Composer to Attend PERFECTLY MARVELOUS: THE SONGS OF JOHN KANDER at Playhouse Square, 10/31 & 11/1

The Musical Theater Project presents PERFECTLY MARVELOUS: THE SONGS OF JOHN KANDER on Saturday, Oct. 31 (8pm) and Sunday, Nov. 1 (2pm) at the Allen Theatre at Playhouse Square.

The composer will be in attendance at this concert, co-hosted by TMTP artistic director Bill Rudman and Tony Award winner Karen Ziemba. It was Kander who, with his longtime lyricist, the late Fred Ebb, wrote the scores for such trailblazing musicals as Chicago, Cabaret and Kiss of the Spider Woman. At 88 he remains a force in America's musical theater.

TMTP's concert includes live performances of nearly 30 songs, plus dozens of rare still images and film clips. Ziemba, who won the Tony for her performance in Contact, is a veteran of five Kander and Ebb shows and will sing and provide commentary alongside Rudman. The other featured performers are Katherine DeBoer; Derrick Cobey, a Baldwin Wallace University alum who appeared in the Broadway production of Kander and Ebb's The Scottsboro Boys; and Matthew Wright, theater department chair at Kander's alma mater, Oberlin College. Nancy Maier is music director.

For the past 19 years, at least one Kander & Ebb musical has lit up a Broadway marquee, and the team's 1975 musical Chicago, revived in 1996, is still going strong-the longest-running American musical in Broadway history. The 2002 film version of that show received the Academy Award for best picture of the year, and the 1972 film of Kander and Ebb's Cabaret won Oscars for director Bob Fosse and stars Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey.

Kander & Ebb's songs were made famous by legendary performers including Minnelli, Barbra Streisand, Chita Rivera, Gwen Verdon, Robert Goulet and Frank Sinatra. Director Hal Prince says, "Kander & Ebb wrote Broadway-in the best sense."

Kander has conferred with Rudman for more than a year on this initiative, which also includes a 2-CD retrospective of his work. "Welcoming John Kander to Cleveland is a treat," says Rudman, "and having him involved in our project is a privilege."

The Allen Theatre is located at 1407 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland. General tickets are priced at $35-$50. Tickets are available through the Playhouse Square Box Office at (216) 241-6000.

PERFECTLY MARVELOUS: THE SONGS OF JOHN KANDER is presented as part of "The Song Is You!" concert and cabaret season produced each year by The Musical Theater Project at a variety of locations.

ABOUT THE MUSICAL THEATER PROJECT-A nonprofit organization founded in 2000, TMTP produces concerts, in-school residency programs, radio programming and recordings that foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of a uniquely American art form. To learn more about TMTP, call 216-529-9411 or visit www.MusicalTheaterProject.org.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride