Klea Blackhurst To Perform In SHOW BOAT, Merman Tribute At Glimmerglass Festival

Klea Blackhurst will perform her one-woman show featuring tunes made famous by Ethel Merman at The Glimmerglass Festival on Sunday, July 28, at 6:00 p.m. Additionally, Blackhurst will portray Parthy Ann Hawks in the Festival's performances of Show Boat, running July 6 through August 24. Blackhurst replaces Christine Ebersole, whose commitments have changed this summer due to professional reasons, including her role in the new CBS comedy series Bob Hearts Abishola.

Blackhurst returns to Glimmerglass after her "excellent" turn as Dolly Tate in Annie Get Your Gun during the 2011 season (The New York Times). As a dedicated self-proclaimed "Mermanologist," Blackhurst will perform her show Everything the Traffic Will Allow in concert with Music Director Michael Rice on piano. Critically acclaimed since its New York debut in 2001, Blackhurst's performance will survey stops along Merman's career from "I Got Rhythm" from Girl Crazy to "I Got Lost in His Arms" from Annie Get Your Gun. A tribute rather than an imitation, Blackhurst's powerful vocals and cracking wit create a beautiful valentine to Merman.

Blackhurst's skills as an actress, singer and comedienne have been seen across the country and abroad, including as Dolly Levi in the lauded 50th Anniversary production of Hello Dolly! at the Goodspeed Opera House and as Rose in Drury Lane Theatre's production of Gypsy. Blackhurst performed at The London Palladium alongside Angela Lansbury in Jerry Herman's Broadway and at the BBC Proms concert of Oklahoma! as Ado Annie in London's Royal Albert Hall, along with stateside performances with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra among others. Additionally, Blackhurst frequently performs at the famed Birdland Jazz Club in New York City and other night spots.

The 2019 Glimmerglass Festival runs July 6 through August 24 with mainstage productions of Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II's Show Boat, Verdi's La traviata, John Corigliano's The Ghosts of Versailles, and the world premiere of Jeanine Tesori and Tazewell Thompson's operatic collaboration Blue. The mainstage productions are accompanied by many concerts, lectures, backstage tours and more. Visit www.glimmerglass.org for more information.