- Tobin Endowment donation helps bring the gift of music to the San Antonio Independent School District - On the eve of legendary singer-songwriter Barry Manilow’s show at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, the Tobin Endowment announced a $10,000 grant to the San Antonio Independent School District Foundation to purchase musical instruments for the District. Inspired by Barry Manilow’s instrument drive for the SAISD, the Tobin Endowment’s donation will go directly to the SAISD’s Fine Arts Department, administered by Dr. John May, Executive Director of Fine Arts.
Manilow kicked off the SAISD musical instrument drive by donating a new Yamaha piano to the SAISD and encouraging the public to donate new or gently used instruments in exchange for two free tickets to his June 29th concert. "The new Tobin Center for the Performing Arts is in the heart of the SAISD," said Bruce Bugg, Chairman and Trustee of the Tobin Endowment and Chairman of the Bexar County Performing Arts Center Board of Directors. "Education is a major component of the Tobin Center, a place where our school children can receive specialized education opportunities and exposure to extraordinary performances. Mr. Manilow’s passionate commitment to music education is inspiring, and we are pleased to make this donation at a time when the San Antonio public is participating in his musical instrument drive."
SAISD Foundation Chair Carri Baker Wells noted the importance of arts and music education with regard to improving student achievement. "We know from our data that SAISD students involved in the arts have higher test scores and graduation rates. As 93% of our students are economically disadvantaged, we are grateful to the community for donating gently-used instruments and to The Tobin Endowment for funding new ones. Student interest in the arts is on the rise, and we will be ready to offer them new instruments made possible by our community partners and the Manilow Music Project." (La Prensa [San Antonio], 6/29/2013)
http://www.laprensasa.com/301_c-o-m-u-n-i-d-a-d/2114551_
tobin-endowment-donation-helps-bring-the-gift-of-music-
to-the-san-antonio-independent-school-district.html
- Wayne Alan Wilcox, Tony Yazbeck & Leigh Ann Larkin to Lead Barry Manilow's HARMONY at Alliance Theatre in September! - Atlanta's Tony Award winning ALLIANCE THEATRE is pleased to announce the cast and creative team behind its upcoming production, HARMONY - A NEW MUSICAL, with music by Barry Manilow and book & lyrics by Bruce Sussman. HARMONY tells the true story of The Comedian Harmonists, a close harmony ensemble of six young men in 1930s Germany, who took the world by storm until their religious composition - a mixture of Jews and Gentiles - put them on a collision course with history. HARMONY is a co-production with Center Theatre Group.
HARMONY is directed by Drama Desk Award nominee Tony Speciale (Classic Stage Company: Unnatural Acts, A Midsummer Night's Dream). "HARMONY is about a group of young men who came together during a terrifying time in history to create something exquisite. Their heartbreaking and untold story was the impetus for Barry and Bruce to write HARMONY, and it's what compelled me to work on this important project," said Speciale. "Together the authors have woven an intricate and epic piece of music theatre about memory, collaboration, hope, brotherhood, survival and redemption. HARMONY is a celebration of these six brilliant men and an inspiring reminder of the human capacity to make great art, even in our darkest hours."
When Manilow and Sussman began working on HARMONY, Roman "Rabbi" Cykowski was the only surviving member of The Comedian Harmonists, and was able to talk with them about his life and experiences with the group before passing away in 1998. His memories, plus available historical information, provide the basis for the musical. The character of Rabbi, who also acts as narrator for the story, will be played by Wayne Alan Wilcox. Wilcox's Broadway credits include Chaplin andThe Normal Heart. Wilcox also playEd Gordon in the film version of Rent and had a recurring role on the popular TV series The Gilmore Girls. Also joining the cast in principal roles - Tony Yazbeck (Irving Berlin's White Christmas, Gypsy) as Harry; Douglas Williams as Bobby; Chris Dwan (Off-Broadway:The Old Boy, Peter & I) as Erich; Will Taylor (A Chorus Line) as Chopin; Will Blum (The Book of Mormon) as Lesh; Leigh Ann Larkin (A Little Night Music, Gypsy) as Mary; and Hannah Corneau as Ruth.
