My 2006 "Travelin" tour began here at home with a sold-out show at the legendary Empire Plush Room!

It was wonderful to see so many friends in the audience - and even more wonderful to realize that I only knew about half the people there! We had a great response from the general public, and were able to expand our audience with new faces. One of the new faces was Richard Connema, a reviewer for Talkin' Broadway.com, who wrote an almost embarrassingly wonderful review of the show. You can read the full review at the Talkin' Broadway website by clicking here.

The next stop on our 2006 "Travelin" tour is none other than the Big Apple, New York City!

The band and I are headed east for my cabaret debut in New York. We will be doing two shows at The Hideaway Room at Helen's, one of New York City's premier venues to see the best in cabaret. Helen's regularly features such top-name cabaret artists as Julie Wilson, Shaynee Rainbolt, Richard Skipper, Colm Reilly, Baby Jane Dexter, Craig Rubano, Miles Phillips, Shawn Ryan, Cynthia Crane, and Jeanne MacDonald. Located in one of Manhattan's most popular and trendy communities, Helen's Restaurant, Cabaret & Piano Lounge is where people in the know come to hang out with some of the most talented entertainers in the city!

My debut CD, A Little Travelin' Music, will be publicly released on the LML Music label beginning May 9...come join the celebration with a special party and show at San Francisco's legendary Empire Plush Room.

Backed by my amazing band, I'll perform several selections from the CD, as well as give a preview of my new cabaret show, Benedetto/Blessed, a salute to the life and music of Tony Bennett in honor of his 80th birthday in 2006, set to premiere in August (also at The Empire Plush Room).

Also appearing with me will be special guests Klea Blackhurst and Shawn Ryan, both of whom will perform the duets they recorded with me on the new CD.

Tickets for the show are $25 per person, and include a post-show champagne & appetizer reception with me, Shawn & Klea. The show is already over 50% sold - please don't wait to get your tickets!

Even though the official public release date isn't until May 9, readers of this newsletter don't have to wait! You can order an autographed copy of the CD today through my website - just click on the link below!

On March 25th, we opened 42nd Street Moon's production of The Golden Apple. I'm having such a great time working with some old friends - Darlene Popovic (Minnie in Minnie's Boys), Alex Kaprelian (Finian's Rainbow), Mike Figueira (Finian's Rainbow, Red, Hot & Blue!), Douglas Giorgis (Minnie's Boys), Carly Ozard (Follies in Concert), Dave Dobrusky (Musical Director for all 4 shows I've done at 42nd Street Moon), Jayne Zaban (Choreographer for Finian's Rainbow & Red, Hot & Blue! ), Shawn Ferreyra (Stage Manager for Red, Hot & Blue!) and Greg MacKellan (Director of both Minnie's Boys and Red, Hot & Blue!), plus all of the new friends I've made in this cast. But the most fun moment of all was realizing that there was someone in the cast who goes WAYYYYY back with me...

While taking a break during rehearsal, Caroline Altman, who plays our Penelope, turned to me and said, "You look so familiar, but I can't place you." I had felt the same thing about her, so we tried to figure out where we knew each other from. It turns out that we had worked together 14 years ago, in a production of The Desert Song at what was then called San Diego Comic Opera (it's now Lyric Opera San Diego). What a delightful surprise!

Originally starring Kaye Ballard and Stephen Douglass (as well as Jerry Stiller and Charlotte Rae), the raves came pouring in when The Golden Apple opened in 1954: "Real Gold - Refreshing, Tangy, Delightful, and Intelligent". . . "An Out and Out Triumph - Naughty, Colorful, Funny". . . "Sheer Delight! A Magnificent Achievement!" In spite of such acclaim, the show has virtually disappeared, a truly "lost classic".

"The Golden Apple" retells Homer's epic Trojan War poems, The Iliad and The Odyssey, in turn-of-the-century Washington state. Although the Spanish-American War is over and Ulysses is reunited with Penelope, there is trouble brewing in the town of Angel's Roost: Mother Hare, the local mystic, excites Ulysses with a vision of the wonders of the new century beyond Angel's Roost. The returning Heroes are outraged to find their local Helen has married old Menelaus but are induced, nevertheless, by Ulysses to swear an oath to protect her virtue. When Paris, a slick traveling salesman from the big city of Rhododendron, carries off the errant Helen in his hot-air balloon, Ulysses leads the Heroes off to recapture her.

The show will run through April 9 on Thursdays & Fridays at 8:00pm, Saturdays at 6:00pm, and Sundays at 3:00pm. There will be a special early show at 7:00pm on Wednesday, April 5. For tickets, visit the 42nd Street Moon box office at the link below, or call (415) 978-2787.

What is 42nd Street Moon?

