the duo: Curtains and Steel Pier. The latter was written specifically for her.

Any fan of Kander and Ebb will want to purchase a ticket for this show. Tickets are $15

Those are our Top Ten Best Bets: May 7th – May 10th (even if we cheated a little bit by having two options listed together). But there are a few reminders:

The Metropolitan Opera has their own view of mothers with their theme of Happy Mother’s Day featuring Berg’s Wozzeck on Friday; Puccini’s Madama Butterfly on Saturday and Handel’s Agrippina on Sunday.

Puccini returns for the start of National Council Auditions Alumni Week with a 1981-1982 season production of La Bohème. We’ll have all the details for you on Monday.

LA Opera’s Signature Recital Series continues with the addition of a recital by the brilliant soprano Christine Goerke.

One rumor to pass along to you: word has it Alan Cumming will be Jim Caruso’s guest on Monday’s Pajama Cast Party.

That completes all our selections of Best Bets: May 7th – May 10th. I hope all of you who are mothers have a terrific weekend. For those of you celebrating with your moms, I hope we’ve given you plenty of options to consider.

Have a great weekend! Enjoy the culture!

Photo: Larry Kramer (Photo by David Shankbone/Courtesy David Shankbone)

The post Best Bets: May 7th – May 10th appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

Our top pick this week is Heartbeat Opera’s Breathing Free, a powerful 45-minute film that is having its West Coast debut courtesy of The Broad Stage. Opera, spirituals, movement and imagery combine to explore the challenges Black men have of simply breathing without fear. I saw the film last year and can tell you this is easily one of the strongest works you’ll see all year.

If you are a fan of The Supremes and want to catch quite possibly Mary Wilson’s last performance (she passed away earlier this week), you will want to catch A Catalina Soulful Valentine fundraiser on Friday night.

It’s not all dance and topical issues this week, in fact, our first listing might find you mixing your own cocktails. Get your ice out of the freezer, get your cocktail shaker on standby and dig in!

Here are my Best Bets: February 12th – February 15th (we’re including Monday since it’s also a holiday weekend):

PLAY: Dixie’s Happy Hour – Segerstrom Center for the Arts – Now – February 21st

Dixie Longate hosting a happy hour? That will certainly have heavy emphasis on the happy. And probably on the adult side, too. Dixie, though a Southern girl at heart, has a quick wit and is never shy about sharing her thoughts.

With everything that has gone on the world since Dixie was last selling Tupperware locally, I can only imagine what she’ll have to say.

And what drinks she’ll make. I don’t believe Dixie has been in the Alabama slammer, but I bet she knows how to make a fierce one! Actually, she does have a pre-show margarita recipe to share.

There are performances every night through February 21st at 7:00 PM PST. Tickets are $35.

BALLET: Digital Program 02 – San Francisco Ballet – Now – March 3rd $29 for 72 hour access

The world premiere of Colorforms, a new work by Myles Thatcher, is featured in San Francisco Ballet’s Digital Program 02. The work, set to Variations for Vibes, Pianos and Strings by Steve Reich, seeks to illuminate the parallels between the creation and consumption of art. The film, directed by Ezra Hurwitz, was shot in multiple San Francisco locations including the War Memorial Opera House where the San Francisco Ballet regularly performs.

Opening the program is Dwight Rhoden‘s Let’s Begin at the End which features music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Philip Glass and Michael Nyman. The work was created for SF Ballet’s 2018 Unbound and had its debut on April 26th of that year.

Closing out the program is Sandpaper Ballet by Mark Morris with music by Leroy Anderson. The work was created in 1999 for San Francisco Ballet. Composer Anderson is probably best-known for having written the popular holiday song, Sleigh Ride. Sandpaper Ballet was composed in 1954.

Tickets are $29 and allow for 72 hours of streaming.

BALLET: Raymonda Act III – Royal Opera House – Now – March 14th

Marius Petipa’s ballet, Raymonda, had its world premiere in St. Petersburg in 1898 and is set to the music of Alexander Glazunov. In 1948 the Kirov Ballet revived the ballet with new choreography by Konstantin Sergeyev. This latter choreography is the one most commonly used in performances of the ballet.

Ballet star Rudolf Nureyev dance the ballet with the Kirov. He would later stage a full-length version for the Royal Ballet in 1964. Five years later he tweaked the very popular third act. It is that version that will be seen in this film which comes from a 2003 tribute to Nureyev. (The event took place ten years after his death.)

