Liza Minnelli, Alan Cumming, Jessie Mueller and More to Join Michael Feinstein and the Pasadena POPS This Summer
By: BWW News Desk Mar. 01, 2017
Principal Conductor Michael Feinstein leads the Pasadena POPS for its star-studded 2017 Summer Concert Series at the Los Angeles Arboretum with extraordinary multiple award winning guests artists Liza Minnelli, Alan Cumming, Joel Gray, Hair Spray Live's Madelyn Baillio, Beautiful's Jessie Mueller and Jarrod Spector, Grey Garden's Rachel York, Phantom of the Opera's Jordan Donica, the Midtown Men and Michael Feinstein in concert. The 2017 Pops season commences June 17th through September 9th with a five concert series.
The 2017 Sierra Summer Concert Series sparkles with vibrant talent spanning the ages. On June 17, the stars come out to celebrate Broadway: The Golden Age as we also host a tribute to Liza Minnelli with Alan Cuming, Joel Grey, and Storm Large with the legendary Liza herself! On July 15, we present Music from Jersey Boys and Beyond with the Midtown Men, four stars form the original Broadway cast of Jersey Boys. Michael Feinstein Sings Swing on July 29 to sing the best songs from Sinatra, Bobby Darin, Dean Martin Sammy David Jr., and more. On August 19, Michael delivers treasures from his personal archives with Gershwin & Friends and in quintessential Feinstein fashion; he's planned a spectacular season finale on September 9 with Universal Studios Favorites, which will feature the songs and scores from the iconic Universal Studios.
Feinstein sees his role as playing an integral part in ensuring this brand of music remains relevant for generations to come. "Since my conducting debut with the POPS in 2013, my love for preserving music significant to me has grown in depth and intensity now that I can bring these collections to life as a conductor with my colleagues, the talented musicians of the Pasadena POPS, our committed board and strong administrative leadership. As I look to the future of the Pasadena POPS, I am so deeply proud and honored to build something truly important here and to see the enthusiastic response from this community. The joy our music brings to audiences of all ages makes me so excited for the future of symphony orchestras and the Great American Songbook."
All concerts are held at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden. Grounds open for picnicking and dining at 5:30 p.m. and performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Don't miss the best outdoor dinner party in town with spacious circular table seating with fine linens, or lawn seating for those who want to bring a blanket - each option carries on the tradition of picnic-dining with your family and friends with Michael Feinstein and Pasadena's premier POPS orchestra! Among many venue amenities, concert goers can enjoy pre-ordered gourmet dining packages for on-site pickup just steps from their table from Julienne, Marston's and Claud & Co. The food court hosts mouth-watering food trucks plus specialty ice creams by Choctál, and the venue now offers the convenience of two full beverage centers serving fine wines, beer, coffee and soft drinks.
Audiences get the ultimate outdoor concert experience with large LED video screens to see the artists and orchestra up close, superior sound and the high-quality production value that is a signature of the Pasadena POPS. Patrons may also visit the Pasadena Humane Society's Mobile Adoption Unit, which will be on-site prior to each concert with deserving animals in need of a forever home as part of the Pups for POPS program. For those who want to make a night of it, exclusive hotel packages are available for POPS patrons at Pasadena's landmark Hotel Constance.
The Arboretum is located at 301 North Baldwin Ave., Arcadia, CA. Subscribers may pre-purchase parking on-site at the Arboretum, and all concertgoers enjoy free parking at the adjacent Westfield Santa Anita shopping center with complimentary non-stop shuttle service to the Arboretum's main entrance.
Single tickets start at $25. Season subscriptions and single tickets are now on sale, and are available by calling the box office at (626)-793-7172, online at PasadenaSymphony-Pops.org or at the Arboretum on the day of the concerts.
2017 Sierra Auto Summer Concert Series Calendar:
June 17, 2017
Broadway: The Golden Age
Michael Feinstein, Principal Pops Conductor
Tom & Erika Girardi Chair
Liza Minnelli, special guest
Alan Cumming, Joel Grey, Storm Large and Alex Getlin, soloists
The stars come out as we host a tribute to Liza Minnelli and celebrate the music of Rodgers & Hammerstein, Kander & Ebb, Coleman, Loesser and Jule Styne - with the legendary Liza herself!
July 15, 2017
Music from Jersey Boys And Beyond!
