Here’s a special holiday treat from Burt. Thanks to Martyn for first posting this in the discussion forum.
The Bell That Couldn’t Jingle
December 23rd, 2009Promises, Promises returns to Broadway
December 20th, 2009
The first Broadway revival of Promises, Promises is scheduled to open in April 2010.
I know this is old news to many of you by now, but Promises, Promises, Burt Bacharach’s much loved 1968 musical, is finally headed back to Broadway.
The revival—the show’s first since its opening on Broadway more than 40 years ago—is scheduled to open at the Broadway Theatre on April 27 with Sean Hayes (of TV’s “Will and Grace”) and Kristin Chenoweth starring in the roles originated on Broadway by Jerry Orbach and Jill O’Hara. The producers are John Gore, Thomas B. McGrath, Beth Williams, Craig Zadan, Neil Meron, Candy Spelling, Pat Addiss and The Weinstein Company.
Based on the 1960 Billy Wilder film The Apartment and featuring a book by Neil Simon, Promises, Promises was one of the first mainstream Broadway musicals to showcase a pop music score, and it introduced a number of Bacharach-David classics, including “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,” “Whoever You Are, I Love You,” “Knowing When To Leave,” and the title song.
Needless to say, this is great news for fans of both Bacharach and Broadway. I’ll post updates as I get them
(And for a fascinating insider look at Bacharach before and after the opening of Promises, Promises, visit the media archive to read the 1968 New Yorker articles Hits and Composer in Tartan Cap)
New Australian concert dates for 2010
November 10th, 2009Apologies as usual for the long delay in updates, but as many of you know, Burt has a new series of shows scheduled for Australia next year, including a return visit to the Sydney Opera House, where he recorded his 2008 CD Live At the Sydney Opera House.
Burt and his band in Australia, courtesy of DavidCrigger.com.
| 2010 | |
| Jan. 29 | West Palm Beach, Fla. (Kravis Center for the Performing Arts) |
| Feb. 27 | West Perth, Australia (Kings Park) |
| March 4-6 | Sydney, Australia (Sydney Opera House) |
| March 11-13 | Melbourne, Australia (Hamer Hall) |
| March 16 | Adelaide, Australia (Adelaide Convention Centre) |
As always, please visit the Burt Bacharach Forum for the latest news.
Bacharach obscurities aren’t so obscure anymore…
July 11th, 2009Sorry for the lack of updates lately (where have I heard that before?), but hopefully you’ve all been checking out the discussion forum for the latest news.
Just a few years ago, Bacharach’s early and/or rare recordings were prized collector’s items. Fans used to trade cassette tapes of scratchy 45s they’d find at garage sales or used record stores. While Rhino’s The Look of Love collection from 1998 included a few relative obscurities, it wasn’t until the last few years that the floodgates have really opened on Bacharach’s early recordings.
One of the first Bacharach rarities collections on CD was 2003’s The Rare Bacharach, a two-disc collection on the Australian label Raven Records that included recordings from everyone from Andy Williams to Sylvester.
Last summer, Ace released Always Something There: A Burt Bacharach Collectors’ Anthology 1952-1969, an excellent single-disc collection that included Nat “King” Cole’s “Once in a Blue Moon,” one of the earliest recordings of a Bacharach song.
Most recently, forum participant robbieindart notes that a new Bacharach rarities collection, Rare Bacharach – The Early Years 1958 – 1965, will be released on July 31 on Rare Rockin’ Records. It looks like another good collection to fill in the gaps for the Burt completeists out there.
U.S. tour date added
July 10th, 2009I just received confirmation of a new U.S. tour date for next year. Burt will appear at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Jan. 29, 2010.
For the complete list of Burt’s upcoming concerts, visit the On Tour page.
European tour updates
June 17th, 2009Burt Bacharach will be performing at Wrightegaarden in Langesund, Norway, on July 13 and at Casa de Campo de Madrid in Madrid, Spain, on July 29. The Langesund show’s location was previously listed as TBA and the Madrid venue is a different one than previously announced.
You can see all of Burt’s current tour dates by visiting the On Tour page.
Happy Birthday, Burt Bacharach
May 12th, 2009Happy birthday to Burt Bacharach, who turns 81 today.
Forum up!
April 20th, 2009Sorry about the downtime, but the forum is back online.
Until I get around to installing a modification to prevent bot registrations, I’ve set it so that all new registrations on the discussion forum have to be activated by me. If you’re a new registrant and you want to start posting, send me an email at the address webmaster at bacharachonline dot com (you know what I mean) with your user name and put something in the header to let me know that you’re a real person and you’re awaiting activation.
Forum down
April 20th, 2009The Bacharach Discussion Forum is temporarily down due to a security issue. I hope to have it back online very soon. Sorry for the inconvenience.
European tour dates announced
March 11th, 2009Burt’s publicity folks have officially announced the dates for his European tour this summer.
July 9th Antwerp, Belgium Queen Elizabeth Hall
July 11th Rotterdam, Holland North Sea Jazz Festival
July 13th Oslo, Norway Venue TBA
July 16th Perugia, Italy Arena S. Giuliana
July 18th Lucca, Italy Piazza Napoleone
July 20th Taormina, Sicily Teatro Greco
July 22nd Brescia, Italy Piazza Loggia
July 24th Rome, Italy Cavea Auditorium Parco Della Musica
July 26th Malaga, Spain Malaga Teatro Cervantes
July 29th Madrid, Spain Madrid Conque Duque Theatre
In addition to the European dates, Burt will also perform on March 6, 2010, at Pittsburgh’s Heinz Hall. To see Burt’s complete upcoming concert schedule, visit the On Tour page.