Tony Nominee Sheryl Lee Ralph Sings Final New Years Concert at Upright Cabaret, 12/31

On Wed & Thurs, Dec 30-31, 2009 - Film, Television and Broadway star SHERYL LEE RALPH (Sister Act 2, The Flintstones, OBC of Dreamgirls) will be "singin' and swingin' into 2010" at Upright Cabaret on Vermont (located within Vermont Restaurant complex), 1714 N. Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Don't miss three rare New Year's solo cabaret performances by this Tony Nominated theatre legend as she takes you on a musical journey of songs you love from Holiday favorites, Broadway show-stoppers and R&B including songs from Dreamgirls!

Ms. Ralph has captivated audiences for many years and has used her talent to raise money and awareness for HIV/AIDS related charities. "Simply Sheryl Lee" is your chance to get up close and personal with this smart, sexy and brilliantly talented songstress as she continues to raise money for the Diva (AIDS) Foundation.

Simply Sheryl Lee: Singin' & Swingin' into 2010 to benefit The Diva (AIDS) Foundation
Three rare solo cabaret performances:
Wed, Dec 30, 2009, Showtime 9pm (The Diva's Birthday)
Thurs, Dec 31, 2009, Showtime 7:30pm
Thurs, Dec 31, 2009, Showtime 10:30pm

Tickets: $80-125, available online (www.uprightcabaret.com/events) or at the door (if available). Ticket price includes Entertainment, 3-Course Pre-Fixe Meal, Tax & Gratuity (Champagne Toast is included for the Dec 31/10:30pm performance only). Additional liquor, wine, beer and beverages are available.

Only at Upright Cabaret on Vermont! (located within Vermont Restaurant complex), 1714 N. Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027. For more info about Upright Cabaret including show times, tickets and scheduled performers, please visit us at www.UprightCabaret.com

The DIVA Foundation founded in 1990 by Tony nominated actress, honored HIV/AIDS activist, Sheryl Lee Ralph, is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization, created as a living memorial to the many friends she had lost to HIV/AIDS as an original cast member of Broadways DREAMGIRLS and because of her concern for the threat HIV/AIDS posed to women and children. In her work of Driving Infectious Viruses Away, the foundation focuses on HIV/AIDS awareness, testing ,erasing stigma, lowering of the HIV infection rate especially as it pertains to women and young people and the development of new and effective programs to combat the disease using the arts. The foundation disseminates information, and provides advocacy and mobilization from a uniquely and unapologetically artistic feminine point of view.

Original DREAMGIRL, Sheryl Lee Ralph is an acclaimed veteran of film, television and the Broadway stage. Her award winning body of work includes creating and originating the role of Deena Jones on Broadway in the landmark musical Dreamgirls, which earned her both a Tony and Drama Desk Award Nomination for Best Actress. After Dreamgirls, Ms. Ralph turned her attention to music, television and film. She scored a top-ten selling dance hit in the mid-eighties with the infectious anthem "In the Evening" and again in the nineties with her remake of "Here comes the Rain Again."

On television, Sheryl Lee has starred in It's a Living, her own series New Attitude, the George Foreman series George and in the hit comedy Designing Women. She was also voted one of TV's Favorite Moms for her portrayal of step mom Dee on the number-one rated television series Moesha. She broke new ground In the SHOWTIME series, Barbershop, as the popular, post-operative transsexual, Claire. Recently, Sheryl brought a new face to the sufferings of war in the NBC hit series ER.

Her extensive film credits include Sister Act II with Whoopi Goldberg, The Flintstones with Rosie O'Donell, The Mighty Quinn with Denzel Washington, Mistress with Robert De Niro, and Eddie Murphy's Distinguished Gentleman. Sheryl Lee's performance with Danny Glover in To Sleep with Anger won her the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress.

As a producer, Ms. Ralph created the critically acclaimed Divas Simply Singing!, an evening of song and entertainment that has become one of the most highly anticipated AIDS benefits in Hollywood. She is also the founding creator of The Jamerican Film & Music Festival which in five years has given birth to five SHOWTIME Filmmaker Finalists.

Sheryl Lee has found new success in writing and directing with her award-winning film short Secrets. With an all-star cast that includes Oscar nominee Alfre Woodard, Tina Lifford, Victoria Rowell, La Tanya Richardson, Robin Givens and Ralph herself. Secrets was a finalist in the HBO Film Short Competition, Showtime Filmmakers Series, Acapulco Black Film Festival, Hollywood Film Festival, Pan African Film Festival, Urban World Film Festival and an audience favorite at Outfest Film Festival.

Following on the success of Divas Simply Singing, Ms. Ralph has added a one-woman show Sometimes I Cry, to her list of credits. Written, directed and performed by Ms. Ralph, this complex and thought-provoking play, illustrates the heartbreaking, yet inspiring real life stories of culturally diverse women whose lives unravel as they cope with their HIV/AIDS reality. Ralph uses her remarkable talent to poignantly bring these women to life in a way that touches the heart leaving audiences deeply moved and encouraged to know their status.

Met with an extraordinary outpouring of love and acceptance after its initial performance at the National Black Women and HIV/AIDS Conference in Los Angeles in 2005, Sometimes I Cry, continues to be performed in the US and abroad.

Mother of two, Sheryl Lee Ralph loves every moment of raising her children. Recently married to State Senator Vincent Hughes of Pennsylvania in what Entertainment Tonight called, "The most elegant and romantic wedding of the summer!" she acknowledges that love is the greatest gift to be given and shared.

Upright Cabaret (www.uprightcabaret.com) is redefining the cabaret milieu for a new generation of audiences. Founded by producers Chris Isaacson and Shane Scheel in 2005, Upright seeks to celebrate old style cabaret while simultaneously turning it on its ear, bringing young Broadway and young Hollywood together in a live setting. Upright performers run the gamut from Tony-nominated divas to up-and-coming recording artists to film and TV stars. Indeed, Upright's talent roster reads like a "who's who" of the entertainment industry, including current American Idol finalist Adam Lambert, film actress Katy Mixon (Four Christmases, HBO's East Bound and Down), Neil Patrick Harris (CBS's How I Met Your Mother & ABC's Doogie Howser, M.D.), Hunter Parrish (Showtime's Weeds) and cast members from over 75 Broadway productions, including Wicked, Rent, Jersey Boys and Spamalot, to name a few! Upright Cabaret, born and bred in West Hollywood, and has been taking Southern California by storm, with shows in Palm Springs, San Diego, La Mirada and Avalon, and recently on the East Coast at Joe's Pub and Lincoln Center in New York City.
For more info about Upright Cabaret including show times, tickets and scheduled performers, please visit us at www.UprightCabaret.com

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