Songs of Hope: Jewish Singers, Songwriters and Composers airs January 16 at 7 pm on YouTubeLive as Temple Beth El of Somerset, NJ welcomes Broadway performer Bart Shatto performing pieces written by Stephen Schartz, Art Garfunkel, Neil Diamond including Michael Colby’s “Oy Yoy Yoy” (written with Artie Bressler for The First Family of Second Avenue – a/k/a Meester America. Tickets: www.tbeonline.weebly.com
An Evening of Hope -a virtual cabaret fundraiser for The Actors Fund to stream live on YouTube January 21 at 7 pm (available thru Jan. 24). The event is FREE, donations are encouraged. The cabaret, hosted by Ann Harada will ask “What is your hope for the future of theatre?” The event features Kerstin Anderson, Gabi Camp, Lissa deGuzman, Kendyl Ito, Gizel Jimenez, John-Michael Lyles, Leslie McDonel, Kate McMillan, JJ Niemann, Jennifer Noble, Samantha Pollino, Alex Prakken, Shanice Williams and Kristin Yancy. Directed by Lana Russel/music director Sinai Tabak.
National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene’s production of Soul to Soul, a theatrical concert that explores the parallels between African-American and Jewish music, will be streamed Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The combination of English spirituals, Civil Rights songs, Yiddish folk songs, and theatre pieces, will premiere January 18at 4 PM ET. Conceived by Zalmen Mlotek, the cast features Elmore James, Cantor Magda Fishman, Tony Perry, Lisa Fishman, Tatiana Wechsler (also producing/directing). www.NYTF.org/soul – register/tickets
The OBIE-winning HERE (Kristin Marting, Founding Artistic Director) announced programming for its HERE There Everywhere winter and spring 2021 season. The season launches with the ninth annual PROTOTYPE: Opera | Theatre | Now (January 8–16), the premier global festival of opera-theatre and music-theatre which has been completely re-envisioned in light of the COVID-19 crisis. Co-produced by HERE and Beth Morrison Projects, this year’s festival responds to the seismic events of 2020 and features a series of multidisciplinary, cross-platform events that expand the technological boundaries of the artform. The festival includes two in-person, world-premiere experiences in New York City: Times3 (Times x Times x Times), an immersive sonic experience in Times Square by Geoff Sobelle & Pamela Z; and Ocean Body, a multi-screen film and music installation at HERE by composer/vocalists Helga Davis and Shara Nova and director-filmmaker Mark DeChiazza. www.prototypefestival.org
There is a new musical podcast “In Strange Woods” featuring Patrick Page, Beth Leavel and Donna Lynn Champlin and it’s become the number one Fiction Podcast. Check it out!
The newly launched “Broadway Gives Back Podcast” with Lin-Manuel Miranda and Gloria Estefan as first guest stars, is teaming with Broadway Podcast Network for a philanthropic series. It will feature conversations with high-profile entertainers and their causes.
Broadway Records announced today the release of the Grammy Award-winning recording of THE COLOR PURPLE as a double record set printed on purple vinyl. It will be available on February 5, 2021, in celebration of the 5-year anniversary of the recording’s original release. The limited-edition vinyl is available today for pre-order on BroadwayRecords.com and other major music retailers including Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.
This limited-edition vinyl set of THE COLOR PURPLE includes a special album insert with photos from the Broadway production and full billing, plus a gatefold cover, complete with show artwork, full billing, track list, album notes and additional production photos.
