GMCLA Celebrates Women's History Month With Diane Warren at I'M WITH HER

Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles will celebrate Women's History Month with I'm with Her featuring Special Guest Artist, Tony Award nominee Mary Bridget Davies (Broadway's and Pasadena Playhouse's A Night with Janis Joplin). GMCLA's Music Director & Conductor Ernest H. Harrison conducts the second concert of GMCLA's Season 44. I'm with Her concerts will be held at Glendale's Alex Theatre on Saturday, March 25 at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, March 26 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are now on sale at GMCLA.org.

GMCLA's I'm with Her salutes the music of boundary-breaking women: Aretha, Madonna, Beyoncé, Gaga, Lizzo, Demi Lovato, Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish, Gloria Estefan, Gloria Gaynor, Big Mama Morton, Christina Aguilera, Joan Jett, Alanis Morrisette, Sarah Bareilles and Lesley Gore. Extraordinary Tony Award nominee Mary Bridget Davies of Broadway and Pasadena Playhouse's A Night with Janis Joplin returns to Southern California to perform iconic songs by the first queen of rock and roll, Janis Joplin. The exquisite Vox Femina joins the Chorus for a world premiere by Grammy Award winner Sharon Farber. Dance numbers round out this spectacular homage to women we love!

GMCLA also pays tribute to legendary songwriter and GMCLA friend and supporter Diane Warren. The concerts will feature several of Warren's hits, including If I Could Turn Back Time, Rhythm of the Night, Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now and I'll Fight. They will also honor the trailblazing, first-all women Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors: Hilda L. Solis (First District), Holly J. Mitchell (Second District), Lindsey P. Horvath (Third District), Janice Hahn(Fourth District) and Kathryn Barger (Fifth District).

"I'm with Her is as much a statement of solidarity with our sisters as it is a programming concept. From day one, GMCLA has marched, sung at rallies, and always been part of the women's movement. On the music side, we're honoring great legacies and some of our favorite music today, and we've commissioned a new choral work for the occasion. We couldn't think of doing this concert here in Los Angeles without showing our mad respect to LA's own Diane Warren, one of the GOATs in both pop music and film who is legacy, today and tomorrow! Outside of music, we'll pay tribute to the great women who head our county government - our Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors - and we are thrilled that some of them will join us for these concerts," said GMCLA Executive Director & Producer Lou Spisto.

A native of Cleveland, Ohio, where she began her career, Mary Bridget Davies went on to tour the nation in Love, Janis; It Ain't Nothin' but the Blues; and A Night with Janis Joplin, the musical in which she went on to perform both off-Broadway and on Broadway as the title character, earning her nominations for the Tony Award and Helen Hayes Award. She has also toured in Europe with Janis Joplin's original band, Big Brother and the Holding Company.

In 2023, Davies will launch a new concert series, Women of Blues, a tribute to influential women of blues ranging across Janis Joplin, Etta James, Bonnie Raitt and so much more. She will also perform new songs from her upcoming album, Freedom of My Mind, including original songs from the developing play with music A Room of One's Own, in which she will star as Virginia Woolf.

Diane Warren is one of modern music's most celebrated songwriters. She has penned nine #1 and 32 top-10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100; is tied for having written the most #1 songs as a sole writer in Billboard history; and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001. She is an Honorary Oscar recipient and 13-time Academy Award nominee, Grammy winner with 15 nominations, Emmy winner and two-time Golden Globe Award winner whose songs have been featured in more than 100 motion pictures. She is also the sole owner of her publishing company Realsongs, the most successful female-owned and -operated business in the music industry. She is the recipient of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In summer 2021, Warren released her debut album Diane Warren: The Cave Sessions, Vol. 1 (Di-Namic/BMG), which includes featured guest performances such as Jon Batiste, Carlos Santana, Rita Ora, Maren Morris, John Legend and Jimmie Allen, to name a few. She most recently wrote the original song "Applause," performed by Sofia Carson for the feature film Tell It Like a Woman.

Founded in January 1997, Vox Femina Los Angeles gives women voice through the performance of quality choral literature. Diverse in culture, age, race, belief and sexual identity, they are dedicated to commissioning new works and raising awareness about issues that affect them as a family of women. Through its music, Vox Femina seeks to create a world that affirms the worth and dignity of every person.

I'm with Her will be presented Saturday, March 25 at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, March 26 at 2:00 p.m. at the Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale, CA 91203. Tickets start at $29 and are available at GMCLA.org. For more information on visiting the Alex Theatre, visit AlexTheatre.org.

GMCLA's Season 44 will conclude with the eagerly anticipated Disney Pride in Concert on June 24, 25, 2023 at Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles. Disney's beloved songs are reimagined in a celebration of Pride. Accompanied by a 25-piece orchestra and stunning video projections, GMCLA will perform the music of iconic films like The Little Mermaid, The Lion King and Mary Poppins, as well as modern classics like Coco, Zootopia, Wreck-It Ralph and many more. The magical music of Disney Parks will round out this multimedia extravaganza. Solos and personal stories add connection to Disney's timeless and universal stories, making this a truly magicalexperience. Single tickets for Disney Pride in Concert will go on sale at a later date to be announced.

Programs and artists for GMCLA's Season 44 are subject to change.

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