The awe-inspiring Melisssa Manchester shares her 50 years as an award-winning musician and accomplished actress at the Live at the Orinda! concert series Oct. 5. The event marks the opening of this season’s concert series and will remind you why Manchester’s music still resonates today.
A Grammy Award-winning vocalist, an Academy Award-nominated songwriter and an accomplished actress will open this season’s Live at the Orinda! concert series Oct. 5 at 5 p.m.
No, the series doesn’t begin with three different artists but, rather, one multi-talented one: Melissa Manchester. The celebrated musician presents her new multi-media show “50 Threads: An Artist’s Journey,” which is an intimate look into her 50 years as an electrifying performer with an enormous creative output.
Raised in a musical family (her father was a bassoonist with New York Metropolitan Opera), Manchester began singing commercial jingles at 15 and became a staff writer for Chappell Music by age 17.
While on the jingle-singing circuit, she met and became life-long friends with Bette Midler and Barry Manilow.
“I had a very clear sense of the kind of life I wanted, and I had no Plan B, so I just put all of my hunger into that focus,” Manchester confided.
Fortunately, Manchester didn’t need a Plan B as her vocal talents and songwriting skills led her to a remarkable 50-year career marked by its versatility. The consummate performer not only has a plethora of hit original songs as a singer, but also as a songwriter for the likes of Barbara Streisand, Roberta Flack, Dusty Springfield, Kenny Loggins and many more.
Venturing into film, Manchester had two songs nominated for Academy Awards in the same year, giving her the distinction of being the first performer singing two nominated songs on the same Oscar telecast – “I’ll Never Say Goodbye” from “The Promise” and “Through the Eyes of Love” from “Ice Castles.” She went on to write music for several other films, including “Lady and the Tramp II” and “For Colored Girls.”
Embracing new challenges, Manchester demonstrated her acting chops on the big screen with Bette Midler in “For the Boys” and on television as the title character’s mother in the hit series “Blossom.”
The New York-born singer marked a significant milestone in her career with the release of her 25th album in February 2024. Entitled “Re: View,” it features a collection of her greatest hits revisited and reimagined.
“It’s sort of a thank you,” said Manchester. “It’s the re-recording of several of my hits with such guest artists as Dolly Parton singing ‘Midnight Blue’ and Kenny Loggins singing ‘Whenever I Call You Friend.’ A lovely new project.”
Later that same year, Manchester encouraged people to get out and vote with the inspirational “‘Til We Remember Who We Are.”
“I was playing Rose Bryce on the national tour of ‘Funny Girl,’ and the November election was coming up. I had never witnessed such a divide in our nation before. I read in various pieces of literature over the years that you will know the truth when you remember who you are and that really sang to me,” she said.
A video of the song can be found at youtube.com/watch?v=DoFWc6yA48U.
Manchester’s Orinda concert provides a glimpse into her storied career as she sings her well-known songs as well as some she’s never performed.
“It’s much more theatrical than a concert, really more of a one-woman show with lots of stories,” said Manchester.
The tireless performer, now 74, recently premiered the show at New York’s famed 54 Below to sold-out houses and glowing reviews.
“When you present something for the first time, you really don’t know what you have. I had just finished the two-year national tour of ‘Funny Girl,’” said Manchester. “I barely sang in the show, so it was really something to come back and hold the stage singing at 54 Below. I just wanted to make sure the muscles still worked.”
Not one to slow down, the songwriter showed fans a different side of her with the World Premiere of “Awake,” her first ever concerto for piano and orchestra, which was performed at the Corning Glass Museum’s “Endless Mountain Music Festival” this past July.
In between writing and performing, Manchester continues her ongoing mission to pass on the rich musical traditions that influenced her to aspiring songwriters and performers at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, the University of Southern California and Citrus College, where she is also the Artist in Residence.
“At this point in my career, if somebody asks me to have an adventure, I usually like to say yes,” Manchester said.
For tickets to her Orinda concert at the Orinda Theatre, 4 Orinda Theatre Square, go to orindamovies.com/live-at-orinda.