| 16th Annual URBAN STAGES WINTER RHYTHMS 2024 - begins December 4-15, 2024 | |
| Posted by: Official_Press_Release 11:02 am EST 11/08/24 | |
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| URBAN STAGES WINTER RHYTHMS 2024 Presents the 16th Annual Award-Winning Series December 04 – 15, 2024 22 shows over 11 days with over 100 performers! "Next to the Cabaret Convention, December's annual Winter Rhythms Festival is arguably the most important yearly collection of Cabaret performances in the city!" – Mark Dundas Wood, Bistro Bits Performing Cabaret, Musical Theatre, Jazz, Classical, The Great American Songbook, Pop, Rock, International Music and more! The series Gala Night will be opened by the incomparable KT Sullivan! New York's Urban Stages' Artistic Director Frances Hill and Sue Matsuki (Producer/ Performer) announce the 16th annual awarding-winning cabaret series, Winter Rhythms, with performances from Wednesday, December 4th through Sunday, December 15th. This celebrated series will benefit Urban Stages' Outreach, Arts in Education programs. All shows (except the Gala Night) are $35.00 with special discount codes for multi-show purchases. Individual tickets links are listed on each show OR tickets for the entire series are now on sale at: https://www.UrbanStages.org/winterrhythms2024 Performance Schedule *Artists, programming, and schedules are subject to change. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4 – GALA NIGHT! 7:00pm | Champagne and Wine Pre-Show Reception 7:30pm | KT Sullivan in "My Piano & Me" "Ms. Cabaret", the Director of the Maber Mercer Foundation and a beloved champion of our Cabaret community, KT Sullivan opens our series in a show called "My Piano & Me" celebrating how she reinvented herself as a singing pianist. Ms. Sullivan's personal connection to her lyrics, her funny and poignant storytelling and her exquisite voice promises a very special evening. $60.00 Ticket link: https://www.tixtree.com/e/winter-rhythms-kt-sullivan-in-far-away-places-c4f1f4f46e1c THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5 – WELCOME TO THE FAMILY NIGHT! 7:00pm I Seung Choi's "Christmas Isn't Just for Asians" Also a new act to Winter Rhythms, Seung has been a part of Urban Stages performing for our Outreach Programs. It's now time for him, and his very talented cast, to take the main stage! Starring: Seung Choi - Ryanne Claritas – Carmen Ezcurra – Ellis Gage - GG - Chaeyeon Kim – Timmy Ong & Karen Joy Pangantihon. Ticket link: https://www.tixtree.com/e/winter-rhythms-seung-chois-christmas-isnt-just-for-asians-1bd6fca85a77 9:00pm | "Snowed in with the Abominable Magritte & Rosen" Musical theatre writing duo and rumored cryptozoologists Alara Magritte and Daniel Rosen emerge from hibernation for one night only to present a cozy cabaret that'll leave you warmed up like a good cup of cocoa. Known for "their gift for scoring harmony and pushing the boundaries of subject matter in musical theater," the pair's catchy, genre-bending, and femme-centric work has been produced from coast to coast. A seasonal showcase of their repertoire will be performed by the glittering talents of Lucy Hall - Andrew Harvey & Moana Poyer. With Musical Director: Allison Kraus. Ticket link: https://www.tixtree.com/e/winter-rhythms-snowed-in-with-the-abominable-magritte-rosen-7e673caa4f82 FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6 – POP, ROCK & ORIGINAL SONG NIGHT! 7:00pm | Lucille Carr-Kaffashan in "Eight Days a Week: Celebrating 60 Years of Beatles Music" This Bistro & MAC Hanson Award Winner has been presenting a series of singer-songwriter shows that have been extremely popular with both audiences and Cabaret reviewers. Also new to our family, we've asked her to bring her very popular show celebrating none other than The Beatles! With Musical Director: Jeff Cubeta & Matt Scharfglass on Bass. Directed by: David Hilder. Ticket link: https://www.tixtree.com/e/winter-rhythms-lucille-carr-kaffashan-in-eight-days-a-week-celebrating-60-years-of-beatles-music-276f4ab36238 9:00pm | Amy Loper & Kenny Passarelli in "Forever is Now...A Story of Love, Music & Transformation" The romantic and unlikely story of a professional musician and a lawyer who fall in love when they are both eligible for Social Security. A Winter Rhythms favorite, Amy and Kenny bring their own charming love story to our stage unfolding through their