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                                                                                       The New York Pops is happily at home at Carnegie Hall. On tap: Friday, April 12 celebrates songwriter Stephen Schwartz: his hit Wicked celebrates its tenth year on Broadway and Pippin, his early career smash returns. Speaking of Smash, Megan Hilty of the TV show of the same name brought her own gold-gowned glitter to the Pops last month (Review in this section). And a wow all-star line-up shows up April 29, dipping into the songbags of Frank Loesser and Jule Styne, plus

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                                                    Go ahead and give credit to Benjamin Franklin and his kite and Thomas Edison and his light bulb and George Westinghouse, go ahead and talk about the movements of electrons in the old atom, go ahead and dust off your old textbooks or your grade school science fair project to get a sense of what electricity is all about.

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                       She's back! And she looks and sounds terrific. As you might expect, Dreamgirls star Jennifer Holliday included two of her big songs from that very musical that put her on the Broadway map. Her gig at Iridium on Broadway was, to borrow one of thosee titles, not "One Night Only" -- it was two nights, with two shows per night. With one of those dates being the ultimate Date Night --- Valentine's Day —-- you can bet thatm naturally, the classic "My Funny Valentine" was included, too, with a lush and loving treatment. It was richly rewardingly in its personalization and sincerity. Audience members could be blissed out and then blown away and thrilled. And Jennifer's voice is in

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                                           Nestled down the stairs in a little enclave on West 49^th Street is a hidden gem, Ristorante Da Marino. Da Marino sports a bright yellow awning outside that reads “Piano Bar” and inside is fabulous Italian food, lots of fun music and some fabulous musicians. Headlining singer, Tom D’Angelo, spent a little time with me on a Saturday evening, giving me insight into his unique experiences as a singer at a Times Square restaurant.  

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                       The beautiful and elegant Roslyn Kind wowed the audience at Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College on Saturday, April 28^th. Ms. Kind is the sister of famed vocalist, Barbra Streisand, but she is talented in her own right and showed that she has the chops, too. She sang on a beautifully lit stage with piano accompaniment by musical director, David Snyder.

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Artist and philanthropist, Jane Elissa Meyers, has been raising funds for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) for the last 25 years in honor of her mother, Charlotte M. Meyers, who was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in 1987, and in honor of 11 year-old Jordan Alecia, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) at the age of two.

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                       It is always the sign of a world-class biographer when their work isn't merely painstakingly researched, but when genuine affection for their subject pours forth in the narrative. Such masters of the genre include Charles Higham, Shaun Considine and James Gavin, and they are now wholeheartedly joined by the effervescent David Evanier. The gentleman had already scored notable triumphs with the books Roman Candle: The Life of Bobby Darin and Making the Wiseguys Weep: The Jimmy Roselli Story (which was named a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times), but with his recently published All the Things You Are: The Life of Tony Bennett, he has come into his own as a literary lion. 

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Nick Dothée's songs are testimonies to the complexities of the self and his relentless efforts to untangle its knots. He is a searcher, an explorer in song who has the gift of a profoundly vibrant and well trained voice, capable of great expressiveness and power in all parts of his considerable range. His  Return From Portland show at the Canal Room (6/15/11) was a great success.

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                                                                                                                   On July 26th at The American Songbook Project's benefit at Sardi's, I received a valuable lesson in star power. Coincidentally, I'd recently written a review of Town Hall's Broadway Rising Stars concert where I singled out four promising young hopefuls whom I felt had star power. In that review, I wrote, "The best performers, nerves and all, do it with an easy command."

I now find the same sentiment applies to established professionals and hopefuls, alike; even amongst the pros, there's a special breed of entertainer. When that person gets on the stage, the room instantly comes alive and we immediately know: a star's in the house.

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The audiences that attend Town Hall's annual Broadway Rising Stars concert always cheer way too loudly. This is mainly because many of the performers' family members are in attendance; the parents understandably want to cheer lustily for their offspring who've made the bold - if fiscally suicidal - decision to become musical theatre actors, and who've been given the opportunity of showcasing their talents in a premier venue.