NEW CD
"A Long and
Winding Road "
on
PS Classics

ORDER YOURS TODAY
at
www.amazon.com
or
www.maureenmcgovern.com



May • 2008
  

DIVA TALK:
FOR THE RECORD: Maureen McGovern's
"A Long and Winding Road"

By Andrew Gans
Playbill
09 May 2008

Maureen McGovern, the award-winning artist last on Broadway in the musical version of Little Women, boasts a voice that is perfectly suited to the recording studio. That singular voice is equally well-suited to the cabaret and concert arena as well as the Broadway stage. Simply put, Maureen McGovern possesses a beautiful voice: In fact, some of her rich tones are so beautiful that the sound alone can move a listener to tears.

In the past decade or two, McGovern has mostly steered clear of her pop roots ’Äî she was a 1973 Grammy nominee for Best New Artist for "The Morning After" ’Äî to focus on the songs of the Great American Songbook, and she has done so thrillingly. Whether interpreting the works of the Gershwins or Rodgers and Hart or Stephen Sondheim, McGovern has applied her skills as a superior vocalist and a dedicated actress to a mix of standards and rarely-heard gems from the composers whose roots lie in Tin Pan Alley and/or the Broadway stage.

McGovern now returns to more mainstream fare on her latest solo recording, the superb "A Long and Winding Road" ’Äî based on her acclaimed concert act of the same name which is currently available on the PS Classics label. The singing actress lends her voice to a mix of tunes penned by the singer-songwriters of the sixties and seventies ’Äî Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Jimmy Webb, Laura Nyro, the Beatles and more ’Äî whose words inspired a changing nation and world. And, once again McGovern proves a versatile artist, equally at home with these pop composers as she is with the likes of Cole Porter and Irving Berlin. It should come as no surprise, since McGovern, who possesses exquisite vocal control, has always added highly enjoyable pop twists in her singing ’Äî a gentle riff here, a jazzy slide there (just listen to the vocal flair she brings to Lennon's "Let it Be" or the hauntingly pure sounds she creates on "The Coming of the Roads").

McGovern begins her recital with just a touch of Joni Mitchell's "All I Want" that blends seamlessly into Paul Simon's "America." She delivers a forceful "The Times They Are a-Changin'" that brims with urgency. And, her slowed-down, thoughtful rendition of Joni Mitchell's "The Circle Game" is flawless ’Äî she completely brings to vivid life this tale of a young girl's inevitable ascent to womanhood and what is gained and lost in the process.

Other highlights include a gorgeous, full-voiced reading of Carole King and Gerry Goffin's "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?"; a moving version of James Taylor's "Fire and Rain" that mines the song for all its emotional depth; a wonderful pairing of Taylor's "Shed a Little Light" and Gil Turner's "Carry It On"; three Jimmy Webb tunes ’Äî "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "MacArthur Park" and "The Moon's a Harsh Mistress" ’Äî that explore the pain of lost love; and an excitingly belty version of Laura Nyro's "And When I Die."

McGovern also has fun with Lennon and McCartney's story-song, "Rocky Raccoon," and she leaves the listener "Feelin' Groovy" after her rendition of Paul Simon's "The 59th Street Bridge Song."

Musical director Jeff Harris penned the disc's terrific arrangements, and McGovern is accompanied by a host of musicians, including Harris on piano and Jay Leonhart on bass.

"A Long and Winding Road," which concludes with that John Lennon/Paul McCartney ballad, is one of the great vocal recordings of the year.

Tuesday, May 6, the Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs (MAC) presents its annual awards show, open to the public. CDs have recently been issued by artists nominated for their live performances, and there's a just-released recording by the person getting a very special MAC Award, Maureen McGovern.

MAUREEN McGOVERN
A LONG AND WINDING ROAD
(PS Classics)

"A Triumph"


SOUND ADVICE by Rob Lester
talkinbroadway.com

Maureen McGovern's Lifetime Achievement Award from MAC comes just a week after a truly outstanding achievement in her lifetime comes into the marketplace: her CD, A Long and Winding Road. Always a polished and dynamic vocalist, an increasing depth and wisdom have radiated through her work in recent years. Masterful Maureen brings an adult elegance and grace to the songs from writers and artists who made them famous when they (and seemingly the world) were quite young. Generous in spirit as well as time (18 tracks; just under an hour), this is a rich and moving experience that is very emotional without ever feeling calculated or dependent on just memory-tugging. Call it nostalgia with a brain.

Maureen's own long and winding road seems to have been a circular one - her career began when she sang folk and pop songs in the late 1960s, and here she is back where she began, with music mostly from that period: the Beatles, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, etc. Though many of the songs are monster hits, part of the fabric of American music and milestones of an era - hit records burned into the brains of many listeners - these renditions are not redundant or sentimentalized. Maureen and arranger/pianist Jeff Harris treat the songs with tremendous care and affection - and something called perspective. It's quite remarkable how the performances are so emotionally present and involved, line by line, while at the same time they feel imbued with a fondness for the material in its original era. And she certainly sounds very much at home. The one non-Harris arrangement is the work of Jay Leonhart, playing bass and joining in vocally on "Feelin' Groovy" (AKA "The 59th Street Bridge Song"), which, like the Beatles' quirky "Rocky Raccoon," is a rare light moment.

Interestingly, the point of view and vocal finesse brought to a particular song sometimes gives it a new flavor - the warmth and tenderness lavished on "Let It Be," "Imagine" and "Fire and Rain" make them feel both soothing and inspiring, while subtly sophisticated arrangements and fresh phrasing allow them to escape being trapped in melodic repetition. A trio of Jim Webb songs ("By the Time I Get to Phoenix," a part of "MacArthur Park," "The Moon's a Harsh Mistress") feels like a wistful look back at love with a growing sense of self-awareness and lessons learned. Sung totally a capella, "The Fiddle and the Drum" (Joni Mitchell) is arresting and moving. Bob Dylan's landmark "The Times They Are A-Changing" is stirring ’Äì richly sung, it may be the album's strongest achievement as it is the least likely candidate for being yanked from its 1964 page in history. Rather than relying on anger or a storm clouds-gathering foreboding for its propulsion, it has in its warning cry a determination and even hope with even a tinge of expected triumph. Indeed, the word "triumph" could describe this whole album.
April • 2008
  

Maureen McGovern at Lincoln Triangle Barnes and Noble May 5

The month kicks off with an in-store appearance by Grammy Award winner Maureen McGovern. The Broadway actress and heralded cabaret chanteuse will perform selections from "A Long and Winding Road." The album, recorded by PS Classics, is based upon McGovern's recent Metropolitan Room cabaret act. The signing and performance will take place May 5 at 5:30 PM.

The Barnes and Noble at Lincoln Triangle is located at 1972 Broadway at 66th Street in Manhattan.
For further information call (212) 595-6859 or visit www.bn.com.
Maureen McGovern: A Long and Winding Road

By David Finkle
Backstage

Maybe it's the scores of performances she did as the staunch and comforting Marmee in the Broadway musical adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women that has hastened the enormous change in Maureen McGovern. There was a time when it was hard to know her well, to paraphrase Jimmy Webb's "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress," one of the songs she sings. There were certain things that could be known, of course, chief among them that she was the one-in-a-million owner of a zillion-octave range she controlled as if she were guiding a cruise missile.

With her current show, A Long and Winding Road, that's all changed. Warm as the spring sun throughout, she's come up with her best and most important show. Singing songs mostly culled from the folk-rock period experienced up close and personal by the Baby Boom Generation, she not only tells her own story but by inference the story of most of her audience.

In addition to opening herself up to the audience as something other than a nearly disembodied voice, and beyond reminding the patrons of a formative period of their own lives, she has programmed the material ’Äî with director and co-writer Philip Himberg's help ’Äî not only to underline the sometimes-lighthearted expressions of the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Randy Newman, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Carole King and Gerry Goffin, James Taylor, Laura Nyro, and Webb, but also to include reminders of the often-rootless, unsettled America that came to light in the 1960s and has only worsened in the years since. In doing that much, she has subliminally made the significant point that the songs written during the time she was coming into her own have the power and the durability of the songs from the more revered earlier chapters in the Great American Songbook.

