B.J. Ryan's Magnolia Room Presents Raissa Katona Bennett and Kenneth Gartman

B.J. Ryan's Magnolia Room Presents Raissa Katona Bennett and Kenneth Gartman in "What a Wonderful World," a duo show that will feature classic Great American Songbook, Broadway Show Tunes and some New American Songbook selections from contemporary writers, as duets and solo performances. The shows are Nov. 23rd and 24th at 8pm, and November 25th at 3pm. Cover charges range from $20 to $40, and a $20 food/beverage charge per person applies. B.J. Ryan's Magnolia Room is at 57 Main Street (Upstairs) in Norwalk CT 06851. Tickets can be purchased online at: http://www.bjryansmagnoliaroom.com/raissa-and-kenneth-november-2018.html. For more info, call 203, 864-6964.

Kenneth Gartman, one half of the pair of performers and also the producer for The Magnolia Room, said that "'What a Wonderful World" is meant to be two things Thanksgiving weekend. "It's an opportunity for people to spend time with and entertain their family and friends without having to cook and clean, and to attend a show on Thanksgiving weekend that focuses on what's good in the world."

Raissa Katona Bennett is a Norwalk native and a daughter of landmark preservationists and first generation settlers. She appeared on Broadway as Christine in Phantom of the Opera, and in the First National Tours of Parade and CATS, as well as numerous off-Broadway productions, including the recent debut of a brand new musical, Spoolie Girl. Last Spring, she made a critically laudedappearance as "Helen" in Music Theatre of Connecticut's production of the Tony Award winning, Fun Home. Raissa is known as a creative and multi-disciplinary presence in the cultural life of New York City. Her New York nightclub engagements as a headliner include Feinstein's, Metropolitan Room, Iridium and the Laurie Beechman Theatre. She has been a Guest Star in events at The Supper Club, Rainbow Room, 88's, Don't Tell Mama, Chita's, The Algonquin, and Radio City Music Hall, as well as Lincoln Center's Rose Hall and the Town Hall as a guest artist of the Mabel Mercer Cabaret Conventions. Nationally, she has appeared with many symphony orchestras. Raissa received the 2010 Bistro Award and 2011 MAC Award for Outstanding Achievement as the creator, producer and host of Concerts for City Greens, a series she founded and produced for nine years. In 2014, Katona Bennett was awarded a special Ruth Kurtzman Benefit Series MAC Award.

Kenneth Gartman is a singer-actor, vocal coach and Music Director who performed in the National Tour of The Music Man. He approached B.J. Ryan's owners, who are music lovers, about opening a music room in the upstairs of their popular restaurant, since he knew many local residents who loved to attend cabaret shows in NYC, and yet found it daunting on a regular basis. He now produces and books one to three acts a week into the room. Gartman has performed internationally on a Live BBC Broadcast of Simply Sondheim and throughout Ireland in A New York Songbook: Way Off Broadway. Kenneth has appeared as both a singer and a pianist in the country's finest concert halls. Gartman's work in cabaret garnered nominations for Best Music Director and Best Male Debut in the 2012 Broadway World New York Cabaret Awards.