Also appearing on the program are Michael Bublé, Cynthia Erivo, Dave Koz and members of the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA). They will all be accompanied by Thomas Wilkins leading the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.

Six years ago I spoke with Monica Mancini about her father, what he’d think of her career and more. With this Sunday’s concert fast-approaching, I’ve expanded the previous post to include new material not previously published before.

I recently spoke with Mancini, or Monica as she insisted, a couple days in advance of the concert. We talked about her father, his work and what she learns from his music.

You broke out from the world of back-up singing into a soloist after your father passed away. Does that seems like an odd way to launch a solo career?

It’s true. It’s what happened. In a heartbeat I’d give it all up if he was sill around. I would. It’s just kind of the way life rolled in this case. It is a gift. Our music, this generation of music, the Mancini generation, they aren’t making them like that so much. I enjoy continuing a legacy and reminding people how great this music is.

We live in a culture where if it didn’t happen ten minutes ago you hear the refrain, “that was before my time.” What are the challenges in reaching out to younger audiences who may have no idea who Henry Mancini was?

It isn’t even that young anymore. It blows my mind when someone is 40 and I say “Do you know who Henry Mancini is?” and they shrug. If I say “Do you know the theme to The Pink Panther?” they respond with “I love that song.” His name isn’t a household word anymore. I don’t know what to say or do anymore. I think singers like Lady Gaga and her artistry would appreciate being able to sing a really good song.

Michael Bublé gave the Mancini’s a boost when he did Call Me Irresponsible. We try to always get Dad’s songs when an album was coming up. Gregg Field, my producer and husband, played on Barbra Streisand’s The Movie Album. He brought dad up to James Brolin and she added Moon River.

Though you sing a wide range of songs, you’ve spent a good amount of time celebrating your father’s work. How much work does it take you as a singer to find your own personal way into his songs?

This is still a work in progress. I’ve been singing his music since he passed away [in 1994]. The following year I was given an opportunity to do some tribute concerts. I was a studio singer. Id din’t have designs on being a solo singer. But given the opportunity, it’s been really nice.

I’ve been honing that all these years. I’m still wanting it to be the perfect interpretation. It’s not like I’m flailing, waiting for this inspiration. I’m very happy with my performances of his music. He wrote such beautiful melodies to sing and worked with these awesome lyricists. It’s fun to sing and it’s worth exploring the lyrics a little bit more because some of them are so deep and wonderful.

Does Henry Mancini the film composer take a back seat to Henry Mancini the songwriter?

No because truly when he went to score a film, he went to score a film. Let’s use Moon River. He didn’t set out to write a hit song. He didn’t set out to write Moon River. That was part of the score and part of the job – finding a theme and finding something for Audrey Hepburn to sing. It was a bonus he could write hit songs. I think the process and his whole joy of scoring films kind of was equal to the charge of having a hit song.

I think the process and whole joy obscuring films was equal to the charge of having a hit song. He never talked about it, but I can only surmise. But I don’t think one took a back seat to the other.

One of the films he did was Victor, Victoria. That film took risks when it was released in 1982 in depicting gender and sexuality issues. Why do you think that film still resonates and is still funny and moving?

It’s a perfect movie. It’s brilliant and it’s Blake Edwards at his finest. I was a huge James Garner fan. I could watch him sit and breathe. And Robert Preston. These people are little gifts and you don’t see the likes of Garner or Preston anymore. Their era is gone. Obviously the music is cool. During the film dad was very healthy. But when he was writing the show for Broadway, that’s when he got sick. I was doing demos for Julie Andrews so she could hear the songs. I was close to that experience back then. I don’t know why, but it is just the little perfect movie.

You once told the New York Times that when you asked your father if you could join his shows as a singer he told you, “I work alone, kid.” What do you think he’d say about the career you’ve created for yourself?

He’d say “Never mind.” He would just be a blubbering puddle in the audience. He was always very proud of me. I’ve come a long way from my demo days and It think he would be extremely proud. He was never one of those guys who insisted that any of us go into the business. It wasn’t anything he thought, “I hope my children live up to…”

If he was around he’d be doing it himself. The fact that I’m so at home with his music and I sing it so often – he’s never that far away. I’m not a big believer in heaven and “daddy’s looking down on you.” I’m not there. I hold him. I know where he is in me.

This story was originally published in October of 2018 and has been updated with additional material.

