Signature Theatre Announces Sizzlin' Summer Nights Cabaret Series

Virginia's Signature Theatre opens its air-conditioned doors once again for the annual Sizzlin' Summer Nights Series. Two and a half weeks of live music and performances by Signature favorites and DC area stars. The cabaret series runs July 19 through August 4, with a different performance every night.

Signature favorites are featured throughout including cabarets by Nova Y. Payton (Signature's Jelly's Last Jam), Erin Driscoll (Signature's Titanic), Awa Sal Secka (Signature's Jesus Christ Superstar), Christopher Mueller (Signature's Titanic), Iyona Blake (Signature's Jelly's Last Jam), and Maria Rizzo(Signature's Crazy for You).

Mark G. Meadows (Signature's Jelly's Last Jam) returns to Signature Theatre with his band Mark G. Meadows and The Movement for a Sizzlin' Summer Dance Party. Folk-rock band Eddie from Ohio frontman Robbie Schaefer, creator and star of Signature's Light Years, explores his songs along with the beloved songs by Paul Simon, Ben Folds and others. Long-running Sizzlin' Summer artist and renowned Washington Capitals anthem singer Bob McDonald returns and Ines Nassara (Ford's The Wiz) teams up with Chris Urquiaga (Signature's Entirely Elvis) for an evening of Stevie Wonder's greatest hits.

Other performances include The Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, acclaimed vocalist Rochelle Rice, Monumental Theatre Company, and Bligh Voth.

George Mason University's Mason Cabaret will present an Evening of Stephen Sondheim directed by Signature favorites James Gardiner (Signature'sThe Last Five Years) and Erin Driscoll (Signature's Titanic). Then on August 2, Revenge of the Understudies returns by popular demand, offering a wide variety of songs performed by some of the talented performers who have understudied at Signature this past season.

Complete schedule and descriptions of all performers' cabarets appear below.

Individual tickets to cabarets in the series are just $35 each and are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased at sigtheatre.org, in person at the Box Office, or by calling 703 820 9771.

All-Access passes are available for $175, and can be purchased online, by phone or in person at the Signature Theatre Box Office. The All-Access Pass allows patrons to choose any (or all) of the Cabarets for one low price.

SHOW DESCRIPTIONS & SCHEDULE

The Gay Men's Chorus of Washington: It Takes Two

Thursday, July 19 at 8PM

It's better with two! Fabulous soloists from the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, DC will join together in a cabaret of bawdy duets and sensual tangos told through songs and stories.

Rochelle Rice: American Remix

Friday, July 20 at 7PM

Dynamic vocalist and composer, Rochelle Rice, brings her trademark fusion of jazz, pop, and soul to some of the most loved hits of American music. Hear the music of legends like Joni Mitchell, Marvin Gaye, and songs of the Great American Songbook like you've never heard them before.

Mason Cabaret: An Evening of Stephen Sondheim

Friday, July 20 at 9PM

Mason University musical theater students celebrate iconic composer Stephen Sondheim with a full line-up from famous Sondheim tunes, including "Children Will Listen," "Comedy Tonight" and "Another Hundred People," to lesser known gems from Saturday Night and Merrily We Roll Along. Get a first look at the rising stars of tomorrow as they take the Signature stage for the first time in a fun cabaret co-directed by James Gardiner and Erin Driscoll.

Bob McDonald: Best of Bob

Saturday, July 21 at 7PM

Saturday, July 21 at 9PM

Celebrating ten years of cabarets at Signature, renowned Washington Capitals anthem singer Bob McDonald is back with this greatest hits program that pays homage to the celebrated crooners and classic Broadway, pop & country artists who have inspired his eclectic career.

Monumental Theatre Company: Flip Flop: A Miscast Cabaret

Sunday, July 22 at 5PM

Jade Jones hosts as eight Millennial stars perform songs they normally wouldn't be cast to sing. From Moana to Mean Girls, Monumental Theatre is flipping the script and giving new voices to classic songs.

Nova Y. Payton and Mark G. Meadows: Hotter than July

Sunday, July 22 at 7PM

Wednesday, July 25 at 8PM

Signature favorite and DC Queen Nova Y. Payton teams up with Mark G. Meadows to heat things up and perform your favorite pop and musical theater tunes.

Awa Sal Seka: Soul Divas

Tuesday, July 24 at 8PM

Jesus Christ Superstar's Awa Sal Secka (Ford's Theatre's The Wiz) serenades us with the greatest hits from the kings and queens of soul like Whitney Houston, Beyoncé, Sarah Vaughan, Tina Turner, and Jill Scott as well as soulful duets with special guests and other eclectic pieces that speak to her own soul.

