Grammy Noms for Center's Jazz Series Artists

Nominations for the 53rd Grammy® Awards were announced last night and a couple of artists popular with the Center’s Jazz Series were selected: Esperanza Spalding and Freddy Cole. Esperanza, who sold-out her engagement here last year, is competing in the Best New Artist category and Freddy is up for Best Jazz Vocal Album with Freddy Cole Sings Mr.B. Freddy returns to the Center May 13 and 14 with the Bill Charlap Trio. Congratulations and the best of luck to Esperanza and Freddy! The Grammys will air on February 13 on CBS.

Peter Pan Finds New Fans at Newport Beach Library

It was closer to the beach than "first star and to the right and onto Neverland," but more than 100 children did find their way to the Newport Beach Public Library on Tuesday, November 9 to meet cast members from JM Barrie's Peter Pan. It was a combination of various arts - literature, theater and puppetry. Following a brief reading from chapter one of Barrie's classic novel, Ciaran Joyce and Beth Triffon burst forth with an actual scene from the play, as Peter enters and Wendy sews his shadow back on. A special surprise was the appearance of Nana, the Newfoundland dog who is the Darling childrens' nurse (she was accompanied by her trainer/puppeteer Christopher Keller). Peter Pan continues its run at the Center through January 2.

Hear the Szymanowski Quartet on KUSC

The Szymanowski Quartet was interviewed in-studio today by KUSC's very own Jim Svejda. The lively discussion with Jim and all four members of the ensemble covered everything from why they decided on the Szymanowski name to how reactions from American audiences differ from European ones. You can hear the interview as well as recordings by the quartet tomorrow night (Wednesday) starting at 7 p.m. on Classical KUSC 91.5 FM. The Szymanowski plays in the Center's Concert Series this Thursday evening at 8 p.m. in Samueli Theater. Click here for more information.

Photo: Jim Svejda (center) with the quartet (L to R: Vladimir Mykitka, Marcin Sieniawski, Andrej Bielow and Grzegorz Kotow)

Wicked Cast Recording Certified Double Platinum

The original Broadway cast recording of Stephen Schwartz's Wicked has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Double platinum certification means the Decca Broadway recording, which features Tony Award winners Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, has sold more than two million copies.

To celebrate the occasion, composer Stephen Schwartz will be presented with a commemorative plaque following November 10th matinee performance of the smash musical at The Gershwin Theatre.

Other Decca Broadway cast recordings to achieve double platinum status include Rent, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera and Cats.

Mary Poppins on Dancing with the Stars

In case you missed the cast of Mary Poppins performing "Step in Time" on Dancing with the Stars...we've got it for you here along with a behind-the scenes look:

First Look at 9 to 5 The Musical

The new national tour of 9 to 5 The Musical is off and running. Here's a look at the show, interviews with the cast and creatives and more.

9 to 5: The Musical in rehearsal

Dolly Parton watches the cast of the touring production rehearse. Check out this footage, including Diana DeGarmo singing Backwoods Barbie

Zippity Zumba

More than 20 people left sweaty and happy after In the Heights cast member Sandy Alvarez taught a Zumba-inspired dance class today at The Sports Club/LA in Irvine. During the hour, the class learned a variety of Latin dance rhythms like the salsa, samba, merenge along with hip-hop and other fun moves thrown in. Sandy gets a major workout every night performing in the touring production of In the Heights which won one of its four Grammy Awards for Best Choreography. Catch Sandy in the show while its here through August 15.

Photo above: Sandy with Mark and Angie Gaeta

Be My Baby

Fifty lucky people (out of a crowd of 3,700) got the chance to play “Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner” shower contest last night before the Center’s showing of Dirty Dancing at free Movie Mondays. Contestants played traditional baby shower games such as pass the pacifier with a straw relay, draw a picture of baby on a paper plate placed on your head, drink juice the fastest from a baby bottle, blow up a balloon and stick it under your shirt the fastest and scoop up as many cotton balls into a bowl while blindfolded.