The two acts leading up to the segment being presented depicts the story of two lovers, Raymonda and Jean de Brienne who plan to get married. Unfortunately Abderman shows up at her birthday party and makes his intentions clear. Jean de Brienne does not arrive for one more day. He does arrive just in time (in Act 2) to break up Abderman’s kidnapping attempt of Raymonda. A duel ensues between the two men and Abderman is killed.

So what’s left in Act III? A big celebration. The full ballet isn’t performed as often as is this third act.

Pavel Sorokin conducts with Natalia Osipova as Raymonda and Vadim Muntagirov as Jean de Brienne.

Tickets to stream this performance are £3 which at press time equals approximately $4.15

THEATRE TALK: Virtual Halston – Cast Party Network on YouTube – February 12th – 5:00 PM EST/2:00 PM PST

Fans of the original cast of The Producers will certainly recognize Julie Halston’s guests for this week’s Virtual Halston: Cady Huffman (who originated the role of Ulla and won both the Drama Desk Award and the Tony Award as Best Featured Actress in a Musical) and Brad Oscar (who originated the role of Franz Liebkind). Oscar would later assume the role of Max Bialystock (the role Nathan Lane created) as the show continued its successful run on Broadway.

The two will be reunited on this Friday’s virtual happy hour with Halston. It’s a holiday weekend, your work is being mostly done by remote, why not mix a drink early and join in the fun?

PLAY: Yorick, La Historia de Hamlet – REDCAT – February 12th – February 14th

Hamlet’s soliloquies form the basis for this one-man show created by and starring Chilean actor Francisco Reyes. Yorick, the late court jester in Shakespeare’s play, is the narrator of Yorick, La Historia de Hamlet. Co-creator Simón Reyes wrote the script.

Joining Reyes in the performance are puppets that he manipulates. The puppets were created by Ismael Reyes.

The film is also uniquely lit by only candlelight. Music was composed by Miguel Miranda with songs by Rocío Reyes.

The work is performed in Spanish with English subtitles. There are only three showings of this highly-acclaimed film by Reyes. Friday, February 12th at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST; Saturday and Sunday at 6:00 PM EST/3:00 PM PST. Tickets range from $8 for students up to $15 for general admission.

JAZZ: SF Jazz Collective – SFJAZZ – February 12th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

This weekend’s Fridays at Five concert celebrates the work of two very influential and different artists: Sly and the Family Stone and Miles Davis. As befitting such groundbreaking artists, this concert runs nearly two hours.

The San Francisco Jazz Collective, an octet, performs music from Stand! and Davis’ In a Silent Way. Both albums were released in 1969.

This concert, from November 2019, celebrates the 50th anniversary of both works. Stand! featured the songs I Want to Take You Higher and Everyday People. Davis was more austere with his recording – it only had two tracks, but ran 38 minutes.

The members of the SF Jazz Collective are bassist Matt Brewer; trumpeter Etienne Charles; drummer Obed Calvaire; vocalist Martin Luther McCoy; guitarist Adam Rogers; tenor saxophonist David Sánchez; pianist Edward Simon and vibraphonist Warren Wolf.

There is also a cameo appearance by Family Stone drummer Greg Errico. 

Tickets are $5 (which includes a one-month digital membership) or $60 (which includes an annual digital membership). This concert will stream just once.

JAZZ/CABARET: A Catalina Soulful Valentine – February 12th – 9:00 PM EST/6:00 PM PST

Los Angeles nightclub, Catalina Jazz Club, has been severely impacted by the pandemic. They are doing everything they can to keep the doors open and amongst them is Friday night’s A Catalina Soulful Valentine.

For weeks they have been touting the appearance of Mary Wilson of The Supremes as one of their performers. Of course, she passed away earlier this week. But, her set was filmed in advance and will be seen in its entirety to both support Catalina Jazz Club and to honor her.

Sally Struthers and singer/musician Mr. Chris Norton serve as hosts. The list of performers includes Lucie Arnaz, Carole J. Bufford, Linda Purl, James Snyder, Nita Whitaker and more.

The show will air on Catalina’s Facebook page and Chris Isaacson Presents’ YouTube channel. There is no charge to watch the concert, but donations are definitely encouraged.

JAZZ: Douglas J. Cuomo’s Seven Limbs featuring Nels Cline and Aizuri Quartet – CAP UCLA – February 12th – 10:00 PM EST/7:00 PM PST

Composer Douglas J. Cuomo’s Seven Limbs was meant to have its world premiere last year. We all know what happened to preclude that. This digital performance of the work had its world premiere earlier this week from The Moss Arts Center at Virginia Tech.

UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance is making the film available on Friday with on demand opportunities beginning on Sunday for one week.

What is Seven Limbs? It is a 75-minute work for electric guitar and string quartet. Cuomo composed this specifically for the artists who perform it: Wilco guitarist Nels Cline and the Aizuri Quartet.

But what is it? Best to let the composer describe it for you:

“This piece is inspired by an ancient Buddhist purification ceremony called The Seven Limbs. It’s part of a meditation practice I do every day. The practice has lots of words; the piece has none. The feel of this ceremony is what I kept going to as I composed, and then at some point I realized I was setting text without using words. For me Seven Limbs is a dream-like piece; I can look inward to a new terrain and find out what’s there. Stillness, turmoil, suppleness, euphoria, high drama. I wrote it for Nels Cline and the Aizuri Quartet because, for composers, to write for great players is another kind of dream. Together, we offer you our dream, in the hope it makes some connection with you.”

CAP UCLA is making this performance free to view.

OPERA: Save the Boys – Opera Philadelphia – February 12th

Last week our top pick was musician/composer Tyshawn Sorey’s two-night gig at the Village Vanguard. He returns to our Best Bets this weekend with the debut of his twenty-minute song cycle Save the Boys.

Sorey uses Frances Ellen Watkins Harper’s 1887 poem of the same name as the inspiration for this work.

Harper was an Black women’s rights activist and abolitionist.

Performing Save the Boys is the vocalist for whom it was written: countertenor John Holiday. If his name sounds familiar, perhaps you saw him on the most recently concluded season of The Voice. In 2019 I interviewed Holiday. You can read that interview here.

Holiday is accompanied on the piano by Opera Philadelphia’s Grant Loehnig.

Tickets are $10 which allows for a seven-day rental.

OPERA: Cosí fan tutte – San Francisco Opera – February 13th – February 14th

Conducted by Nicola Luisotti; starring Ellie Dehn, Susannah Biller, Marco Vinco, Francesco Demuro and Philippe Sly. This revival of the 2004 John Cox production is from the 2012-2013 season.

Mozart’s Cosí fan tutte had its world premiere in Vienna in 1790. Lorenzo Da Ponte, who wrote the libertti for The Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni, wrote the libretto.

Ferrando and Guglielmo are vacationing with their fiancées, Dorabella and Fiordiligi. They are sisters. Don Alfonso challenges the men to a bet revolving around the women and their ability to be faithful. Using disguise, deception and a wicked sense of humor, Mozart’s opera ends happily ever after for one and all.

Joshua Kosman, writing for the San Francisco Chronicle, raved about Sly’s performance as Guglielmo , “In the ensemble cast of six, the standout performance was the precocious and phenomenally assured company debut of Adler Fellow Philippe Sly as Guglielmo. Adler Fellows don’t often get cast at this level, but then again, Adler Fellows this gifted and accomplished are rare indeed.

“Sly’s singing was at once robust and lyrical, with a beautiful range of tonal colors and the ability to combine virility and tenderness in a single phrase.”

CLASSICAL MUSIC: Anna Clyne’s Stride – Detroit Symphony Orchestra – February 13th – 7:30 PM EST/4:30 PM PST

It must be daunting for a composer to have a world premiere or relatively new work precede one of the stalwart compositions in classical music. Such is the status of British composer Anna Clyne who’s Stride will be performed by members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra prior to their performance of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 in B-flat Major, BWV 1051.

But it is Clyne’s composition that is most interesting about this concert. The Australian Chamber Orchestra commissioned Clyde to write a piece as part of their celebration of the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s Birth. The Covid-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of many of their performances last year, but they were able to return on November 14th with the world premiere of Stride.

The work weaves themes from Beethoven’s Pathetique Sonata throughout and also includes nods to other composers, most notably Bernard Herrmann (best known for his film scores for director Alfred Hitchcock).

Tickets are $12 to stream the concert.

DANCE: John Henry – Dance Theatre of Harlem on Stage Access – Debuts February 13th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

Dance Theatre of Harlem gave the world premiere performance of Arthur Mitchell’s John Henry on June 28, 1988. Before getting into her review, Anna Kisselgoff of the New York Times reported, “…its premiere at the company’s opening at the City Center Tuesday night roused cheering fans out of their seats during the curtain calls. Mr. Mitchell, the troupe’s founder and artistic director, stayed in the spirit of things by throwing himself into a choreographed clog dance to acknowledge the applause.”

