Judy, Judy, and Judy, Now Streaming and More
by Randie Levine-Miller
Our Broadway Babe, Randie Levine Miller has some wonderful online entertainment suggestions today. Judy Garland fans will love the documentary, Judy – Beyond the Rainbow; a tribute to the great songwriter Frank Loesser (Guys and Dolls, How to Succeed in Business and many others), Barbara Cook in concert; Paul Anka and more!
Paul Anka in Concert in Switzerland
Paul Anka is one extraordinary entertainer… Truly one of the greatest in person acts I’ve ever seen..A prolific songwriter, he wrote “My Way“, “Having My Baby”, “Lonely Boy”, “Put Your Head On My Shoulder”, “You Are My Destiny”, “Diana”, “Puppy Love”, “Times Of Your Life”, as well as the theme song for the “Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson. I’m certain all of us baby boomer Tomatoes remember him well… And at 79, he still performing and looks great..(I’d like to know who his plastic surgeon is!).. was so delighted to find this incredible concert from 2013 which I think you’ll really enjoy ..
Sidebar: A memory I’ll never forget… My father took me to Puerto Rico on a gambling junket when I was in my teens…I’d hang out with some of the performers in the coffee shop at the old Americana Hotel or the El San Juan after the shows broke…
One night, I took a long walk on the beach, after just having seen Paul Anka perform his show… Who do I bump into on the beach … But Paul Anka ! He looked like a “lonely boy” walking on the sand… I still remember the look on his face even though it was no more than a greeting between strangers.
A Tribute To Frank Loesser, Up Close & Personal
From 2010, A Tribute To Frank Loesser, Up Close & Personal at the Kennedy Center with hosts Michael Kerker, ASCAP’s director of musical theater, who is one of the most knowledgeable historians in the American Musical theater, and Jo Sullivan Loesser, Frank Loesser’s widow… he wrote music and lyrics to dozens of films and five Broadway shows, including “Guys and Dolls”, “The Most Happy Fella” and “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying”…. performing his works are Susan Egan, Noah Racey,Ron Raines and musical director Don Pippin.. There’s also a special tribute by his daughter Emily Loesser along with her mother Jo Sullivan Loesser. A delicious tribute to a major talent who died too young …
Sidebar: Jo Sullivan came to audition for Loesser’s “The Most Happy Fella”..She was chosen to play the ingénue… And that continued into real life, as they married during the Broadway run… and yes, he was still married to first wife, Lynn Loesser, who introduced them!
Judy-Beyond the Rainbow
From 1997, “Judy-Beyond The Rainbow”… an excellent documentary about Judy Garland with close friends, family and colleagues reminiscing about the late, great legend: Liza Minnelli, Alan King, Mort Lindsay, Ann Miller, Robert Goulet, June Allison, Margaret Whiting, Mickey Rooney, Vincent Minnelli, Comden and Green and many others…A must view.
Honeymoon in Vegas – Acts 1 and 2
“Honeymoon in Vegas” is a delightful, feel good musical which got rave reviews on Broadway in 2015, but for some reason couldn’t find an audience… I think tomatoes will really enjoy this ….it’s got a great score written by Jason Robert Brown with a libretto by Andrew Bergman based on his movie of the same name ..It’s stars good pal and neighbor,Tony Danza, Rob McClure, Brynn O’Malley and Nancy Opel…
Barbara Cook in Concert
From 1995… Barbara Cook Concert in Melbourne, Australia… When she did this concert, she was 68 years old and at the top of her game, vocal-wise. It was produced and aired on the Australian Broadcast System.. Truly a gift of a concert!
Sidebar: I enjoyed the experience of a lifetime… My friends, Frank and Mary Skillern, had a townhouse with a cabaret room that seated up to 30 people… they would graciously host friends for a “dress rehearsal” of first class entertainers..Barbara was to appear at Carnegie Hall three days later…I was seated in the first row, spitting distance from Barbara… there was a terrible storm, but there was no way I wasn’t going to this private performance… At the reception, I got into lively conversation with her son, Adam,and we discovered, we had similar emails… With his great sense of humor, he started speaking Yiddish to me…I couldn’t stop laughing and then realized, his acting teacher father, was Jewish!
Randie Levine Miller is Director of Special Events for The Three Tomatoes, and co-produces and hosts the annual Tomatoes Got Talent show. Known around NYC as a modern day “hostess with the mostess, she has performed in and hosted benefits for the Actors Fund, the Actors Temple, Multiple Sclerosis, and Prostate Cancer Research. Randie’s performance venues have included: The Triad, The Metropolitan Room, the Laurie Beechman Theater, and the Friars Club. For many years, she was special events director for the Drama Desk Awards. Randie also had a successful 30-year career as a public relations consultant and handled several major health and medical technology clients.FacebookTwitterPinterestEmailShare
Randie Levine Miller is Director of Special Events for The Three Tomatoes, and co-produces and hosts the annual Tomatoes Got Talent show. Known around NYC as a modern day “hostess with the mostess, she has performed in and hosted benefits for the Actors Fund, the Actors Temple, Multiple Sclerosis, and Prostate Cancer Research. Randie’s performance venues have included: The Triad, The Metropolitan Room, the Laurie Beechman Theater, and the Friars Club. For many years, she was special events director for the Drama Desk Awards. Randie also had a successful 30-year career as a public relations consultant and handled several major health and medical technology clients.