While somewhat following that traditional cabaret formula ’Äî a singer's autobiography illustrated in songs and patter ’Äî McGovern isn't simply singing one disconnected song after another in that voice like a banner waving in the air seeking attention for the person waving it. She's also compiling a persuasive argument for herself as a performer who, at "58 and a half," has finally come of convincing age. She does it with bassist Jay Leonhart, who arranged the "Feelin' Groovy" duet on which he doo-doo-doos, and Jeff Harris, nimble as an aerialist at the keyboard.

One way to emphasize McGovern's contribution to the longevity of the songs she's chosen is to say that whereas many of the original recording artists simply sang the material handed them, she interprets it. For instance, without putting exemplary studio singer Glen Campbell down, it's necessary to note that McGovern's version of "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" contains the heartbreak of resignation not only in Webb's unadorned words but in the singer's manner. She lends the same hopeful pathos to "Let It Be" (Paul McCartney-John Lennon) and Lennon's "Imagine," which she sings as a beg-off.

There are laughs galore, too, in McGovern's presentation, which when she chats does sometimes wander dangerously close to the line between amusing and just the least bit cutesy-poo. Recalling her Catholic-school upbringing, McGovern sings Tom Lehrer's "Vatican Rag" with figurative tongue in figurative cheek. She even does a little dancing to it, but then again, the entire program is McGovern's dance to an irresistible new tune.

Before the morning after

Robert Sokol,
The San Francisco Examiner
2008-04-14

SAN FRANCISCO - It's been a long and winding road for Maureen McGovern.

From aspiring folk singer to pop queen of movie themes, the Broadway star, cabaret darling and Grammy-nominated recording artist has been a-changing with the times.

The Youngstown, Ohio, native came of age musically in the era of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Judy Collins and other singer-songwriters who showed a generation how the power of music could change the world.

In her latest CD release and her act at The Rrazz Room at Hotel Nikko, McGovern reinterprets the musical messages of that era. The San Francisco engagement is an abridged version of a show she will tour later this year.

It is not, McGovern says, "a museum piece. We want to explore why these songs are timeless and how they are relevant for us today.

"People have been asking me for years to do a 'baby boomer' show, which really didn't interest me, but looking at the songs that changed our generation and gave us hope for a better world did. And God knows, we need some hope in the world today. I got together with Phillip Himberg, a dear friend who directed me in several productions at Sundance, and we made a list of a couple of hundred songs that reminded us of that highly charged, formative time ’Äî the '60s ’Äî which, for any baby boomer, is fascinating for all its lunacy, political activism, frivolousness and for the profound changes that happened in the world."

What surfaced was the spine of a show that is partly autobiographical, taking a musical arc from the early '60s to the point where McGovern joined the continuum with her breakthrough hit, the Oscar-winning "The Morning After" from "The Poseidon Adventure."

Researching the material has been a journey in itself, full of resonance and remembrance for the self-described "58-and-a-half" year-old singer.

"I was reading the lyrics for Bob Dylan's 'The Times They Are A-Changin' and just burst into tears" she remembers.

"My father, who was my idol all my life, was a D-Day vet and by the time I was a sophomore in high school, we were having daily battles over the Vietnam War. He died a few years ago and I remember that he was so opposed to this [Iraq] war and felt that we had lost our way. So it was very interesting to come full circle with him in sharing a belief; 1968 and 2008 are such mirrors. That was a time when everything was so fresh and new and we had such potential, such idealism and such hope. I think we're in a time in history where we need to pull in the reins and focus on making change. Society cannot progress without hope."

Review:
Maureen McGovern's long and winding road takes you back

By Pat Craig
Contra Costa Times
04/11/2008

Before subprime mortgages and variable interest rates, before SUVs and minivans, before lifestyle coaches and overmanaged children, the baby boomers had some good ideas.

They were expressed musically by Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Carole King, John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

At about the same time, there was a guitar-toting girl singer named Maureen McGovern, whose musical sensibilities were inspired by these same artists whose work she sang on the way to breaking out into her own pop career with "The Morning After."

And now this 58-year-old boomer, one of the hottest cabaret acts going, brings the soundtrack of an uneasy generation to the land of low lights and little round tables, places like San Francisco's Rrazz Room, where she opened on Tuesday night.

"For years, people have said, 'Oh, do a baby boomer album.' But I didn't want to do a museum piece," said McGovern during a chat the morning before her Rrazz Room opening. "I wanted to do something with the songs that are still relevant today. And you know, 1968 and 2008 mirror each other, I'm sad to say in some very strong ways." There's the war, of course, but there's also a new generation of Americans who are inspired by the possibility of a female or black president, she pointed out, and a real sense that there can be change out of these exciting times.

"Our generation had a healthy dose of cynicism, but we were also idealistic," she said. And

the music of the time reflected both of these things, McGovern proves quite conclusively and beautifully in her show, which expands on her new CD of '60s and early '70s tunes, "A Long and Winding Road."

The show features songs of the era, from Bob Dylan to Jimmy Webb, arranged in a cabaret style by Jeff Harris, who played piano for Tuesday's opening. The songs filled the nightclub with both nostalgia for those born between 1946 and 1964, to whom McGovern dedicated the show, and a remarkable amount of wisdom.

The songs that lit up car radios and crash pads for children of the '60s have an entirely different feel for those same folks who are now pushing their 60s.

Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changin" still remains a fierce anthem for change and understanding, but as McGovern sings it now, there is also a wistfulness and a sad irony around the fact that the more things change, the more they remain the same.

As McGovern's rich and enticing voice explores Carole King's "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow," the daring tune of youthful freedom is recalled, but the words are also heard by the ears of a parent. And Laura Nyro's 1966 "And When I Die" becomes a bittersweet lament on mortality.

McGovern could be the best interpreter of the American Songbook going ’Äî her performances and recordings of standards are flat-out breathtaking.

And this show, featuring what the New York Times has called the "second half" of the songbook, is simply another facet in the McGovern diamond.
March • 2008
  

MAC Nominees Announced:
McGovern Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

By Adam Hetrick
and Andrew Gans
25 Mar 2008
Maureen McGovern
photo by Gideon Lewin

The nominees for the 22nd Annual MAC Awards have been announced, honoring excellence in New York City cabaret, comedy and jazz.

Eileen Fulton, Klea Blackhurst, John Treacy Egan, Heather Parcells and Nancy Witter announced the 2008 MAC nominees at the Barnes & Noble Lincoln Triangle at 1:30 PM March 25.

The 2008 MAC Awards will honor the Singing Experience founder Linda Amiel Burns (Board of Directors Award), Barnes and Noble "Any Wednesday" series creator Bart Greenberg (Board of Directors Award), comedian Lewis Black (Outstanding Achievement in Comedy) and Grammy Award-winning vocalist Maureen McGovern (Lifetime Achievement Award).

read more: PLAYBILL


Maureen McGovern's voice richens over time

POP REVIEW:
Along the long and winding road, McGovern's voice has richened

March 15, 2008
By MARIO TARRADELL / The Dallas Morning News
mtarradell@dallasnews.com

Maureen McGovern

KYE R. LEE/DMN

Maureen McGovern sang tunes from 1946 to 1964 on Friday at the Irving Arts Center.


IRVING -- Maureen McGovern lovingly connected with Joni Mitchell's lyrics as she sang "The Circle Game" on Friday night at the Irving Arts Center's Carpenter Performance Hall.


"We're captive on the carousel of time," she intoned. Those words were telltale. The expressive songstress offered 80 minutes of tunes by '60s singer-songwriters during her "A Long and Winding Road" show, a piano-and-voice concert presented by the Irving Symphony Orchestra. She interpreted Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Randy Newman, Laura Nyro, James Taylor, Jimmy Webb and Simon & Garfunkel.

She dedicated the repertoire to folks born from 1946 to 1964. But she obviously chose these tracks for their timelessness, their ability to transcend generations.

Like the oeuvre, Ms. McGovern's voice never gets old. Years of stage work on Broadway, not to mention stints with orchestras and cabarets, have richened her timbre. She's no longer the sweet sounding ingˆ©nue that sang "The Morning After" in 1973. Now her pipes have heft and heart. Her voice is cinematic and theatrical, but never melodramatic.

The highlights abounded. There was her beautifully tender rendition of Carole King's "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" Also, she turned James Taylor's "Fire and Rain" into a solemnly reflective yet quiet anthem. And let's not forget her takes on a pair of Jimmy Webb compositions: the melancholy "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" as well as the majestic "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress."