With music by Milton Rosenstock, Dance Theatre of Harlem will make available, via Stage Access, a performance filmed in Denmark at Danmarks Radio. The performance will remain available through February 19th.

Stage Access offers up a 7-day free trial with two subscription options: an annual plan of $69.99 or a monthly plan of $7.99

TOP PICK: OPERA/MOVEMENT: Breathing Free – The Broad Stage – February 13th – 10:00 PM EST/7:00 PM PST

Earlier this week I published an interview with Michael Blakk Powell, a formerly incarcerated man who was a member of the Kuji Mens Chorus at Marion Correctional Institute in Ohio. Through his participation in that chorus, he found himself learning German to perform music from Beethoven’s Fidelio.

One of the two pieces in which that performance can be seen and heard is in Heartbeat Opera’s powerful Breathing Free. This 45-minute film combines movement and opera to explore the challenges Black men in particular face in simply being allowed to breathe freely.

Joining the Beethoven heard in Breathing Free are works by Black composers and lyricists Harry T. Burleigh, Florence Price, Langston Hughes, Anthony Davis and Thulani Davis. The project also uses Negro spirituals.

The cast includes bass-baritone Derrell Acon, tenor Curtis Bannister, soprano Kelly Griffin and dancers Randy Castillo, Tamrin Goldberg, Brian HallowDreamz Henry. Breathing Free was directed by Ethan Heard. Music Direction was by Jacob Ashworth and Daniel Schlosberg (who also did the arrangements of the music from Fidelio).

Tickets prices range from $10 – $75 based on what you can afford to pay. I strongly urge you to consider carving out time on Saturday night to see Breathing Free.

CABARET: Laura Osnes – Seth Rudetsky Concert Series – February 14th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

You have to be a pretty versatile performer to believably portray Cinderella in one musical and Bonnie Parker in another. Add to that the ability to be Nellie Forbush in South Pacific and Sandy in Grease. Broadway star Laura Osnes has done them all.

She received Tony Award nominations for her performances in Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella and also for Frank Wildhorn’s musical about the outlaws Bonnie and Clyde.

Osnes is Seth Rudetsky’s concert guest this week. In addition to Sunday’s live performance there is an encore presentation February 15th at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST. Tickets are $25 for either showing.

THEATRE: Justin Hicks’ Use Your Head for More – Baryshikov Arts Center – February 15th – March 1st

Looking at composer/creator/performer Justin Hicks’ website, he describes himself as “a multidisciplinary artist, and performer who uses music and sound to investigate themes of presence, identity, and value.” For this digital world premiere, Hicks has created a performance based on a transcript of a conversation he had with his mother. Use Your Head For More is offered up as a series of audiovisual portraits.

His work runs 30 minutes and was filmed at Hicks’ home in Bronx, New York. Two vocalists, Jasmine Enlow and Jade Hicks, collaborated with Hicks on Use Your Head for More.

There is no charge to watch Use Your Heard for More.

For those interesting in digging further into the project, there will be a live-streamed conversation between Hicks and Meshell Ndegeocello on February 24th at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST. You must register to watch the conversation. Registration for that opens up on February 15th.

CABARET/OPERA/JAZZ: Jim Caruso’s Pajama Cast Party – February 15th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

It’s sad that we don’t often have Monday listings, because Pajama Cast Party would be on the list every week. Which means you need to check out Jim Caruso and his fabulous guests. This week they include opera star Zachary James, jazz singer/songwriter Lauren Kinhan, actress/singer Avery Sommers and comedian Gianmarco Soresi. They will share stories, songs, jokes and more during the show.

Cast Party is a weekly ritual for New Yorkers and it takes place at Birdland. This is a modified version, but no less entertaining – just less physically tangible. It’s also the 45th episode Caruso has done…so far. No doubt he’d love to be back at Birdland as much as the rest of us would!

That’s the complete list of my Best Bets: February 12th – February 15th. But you know I’ve got a few reminders for you as well!

Pianist Richard Goode performs works of Bach and Claude Debussy on Saturday in a performance from New York’s 92nd Street Y.

The Metropolitan Opera concludes their second week of Black History Month with performances of Akhnaten by Philip Glass on Friday (strongly recommended); Berlioz’s Les Troyens on Saturday and Wagner’s Die Walküre on Sunday. Plus here’s an early preview of Week 49 at the Met. They will be celebrating Franco Zeffirelli and launch the week with the 2007-2008 season production of Puccini’s La Bohème.