original songs that will leave you feeling transformed! Ticket link: https://www.tixtree.com/e/winter-rhythms-amy-loper-kenny-passerelli-in-forever-is-nowa-story-of-love-music-transformation-6ee3a3866f5e SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7 – HOLIDAY REUNION DAY! 3:00pm | Michael Colby's "Holiday Regards" A celebration of all the holidays...Christmas, New Years, Hanukkah, Valentine's Day, Martin Luther King Day, Easter, The 4th of July, Halloween, and Thanksgiving. Featuring lyrics by Michael Colby in collaboration with a pantheon of top New York composers. The cast, subject to availability, includes Broadway and Cabaret stars: Celia Berk – Nikita Burshteyn - Eric Michael Gillett – Stephanie Pope Lofgren & Megan Styrna. Featuring a very special guest in each show including Bethe Austin – Steven Brinberg - Robert Cuccioli – Carole Demas & Linda Purl! With Musical Director: Michael Lavine. Directed by: Sara Louise Lazarus. Ticket link: https://www.tixtree.com/e/winter-rhythms-michael-colbys-holiday-regards-491bf5a5fa27 7:00pm | "We Go Together: A Grease Reunion" Celebrating the 52nd year of Grease, some of the Original Broadway cast members and Producer, Ken Waissman, come together to celebrate this landmark show. Grease opened on Broadway on February 14, 1972 and played through to 1981 with 3,388 performances making it, at the time, the longest-running Broadway show until 1983. This beloved show was revived in 1994 and again in 2007, but it still plays in regional theaters across the country. Our cast tonight includes Carole Demas - Ilene Kristen - Jim Canning & Ray DeMattis. All will perform selections from the show as well as some of their own. With Musical Director: Ian Herman. Ticket link: https://www.tixtree.com/e/winter-rhythms-we-go-together-a-grease-reunion-a2f62c6ab97a SUNDAY, DECEMBER 8 – ALL ABOUT THE HOLI-DAZE 3:00pm | Beth & Ritt's 9th Annual "Holiday Survival Kit" In a joyous and soulful celebration, award-winning songwriters Beth Falcone and Ritt Henn serve up original and originally-arranged songs and stories from around the globe, honoring the winter solstice and the return to light. Joined by Roosevelt André Credit (Met Opera/Broadway) and Christine de Frece (BroadwayWorld Award Winner), this foursome will sing you safely through the seasons, from Diwali to Lunar New Year and all that's in between, including Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa, with songs in French, Ladino (Judeo-Spanish), German, Sanskrit, merry olde English and more. Happy DiwanukKwanzmas to one and all! Cast: Beth Falcone, Ritt Henn, Roosevelt André Credit, and Christine de Frece. Ticket link: https://www.tixtree.com/e/winter-rhythms-beth-ritts-9th-annual-holiday-survival-kit-566b333dfd33 7:00pm | ENCORE! Michael Colby's "Holiday Regards" A celebration of all the holidays...Christmas, New Years, Hanukkah, Valentine's Day, Martin Luther King Day, Easter, The 4th of July, Halloween, and Thanksgiving. Featuring lyrics by Michael Colby in collaboration with a pantheon of top New York composers. The cast, subject to availability, includes Broadway and Cabaret stars: Celia Berk – Nikita Burshteyn - Eric Michael Gillett – Stephanie Pope Lofgren & Megan Styrna. Featuring a very special guest in each show including Bethe Austin – Steven Brinberg - Robert Cuccioli – Carole Demas & Linda Purl! With Musical Director: Michael Lavine. Directed by: Sara Louise Lazarus. Ticket link: https://www.tixtree.com/e/winter-rhythms-michael-colbys-holiday-regards-491bf5a5fa27 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10 – OUR FAVORITE GUYS NAMED JOHN NIGHT! 7:00pm | John Forster's "The BiPolar Express – An Evening of Musical Meds to Get You Through the Holidays!" Yule laugh! Yule cry! Holidays can be tough aboard the Bipolar Express, but the devilish musical wit of award-winning songwriter and performer John Forster will bring us home safe. "The Christmas that Fell Off A Truck" and "Hanukkah Aboard the Starship Enterprise" are just two of the evening's treats. Come join John and friends Tom Chapin, Amy Englehart and more for an evening you won't forget. Ticket link: https://www.tixtree.com/e/winter-rhythms-the-bipolar-express-an-evening-of-musical-meds-to-get-you-through-the-holidays-49c698002491 9:00pm I "An Evening with Jon Weber Jon Weber is considered one of the best and most beloved Musical Directors in the city working with some of the biggest names in the business. He is also a super-star in his own right. Tonight, we experience just Jon is his natural habitat...on stage, behind the piano. Ticket link: https://www.tixtree.com/e/winter-rhythms-an-evening-with-jon-weber-1c2a4e95be21 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11 – FROM CABARET TO "STRIESAND" NIGHT! 