Plus, give her credit for choosing obscure songs such as Ms. Mitchell's "The Circle Game" and Randy Newman's "Cowboy." But Ms. McGovern went a bit into left field by tackling the Beatles' "Rocky Raccoon" and Simon & Garfunkel's "59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)."

In between she recounted witty stories, such as the time in 1979 when she met Roy Rogers, a childhood hero, and he complimented her performance of "Can You Read My Mind," the Superman theme.

Ms. McGovern treats her concert stints as musical theater. They have a beginning, middle and end. They are examples of a singing actress communicating lyrics and sentiments with the sheer force of her personality. There are no props here, just raw talent.

So by the time she launched into "The Morning After," appropriately the final song, you felt as if you'd been on a journey. Today, more than 30 years after it became a radio staple, "The Morning After" carries heavier weight. The song hasn't changed, but Ms. McGovern's performance of it has. She now truly feels the power of those hopeful words.

They weren't written by one of the influential '60s singer-songwriters she honored, but "The Morning After" remains an ageless signpost.
IT'S SO EASY BEING GREEN
Green as in Shamrocks Against Dystrophy, that is.

It's that time of year when businesses and restaurants nationwide team up in the fight against neuromuscular diseases by selling shamrock mobiles to support MDA's mission.

Dollars raised support the Association's programs in research and health care services that provide help and hope to families affected by neuromuscular diseases.

 
February • 2008
  

Maureen McGovern at The Metropolitan Room

Next Magazine Review

February 29, 2008
By David Hurst

The exquisite vocalist Maureen McGovern recently stopped at The Metropolitan Room to perform songs from her upcoming PS Classics release, The Long and Winding Road.  Celebrating songwriters that influenced her in the 60's and 70's, McGovern lent her shimmering soprano to songs by Carole King, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Paul McCartney, Jimmy Webb, Laura Nyro and John Lennon with dazzling results.  With superb artistry and consummate musicianship, McGovern, along with musical director/arranger Jeff Harris and bassist Jay Leonhart, performed one of the most flawless shows I've ever seen.  Let's hope she schedules a return engagement in May when her CD hits the stores.

Maureen McGovern

February 18, 2008
by Michael Dale
Broadway World
BroadwayPulse.com

I wish I were a better writer so that I could more completely convey to you the breathtaking artistry of Maureen McGovern. That sterling voice seems so effortlessly and lovingly controlled, even when emitting the faintest whisper of sublime vocal purity. Combine that with an extraordinary talent for complex lyric shading enhancing sensitive arrangements by music director/pianist Jeff Harris and the always cool and entertaining contributions of bassist Jay Leonhart and you've got a overwhelmingly fulfilling evening of cabaret.

The delightfully humorous McGovern dedicates her two-week engagement at The Metropolitan Room, titled A Long And Winding Road, to those born between 1946 and 1964. "We will not go quietly into that early bird special," she says of her fellow baby boomers.

Directed and co-written by Philip Himberg, the evening covers the more lyrically-minded side of 60s and 70s pop, including songs by Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, John Lennon and James Taylor. What becomes rather apparent early on is that while these singer/songwriters may have written great material, it takes the interpretive skills of a singing artist like McGovern to truly bring out the drama of their stories. The opening night audience was completely hushed throughout a stunning a cappella rendition of Mitchell's "The Fiddle and the Drum," a tortured and intense performance of Taylor's "Fire and Rain" and the ethereal fantasy she creates from Dylan's "The Times, They Are A-Changin'." She brings a quiet sophistication to Carol King's "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" and turns McCartney's "Let It Be" into and inspirational prayer. Her deep, loving tones on Lennon's "Imagine" embraces the audience like a warm comforter.

A Jay Leonhart arrangement of Simon's "The 59th Street Bridge Song" is sunny and playful, while she gives a down and dirty spin on McCartney's "Rocky Raccoon" and a light jazz twist to Laura Nyro's "And When I Die."

An a cappella tour de farce called "60's Silly Syllables," adapted by McGovern, has the singer rapidly running through doot-doots, dum-dum-dums and other nonsense lyrics from hits like "Mr. Sandman," "Mrs. Robinson," "My Boyfriend's Back" and "The Lion Sleeps Tonight." She gets even sillier with Tom Lehrer's "The Vatican Rag."

"West Side Story got me through junior high, The Beatles got me through high school and I could not have gotten through my divorce without Joni Mitchell," quips Maureen McGovern. Her new show is bound to get audiences through the night feelin' just groovy.

MUSIC REVIEW
Exploring Folk and Soft Rock and Discovering Pop Standards

By STEPHEN HOLDEN
Published: February 16, 2008
New York Times

Unfailingly demure, stalwartly upbeat and blessed with a vocal technique second to none, Maureen McGovern might be described as the Julie Andrews of the Love Generation. Because she has devoted most of the last 25 years to a pop-jazz, Broadway and light classical repertory, I hadn't thought of her quite that way until her captivating new show, "A Long and Winding Road," at the Metropolitan Room.

Maureen McGovern
Hiroyuki Ito for
The New York Times


In the program, which plays irregularly through Feb. 23, she applies the pop-standard test to rock-era songs. The ones she has chosen, by Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Jimmy Webb and others, pass with honors.

In that exam Ms. McGovern and her musical director and pianist, Jeff Harris (with Jay Leonhart on bass), transform astutely selected folk and soft-rock songs, many composed on guitar, into more formal, piano-based pieces performed with a recitalist's discipline and precision. Ms. McGovern has perfect intonation, impeccable enunciation and the dynamic control and the vocal flexibility of a classical lieder singer.

Her vocal texture, with its softened vibrato and nasality at the upper end suggests a folk-jazz Barbra Streisand with an extra octave. The style she uses about half the time is unaffected, pure folk-pop crooning, sometimes a cappella.

This chronologically nonlinear musical scrapbook of baby boom music, from the 1960s to the early '70s, begins with a fragment of Joni Mitchell's "All I Want" attached to Paul Simon's "America" and ends with a verse of Ms. Mitchell's "Woodstock," leading to John Lennon's "Imagine."

There is soft-edged humor. Amusing bits include " '60s Silly Syllables," a skillfully executed medley of nonsensical doo-wop intros, and Tom Lehrer's blasphemous "Vatican Rag," offered as a response to what Ms. McGovern on Thursday called her "1950s and '60s Catholic girl experience." Parodying Connie Francis singing "Where the Boys Are," she captured Ms. Francis's overbearing whine while lending the song twice the vocal heft than Ms. Francis ever put into it.

Although nothing rates below a B, most of the songs that get A+'s are those originally composed on piano, especially those by the still under-regarded Jimmy Webb. The exquisite gentleness with which she renders "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" makes its characters in a song he wrote as a teenager sound painfully young and vulnerable. Performing "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress," Ms. McGovern holds back until the emotional dam bursts, and she briefly lets the torrents rage before reining the song back in.

Ms. McGovern brings her jazz know-how to Laura Nyro's "And When I Die" and unleashes glimpses of a full-tilt ferocity that suggests that there is a drowsy tiger stirring inside this nice Catholic schoolgirl from Youngstown, Ohio. It is more than she has ever shown before.

Maureen McGovern performs through Feb. 23 at the Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd Street, Flatiron district; (212) 206-0440, metropolitanroom.com.

Theatermania

February 14, 2008
By Brian Scott Lipton

The term "jukebox musical" may be used pejoratively in theater circles, but to call Maureen McGovern's new Metropolitan Room cabaret act A Long and Winding Road a "jukebox show" is meant only as the highest praise. Over 80 minutes, McGovern uses her prodigious vocal instrument, interpretive skills, and inherent musicality to illuminate nearly two dozen songs written between 1960-1971.

These tunes, by such giants as Carole King, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Laura Nyro and, of course, Paul McCartney and John Lennon, are hallmarks of their era, ranging from precise character studies to gentle fables, from protest anthems to love songs. McGovern not only does them justice, she often paints them in a new light -- as in a light jazz top spin she serves on the Beatles' comical "Rocky Raccoon." Musical director Jeff Harris has pulled together some marvelous arrangements, and he and McGovern get first-rate assistance from bassist Jay Leonhart -- especially on a charming "59th Street Bridge Song."

