Latest news with #Kander
Elle
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Elle
Jennifer Lopez Wears Two Glamorous Gowns for One Night Out in New York City
On Monday night, Jennifer Lopez stepped out in not one but two glamorous looks to celebrate Kiss of the Spider Woman composer John Kander's 98th birthday. Lopez began her evening attending a benefit concert for Kander at New York City's Stephen Sondheim Theatre. The multi-hyphenate wore a spring-inspired peach gown with feathered accents and a rhinestone clutch. She opted for a classic middle part with straight hair. She changed outfits for the event's after-party at Bryant Park Grill, choosing a sleek, high-neck white gown, which she paired with bold jewelry. She switched up her hair too, wearing a slicked-back style. The night celebrated Kander and his extensive oeuvre, which includes the music for Chicago and Cabaret. Lopez is starring in a film adaptation of Broadway's Kiss of the Spider Woman, which he also worked on. The Bill Condon-directed musical premiered at Sundance earlier this year and will be released in October. The actress posted photos of her peach gown on Instagram with the caption, '💋🕷️,' nodding to the film's title. In an interview with Variety, Lopez expressed how much she's always wanted to star in a musical. 'I was waiting my whole life to be able to do a real big MGM Hollywood musical, and I finally got to do it,' she said. She continued, 'I got into movies because of West Side Story. I thought I was going to do Broadway. I wanted to do musicals. I love musicals. My kids love musicals. My mother did. It was a dream fulfilled in having done the movie.' Lopez is also gearing up for a busy week ahead. On May 26, she is set to host this year's American Music Awards. It'll be the first time she's hosted since 2015.
Forbes
22-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Recording Artist Karen Mason Returns To Birdland In New Cabaret Show
Broadway, concert and recording artist Karen Mason will return to Birdland in New York on March 24 in a new show 'Karen's Back…at Birdland!' NEW YORK - MAY 18: Karen Mason attends the 23rd Annual Mac Awards at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill on May 18, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Brian Killian/WireImage) Birdland said, 'Only six days from her birthday, this Aries has always been driven by her passions and her heart! Sassy, brassy, and tinged with confessional monologues, and songs from some of her favorite writers, Karen will share her love of music, and her love of storytelling. Direction by Barry Kleinbort and Musical Direction by Christopher Denny on piano, and Ritt Henn on bass. On Broadway, Mason starred as the Queen of Hearts in Wonderland and originated the role of Tanya in Abba's Mamma Mia! She also won the Outer Critics Circle Award for her performance in And the World Goes 'Round, and starred Off-Broadway in her own show Karen Mason Sings Broadway, Beates and Brian. As a cabaret singer, Mson has headlined at Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Birdland, 54 Below, Feinstein's at the Regency, Rainbow and Stars, the Algonquin, the Plush Room in San Francisco; and Davenport's in Chicago, among many others. In her latest album, released last fall, Karen Mason And All That Jazz!, she explores the beloved songbook of John Kander and Fred Ebb, the Grammy, Emmy and Tony Award-winning team behind the Broadway musicals Cabaret; Chicago and New York, New York. In the album, Mason puts her unique spin on classics like 'All That Jazz,' 'Maybe This Time' and 'A Quiet Thing,' the album also delves into less often performed shows such as The Visit ('Love and Love Alone'), The Scottsboro Boys ('Go Back Home'), and The Happy Time ('The Life of the Party'). One highlight is 'My Coloring Book,' a Kander and Ebb work not taken from the musical theater; it was previously recorded by Barbra Streisand, Sandy Stewart and Kitty Kallen. Mason first worked with Kander and Ebb when she starred in Off-Broadway's And the World Goes 'Round, a revue celebrating their collaboration, created by director Scott Ellis, choreographer Susan Stroman and librettist David Thompson. On this album, she revisits the song 'Colored Lights,' originally introduced in the musical The Rink in 1984. Her new recording of the number retains the thrilling voice but clearly evokes how her interpretation has deepened in the intervening years. 'I have always loved Kander and Ebb's music,' said Mason. 'When I was first getting interested in theater, I learned that most female roles were sopranos. But when I heard the cast album from Cabaret, I discovered females singing in my vocal range. And it opened up the world to me! So my connection with Kander and Ebb started very early, and they further enriched my life when I got cast in And the World Goes 'Round.' In an interview with Mason said she would perform 'a little bit of everything' at Birdland, and that she would repeat the show at Crazy Coqs, a cabaret in London, next month. She also said she is currently writing a piece about her relationship with her late music director, Brian Lasser, who died in 1992 of AIDS.