The post Monica Mancini Celebrates the Music of Her Father, Henry appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

Niv Ashkenazi: Violins of Hope – The Soraya Facebook Page – April 17th – 7 PM EDT/4PM PDT

Violins of Hope is a program celebrating the recovery and restoration of over 60 stringed instruments from the Holocaust. They were restored by Amnon Weinstein, and his son, Avshalom, in Tel Aviv.

The Soraya had scheduled several events around the Violins of Hope, but those have been postponed due to the pandemic. While they have been rescheduled for early 2021, Niv Ashkenazi will give a concert on one of those violins on Friday.

Ashkenazi is the only musician in North America who has been loaned one of these precious instruments. He recently released an album entitled, appropriately enough, Niv Ashkenazi: The Violins of Hope.

For this live streaming event, Ashkenazi will perform the “Theme from Schindler’s List” by John Williams, “The Chassid” by Julius Chajes, an improvisation on Ernest Bloch’s “Baal Shem, II. Nigun” and George Perlman’s “Dance of the Rebbitzen.”

Prior to the performance, The Soraya’s Executive Director Thor Steingraber will conduct a conversation with Ashkenazi about Violins of Hope and his recording.

Celebrating 25 Magical Years of Disney on Broadway – BroadwayWorld – April 17th – 7 PM EDT/4 PM PDT

Last November, Disney celebrated a quarter century of musicals on Broadway with a concert at the New Amsterdam Theatre in New York. The event was a fundraiser for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

That concert, which featured veteran cast members from Disney’s many shows, is being streamed as an additional fundraiser for BC/EFA, but this time for their Covid-19 Emergency Assistance Fund. There is no charge to watch the show, but they are asking for donations.

As you probably know, Disney has had many a blockbuster musical on Broadway. Their shows include Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins, AIDA and Frozen.

Amongst the performers at this concert are Sierra Boggess, Norm Lewis and Sherie Renee Scott from The Little Mermaid, Christian Borle and Ashley Brown from Mary Poppins, Kerry Butler and Susan Egan from Beauty and the Beast, Merle Dandrige, Mandy Gonzalez and Adam Pascal from AIDA, James Monroe Iglehart, Adam Jacobs and Michael James Scott from Aladdin plus a reunion of cast members from Newsies.

Additional participants include Gavin Creel (Hello, Dolly!), Whoopi Goldberg (the original film version of The Lion King), Ashley Park (Mean Girls) and more.

Soft Power Listening Party – Public Theater NY YouTube Channel – April 17th – 8 PM EDT/5 PM PDT

When Jeanine Tesori and David Henry Hwang’s musical-within-a-play Soft Power played the Ahmanson Theatre in 2018 it proved to be a wholly unique way of telling a story through both a play and a musical. I loved it.

The show was reworked and opened at The Public Theater in New York and that cast recored the show. Soft Power was just made available on Ghostlight Records in the digital and streaming formats.

To celebrate the release, some of the cast and the creators of the show are holding a listening party on The Public Theater’s YouTube channel. They are also raising funds for both The Public Theater and the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

The Phantom of the Opera – The Show Must Go On YouTube Page – April 17th – beginning at 2 PM EDT/11 AM PDT for 48 hours

Andrew Lloyd Webber continues to make performances of his musicals available for 48 hours with this version of his blockbuster musical The Phantom of the Opera.

This production stars Ramin Karimloo as the Phantom, Sierra Boggess as Cristine Daaé and Hadley Fraser Raoul. Nick Morris and Laurence Connor directed this 25th Anniversary performance at the Royal Albert Hall.

Attaca Quartet performs Caroline Shaw’s Orange – The Greene Space YouTube Page

If you aren’t familiar with composer Caroline Shaw, this is a great opportunity to get introduced to her work. Orange, performed here by the Attaca Quartet, is one of Shaw’s highly-acclaimed works. Their recording of Orange won the Grammy Award for Best Chamber Musical/Small Ensemble Performance.

Shaw is the youngest recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Music for her Partita for 8 Voices.

This performance comes from a 2019 performance at WNYC/WQXR’s The Greene Space.

TCM Classic Film Festival: Special Home Edition – Turner Classic Movies – Now – April 20th

The annual TCM Classic Film Festival had to be canceled due to the ongoing crisis. However, they have moved the festival from Hollywood to your living room. For fans of theatre and jazz there are a few options worth checking out (whether you have never seen them or want a chance to revisit them!) Note that some are not showing at convenient times (unless you are an insomniac) so set your DVR.

