He'll join Kelli O'Hara and the New York Philharmonic on March 21 for a celebration of Broadway before coming the Samueli Theater. Here he sings in the recording studio with Tony winner Kristin Chenoweth:
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
A New Side to Nathan Gunn
Grammy winner Nathan Gunn is one of opera's most sought after baritones. He is fast becoming the go-to-guy for a variety of other projects as well having earned raves for Show Boat at Carnegie Hall and Camelot at Lincoln Center. You'll begin to see why with this clip from Camelot:
He'll join Kelli O'Hara and the New York Philharmonic on March 21 for a celebration of Broadway before coming the Samueli Theater. Here he sings in the recording studio with Tony winner Kristin Chenoweth:
He'll join Kelli O'Hara and the New York Philharmonic on March 21 for a celebration of Broadway before coming the Samueli Theater. Here he sings in the recording studio with Tony winner Kristin Chenoweth:
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Segerstrom Center to Celebrate 25th
It was an exciting evening on March 7 when Segerstrom Center President Terry Dwyer hosted an evening for press, guests and fans to announce the Center's 2011-12 Season - the 25th Anniversary Season. Shows include all the usual great dance, Broadway, jazz, cabaret, classical music and family shows - plus free events and the now highly anticipated Off Center offerings. There will be a special celebration weekend at the end of September for the actual anniversary with free performances in the concert hall and on the arts plaza. And 10,000 tickets will be sold throughout the season for just $10 each. Best part of the evening may have been astonishing performances by Antoine Carabinier from the show Traces (photo above), which will be part of next season, and the rocking ensemble from Tony® Award-winning show Million Dollar Quartet, which flew in specially to be part of the event.Photos below: Center President Terry Dwyer and Million Dollar Quartet. All photos by Doug Gifford.
Friday, March 4, 2011
OC Rocks Out!
Jake McIntyre, our new guest blogger, is back with a review of the hit musical Rock of Ages. Jake writes:Rock of Ages made its Orange County debut on Tuesday night at Segerstrom Center to a packed house. I had expected a musical, but what I got was more akin to a rock concert. The audience was quickly transported from Costa Mesa to a dirty, louder, sexier and more hair spray-filled era of rock music in L.A.
The show follows Drew, played by former American Idol contestant Constantine Maroulis and small-town girl Sherrie, played by Rebecca Faulkenberry, as they fall in love at L.A.’s most legendary rock club to the biggest hits of the ’80s. Rock of Ages pays homage to the great rockers Journey, Styx, REO Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Poison, Bon Jovi, Whitesnake and more. ROA made it clear these rock ballads have not lost their touch: audience members sang along to almost every song, stood with their arms raised swaying to the music, and raised flashlights shaped like lighters (provided by ROA) above their heads.
The show pokes fun at cultural norms of the ‘80s, rock musicians and Broadway musicals in general. Lonny, the show’s narrator, keeps the audience laughing with the perfect amount of cheese and raunchiness as he sways his hips.
As a dancer, I have to comment on the fantastic choreography by Kelly Devine. Devine kept to movement exclusive to the ‘80s, mixing steps you would have seen in rock music videos and concerts. You could tell it was not just the audience enjoying the show, but that the performers were having a blast. I was in my car after the show, rocking out during the whole ride home.
This show is a must see for ‘80s rock fans, and anyone who owned a pair of acid-washed jeans, or used to have hair bigger than a door frame. Rock of Ages plays through March 6. The next Broadway Series show is 9 to 5: The Musical May 10 – 15.
The show follows Drew, played by former American Idol contestant Constantine Maroulis and small-town girl Sherrie, played by Rebecca Faulkenberry, as they fall in love at L.A.’s most legendary rock club to the biggest hits of the ’80s. Rock of Ages pays homage to the great rockers Journey, Styx, REO Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Poison, Bon Jovi, Whitesnake and more. ROA made it clear these rock ballads have not lost their touch: audience members sang along to almost every song, stood with their arms raised swaying to the music, and raised flashlights shaped like lighters (provided by ROA) above their heads.
The show pokes fun at cultural norms of the ‘80s, rock musicians and Broadway musicals in general. Lonny, the show’s narrator, keeps the audience laughing with the perfect amount of cheese and raunchiness as he sways his hips.
As a dancer, I have to comment on the fantastic choreography by Kelly Devine. Devine kept to movement exclusive to the ‘80s, mixing steps you would have seen in rock music videos and concerts. You could tell it was not just the audience enjoying the show, but that the performers were having a blast. I was in my car after the show, rocking out during the whole ride home.
This show is a must see for ‘80s rock fans, and anyone who owned a pair of acid-washed jeans, or used to have hair bigger than a door frame. Rock of Ages plays through March 6. The next Broadway Series show is 9 to 5: The Musical May 10 – 15.
