Bay Area Cabaret Reopens Fairmont Venetian Room

Bay Area Cabaret, the local organization devoted to presenting audiences with top performers who expand the definition of cabaret, announced it has been invited to reopen the Fairmont Hotel's historic Venetian Room as a showroom, and given exclusive music booking rights to present its musical series in the city's legendary showroom. Said Marilyn Levinson, Founding Executive Producer of Bay Area Cabaret, now in its seventh season, "The Venetian Room reigned supreme as America's premier supper club from 1947 to 1989. It was here that Tony Bennett introduced his signature song 'I Left My Heart in San Francisco' and show business legends like Ella Fitzgerald, Marlene Dietrich, Tina Turner, Joel Grey, Bobby Short, James Brown, Vic Damone, Nat 'King' Cole, and many, many other performers held forth for more than four decades. We are thrilled and honored to be reopening this historic room as a music venue, where we will be presenting this generation's top Broadway, pop and jazz performers."
 
Still thriving as the city's top destination for weddings and other elegant celebrations, but dark for 21 years as an entertainment venue, the Venetian Room will return to the spotlight with a gala reopening on 7pm Sunday, October 17. The evening's presentation, "Marvin and More," will feature Grammy, Emmy, Tony, and Pulitzer Prize winning composer Marvin Hamlisch, (A Chorus Line, The Way We Were, They're Playing Our Song), London's three-time Olivier Award winner Maria Friedman and Broadway's "Les Miz" star J. Mark McVey.  This gala event kicks off the seventh season of Bay Area Cabaret, a nonprofit organization dedicated to presenting extraordinary solo performances by top Broadway, cabaret and jazz artists, and broadening the audience for high quality intimate entertainment.  For those purchasing premium seats ($175), a reception with the artists follows the show in the Fairmont's spectacular Crown Room.
 
Bay Area Cabaret's series continues Friday, November 5 with a 8pm concert by Chita Rivera, whose last appearance in San Francisco in 2008 was received by the San Francisco Chronicle with a rave review, calling her "irrepressible... the theatrical equivalent of a knockout punch."  The two-Time Tony Award winner will perform songs from her legendary Broadway career with an intimate evening of music in Chita Rivera: MY BROADWAY. Accompanied by her longtime musical trio, led by music director Michael Croiter, Ms. Rivera  will perform selections from her most celebrated musicals, including numbers from West Side Story ("America"), Sweet Charity ("Where Am I Going?" and "Big Spender"), Chicago ("All That Jazz" and "Nowadays"), Kiss of the Spider Woman, Bye, Bye, Birdie and The Rink, and featuring the music of Leonard Bernstein, John Kander & Fred Ebb, Charles Strouse, Stephen Sondheim and Cy Coleman among others.

On Sunday, November 21 at 7 pm., Bay Area Cabaret presents an acoustic and electric performance of re-imagined Broadway, pop and original music by Rent stars Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp, followed by an exclusive party with the artists. Originally performed at Feinstein's at the Regency, Adam and Anthony Live kicks off their tour of Japan, New York's Town Hall, and other prestigious destinations around the country and the world.
 
Next on the series, New York's Café Carlyle comes to San Francisco 5pm Sunday, March 13, 2011 with winners of New York's coveted Nightlife Award, jazz guitarist John Pizzarelli and his wife, Broadway star Jessica Molaskey (Tommy, Sunday in the Park with George). Having recorded over 20 albums, the latest a tribute to Duke Ellington, this duo blends musical genres seamlessly and intelligently. Says The New York Times' Stephen Holden: "In wit and musical savvy, nothing matches these smart conceptual shows, in which Mr. Pizzarelli's jazz guitar and crooning and Ms. Molaskey's theatrical jazz singing fuse into something that's greater than the sum of its parts."
 
Tony winner and Dreamgirls star Anika Noni Rose makes her San Francisco concert debut 5pm, Sunday, May 1, 2011. A Tony Award winner (Caroline or Change) also known for her role in the movie musical Dreamgirls, Ms. Rose was a graduate of ACT, who went on to star in productions of Aida, Three Penny Opera, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (with James Earl Jones) on Broadway. Her other films include Disney's The Princess and the Frog and the upcoming Tyler Perry film, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf.
 
The season will conclude with Broadway's finest vocalist Lillias White (FELA!, Dreamgirls, Chicago, Cats) performing 5pm Saturday, May 14, 2011 with a tribute to composer Cy Coleman. A winner of the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, People's Choice Award, and Outer Critics Circle Award for her role in Cy Coleman's musical The Life, this powerhouse singer pays tribute to the legendary songwriter (Witchcraft, Big Spender, The Best Is Yet To Come).
 
For patrons of Bay Area Cabaret, the Fairmont Hotel offers a three-course dinner in the Laurel Court for $40 plus tax and tip, plus free parking for all who dine in the Laurel Court.  The hotel also offers a special "Take the Elevator Home" room rate of $179 per night plus tax, which also includes complimentary parking (valid until 12/31/10 and subject to availability).
 
Bay Area Cabaret was founded by Marilyn Levinson, a fifth generation San Francisco native and niece of James Schwabacher, Jr., founder of San Francisco Opera's 27-year-old Schwabacher Debut Recital Series. Bay Area Cabaret (BAC) is a not-for profit, all-volunteer organization, which presents extraordinary performances in a variety of elegant venues in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Through its concert series and wide-ranging outreach activities, BAC aims to expand the definition of cabaret and broaden the audience for intimate entertainment, offering Great American Songbook entries from Harold Arlen and Stephen Sondheim to Jonathan Larson and Stevie Wonder.  Past seasons have featured Sutton Foster, Christine Ebersole, Barbara Cook, television actors Michael Tucker and Jill Eikenberry, jazz diva Nnenna Freelon, Broadway stars Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley, sopranos Patricia Racette and Karen Slack, and multi-platinum songwriter and jazz vocalist Ann Hampton Callaway.
 
Tickets for individual concerts start at $45 general/$40 subscribers and are available at www.bayareacabaret.org or by phone at City Box Office (415) 392-4400. Subscriptions, discounts for groups of 8 or more are available directly from Bay Area Cabaret at (415) 927-4636.  For Bay Area Cabaret 2010 / 2011 season subscriptions, premium seats with reception for opening night, or for more information including audio and video samples call (415) 927-4636 or visit www.bayareacabaret.org.

 

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