Erin Driscoll: Ladies' Night

Thursday, July 26 at 8 PM

Helen Hayes Award winner Erin Driscoll spends an evening celebrating the female songwriters of Broadway. From Golden Age to contemporary songs, women like Dorothy Fields, Betty Comden, Jeanine Tesori, and Sara Bareilles have been crafting the most amazing music for theater. Join Erin as she sings the music and lyrics of the fearless females who have helped shape the Great White Way.

Mark G Meadows and The Movement: Dance Party!

Friday, July 27 at 7PM

Friday, July 27 at 9PM

Put on your dancing shoes, we're clearing out the tables and making room for you to shimmy with Sig favorite Mark G. Meadows and his rockin' band, The Movement. Dance to Whitney Houston, Bruno Mars, and Tina Turner hits like "I Wanna Dance with Somebody," "Uptown Funk," and "Proud Mary," and slow jams like Etta James' "At Last."

Ines Nassara and Chris Urqiaga: Isn't She Lovely?

Saturday, July 28 at 7PM

Tuesday, July 31 at 7PM

Ines Nassara of Ford Theatre's The Wiz, and Chris Urquiaga, of Signature's Entirely Elvis cabaret, team up for an evening of Stevie Wonder's greatest hits featuring tunes like "For Once in My Life," "I Wish," "Overjoyed" and, of course, "Isn't She Lovely?"

Christopher Mueller: Songs I Heard

Saturday, July 28 at 9PM

Signature favorite Christopher Mueller sings his favorite songs from My Fair Lady, Sweeney Todd, Miss Saigon, and lesser known gems from The Fix and Giant as he recalls some of the most exciting moments from his career.

Maria Rizzo: Let Me Entertain You

Wednesday, August 1 at 8PM

If you're real good, she'll make you feel good. Maria Rizzo (A Little Night Music, Crazy for You®) entertains you with a steamy evening of songs and stories, including burlesque tips from Signature's Gypsy, how she really feels about Roxie Hart and basically everything her Old World Sicilian father doesn't need to know.

Revenge of the Understudies

Thursday, August 2 at 8PM

The popular cabaret returns! Ready for their chance in the spotlight, Signature understudies including Ricky Drummond, Harrison Smith, Jillian Wessel, Da'Von Moody, Joshua James Crawford and more take the stage.

Robbie Schaefer: All My Songs Are True

Friday, August 3 at 7PM

Saturday, August 4 at 7PM

Eddie from Ohio's Robbie Schaefer, creator and star of Light Years, explores his favorite songs and the art of communicating the emotional truth in story and song. With his trademark charm, Robbie features songs from Light Years, older compositions, and beloved songs by Paul Simon, Ben Folds, and others.

Iyona Blake: Life Lessons

Friday, August 3 at 9PM

Life brings us lessons for the journey. Iyona Blake (Jelly's Last Jam, Titanic) shares testimonies and life's victories and defeats from women we see in songs of love, betrayal, and hope. Join Iyona for an evening of pop, jazz, and musical theater classics you don't want to miss!

Bligh Voth: No Really I'm Not Crazy

Saturday, August 4 at 9PM

From bluegrass to pop, rockabilly to disco, Jacques Brel to Prince and everything in between, popular podcaster and blogger Bligh Voth (Avocados Are For Rich People) fuses her brand of witty, no holds barred humor with a unique song repertory for a totally fun?not crazy at all?cabaret.

Founded in 1989, Signature Theatre is a Tony Award®-winning regional theater that broadens and brightens the region's cultural landscape with its bold productions of challenging new and established works and engaging education and outreach programs. Under the leadership of co-founder and Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer and Managing Director Maggie Boland, musical theater has become Signature's "signature," and the Theatre is renowned for its definitive Sondheim productions, inventive adaptations of overlooked or forgotten works, and investment in fresh new projects. Called a "musical theater powerhouse" by The Washington Post, Signature combines Broadway-caliber productions with intimate playing spaces and aims to be a leading force in U.S. musical theater. Since its inception, the Theatre has produced 51 world premiere works-including 19 new musical commissions-and is home to the single largest musical theater commissioning project in the United States, The American Music Voices Project. Attracting talent from the DC metropolitan region and New York, Signature has grown to reach more than 100,000 people annually from the Washington, DC region and beyond. Signature has won 107 Helen Hayes Awards for excellence in the Washington, DC region's professional theater and has been honored with 411 nominations.

To post a comment, you must register and login.