By Andrew Gans
12 Dec 2003
IN OTHER DIVA NEWS OF THE WEEK: Congratulations to Betty Buckley, who received a rave review in The Hollywood Reporter for her current concert act, The Journey, which she is now presenting at Feinstein's at the Cinegrill in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. In his review, Hollywood Reporter scribe Ed Kaufman writes, "And it's a smashing evening. Buckley is a consummate and generous performer in complete command of her audience and materials. At times cute and coy, at times wistful and breathless, at times bluesy and full of eloquent feeling, Buckley exudes confidence and is certainly one with her music. She sings with precision, heart and soul. What is so uncanny about Buckley is her ability to capture the essence of her eclectic music, from her upbeat and playful version of Nat King Cole and Irving Mills' 'Straighten Up and Fly Right' (an homage to her lieutenant colonel father) to Joni Mitchell's moving 'Amelia' (a tribute to aviatrix Amelia Earhart) to Leonard Cohen's '60s spiritual 'Hallelujah' to Bob Seger's 'Till It Shines,' originally a light pop-rock song but transformed by Buckley into a slow-tempo ballad." . . . Capathia Jenkins, who stars as the Washing Machine, in the new Tony Kushner-Jeanine Tesori musical Caroline, Or Change, will go it solo Dec. 14 at Joe's Pub. Jenkins will offer her new act, "Phenomenal Woman," at 9:30 PM at the intimate cabaret. The program features the songs of Louis Rosen, whose music has been heard on theatre stages around the country as well as in two previous Joe's Pub evenings. Joseph Thalken will accompany Jenkins on piano. Joe's Pub is located at 425 Lafayette Street, between East 4th Street and Astor Place. Tickets — priced at $20 — are available at the Public Theater's box office, on-line at www.telecharge.com or by phone at (212) 239-6200. Those interested in having dinner at Joe's Pub prior to the show should call (212) 539-8778. . . . A host of theatre and TV royalty paid tribute to Carol Burnett last weekend during the annual Kennedy Center Honors Dec. 7. Burnett was one of five honorees at the 26th annual D.C. affair, which also included tributes to director Mike Nichols, musician James Brown, singer Loretta Lynn and violinist Itzhak Perlman. Academy Award winner Julie Andrews introduced the segment devoted to her friend Burnett, offering a verse of "I'm So Glad We Had This Time Together," which Burnett made famous during her long-running CBS television show. Others who came out to honor Burnett included Gypsy star Bernadette Peters, theatre veteran Elaine Stritch, recent Nine star Chita Rivera, "Brady Bunch" mom Florence Henderson and two of her TV variety show cohorts, Tim Conway and Harvey Korman. The Burnett tribute featured the aforementioned stars dressed in signature Bob Mackie costumes from "The Carol Burnett Show." Peters was seen as the charwoman with mop and bucket, Stritch played the lovable loser Eunice, Rivera was the narcoleptic Stella Toddler and Andrews was Starlet O'Hara. CBS-TV will broadcast this year's Kennedy Center Honors on Dec. 26 at 9 PM ET. . . . Broadway fans looking for a way to spend New Year's Eve might want to head to Joe's Pub on Dec. 31 for an evening with the legendary Eartha Kitt. Kitt, who received a Tony Award nomination for her work in The Wild Party, will offer 8:30 and 11:30 PM concerts at the intimate cabaret on New Year's Eve. Tickets are priced at $150 for the early show and $200 for the late show. Daryl Waters is the evening's musical director. Tickets are available at the Public Theater's box office or by calling (212) 539-8778. . . . Wicked's not-so-Wicked-Witch-of-the-West, Idina Menzel, will be among the theatre stars singing the works of Andrew Lippa Dec. 15. The 10 PM concert at the Ars Nova Theatre will feature the vocal talents of Menzel as well as those of Hairspray's Shoshana Bean and The Wild Party's Julia Murney. Lippa, who will be celebrating his birthday, will also be on hand to perform his original tunes, backed by his own "birthday band." Other surprise special guests are also promised. "Uncharted: Andrew Lippa" kicks off a new monthly series at the Ars Nova Theater, which also presents the free play reading series "Out Loud." The "Uncharted" series will allow upcoming singer/songwriters to perform their original works in front of a live audience. The Ars Nova Theater is located in Manhattan at 511 West 54th Street. Tickets are priced at $12; for reservations, call (212) 868 4444 or visit www.smarttix.com. Doors open at 9:30 PM. . . . And, finally, Tony Award winner Sutton Foster will make her solo New York concert debut May 15, 2004, part of the spring American Songbook season at Lincoln Center. Foster is scheduled to offer concerts at 8 and 11 PM on May 15 in the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse. This winter, the acclaimed American Songbook series will offer Broadway's Darius de Haas in "Wonder: The Songs of Stevie Wonder" (Jan. 23 at 8 and 11 PM), singer/songwriter Phil Roy (Jan. 25 at 8 PM) and jazz sensation Peter Cincotti (Feb. 2 and 3 at 8 PM). The spring will feature Titanic's Judy Blazer in an evening with Robert Kapilow entitled "What's Makes It Great?" (May 15 at 8 and 11 PM) and Michael John LaChiusa's "The Girly Show" (May 16 at 7 PM). The latter will feature an all-star line-up of women from the theatre and cabaret stages performing songs from LaChiusa's The Wild Party, Marie Christine and Hello Again. All performances (except Peter Cincotti's evenings) will be held at the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse, which is located at 165 West 65th Street, between Broadway and Amsterdam, on the 10th floor of the Rose Building. Cincotti's shows will be seen at Alice Tully Hall. For tickets to the American Songbook performances, call (212) 721-6500. Visit www.lincolncenter.org for more information.
REMINDERS
Betty Buckley in Concert:
Liz Callaway in Concert:
Dec. 13 in Arlington, VA
Jan. 17, 2004 in Asheville, NC
Jan. 31 in Sibling Revelry in Boston, MA
Feb. 7 in Sibling Revelry in Riverfront, IL
Feb. 13 with Jason Graae in Salt Lake City, UT
Feb. 14 with Jason Graae in Palm Springs, CA
Feb. 26-28 with Jason Graae in West Palm Beach, FL
Feb. 29 with Stephen Schwartz and Friends in Wilton, CT
April 23 with Jason Graae in Sutter Creek, CA
April 24-25 with Jason Graae in San Rafael, CA
May 1 in Sibling Revelry in Orono, ME
May 8 in Sibling Revelry in Purchase, NY
Patti LuPone in Concert:
Jan. 23, 2004 at the Eissey Campus Theatre in Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Jan. 24, 2004 at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL
Feb. 27-29, 2004 at the Myerhoff Hall in Baltimore, MD
March 12, 2004 at the New Jersey PAC in Newark, NJ
March 13 at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, NJ
Christiane Noll in Concert
Dec. 31 Des Moines, IA with Des Moines Symphony & Brad Little
Louise Pitre in Concert:
Jan. 31, 2004-Feb. 8 in Sweeney Todd with the Calgary Opera Company at the Jubilee Auditorium in Canada
Feb. 13 at the Capitol Theatre in Windsor, Ontario
Feb. 28 at the Sanderson Performing Arts Centre in Brantford, Ontario
Feb. 29 at the Silverthorn C.I. Auditorium in Toronto, Ontario
Well, that’s all for now. Happy diva-watching!
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