REVIEW: WELL-STRUNG at the ART HOUSE, Provincetown MA Aug 20, 2013

REVIEW: WELL-STRUNG at the ART HOUSE, Provincetown MA 7:30pm August 20, 2013

It has been said that the era of the boy band is well past its prime and while that well may be so the newest boy band to hit the scene completely breaks the mold.

WELL-STRUNG, a modern take on neoclassical music, now playing to packed houses at the Art House in Provincetown Massachusetts, may well
redefine what a boy band is.

51arUUnFT7L._SY300_ The strikingly handsome string quartet is made up of Edmund Bagnell (first violin), Christopher Marchant (second violin), Trevor Wadleigh (viola) and Daniel Shevlin (cello). But don’t let their good looks, muscles and boyish smiles fool you. These young men are exceptionally talented, well rehearsed professionals, devoted to performing beautiful music.

WELL-STRUNG is brilliantly directed by Donna Drake who daringly defies tradition with a non-traditional String Quartet staging. The audience is treated to thrilling new musical arrangements by David Levinson who gives us imaginative and creative semi-classical versions of current pop songs woven seamlessly into the immortal classics. Combine that with stirring stories of each young man’s journey and how they got here, we almost feel gypped that the show runs a mere 55 minutes, it most definitely could have been at least 90.

These are some extremely talented young men, I urge you to rush out and see them as soon as you can. You won’t be sorry.

Please look in the VIDEO INTERVIEWS SECTION for an upcoming live interview!

Written by Donna Drake, Mark Cortale. Additional Material written by Jeffery Roberson. Arrangements by David Levinson. Additional arrangements by Daniel Shevlin & Christopher Marchant.

WELL-STRUNG is now extended thru September 12, 2013 at 7:30 PM
The Art House
214 Commercial
Provincetown, MA 02657
CLICK HERE for tickets

For more info:
www.well-strung.com
https://www.facebook.com/wellstrungnyc
https://twitter.com/wellstrungnyc
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The evening’s set list was:

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART – Serenade in G Major aka A Little Night Music,
1st Movement
Mash-up with: KELLY CLARKSON – Since You Been Gone

BRITTNEY SPEARS – Toxic

THIRD EYE BLIND – SEMI-CHARMED LIFE

TAYLOR SWIFT- WE ARE NEVER EVER GETTING BACK TOGETHER

JESSIE J. – WHO YOU ARE

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH – Prelude from Cello Suite #1

CARLOS GARDEL – TANGO

PINK – Just Give Me A Reason

Antonín Leopold Dvořák – American Quartet, 4th Movement

LADY GAGA – Edge of Glory

KESHA – Your Love Is My Drug

VIVALDI – Summer – The Four Seasons
David Guetta’s Titanium mash-up with Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin

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Mark Cortale is the Producing Artistic Director of The Art House. In his inaugural season in 2011, he founded the Broadway @ The Art House series with Seth Rudetsky, which this summer of 2013 will present Broadway superstars Patti LuPone, Chita Rivera, Sutton Foster, Audra McDonald, Megan Hilty (of TV’s “Smash”), Megan Mullally (of TV’s “Will & Grace”), Christine Ebersole, Joanna Gleason, Sam Harris and Marilyn Maye in addition to other national-level music and comedy programming. He is currently producing Seth Rudetsky’s new reality series and other Broadway-themed entertainment that can be seen at www.SethTV.com. He also co-wrote and produced Well-Strung’s runs this past winter and fall at New York’s Marjorie S. Deane Theater. Mark produced the feature film “Varla Jean and the Mushroomheads,” which played the 2012 festival circuit with a screening at Frameline in San Francisco. Mark also premiered the Broadway @ series this season in New Orleans, in Australia with Megan Mullally, and on London’s West End last month with Patti LuPone at Leicester Square Theater, and will debut as well in Santa Monica, CA in fall of 2013.

Well-Strung is sponsored by the Anchor Inn Beach House, Ptown Bikes, Mussel Beach and SethTV.com

An Interview with: Pia Zadora (in 1080p)

Star of Stage, Screen, TV, Grammy nominated artist and all around sweetheart the fabulous Pia Zadora took time before the last New York show of her coming out of retirement tour, PIA ZADORA: BACK AGAIN AND STANDING TALL at the Metropolitan Room in New York City, to sit down and chat about her life in the arts, raising children, tweeting and handcuffs!

Don’t forget to change the settings to view this at 1080p! and… Enjoy!

For more on this sweet as sugar star check out:

Official Website               Facebook                Twitter

Thanks to the Metropolitan Room and Bernie Furshpan for hosting this interview!

