Tony Nominated Broadway Star Melissa Errico Makes New Orleans Debut On March 1 With Special Guest Bryan Batt

Tony Award-nominated singer, actress and writer Melissa Errico, has starred on Broadway in "Anna Karenina," "My Fair Lady," "High Society" and many other stellar productions. On March 1, 2018 she will make her New Orleans debut with the special Broadway @ NOCCA concert "Sondheim & More" at Lupin Hall, as a benefit for the The NOCCA Institute. She will be joined on stage by special guest, New Orleans native and star of "Mad Men" Bryan Batt. Grammy & Emmy Award winning music director John McDaniel will be at the piano. The special concert event is produced by Mark Cortale and sponsored by the New Orleans Hotel Collection and The Advocate. For tickets and information, please visit www.broadwaynola.com or call 800-838-3006.

The New York Times recently said of Melissa Errico's Sondheim concert, "She sings beautifully. Her familiarity with the way the songs work to advance character and story in vivo naturally informs her in vitro style, which is actorly to begin with. An attention to the lyrics and their rush of harsh 'wisdoms' was Ms. Errico's keynote. She refreshed cabaret staples, and lightly jazzed others, demonstrating how the meaning that is locked in tiny verbal gestures can be released with bold phrasing."

With classics from Sondheim's "Into the Woods," "Follies," "Sweeney Todd," "Anyone Can Whistle," "Company," "A Little Night Music" and songs from shows she has starred in, this concert is one no Sondheim or Broadway fan will likely want to miss. Errico's history with Sondheim began when he selected her to star as Dot in "Sunday In The Park With George" at The Kennedy Center, and next with her starring roles in acclaimed New York productions as Clara in "Passion" and Leona in "Do I Hear A Waltz " After multiple sold-out engagements at New York's 54 Below as well as in London and Washington DC over the last year, the celebrated singer, known for her gorgeous voice and a unpredictable with and intelligence, will perform a set list focusing on not only the music of Stephen Sondheim, but also peppered with some of her other musical "passions" and obsessions including Rodgers & Hart, Stephen Schwartz, Randy Newman, Joni Mitchell and Michel Legrand. As the Wall Street Journal recently said of Melissa: "Everything she sings is sublime."

Tony Award-nominee Melissa Errico has established herself as a Broadway star, film and television actress, recording and concert artist. She has starred in the Broadway musicals "Anna Karenina," "My Fair Lady," "High Society," "Dracula," "White Christmas" and "Amour" and the first national tour of "Les Misérables." At The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, she has starred in "The Sound of Music," "My Fair Lady" and "Camelot." Her solo CDs include, "Blue Like That" (EMI/Capitol Records) "Lullabies & Wildflowers" (VMG/Universal), "Legrand Affair" (Ghostlight/Sony) and "What About Today Melissa Errico Live at 54 Below" (Broadway Records; CD & DVD). She has starred in plays by Shaw, Oscar Wilde and Wally Shawn. Television roles include, the series "Central Park West" by Darren Star, recurring roles on Steven Soderbergh's "The Knick" as Catherine and Showtime's "Billions" as June. She's collaborated with Stephen Sondheim on the revival of "Sunday In the Park with George" as Dot/Marie at The Kennedy Center, followed by John Doyle's production of "Passion" as Clara, for which she was nominated for a sixth Drama Desk Award; and most recently as Leona in the 2016 Encores! production of "Do I Hear A Waltz " at City Center. Last season, she reprised the role of Sharon in the smash hit Off-Broadway revival of "Finian's Rainbow" at Irish Repertory Theatre which was extended many times, received rave reviews and was filmed in January 2017 for The Lincoln Center Library. Most recently, Melissa Errico performed two wildly-successful New York runs of her solo concert celebrating the music of Stephen Sondheim and just returned from taking the show to London, marking her solo concert debut in the city. Melissa also recently had a new single released by Ghostlight Records, "Hurry Home" written by multiple Oscar-winner Michel Legrand. She has also served on The National Endowment for the Arts and has published essays for various magazines as well as The New York Times & Cristina Cuomo's Purist. She is married to tennis player and sports commentator Patrick McEnroe, and they have three young daughters and a Yorkie named Pepper.

