Today, five days shy of her 97th birthday, the great Angela Lansbury passed away. I had the honor of seeing her live twice — once on Broadway and another time in Washington, D.C. — and I met her backstage on March 28, 2015. Below are my thoughts on her tremendous talent, what it was like meeting her, and my connection to the world of Murder, She Wrote.
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Last night, CNN aired a one-hour, in-depth interview with Barry Manilow, the 78-year-old pop sensation who has garnered countless hits and millions of fans over the span of nearly 60 years. So, did this profile about “The Showman of Our Generation,” the man who Frank Sinatra said, “He’s next!” when referencing, live up to the iconic star’s blinding luminescence? Read on for my thoughts.
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The Kimmel Cultural Campus will present the return of the RENT 25th Anniversary Farewell Tour, back by popular demand, in the Kimmel Cultural Campus’ Merriam Theater on March 4 – 6, 2022. Additionally, former Kimmel Education student and Philadelphia native Shafiq Hicks, a graduate of the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts and a voice major at Temple University, will star in the role of ‘Tom Collins.’ Read on for more details.
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Last night, I attended my first musical since seeing Hello, Dolly! in February 2020. I saw Anastasia at the Merriam Theater, here in Philadelphia. Running from November 23 through November 28, this Broadway hit musical is based on the 1997 film of the same name, which is based on a 1956 movie, also of the same name. So, you could say that this is a story that’s been told for 65 years and still going strong. Read on for my thoughts on Anastasia and whether or not you should buy a ticket.
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I had the honor of seeing Angela Lansbury and James Earl Jones act together, live on stage, in Gore Vidal’s The Best Man on Broadway in 2012. It was a spectacular show, and both actors, as well as the rest of the star-studded cast, were incredible. Having had this experience, I was eager to listen to the Audible Original production of Driving Miss Daisy, narrated by Angela Lansbury and James Earl Jones.
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Joey Cassata is a multi-talented artist. He’s a gifted musician, actor, and writer. He wrote Wrestling With Joeylicious, which is the novelization of an upcoming TV series that all wrestling fans will love! I had the chance to interview Joey about this project, as well as his time touring with KISS, being part of a major Broadway production with Josh Groban, and more. Enjoy!
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From June 18 through June 30, Cats, the award-winning and record-breaking Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, is in Philadelphia. I had the opportunity to see the show and it wasn’t exactly what I expected. I love cats (my wife and I have two that we adopted), and I love musicals. I also adore Barry Manilow’s interpretation of the signature song from this show: “Memory.” However, I found this show to be one of the weirdest musicals I’ve ever seen.
Patti LuPone brought her one-woman show, “Don’t Monkey With Broadway,” to Verizon Hall in Philadelphia on June 9 and it was phenomenal. The two-time Tony Award winner performed classic Broadway show tunes by Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, Jule Styne, Stephen Schwartz, Charles Strouse, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Cole Porter, and Irving Berlin. She also told stories in between songs about how her life-long love affair with Broadway began and her concern for what the Great White Way is becoming today.
Disney’s Aladdin, the musical, is currently at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia. Performances run until July 1, and I highly recommend that you go. I went to a performance last night and the nearly sold-out crowd ate it up from beginning to end. Having watched a clip of this show from the Tony Awards a few years back, I knew that the Genie was going to be the star of the show and he was. Michael James Scott, who plays the role of the Genie and was the understudy for the Genie during the original Broadway run, is fantastic. Just watch him sing and dance to “Friend Like Me” and you’ll be blown away by his stamina and unending charisma. He’s the heart and soul of the show and made it a blast to watch.
I had the pleasure of interviewing one of my favorite singers and one of the greatest voices in the history of music: Dennis DeYoung, lead vocalist of STYX hits “Come Sail Away,” “Babe,” “Mr. Roboto,” “The Best of Times,” “Don’t Let It End,” “Show Me The Way,” and “Lady.”
Our discussion lasted for more than an hour and we covered a myriad of topics, including Barry Manilow, Journey, what DeYoung misses most about being in STYX, the state of the music industry, politicians using music without the permission of the artists, and much more. DeYoung was funny, charming, smart, and easily one of the most enjoyable interviews I’ve ever conducted.
Make sure to visit DeYoung’s website for the latest tour dates. He has two performances in the Philadelphia/New Jersey/New York area coming up in October. I’m attending his show on October 8 at The Keswick Theatre in Glenside, Pa. For those of you closer to New York, DeYoung has an October 21 performance scheduled at the St. George Theatre in Staten Island, with special guest Steve Augeri, former lead vocalist of Journey.