This week’s episode of In Concert at the Hollywood Bowl is called Música sin Fronteras (Music without Borders) and concludes the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s series on PBS. (Check your local listings).

The films.dance festival continues with this week’s Pássaro Distante. They debut a new film, and one of my favorites, Match on Monday, February 15th.

That ends all my Best Bets: February 12th – February 15th. There’s culture to enjoy with the family; culture to enjoy with that special someone and certainly great options for those going solo this year. Whatever you choose, be safe and have a wonderful weekend.

Main Photo: An image from Breathing Free (Courtesy The Broad Stage)

The post Best Bets: February 12th – February 15th appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

So if you love musicals, Broadway vocalists and cabaret shows, this list is for you! First up are those with specific dates, followed by programming that is already available and has a specific end date.

Here are my Musicals/Cabaret Best Bets for the Holidays:

A Catalina Christmas – December 24th – 10:00 PM EST/7:00 PM PST

Los Angeles’ Catalina Jazz Club is holding a holiday concert to help raise money to keep the club alive. In addition to their many jazz concerts, the venue features many stars of stage and screen performing their cabaret acts.

This concert will feature Rogelio Douglas, Jr., Chad Doreck, Anthony Fedorov, Joely Fisher, Jason Graae, David Hernandez, Niki Haris, Aaron Lazar, Jennifer Paz, Alisan Porter, Joan Ryan, Jake Simpson, Tyrone Mr. SuperFantastic, plus Thelma Houston and many more! Bruce Vilanch serves as host.

There is no charge to watch the concert on Catalina Jazz Club’s Facebook Page. Donations to its Go Fund Me campaign are encouraged.

Two by Two: The 50th Anniversary Virtual Concert – December 25th – December 28th

While we’re all familiar with the story of Noah and his ark, fewer of us are familiar with this 1970 musical from Richard Rodgers (Pal Joey), Martin Charnin (Annie) and Peter Stone (1776). The musical was not only based on the biblical story, but on a play called The Flowering Peach by Clifford Odets.

Celebrating this Golden anniversary are Karen Ziemba (Contact); Nikita Burshteyn (Mark Saltzman’s Romeo & Bernadette); Frank Calamaro (Man of La Mancha); Marcy DeGonge Manfredi (Phantom of the Opera), N’Kenge (Motown the Musical); Michael Notardonato (Mark Saltzman’s Romeo & Bernadette), and Sophia Tzougros.

Walter Willison, who played Japeth in the original production, plays Noah and also directs the virtual reading.

There’s no charge to watch Two by Two, however donations to The Actors Fund are strongly encouraged.

Sondheim Unplugged – Feinstein’s/54 Below – December 26th – January 9th

A popular series at New York’s Feinstein’s/54 Below is Sondheim Unplugged. It’s a series that examines Stephen Sondheim’s work through stories, anecdotes and performance.

The series returns online beginning at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST on December 26th. The cast for this inaugural virtual version features Darius de Haas (Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All that Followed), cabaret singer Natalie Douglas, Telly Leung (Aladdin), T. Oliver Reid (Once on This Island), Nicholas Rodriguez (The Sound of Music) and Lucia Spina (South Pacific). Creator Phil Geoffrey Bond is the host and Joe Goodrich is the Music Director.

The show will remain on demand through January 9th. Tickets are $25.

A Very Weimar Christmas – Club Cumming Presents – December 30th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

Alan Cumming and his New York City Club Cumming are presenting a different holiday show.

Australian Kim David Smith is the star and creator of A Very Weimar Christmas, a show he first performed at Club Cumming last December.

Imagine Cabaret meets Christmas meets Ute Lemper meets the Scissor Sisters. Or perhaps David Bowie’s German recording era as a filter for a 1930s Christmas show.

It should be quite entertaining and provocative.

Tickets are $10. There is one-time only showing. No additional re-streaming.

John Lloyd Young NYE Show – Feinstein’s at Vitello’s – December 31st – 11:00 PM EST/8:00 PM PST

Tony Award-winner John Lloyd Young (Jersey Boys) performs live from Los Angeles’ Feinstein’s at Vitello’s in this New Year’s Eve concert.

While he’s best known for his performance as Frankie Valli, I always think of him for his sublime performance of A Multitude of Amys, a song by Stephen Sondheim cut from the musical Company.

