Speaking of 2017 and ‘Stephens’, ASCAP and the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts will be hosting an evening with Stephen Schwartz entitled “Music & Broadway Memories” on Friday, February 2, 2017.

Featuring the composer and Special Broadway Guest Stars (Names TBA at a future date), it promises to be a eclectic and informative evening as Mr. Schwartz regales the audience with stories and songs from his formidable list of stage and screen musical work including Wicked, Godspell, Pippin, Pocahontas, Hunchback, Enchanted and Prince of Egypt.

Want to win a cool grand to spend on tickets for any Broadway show you want?  Here it is! “Show-Score.com”  is going national for their theatre contest giveaway!  Between now and August 31 (at 5pm East Coast Time), every time you log onto “show-score.com” and ‘score’ a current show; you get an automatic entry into the contest. The more shows you score, the more chances to win.
Interested? Click HERE for all the details and an article to see how Show-Score member and former contest winner “Guilty One” spent his $1000.

And finally, even though it’s not a musical, I’m including a true rarity. It’s the 1946 animated collaboration of Salvador Dali and Walt Disneycalled ‘Destino.’  Languishing in the Disney vaults for decades, this lost masterpiece was finished, produced and released in 2003 through the efforts of Roy E. Disney, Walt’s nephew.

It’s now online for viewing HERE  Take a look…it’s amazing!

I joined Harriet Schock‘s amazing songwriting class, and started writing songs like crazy. I loved it. No one was telling me what to write. I was my own boss. I started performing solo at small venues in LA, like Kulak’s and The Talking Stick, (which at that time was just a hole in the wall on Ocean Park Blvd.) At one of my Talking Stick shows, Gene Lippmann and Lorie Doswell were in the audience, (they were in my songwriting class at the time,) and from their seats, they started harmonizing with me to one of my songs. I think it was “Laraine.” It sounded good so I invited them up on stage. It was dreamy! So mellow! I actually thought to myself, “Wow, we really have something!” They had such great voices and the blend was incredible. We became a trio. Then the bass player, John Cartwright heard us at Kulak’s and joined us. Drummer, Doug Knoll joined in pretty much the same way. It all happened so organically. We called ourselves Tracy Newman and the Reinforcements, and I quickly had a full set of original songs and a whole lot of local bookings. Because of my long TV career, I had the money to pay everyone, too. So it all felt right. In 2007 we released our first CD, “A Place in the Sun.”

After 5 years or so, Lorie Doswell moved on to do her own thing, and Rebecca Leigh, who had been coming to all of our shows and was a diehard fan, stepped in and took Lorie’s place with almost no rehearsal time. It wasn’t exactly the same blend, but it was still terrific. We released another CD in 2012 called “I just See You.” Then Rebecca moved to New Orleans to pursue her own career. Paula Fong took her place, and after a few years, she moved on to be in a duet with the great Tom Kell. A strong solo performer, Annie Boxell jumped in and took her place. Several wonderful musicians came and went as well.

During all this, I did a CD for children called “I Can Swing Forever.” I began focusing on just songs for kids. As 2016 approached, I realized it was probably time to call it quits with my band. I wasn’t writing anything new for grown-ups, I wasn’t enjoying rehearsals, (none of us were,) and I was reluctant to book new gigs. It was obviously over, but I dragged my feet. I don’t know if it was fear or just laziness. I knew I would miss the harmony. Gene Lippmann has a timbre to his voice that is truly wonderful. Annie Boxell has remarkable energy and a unique tone. But the three of us together – that mellow blend I was in love with wasn’t really happening anymore. We had our moments, but overall, it just wasn’t there. It was hard for me to face that. The Reinforcements were a great comfort to me.

I made a few lame attempts at cutting back on band members, adding new ones, generally shaking it up, but my heart wasn’t in it. I finally cut the cord about a month ago. I wanted to do it at a special dinner – the right way – but couldn’t get everyone together at the same time, so I did it through emails and phone calls. To my great relief, everyone seemed fine about it. I think they were burned out on the band as well.

Clearly, it’s time for a new challenge. I needed to get back the feeling I had when I first started performing alone in New York in the 60s. I don’t know if I can, but I’ll never know if I don’t try. To that end, I’ve booked a few dates starting in September and am preparing a new kind of show for myself. I’m practicing a lot and figuring out a set list that works without a band… songs that don’t require harmony. I’m very lyric-driven, so I think it will be fine. I’m hoping my fans will accept the change. I’ll be doing Fireside Concerts on Friday, Sept 9 out in Newbury Park. This is the 4th year in a row I’ve been in this show, but this will be the first time without my band. Yikes! I’m so grateful to Bob Kroll for allowing me to do this. John Zipperer and Tom Corbett are the other acts. I will also be at the Coffee Gallery in Altadena on Tuesday, Sept 27th in Dave Harvey Presents. I hope I will see you there!