Maurice Chevalier News

Stew and Heidi Rodewald of the band The Negro Problem and the songwriter team who created the Tony, Drama Desk and Obie-winning musical Passing Strange are hitting the road with a new act called Staged Dives, which they're previewing at the Ancram Opera House in Columbia County, New York June 28 and 29 before bringing it to Joe's Pub in August. They talked with Dan Dwyer of Off Script about the new show and their twenty-year collaboration.

Directo Productions (France) presents, for one night only, Paris! The Show, Thursday, Oct. 24 at 8 p.m., at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave. Written and directed by Gil Marsalla with music direction by Philippe Villa, this spectacular evening is a vibrant tribute to the greatest French songs of the post-war years, exporting the charm and essence of Paris for the whole world to enjoy.

The McCallum Theatre announced today its new lineup for the 2019-2020 season, continuing to present the finest world-class artists and entertainers for Coachella Valley audiences.  The new season includes McCallum debuts, returning favorites, iconic superstars, family-friendly entertainment and holiday cheer, among so much more. A CHRISTMAS STORY, WAITRESS and THE PLAY THAT GOES WORING are among the many Broadway offerings in what looks to be the most stellar season in McCallum history.

The Footlighters Club was ground zero for Comedy yesterday as Freddie Roman, Dick Capri, Scott Record and Rick Corso celebrated one of their peers, the acclaimed entertainer Sarge who is one of the most admired improvisational comedians, singer and musical piano savant in show business. President and producer of the event Errol Dante started off the afternoon with his stirring rendition of Granada but then it was all laughs as the jokes flew wild and feverishly and there were probably more laughs at the Miami Shores Country Club per square inch than any other place on the planet. The humor heard at the Footlighters event must out of political necessity stay inside the Footlighters but rest assured no one was left unscathed.

The shadows of Kurt Weil, Kander and Ebb, and Bob Fosse are hanging high over the early summer theater season in Paris with two exceptional productions, Berlin Kabarett at the Theatre de Poche Montparnasse, May 24th - July 15th, and the ECM presentation of Willkommen im Cabaret at the Theatre des Varietes, June 24th - 25th.

We're goin' (WEST) Hollywood! HOLLYWOOD PARTY: MOVIE SONGS 1928-1936 Today, July 27th at 9:00pm at The Gardenia at 7066 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, CA. Come hear the songs from when the movies first learned to sing with the wonderful Shelly Markham at the piano. Reserve via your telephone at 323-467-7444. Dinner is served from 7:00pm-9:00pm. So, make a night of it! Hope I'll see all my West Coast buddies. 

We're goin' (WEST) Hollywood! HOLLYWOOD PARTY: MOVIE SONGS 1928-1936 Friday, July 27th at 9:00pm at The Gardenia at 7066 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, CA. Come hear the songs from when the movies first learned to sing with the wonderful Shelly Markham at the piano. Reserve via your telephone at 323-467-7444. Dinner is served from 7:00pm-9:00pm. So, make a night of it! Hope I'll see all my West Coast buddies. 

With what is arguably the largest production in Maine State Music Theatre's history, the company brings a level of opulence, sophistication, and magic to the Pickard stage that makes this production of Disney's Beauty and the Beast a fitting jewel in the Diamond Jubilee Crown. It is no secret that the company has used every single ounce of its resources (and overcome a number of unforeseen obstacles along the way) to create this magnificent production, but the result has been entirely worth the effort. This beloved fairytale dazzlingly comes to life in all its heartfelt beauty.

Lola Ohlala has assembled a little gem of a Cabaret Versatile, putting together, for the Hollywood Fringe Festival, a charming, delightful tale, filled with laughter, gorgeous girls, feathers and sparkle galore, and dancing; lots of dancing!

From West Footscray to West End star, Coral Browne was larger-than-life.

Park Square Theatre's Andy Boss Thrust Stage is once again the home to Flying Foot Forum's signature storytelling with FRENCH TWIST, a cabaret of gorgeous music, theatrical storytelling and percussive dance set in a Paris Nightclub that runs from June 22 to July 15, 2018. This 25th anniversary production starts with the premise of the company's original production which premiered at The Guthrie in 2008, but now includes new characters, melodic new songs and inventive dances. Director/choreographer Joe Chvala fuses vaudeville, tap, cabaret, follies, opera, and percussive art forms to evoke American's wildest imaginings of life in the City of Light.

The York Symphony Orchestra will present April in Paris on Saturday, April 7 at 7:30 p.m. at the Appell Center for the Performing Arts in York. The performance will feature guest conductor, Kelly Corcoran, who was named "Best Classical Conductor" in 2015 by the Nashville Scene, and world-class vocalist, Mandy Barnett. Single tickets starting at $9 for adults and $5 for students are available online at www.YorkSymphony.org and by calling 717-846-1111.

TV5MONDE USA, America's only 24/7 French language entertainment channel, has scheduled the world television premiere of the inaugural recipient of the 2017 French Culture Film Grant – Le Grand Remix – at 8:30pm/ET-5:30pm/PT on March 21st as part of its annual month-long Mois de la Francophonie celebration. French Culture Film Grant is the result of a partnership formed last year between #CreateLouisiana and TV5MONDE USA to celebrate Louisiana-based filmmakers and to inspire them to create groundbreaking new films showcasing French culture, the history of Louisiana and local acting talent. 

Renowned Choreographer Mark Morris Returns to Philadelphia as the Annenberg Center's Inaugural Artist-in-Residence; residency includes performances of Mark Morris Dance Group and Music Ensemble, the Philadelphia Dance for PD Symposium, and an American Musical Film Series

Songs from when the movies first learned to sing -- Today, November 30th 7pm

Songs from when the movies first learned to sing -- Thursday, November 30th 7pm

It's a Hollywood Party, not a Halloween Party. But, ya know, I can't think of a better place to preview that crazy costume! Pangea's lovely supper club will present Jeff Macauley in 'Hollywood Party, Movie Songs: 1928-1936' on Monday, October 30th at 7pm.

Over the past five years, Jeff Macauley has arguably been one of the most prolific performers on the New York Cabaret scene, garnering rave reviews and award nominations for shows paying tribute to legendary composers such as Norman Gimbel, Henry Mancini, and Michel Legrand. Now Macauley is thrilled to be reviving another highly praised show that he first performed more than 20 years ago--a celebration of the Golden Age of music in films called Hollywood Party-Movie Songs 1928-1936. The three-date run-with Macauley's long-time Musical Director Tex Arnold at piano-launches at Pangea, Downtown's Alternative Supper-Club, on October 30 at 7 pm (other dates are November 30 and December 15, also at 7 pm).

The Royal Conservatory of Music has announced its November lineup.

London's Dominion Theatre, home to Christopher Wheeldon's stunning reinvention of the Oscar winning Hollywood musical An American in Paris, has completed a £6 million restoration and unveils a brand new double-sided LED screen on Tottenham Court Road, the largest and highest resolution projecting screen on the exterior of a West End theatre.