Grammy-nominee & American Idol star FRENCHIE DAVIS joins TAYLOR & SMITH for 'MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI' concert 1/15

On Sat, Jan 15, 2011 at 7:30pm - L.A.'s famed Upright Cabaret brings their brand of "new generation cabaret" to the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza's 396-seat Scherr Forum Theatre in Thousand Oaks, CA for their second American Icon Series "Mighty Mississippi" concert celebrating the Music of ,  and Prince!Elvis PresleyLouis Armstrong

"Idols will sing the Icons" as producer brings together the incredible vocal talents of Grammy Award-nominee and American Idol finalist  (American Idol Season 2, Broadway: Rent, Ain't Misbehavin,' Dreamgirls),  (CBS' Rockstar INXS, Broadway: Joseph, Cats, Grease, Regional: Pippin at the Mark Taper Forum, Chess at Reprise Theatre Company, frontman for Blues/Rock band Vintage Trouble) and  (American Idol Season 8).Von SmithTy TaylorFrenchie DavisChris Isaacson

The American Icon Series first debuted to sold out audiences at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts in La Mirada, CA. Now on tour, the series features Broadway stars, T.V. stars and up-and-coming local artists performing their own selections while highlighting the music of each shows American Icon's. 

Tickets: $40-25, available online at http://www.toaks.org/cap/tickets/events/event.asp?eventID=1622 or call the box office at 805-449-2787.

For more info, please visit: www.UprightCabaret.com or www.CivicArtsPlaza.com

Subscribe and SAVE 20%! Buy three shows at the Season Price for only $96 ($120 Value)

2010-2011 UPRIGHT CABARET'S AMERICAN ICON SERIES:
Motor City - October 23, 2010
Mighty Mississippi - January 15, 2011
Country Roads - April 9, 2011
City of Angels - July 9, 2011

For subscription info and pricing, please contact the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza Subscriber Services department at (805) 449-2775 (Tuesday through Sunday from 12 noon to 5:00 PM)

About the artists:

Frenchie Davis first made her mark on Season 2 of the mega-hit reality-television show "American Idol" where judge Simon Cowell predicted "Frenchie Davis could win the show!" During the filming of AI, Frechie's stage presence, charismatic performances and power-house vocals cemented her as an audience and critic favorite nationwide. After "Idol," Frenchie headed straight to The Great White Way where she starred in the hit Broadway Musical "RENT" written by Jonathan Larson. Originally only contracted for a six-week run, Frenchie again wowed audiences with her vocal prowess, and show producers quickly extended her contract where she starred for the next four years! Frenchie has also starred in the West Coast tour of "Dreamgirls" playing Effie White, "Sing, Mahalia, Sing" playing Gospel great Mahalia Jackson, and in the 30th Anniversary National Revival production of "Ain't Misbehavin'" (opposite American Idol winner Ruben Studdard) playing the role which won Nell Carter the Tony Award. Frenchie and the cast were honored with a 2009 Grammy Award-nomination for Best Cast Recording. This past summer, Davis performed along-side fellow Grammy-nominees Natasha Bedingfield and Taylor Dayne at the Americana At Brand's Summer Concert Series in front of an audience of over 10,000. Ms. Davis recently starred in "Cinderella" playing the Fairy Godmother at Berkeley Playhouse in Berkeley, CA and was a special guest performer at the 2010 Christmas Tree Lighting event in Sacramento for California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Ms. Davis was educated at Howard University in Washington DC. For more info, please visit: www.FrenchieDavis.org

Ty Taylor is an artist whose soulful rock style is a compilation of singing at the age of five in St. Paul's Baptist Church, listening to 8 track tapes of James Brown, Bill Withers, and Tina Turner as a child, and his love for The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and Led Zeppelin. Born and raised in Montclair, NJ, Ty began playing in n nightclubs in Manhattan while still underage. His previous band, DAKOTA MOON, recorded two albums, toured the world twice over and had two Top 10 hits in the U.S. and internationally. His intoxicating and electro-magnetic stage performances have also given him the honor of sharing stages with Tina Turner, Eric Clapton, Brian May, Dave Navarro, Jerry Cantrell, Slash, Scott Weiland, Rob Zombie, Fiona Apple, and Macy Gray to name a few. Best known for his rise to fame as a finalist on Mark Burnett's CBS mega-series ROCKSTAR:INXS He can be heard on the original cast recording of Jason Robert Brown's Songs For A New World.  Ty is also a very accomplished stage performer. Broadway: Joseph, Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber Concert, Cats, Grease. Taylor recently starred alongside Ken Page and Lillias White in the Reprise! Production of DAMN YANKEES directed by Jason Alexander, CHESS at the Ford Amphitheatre and most recently portrayed the Lead Player in the Def West production of PIPPIN directed by Jeff Calhoun at the Mark Taper Forum.  His raw soul band, Vintage Trouble, just released their debut album entitled "The Bomb Shelter Sessions" which is now available on iTunes. www.VintageTrouble.com

Von Smith - First introduced to the world when his version of "And I Am Telling You (I'm Not Going)" became a sensation on YouTube, Smith has garnered a legion of fans and performed on some of the most celebrated stages in the U.S. including ABC's The View (by personal invitation of Rosie O'Donnell), and perhaps the biggest stage, American Idol Season 8 with fellow Upright Cabaret alum Adam Lambert. The Kansas City native and recent Los Angeles transplant brings his Signature Sound to the Upright Cabaret stage which he describes as "Soul/Pop" encompassing "all facets of soul music in a pop realm." From Nina Simone to George Michael, Prince to Dreamgirls, as well as, new original material; Smith's song selections celebrate his past successes and set the tone for an artist who is coming into his own.