Grey Gardens – April 18th 1:30 AM EDT/April 17th 10:30 PM PDT

This is the documentary that inspired the Tony Award-winning musical. The Maysles Brothers (Albert and David) made an utterly compelling film about Jackie Kennedy’s aunt, Edith Bouvier Beale (79) and cousin, Edith ‘Little Edie’ Bouvier Beale (56). They live in a completely rundown mansion on Long Island with no running water that is filled with multiple animals including numbers cats and raccoons in the attic.

The Man with the Golden Arm – April 18th 6:00 AM EDT/3:00 AM PDT

This 1955 film by Otto Preminger makes our list because Elmer Bernstein’s score is so driven by jazz. Not the first film to use jazz as the style of a film score, but certainly one of the best.

Frank Sinatra stars as an ex-junkie who returns home after half-a-year in prison. While in prison he not only got clean, but learned to play drums. Upon his return he has to face the real world and whether or not he has fully recovered from his heroin addiction.

Both Sinatra and Bernstein were Oscar-nominated for their work on this film. Another reason to check out the film is Saul Bass’s amazing title sequence.

Mame – April 19th 3:30 PM EDT/12:30 PM PDT

This is the classic Rosalind Russell film from 1958 that is truly essential viewing. Mame tells the same story as Jerry Herman’s musical (and the subsequent disaster of a film of that musical with Lucille Ball), but Russell’s performance here is superb. Fans of the musical will want to check out this film. In our troubled times perhaps we can all take some sage advice from our dear Auntie Mame.

Singin’ in the Rain – April 19th 6:00 PM EDT/3:00 PM PDT

One of Hollywood’s best musicals ever and recently on the list of best films to watch during the pandemic. Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor and Debbie Reynolds star. Watch this film and you’ll be singing “Good Morning” on Monday.

Victor, Victoria – April 20th 3:30 AM EDT/12:30 AM PDT

Blake Edwards’s 1982 film musical was, of course, the basis for the Broadway musical. Julie Andrews stars as a woman, pretending to be a man, pretending to be a woman, who becomes a singing sensation in Paris. But she has to maintain the disguise just as she falls in love with a gangster played by James Garner.

The film also stars a phenomenal Robert Preston, Lesley Ann Warren and Alex Karras.

The songs were written by Henry Mancini and Leslie Bricusse.

The Verdi Chorus: The Force of Destiny – The Verdi Chorus Website and Facebook Page – April 18th – 10:30 PM EDT/ 7:30 PM PDT

Forced to cancel their planned April 18th concert, The Verdi Chorus is going to stream their first online concert: The Force of Destiny. This was their 2018 concert that featured selections from Verdi’s La forza del destino, Nabucco and La Traviata. It also included music from Strauss’s Die Fledermaus.

Joining the Verdi Chorus are Shana Blake Hill, soprano, Karin Mushegain, mezzo-soprano, Alex Boyer, tenor and baritone Ben Lowe.

Treasure Island – National Theatre Live’s YouTube Page – Now – April 23rd

Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel has been given a couple twists for this 2014 stage version. First of all, Jim, is played by actress Patsy Ferran. There is music and songs by Dan Jones with additional songs by John Tams.

But the reviews were extraordinary. Arthur Darvill (of Dr. Who) plays Long John Silver. Polly Findlay directed the play. Tim van Someren directed the film. Treasure Island runs 1 hour 50 minutes.

Buyer and Cellar – Broadway.Com – April 19th – 8 PM EDT/5 PM PDT

Actor Michael Urie has performed Jonathan Tolin’s Buyer and Cellar countless times. It’s a perfect role for him as the man who attends to Barbra Streisand’s personal shopping mall in her Malibu home. Of course, this isn’t a true story, but what if it was?

On Sunday Urie will perform the show from his own home as a fundraiser for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS Covid-19 Emergency Assitance Fund. The performance will stream on Broadway.Com.

This is a thoroughly entertaining show and well worth your time.

***Don’t forget there is also Madama Butterfly on April 17th, Adriana Lecouvreur on April 18th and Der Rosenkavalier on April 19th – each available for 23 hours beginning at 7:30 PM EDT/4:30 PM PDT at the Metropolitan Opera’s website.

Another reminder that WNET is making five different Great Performances available. For details you can go here.