VIDEO INTERVIEW & REVIEW: Martha Wash at B.B. King

The Queen of Clubland sat down with me between her Sound Check and Performance at the legendary B.B. King Blues Club to talk about her amazing life in Music and how she forever changed the way singer get credited for their work.

 

From Jazz at Lincoln Center – Michael Feinstein presents: Bringing Jazz to Broadway – Cy Coleman

From Jazz at Lincoln Center – Michael Feinstein presents: Bringing Jazz to Broadway – Cy Coleman (Produced, Written and Directed by the multi-tallented Scott Siegel)

Here are the video interviews with 3 of the wonderful performers, Tamara Tunie, James Naughton and Michelle Lee. The official review of the concert can be found above this posting.

Enjoy!

From jazz pianist and leader of a much-in-demand jazz trio to legendary Broadway composer, Cy Coleman brought the sound of big, brassy jazz to the Great White Way. One only need think of “Sweet Charity’s” Hey, Big Spender, and its bright blare of horns, to recognize Coleman’s Signature Sound, a musical style that dominated Broadway for more than a generation. Shows like “City of Angels,” “The Life,” and many others were permeated by Coleman’s propensity for jazz.

As part of its Jazz & Popular Song series, directed by five-time Grammy Award-nominated singer and pianist Michael Feinstein, Jazz at Lincoln Center will present Cy Coleman: Bringing Jazz to Broadway on Tuesday, May 15 and Wednesday May 16 at 7:30pm. Feinstein, who featured Cy Coleman as a vocalist and jazz pianist in his nightclub the month before the famed composer died, leads a cast featuring Michele Lee (Coleman’s Seesaw, Knots Landing), Tamara Tunie (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit), Broadway veteran Chuck Cooper, singer-songwriter Johnny Rodgers and, on May 16 only, James Naughton (The Devil Wears Prada) that illustrates Coleman’s profound jazz influence on contemporary Broadway.

For more information about this series, visit www.jalc.org/jazzandpopularsong.

Next up: Sweet & Low Down: How Popular Standards Became Jazz Classics
The show plays at The Allen Room at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, Broadway at 60th Street, New York, NY. Ticket prices for this series, except for the family concert, are $75 for mezzanine concert seating, $95-120 for cabaret seating. Tickets for the family matinee are $25.

Tickets can be purchased through jalc.org or CenterCharge at 212-721-6500, open daily from 10am to 9pm. Tickets can also be purchased at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Box Office, located on Broadway at 60th Street, ground floor. Box Office hours: Monday-Saturday from 10am to 6pm (or 30 minutes past curtain) and Sunday from noon to 6pm (or 30 minutes past curtain). Limited subscriptions for the 2011-12 Jazz and Popular Song series are available. Visit jalc.org/subs for more information.

Video interview with Johnny Rodgers

Excuse me while I repeat myself;

Hello. My name is Elli, and I am a Johnny Rodgers-aholic.

Mr. Rodgers first appeared on my radar at the 2010 Nightlife Awards where I wrote,

“Act II brought out a new star that I had not had the pleasure of seeing perform, the fabulous Johnny Rodgers. Mr. Rodgers and his band brought down the house with an on-fire rendition of “The Birth of the Blues.” His rapid-fire piano skills, coupled with his great vocals, reminded me of a young Jerry Lee Lewis at work.”

Internationally known and always performing, I finally got the chance to sit down and have a chat with Johnny just before they called “Places” for his appearance in “Michael Feinstein’s Bringing Jazz to Broadway: Cy Coleman”. After you watch the interview, be sure to check out the rehearsal video below and look for the review of the evening elsewhere on this site.

The Johnny Rodgers Band will be performing in NYC on June 5th, 2010 at Iridium Jazz Club 1650 Broadway, NYC. Get your tickets before it sells out!
(P.S. It’s his birthday so make sure you don’t miss this!!!)

For more information, and to follow their International travels, check out the JRB website.

A gifted songwriter, Mr. Rodgers won ASCAP’s Jamie deRoy & Friends Foundation Award in 2009, The New York Sheet Music Society’s Gerald Marks Award and the Songwriters Hall of Fame Abe Oldman Award. Other honors include the Nitelife Outstanding Cabaret Vocalist Award 2010, Backstage Magazine’s Bistro Award and the MAC Award. Mr. Rodgers recently made his Broadway debut co-starring in the Tony Award winning “Liza’s At The Palace” with Oscar, Emmy and Tony Award winning superstar Liza Minnelli. JRB’s recently released CD, “Box of Photographs” (PS Classics) has won acclaim from critics and radio stations across the country.