Bryan Batt is a native New Orleanian, actor, designer, fundraiser, and civic activist. He won 2 Screen Actors Guild awards for his portrayal of "Salvatore Romano" on AMC's critically acclaimed, Emmy, Golden Globe, and Peabody award winning dramatic series "Mad Men," and has most recently been seen as Mayor Quinn Maddox on the MTV cult hit series "Scream." On stage Bryan created the role of Darius in the N.Y. and L.A. productions as well as the film adaptation of Paul Rudnick's groundbreaking comedy "Jeffrey." He has starred on Broadway in the 2005 revival of "La Cage Aux Folles," "Beauty and the Beast," "Seussical The Musical," "Sunset Boulevard," "Saturday Night Fever," "The Scarlet Pimpernel,: "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," "Starlight Express," and "Cats." Bryan starred Off Broadway in "Forbidden Broadway Strikes Back" and "Forbidden Broadway Cleans Up Its Act" and originated the role of Gould in the Los Angeles premiere of "Grey Gardens" starring Betty Buckley and Rachel York. Bryan can be seen in the Oscar winning Best Picture "12 Years A Slave," and in "Parkland," "The Last of Robin Hood," "Funny People," "The Runner," "Zipper," "The Palooka," "Sam," "Abattoir," "The Book of Love," "PO," "LBJ," and the upcoming "Ambition," "The Billionaire Boys Club," "I Hate Kids," "Easy Does It," "Darlin.'" His Television work includes "NCIS," "NCIS New Orleans," "Law And Order SVU," "Ugly Betty," and "Ghost Whisperer." In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Bryan organized, hosted and/or performed in numerous events and fundraisers both in New York and in New Orleans benefiting Habitat For Humanity, Second Harvest Food Bank, NO-AIDS Task Force, The Contemporary Arts Center, LA-SPCA, Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre, The Preservation Resource Center, New Orleans Museum of Art, Friends of City Park, and more. He serves on the boards of N.O.AIDS Task force and is the first male Emeritus board member of Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre.

John McDaniel is a Grammy and Emmy Award winning Music Director, Composer, Arranger, Orchestrator and Producer and is an Artistic Director at the Tony Award winning O'Neill Theater Center. Broadway credits include "Bonnie and Clyde" (Drama Desk Nomination, Best Orchestrations), "Catch Me If You Can," "Brooklyn" (Producer and Orchestrator), "Annie Get Your Gun" (Grammy Award), "Taboo," "Chicago," "Grease," "Patti LuPone on Broadway" and "Company - the Original Cast" at Lincoln Center. TV credits include "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" (Emmy Awards). John has collaborated with Cab Calloway, Shirley MacLaine, George Burns, Joel Grey, Carol Burnett, Betty Buckley, Bette Midler and has guest conducted at 15 Symphony Orchestras across America.

About NOCCA:

Founded in 1973, the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts is Louisiana's arts conservatory for high school students. NOCCA offers intensive instruction in Classical Music, Creative Writing, Culinary Arts, Dance, Drama, Jazz, Media Arts, Musical Theatre, Theatre Design, Vocal Music, Visual Arts, and academics. Students come from across Louisiana, attending via full-day, afternoon, and after-school sessions. Admission to NOCCA is by audition, and there is no tuition. The NOCCA Institute is NOCCA's nonprofit partner, providing supplemental funding for NOCCA and advocacy for its world-class program. Some of the Institute's more notable endeavors include: a comprehensive Financial Aid Program that funds students' supplies and fees associated with important summer training programs across the country; an Artists-in-Residence Program that brings more than 100 professional visiting artists into NOCCA's classrooms each year; the capital campaign for NOCCA's current home and expansion projects along the Press Street corridor, including Press Street Station, 5 Press Gallery, and Press Street Gardens; and concert, gallery, and literary events for the community. The Institute also oversees rentals of the NOCCA campus, making it available to arts organizations, individuals, corporations, and other groups

About the series:

Mark Cortale (Artist Manager & Producer) is the Producing Artistic Director at The Art House in Provincetown, Massachusetts. He produced "Deconstructing Patti" on Broadway this past September at the Nederlander Theatre with Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS starring Patti LuPone and Seth Rudetsky which raised over $280,000 in one night. He also launched the Broadway @ concert series in 2011 at The Art House. The series, featuring creative partner Seth Rudetsky as music director and host, had its seventh season this past summer and guest artists included Sutton Foster, Jessie Mueller, Megan Hilty, Faith Prince, Beth Malone, Melissa Errico and Michael Cerveris. The Broadway @ series also premiered in 2013 in New Orleans, in Australia (Sydney & Melbourne) with Megan Mullally and in London's West End with Patti LuPone at the Leicester Square Theater. The series has since travelled to cities that include Chicago @ The Steppenwolf, Beverly Hills @ The Wallis, Fort Lauderdale @ The Parker Playhouse, San Francisco @ The Herbst Theatre and Scottsdale @ Scottsdale Center for the Arts. Other artists who have participated include Audra McDonald, Patti LuPone, Christine Ebersole, Chita Rivera, Kelli O'Hara, Neil Patrick Harris, Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick, Rosie O'Donnell, Vanessa Williams and Gavin Creel. Mark also produced the feature film "Varla Jean and the Mushroomheads" and the web television series "Seth's Reality". He manages the singing string quartet Well-Strung which he co-founded. Info at markcortalepresents.com.