The Tudor City Greens Free Outdoor Concert Series Continues 4/15

The Tudor City Greens FREE outdoor concert series resumes on Wednesday, April 15th at 6:00PM. The hour and a half long program of music and comedy - themed "Make Our Garden Grow" - will feature performers from Broadway and the New York City cabaret scene. The concert will be hosted by Tudor City resident, Broadway and cabaret performer Raissa Katona Bennett (Phantom of the Opera, Chess) and feature performances by comedian Richard Cramer, Eric Michael Gillett (Sweet Smell of Success, The Frogs; MAC-Award winner), Rosemary Loar (Cats), Roger Mapes (GLBT Hall of Fame: Singer/ Songwriter), Sarah Rice (Broadway's original "Johanna" in Sweeney Todd, The Fantasticks), award-winning cabaret artists Hector Coris, Jenna Esposito, Rob Langeder, Tanya Moberly, Maureen Taylor, Karen Oberlin, Lennie Watts and cabaret newcomers Candy Benge and Tom Vaughn. The musical directors are David Caldwell, Mark Janas, and Bill Zeffiro. The cast is subject to change.

The event will take place in the North Park of Tudor City Greens Park - enter at Tudor City Place between East 42nd and 43rd Streets, between 1st and 2nd avenues.

A free post-event reception with the performers will take place at 925 Lounge (800 Second Ave., between East 42nd & 43rd Streets.) The 925 Lounge has generously promised to donate a percentage of all drinks purchased during the 2-hour period following the show to the Tudor City Greens.

Future concerts will continue throughout the spring, summer and fall.

Fred French called it a "city within a city," the Tudor City apartment complex he built in the late 20's between 40th and 43d Streets on a bluff just west of First Avenue. As a centerpiece he created two small parks, a sparkling pair of green patches in crowded midtown. In the late 1970s, when Harry Helmsley owned the complex, he was determined to construct two high rise buildings on the land where the North and South parks are. However, the residents of Tudor City were equally as determined that he would not! One long holiday weekend Sunday, bulldozers suddenly appeared and began hauling down the then wooden fencing. John McCain, (of The Manor), ran out into the street with a bullhorn shouting; "Come out. Come out. Residents of Tudor City, come out and save our parks!" Sure enough, as the story goes, little old ladies rushed out and threw themselves in front of the bulldozers, stopping all activity. This gave the Tudor City Association time to organize legal measures which effectively stopped any further movement on Helmsley's part and saved the parks. Now, the parks have been renovated by Tudor City Greens, the non-profit tenants' group that owns and maintains the gardens that are open to the public.

The Concerts at Tudor City Greens Series was organized by Raissa Katona Bennett in 2008 to present the art and vitality of cabaret to an untapped audience while also promoting the concerts to increase donations for the Tudor City Greens parks. A great by-product of the concerts is the added visibility of local business who choose to sponsor post-show gatherings. These partnerships will only strengthen the impact of the TCG concerts.

The April 15th concert is being produced in association with the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs (MAC) - an organization dedicated to the support and promotion of the art of live entertainment in NYC (www.MACNYC.com).