Photo: The company of Treasure Island (Photo by Johan Persson/Courtesy of National Theatre Live)

The post Culture Best Bets at Home: April 17th – 19th appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

The World Goes ‘Round replaced the previously announced Victor, Victoria as the second show in this first season of Reprise’s re-launch. Originally created in the early 1990s, The World… celebrates the work of these two songwriters who were responsible for many legendary Broadway musicals as Cabaret, Chicago, Kiss of the Spider Woman and songs from such movies as Funny Lady and New York, New York.

During a break from rehearsals I spoke with Sternbach by phone about the rebirth of Reprise, Kander & Ebb and some changes that have been made to the show.

What makes Kander & Ebb, from your point of view, unique in the canon of musical theatre?

When they started working in the theatre they were an amalgam of popular idiom. They carry on the tradition of musical theatre writers that are a combination of popular things. It wasn’t art songs. It’s not all the Great American songbook. They were not afraid to write great pop songs, but they were also a great team that came up in the middle of everything. They were just past the edge of Irving Berlin, Richard Rodgers and the Gershwins. They started a new trend that got a kick in the butt with Leonard Bernstein integrating American culture instead of trading off of Europe like we had with the other composers I mentioned. Their unique voice hits right in the center of the New York motor that was happening in the early 1950s and 1960s.

I interviewed John Kander and asked him about his use of rising half-steps (as he does in “Maybe This Time” from Cabaret, “But The World Goes ‘Round” from New York, New York and “Funny Honey” from Chicago) in his music. We admitted to realizing it was a habit for him. But isn’t this a signature way of identifying one of their songs?

I do think it’s how you identify their music. Kander & Ebb stuff is piano driven, more than other composers. One of the ways you know it’s their song is it’s driven by piano hooks and a catchy introduction. I can identify that song in one vamp!

John Kander once said, “I guess I think of a musical as something in which the music is sort of like the engine of the piece – whether it is in the theatre or in film.” When a show like this is the music and lyrics, as it is here, what is your responsibility as Music Director to make sure that the engine fires on all cylinders?

As Music Director I believe in the true name of my title. I’m a musical director. I’m not just a pianist. I do accompany, but I’m a collaborator with the director and choreographer. It’s all about storytelling. I make sure that the lyrics and music are on equal footing. I serve the people who are working and keep the motor running.  We all report back to the director and pay respect and homage to what is being showcased in the show. In this case, it’s the great work of Kander & Ebb.

There appear to have been a couple versions of the show including a change of orchestrations and the architecture of the show as well. What version will Reprise be doing?

There’s only one that was licensed. However, Richard Israel made some cuts. We have cut three numbers and rearranged the show to the show’s advantage. The show moves like lightning. We are showcasing the talented people involved and the humor that is really at the core of what a lot of Fred Ebb’s lyrics are.

The relaunch of Reprise as announced was very ambitious. The original show planed for this spot was Victor, Victoria. Replacing that show with this one means you have a show that has been done in and around equity waiver and community theatre for years and is a much less ambitious project. What makes The World Goes ‘Round an equally valid choice for that second spot?

I think that we chose five stellar performers. We’re bringing our A-game to this production. The fact that it is a smaller show we felt was necessary to do at this time. There is nothing that I would have any reservation about this being a diminishing of quality for the second offering. It’s about the logistics, contracts and money and we do live in different times. We hit the ground running with Sweet Charity and we’ll be back in the saddle soon with Grand Hotel. I’m glad we’re making the choice to keep running.

Lin-Manuel Miranda apparently wrote “The Room Where It Happens” from Hamilton as a love letter to Kander & Ebb. What do songwriters who came up in the shadow of these two owe them?

Oh wow. I’m also a composer and I have two musicals. All of us writers who aspire to work in musical theatre, the great writers have inspired us to communicate and touch people. There’s nothing that replaces a good song. They wrote songs to tell stories; to communicate and to communicate emotion. All of us, whether you are Jason Robert Brown or Lin-Manuel Miranda or the new talents of the 21st century, we’re all following all these people who are great storytellers who didn’t shy away from being true to their craft. With this show you will walk away knowing what great craftsmen they were. There’s not a stinker in the show. I’m very excited about the work. 

Unless otherwise noted, all photographs by Tom Drucker

The post Music Director Gerald Sternbach Makes the World Go ‘Round appeared first on Cultural Attaché.