The ensemble for HARMONY consists of eleven actors who must play over thirty roles including historical figures like Marlene Dietrich, Albert Einstein, and Richard Strauss - all of whom the Comedian Harmonists really knew. Members of the ensemble include Shayne Kennon, Patrick O'Neill, Greg Kamp, Charles Osborne, Bryan Thomas Hunt, Chad Lindsey, Brandon O'Dell, Lauren Elaine Taylor, Kim Sava, Lindsay Moore, and Liberty Cogen. "We are both thrilled by the stunningly talented cast and design team who will be joining us for this production of HARMONY," said creators Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman. "Given Tony Speciale's fresh and blazingly theatrical vision for the piece, we now have every reason to believe this will be the HARMONY we've always hoped to see."
Members of the HARMONY creative team include Set & Costume Designer Tobin Ost (Jekyll & Hyde Revival, Newsies The Musical); Projection Designer Darrel Maloney (American Idiot); LX Designer Jeff Croiter (Jekyll & Hyde Revival, The Anarchist), winner of the 2012 Tony Award for Best Lighting Design of a Play for his work on Peter and the Starcatcher; and Choreographer JoAnn M. Hunter (On a Clear Day You Can See Forever). (Broadway World, 6/27/2013)
http://broadwayworld.com/article/Wayne-Alan-Wilcox-Tony-Yazbeck-Leigh-Ann-Larkin-
to-Lead-Barry-Manilows-HARMONY-at-Alliance-Theatre-in-September-20130627
- Wayne Alan Wilcox, Tony Yazbeck, Will Blum, Leigh Ann Larkin Cast in Barry Manilow's Harmony Musical - Wayne Alan Wilcox, who was last seen on Broadway in Chaplin, will lead the cast of Harmony – A New Musical, featuring music by Barry Manilow and book and lyrics by Bruce Sussman. The co-production between Atlanta's Tony-winning Alliance Theatre and Center Theatre Group will begin performances Sept. 6 at the Alliance. Directed by Drama Desk Award nominee Tony Speciale (Classic Stage Company's Unnatural Acts, A Midsummer Night’s Dream), performances will continue through Oct. 6.
"Harmony is about a group of young men who came together during a terrifying time in history to create something exquisite," said director Speciale in a statement. "Their heartbreaking and untold story was the impetus for Barry and Bruce to write Harmony, and it's what compelled me to work on this important project. Together the authors have woven an intricate and epic piece of music theatre about memory, collaboration, hope, brotherhood, survival and redemption. Harmony is a celebration of these six brilliant men and an inspiring reminder of the human capacity to make great art, even in our darkest hours."
Wilcox (Chaplin, The Normal Heart) will play Roman "Rabbi" Cykowski, who was the only surviving member of The Comedian Harmonists when Manilow and Sussman began working on the project. He died in 1998. His memories, plus available historical information, provide the basis for the musical. Joining Wilcox, whose character also acts as the narrator for the story, are Tony Yazbeck (Irving Berlin's White Christmas, Gypsy) as Harry, Douglas Williams as Bobby, Chris Dwan (Off-Broadway's The Old Boy, Peter & I) as Erich, Will Taylor (A Chorus Line) as Chopin, Will Blum (The Book of Mormon) as Lesh, Leigh Ann Larkin (A Little Night Music, Gypsy) as Mary and Hannah Corneau as Ruth.
The ensemble for Harmony consists of 11 actors who play over 30 roles, including historical figures like Marlene Dietrich, Albert Einstein and Richard Strauss. They are Shayne Kennon, Patrick O’Neill, Greg Kamp, Charles Osborne, Bryan Thomas Hunt, Chad Lindsey, Brandon O’Dell, Lauren Elaine Taylor, Kim Sava, Lindsay Moore and Liberty Cogen. "We are both thrilled by the stunningly talented cast and design team who will be joining us for this production of Harmony," said creators Manilow and Sussman in a statement. "Given Tony Speciale's fresh and blazingly theatrical vision for the piece, we now have every reason to believe this will be the Harmony we've always hoped to see."