Tickets are $36.75 (which includes service charges). The show will be available on demand for 24 hours. Ticket buyers will have the ability to watch the show for seven days after purchase.

An Evening with Audra McDonald – New York City Center – Now – January 3rd

New York City Center’s Gala Concert earlier this month with Tony Award winner Audra McDonald has been extended through January 3rd. This 75-minute concert features McDonald with accompanist/music director Andy Einhorn.

Beautifully filmed and recorded you’ll hear songs that have been part of McDonald’s repertoire for quite some time and others that might surprise you.

Tickets are $35.

If you haven’t seen McDonald in her Tony Award-winning performance as Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill, that is available to stream on HBO.

Broadway Close-Up – Kaufman Music Center – Now – January 15th

For $40 you can stream three concert/lectures about significant figures in musical theatre: Oscar Hammerstein II, Dorothy Fields and Stephen Schwartz.

Hammerstein is the book writer/lyricist best known for his collaborations with Richard Rodgers that yielded the musicals South Pacific, The King and I, Oklahoma! and The Sound of MUsic.

Fields is the book writer/lyricist who collaborated on the musicals Annie Get Your Gun, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Redhead and Sweet Charity.

Schwartz is the composer behind the juggernaut musical Wicked as well as the shows Pippin, Godspell and Rags.

Performing their songs in this three-part series are Broadway stars Clifton Duncan (The Play That Goes Wrong) and Nikki Renée Daniels (Company, Hamilton, Porgy and Bess) and jazz vocalist Gabrielle Stravelli.

Each show is one hour and is hosted by Sean Hartley. Videos will be available through January 15th.

Lyrics and Lyricists: Preludes – 92nd Street Y – Now – December 31st

All five episodes of the 92nd Street Y’s Lyrics and Lyricists: Preludes series are available for streaming. Each show is $15 or you can get all five for $60.

The five episodes celebrate the work of George Gershwin; Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt; Richard Rodgers, Mary Rodgers and Adam Guettel; Jule Styne and finally Music from Films.

The cast for this series includes Farah Alvin, Allison Blackwell, Nikki Renée Daniels, Katherine Henley, Jeff Kready, James T. Lane, Telly Leung, Kara Lindsay, Julia Murney, Zachary Noah Pisner, Zachary Prince, Pearl Sun and Mariand Torres. The narrator is Beth Malone.

Each show, written and music directed by Paul Masse, runs one hour. This series is available through December 31st.

Meet Me in St. Louis – Irish Rep – Now – January 2nd

I’ve previously written about this revised stage adaption of the classic 1944 film that starred Judy Garland. This version, from Irish Rep, stars Melissa Errico and Max von Essen. Not only do you get some classic songs like The Boy Next Door and The Trolley Song, you get the holiday season standard, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.

Tickets are Pay What You Can with a suggested donation of $25.

American Utopia – HBO

If you have HBO and have yet to experience David Byrne’s American Utopia, you should stop reading and start watching. This exciting, thought-provoking, energetic and unique concert/Broadway show.

Spike Lee directed the film and huge acknowledgement must go to Director of Photography Ellen Kuras. She makes American Utopia feel like both a Broadway show and an intimate experience.

Encores! Archives Project YouTube Channel

Have you ever gone digging through New York City Center’s YouTube channel? It’s a treasure trove of clips from dozens of their Encores! productions of musicals with some of Broadway’s finest talent. These aren’t full shows, but there’s so much to enjoy.

What can you find? Jerry Herman’s Mack & Mabel; Renée Elise Goldsberry in a 2013 production of I’m Getting My Act Together and Taking It On the Road; 2015’s production of Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party; Laura Benanti in The Most Happy Fella from 2014; Kelli O’Hara in the 2010 production of Bells Are Ringing; Jake Gyllenhaal in Sunday in the Park with George; Lin Manuel-Miranda, Colin Donnell, Celia Keenan-Bolger and Betsy Wolfe in Merrily We Roll Along from 2012; Idina Menzel in Hair and so much more.

Once you get started you’ll be surprised how much time has passed. And it’s all free to view.

The Prom – Netflix

This musical didn’t last long on Broadway, but it had legions of passionate followers.

The Prom began life at Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. Written by Matthew Sklar with lyrics by Chad Beguelin and a book by Bob Martin and Beguelin, the musical tells the story of a group of Broadway stars facing the closure of their musical on opening night trying to find somewhere to direct their energy.

