The Marcus Center Announces Tony Bennett: Live In Concert

The Marcus Center for the Performing Arts has announced Tony Bennett: Live In Concert as part of the continuing series Marcus Center Presents. The 15-time Grammy Award winning singer will be at the Marcus Center's Uihlein Hall for one night only on Tuesday, March 6 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets go on sale on Monday, January 9 at 12:00 p.m. at the Marcus Center Box Office.

Tony Bennett is a legendary artist who moves the hearts and touches the souls of audiences. He's not just the singer's singer but also an interNational Treasure honored by the United Nations with its Citizen of the World award, which aptly describes the scope of his accomplishments. The son of a grocer and Italian-born immigrant, Anthony Dominick Benedetto sang while waiting tables as a teenager then performed with military bands during World War II. His big break came in 1949 when comedian Bob Hope noticed him working in Greenwich Village. It was Hope who came up with the name Tony Bennett. His classic, "I left my Heart in San Francisco," is known worldwide.

Tony Bennett celebrated his 85th birthday this year with a new CD, "Duets II" which was released on September 20th on RPM/Columbia Records and made music history by making Tony the oldest artist to ever have a #1 CD on the Billboard album charts. Bennett began the recording process with several artists during Grammy week in February at LA's famed Capitol Studios. Subsequent recording sessions in New York, Nashville and Italy rounded out the completion of the CD. Featured on Duets II are Lady Gaga, Michael Buble, Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey, and the late Amy Winehouse, whose last recording session was for this project. "Duets II," produced by Phil Ramone follows up "Tony Bennett Duets: An American Classic" CD, the 2006 Grammy winning best selling CD which became the singer's best selling CD to date. DUETS II was recently nominated for three Grammy Awards.

Mr. Bennett is also a serious and accomplished painter, creating works under the name Benedetto that are on permanent public display in several institutions. He is also the founder of Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Astoria, Queens. Bennett is one of only a handful of artists to have new albums chart in each decade through the new millennium.

Tony Bennett has introduced dozens of pop standards to the Great American Songbook and continues to tour the world to sold out audiences.

Tony Bennett: Live In Concert will be at the Marcus Center on Tuesday, March 6 at 7:30 p.m. in Uihlein Hall. Tickets start at $65 and vary depending on seat location. SpeciAl Gold Circle VIP seating is also available and $1 will be added to each ticket to support Exploring the Arts Inc. which is a non-profit organization founded by Tony Bennett and Susan Benedetto to transform the lives of young people through arts education. Tickets go on sale on Monday, January 9 at 12:00 p.m. and are available at the Marcus Center Box Office at 929 N. Water Street Downtown Milwaukee, by calling 414-273-7206, online at Ticketmaster.com or at Marcus Center.org. For more information, please visit www.MarcusCenter.org. Groups 10 or more call 414-273-7121 ext. 210.

ABOUT THE MARCUS CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
The Marcus Center for the Performing Arts is owned and partially funded by Milwaukee County. The Marcus Center has been the premier entertainment destination for Milwaukee and Wisconsin since 1969. It provides the setting for outstanding cultural experiences, where the arts come to life for current and future generations. Located in the heart of the Downtown Theater District, the Marcus Center is a community facility that offers live performance of opera, ballet, children's theater, symphony and first-class national touring productions.