What has Christiana been up to in quarantine?
Posted on August 27, 2020
Christiana Cole (right) and Lauren Kleinbaum (left) have been busy writing their original musical comedy Puritan/Lesbian/Witch. The song “Neighborly” (sung by time-traveling Puritan girl, Mary May Obedience Higginbottom Brown) premiered on the McGuire & Simon Virtual Salon on May 21st. You can learn more about the show at kleinbaumandcole.com.
Christiana has been busy recording demos from their home studio, including all the treble vocals for a new opera by legendary composer Philip Glass.
Christiana’s short musical “The Charm” (with composer David Shenton) is being published by Theater Now New York.
Christiana continues teaching voice lessons and writing coaching over Zoom.
Christiana continues to stand with their Black friends in solidarity, and always welcomes feedback on how they can be a better friend, artist, and teacher. Black Lives Matter.
Christiana Cole sings with Joanna Gleason at Renberg Theatre in Los Angeles
Posted on February 13, 2020 1 Comment
From BroadwayWorld:
The Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center will present Tony Award-winner Joanna Gleason in the West Coast premiere of her acclaimed solo show Out of the Eclipse for two shows only on February 15 and 16, 2020. Gleason wrote Out of the Eclipse after a dark period in her life – the loss of both parents within a four-month period in 2017. As she emerged from the darkness and back into the light, the idea for this show came to fruition. Although inspired by loss, it’s an evening as funny, charming, and playful as it is revealing.
In a deeply funny and moving musical journey through life’s mysteries, Gleason digs into life as a daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, and Tony Award-winning actress. Said Gleason, “This is a story, a personal memoir … not a memorial and not a traditional cabaret show. It’s a theatre piece – I’m talking directly to the audience, talking about what I went through, what my parents went through, and how the stories they told took on new meaning.”
For these performances, Gleason will be accompanied by the Moontones, a group of three exceptional singers (Michael Protacio, Christine Cornell, and Christiana Cole), and musicians Jeffrey Klitz on piano, Katherine Spingarn on cello, Justin Rothberg on a variety of stringed instruments, and Shane Del Robles on percussion.
Joanna Gleason has appeared in 15 Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-off Broadway shows. She won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods. She has three Drama Desk Awards, along with two Outer Critics’ Circle Award nominations and wins. She received Tony Award nominations for her performances in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Joe Egg. Off-Broadway shows include The Normal Heart (Public Theater), Sons of the Prophet (Roundabout), and It’s Only a Play and Eleemosynary (Manhattan Theatre Club). Film work includes Woody Allen’s Crimes and Misdemeanors and Hannah and Her Sisters, Boogie Nights, Last Vegas, and The Skeleton Twins. Television appearances include The Affair, The West Wing, The Newsroom, Friends, Bette, Murphy Brown, and Love and War, among many others. For more, visit www.joannagleason.com.
Curtain time is 8pm on Saturday, February 15, and 7pm on Sunday February 16. General admission tickets are $35 and may be purchased online at www.lalgbtcenter.org/theatreor by calling (323) 860-7300. Net proceeds from all ticket sales will support the full range of free and low-cost programs and services offered by the Los Angeles LGBT Center. The Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Renberg Theatre is located at 1125 N. McCadden Place (one block east of Highland, just north of Santa Monica Boulevard), in Hollywood, 90038.
Christiana Cole sings “Let it Go” and “Into the Unknown” with special guests Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez, songwriters of Frozen & Frozen 2
Posted on November 26, 2019 Leave a Comment
Christiana Cole joins the songwriters of mega-hits Frozen & Frozen 2, Kristen Anderson Lopez and Robert Lopez, for an intimate evening of song and storytelling on Friday December 13. Christiana will be Elsa for the evening, singing “Let it Go” (Frozen) and “Into the Unknown” (Frozen 2). Seating is limited for the special event, so get tickets now!
Friday Dec. 13 at 7pm
The Church of the Holy Apostles
612 Greenwood Avenue
Tickets are $60 and available at www.holyapostlesbrooklyn.com.
Christiana Cole stars in AN ENCHANTED APRIL Off-Broadway
Posted on October 2, 2019 Leave a Comment
Christiana Cole stars as Rose Arbuthnot in AN ENCHANTED APRIL, Off-Broadway at Theatre Row starting November 1, 2019.
An exciting new musical based on the classic book – An Enchanted April casts its spell as four women escape their lives only to find themselves.
London…a particularly dreary February in 1922. Four world-weary women, desperate to escape their memories of WWI and the repression of London, dare to rent a villa in Italy for a month. Miraculously, in just one short Enchanted April, the lives and hearts of these women are transformed by wisteria, sunshine, a small medieval castle…and each other.
Enchanted April is by Elizabeth Hansen and C. Michael Perry, with direction by Alice Jankell.
Christiana Cole sings on the soundtrack of The Farewell
Posted on July 17, 2019 Leave a Comment
Christiana Cole sings on the soundtrack of The Farewell, starring actor and rapper Awkwafina. Alex Weston composed the music for the soundtrack. Christiana can be heard on the songs “Come Healing,” “Hotel Best,” and “Family.”
The Farewell is a 2019 American biographical comedy-drama film written and directed by Lulu Wang. It stars Awkwafina, Tzi Ma, Diana Lin, Zhao Shuzhen, Lu Hong, and Jiang Yongbo and follows a family who, upon learning their grandmother in China has only a short while left to live, decide not to tell her and schedule a family gathering before she passes.
The film was screened in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and was theatrically released in the United States on July 12, 2019, by A24.
The full soundtrack, including the tracks featuring Christiana, can be streamed on Spotify here.
