Chris Chan's Tribute to Barry Manilow, BARRY'S SONG BOOK, Set for Downtown Cabaret Theatre, 3/7-8
By: BWW News Desk Mar. 03, 2014
As Barry Manilow, Chris Chan, who recreates the magical studio 70′s sound heard at the peak of the Manilow hits era, delivers an entertaining evening of fantastic music. Chris grew up playing piano in the heart of the pop Manilow era. By 1976, one could find "Mandy" in most Greatest Hits Piano Books, and with Barry always on the radio it was literally hit after hit: "Could It Be Magic," "Tryin' To Get The Feeling," "I Write The Songs," "American Bandstand," "Copacabana," "This One's For You," "Even Now," "The Old Songs," "Somewhere In The Night," "Weekend In New England" and many more. Manilow's songs naturally influenced Chris' musical style. Even today, Manilow's songs always connect. Women still go crazy over "Copacabana" and melt over "Mandy," and to no surprise, the men also know all the words. Manilow's gift of music is a very rare commodity in any era of music.
According to Chris Chan," I've always been a Barry Manilow fan. Here is a man whose achievements include Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Awards, 45+ albums, 38 Top 40 Hits and the list goes on and on. Mr. Manilow is simply amazing! If mankind could create the perfect musical human prototype, the end result would be Barry Manilow: a pianist, a composer, an arranger, a songwriter, an accompanist, a musical director, a commercial jingle writer, a writer and scorer of Broadway musicals, a producer, an incredible vocalist, and a spectacular showman. Nobody alive even comes close to excelling in all of these categories - in any profession. That said, Barry Manilow is the perfect "Musical Prototype."
Chris continues, "I would have never guessed that this - a Barry Manilow Tribute Act - would be such a ticket to adventure. It's been nothing short of an amazing experience with great places, new faces and friends, fantastic audiences, inspiring fellow entertainers, wonderful people, all while taking a chance doing something fresh and different. But for all the positives I've experienced, it's not without its challenges. For one, it's a crazy endeavor to actually pay tribute to a celebrity, and in this case, such an amazing living musical icon. So when the curtain opens, and you say to yourself, "Does this nutcase actually believe he is the second coming of Barry Manilow?", my quick answer is NO!, but like everything significant I've ever decided to do, I'll give it 200%. The music, vocals, and arrangements alone demand it. So enjoy the show! The music and songs are nothing short of fantastic and it's a lot of fun for me to perform them. And honestly, that's what this whole thing is all about - having a great time through music and song."
Chris Chan's Musical Tribute to Barry Manilow: Barry's Song Book is scheduled for three performances ONLY:
Friday, March 7 (2014) at 7:30pm
Saturday, March 8 at 5:30pm AND
Saturday, March 8 at 8:30pm
Theatre seating begins 30 minutes prior to performance times The Downtown Cabaret Theatre is wheelchair accessible. Please inform the box office of any special needs when ordering tickets. For more information and up-to-date news about the Cabaret, upcoming performances, the performers, seating chart, parking and reserving tickets visit downtowncabaret.org.
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