Segerstrom Center for the Arts Welcomes Maureen McGovern & Jimmy Webb, Now thru 4/13

A dream cabaret pairing comes to Segerstrom Center for the Arts when Grammy® Award-winning artist Jimmy Webb and Grammy and Drama Desk-nominated vocalist Maureen McGovern perform three concerts in their Cabaret Series debuts today, April 11 - 13 in Samueli Theater. This will also be Webb's Center debut, while McGovern appeared at the Center during the 2004 - 2005 Broadway Series as Marmee in the national tour of Little Women. The New York Times proclaims McGovern as "blessed with a vocal technique second to none" and says that Webb is "at the top of his game."

McGovern opens the show with a musical memoir, A Long and Winding Road: The Concert, performing cherished songs such as "The Times, They Are A-Changin," "And, When I Die," "The Circle Game" and "Let It Be" with accompaniment by musical director Jeff Harris on piano. During her performance, McGovern will take audiences on a journey back to the 1960s and 1970s with classic hits from the era's iconic singers and songwriters, including Webb, Carole King, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Laura Nyro, Paul Simon, Paul McCartney and more. Audiences will instantly recognize Webb's extensive music catalogue, which includes "Wichita Lineman," ""All I Know," "The Highwayman," "Up, Up and Away" and many more. Having worked with some of music's greats (Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley), audiences will be delighted when Webb shares stories from his career.

Tickets for Jimmy Webb and Maureen McGovern start at $79 and are now available online at SCFTA.org, at the Box Office at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa or by calling (714) 556-2787. For inquiries about group ticket savings for 10 or more, call the Group Services office at (714) 755-0236. The TTY number is (714) 556-2746.

The critical acclaim composer Jimmy Webb has received during his more than 40 years of success is as remarkable as the accomplishments they honor. He is a member of the National Academy of Popular Music Songwriter's Hall of Fame, the Nashville Songwriter's Hall of Fame, and, according to BMI, his "By The Time I Get To Phoenix," has been the third most performed song from the '60s until 1990, with "Up, Up and Away" on the same list in the top thirty. Webb's "Wichita Lineman" was listed in MOJO Magazine's worldwide survey of the best one hundred singles of all time in the top fifty and was singled out in the October/November 2001 issue of Blender as "The Greatest Song Ever." In 2013, singer/songwriter James Taylor received a Grammy nomination as "Best Male Pop Vocal" for his rendition of the song.

TIME magazine was early to acknowledge Webb's range and proficiency back in 1968 when it referred to his astonishing string of hits and commented on "Webb's gift for strong, varied rhythms, inventive structures, and rich, sometimes surprising harmonies." The National Academy of Songwriters named Webb as the 1993 recipient of its Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1999, he was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame as one of the state's most celebrated sons. He was inducted onto the board of directors for The Songwriters' Hall of Fame in 2000, and currently serves on the board of directors for ASCAP. In 2011, Webb was unanimously elected as chairman of The Songwriters Hall of Fame, replacing Hal David's ten year tenure in the same position.

Celebrated as "The Stradivarius Voice," Maureen McGovern marks the 40th anniversary of the release of her No. 1 Oscar®-winning InternationAl Gold Record, "The Morning After" from The Poseidon Adventure, which earned a Grammy nomination for her in 1973 for Best New Artist.

McGovern received her second Grammy nomination in 1998 for Best Traditional Pop Vocal for her solo piano/voice album, The Pleasure of His Company, with Emmy-winning, Grammy-nominated jazz pianist, Mike Renzi. She was also a featured guest artist on the Grammy Award-winning Songs from the Neighborhood: The Music of Mister Rogers. Other hits include, "Can You Read My Mind" from Superman, the Oscar-winning "We May Never Love Like This Again" from The Towering Inferno and "Different Worlds" from the TV series Angie. Her many critically acclaimed recordings include tributes to George Gershwin, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Harold Arlen and Richard Rodgers. Her current PS Classics CD, A Long and Winding Road was praised by The New York Times as "A captivating musical scrapbook from the 1960s to the early '70s. Ms. McGovern's vocal technique is second to none."

For 34 years, McGovern has served the Muscular Dystrophy Association as a volunteer, performer, vice president, board member, chairperson of the record breaking Shamrocks Against Dystrophy Campaign and NYC Telethon co-host for six years. She supports music therapy and has been an artist spokesperson for the American Music Therapy Association since 2001.

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