Christiana Cole narrates In Dreams: Debussy and Fiday at the Arete Gallery in Brooklyn
Posted on June 12, 2019 Leave a Comment
Sunday, June 16, 8pm: Christiana Cole joins flutist Alice Jones and pianist Derin Oge at the Arete Gallery for an evening of chamber music.
In Dreams dives into the hope and discomfort of the subconscious. Christiana narrates 12 sensual poems (originally attributed to Sappho) in Claude Debussy’s “Bilitis.” Michael Fiday‘s “Nine Haiku” (2007) sets works by 8th century poet Basho with flashes of powerful images, dreams that come into focus for only a moment before they vanish. The program also features Houtaf Khoury‘s “Apres un reve” (2008), a modern nightmare reacting to the terror of relentless war in the Middle East: a dream of hope amidst the fatigue of fear. Hasan Ucarsu‘s “…the city of anachronistic nostalgia, Istanbul…” (2003) celebrates his and Derin’s hometown of Istanbul, a city rich in contradictions and layers.
In Dreams
Alice Jones, flute
Derin Oge, piano
Christiana Cole, narrator
At the Arete Gallery in Greenpoint, Brooklyn
67 West Street #103, Brooklyn, NY
Sunday June 16, 8pm
$15 entry at the door
Directions: G train to Greenpoint Ave or B46, B62, B43, B24
Areté is located in the rear of the building, through the main lobby and into the outdoor courtyard.
Christiana Cole sings on the BMI Showcase April 1
Posted on March 15, 2019 Leave a Comment
Christiana Cole sings the work of up-and-coming musical theatre writing teams on the BMI Showcase on April 1. Christiana will be singing three solo songs for three very different roles that she has had the pleasure of developing:
“What Even” from The Average-Sized Mermaid by Jessica Fleitman and Rick Bassett
“Every Day” from Uncivil Ones by Christian Duhamel and Ayumi Okada
“Back to My Arms” from #Mars by Laura Kleinbaum and Willem Oosthuysen
The Drama League-, Drama Desk- and Tony®-honored
BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop
presents
THE BMI WORKSHOP SHOWCASE
New Theatre Songs by Members of the Workshop
The BMI Workshop Showcase will feature performances of new songs written and developed by recent members of the Workshop. Admission to this showcase is FREE.
The Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater
10 W 64th St
[between Lincoln Center Plaza and Central Park West at the West Side YMCA]
New York, NY 10023
Monday, April 1 at 3 pm
Monday, April 1 at 6 pm
Running time: 75 minutes
To reserve a ticket, please RSVP. Include the following information when sending your RSVP: Preferred Show Time, Name, Affiliation, and # of Tickets.
BMIMusicalTheatre@bmi.com or Sylvia at 212 220-3177
FEATURED WRITERS
Benjamin Velez
Christian Duhamel & Ayumi Okada
Erin Murray Quinlan
Jack Coen
Jae Broderick & Andre McRae
Jae Broderick & Dylan MarcAurele
Janine McGuire & Arri Lawton Simon
Jessica Fleitman & Rick Bassett
Laura Kleinbaum & Willem Oosthuysen
Oliver Houser
Phoebe Kreutz & Dan Israel
Sam Wessels & Marc Chan
Sami Horneff & Ben Diskant
Tia DeShazor & Andy Roninson
Christiana backs up Tony-winner Joanna Gleason at 54 Below
Posted on February 19, 2019
Tony Award winner Joanna Gleason returns to Feinstein’s/54 Below with her new show, Out Of The Eclipse. With songs by Kurt Weill, Stephen Sondheim, Brian Wilson, Sam Phillips, Rodgers and Hart, Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, Van Morrison, Nanci Griffith, Paul Simon, and The Girls of the Golden West, she brings us through the dark time since last we saw her, and into the light. She reunites with her arranger and music director Jeffrey Klitz, and is backed by the Moontones. (Guitar, banjo, autoharp, cello, percussion, piano, and the close harmony vocals of Christiana Cole, Christine Cornell and Michael Protacio.) A revival for the spirit!
Revered by Broadway audiences for her unforgettable (and award-winning) portrayal of The Baker’s Wife in the original company of Into the Woods, New York has also embraced Joanna in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Nick and Nora, and Sons of The Prophet among others, racking up all of the major theatre awards along the way. This is to say nothing of her film and TV work, which includes Boogie Nights, Crimes & Misdemeanors, The Wedding Planner, and a whole host of other projects.
Click here for more info and to buy tickets.
Joanna Gleason at 54 Below
254 W 54th St. Cellar level, NYC 10019
TIMES (show/doors)
Fri, Mar 1: 7:00 pm / 5:00 pm
Sat, Mar 2: 7:00 pm / 5:00 pm
Fri, Mar 22: 7:00 pm / 5:00 pm
Click here to buy tickets.
$55 – $75
VIP Seating: $75 – $85
Premiums: $95 – $105
Additional $6 If Purchased At Venue
$25 Food & Beverage Minimum
WATCH: “Christmas Lullaby”
Posted on December 24, 2018 Leave a Comment
Christiana Cole sings “Christmas Lullaby” from Songs for a New World by Jason Robert Brown. Andy Roninson, piano.
Listen on iTunes
Listen on Spotify
and available on all major music sites.
Videography by Tyler William Milliron, editing by Mark Rusciano, recorded live at Good Child Music Studios with Bryan Smith engineering and mastering.
WATCH: “A Cozy Christmas with Christiana Cole”
Posted on December 7, 2018 Leave a Comment
“A Cozy Christmas with Christiana Cole” is available for download NOW.
Click here to listen with iTunes.
Click here to listen on Spotify.
Click here to listen with CDBaby.
Christiana Cole 