Larry Blank, conductor
The Midtown Men: Four Stars from the Original Broadway Cast of Jersey Boys.
Straight from Broadway - the original cast members of Jersey Boys bring you hits from The Beach Boys, the Beatles, Motown and more.
July 29, 2017
Michael Feinstein Sings Swing!
Michael Feinstein, soloist
Larry Blank, conductor
It's quintessential Feinstein singing the best songs from The Kings Of Swing: Sinatra, Bobby Darin, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and more.
August 19, 2017
Gershwin & Friends
Michael Feinstein, Principal Pops Conductor
Tom & Erika Girardi Chair
Madelyn Baillio, Jordan Donica and Rachel York, soloists
Michael Feinstein delivers treasures from his personal archives, such as "Someone to Watch Over Me," "I Got Rhythm," and "Embraceable You," plus gems from Gershwin's contemporaries like Kern, Bernstein, and Copland.
September 9, 2017
Universal Studios Favorites
Michael Feinstein, Principal Pops Conductor
Tom & Erika Girardi Chair
Jessie Mueller, Jarrod Spector, soloists
We close the summer with the songs and scores of Universal Studios, from the early days of "The Bride of Frankenstein" and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" to "E.T.," "Jaws," " Harry Potter" and more!
The Pasadena Symphony and POPS presents the 2017 Sierra Auto Summer Concert Series with Principal Pops Conductor Michael Feinstein, running: June 17, July 15, July 29, August 19, September 9 at 7:30 p.m. at The LA County Arboretum | 301 N Baldwin Ave., Arcadia, CA 91007. Tickets start at $25.00. Gates open at 5:30pm for picnicking. Guests are welcome to bring their own food and drink or visit one of the many onsite gourmet food vendors. Subscribers have the opportunity to purchase onsite Arboretum parking. Single ticket holders may park for free at the Westfield Santa Anita shopping center with free non-stop shuttles to the main gate.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Alan Cumming is an actor and activist beyond eclectic and according to the New York Times 'a bawdy countercultural sprite'; Time Magazine named him one of the most fun people in show business; He plays political maverick Eli Gold on CBS's The Good Wife, for which he received Golden Globe, Emmy, SAG and Satellite award nominations and earlier this year finished his Tony Award-winning role of the Emcee in the Broadway musical Cabaret.
Alan's diverse career has found him performing at venues around the globe including the Sydney Opera House; making back to back films with Stanley Kubrick and The Spice Girls; directing and starring in a musical condom commercial; creating voices of a Smurf, a goat and Hitler; entering upside down and suspended by his ankles in a Greek tragedy (in the National Theatre of Scotland's The Bacchae); and recording an award-winning album of songs (plus a dance remix). Alan is also Host of PBS's Masterpiece Mystery and appears opposite Lisa Kudrow in Showtime's Web Therapy. Alan has written for The NY Times, Newsweek, Harpers Bazaar, Out, Globe and Mail, and two books; Tommy's Tale and his NY Times Best Selling memoir, Not My Father's Son. A tireless champion for LGBT civil rights and HIV/AIDS, Alan serves on the Board of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and works closely with amfAR, The Trevor Project and the Ali Forney Center to name but a few.
In 2009, Alan was made an OBE in the Queen's Honors List and by his homeland, Scotland, for which he was a vocal supporter of the YES for independence campaign, he has been awarded the Great Scot and Icon of Scotland awards, as well as recently having his portrait unveiled at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.Storm Large shot to national prominence in 2006 as a finalist on the CBS show Rock Star: Supernova, where she built a fan base that follows her around the world to this day.
Highlights of the 16-17 season include debuts with the Atlanta, Baltimore, and BBC Symphony Orchestras, as well as return engagements with National Symphony Orchestra and Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Recent highlights include engagements with the New York Pops, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony, RTÉ Dublin, and Toronto Symphony Orchestra, as well as performances at Carnegie Hall and the United States Capitol.
Storm made her debut with the band Pink Martini in 2011, singing four sold-out concerts with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. She continues to tour internationally with the band.
Her memoir, Crazy Enough, was released by Simon and Schuster in 2012 and named Oprah's Book of the Week. In the fall of 2014, Storm & Le Bonheur released a record designed to capture their sublime and subversive interpretations of the American Songbook. Entitled simply Le Bonheur,¬ the recording is a collection of tortured and titillating love songs: beautiful, familiar, yet twisted ... much like the lady herself.