Early on in the act, which has been co-created and directed by Philip Himberg, McGovern's operatic voice threatens to overwhelm the material -- although at least you can make out all the words to "The Times That Are A-Changin'" -- but she quickly proves her subtletly with a truly gorgeous renditon of "The Circle Game." One wishes she did more of Mitchell's repertoire, based on her stunning takes on the singer-songwriter's little-known anti-war song "The Fiddle and the Drum," and the first verse of "Woodstock."

McGovern's comic chops aren't limited to "Rocky Raccoon." She produces a hilarious vocalese medley titled "Silly 60s Syllalable," and finds the laughs in Tom Lehrer's satiric masterpiece "The Vatican Rag." But McGovern has always been a superb ballad singer, and, not surprisingly, she shines strongly on King's "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" and Taylor's beautiful "Fire and Rain." Still, the true high point of the act comes towards its end as she tackles three Jimmy Webb tunes. "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" becomes a perfect three-act play, while a medley of the early section of "MacArthur Park" and "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress" is simply breathtaking.

I don't think you have to be a "Baby Boomer" -- like me or McGovern -- to enjoy or appreciate the journey of this Long and Winding Road, but revisiting one's past is certainly part of the fun!


Maureen McGovern is in town at the Metropolitan Room

By Scott and Barbara Siegel
Talkin' Broadway

Simply put, Maureen McGovern is the Gold Standard in voices. It would seem that the beauty, purity and clarity of her singing is only matched by her exquisite vocal control. Many years ago, she used to come into town and perform and, despite the magnificence of her voice, still get indifferent reviews from us because she just sang notes. Gorgeous notes, but without any feeling behind them. That changed a number of years ago and now, with her new show A Long and Winding Road at the Metropolitan Room that concludes with shows on February 21-23 at 7:30 p.m., she is at the top of her game both musically and personally. Now, not only does she know who she is when she's on stage, so do we. She reveals herself both in her chummy patter and in her songs, virtually all of which are the pop hits upon which many of us - including McGovern -- grew up during the 1960s through the 1980s.

This isn't just a nostalgic journey, it's also a well-constructed act in which the song choices provide a depth and resonance that you might find surprising considering that, at the time they came out, nobody took them seriously. It's instructive, indeed, to hear "Rocky Raccoon" (Paul McCartney) and realize just how clever a song it is, or to hear a less heard ode to Martin Luther King, "Carry it On" (Gil Turner), that was written before the Civil Rights leader was slain.

McGovern is in great voice, and in the full flower of her personality. She is simply fun to be around. She doesn't get to New York that often, so this is an ideal time to see her.


Maureen McGovern A Long Winding Road

February 13, 2008
By Barbara Leavy
Cabaret Scenes

Maureen McGovern is such an established cabaret star that to review one of her shows almost seems redundant. She is lovely and elegant, possessing a magnificent soprano voice whose volume she can progressively raise without sacrificing any of its purity. She can sing a cappella without missing a note; and vocalize the "Silly Syllables" of the '60s as if they were scat. Her patter is smooth and witty, such as her play on a Dylan Thomas poem when she says of her fellow baby boomers that "we will not go gentle into that early bird special." The children of the baby boomers, or at least those able to appreciate their parents' music, might say of her, "She's awesome."

Her show at the Metropolitan Room, A Long and Winding Road (sounds like a song from the '60s) is intended to demonstrate that the songs of Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Webb, Carole King, James Taylor, Bob Dylan, John Lennon and others, do indeed make up what the New York Times called the second half of the Great American Songbook. Some of what she sang accompanied by Jeff Harris on piano and Jay Leonhart on bass was very familiar, such as "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," others such as "Rocky Raccoon" less so, although the audience on the evening we caught the show sang along. It was clearly nostalgia night.

But, as the title of one of her songs proclaims, "The Times They Are a Changin'." As someone who started out as a folk singer, McGovern has created a show out of the music of her youth, songs loved by those born, as she was, between 1946 and 1964. In terms of music history, this is a very short period of time, and it is not clear that these songs can claim to constitute as much as half of the Great American Songbook. And it is possible to ask whether too much of the show rests on nostalgia. There will be those who will want to hear McGovern sing the first half of the songbook, as they have heard her before; and those used to a rougher world than the phrases "far out" and "groovy" are adequate to describe, for whom Neil Sedaka will seem as antiquated as Cole Porter, and just about as enthralling.

Still, for the nostalgia, for the songs, many of which are wonderful, and most of all for McGovern, catch this show! It will return to The Metropolitan Room on February 21-23 at 7:30 pm.

Maureen McGovern
Star of 'A Long and Winding Road'

Feb. 18, 2008
By VARIETY STAFF

Maureen McGovern, chanteuse who will perform songs by Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Webb and Randy Newman in "A Long and Winding Road" running Feb. 21-23 at the Metropolitan Room in Gotham.

Book I'm reading:
"No Time to Lose" by Pema Chodron

Total number of books I own:
Let's just say -- I should have a wing dedicated to me at Barnes & Noble.

Last film I saw:
"Atonement," directed by Joe Wright and "No Country for Old Men," directed by Joel and Ethan Coen -- a double-header.

Who do you think is the best actor in Hollywood at the moment? (male or female)
Cate Blanchett; Meryl Streep; Denzel Washington; Daniel Day-Lewis; Russell Crowe; Ralph Fiennes; Tom Hanks; George Clooney; Angelina Jolie; Halle Berry. . .too many great actors to pick just one!

If you could play any real-life person in a movie, who would it be and why?:
Georgia O'Keefe -- solitary, interesting life, brilliant artist

Song currently playing in my iPod:
Don't own one -- I'm still in the dark ages

Three songs that mean a lot to me:
"Amelia"
"Skylark"v"The Moon's a Harsh Mistress"

Ever feel that certain song lyrics were written with you in mind? What are they?:
Joni Mitchell's catalogue. She speaks to the very soul of women

Concert that changed your life:
Joni Mitchell at the Greek Theatre and Bette Midler at the Roxy, late '70s

Guilty pleasures:
* TV: LOVE "Boston Legal, ""Brothers & Sisters," "Keith Olbermann," "Jon Stewart," "The Colbert Report"
* Film: Vintage films of the '30s, '40s, '50s; also Jacques Tati films
* Reading material: Cookbooks -- don't cook, but love the books; photography books

Best hangover remedy?:
Don't drink too much!

What's the biggest upside of the Internet and what is its biggest downside?:
Instant information -- but not always accurate

What advice would you give to someone trying to break into your profession?
Have unfailing faith in yourself -- imperative -- and NEVER GIVE UP!!

Do you have a dream project?:
To take my "Works of Heart" Foundation for Music & Healing global

What helps you get out of bed in the morning?:
Hannah and Rocky, my Silkie and Yorkie Terriers. Can't be a bad day if the first thing you see is happy puppy faces!!

Who was your celebrity crush growing up?
Paul McCartney, Cary Grant, Newman and Redford

Are there any activities you do to make you feel un-famous?
Cleaning up puppy messes -- charming!!

Would you rather see a Lakers game next to Jack Nicholson or a Knicks game next to Spike Lee?:
I'd rather see a movie next to George Clooney

What is the single worst purchase you've made in the past year?:
I made wise and penurious choices last year. However, in 1974 -- a Mellotron -- don't ask!!

What is the real reason behind answering these questions?:
My press agent made me do it!! :)



Photo Coverage: McGovern & Johnston Judge ASPCA Competition

February 16, 2008
by Mark Rupp
baltimore.broadwayworld

On Friday, February 15 at the ASPCA Pet Adoption Center (424 East 92nd Street), ten dogs, all available for adoption at the ASPCA, and their handles showcased their soon-to-be unhidden talents for a panel of celebrity judges that included award-winning stage and screen actress and ASPCA supporter Kristen Johnston, legendary Broadway star and singer Maureen McGovern, WQHT's hit HOT 97 FM DJ Angie Martinez, the face of Ralph Lauren's HOT perfume, Lonneke Engel, and the ASPCA's Supervisory Special Investigator and star of he hit show "Animal Precinct," Annemarie Lucas.

New York City's animal rescue groups are making their biggest pet adoption push this February during "I Love NYC Pets Month" that includes dozens of adoption events in all five boroughs, extended adoption hours at city shelters, and special gifts for new adopters. Primary organizational partners of "I Love NYC Pets Month" include the ASPCA, Animal Care & Control, Animal Haven, Bide-A-Wee, Humane Society of New York and North Shore Animal League. For more information or a complete schedule of events please visit: www.ilovenycpets.com.

Photos by Mark Rupp
 
Kristen Johnston and Maureen
  
Maureen McGovern
 
Maureen and Kristen Johnston
  
Maureen and Annemarie Lucas
Maureen
 Annemarie Lucas, Angie Martinez, Maureen McGovern, Kristen Johnston and Lonneke Engel

PS Classics to Record Maureen McGovern's
Long and Winding Road

By Andrew Gans
Playbill
01 Feb 2008

PS Classics, the label dedicated to the heritage of American popular song, will record Maureen McGovern's newest concert act, A Long and Winding Road.

Maureen McGovern
photo by Gideon Lewin

As previously announced, McGovern will present Winding Road for New York audiences Feb. 13-16 and Feb. 21-23 at the Metropolitan Room. McGovern will head into the recording studio over the Feb. 1 weekend and will continue laying down tracks for the next two weeks. Tommy Krasker, the co-founder of PS Classics, expects a spring release for the single CD.

A Long and Winding Road features an eclectic mix of tunes from such celebrated sixties singer-songwriters as Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Webb, Paul Simon, Carole King, James Taylor, Randy Newman, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Laura Nyro. Song titles include "The Circle Game," "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?," "The Moon's a Harsh Mistress" and "Imagine," among others.

In a statement Krasker said, "We committed to recording A Long and Winding Road after seeing a half-hour rehearsal in December. The mating of performer and material is so perfect, and Maureen's approach to the songs is so compelling and powerful ’Äì we knew it had to be preserved on disc. Jeff Harris, Maureen's longtime music director, will be enlarging the instrumental forces slightly for the studio, but the repertoire will pretty much mirror the show that Maureen is performing at the Metropolitan Room."

About her new show, McGovern recently stated, "For the longest time, people have been asking me to do a concert featuring so-called 'Baby Boomer' songs. At this time in my life, looking back, what interested me most were those introspective songs that influenced and inspired my own development as a person and an artist before 'The Morning After.' I started out as a folk singer in the late '60s, so it was highly nostalgic for me to go back and explore this particular section of my musical influences. I fell in love all over again with the early works of Jimmy Webb, Carole King, Bob Dylan, Randy Newman and other groundbreaking singer-songwriters from my youth. Their songs, as The New York Times has called them, have become 'the second half of the Great American Songbook.' They're classic, timeless and evoke all kinds of memories."

Maureen McGovern's performing credits are numerous and varied. She appeared on Broadway in Little Women, Nine, The Pirates of Penzance and The Threepenny Opera, and her many recordings include the Grammy nominated "The Pleasure of His Company" and the Academy Award-winning song "The Morning After." She was also seen in the films "The Towering Inferno," "Airplane!" and "The Cure for Boredom," and she appeared at the Sundance Theatre in The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and Jerry Herman's Dear World.

McGovern will offer A Long and Winding Road, directed and co-conceived by Philip Himberg, at the Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd Street, Feb. 13-16 and Feb. 21-23 at 7:30 PM. For reservations call (212) 206-0440 or visit www.metropolitanroom.com.

For more information about PS Classics, visit www.psclassics.com.
January • 2008
  

AFTRA Honors Trio of Talented TV Greats
Sam Donaldson, Susan Lucci, and Maureen McGovern with
2008 AFTRA Media and Entertainment Excellence Awards


Maureen McGovern, Sam Donaldson, and Susan Lucci at the 2008 AFTRA Media and
Entertainment Excellence Awards at Gotham Hall in New York City. Photo: John Quilty.

NEW YORK (January 28, 2008) Journalist Sam Donaldson, actor Susan Lucci, and recording artist Maureen McGovern were honored with AFTRA Media and Entertainment Excellence Awards at a gala event sponsored by the AFTRA Foundation at Gotham Hall in New York City.

The awards, nicknamed the "AMEES", recognize members of AFTRA who have made a significant contribution to American culture. The AMEES were created by AFTRA in 2003 to honor individuals for excellence in their craft and contributions to the fields of media and entertainment.

"On behalf of all AFTRA members, the AFTRA Foundation is proud to honor our fellow members Maureen McGovern, Susan Lucci, and Sam Donaldson for their lifetime of achievements that continue to entertain and inform audiences today," said Shelby Scott, AFTRA Foundation President and former AFTRA National President.

Satellite radio host and AFTRA National First Vice President Bob Edwards was the master of ceremonies for the evening, which was attended by more than 250 people. ...

Conductor Rob Fisher presented the AMEE in sound recordings to Maureen McGovern. The singer said, "Through the years, AFTRA has been a strong and great ally to artists in the television, radio and recording industry, securing and protecting our rights. I am proud to say that I have been an AFTRA member since 1972, when I recorded 'The Morning After'."

Maureen McGovern's career spans 36 years, including recordings, concerts, Broadway, films, television, radio, and composing, all with a voice that defies categorization. Having recorded more than 25 albums, her recording career began with her Oscar-winning International Gold Record "The Morning After" from the blockbuster film The Poseidon Adventure, followed by a second Oscar-winning International Gold Record "We May Never Love Like This Again" from the film The Towering Inferno. Maureen received Grammy nominations for Best New Artist and for her "The Pleasure of His Company" CD. She was also Grammy Awarded for her participation in "Songs from the Neighborhood: The Music of Mister Rogers." Maureen's television roles include appearances on One Life to Live, The Tracey Ullman Show, Pacific Blue, Duckman, and Beyond Belief’Äìand over 25 years of performances on musical variety and concert telecasts for PBS, A&E, and BBC.

Playbill News:
DIVA TALK: Catching Up with Maureen McGovern...
By Andrew Gans
11 Jan 2008

Maureen McGovern

photo by Gideon Lewin


Whether she's singing in intimate cabarets, on the Broadway stage or in concert halls around the world, singer-actress Maureen McGovern always manages to impress with her crystal-clear voice that effortlessly soars from a powerful belt through a glorious upper register and her detailed attention to a song's lyric. McGovern has spent much of the past few years inhabiting the role of Marmee in the musical version of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, first on Broadway and later in the show's national tour. The award-winning artist is now scheduled to return to the Manhattan cabaret scene with a brand-new show entitled A Long and Winding Road. Co-conceived with director Philip Himberg, the Feb. 13-16 and Feb. 21-23 concerts at the Metropolitan Room will feature an evening of intimate portraits, including tunes by such '60s singer-songwriters as Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Webb, Paul Simon, Carole King, James Taylor, Randy Newman, Bob Dylan, Lennon and McCartney and Laura Nyro. Cabaret goers can expect to hear McGovern wrap her gorgeous tones around such classics as "The Circle Game," "The Moon's a Harsh Mistress," "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" and "Imagine," among many others. I recently had the great pleasure of chatting with the versatile performer, who spoke about her work in Little Women and her upcoming cabaret program; that brief interview follows.

Question: I think the last time we spoke was right before you were heading out of town with Little Women prior to Broadway.
Maureen McGovern: One-hundred years ago! [Laughs.]

Question: You had mentioned at that time that you had never gotten to enjoy a Broadway opening night because you had been sick for the opening of Threepenny Opera. I was wondering how the Little Women opening lived up to your expectations.
McGovern: Other than family members who couldn't make it because of the snowstorm ’Äî and my date, Rob Fisher, who was coming in from London and was diverted through Washington-Dulles and never got there ’Äî other than that, [laughs] it was perfect. It was just one of those magical nights that you dream of. And, of course, we had that spectacular snowstorm, and the opening-night party was at Tavern on the Green, so it was "set design by God." [Laughs.] It was an extraordinary night, and I'm very, very grateful for that.

Question: What was the experience like of playing Marmee on Broadway?
McGovern: I loved the role of Marmee. I just think she's a wonderful character, and I tried to fill her soul with humor and passion ’Äî as well as the pain that she went through with the loss of a child and being a single parent during wartime. I think [that resonated with] a lot families, [and they] really took to Marmee. . . . She was just a great character. We did 32 cities on the road for a whole year with a new cast, other than a couple of members from the cast on Broadway, and she was a lovely role. And Marmee's strength. . .[I loved] her strength and her compassion.