7:00pm | Matthew Martin Ward & Friends Another beloved Musical Director, Matthew is a great singer-songwriter who just debuted his first ever solo Cabaret show! Tonight, he will sing for us and play for some wonderful singers. Featuring: Ellen Auwarter– Ira Lee Collings – Goldie Dver – Stew Frimer – Daryl Glenn - Mary Lahti – Debbie Kane Raymar – Bennett Silverstein & Geoffrey Stoner. Ticket link: https://www.tixtree.com/e/winter-rhythms-matthew-martin-ward-friends-29833075bc93 9:00pm | Steven Brinberg in "SIMPLY BARBRA: The Holiday Show" Steven Brinberg is a multi-award-winning International, impersonation star performing as the one and only Babs...Barbra Streisand! Your eyes and your ears will make you swear you are at one of her concerts. Steven's voice, much like Barbra's, is other-worldly. With Musical Director: Michael Lavine. Ticket link: https://www.tixtree.com/e/winter-rhythms-steven-brinberg-in-simply-barbra-the-holiday-show-642948d1aa7f THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12 – STARS OF THE FUTURE NIGHT! 7:00pm | "Singers You Should Know" This show features some singers that should all be on your artistic radar. Producer Sue Matsuki met each of these singers randomly as one does here in New York. Come find out how and come hear some incredible singing! Starring: Anthony Ferr – Grace Flavien – Jenny Kluth & Elvira Totora. With Musical Director: Ian Herman. Ticket link: https://www.tixtree.com/e/winter-rhythms-singers-you-should-know-24b9df64544c 9:00pm | Sara Louise Lazarus presents Circle in the Square's "Broadway Blockbusters" Hear all your favorite Broadway songs sung by The Circle Singers, Circle in the Square Theatre School's exciting Musical Theatre graduating class. "Broadway Blockbusters" will include songs from Phantom of the Opera, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Les Miserables and many more. This show is a delight and is always a huge crowd pleaser! MAC and Bistro Award-winner Sara Louise Lazarus directs, with Musical Director: Joe Baker. Ticket link: https://www.tixtree.com/e/winter-rhythms-sara-louise-lazarus-presents-circle-in-the-squares-broadway-blockbusters-c605d805f34d FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13 – A NIGHT OF NITES! 7:00pm | "Lady Singer-Songwriter Nite" This show celebrates three of New York's favorite lady singer-songwriters featuring their glorious voices singing their own songs! We are thrilled to put these three gals on one stage as part of this year's festival...Jazz Goddess Laurie Krauz (with Daryl Kojak) - Cabaret Icon Nancy Winston and R&B/Soul Sister Lina Koutrakos (with Gregory Toroian).They will share an incredible, eclectic evening of music celebrating the female songwriter with jazz, blues, cabaret, R&B and soul songs. Ticket link: https://www.tixtree.com/e/winter-rhythms-lady-singer-songwriters-32a263076e20 9:00pm | "JAZZ Nite" Tonight we have some of the best working jazz vocalists all on one stage! Starring: Marion Cowings - Mary Foster Conklin – Wendy Luck – Jeannette Miller – Elizabeth Hayden-Passero & Saundra Silliman with a fantastic jazz trio to be announced soon! Ticket link: https://www.tixtree.com/e/winter-rhythms-jazz-nite-d45b10478ca9 SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14 – SHOW TUNES, JAZZ & OTHER FUN STUFF! 3:00pm | Gerry Geddes Presents "Someone Else's Hat: A Sondheim Wishlist" All-Star Broadway and Cabaret Cast: Dana Aber – Brian Childers – Matt DiPasquale – Karen Mack – Sue Matsuki – Andre Montgomery – Lauren Mufson & George Winters will sing songs that Sondheim told New York Times he wished he had written. There will also be original stories from producer Gerry Geddes' new book, Didn't I Ever Tell You This? With Musical Director: Darius Frowner Ticket link: https://www.tixtree.com/e/gerry-geddes-presents-someone-elses-hat-a-sondheim-wishlist-c856c26c3849 7:00pm | "The Village Gate Reunion Show" Come meet some of the original Village Gate singers reuniting to sing for Urban Stages and to honor their Village Gate mother, Trudi