Showing titles in Music & Performing Arts

Aretha Franklin was a musical and cultural icon whose legacy spanned six decades! Born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1942, Aretha got her start singing in front of her father's Baptist congregation and found minor success as a gospel singer. She then set her sights on becoming a pop-music artist and used her powerful voice and impressive skills on the piano to get a record deal. Aretha released her first of many celebrated albums at the age of 18. In 1987, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, making her the first female artist to grace the prestigious list.

It is opening night of Miss Patel's Nativity play. The children have been rehearsing all December, and the audience are taking their seats for this year's hilarious school performance. Mary is getting her costume on, the Star is putting on his face paint, and everyone is very excited. Wait. Who brought that live donkey into the school? Why are both ends of the cow arguing? The Star is picking his nose! Nothing else could possibly go wrong...could it?

As a child, Amalia always thought she would grow up to be a teacher - that was until she saw dancers perform in her town square. She was fascinated by the way they twirled and swayed, and she knew that someday she would be a dancer, too.

The Backstagers are back for a thrilling third act! They’ve dealt with the ghost haunting their theater and faced off against the sinister siblings trying to steal the famous Designer’s Journal during their production of Tammy, but now, a mysterious masked man has taken all the ancient theater artifacts that they’ve collected. They don’t know what he wants or how to stop him - but the Backstagers will have to use all their skills and know-how to solve the mystery and save the day!

Ever since Precious Perez was a child, she has loved music. Her family always praised her singing, saying she could even attend Berklee College of Music one day—planting a seed that would become her dream. Precious was born two and a half months prematurely and weighed just one pound. Her eyes did not fully develop, and she is blind. With an engaging, accessible voice, Precious delivers an empowering first-person account of her determination to achieve her dreams, even with the world stacking the odds against her.

It’s 1936 and life is becoming dangerous for the Jews of Krakow. As incidents of violence and persecution increase day by day, Anna begs her father to leave Poland, but he insists it’s impossible. How could he give up his position as an acclaimed clarinetist in the Krakow Philharmonic Orchestra? When Anna and her father barely escape from a group of violent thugs, it becomes clear that the family must leave. But how? There seems to be only one possibility.

Hansel and Gretel are sent into the forest by their mother to collect berries as a punishment. The siblings get lost in the twilight and discover the gingerbread house of an old ugly witch. She enchants the children and wants to bake them into gingerbread. Hansel and Gretel use their wits to save themselves and push the wicked old woman into her own oven. The children are finally found by their worried parents, who are looking for them in the forest. In the end the family is happily united.

Roll up, roll up for the Fabulous Foskett Family Circus! There is Uncle Decimus on his scooter, Philbert juggling eggs, performing parrots, the daring fire-eating Uncle Phoenix, and much, much more!

Before Frank Sinatra became the international superstar that we remember him as today, he was just a young boy singing for spare change in his family's New Jersey tavern. Those small beginnings would be the start of an incredible career in which Frank became one of the best-selling musicians of all time—selling over 150 million records worldwide. More than just a musician, Frank also went on to win an Academy Award and a Golden Globe during his career as an actor.

Miss Luisa's School of Dance is a magical place. There are dancers and music...and bunnies that talk and do ballet! No one knows the bunnies are there. Then, Millie arrives. She's new to ballet class and doesn't know all the moves. But when all the other dancers are gone, she discovers the Ballet Bunnies! They can help Millie find her dancing feet - so long as she can keep the Ballet Bunnies a secret!

The Brass Tacks Quintet comes to the school to perform. Octavia, the music room spider, gets into trouble when she decides to get a close look at the French horn and becomes trapped inside the instrument. Before she can escape, she ends up on stage with the musicians. Will she ever find her way back to the music room?

Haunting, gentle spirits from far-flung worlds meet in the pulsing sphere of dreams and lullabies that is Angel Heart, a music storybook.

Kavi Sharma loves singing and dancing, so when her middle school announces a musical revue, she and her friends Sophie and Pari decide to perform a dance together. If only they could agree on what dance style to do! Soon, all Kavi can think about is the revue, and her schoolwork starts to slip, which has never happened to her before. Kavi's little brother Rishi says she has a bad case of "Broadwayitis." Can she find a way to stay on top of on her schoolwork and get her dance moves down before the curtain goes up?

Listen to author Marilyn Singer read this lively collection of poems about dance to the rhythm of each style. The poems are accompanied by original music.

Gorgeous, uber-harsh, and uber-stylish, Kacey Simon is the undisputed social dictator of Marquette Middle School. That is, until an eye infection and a visit to the dentist leave her with coke-bottle glasses, a mouth full of metal, and... a littttthsp! Dissed and dismissed by her popular friends, Kacey is forced to hang out with a boy who wears skinny jeans and jams in his own band. But as she adjusts to life as a loser, she's surprised to find that Skinny Jeans is kind of hot and his band is pretty cool.

Four hundred years ago, no one bothered to write down the exact words of stage plays. Characters’ lines were scribbled on small rolls of paper (as in, an actor’s role) and passed around, but no master script was saved for the future. The main reason we’ve heard of Romeo, Juliet, Hamlet, and Shakespeare himself is that a group of people made the excellent choice to preserve the plays after the Bard died. If they hadn’t created the book known as the First Folio, Shakespeare and his works would surely have been lost to history.

Posey's class has been learning all about bees, and when they plan to put on a play to demonstrate everything they've learned, Posey is thrilled. Posey loves a stage, and she's already got her heart set on the perfect role: the Queen Bee. But when Caitlyn is picked for the Queen Bee, Posey is crushed. Taking matters into her own hands, Posey swipes Caitlyn's special bee eraser when nobody's looking. But after she takes it, she feels worse. Maybe stealing wasn't the right thing to do - but how can she ever make things right?

The Johnsons are becoming country music stars. They're on TV and the radio - and it's all because of James. His voice and his guitar playing bring the songs to life, and make the audiences beg for more. Most kids would love it. Not James. He's had to change his name to "Jimmy Jo", dress in clothes he hates, and turn into someone else. Will he ever be able to cope with the fame?

Strum into the world of the ukulele! Have you ever dreamed of strumming along to your favorite island tunes? Do you crave the ukulele’s cheerful twang echoing through your room? Have you ever wondered if you could make music with its tiny strings? Well, grab your ukulele because the answer is YES. Get ready for a musical adventure with Ukulele for Kids, your guide to unlocking the secrets of this remarkable instrument. Inside, you’ll find everything you need to transform from curious beginner to stunning ukulele player, ready to wow your family and friends. Here’s a glimpse of ...

Twelve-year-old Salva Sanchez has always been a lifelong fan of Celia Cruz, also known as "the queen of salsa." Her love of Celia stems from her mother, who leaves Salva without explanation one awful day. Now Salva is stuck with her investigative journalist father in a trailer park. In the middle of nowhere. As Salva acclimates to her new environment and desperately tries to figure out why her mother left, she befriends a posse of campground kids who have started a band. When the kids discover that Salva has an amazing singing voice, they convince her to join their group.