42nd Street Moon, based in San Francisco, is one of only four theatre groups in the nation whose mission is to present concert performances of classic Broadway musicals of the 1920s through the 1970s. After Ian Marshall Fisher's "Discover the Lost Musicals" series in London, 42nd Street Moon is the next oldest, worldwide, of these companies devoted to the preservation and performance of "lost" musical theater in concert. They have presented the American premieres of lost musicals such as Jerome Kern's Three Sisters which was written in 1934 but never produced until their 1995 season - sixty-one years later! Since 1993, the organization has mounted five productions every year, and serves a loyal constituency.

The research required to re-stage these timeless gems involves many hours of locating missing scores and scripts and piecing them together. As a result of both the dedicated research efforts of the Artistic Directors and also their success in putting these restored classics on stage, the organization has developed solid working relationships with the Gershwin Trustees, the Cole Porter Trustees, the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, the Kurt Weill Organization, and the families of Yip Harburg, Jerome Kern, and Dorothy and Herbert Fields. 42nd Street Moon's work has been sufficiently distinguished that Theodore S. Chapin, president of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization of New York, named it one of the most important theatre companies currently staging the masterpieces of the American musical theatre.

42nd Street Moon (so named because during the 1920's and 1930's, the bright lights of Broadway were known as "the 42nd Street Moon," honoring the theatre's most exciting thoroughfare) present these classic Broadway shows as "staged concert" performances. In staged concerts, actors hold scripts in-hand throughout the performance. There are no sets or elaborate costumes. They do not present their work through digitally engineered sound systems. The material itself is the star. This format allows their audiences to hear the work with remarkable clarity, and to use their imaginations. They allow their audiences to participate in the here and now, the very essence of LIVE theatre.

The 2000 version at The Willows Theatre included Douglas Giorgis, whom I have worked with in Minnie's Boys at 42nd Street Moon, and who is currently starring as the hero Achilles in The Golden Apple with me. Greg Lucas, who is appearing in The Golden Apple as the hero Nestor, will also be in 1776 with me, playing the role of Edward Rutledge (who sings the great song, "Molasses To Rum").

The show will have 7 performances a week and will run May 22 through July 2, with a possible two-week extension to July 16. Tickets are $17.50 - $35.00, available through the Willows Theatre Box Office at the link below.

As many of you know, I've always been a strong supporter of non-profit groups who serve youth and teens, including The California Youth Chorale, The Young Actors Theatre Camp, and American Rose Theatre.

Two agencies I support are gearing up for their annual gala fundraisers, and for the first time I will have the privilege of being both a donor as well as a participant in the events. Both groups have asked me to perform, along with the Kelly Park Jazz Quartet, as their featured entertainment for the evening. In addition, the band and I have donated a private, 90-minute concert to both groups, to be auctioned off during their respective events.

The first event is "Spring Sounds", the annual gala fundraiser for Adolescent Counseling Services of Palo Alto, CA. This evening of live music, auction, dinner and dancing supports ACS's critical programs, bringing much- needed services to teens and families. Last year's event sold out with over 300 people in attendance, raising over $80,000.

The event will be held on April 22, and you can find more information by clicking here.

The second event is "Out to Eat", The Outlet’s annual gala fundraising event, which raises money to help Silicon Valley’s youth. The Outlet is the only program of its kind on the Peninsula providing support, leadership development, outreach and education for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning youth ages 13-18. Consisting of a delicious dinner, lively auction, and inspiring youth speakers, the event is expected to raise more than $75,000. This gala celebration draws 350 guests from all over Silicon Valley.

The event will be held on April 27, and you can find more information by clicking here.

Information about both organizations (and others I support) can be found on the "Russ Supports" page of the website at the link below.

For those of you unable to come see this San Franciscan in New York, I’d like to let you know about a wonderful opportunity to see a New Yorker who will be in San Francisco!

New York-based bassist/songwriter Jay Leonhart is one of the world's great jazz bassists and wittiest songwriters. The Bass Lesson is his humorous and philosophical view of life as a bass player--from sharing intimacies with Leonard Bernstein, to having his bass violin body searched at airports, or shown the ultimate disrespect by passing four footed creatures.

Don Heckman of the Los Angeles Times says, "Add Jay Leonhart to the small, very exclusive list of jazz humorists...in the upper echelon of a group that includes Oscar Brown Jr., Dave Frishberg and Bob Dorough..."

My friend, the amazing bassist Daniel Fabricant, is making his producing debut with this concert and I’d like to see him successful in his efforts, so please tell your friends about this and come support world-class cabaret.

Jay Leonhart at The Empire Plush Room, April 14-16. Tickets are $30.00 and are available by clicking on the link below.