Mann. Featuring: Greg Calderone - Ian Daisey - Jennifer Pace with more names to be announced. Hosted by: Sue Matsuki. Featuring: Piano: Gregory Toroian – Bass: Skip Ward & Drums: David Silliman. Ticket link: https://www.tixtree.com/e/winter-rhythms-the-village-gate-reunion-show-3f2e3931ef74 9:00pm I Olivia Stevens in "Pleasure & Peril: The Story of Zarah Leander – The Siren of the Third Reich" Swedish actress Zarah Leander was the biggest star in the Third Reich and became Hitler's favorite singer. Her films were box-office successes beyond the German borders and her record sales made her millions. Then, in 1943 she faced a choice that would alter her life forever. This sparkling and riveting show portrays a woman torn between artistry and politics, who was both idolized and hated – who´s now a gay icon in Europe, and who´s songs remain unforgettable to this day. Olivia mixes the story with her Jewish Grandparents' escape from the Ukraine to New York. With Musical Director: James Followell. Directed by: Eric Michael Gillett. Ticket link: https://www.tixtree.com/e/winter-rhythms-olivia-stevens-in-pleasure-peril-the-story-of-zarah-leander-the-siren-of-the-third-reich-e32059c2a9e5 SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15 – A FUTURE OF HOPE DAY! 3:00pm | Fiona Misiura & Darin F. Earl II present "The Cabaret is Going Wrong!" When the holiday comes around, an enthusiastic group of artists plan to put together the season's best carols but, as the age-old adage goes, "the show must go on." What will happen when their winter classics are thwarted by chance and the spectacle of theater falls into chaos? Join this journey of laughter and celebrate the mishaps of holiday cheer! Featuring: Trent Dahlin - Sean Diveny - Liam Gerard - Gaby Henriquez - Abeba Isaac - James Mosser - Caitlin Navarrete - Darianna Pérez - Elizabeth Ritacco & Devon Wells. Directed by Darin F. Earl II and Fiona Misiura. Ticket link: https://www.tixtree.com/e/winter-rhythms-fiona-misiura-darin-earl-ii-present-the-cabaret-is-going-wrong-69852e1c2e06 7:00pm I Tom Toce & D.C. Anderson Present "Songs of Hope VII" For our 7th Annual closing concert producers and songwriters Tom Toce (and Urban Stages' President) and D.C. Anderson will co-host a show of all hopeful and inspirational music. Special Guest: Folk Goddess, Christine Lavin with the book author of Amoeba Hop, Betsy Franco Feeney, Elizabeth Ward Land, Amy Englehart and more cast members to be announced soon. Ticket link: https://www.tixtree.com/e/winter-rhythms-tom-toce-dc-andersons-songs-of-hope-vii-2e0dbf6b4e09 All shows $35 (Except for the Gala Night) Buy two shows on the same night for $60.00! A student code for a $20.00 ticket is available upon request with proof of ID at the door. Urban Stages - 259 W. 30th St. - 212-421-1380 Tickets: https://www.urbanstages.org/winterrhythms2024 URBAN STAGES is an award-winning, not-for-profit, Off-Broadway Theatre Company founded in 1984 by current Artistic Director Frances Hill. The comedy, The Making of a Great Moment (2023), by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb recently closed to high acclaim. Eleanor and Alice, Conversations between Two Remarkable Roosevelts (2022) by Ellen Abrams received excellent reviews and in December (2022), Urban Stages presented the World Premiere of acclaimed playwright Zhu Yi's A Deal. For over 30 years, Urban Stages has produced dozens of Worlds, American and NYC premieres including Pulitzer Prize Finalist Bulrusher (2007) by Eisa Davis. They have been honored with awards, nominations and recognition from the Drama Desk, Obie Awards, Audelco, Outer Critics Circle and much more. Their world premiere of the musical Langston In Harlem by Walter Marks (music and book) and Kent Gash (book and direction) garnered a Drama Desk Nomination, a Joe A. Calloway award and 4 Audelco awards including Best Musical Production of 2010. Trezana Beverly's Mabel Madness (2016) was nominated for an Audelco Award for Outstanding Solo Performance, Unseamly by Oren Safdie (2015) was a NY Times Critics Pick, Jim Brochu Character Man (2014) was nominated for a Drama Desk and an Outer Critics Circle award for Best Solo performance and Honky (2013) by Greg Kalleres saw a regional run at San Diego Rep and was televised nationally on PBS in late 2015. After production, most plays move on to larger venues. Men On The Verge Of A Hispanic