Harmony, according to the Alliance, "tells the true story of The Comedian Harmonists, a close harmony ensemble of six young men in 1930s Germany, who took the world by storm until their religious composition – a mixture of Jews and Gentiles – put them on a collision course with history." Other members of the creative team include set and costume designer Tobin Ost, projection designer Darrel Maloney, LX designer Jeff Croiter, choreographer JoAnn M. Hunter, music director Patrick Vaccariello, assistant music director John O'Neill, orchestrator Doug Walter, sound designer John Shivers and copyist Howard Begun.
For more information and tickets, visit call (404) 733-5000 or visit AllianceTheatre.org/Harmony. (Playbill.com, 6/27/2013)
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/179589-Wayne-Alan-Wilcox-
Tony-Yazbeck-Will-Blum-Leigh-Ann-Larkin-Cast-in-Barry-Manilows-Harmony-Musical
- Tony Yazbeck, Wayne Alan Wilcox & Leigh Ann Larkin Set for Barry Manilow Musical Harmony in Atlanta - Tony Yazbeck, Wayne Alan Wilcox and Leigh Ann Larkin are set to lead the principal cast of the Barry Manilow-penned musical Harmony, which will run this fall from September 6 through October 6 at the Tony-winning Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. Harmony features music by Manilow, book and lyrics by Bruce Sussman and direction by Tony Speciale.
The musical tells the story of the Comedian Harmonists, a group of young men in 1920s Germany who formed one of the world’s first boy bands and rose to superstardom around the globe. Wilcox will play Rabbi, the show’s narrator, alongside Yazbeck as Harry, Larkin as Mary, Douglas Williams as Bobby, Chris Dwan as Erich, Will Taylor as Chopin, Will Blum as Lesh and Hannah Corneau as Ruth.
The ensemble includes 11 actors playing over thirty roles including historical figures like Marlene Dietrich and Albert Einstein. The ensemble includes Shayne Kennon, Patrick O’Neill, Greg Kamp, Charles Osborne, Bryan Thomas Hunt, Chad Lindsey, Brandon O’Dell, Lauren Elaine Taylor, Kim Sava, Lindsay Moore and Liberty Cogen. The production’s creative team includes set and costume designer Tobin Ost, projection designer Darrel Maloney, lighting designer Jeff Croiter, musical director Patrick Vaccariello, sound designer John Shivers (a 2013 Tony winner for Kinky Boots) and choreographer JoAnn M. Hunter.
Harmony has had a long history on the stage, including a world premiere at the La Jolla Playhouse in 1997 (starring Danny Burstein, Rebecca Luker and Patrick Wilson) and a planned 2003 try-out in Philadelphia (which was later scrapped). Harmony is set to play Los Angeles’ Ahmanson Theatre in March 2014. (Broadway.com, 6/27/2013)
http://www.broadway.com/buzz/170407/tony-yazbeck-wayne-alan-wilcox-
leigh-ann-larkin-set-for-barry-manilow-musical-harmony-in-atlanta/
- Explore Colorado: Red Rocks - From Widespread Panic to Barry Manilow the concert calendar at Red Rocks is filled with big names in music. Some like Robert Plant and Willie Nelson have performed at Red Rocks for decades. It is a legendary place for musicians to perform. Acoustically, Red Rocks is near perfect because of the red sandstone. Rolling Stone Magazine recently named it the best amphitheater in the country. Some of the rocks in the dramatic sandstone monoliths are 250 million years old. You can learn about the geology of Red Rocks and see lists of who has performed there in the Visitor Center. It is free. The amphitheater sits at an elevation of 6,450 feet and has a seating capacity of 9,450. Red Rocks Amphitheater opened on June 15, 1941. But the earliest concerts were opera in the early 1900s. Red Rocks Mountain Park is 640 acres and is filled with great hiking and mountain biking trails. For those who brave the heart pounding experience of working out at Red Rocks, the amphitheater is open most days. In addition to concerts, Red Rocks also hosts Easter Sunrise Service, graduations, special events, and Film on the Rocks. It is the 25th Anniversary of Film on the Rocks this season. Behind-the-scenes, there are some unusual features like the dressing rooms built around the rocks and there is a tunnel where musicians can sign their name in a living autograph history of who has performed at Red Rocks. (KDVR, 6/27/2013)