They zero in on a high school girl who wants to take her girlfriend to the prom, but the school won’t let her. Enter the Broadway stars to rescue the girl and their egos.

Ryan Murphy directed the film which stars James Corden, Ariana DeBose, Keegan-Michael Key, Nicole Kidman, Jo Ellen Pellman, Andrew Rannells, Meryl Streep and Kerry Washington.

Seth Rudetsky Concert Series – Now – January 3rd

Seth Rudetsky is making available for streaming many of this fall’s concerts with Braodway’s biggest stars. The line-up features Liz Callaway, La Chanze, Melissa Errico, Cheyenne Jackson, Rachel Bay Jones, Judy Kuhn, Beth Leavel, Beth Malone, Audra McDonald, Jessie Mueller, Karen Olivo, Orfeh and Andy Karl, Keala Settle and Lillias White.

These shows feature Rudetsky on keyboards at his home while the performers are in their own homes singing. There’s plenty of storytelling and conversation mixed in with the music.

Tickets are $20 for each concert or $15/each if you purchase all of them.

If you want to watch new live performances, Kerry Butler is joining Rudetsky live on December 27th at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST (with a re-run on December 28th at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST). On January 3rd, Alex Brightman performs live with a re-run on January 4th (same times). These tickets are $25.

Those are my Musicals/Cabaret Best Bets for the Holidays. I have additional recommendations for Classical, Dance and Jazz if you want even more choices.

Enjoy the holidays!

Photo: Music Center Holidays (Photo by Craig L. Byrd)

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Miller has performed with some of the true greats in music: Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Eric Clapton, Aretha Franklin, George Benson, Elton John, Bryan Ferry,  Roberta Flack, Luther Vandross and Wayne Shorter. He is considered one of the finest bass players of his generation.

His most recent album was 2018’s Laid Back which found him collaborating with Trombone Shortly, Take 6, Kirk Whalum and others. If you want to get a great sense of how his bass playing drives a song, check out Hylife from his 2015 recording Afrodeezia.

Miller also composers film scores. Marshall, About Last Night, Think Like a Man and Good Hair are just some of the films he’s scored. As if that isn’t enough, he also hosts a weekly jazz show on Sirius XM.

But first and foremost he is a terrific musician. His ability to traverse multiple styles of music will pretty much guarantee that no two sets amongst these eight this weekend will be the same.

For tickets go here. (Note: Saturday night’s early show is already sold out.)

Photo of Marcus Miller courtesy of the artist’s website.

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We don’t know much about the specifics of Deck Them Halls Ya’ll. But an educated guess would find his gay-meets-Southern-gentility view of the holiday season will be blended into an outrageous take on that time of year that makes us all a little crazy. And at 4’11”, he might seem like a perfect candidate to play one of Santa’s elves, but trust me when I tell you there’s no way Jordan will play second fiddle to Santa Claus.

Joining Jordan for tonight’s show (which he will also perform in Chicago on December 20th and 21st), is country music singer Brandon Stansell.

If an irreverent (and possibly a bit naughty and nice) evening of holiday cheer is what  you need right now, you’ll probably want to Deck Them Halls tonight with Leslie Jordan.

For tickets go here.

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McKay is a singer-songwriter whose own material feels right at home with many of the songs she covers. Her most recent EP, Bagatelles, was just released on Palmetto Records. There are eight songs on Bagetelles including The Best Things in Life Are Free, Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah and One More for My Baby (And One More for the Road.)  Bagatelles is a companion to her 2018 recording Sister Orchid.

No one sings and performs the way McKay does. She infuses every song with a wonderful combination of her own personality and a very distinct take on the music. She often accompanies herself with just a piano or a ukulele. With a voice as unique as hers, she doesn’t need anything more.

For those south of Los Angeles, McKay will be performing on November 1st at Carlsbad’s Museum of Making Music.

For tickets at Catalina Jazz Club go here.

For tickets at the Museum of Making Music go here.

Photo of Nellie McKay by Shervin Lainez

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Brinberg still hasn’t met Streisand, but he still celebrates her with his show Simply Barbra. His uncanny ability to sound like her has earned rave reviews from all over the world.

This week Brinberg will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Hello, Dolly! (the movie, not the Broadway musical) with an appearance on Wednesday at Martinis Above Fourth in San Diego. On Thursday he will celebrate the life and career of Hamlisch with a show at Catalina Jazz Club featuring Kay Cole (an original cast member in A Chorus Line), jackbenny, Alan Bergman (who along with his with, Marilyn, wrote the lyrics for The Way We Were) and many others.

