LEGRAND LEGACY – KEEP THE MUSIC PLAYING! to Bring Jackie Draper to Laurie Beechman Theatre

Jackie Draper returns to the Laurie Beechman Theatre with her new show, Legrand Legacy – Keep the Music Playing!, on Thursday, October 1, at 7:00 PM. Jackie is joined by Musical Director and Arranger Gregory Toroian on piano, Tom Hubbard on bass, Ron Tierno on percussion, Robbyn Tongue on woodwinds, and Milo Saidl, dance partner. Directed by Kimberly Vaughn.

Michel Legrand was a world-renowned composer, conductor, jazz pianist, and singer. In addition to scoring over two hundred movies, and composing staged musicals and themes for television series, he wrote hundreds of songs, many of which have become classics. The music of Legrand has greatly influenced Jackie's repertoire and nourished her soul since childhood.

Legrand Legacy – Keep the Music Playing! includes songs in English and French, spanning Legrand's vast variety of styles and the many lyricists with whom he collaborated, including Alan & Marilyn Bergman, Hal David, Blossom Dearie, Jacques Demy, Jean Dréjac, Sheldon Harnick, Dennis Lambert, Eddy Marnay, and Johnny Mercer.

'For anyone wanting a shot of 'feel-good,' the place to go is anywhere Jackie Draper is performing … total immersion in happy-making.' ~ Marilyn Lester, Theater Pizzazz

Jackie Draper has performed twenty-two different solo cabaret shows in NYC at Don't Tell Mama, Danny's Skylight Room, and the Laurie Beechman Theatre, her cabaret 'home' for the past eighteen years – all with Gregory Toroian as Music Director and Arranger, and all including dance. She has also participated in shows at 53 Above, Metropolitan Room, Pangea, Triad Theater and Urban Stages. Jackie sings in English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, and, more recently, Portuguese. Known for engaging in the 'treasure hunt' of finding unique (and sometimes lesser-known) songs that resonate with her audience, Jackie says, 'Every time I am blessed to be onstage—to tell a story, to express moving music, to blend with marvelous musicians, to connect with individuals in the audience—is a miracle to me.'

Gregory Toroian is a musical director, arranger, jazz pianist, vocalist, songwriter, and educator. He has been featured in Cabaret Scenes magazine and is a Bistro Award-Winner for Outstanding Collaboration with Sue Matsuki, with whom he also won a MAC Award for Best Duo Production. In addition to working with such artists as Tony Bennett, Jon Hendricks, Cab Calloway, Donna Summer, Melissa Errico, Marilyn Maye, Karen Mason, and Jane Olivor, he has appeared in almost every jazz club and cabaret (major and minor) in New York. He has toured with principal dancers from the New York City Ballet and has made numerous radio and television appearances including the Today Show and Maury Povich. Recordings include his work as musical director, arranger, and pianist on Love Makes the Changes, the recent debut album of Maria Corsaro; A New Take, the debut album of award-winning cabaret artist Sue Matsuki; and CD's with Suzanna Ross, Leslee Warren, Lina Koutrakos, Linda Kahn, Meri Ziev, and Lisa Kantor. Gregory's vocal arrangements have been featured on a series of albums in the US and Japan, by the vocal group String of Pearls. Gregory also wrote the music to the title song of the Boston Red Sox documentary, Joy of Sox. He currently offers an array of performance workshops.

Tom Hubbard is a bassist, composer and arranger who lives and works in New York City. He has performed with instrumentalists Kenny Barron, Jay McShann, Charlie Rouse, Dewey Redman, Beaver Harris, Dannie Richmond and Ron Affif among others. Tom has accompanied a long list of singers including Joe Williams, Mose Allison, Freddy Cole, Chris Connor, Sheila Jordan, Liza Minnelli, Marilyn Maye, Michael Feinstein, Stacey Kent and Martha Reeves and the Vandellas. He is a two-time MAC Award winner for best ensemble instrumentalist and has a Bistro Award for best collaboration. His website is tomhubbardbass.com.

Ron Tierno is a seasoned free-lance drummer who came to NYC in 1974. During those early years he recorded numerous TV and radio commercials, Broadway singer recordings for Varese Sarabande, and most notably hit albums by Odyssey ('Native New Yorker') and Frankie Valli ('Grease … Is the Word'). In the 1980s he began working on Broadway: A Chorus Line, Barnum, Beauty & the Beast, Drowsy Chaperone, La Cage Aux Folles, Lion King, Mamma Mia!, Romance-Romance, Song & Dance, and 11 years at CATS! Ron did seasonal work at Radio City Christmas Spectacular for 30+ years, and continues to do holiday concerts with the Boston Pops. On the Cabaret circuit, he has performed and recorded with Ann Hampton Callaway and Liz Callaway since 1995.

Robbyn Tongue is an accomplished New York City-based jazz saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, and woodwind player. He has built a versatile career spanning live jazz performance, theatrical woodwind doubling, and music composition. He graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Music Performance from the prestigious Manhattan School of Music, where he received the John C. Borden Award for Outstanding Accomplishment in Jazz. Robbyn is an active freelance jazz saxophonist and has played lead alto saxophone with groups like the Billy Vera Big Band at the Cutting Room, performed with the MSM Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, and played in modern jazz ensembles such as the quintet Footballhead, and the large ensemble Project Hansori. He frequently performs as a woodwind multi-instrumentalist for NYC theater and cabaret showcases. He has written original music soundtracks, including the score for the film adaptation of Robert Frost's poem, 'The Death of the Hired Man', which won Best Music Soundtrack at the 2026 Jersey Shore Film Festival.

Milo (Miloslav) Saidl is a professional dancer, International Instructor and Coach from Prague, Czech Republic based in New York. He studied at Steps on Broadway. Milo has been performing and teaching throughout Europe and the US for more than 15 years. Before the pandemic he taught at DanceSport Studio in NYC. He belongs to one of the first Lindy Hoppers Dance Troupe in the Czech Republic and was instrumental in creating what has become the center of the Lindy Hop scene in Prague. Milo also performed in several musical productions in the Czech Republic. While he has been trained in all styles of ballroom dance (certified in ISTD) he cannot deny that his passions are Lindy hop, and all the styles associated with the 30's and 40's.

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