Larry Blank
Resident Pops Conductor, Larry Blank is one of the most prolific and sought after composers, conductors, and orchestrators in the entertainment business today. His work has been presented all over the world, including some of Broadway's most successful musicals, Carnegie Hall, and top television and film projects.
He was the Music Director/Conductor and/or vocal arranger for many shows on Broadway and in Los Angeles including They're Playing Our Song, Evita, Sugar Babies, La Cage Aux Folles, Phantom Of The Opera, Onward Victoria, Copperfield, Colette, A Chorus Line and A Little Night Music. He has been nominated three times for both the Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award for his orchestrations in The Drowsy Chaperone, Irving Berlin's White Christmas and with Marc Shaiman for Catch Me If You Can. Larry received a Drama Desk Nomination for orchestrations for A Christmas Story
Larry contributed to the orchestrations for both the stage and film production of The Producers, the film Chicago and is a regular conductor and arranger for BBC RADIO 2 Friday Night Is Music Night in the UK. Larry is also the Music Supervisor and Orchestrator (along with Mark Cumberland) for the Olivier Awards in London.
Blank has worked with top talent from varied fields of the entertainment world, notably as personal conductor to Michael Crawford. He has also worked with Michael Feinstein, Marvin Hamlisch, Bernadette Peters, Kelsey Grammar, Christine Baranski, Roberta Flack, Pete Fountain, Peabo Bryson, Sally Kellerman, Nancy Dussault, Marc Shaiman, Jerry Herman, Ann- Margaret, Davis Gaines, Bette Midler, George Benson, Placido Domingo, Randy Newman, Trisha Yearwood, Tom Scott, Quincy Jones, Michael Bolton, John Raitt and Diana Rigg.
Blank's background includes orchestrating and arranging songs for South Park and was Music Supervisor and Orchestrator for Jerry Herman's movie, Mrs. Santa Claus starring Angela Lansbury and Charles Durning. Some of the films he lent his talent to include The Kid, Kiss The Girls, The American President, Forget Paris, City Slickers II, The Net, That¹s Entertainment III, North, I¹d Do Anything, and Stuart Saves His Family. Blank's music can be heard on the animated feature films, Cats Don't Dance and All Dogs Go To Heaven as well as the 101 Dalmations Christmas Special.
Mr. Blank's television work includes orchestrating and composing music for several of the Grammy Awards and Academy Award shows as well as numerous television movies and shows.
Mr. Blank has guest conducted most of the orchestras throughout the world, including The San Francisco Symphony, The New York Philharmonic, Western Australia Symphony Orchestra, The Los Angeles Philharmonic, Palm Beach Pops, Auckland Symphony, The National Symphony Orchestra, The Boston Pops, The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Symphony, New Orleans Symphony and Toronto
Michael Feinstein has built a dazzling career over the last three decades bringing the music of the Great American songbook to the world. From recordings that have earned him five Grammy Award nominations to his Emmy nominated PBS-TV specials, his acclaimed NPR series and concerts spanning the globe - in addition to his appearances at iconic venues such as The White House, Buckingham Palace, Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall and Sydney Opera House - his work as an educator and archivist define Feinstein as one of the most important musical forces of our time.
In 2007, he founded the Great American Songbook Foundation, dedicated to celebrating the art form and preserving it through educational programs, Master Classes, and the annual High School Songbook Academy. This summer intensive open to students from across the country has produced graduates who have gone on to record acclaimed albums and appear on television programs such as NBC's "America's Got Talent." Michael serves on the Library of Congress' National Recording Preservation Board, an organization dedicated to ensuring the survival, conservation and increased public availability of America's sound recording heritage.The most recent album from his multi-platinum recording career is A Michael Feinstein Christmas from Concord Records. The CD features Grammy Award -winning jazz pianist Alan Broadbent (Paul McCartney, Diana Krall, Natalie Cole). Feinstein earned his fifth Grammy Award nomination in 2009 for The Sinatra Project, his CD celebrating the music of "Ol' Blue Eyes." The Sinatra Project, Volume II: The Good Life was released in 2011. He released the CDs The Power Of Two - collaborating with "Glee" and "30 Rock" star Cheyenne Jackson - and Cheek To Cheek, recorded with Broadway legend Barbara Cook. For Feinstein's CD We Dreamed These Days, he co-wrote the title song with Dr. Maya Angelou.