PLAYBILL EXCLUSIVE:
In Rehearsal With Michael Feinstein and his Cy Coleman Tribute

PRESS RELEASE: Lee Summers’ “Just A Piano” Concert Series

Press Contact:
Triadbookings06@aol.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

 

Lee Summers’ “Just A Piano” Concert Series

Proudly Presents

 PORGY AND BESS’

Wilkie Ferguson, III

 New York, New York – May 7, 2012 – PORGY AND BESS’ WILKIE FERGUSON, III SET FOR SOLO CONCERT AT THE TRIAD 6/11/2012.

Wilkie Ferguson,III, currently performing in the ten-time Tony Award nominated The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess on Broadway, makes his NYC solo concert debut at The Triad Theater (158 West 72nd Street) on June 11th, 2012 at 9:30pm! Special guests include Tony Nominee Joshua Henry.

 In his concert, “Love, Uncensored…” Wilkie takes us on a candid journey through the ups and downs of relationships past and present, explaining how he got to where he is today.  Spoiler alert:  It wasn’t easy and sometimes wasn’t pretty!   “The music ranges from Stevie Wonder to Sondheim (thanks for the extra press, by the way ;)) with some original compositions” says Ferguson.

 Love, Uncensored… is a presentation of Lee Summers’ Just A Piano Concert Series, which celebrates its sixth year at the Triad Theatre.  Since 2006 the Just A Piano Series has presented top recording artists, Broadway stars, and Tony and Grammy Award Winners in a beautiful intimate setting.

Tickets for “Love, Uncensored…” can be purchased in advance online (highly recommended due to theater size) or at the door for $15 (2 drink minimum, cash only).  For more information and to purchase tickets,

visit

www.brownpapertickets.com/event/247652

 The Triad Theatre is located at 158 West 72nd Street (between Broadway & Columbus)

Follow Wilkie on twitter @wilkieferguson

Video Interview with Peggy Herman (& Alex Rybeck)

I got to sit down and chat with the amazing Peggy Herman about her CD release party on Sunday May 7th 2012 at Feinstein’s at the Regency in NYC.
I hope you enjoy it!

(Click picture to make reservations)

540 Park Avenue (at 61st Street)
New York, NY 10021
212-339-4095

Doors open 5:30 for Dinner
Show at 7:30pm

Special prix fix dinner
Use code RSPH2012 when booking for
special discount of cover charge – $40.00 plus One drink minimum.

 Each guest will receive Peggy’s CD

Jackets required. Reservations a must!

Peggy Herman releases a brand new recording of her critically acclaimed show, “Herman on Herman,” her tribute to Broadway legend Jerry Herman, at Feinstein’s at the Loews Regency, 540 Park Avenue, on Sunday May 6 at 7:30pm. The one-night-only concert features many of the songs from the show’s premiere in May of last year, plus additional material that was added to the project in the intervening months.

With arrangements by the renowned music director Alex Rybeck, “Herman on Herman (with a Touch of Merman)” gives the Jerry Herman songbook a whole new spin, lending a fresh take on these classic Broadway show tunes. Backing Herman on Herman – and blending a range of popular styles, including folk-pop, smooth jazz, Brazillian and Broadway — are Rybeck on piano, Jered Egan on bass and Rex Benincasa on drums and percussion. The same threesome play on the album, augmented by strings, brass, winds, and guitarist Sean Harkness.

Like the show’s premiere at the Metropolitan Room, the CD release concert is directed by Peter Glebo, and the nine-time Tony Award winner Tommy Tune. The performer and show business chronicler Richard Skipper co-hosts the event with Feinstein’s, which is offering a special “It’s Today” dinner-and-show package (premium seats $50, general seating $30, plus a $25 food and beverage minimum). All of the evening’s attendees will receive a complimentary signed copy of the new album.

“Herman on Herman… Peggy Sings Jerry” (the CD’s title) features exciting new arrangements of songs from “Hello Dolly!” “Mame,” “La Cage aux Folles,” “Mack & Mabel,” and other Herman hits. In the studio, Herman and Rybeck added new songs, including “The Best of Times is Now,” “Before the Parade Passes By,” and “If He Walked Into My Life.”

Born in Philadelphia, and raised in Miami Beach, Herman has appeared in such musicals as “Nunsense” (Mother Superior), “South Pacific” (Bloody Mary) and “Grand Hotel” (Raffaela Ottanio).

Her solo CD debut, “Mercer and More…” (Original Cast Records), was hailed as “a lush album” by John Hoglund in Back Stage, where he added, “she’s got a big voice that serves a big talent.”

For more info on Peggy Herman: Facebook       Website

For more info on Alex Rybeck: Facebook 

Brought to you by the NEW www.broadwaykingdom.com

For more info on Elli – The King of Broadway www.thekingofbroadway.com

For more interviews & reviews go to www.broadwaykingdom.com

Special thanks to Marc Baron for his videography!