When I spoke by phone with Brinberg he was in London for some shows. In these excerpts from our conversation, we talk about Hello, Dolly!, his time working with Hamlisch and, of course, Barbra herself.

The film version of Hello, Dolly! is considered by many to be a disaster amongst film versions of popular musicals. Is that fair or is there more to the film than people realize?

There definitely is. It has improved with time. What people once thought was elephantine and overblown, now it looks like the last MGM musical – even though it was made  at Fox. I think it’s better now looking at it.

[Streisand] was young, yes, but she didn’t look 26. When you put  that heavy hair and make-up on a woman for that period, she looks 36. Just like Funny Lady. She was in her 30s, but she looks 50. She’s funny and the singing is really good. No one who has done it on stage has ever sounded like that.

How much does the success of the Broadway revival and its subsequent tour give us a new lens through which to view the film?

I think you can see the improvements in the film over the show. In the film Dolly literally tells Barnaby and Cornelius to go to that shop and meet those girls. In the musical that doesn’t happen. It’s by chance. The first number in the movie, “Just Leave Everything to Me,” is so much better than “I Put My Hand In.”

All the years you have been performing as Streisand, how has your relationship to her and her career evolved?

I started doing the show just before she announced she was coming back doing concerts after all these years. Her career has fed my career ever since. Whatever happens in her life enters my show. It’s quite different than doing a show about Judy Garland or someone whose life is over. I could literally be about to go on stage and someone shows me a Tweet and it goes right into the show. Last year was the 50th anniversary of Funny Girl. Next year is the 50th anniversary of On a Clear Day. I’ll always sing the standards, but with this Dolly show I have almost every song in the movie except “Elegance.” I do “Hello, Dolly!” as Barbra and Louis Armstrong. It’s a strain on my voice, but it’s fun.

Marvin Hamlisch was her music director for many years. You did a tribute for his birthday in New York earlier this year. Now you are bringing a celebration of him to Los Angeles. What made his musical relationship with Streisand unique?

Marvin and Barbra had a strong relationship going back to Funny Girl. Every decade they came back together again. In the 70s it was The  Way We Were. He wrote more stuff for her and he conducted her tours. 

I traveled with him for 11 years and I was a surprise guest. He would start The Way We Were and I’d be in the wings. This is my way of honoring him and his wide range of music from A Chorus Line to The Way We Were to other Broadway shows. He’s kind of under appreciated, even though he won every award. I think he’d be thrilled we’re doing this.

What part of Hamlisch’s career excites you the most?

I think the fact that he had two careers: one as a film composer and another as a Broadway composer. He did both simultaneously. He was a personality on Match Game and The Hollywood Squares. He was really funny.

He was such a down-to-earth person. There was a concert outdoors in Pasadena. There weren’t tons of dressing rooms and I had to get dressed as Barbra. He said “you can use my trailer.” I was in there and he says, “There’s something wrong with my tie.” And here I was, dressed like Barbra with the nails and all, and I’m fixing his tie.”

You did an interview in 1999 with the Associated Press where you said you hadn’t met Streisand. But you thought, “it might happen soon. I think she’ll really like me.” In 2015  you said “I came really close to meeting her recently.” Is meeting Streisand the holy grail? Is it a good thing to meet your idol?

She did send us a letter we’re going to read [at the Hamlisch concert.] More than meeting her, I would love to sing with her or for her. That would include meeting her I would assume. That’s how I met Marvin. He was on her second tour.  He said, “She has a bit in the show where she says ‘sometimes, I wish there were two of me.’ They loved the idea [of Brinberg being a second Streisand in the concert tour.] But it was a week before the tour started and there just wasn’t time.

When she turned 50, she hired Jim Bailey [another artist who performed as Streisand.] I think she told everyone at the party, “I’m going to change and sing.” And she sent him out. Maybe when Barbra Streisand turns to 80, I can sing for her. I have had vision of her saying to me, “I love how you did this song, but if you would hold your finger back a little bit longer, you’ll get this response.”

For tickets to the 50th Anniversary Celebration of Hello, Dolly! at Martinis Above Fourth go here.

For tickets to the Marvin Hamlisch Celebration at Catalina Jazz Club go here.

Main photo: Simply Barbra on stage/Courtesy of Steven Brinberg
Marvin Hamlisch photo courtesy of MarvinHamlisch.com

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