His Emmy Award-nominated TV special Michael Feinstein - The Sinatra Legacy, which was taped live at the Palladium in Carmel, IN, aired across the country in 2011. The PBS series "Michael Feinstein's American Songbook," the recipient of the ASCAP Deems-Taylor Television Broadcast Award, was broadcast for three seasons and is available on DVD. His most recent primetime PBS-TV Special, "New Year's Eve at The Rainbow Room" - written and directed by "Desperate Housewives" creator Marc Cherry - aired in 2014. For his nationally syndicated public radio program "Song Travels," Michael interviews and performs alongside of music luminaries such as Bette Midler, Neil Sedaka, Liza Minnelli, Rickie Lee Jones, David Hyde Pierce and more.
Feinstein was named Principal Pops Conductor for the Pasadena Symphony in 2012 and made his conducting debut in June 2013 to celebrated critical acclaim. Under Feinstein's leadership, the Pasadena Pops has quickly become a premier orchestral presenter of the Great American Songbook with definitive performances of rare orchestrations and classic arrangements. He launched an additional Pops series at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in Palm Beach, Florida in 2014.
Michael's book The Gershwins and Me - the Los Angeles Times best-seller from Simon & Schuster - features a new CD of Gershwin standards performed with Cyrus Chestnut at the piano.
Feinstein serves as Artistic Director of the Palladium Center for the Performing Arts, a $170 million, three-theatre venue in Carmel, Indiana, which opened in January 2011. The theater is home to diverse live programming and a museum for his rare memorabilia and manuscripts. Since 1999, he has served as Artistic Director for Carnegie Hall's "Standard Time with Michael Feinstein" in conjunction with ASCAP. In 2010 he became the director of the Jazz and Popular Song Series at New York's Jazz at Lincoln Center.
Feinstein's at the Nikko, Michael's nightclub at San Francisco's Nikko Hotel, has presented the top talents of pop and jazz since 2013. He debuted at Feinstein's/54 Below, his new club in New York, late in 2015. His first venue in New York, Feinstein's at the Regency, featured major entertainers such as Rosemary Clooney, Glen Campbell, Barbara Cook, Diahann Carroll, Jane Krakowski, Lea Michele, Cyndi Lauper, Jason Mraz and Alan Cumming from 1999 to 2012.
He has designed a new piano for Steinway called "The First Ladies," inspired by the White House piano and signed by several former First Ladies. It was first played to commemorate the Ronald Regan centennial on February 6, 2011.
In 2013 Michael released Change Of Heart: The Songs of Andre Previn in collaboration with four time Oscar and eleven time Grammy Award-winning composer-conductor-pianist Andre Previn. The album celebrates Previn's pop songs and motion picture classics. Earlier album highlights include Hopeless Romantics, a songbook of classics by Michael's late friend Harry Warren, recording with legendary jazz pianist George Shearing. His album with songwriting icon Jimmy Webb, Only One Life - The Songs of Jimmy Webb, was named one of "10 Best CDs of the Year" by USA Today.
Feinstein received his fourth Grammy nomination for Michael Feinstein with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, his first recording with a symphony orchestra. The year before, Rhino/Elektra Music released The Michael Feinstein Anthology, a two-disc compilation spanning 1987 to 1996 and featuring old favorites and previously-unreleased tracks.
Michael was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, where he started playing piano by ear as a 5-year-old. After graduating from high school, he moved to Los Angeles when he was 20. The widow of legendary concert pianist-actor Oscar Levant introduced him to Ira Gershwin in July 1977. Feinstein became Gershwin's assistant for six years, which earned him access to numerous unpublished Gershwin songs, many of which he has since performed and recorded.
Gershwin's influence provided a solid base upon which Feinstein evolved into a captivating performer, composer and arranger of his own original music. He also has become an unparalleled interpreter of music legends such as Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer, Duke Ellington and Harry Warren. Feinstein has received three honorary doctorates.
Through his live performances, recordings, film and television appearances, and his songwriting (in collaboration with Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Lindy Robbins, Bob Merrill and Marshall Barer), Feinstein is an all-star force in American music.
For more information, visit www.MichaelFeinstein.com.
Jordan Donica is currently starring as Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson in the national tour of Hamilton. A native of Indianapolis, Indiana, Jordan just completed a run starring as the leading man, Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny, in the historic Broadway production of The Phantom of the Opera.
