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2010 Annual Gala:
An Evening with
Jim Caruso & Johnny Rodgers |
| Date: |
Saturday, March 27, 2010 |
| Location: |
A Private Home in
Westport, CT |
| About: |
Both directly from the Tony Award winning Liza's at the Palace! Join the king of the Broadway scene, Jim Caruso, and award-winning composer and pianist Johnny Rodgers for an unforgettable night to benefit MTC! |
| Tickets: |
Only 60 Tickets Available!
Tickets: $125
All proceeds to benefit Music Theatre of Connecticut and its programming.
| Buy Tickets |
| By Phone: |
Call 203.454.3883 |
| Online: |
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Who's Who
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JIM CARUSO After a two-year international tour, Jim Caruso recently made his Broadway debut alongside Liza Minnelli in the smash hit Liza’s At The Palace!, singing, dancing and celebrating the music and arrangements of the late, great Kay Thompson and the Williams Brothers. The show was honored with a 2009 Tony Award for Best Special Event and the recording is a Grammy nominee. For his nightclub work, Caruso has won six MAC Awards and two BackStage Magazine Bistro Awards for sold-out shows at Birdland, Arci’s Place, The Oak Room at the Algonquin Hotel, and The Russian Tea Room. He has also performed in runs at the Cinegrill and Gardenia in Los Angeles, The Vic Theater and Davenport’s in Chicago, Libby’s in Atlanta, the Colony Palm Beach Hotel in Florida and the Connaught Room in London. Caruso guest-hosted “Broadway On Broadway 2000” in Times Square for a crowd of 100,000 theater fans, hosted the 2000 MAC Awards at Town Hall in Manhattan and co-hosted the 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 Drama Desk Award webcasts. His debut recording, “Caruso Live and In Person” was released on the LML Music label, and within two weeks, went to number one on both the album and singles charts at Outvoice.com. He was featured in a Tribute to Kander & Ebb, backed by the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, and performed a Tribute to Hope & Crosby in an evening hosted by Michael Feinstein at Zankel Hall. On the small screen, Jim was seen co-starring with Kathie Lee Gifford on Showtime Television in “Personal Assistant,” which was written and directed by Charles Busch. He also co-starred on the Nostalgia Network variety sit-com, “Café DuArt” for two seasons. Caruso was the founding member of the nationally acclaimed, award-winning jazz vocal and comedy trio, Wiseguys. After performing in an all-star Inaugural extravaganza, they were invited to sing at President Clinton’s First State Dinner at the White House in an evening hosted by Lauren Bacall. The trio performed in concert at the Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall, and in “the big room” with Rosemary Clooney. As a writer, Jim has contributed to InStyle Magazine, Theatermania and InTheater Magazine He has produced and booked television talk and entertainment programs like “Jim J. & Tammy Faye” and “Fox After Breakfast,” and was a Field Producer for E! Entertainment Television, working on “Celebrity Profiles” and covering the Tony Awards. For the past seven years, he has hosted a weekly Monday night showbiz bash called “Jim Caruso’s Cast Party,” which has brought him a New York Nightlife Award, MAC Award and the Sidney Meyer Award. The weekly “Broadway at Birdland” series he produces has also been honored with a Nightlife Award. His series of weekly podcasts called “here! on Broadway” was honored with a Summit Award. Please visit www.Jim-Caruso.com or www.CastPartyNYC.com for more information. |
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JOHNNY RODGERS is an award-winning singer-songwriter-pianist and entertainer and favorite in the New York, East coast and Florida performance scenes. He dazzles audiences as a seasoned performer of the Great American Song Book with timeless favorites from the likes of Johnny Mercer, Mel Tormé, Hoagy Carmichael and Ray Charles. Johnny’s songbook of original songs blend sophisticated, bubbly and romantic pop ballads, (James) Taylor-laced melodies, and sultry jazz stirred up with his unparalleled piano-passion. Rodgers pleases not only with the classic standards and his original songs but with his boy-next-door charm and creamy, dreamy crooner’s voice. Johnny won Billboard’s World Song Contest with Home to Mendocino and the ASCAP Jamie deRoy & friends Foundation Award for songwriting. Rodgers has also garnered many performance awards including the Nightlife Outstanding Cabaret Vocalist, Bistro, and MAC Awards. Performance credits include Palace Theatre, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Colony Hotel Palm Beach, Feinstein’s at Loews Regency, Birdland, Arturo Sandoval’s and other premiere clubs in New York City, Miami and around the country. He has also taken his performances to larger venues including the Los Angeles Ford Amphitheatre, Festival Miami at the University of Miami and to over 3000 people at Miami’s historic Deering Estate. Johnny has also been selected for tribute shows for Billy Joel and Judy Collins at Lincoln Center’s ASCAP Foundation Awards. Liza Minnelli discovered Rodgers and brought him on as her pianist and guest performer for her world tours. He debuted on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning Liza’s At The Palace which was recorded and played by PBS on stations across the country. Johnny co-wrote the show’s featured song I Would Never Leave You and is included on the show’s DVD release as well as the Grammy-nominated CD. Johnny recently released two EP’s to add to his 2005 debut CD titled Box of Photographs. The new releases are the indie-pop Bound Together, including the Father’s Day/graduation tribute The Best Of You In Mechosen by Hal Leonard Publishing for a choral pop arrangement, and Let’s Make a Date, featuring a big-band swing duet by Johnny and Liza Minnelli. In addition to Liza Minnelli, Johnny Rodgers has performed and recorded with Michael Feinstein, Randy Brecker, Ann Hampton Callaway and Tom Harrell, among others and is featured on recordings that celebrate Maury Yeston and Jule Styne. Visit Johnny Rodgers at www.johnnyrodgers.com and www.sonicbids.com/johnnyrodgers |
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