Breakdown by Guillermo Reyes and Minor Demons by Bruce Graham both moved to commercial theatres. Chili Queen, a play by newscaster Jim Lehrer, transferred to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. (1989). My Occasion Of Sin (2012) by Monica Bauer won critical acclaim when it moved to Detroit Rep. Bill Bowers has toured the United States and the world with his two Urban Stages premieres blending mime and theatre – Beyond Words (2012) and Under A Montana Moon (2002)! Some Urban Stages premieres have even been developed into film and television projects such as Scar by Murray Mednick, Conversations With The Goddesses by Agapi Stassinopoulos, and Cotton Mary by Alexandra Viets. In addition to plays and musicals, they hold an annual music festival - Winter Rhythms - that features famous and up-and-coming Cabaret, musical theater, songwriters, lyricists and other music artists. In 2016, Winter Rhythms was honored with the Bistro Award for Outstanding Series, and in 2015, it received the Ruth Kurtzman Benefit Series MAC Award from the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs. SUE MATSUKI (Producer Winter Rhythms) This 16th year of Winter Rhythms marks Sue's 11th year as a participant and the 6th year as the Assistant Producer and now the Producer of this Festival. Sue is an award-winning singer and songwriter, producer, host, educator, columnist and the co-author of So You Want to Sing Cabaret. She is a Bistro Award winner for Outstanding Collaboration with her Musical Director, Gregory Toroian; she is the very first recipient of the Julie Wilson Award given by the Mabel Mercer Foundation; and she is a multi-award-winning MAC Award recipient for Jazz Vocalist, Jazz Duo and Songwriter. Matsuki is a Cabaret/Jazz singing veteran who has played every NYC Cabaret room including: Feinstein's at the Regency, The Cutting Room, 54 Below, Town Hall, The Algonquin, Jan Wallman's, 88's, Don't Tell Mama and several of the major Jazz Clubs including the legendary Village Gate, Birdland, The Iridium and Sweet Rhythm. This year she played Crazy Coqs in London and Act2PV in Puerto Vallarta in Mexico. She's even played Carnegie Hall and appeared in five seasons as a Diva Double at the Metropolitan Opera. As an educator she has taught Cabaret lyric connection and performance business classes at: Mac-to-School, Cabaret Hotspot! Cabaret U, The Ridgefield Theater Barn, UCONN's Osher's Lifelong Learning Institute, the Vancouver School of Performing Arts and at Fordham University. She also is one of the producers of the NATS Music Theater Competition. For more information please visit: www.suematsuki.com FRANCES HILL (Founding Artistic Director) began her theatrical career in California as an actress. Since 1983, Ms. Hill has overseen more than 600 staged readings/workshops and 90 productions of new works for the stage. She has directed over 30 workshops and productions. Her favorite directing credits include: Gino DiIorio's Apostasy, Roma Greth's Our Summer Days, Jim Lehrer's Chili Queen, (directed at Urban Stages and Kennedy Center), John Picardi's Seven Rabbits on a Pole and The Sweepers (directed at Urban Stages and Capital Rep); Comfort Women by Chugmi Kim (Urban Stages 2004), 27 Rue De Fleurs and My Occasion of Sin. She directed the Urban Stages World Premiere of Mabel Madness (2016), written by and starring Trezana Beverley. Two of her plays have been produced, Our Bench and Life Lines. Under the guidance of Ms. Hill, Playwrights' Preview Productions/Urban Stages have moved two plays into commercial Off-Broadway successes. Minor Demons opened the new Century Center Theater and Men on the Verge of His-Panic Breakdown won an Outer Critic's Circle Award while playing to capacity audiences at the 47th Street Theater. Urban Stages' African American Poets as Playwrights won eight Audelco Nominations and Coyote On a Fence received two Drama Desk nominations and a Pilgrim's Project Award. Eisa Davis's Bulrusher was one of three nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. 2010 production of Langston in Harlem won several drama desk nominations, a John Calloway award, and several Audelco nominations including a win for best music production of the year (2010), along with several other awards. Frances looks forward to continuing to produce and director at Urban Stages. |
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