Video Interview with Terese Genecco (without her Her Little Big Band)

I got a rare chance to sit down and chat with Terese  (without her Her Little Big Band) the night after her amazing 3rd Anniversary party and CD release for a sweet one on one. I hope you enjoy it!

For more info on Terese: Facebook       Twitter       Website      The Iridium

ScoBar Entertainment presents: Terese Genecco & Her Little Big Band
at The Iridium, NYC – the 3rd or 4th Tuesday of every month – 8:00 & 10:00 pm

NEW! If you can’t get to the Iridium you can still see many shows LIVE at: http://theiridium.com/iridiumlive/

The Iridium is located at: 1650 Broadway (51st) New York, NY 10019. For reservations (212) 582-2121. www.theiridium.com

Brought to you by the NEW www.broadwaykingdom.com

For more info on Elli – The King of Broadway www.thekingofbroadway.com

For more interviews & reviews go to www.broadwaykingdom.com

PRESS RELEASE: TERESE GENECCO CELEBRATES 3 YEARS AT THE IRIDIUM TUESDAY MARCH 20

HUGE CELEBRATION WITH SPECIAL RELEASE OF 
“LIVE FROM THE IRIDIUM NYC!” CD

[haiku url=”http://www.thekingofbroadway.com/downloads/Music/09_Washington_Square.mp3″ title=”Terese’s Washington Square from the new album while you read:”]

The fun-loving and hard-charging singer and bandleader Terese Genecco celebrates both the release of her new CD, “Live from the Iridium NYC,” and the 3rd anniversary of her long-run at the Iridium NYC, 1650 Broadway, in back-to-back shows on Tuesday March 20, at 8pm and 10pm.

Since March of ’09, Genecco and her eight-piece Little Big Band have performed without let-up, clocking over 70 consecutive performances. Produced by ScoBar Entertainment, it’s the longest-running nightclub act on Broadway. The monthly gigs, on the third or fourth Tuesday of the month, are scheduled to continue through the end of 2012.

Joining Genecco for the celebration will be guest vocalist Robert Hicks and a number of surprise special guests. Genecco’s Little Big Band consists of Barry Levitt (piano), Sean Harkness (guitar), Tom Hubbard (bass), Ray Marchica (drums), Mayra Casales (percussion), Kenny Lavender (trumpet), Mark Miller (trombone), and Cliff Lyons (sax).

The Wall Street Journal’s Will Friedwald has written that Genecco “and her three horns and five rhythm put on an unstoppable juggernaut of a set.” Indeed, the bandleader’s retro take on the rat-packing 60’s is completely right for the moment, churning up an electricity that gives today’s L.E.D.-soaked Times Square a rich, cocktail incandescence.

A Bistro Award and two-time MAC Award winner (for Best Recording in 2008, and Best Female Vocalist in 2009), Genecco was also a 2010 MAC Award nominee in the Major Artist category. She just received 2012 MAC Award nominations for Major Artist and for Show of the Year. Her acclaimed tribute to nightclub entertainer Frances Faye, “Drunk With Love” was a Time Out NY Top Ten pick of the year, as was its sequel.

The music charge is $25 with a $10 food and drink minimum. For reservations call 212/582-2121. For more information or to order online visit www.theiridium.com For more about the artist visit www.TereseGeneccoLive.com

Brought to you by the NEW www.broadwaykingdom.com

For more info on Elli – The King of Broadway
www.thekingofbroadway.com

For more interviews & reviews go to
www.broadwaykingdom.com

Video Interview with Chester Gregory (Sister Act on B’way)

With an impressive list of Broadway roles under his belt – Sister Act as Eddie, Dreamgirls as James “Thunder” Early (National Tour), Hairspray as Seaweed, Tarzan as Terk, The Jackie Wilson Story as Jackie Wilson, Cry Baby as Dupree, Shrek the Musical as Donkey (Seattle tryout, Pre-Broadway), Train is Comin’ as Isaac, Chicago’s Gold Soul, Otis Redding Story – and his new iPhone game UnWord, Chester took on an impressive evening of song, “Chester Gregory & Friends” at the Triad Theater.
Tired as he was, after pouring his amazing energy out to the audience,
we got a chance to chat after the show.

For more information about Chester:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chester_Gregory
www.chestergregory.com
twitter.com/chestergregory
http://unwordgame.com/

Brought to you by the NEW www.broadwaykingdom.com

For more info on Elli – The King of Broadway
www.thekingofbroadway.com

For more interviews & reviews go to
www.broadwaykingdom.com