http://kdvr.com/2013/06/27/explore-colorado-red-rocks/
- Key summer concert you can’t miss... #1 - June 29 // BARRY MANILOW - After the originally scheduled May 18 show was cancelled due to Manilow’s bronchitis, the "Copacabana" icon returns to San Antonio. Tickets bought for the May show will be honored, and instrument donations are still being accepted for the Manilow Music Project. $15-$125, 7:30pm, AT&T Center, 1 AT&T Center, (210) 444-5140, attcenter.com... (San Antonio Current, 6/26/2013)
http://sacurrent.com/music/seven-key-summer-concerts-you-can-t-miss-1.1510314
- Barry Manilow At the Orpheum Caps Off A Successful Sioux City Events Season - Get your tickets, Mr. Barry Manilow is in the house. Folks across Siouxland rushed to the Orpheum Friday night to see the big man himself. "Me and him, like I said, we're committed; he just doesn't know it yet," said fan Jessica Ruthart of Lehigh, Iowa. "I've seen him about ten times, maybe more!" added Deb Tjelta of Ankeny. Manilow's show ended another successful Sioux City events season. Over the fiscal year, a quarter of a million people visited the Tyson Events Center in sold out shows like Luke Bryan and Eric Church earning the Tyson some top honors. With other event centers moving into the area, like the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, Sioux City plans to still stay competitive with some good shows this upcoming season. "I think with even competition with Omaha and even Sioux Falls, I really think they've brought in some really great acts all across the board," said Shelley Erwin of Sioux City. Acts just like Mr. Manilow that could keep people coming back next season. (KCAU-TV, 6/21/2013)
http://www.kcautv.com/story/22659412/barry-manilow-rocks-the
- Sioux City Community Schools have a music instrument drive - The school district is hosting a Music Instrument Drive. The Tyson Event Center Box Office has served as a drop off site for the instruments during the drive which began June 11th. Donors get 2 free tickets to Barry Manilow's concert, in Sioux City, on Friday night. Manilow himself helped to kick off the Instrument Drive by donating a brand new Yamaha Piano. As a former music instructor, Superintendent Paul Gausman says he looks forward to the opportunities these instruments will provide to the students. "When we have a drive like this one, what this does is it gets an instrument into the hands of a student who otherwise could not afford one, and I think that's a real benefit for our families in Sioux City. This increases our inventory of instruments, so that fewer students would need to bring their own from home," said Dr. Paul Gausman, Superintendent of the Sioux City Community School District. Box Office officials say nearly 30 instruments have already been collected. The Tyson will continue to collect used instruments through June 21st. (KTIV, 6/18/2013)
http://www.ktiv.com/story/22626812/2013/06/18/sioux-city-community-schools-have-a-music-instrument-drive
- Happy Birthday, Barry Manilow - Special Tony Award recipient Barry Manilow, who was most recently seen on Broadway in his solo concert Manilow On Broadway, celebrates his birthday June 17. Playbill.com takes a look at clips of Manilow singing show tunes and alongside Broadway stars. The Grammy Award winner has been seen on Broadway in 1976 with Barry Manilow on Broadway and in 1989 with Barry Manilow at the Gershwin. Here are clips from his Broadway appearances plus live performances of tunes from his "Showstoppers" album and more. Happy birthday, Barry! (Playbill.com, 6/17/2013)
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/179223-THE-SCREENING-ROOM-Happy-Birthday-Barry-Manilow-Video
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