Winners of each game won prizes from Corner Bakery, the OC Fair and Gelson’s. The baby shower contest was based on the main character played by Jennifer Grey and a line said by leading man Patrick Swayze in the film. Guests also got a special treat before the screening – In the Heights cast member Rayanne Gonzales performed a number from the musical which opens tonight and runs through August 15. Click here to see the performance. And Banana Republic gave away a $500 gift certificate to celebrate the opening of the remodeled women’s store at South Coast Plaza. Thanks to the OC Fair and the retailers for providing all the great giveaways!

Free Movie Mondays concludes this summer with the showing of Mad Hot Ballroom on August 9.

KCRW's Matt Holzman Hearts Oliver

And so does Orange County judging from the crowd’s reaction to the Center’s free screening of Oliver! on Monday night. KCRW’s Matt Holzman (along with his sisters) was here for the third installment of this summer’s Movie Mondays. Matt, host of the radio station’s preview screening club, selected Oliver! for the popular movies series and was also on hand to get the evening going. Click on the video above to hear what Matt said when we caught up with him before the movie. The screening of Oliver! was presented in partnership with KCRW. A big thanks to KCRW and Matt!

Dirty Dancing will be next in the free Movie Mondays lineup on August 2. Be sure to come early to see a free performance by a cast member of In the Heights and a fun “No one keeps Baby in a corner” contest with tons of fun-filled prizes.

Things Heat Up at Movie Mondays

Do you know the answer to: what movie did Jack Lemmon and Kevin Bacon appear in together? If you guessed JFK you’d have won the Some Like it Hot trivia contest last night at the Center’s free Movie Mondays. Frank Wong of Huntington Beach gave the correct reply to the tie-breaking question and went home with free tickets to The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein which visits the Center September 12 – 25, a groovy glow ball and a Young Frankenstein DVD (pictured above). Other contestants won Young Frankenstein swag including medical bags, stethoscopes and DVDs. A big thanks to the Young Frankenstein touring production for providing the fun prizes.

Free Movie Mondays returns next week with Oliver! The movie is being presented in partnership with public radio station KCRW. Matt Holzman who hosts “Matt’s Movies” – KCRW’s preview screening club – will be at the Center to kick off the evening. Hope to see you Monday!

Photo above and below: For the the trivia contest, contestants were asked to hold up the photo of actor who they thought was the answer to the question.

Congratulations Palm Avenue Elementary in San Bernardino!

Earlier this year, Palm Avenue Elementary School in San Bernardino was named a 2010 California Distinguished School and has been honored with the Title 1 Academic Achievement Award. The school’s staff has contributed much of their success to their fine arts magnet program. According to the school’s principal, Christopher Tickell, “I have the privilege of working with some dedicated and creative employees, very involved parents and students who are eager to learn. And I think a lot of that ties back into our fine arts magnet program.”

How does this tie to the Center? Palm Avenue is an Arts Teach Partner School and, as a member of the Center’s ArtsConnect program, the Center provides a majority of the services that make up Palm Avenue’s fine arts program by giving workshops, residencies and performance opportunities with professional artists as well as teacher professional development and opportunities for parents to learn alongside their students. Palm Avenue’s fine arts resource teacher states, “It has been a great year and OCPAC is a HUGE part of it!”

Working it Out with The Lion King

Disney’s The Lion King cast member Amyia Burrell taught a special workout class at The Sports Club/LA in Irvine last Friday. Click on the video above to see highlights from the class. A big thank you to The Sports Club/LA for hosting the class and to Amyia for giving everyone one a great workout! Amyia and The Lion King will be at the Center through Sunday, June 13.

