Jamie deRoy Hosts 'MAC/ASAPC Songwriters' Showcase,' 10/31; Features Melissa Manchester, Mark Winkler & More

Celebrated cabaret performer Jamie deRoy will host a special edition of the acclaimed "MAC/ASAPC Songwriters' Showcase," an ongoing series exploring the role of Songwriters in America on Saturday, October 31st from 2pm to 4Ppm at the Metropolitan Room. The afternoon program will focus on Songwriters from the West Coast with participants including Melissa Manchester, Mark Winkler, Shelly Markham and Geoffrey Leigh Tozer.  

Tickets are free for MAC/ASCAP members, $10 for non-member guests.  For reservations call (212) 206- 0440 or visit www.metropolitanroom.com. The Metropolitan Room is located at 34 West 22nd Street ~between 5th & 6th Avenues.

Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, Melissa Manchester began singing commercial jingles at age 15 and went on to become a staff writer for Chappell Music while attending the High School of Performing Arts. After taking a songwriting class at New York University taught by Paul Simon, Manchester took her talents to the Manhattan club scene, where she was discovered by Bette Midler and Barry Manilow; the two hired her as a backup singer in 1971. She recorded her debut album, Home to Myself, in 1973, co-writing many of the songs with Carole Bayer Sager. 1975's Melissa produced her first Top Ten hit, "Midnight Blue." She and Kenny Loggins co-wrote the latter's 1978 duet hit with Stevie Nicks, "Whenever I Call You Friend," and the following year, Manchester returned to the Top Ten with "Don't Cry Out Loud." 1980 saw Manchester become the first singer to have two movie themes nominated for Academy Awards ("Ice Castles" and "The Promise"); two years later she achieved her highest Billboard singles chart placing with the number five hit "You Should Hear How She Talks About You," which won a Grammy for Best Female Vocal Performance. Through the '80s and '90s, Manchester has alternated occasional recording with scriptwriting and acting. She continues to write, perform and produce award-winning albums.

Jamie deRoy has won eight MAC Awards, four Back Stage Bistro Awards, ten Telly Awards and CaB Magazine's Lifetime Achievement Award for her extensive work on both stage and screen. Jamie has appeared onstage with Joan Rivers and has headlined at many of New York's major clubs. She has produced eight CDs in the Jamie deRoy & friends series on the Harbinger and PS Classics labels. An accomplished theatre producer, her theatre producing credits include for this season on Broadway: Finian's Rainbow, Ragtime and The Addams Family. Her TV and film producing credits include the Emmy-nominated "The Biggest Little Operas in Town" for Channel 13 and Rick McKay's documentary Broadway: The Golden Age. Her acting credits include appearances on the television shows "Alice," "Spiderman" and "Knight Rider," and in the films GoodFellas, Raging Bull, See No Evil, Hear No Evil and Married to It. Onstage, Jamie appeared with Rene Auberjonois in The Threepenny Opera, as well as in The Drunkard with musical direction by Barry Manilow.

Shelly Markham is probably now best known as Andrea Marcovicci's music director. Not only does he play all her concerts, he has served as arranger and producer for her recent CDs including Here, There, and Everywhere; Andrea Sings Astaire, and Kurt Weill in America. Other performers he has played for include Lainie Kazan, Michael Feinstein, Margaret Whiting, Nell Carter, Ann Jillian, Gogi Grant, Julie Wilson, Chad Mitchell, Carol Lawrence, Elaine Stritch, and Bonnie Franklin. He is also an amazing songwriter. Songs of his are included in the long-running revue Naked Boys Singing. With lyricist Judith Viorst he has written the show Love and Shrimp as well as children's musicals based on her Alexander books. The song "The Sweetest of Nights" from Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No-God, Very Bad Day has been recorded by Karen Mason, Andrea Marcovicci, Nancy Dussault, and Markham.

GEOFFREY LEIGH TOZER Jazz singer/pianist and radio fabulist Geoffrey Leigh Tozer was born in Englewood, New Jersey . . . a long time ago. He grew up fast on the shores of the Hudson River studying classical music and piano in high school and college and later jazz and cabaret in nightclubs on the upper East Side of Manhattan. Just before graduating from Columbia University with an MBA in Corporate Finance he was offered a gig singing at a piano bar in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was the first leg of a fascinating journey and worldwide singing and storytelling career. Putting his MBA to work he started as an options trader in downtown Manhattan and quickly rose to partner in the investment banking firm of Gilford Securities. But Wall Street wasn't his passion. After only seven years he gave up his three piece suits and wingtips to concentrate fully on his real love; performing. Soon Hollywood called and he was off to California to begin a career as film and television composer, actor and cabaret singer (9 ½ Ninjas, When The Party's Over, Sensations, Sunset Heat, Car 54 Where Are You?, "Wild West's Most Wanted" (Discovery), "Behind The Sun," "The Dress," "Mrs. Satan," "Miss/Match," "Bella Mafia," "Spicy Cit"y (HBO), and "Knott's Landing"(CBS). And all this time he was perfecting his storytelling skills in small theaters, cabarets and major venues. Recently he headlined at the Sixth Annual Los Angeles Storytelling Festival. But his true calling is on the radio as a storyteller. "It's all I want to do, I absolutely crave it" he says. And he has developed the character and the radio show Sly Crooner of Swanktown to satisfy that hunger.

Mark Winkler is a platinum award winning singer/lyricist who has had over 150 of his songs recorded and/or sung by such artists as Dianne Reeves, Randy Crawford, Liza Minnelli, Bob Dorough and Lea Salonga. Mark has released 9 CDs in the US. His new CD of mostly original Winkler lyrics, Till I Get It Right was released in March of 2009 on Freeham Records. He is the co-writer of the hit musical revue Naked Boys Singing! in its 10th year playing Off Broadway, and released as a movie on DVD. He is the creator and co-writer of Too Old for the Chorus which has played successful engagements in Los Angeles, Seattle and San Diego. He has won both L.A. Weekly and BackStage West awards for best score for Naked Boys Singing! He has also co-written songs for the musical revues Bark! and Hangin' Out. His jazz musical Play it Cool which premiered in Los Angeles in 2007 got "Critics Choice" in the L.A. Times was nominated for Best Musical-Off Broadway by GLAAD.

Created in 1983, MAC is an incorporated 501(c)(6) organization whose mission is to advance the art and business of live entertainment. Our members include performers in cabaret, comedy, jazz, directors and musical directors, technical directors, musicians, club owners and booking managers, composers and lyricists, journalists and publicists, artists' managers and agents, and supporters of live entertainment. www.MACNYC.com

ASCAP is a membership association of more than 360,000 U.S. composers, songwriters, lyricists, and music publishers of every kind of music. Through agreements with affiliated international societies, ASCAP also represents hundreds of thousands of music creators worldwide. ASCAP is the only U.S. performing rights organization created and controlled by composers, songwriters and music publishers, with a Board of Directors elected by and from the membership. ASCAP protects the rights of its members by licensing and distributing royalties for the non-dramatic public performances of their copyrighted works. ASCAP's licensees encompass all who want to perform copyrighted music publicly. ASCAP makes giving and obtaining permission to perform music simple for both creators and users of music. www.ASCAP.org