Question: Was it a difficult decision for you to decide whether or not to tour with the show?
McGovern: It was in a way, but I'm glad that I did the tour. So many of the cities that we took the show to were cities where I perform regularly with symphonies or in concert, so it was nice for my concert audiences to see me across the country in a different light.

Question: When you toured with the show, you probably got to stay a little longer than you do [for a concert.]
McGovern: Right, one-nighters. [Laughs.] It was nice to be in a city for at least a week. Some places we were there for two weeks, and in DC and Detroit, we were there for a whole month.

Question: Now you're coming back with a new cabaret show. Tell me about the show, A Long and Winding Road.
McGovern: What you're going to be seeing is about half of what is really a two-hour-plus theatrical venture that we're working on. This will be kind of a preview to that. My agent, Rich Aronstein, has been after me for years to do a "boomer show," and I was not interested in doing [that]. In the early '90s I recorded "Baby, I'm Yours," a boomer homage CD of the overtly pop songs from that time. I had a great deal of fun doing that, but I wasn't interested in doing a redo of that.

I spoke with Philip Himberg, who has directed me in several productions for the Sundance Institute. Last summer we started talking, and I said, "If I'm going to do [a new show], this is what I would like to do: introspective musical portraits of these particular singer-songwriters that I loved growing up." First of all, we just wrote down every song I loved from when I was growing up. We had 400 songs! [Laughs.] Then we had to shape it and frame it into something. . .[I didn't want to perform them as] museum pieces; I [thought I] could [present them] as I do [songs from] the Great American Songbook. I like to find why [these songs are] timeless.

I focused on the iconoclastic singer-songwriters from that time: the Joni Mitchells, the James Taylors, Dylan...I started out as a folk singer in the late '60s ’Äî playing guitar with the long blonde hair. So it was really very nostalgic for me to go back before "The Morning After" [and see] what influenced me then. Again, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Laura Nyro, I love. Jimmy Webb ’Äî his song "The Moon's a Harsh Mistress," to me, is one of the greatest songs ever written. It's just an extraordinary art song, basically. And, Carole King and Paul Simon and, of course, Lennon and McCartney are honorary members of the second half of the Great American Songbook. They're just songs that resonated with me. Judy Collins, I'm a huge fan of hers. I was going to do "My Father" because she is a wonderful songwriter as well. I lost my dad a few years back, and it was just a little bit too hard to do right now, but eventually we will include that along the way. I do two songs that I remember very vividly loving hearing [Judy Collins] sing as a kid, "Carry It On" and "The Coming of the Roads" by Billy Edd Wheeler. Gorgeous, gorgeous piece.

Question: Do you envision this program as a two-act theatre piece?
McGovern: Yes, that's what we're working on at the moment, and this is sort of a little prelude to that.

Question: Do you think you would premiere the full show at Sundance?
McGovern: We're talking to a lot of the theatres that I've worked at around the country about where we'll actually [debut the show]... This is an independent project that Philip is doing. It's not with Sundance per se. He's directing, [but it's not] under Sundance's auspices.

Question: You play both big concert halls and small cabarets. Do you find that you have to adjust your performance style at all? How do you approach the different venues that you play?
McGovern: It's interesting because I approach my concerts in a very intimate way, so people are brought to me in a one-on-one situation as if I'm speaking to them individually. I think working in cabaret has actually made my concerts better, because I can translate that intimacy that you have with people literally two feet in front of you and bring an entire audience to you on the stage.

Question: Do you like performing in the smaller places where the people are right there in front of you?
McGovern: Sometimes it's a little distracting because you see people going through their purses, people getting up to go to the bathroom... [Laughs.] When you do a so-called "more theatrical concert" [in a cabaret setting], it's a little distracting at times. In an audience, I can feel them more than see them [in a concert hall]. But there is that immediacy of cabaret that it wonderful.

Question: How do you go about protecting your voice?
McGovern: You have to be very careful. Doing Little Women for two years, you're hammering away in the same range for a long time.... Marge Rivingston has been my vocal coach since 1981, and I have a whole series of tapes that we use, but you're doing eight shows a week for two years, the same show basically...I started listening to Light in the Piazza and singing all the parts to that as my vocal warm-up.

Question: Do you have any other projects in the works? Any new recordings?
McGovern: We're talking to a label right now about A Long and Winding Road, recording that, so we should know very soon.

Question: Would you be interested in coming back to Broadway?
McGovern: Absolutely. Oh, yes.

Question: How do you find the Broadway schedule?
McGovern: You really have to approach your life like you're in training as an athlete. When you're doing press...
that was the hard thing for me on the road. My mantra was, "Marmee never gets to play!" [Laughs.] All the cast had parties and great times, but ... we'd come into a city the day before [we opened], so you unpack ’Äî and I had my two puppies with me ’Äî and then you're up at five in the morning to do the morning TV and radio [interviews] for the opening day. You do your sound check, you do your show, and then I'd poke my head in for the presenters' party afterwards just to be polite, and then be back up at four or five in the morning and getting ready for hair and makeup for the second onslaught of press, then do the show. Thursday I'd be doing press for upcoming cities. Friday, if I was lucky, I would have Friday afternoon [off], and then I'd have five shows on the weekend. So that's the life of a theatre bird!

Question: Getting back to your new show. You've recorded the Gershwin album, and you've done whole shows of Richard Rodgers songs. How do you think these songs in A Long and Winding Road compare to the standards?
McGovern: It's interesting. These songs, like I said, each one of them I love for different reasons. We would sort of preview a little pocket of the songs as we were learning them along the way. Jeff Harris, who is my musical director, has done all of the arrangements. We just struck a nerve. It's an amazing thing. So it's very exciting. I wanted this to be different from everybody who is doing the "boomer" stuff. Barry Manilow has his homage, and there are just lots of people doing that kind of thing. I wanted to find the idiosyncratic singer-songwriters [who] broke the mold. Those songs, to me, have become the second half of the Great American Songbook. They're classic and timeless.

[McGovern will offer A Long and Winding Road at the Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd Street, Feb. 13-16 and Feb. 21-23 at 7:30 PM. For reservations call (212) 206-0440 or visit www.metropolitanroom.com.]


DIVA TALK: A Diva Season Preview
By Andrew Gans
04 Jan 2008

CABARET

Several of my favorite singing actresses will be seen on smaller stages within the next few months....

The cabaret on West 22nd Street (Metropolitan Room) will welcome Christine Pedi and Maureen McGovern, who are both preparing new shows.

McGovern, whose beautiful voice has been heard on Broadway and in concert halls around the world, has titled her new act A Long and Winding Road (Feb. 13-16 and Feb. 21-23). McGovern told me earlier this week that "putting together my new show with Philip Himberg has been an amazing experience. It's been a wistful, inspiring, tearful and hilarious journey back to my teens and early twenties. In this evening of intimate musical portraits, [audiences] will hear favorite songs of mine by Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Webb, Paul Simon, Carole King, James Taylor, Randy Newman, Bob Dylan, Lennon and McCartney, Laura Nyro and other iconoclastic sixties singer-songwriters, who helped shape our lives as a generation." McGovern will wrap her gorgeous tones around "The Circle Game," "The Moon's a Harsh Mistress," "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" and "Imagine," among others.

Maureen McGovern to Debut New Show at NYC's Metropolitan Room
Dec 28, 2007 ¬… New York
Brian Scott Lipton
TheaterMania.com


Maureen McGovern Broadway, recording, and cabaret star Maureen McGovern will debut her new show The Long and Winding Road at New York City's Metropolitan Room at 7:30pm on February 13-16 and February 21-23.

McGovern has starred on Broadway in Little Women The Pirates of Penzance, Nine, and 3 Penny Opera. She has appeared regionally in such shows as The King and I Elegies, Dear World, Letters From 'Nam, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Of Thee I Sing, The Sound of Music, South Pacific, and Guys and Dolls. She also recorded the Oscar-winning songs "The Morning After" and "We May Never Love Like This Again."

For more information, call 212-206-0440 or visit Metropolitan Room.

October • 2007
  

Maureen receives The Imagination Award for her philanthropic work

Imagination Stage Gala 2007 (October 15, 2007)
 
 

Photo by Imagination Stage
Photo Credit: Allen Santos Photography

Imagination Award recipient Maureen McGovern and Master of
Ceremonies Mo Rocca pose for the Camera.