We're Vocal

Last Thursday more than 600 local middle-school students and teachers gathered at the Center for the 2010 Southern California Vocal Association Choral Festival. Schools from Santa Ana, Covina, Baldwin Park, Costa Mesa and Placentia participated in this year's festival, which was hosted by the Center in collaboration with Pacific Chorale. Started in 1993, the festival provides non-competitive concert-style opportunities for young singers to hear other ensembles and receive valuable evaluations and advice from professional adjudicators.

A big congratulations to all the singers and their teachers!

Photos: Choir students from McFadden Intermediate School in Santa Ana; courtesy of Gregory Ellis.

Mickey Mouse in the House

The Center will soon be home to one of the 36 giant Major League Baseball-themed Mickey Mouse statues appearing throughout Southern California this summer. The statues are being placed in high-profile locations in celebration of the 2010 MLB All-Star game in Anaheim on July 13. The Center's Mickey Mouse statue is decorated as a Toronto Blue Jay.

Starting June 11, MLB and Disney Consumer products is launching a Find Mickey Scavenger Hunt, which rewards fans for visiting the different statue locations and tweeting photos. The first person to take a photo in front of all 36 statues and tweet a link to their photo gallery will win the grand prize of two tickets to the MLB All-Star Game. For more contest information visit mlb.com/mickeymouse.

We hope to see you here!

PHOTO: Angels outfielder Torii Hunter and Hall of Famer Rod Carew pose with the MLB All-Star Stars & Stripes-themed Mickey Mouse statue, which will be on display at the Anaheim Convention Center, home of MLB All-Star FanFest.

The Lion King Brings Out Brandy

Disney's The Lion King had an unexpected guest at Sunday evening's performance in Segerstrom Hall: the multi-talented star, Brandy Norwood. The photo above shows Brandy and her daughter posing with the performers who play the characters of Simba and Nala in the North American touring production. The Tony® and Grammy® Award-winning musical is at the Center through June 13.

Photo caption: (clockwise from the left) Brandy Norwood, Andre Jackson, Marja Harmon, Elijah Johnson, Sy'rai Smith, and Jamariana Tribble. Photo credit: RJ Magee.

Beyond the Beat

Percussionist Andrew Grueschow helped deaf and hard of hearing students at Taft Elementary in Santa Ana experience music and rhythm. These students participated in a special four-day workshop conducted by Grueschow, a teaching artist from the Center’s ArtsConnect education program. The students learned, heard and felt basic elements of music, such as pulse, tempo, pitch and rhythm to enhance learning and understanding of cultural concepts in the classroom. Watch the video to hear from Grueschow and click here to read the OC Register's story by Tim Mangan.

A Marathon Runs Through Us

If you happened to be at the Center Sunday morning, you would have seen nearly 1,800 runners stay the course of the OC Marathon onto the Center’s community plaza, around Richard Serra’s towering Connector sculpture and take a quick left past a rock band and down the side of Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall and Samueli Theater at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Many friends and family members were on hand to cheer the athletes and enjoy some mid-morning entertainment by Delmos Wade. Congrats to all the runners!

Tag It!

This is cool! If you’ve got a smart phone, you can scan this tag and a 30-second Dreamgirls video will automatically download and play. It's simple - all you have to do is get the app at http://gettag.mobi/. For those who don’t have a smart phone, click here to see the video. We'd love to hear what you think of this tag and the new technology that makes it possible. We’ll let you know when we get any new tags.

Dance Students Learn the Shen Wei

In conjunction with the engagement of Shen Wei Dance Arts at the Center April 16-18, the company’s Andrew Cowan conducted a special master class for talented young dancers from Academy of Dance (Santa Ana), Anaheim Ballet, California Conservatory of Dance (Mission Viejo), Cal State Fullerton, Chapman University, Southland Ballet (Fountain Valley), Irvine Valley College, Maple Conservatory (Irvine), Pacific Coast Academy of Dance (San Clemente) and the University of California, Irvine. Cowan is only one of three Company members taught to teach the Shen Wei pure body movement technique. The class was held in the Center’s Founders Hall on Wednesday, April 14.