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May • 2008 |
DIVA TALK: By Andrew Gans 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 |
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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. |
| 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, 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." |
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March • 2008 |
MAC Nominees Announced: By Adam Hetrick
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
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Maureen McGovern's voice richens over time POP REVIEW:
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. 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.
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February • 2008 |
Maureen McGovern at The Metropolitan Room
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Next Magazine ReviewFebruary 29, 2008 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 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 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.
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. |
TheatermaniaFebruary 14, 2008 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 RoomBy Scott and Barbara Siegel 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 RoadFebruary 13, 2008 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 Feb. 18, 2008 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: Total number of books I own: Last film I saw: Who do you think is the best actor in Hollywood at the moment? (male or female) If you could play any real-life person in a movie, who would it be and why?: Song currently playing in my iPod: Three songs that mean a lot to me: Ever feel that certain song lyrics were written with you in mind? What are they?: Concert that changed your life: Guilty pleasures: Best hangover remedy?: What's the biggest upside of the Internet and what is its biggest downside?: What advice would you give to someone trying to break into your profession? Do you have a dream project?: What helps you get out of bed in the morning?: Who was your celebrity crush growing up? Are there any activities you do to make you feel un-famous? Would you rather see a Lakers game next to Jack Nicholson or a Knicks game next to Spike Lee?: What is the single worst purchase you've made in the past year?: What is the real reason behind answering these questions?:
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Kristen Johnston and Maureen |
Maureen McGovern |
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Maureen and Kristen Johnston |
Maureen and Annemarie Lucas |
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Annemarie Lucas, Angie Martinez, Maureen McGovern, Kristen Johnston and Lonneke Engel |
PS Classics to Record Maureen McGovern's
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| Maureen McGovern |
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| 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
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:
Maureen McGovern
Question: I think the last time we spoke was right before you were heading out of town with Little Women prior to Broadway.
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.
Question: What was the experience like of playing Marmee on Broadway?
Question: Was it a difficult decision for you to decide whether or not to tour with the show?
Question: When you toured with the show, you probably got to stay a little longer than you do [for a concert.]
Question: Now you're coming back with a new cabaret show. Tell me about the show, A Long and Winding Road. 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?
Question: Do you think you would premiere the full show at Sundance?
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?
Question: Do you like performing in the smaller places where the people are right there in front of you?
Question: How do you go about protecting your voice?
Question: Do you have any other projects in the works? Any new recordings?
Question: Would you be interested in coming back to Broadway?
Question: How do you find the Broadway schedule?
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 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 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
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October • 2007 |
Maureen receives The Imagination Award for her philanthropic work
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 2-3YOU CAN CATCH MAUREEN'S PERFORMANCE
TIMES SUBJECT TO CHANGE
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Pops on the Heights
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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) |
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Pops gets a little help from good friends
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