  

Maureen McGovern, Grammy Nominee, Broadway, concert and recording artist, whose 35 year career began with the Oscar winning, International Gold Record, THE MORNING AFTER, was honored on October 13, 2007, by receiving the third Imagination Award for her work with children, the arts and philanthropy from Imagination Stage, Bethesda, MD. Previous recipients were Marion Wright Edelman and Jane Goodall. The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, was Honorary Chairperson for the event and actor/writer/satirist, Mo Rocca, was Special Guest Alumnus and Master of Ceremonies.

Maureen's current releases, HELP IS ON THE WAY (in partnership with Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids) and WORKS OF HEART, launched the Maureen McGovern "Works of Heart" Foundation for Music and Healing.
Arts & Review
Music legend owns memorable evening
Published in the Monday, October 1, 2007 Edition of

From platform nine and three-quarters to a galaxy far, far away, virtuoso conductor and Oscar-winning composer John Williams and the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra captured the hearts and imaginations of a sell-out 8,500 crowd at Conte Forum at last Friday's Night's 15th Annual Pops on the Heights Scholarship Gala. This year's concert also featured stellar performances by Broadway star Maureen McGovern, opera baritone Robert Honeysucker, and Boston College's very own University Chorale.

The second half opened with a brilliant performance by McGovern featuring memorable hits from Hammerstein's and Berlin's Broadway songbook fused with McGovern's own jazzy, soulful style. Nothing short of phenomenal, McGovern's performance was perhaps one of the pinnacles of Friday night's gala and left the crowd singing along to familiar tunes from The Sound of Music and Annie Get Your Gun.

September • 2007
  

The 2007 Labor Day Telethon raised a record-setting $63.8 million in donations and pledges. The 21 1/2-hour show, benefits the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Maureen sang "The Music and the Mirror" and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."

2007 Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon Las Vegas - Sept 2-3

YOU CAN CATCH MAUREEN'S PERFORMANCE
LIVE FROM LAS VEGAS, pacific standard time


 


Sunday, Sep 2: Hour 5:
10:10-11:00 PM - PST
Monday, Sep 3: Hour 16:
9:00-10:10 AM - PST

TIMES SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Pops on the Heights
Friday September 28, 2007
Conte Forum, Boston College
Enjoy a memorable night at the 15th annual Pops on the Heights Scholarship Gala! Pops on the Heights promises to be another sell-out performance, so be sure to reserve your seats early!

John Williams, Laureate Conductor, The Boston Pops Orchestra, 8:00 pm.
June • 2007
  

Birthday boy John Williams, Singer Maureen McGovern, Singer James Taylor. Conductor Keith Lockhart
and Gwen Ifill attended the 26th annual President at the Pops at Symphony Hall after party (Copyright Globe Newspaper Company)
Pops gets a little help from good friends
By Sarah Rodman
Boston Globe Staff
June 7, 2007
Old friends weren't only in the audience at the annual "Presidents at the Pops" gala last night, they were also on stage.

In addition to the corporate bigwigs -- who raised more than $1 million for the Pops' educational and community outreach programs -- raising a glass, familiar faces and voices lent their skills to a rousing night at Symphony Hall.

Pops laureate conductor John Williams was on hand to conduct from several of his Oscar-winning scores. Local legend James Taylor, Simmons College graduate and veteran television journalist Gwen Ifill -- who got her start in Boston -- and conductor Keith Lockhart's personal friend and Broadway star Maureen McGovern all lent sparkle to the night. But it was the fresh-faced exuberance of the youngsters in the Boston Children's Chorus who stole the hearts of the assembled during the 2 hour, 15 minute performance.

The night got off to a suitably lighthearted start when Charlie Baker, president of the "Presidents at the Pops" fund-raising committee and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, came onstage to announce that Lockhart would be late due to a mysterious "transportation problem." The assistant conductor then led the orchestra through its jolly version of "Charlie on the M.T.A." as a film of the maestro getting lost on the T -- and running into Mayor Thomas Menino, Williams, and Wally the Green Monster in the process-- played on screens above them.

Lockhart then swept in through the side doors leading the red-jacketed Chorus up to the stage.

The Chorus, led by their animated and encouraging director Anthony Trecek-King, performed two selections: the reverent yet joyful "Las Amarillas" and a nuanced "Deep River" that was filled with resonant lows and bright highs.

The orchestra picked the perfect match for its continuing salute to "Oscar and Tony" in McGovern, who as a film and Broadway veteran knows the terrain well.

Performing tunes by Harold Arlen, the radiant redhead was breathtaking doing a yearning, jazzy take on "Optimistic Voices," a scat-happy rendition of "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead," and an unamplified version of "Over the Rainbow," all from "The Wizard of Oz." That last song was truly riveting as the entire Hall went pin-drop quiet to hear the bell-like clarity of her sweet high notes.

She followed with an equally impressive medley of "The Man That Got Away," "Stormy Weather (Keeps Rainin' All the Time)," and "Blues in the Night (My Mama Done Tol' Me)" that had razor-sharp precision without sacrificing an ounce of interpretive emotion and reminded everyone of Arlen's many gifts.

Williams handled the second half of the evening conducting spirited passages from his scores of the "Harry Potter" films and "Cowboys." He also had the pleasure of hearing the Chorus flawlessly perform his jubilant "Dry Your Tears Afrika" from "Amistad" for a deserved standing ovation.

The night closed on a patriotic note with Taylor and Ifill providing narration to the iconic historical images of Steven Spielberg's "Celebration 2000: American Journey" --commissioned by Bill Clinton for the millennium celebrations-- and Williams's score. The words, from great American literature, poetry, and public record, worked in concert with music filled with bold, brass figures and contemplative string arrangements. Although the orchestra occasionally threatened to drown out Taylor and Ifill, who also experienced some minor microphone problems, a balance was struck.

From the Boston Herald

Photo by Matt Stone
for the Boston Herald		 Presidents at Pops' raises $$$, and the roof
Copyright Boston Herald Library Jun 7, 2007

Philanthrophy mixed with music at Symphony Hall last night for the Boston Pops' annual "Presidents at Pops" benefit, where nearly $1 million was raised for the Boston Symphony Orchestra and its youth and community outreach efforts.

Legendary musician James Taylor, Broadway star Maureen McGovern and longtime Washington journalist Gwen Ifill headlined the fund- raiser. Taylor and Ifill narrated John Williams' "American Journey," and the Boston Children's Chorus lighted up the stage in front of a packed house.

A Boston staple since 1982, the concert has raised more than $35 million in its history, organizers said.
APRIL • 2007
  

McGovern gives voice to Songbook
'70s pop songs brought her fame, but American classics are her specialty

By Pat Craig
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
04/30/2007

IF SOMEONE SAYS "Maureen McGovern" and your mind fills with teary nostalgia for disaster-film theme songs and images of a gracefully aging woman flogging 30-year-old hits in the showroom of a remote Indian casino, you've really missed a lot.

Since she had the Oscar-winning hit versions of "We May Never Love Like This Again" (from "The Towering Inferno") and "The Morning After" (from "The Poseidon Adventure"), McGovern has enjoyed a remarkable career as a Broadway star, actress, voice-over artist, and as a singer who is considered to be the greatest living interpreter of the Gershwin catalog.

She will pull out some of the Gershwin big guns on Sunday when she appears in the Commandant's Ballroom at San Francisco's Marines' Memorial Club. And she will assure you that she doesn't have any bitter feelings about being a disaster diva during the early years of her career in the '70s.

"It kind of depends," says McGovern during a telephone interview; "I'm grateful for the hits in the '70s, but they were other people's choices. They were just a lot of songs chosen by other people who decided on the key, the arrangement and everything else. I was sort of a background singer on my own albums."

As both a well-trained musician and member of a musical family (her dad sang barbershop and she recalls loving to sing along), McGovern knew she could do much better with control of her own musical destiny. She has been a Broadway, road show and regional theater regular since 1981,when she appeared in the Broadway production of "Pirates of Penzance" (her most recent Broadway appearance was in 2004-05 in "Little Women"). Along with that, she established her own singing career, which includes a hands-on approach to every aspect of the craft.

Her specialty is the Great American Songbook. Not only has she recorded albums that highlight the work of the Gershwins, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers and Harold Arlen, but she also was on the classic concert re-creation of the Gershwins' Pulitzer Prize-winning musical, "Of Thee I Sing."