Photo by Joan Marcus
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Terence Blanchard's Newest Bleeping Project
Trumpeter extraordinaire Terence Blanchard is composing music for a new play by Stephen Adly Guirgis titled, Motherf**ker with the Hat, which will star Chris Rock. Blanchard has written numerous scores for films but this project is his first foray into Broadway. To read the entire story on Playbill click here.Besides composing, Blanchard also continues to tour with his quintet. Blanchard and his ensemble will perform in the Jazz Series on April 3 with world-renowned saxophonist Branford Marsalis and his quartet for a special-one-night only show in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. Click for more info.
Photo by Jenny Bagert
Monday, February 28, 2011
New Guest Blogger Reviews the Mandelring Quartet
We have a new guest blogger - Chapman University's Jake McIntyre. Jake is Segerstrom Center's new marketing intern and he will be reviewing a variety of shows during his time with us. He is a senior at Chapman with a double major in communication studies and dance performance. An Orange County native, he has trained in theater and dance throughout Southern California. Besides working with the Center, Jake has worked with Backhaus Dance, Newport Beach Film Festival and the American Cancer Society. An avid theater and art enthusiast, Jake spends time immersing himself as much as possible in the local artistic community. He caught the Manderling Quartet's performance last week and below are Jake's thoughts on the concert.
Jake writes:
The acclaimed German ensemble, the Mandelring Quartet made its Center debut at the Samueli Theater February 24. I am by no means a classical music aficionado, but this performance by the Mandelring enthralled me. I was hypnotized by the choreography of their bows, and was blown away by the personality these players were able to expose from the musical scores.
LA Times music critic, Herbert Glass, discussed in his preview talk how the program followed the heritage of Beethoven’s string quartets on later composers and the beginnings of dissonance. The night opened with Mendelssohn’s String Quartet in A minor, Op. 13, a lyrical and romantic composition, which transported me to the German countryside. The Quartet then played the more contemporary work, String Quartet No. 5, Sz. 102 by Bartok. This piece was composed in 1934, during the onset of WWII, and a haunting tension could be felt throughout the work. The piece was extremely avant garde for its time and sounded more akin to a work of the 20th century verse the '30s. The program ended with Mozart’s String Quartet in C major, K. 465 (“Dissonant”), a revolutionary score that was the first to have the famous dissonance sequence at the beginning of the work.
The Quartet was called back three times for bows, and for an encore performance. The short encore piece, whose name I did not catch, was by Shostakovich. The piece was well received and left most the audience laughing at the score’s comedic tones.
This evening was an inspiring and enjoyable night, a perfect way to end a long week. I look forward to the future concerts planned at the Center this season, and I will definitely be back for more. Information on the Center’s upcoming concert series can be found on the website.
The acclaimed German ensemble, the Mandelring Quartet made its Center debut at the Samueli Theater February 24. I am by no means a classical music aficionado, but this performance by the Mandelring enthralled me. I was hypnotized by the choreography of their bows, and was blown away by the personality these players were able to expose from the musical scores.
LA Times music critic, Herbert Glass, discussed in his preview talk how the program followed the heritage of Beethoven’s string quartets on later composers and the beginnings of dissonance. The night opened with Mendelssohn’s String Quartet in A minor, Op. 13, a lyrical and romantic composition, which transported me to the German countryside. The Quartet then played the more contemporary work, String Quartet No. 5, Sz. 102 by Bartok. This piece was composed in 1934, during the onset of WWII, and a haunting tension could be felt throughout the work. The piece was extremely avant garde for its time and sounded more akin to a work of the 20th century verse the '30s. The program ended with Mozart’s String Quartet in C major, K. 465 (“Dissonant”), a revolutionary score that was the first to have the famous dissonance sequence at the beginning of the work.
The Quartet was called back three times for bows, and for an encore performance. The short encore piece, whose name I did not catch, was by Shostakovich. The piece was well received and left most the audience laughing at the score’s comedic tones.
This evening was an inspiring and enjoyable night, a perfect way to end a long week. I look forward to the future concerts planned at the Center this season, and I will definitely be back for more. Information on the Center’s upcoming concert series can be found on the website.
Friday, February 25, 2011
So Many Reasons to See Rock of Ages
Our flip cam recorded Rock of Ages cast members yesterday on their bus ride from LA to Costa Mesa for a mini concert at South Coast Plaza (they gave an amazing performance BTW!). Click on the video to hear cast members discuss why people should come see the show in Orange County. As if rocking songs by Journey, Foreigner, REO Speedwagon or Bon Jovi weren’t enough! Click here to see the cast perform Journey's "Don't Stop Believin.'"
A big thanks to MiG Ayessa, Rebecca Faulkenberry, Sean Jenness, Holly Laurent, Erika Shannon, Teresa Stanley and J Michael Zygo for spending time with us. Rock of Ages runs March 1 – 6.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Tommy Thrills
Chance Theater’s The Who’s Tommy made its thrilling Segerstrom Center debut last night with a sold-out performance. Staged in Founders Hall, which has been transformed into an intimate 161-seat theater for this show, The Who’s Tommy wowed the audience and critics with a captivating production full of cool video projections, rocking music played by an onstage band and charismatic performances. To read the reviews, please click here. Some of the upcoming performances are nearly sold out so be sure to get your tickets soon. The Who’s Tommy plays through February 20.
Photos by Doug Gifford
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