| BIRDLAND THEATER presents acclaimed vocalist PHILLIP OFFICER in "YOU FASCINATE ME SO" - his homage to MABEL MERCER - 9/4 | |
| Posted by: Official_Press_Release 11:27 am EDT 08/23/24 | |
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| BIRDLAND THEATER PRESENTS THE RETURN OF ACCLAIMED VOCALIST PHILLIP OFFICER IN HIS NEW SHOW " YOU FASCINATE ME SO" A TRIBUTE TO CABARET ICON MABEL MERCER TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 BIRDLAND THEATER will present the return of acclaimed vocalist Phillip Officer in his new show "You Fascinate Me So" – an homage to cabaret legend Mabel Mercer – on Tuesday, September 24 at 8:30 PM. "You Fascinate Me So" explores the evolution of American popular music, and a creative coterie of songwriters crafting a contemporary style of song in the early 20th Century. Phillip will be joined by Mark Hartman on piano, Jonathan Michel on bass, Kevin Kuhn on guitar, and Molly Rose on violin. There is a $30 music charge. Birdland is located at 315 West 44th Street in New York. No understanding of the American popular song is complete without the knowledge of Mabel Mercer and her influence on lyric interpretation. Her perfect diction and honest interpretation of lyrics attracted many of America's rising singers to learn her style: Frank Sinatra, Lena Horne, Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Peggy Lee, and Bobby Short. What they learned from Mercer transformed American culture. Tin Pan Alley was expanding its trunk of tunesmiths to include Broadway's brightest composing stars: Cole Porter, George & Ira Gershwin, Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein, Cy Coleman & Carolyn Leigh. The chic supper clubs and smokey saloons were a perfect playground for the intimate art of cabaret, while the current musical jazz age was in full swing. Phillip Officer, no stranger to great concert halls or smokey saloons, has sung in myriad venues ranging from the Broadway stage, world famous Carnegie Hall, and legendary Oak Room at the Algonquin Hotel. Phillip originated the role of the "Geek" in the Broadway Tony-nominated musical Side Show, in addition to creating a leading role in the musical Starcrossed at the Goodspeed Opera House-At-Chester (directed by Tony Award winner Martin Charnin and music by Tony Award winner Jeanine Tesori). He also made a cameo appearance in the Off-Broadway world premiere of Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens. Phillip made guest appearances with Michael Feinstein in Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall. As a featured soloist, other New York credits: Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Symphony Space, Kaufman Theatre at 92 St Y, Russian Tea Room, and Rainbow & Stars. Regional theatre appearances: Bay Street Theatre, Berkshire Theatre Festival, and Bucks County Playhouse. Serving as an ambassador in song for the Mabel Mercer Foundation, Phillip has traveled across the United States, in concert, to San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Palm Springs, East Hampton and Rose Hall in New York City. Officer's recording, Heart and Soul: The Musical World of Hoagy Carmichael, features octogenarian jazz violinist legend Johnny Frigo. Officer's debut songbook, Fancy Meeting You: The Lyrics of E.Y. "Yip" Harburg, was bestowed a Backstage Bistro Award. His second album, Many A New Day: The Lyrics of Oscar Hammerstein II, was declared "a shining example of cabaret art"" by Billboard. BIRDLAND THEATER will present Phillip Officer in "You Fascinate Me So" on Tuesday, September 24 at 8:30 PM. There is a $30 music charge and a $20 food and beverage minimum. Birdland is located at 315 West 44th Street (between 8th and 9th Avenues) in Manhattan. For reservations, please call (212) 581-3080 or visit www.BirdlandJazz.com. ---- UPCOMING HIGHLIGHTS AT BIRDLAND THEATER AND BIRDLAND JAZZ CLUB Every Monday at 9:30 PM – Birdland Jazz Club Jim Caruso's Cast Party "Jim Caruso's Cast Party," a New York institution for two decades, is a wildly popular weekly open mic night/variety show that has brought a sprinkling of Broadway glitz and urbane wit to Birdland since 2003. Called "show-business heaven" by The New York Times and "the gold-standard of open mic nights" by The Wall Street Journal, "Cast Party" presents a potent mix of Broadway stars, jazz swingers and cabaret legends, in addition to new faces and rising talent from every genre. The buoyant, sharp and charming Caruso guides the entire affair, while musical genius Billy Stritch (Liza Minnelli, Tony Bennett) holds court at the ivories and leads the Cast Party Symphony Orchestra (Steve Doyle on bass and Daniel Glass on drums). Eric Adams, the Mayor of the City of New York, recently proclaimed, "Whereas, I am enormously proud to lead a city renowned as a global capital of the arts, ‘Jim Caruso's Cast Party' has enriched our dynamic cultural landscape since 2003, and on the occasion of its 20th anniversary, I am pleased to recognize the weekly show's tremendous contributions to our performing arts and nightlife sectors." $30 + $20 food/drink minimum Tuesdays at 8:30 PM – Birdland Theater The Lineup with Susie Mosher "The Lineup with Susie Mosher" is a wild, anything-goes variety show featuring entertainers from the Broadway, cabaret and comedy scenes, ranging from today's hottest headliners to the best up-and-coming stars of tomorrow. Mosher – the noted actress and singer from Broadway and beyond, called "one of those talents you need to see to believe" by Time Out New York – hosts the spontaneous extravaganza on Tuesday nights, and each Lineup is unique and promises to deliver an unforgettable night of quintessential New York City entertainment. $20 + $20 food/drink minimum August 26 (Monday) 7:00 PM – Birdland Jazz Club Karen Mack – "Catch & Keep" Album Release Karen Mack is a multi-award-winning singer/songwriter based in NYC, with creative roots planted in jazz, folk, and swing. Her style meshes a warm storyteller's sensibility with an affinity for richly textured vocal harmony, wordplay and improvisation, creating a memorable listening experience on moving ballads, soulful blues, or fierce swing. Her new solo album Catch & Keep is a fun mix of contemporary jazz classics, including works by Dave Frishberg, Bob Dorough, Nellie McKay and Betty Bryant, alongside originals, produced and arranged by Peter Eldridge from the acclaimed vocal group, New York Voices. The band features Peter Eldridge (piano/additional vocals), Pete McCann (guitar), Matt Aronoff (bass), Jared Schonig (drums/ percussion), and very special guests Darmon Meader and Elliot Roth. Karen made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2019, and her Jazz at Lincoln Center debut in 2022 with the critically acclaimed vocal quartet Those Girls. She was part of the 25th Anniversary Gala for the NY Pops, and the UK premier of "Build Me a Bridge: The Music of Miller & Hammonds" at the Bridewell Theatre in London's West End. Peter Eldridge is at the forefront of both the jazz and the singer/songwriter realms as a vocalist, pianist, composer, and arranger, with a slew of critically praised albums of his own and with New York Voices, including two Grammy-Award winning projects with Paquito D'Rivera and The Count Basie Orchestra. $30 tables / $20 bar + $20 food/drink minimum September 9 (Monday) 7:00 PM - Birdland Jazz Club Bryce Edwards – "The Frivolity Hour" After several sold-out shows at Birdland, crooning troubadour and nouveau vaudevillian Bryce Edwards is thrilled to be bringing "The Frivolity Hour" back by popular demand. Once more, Bryce will share his brand of hot traditional jazz and early 20th century popular music. Edwards is a unique vocalist that takes equal cues from the crooners and soft singers of the late 1920s and early ‘30s and from the bombastic voices of the earlier acoustic phonograph era, as well as an instrumentalist who plays banjo, ukulele, tenor guitar, and mandolin in the modernistic jazz idiom. Leading a hot combination featuring the talents of jazzmen Scott Ricketts (cornet), Ricky Alexander (clarinet, tenor saxophone), Conal Fowkes (piano), and Jay Rattman (baritone saxophone), Edwards revels in the amazing sounds both hot and sweet that made the twenties roar! He brings his singular verve and sensibility to songs made famous by great artists such as Cliff Edwards, Ted Lewis, Jack Teagarden, Rudy Vallée, and Bing Crosby. Steeped in jazz age novelty, Edwards takes frivolity very seriously, and vows to entertain his audience, or die trying. $30 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum September 16 (Monday) 7:00 PM – Birdland Jazz Club Karen Mason – "Just in Styne: Karen Sings Jule" In an encore performance of her celebrated show, Broadway and nightclub star Karen Mason honors Jule Styne with Christopher Denny on piano and Tom Hubbard on bass. The evening is directed by Barry Kleinbort. From the first time she sang for Mr. Styne in NY to singing a concert honoring him at Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Mason has made the music of Jule Styne a part of her musical life. This concert includes Broadway tunes "Just in Time" and "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend," and pop standards "It's Magic" and "Every Street's a Boulevard in Old New York. Mason is the star of Broadway's Mamma Mia!, Wonderland, Hairspray, and Sunset Boulevard, as well as the first US tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Love Never Dies. She is the recipient of the 2019 MAC Lifetime Achievement Award. She has graced the stages of Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, and The Drury Lane Oakbrook, as well as Royal Albert Hall in London. She has eight albums, including her latest release Let the Music Play, featuring the title song from Paul Rolnick and David Friedman. $40 tables / $30 bar + $20 food/drink minimum September 23 (Monday) 7:00 PM – Birdland Jazz Club Amanda McBroom – "Wintersong" Amanda McBroom returns to her favorite Manhattan boite to celebrate the release of her brand-new recording, Wintersong, a collection of songs to mark ALL the winter holidays. There will be cherished holiday standards, musical classics by Dan Fogelberg, Joni Mitchell, Ken Hirsch, and of course, Amanda's own collaborations with her beloved writing pals Michele Brourman and Ann Hampton Callaway. McBroom has been composing music since her teens, and her songwriting and concert careers were launched by her Golden Globe-winning song "The Rose" – the mega-hit recorded by Bette Midler for the 1979 film of the same name, about a Janis Joplin-esque character. Since then, McBroom has appeared all over the world in concert, and her music has been recorded for TV, films and by major recording artists including LeAnn Rimes, Betty Buckley, Barbara Cook and The Manhattan Transfer. $40 tables / $40 bar + $20 food/drink minimum September 30 (Monday) 7:00 PM – Birdland Jazz Club Bill Russell – "Divas I Love Singing Lyrics I Wrote" Tony Award nominated writer Bill Russell will host Lillias White, Alice Ripley, Erin Davie, and Charity Angél Dawson in this special evening. The Broadway veterans will perform songs from Side Show; Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens; Pageant and other musicals with Mr. Russell talking about how those songs came to be. Music director Mark Hartman, drummer Jeff Potter, and bassist John Loehrke will provide accompaniment. Bill Russell is an internationally produced librettist who received Tony nominations for the book and lyrics for Side Show. Lillias White won the Tony for Best Actress in a Musical for The Life and recently completed a long run as Hermes in Hadestown. Alice Ripley won the same award for Next to Normal and starred as Violet Hilton in the original production of Side Show. Erin Davie and Charity Angél Dawson each have multiple Broadway credits, and both appeared in the revival of Side Show in 2014. $40 tables / $40 bar + $20 food/drink minimum |
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