"The lyrics are timeless, and the material is so rich and layered, one can find delicious interpretations," she says. "One never gets tired of that material."
It was a particularly rich time for writers and composers; an amazing time when you consider the list of contemporaries that included Duke Ellington, Johnny Mercer, Hoagy Carmichael and dozens of others who provided the tunes to the singers who created the soundtrack of America.

Part of today's "musical averageness," she says, can be blamed on the notion of the singer/songwriter -- the idea that performers must write their own tunes as well as sing them.

"There are great writers out there, but there is a lot of poverty in our music," she says. "But there are some who can do both -- listen to Mary Chapin Carpenter."

What appeals to her about the older tunes is the basic emotion and sense of feeling many of them convey.

"I think of a song as a musical conversation, as if I'm speaking to you," she says. "Certainly it's a heightened conversation with music. What I look for is timeless music by asking myself, why something from 1932 is still relevant in 2007."

While some of these standards have been "lounged to death," they may still contain possibilities that have been overlooked. "Sometimes, you can find something fresh by going back to the song the way the author intended," says McGovern. "I always try to have a new take and a fresh point of view when I look at a song."

That she is able to take such a personal effort in selecting her material and her music is what makes her work appeal to her most these days.
"Really I just sort of walked away from pop music," she says. "I didn't want to record until I could have a say in what I was doing."

McGovern helps theater raise money

by By Paul Clark,
PCLARK@CITIZEN-TIMES.COM
April 22, 2007 1

ASHEVILLE - The Diana Wortham Theatre's The Music Never Ends gala benefit features not only vocalist/performer Maureen McGovern but also a pre-performance reception with hors d'oeuvres and fine wines and a post-performance one with dessert and champagne.

McGovern typically plays to large, sold-out halls in the United States and Europe. She recently starred as Marmee in "Little Women" on Broadway and on the play's national tour.

McGovern, a two-time Grammy nominee known popularly for her Oscar-winning, gold record hit "The Morning After" from the film "The Poseidon Adventure," has been composing, recording and performing at concerts, on Broadway and radio and in films and television for more than 35 years.

Her voice moves comfortably through jazz, movie themes, classical pop standards and operetta. Coupled with her love of George and Ira Gershwin's music, this Academy Award winner's tonal quality and dexterity has made her sought out by major symphonies, including the Boston Pops, New York Pops and the National Symphony.

The gala benefit (was) in support of the ongoing programs of the Diana Wortham Theatre, the most utilized live and active performance venue in Western North Carolina. The event is sponsored by Carolina First and the Grove Park Inn.
MARCH • 2007
  

Photo Coverage: Songs for Darfur Benefit

Wednesday, March 28, 2007
- by Linda Lenzi

Broadway stars opened their hearts and joined forces Monday evening, March 26 to raise awareness and humanitarian aid for Darfur with Songs for Darfur: The Water Project at the Church of St. Paul & St. Andrew in Manhattan.

Proceeds from the event benefit UMCOR Sudan to improve access to water and sanitation and increase food security for displaced people living in camps in Darfur and the surrounding communities of Adilla and Al Daein. Proceeds also go to The Darfur People's Association of New York, to help raise funds for school supplies to be sent to refugee camps in Darfur and Chad.

Songs For Darfur: The Water Project featured performances by co-hosts Victoria Clark (The Light in the Piazza), Cheyenne Jackson (All Shook Up), and Jane Kelly Williams, and appearances by celebrated Broadway stars including Maureen McGovern (Little Women), Kelli O'Hara (The Light in the Piazza), Everett Bradley (Swing), Malcolm Gets (A New Brain), Elizabeth Stanley (Company), Marilyn Torres (The Agony and the Agony), and world-renowned opera singer Marvis Martin; with musicians Ted Sperling and Dave Richards.

Photo by Linda Lenzi
Photo by Linda Lenzi
Cheyenne Jackson and Maureen McGovern
Victoria Clark and Maureen McGovern

Salvation Army Spring Gala

  
Brian Stokes Mitchell and Maureen McGovern

Eight hundred guests attended The Salvation Army in Greater New York's first Spring Gala on March 23rd, raising over $1 million for the Division's Emergency Disaster Services. The event honored William Jefferson Clinton for his extraordinary disaster relief and humanitarian service and featured entertainment by Tony-award winner Brian Strokes Mitchell. Good Morning America anchor Robin Roberts was the evening's engaging MC. Dinner chair Robert B. Catell, Chairman and CEO of KeySpan addressed the audience, as did the Reverend Dr. Calvin Butts, Pastor of New York's Abyssinian Baptist Church, who delivered a stirring benediction. (Gala Sponsors)

See article and photos at: Broadwayworld

Clark, Jackson, McGovern, O'Hara and More to Be Part of Songs for Darfur: The Water Project

By Andrew Gans
15 Mar 2007
PLAYBILL

Tony Award winner Victoria Clark, All Shook Up's Cheyenne Jackson and singer-songwriter Jane Kelly Williams will host Songs for Darfur: The Water Project.

The March 26 benefit concert will be held at the Church of St. Paul & St. Andrew in Manhattan. In addition to Clark, Jackson and Williams, the 7 PM performance will also boast the talents of Maureen McGovern, Kelli O'Hara, Everett Bradley, Malcolm Gets, Elizabeth Stanley, Marilyn Torres and opera singer Marvis Martin. Musicians Ted Sperling and Dave Richards will also perform.

In a statement actress Clark said, "Nearly half a million people have been killed in Darfur over the past three years, and more than two million innocent civilians have been forced to flee their homes and are living in displaced person camps in Sudan or refugee camps in neighboring Chad. More than 3.5 million men, women, and children are totally dependent on international aid for their survival, and the water and sanitation projects UMCOR operates in Darfur will provide potable water to hundreds of thousands of people in the region. By joining forces ’Äî and hearts ’Äî with my friends in the New York theatre community to raise funds for this very important cause, I hope we can help relieve the suffering of people in Darfur and help them begin their healing process."

Rev. Paul Dirdak, former head of The United Methodist Committee on Relief, and Motasim Adam, president of the Darfur People's Association of New York, will be present to discuss the crisis in Darfur and their organizations' efforts to provide humanitarian aid for the people of Darfur. Proceeds from the concert will benefit The United Methodist Committee on Relief and The Darfur People's Association of New York.

Tickets, priced $40 (adults) and $20 (students, seniors and individuals with limited income) are available by calling (212) 362-3179. They will also be available at the door the night of the performance (cash only). Patron tickets, priced $100, include a pre-concert reception with the performers and reserved seating. For more information visit www.songsfordarfur.com.

The Church of St. Paul & St. Andrew is located in Manhattan at 263 West 86th Street at West End Avenue.

Star-Filled BC/EFA's Nothing Like a Dame March 19

  
 

The 12th annual Nothing Like a Dame concert took over New York's Marquis Theatre to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and the Actors' Fund's Phyllis Newman Women's Heath Initiative with a dazzling line-up of talent on March 19.

The annual star-studded gala performance and event featuring Liz Callaway, Aana Gasteyer, Maureen McGovern, Lynn Redgrave and, among others, the Tony-winning trio of Lea Salonga, Beth Leavel and original Dream Girl Jennifer Holliday. This year's Nothing Like a Dame benefit, presented by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS on Monday at the Marquis Theatre, raised $300,000 for the Phyllis Newman Women's Health Initiative of The Actors' Fund.

Check out backstage photos at BroadwayWorld

 

MDA Shamrocks On Sale Through St. Patrick's Day

 

TUCSON, Ariz., From now until St. Patrick's Day, millions of Americans will be joining the Muscular Dystrophy Association's battle against neuromuscular diseases. Through March 17, thousands of business patrons nationwide are assisting MDA's lifesaving mission by purchasing and signing $1 and $5 Shamrocks mobiles. To make MDA's Shamrocks Against Dystrophy campaign a success, supermarkets, convenience stores, restaurants and other businesses are decorating their ceilings, walls and windows with layers of green and gold Shamrocks mobiles.

Internationally renowned singer Maureen McGovern, a member of MDA's Board of Directors and a popular performer on concert and club stages and the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon, is serving her seventh year as Shamrocks chairperson. She's featured in print and broadcast public service announcements, reminding people to buy Shamrocks and support MDA's quest for better treatments and cures.

"Thanks to the tireless efforts of volunteers, participating businesses and