Jordan is a recent graduate of Otterbein University, where he graduated with a BFA in Musical Theatre Cum Laude. While at Otterbein, Jordan was seen as Valjean in Les Mis, JP Finch in How to Succeed..., Algernon Moncrieff in The Importance of Being Earnest, the Wolf/Cinderella's Prince in Into the Woods, and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing. Jordan also directed the 2015 Festival Play Little Prints, a new student work that he is currently working on with playwright Anna Mulhall. Regional Credits include: Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar (Weathervane Playhouse), Ensemble in South Pacific (Utah Shakespeare Festival), Featured Performer in The Greenshow (USF), Captain/Hennessy in Dames at Sea (Otterbein Summer Theatre), and Romeo in Romeo and Juliet (Noblesville Shakespeare in the Park, Indianapolis Mitty Most Impressive Actor award 2013) . Jordan's Film credits include Coda: An Independent Film by Abe Purvis. Family is everything to Jordan, because without the "Little Village" of women who raised him, he would not be where he is today. "Every day is a gift"
Hailing from League City, Texas, Madelyn Baillio served as the 2014 Songbook Youth Ambassador. A sophomore at Marymount Manhattan College in New York City, she recently starred as Dracula in Dracula, the Musical and Winnifred in Once upon a Mattress at the York Theatre.
This past year Madelyn performed to capacity audiences at venues such as the Kennedy Center, the Grand 1894 Opera House, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Birdland Jazz Club with Michael Feinstein. She also appeared on Hairspray Live! in 2016.
Mueller started her career in Chicago and won a Joseph Jefferson Award in 2008 for her role as Carrie Pipperidge in Carousel. In 2011, she moved her talents to New York City to star in the Broadway revival of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. She starred in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical as Carole King, a performance for which she won the 2014 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.
Jessie Mueller received a 2016 Tony nod for her current role as Jenna in the Sara Bareilles-scored Waitress.. She also earned a Tony nom for On a Clear Day You Can See Forever opposite Harry Connick Jr. and appeared on Broadway in Nice Work If You Can Get It and The Mystery of Edwin Drood.
Mueller was born and raised in Evanston, Illinois, the daughter of actors Jill and Roger Mueller. Her two brothers Andrew and Matt along with sister Abby are all actors known for their work in the Chicago theatre community. Mueller is Lutheran. She graduated from Evanston Township High School in 2001 and from Syracuse University in 2005.
After graduation, Mueller returned to Chicago and acted for the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, traveling in 2006 to England to perform at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon as Lady Mortimer in Henry IV. She followed this with various roles in the Chicago area including Lizzie Fields in Baby, Once Upon a Mattress as the Lady-In Waiting, and Esther in Meet Me in St. Louis. At the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, Illinois, she performed roles in Shout! The Mod Musical, Shenandoah, Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls, and Tzeitel in Fiddler on the Roof. In 2009 performed in two musicals at the Goodman Theatre, Animal Crackers as Grace/Mary and A Christmas Carol as Belle/Catherine.
ABOUT THE PASADENA SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION
Formed in 1928, the Pasadena Symphony and POPS is an ensemble of Hollywood's most talented, sought after musicians. With extensive credits in the film, television, recording and orchestral industry, the artists of Pasadena Symphony and POPS are the most heard in the world.
The Pasadena Symphony and POPS performs in two of the most extraordinary venues in the United States: Ambassador Auditorium, known as the Carnegie Hall of the West, and the luxuriant Los Angeles Arboretum & Botanic Garden. Internationally recognized, Grammy-nominated conductor, David Lockington, serves as the Pasadena Symphony Association's Music Director, with performance-practice specialist Nicholas McGegan serving as Principal Guest Conductor. The multi-platinum-selling, two-time Emmy and five-time Grammy Award-nominated entertainer dubbed "The Ambassador of the Great American Songbook," Michael Feinstein, is the Principal Pops Conductor, who succeeded Marvin Hamlisch in the newly created Marvin Hamlisch Chair.
A hallmark of its robust education programs, the Pasadena Symphony Association has served the youth of the region for over five decades through the Pasadena Youth Symphony Orchestras (PYSO) comprised of five performing ensembles, with over 250 gifted 4th-12th grade students from more than 50 schools all over the Southern California region. The PYSO Symphony often performs on the popular television show GLEE.
The PSA provides people from all walks of life with powerful access points to the world of symphonic music.
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