This month's newsletter is going to be very short (did I
hear someone say "thank goodness!"?). I started rehearsal
for The Secret Garden as soon as I got back
from New York at the end of January, and the show will
consume most of my schedule for February and March.
Benedetto/Blessed updates
The best is yet to come with new performances of
my tribute to an American music icon, the man
whom Frank Sinatra called "the best singer in
the business."
About the show
He’s
that regular guy from Astoria, Queens, who left
his heart in San Francisco. He's the civil
rights pioneer whose groundbreaking friendship
with an African-American Army buddy during World
War II caused his superiors to punish him by
making him dig graves. He’s the postwar
heartthrob who inspired hundreds of young girls
to wear black outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral on
his wedding day. His first music video - at age
67 - made him the darling of the MTV generation.
He’s the consummate artist known worldwide for
his paintings. He's the recording artist who's
sold over 50 million records, 13 Grammy Awards,
and released the best selling album of his
career - at age 80! The world knows him as Tony
Bennett, but his birth name -
Benedetto - means "blessed", an accurate
adjective to describe both the man and his fans.
Here's what the press has had to say about my
tribute:
"...Lorenson’s tribute is solid gold."
~ L. Pierce Carson, Napa Valley Register (read
the full review here)
"Lorenson sings these Bennett hits with
heart. You can tell that he really is into the
music – his soul won’t let him do anything else.
I might even go so far as to say that Lorenson
is possessed by Bennett’s hits."
~ Lee Hartgrave, BeyondChron.org (read
the full review here)
"Russ Lorenson has brought the crooner
style back to the cabaret scene...reminiscent of
those singers that I used to hear when the 52nd
Street cabarets were the cat's meow."
~ Richard Connema, TalkinBroadway.com (read
the full review here)
Upcoming dates for the show (click on a show
to get full details):
We're adding more dates all the time so watch
your email for a show near you, or check out the
calendar on the website!
"Come to the garden..."
Rehearsals are in full swing for The
Secret Garden at
The Willows Theatre, and the show is going
to be fantastic! We have
a terrific cast, and one of the most
beautiful and innovative sets I've ever worked
on.
About the show
Friendship, belief in oneself, and the power of
nature come together to make magic in The
Secret Garden.
It
is 1911, and spoiled, self-absorbed Mary Lennox
awakes in India to find her parents and everyone
else in her household have died of cholera.
Miraculously, she is found alive and returned to
the England she has never known to live with her
uncle, the reclusive Archibald Craven, a
hunchback who has been inconsolable since his
wife Lily's death. Not long after arriving at
Misselthwaite Manor, her mysterious uncle's
enormous mansion on the edge of the Yorkshire
moors, Mary discovers a walled garden, neglected
and in ruins. The once-lush garden is now
overgrown, and Archibald has forbidden anyone to
enter it in the ten years since Lily's death. No
one can even remember where the door is, until a
robin leads Mary to its hidden key. It is in the
"secret garden" that Mary and her sickly cousin
Colin find the path to physical and spiritual
health.
Based on the beloved 1911 Frances Hodgson
Burnett book of the same name, The Secret
Garden premiered on Broadway in 1991 and
ran for over 700 performances. It was nominated
for seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical,
and won three: Best Book of a Musical, Best
Featured Actress in a Musical, and Best Scenic
Design. It was also nominated for 13 Drama Desk
Awards, including Outstanding Musical, winning
three: Outstanding Book of a Musical,
Outstanding Orchestration, and Outstanding Set
Design.
Please note that The Willows Theatre has a
very large subscriber base, and the show is over
75% sold, with three performances already
completely sold out! Please don't wait to
get your tickets.
Coming attractions!
If
you've seen Benedetto/Blessed,
you've heard me tell how Tony Bennett describes
himself and Rosemary Clooney as "the first
American Idols". Tony and Rosie competed against
one another on the Arthur Godfrey's Talent
Scouts television program in February 1948,
and Rosie beat Tony. (She says in her
autobiography that it was the only time she ever
won anything against Tony Bennett). As a result,
both were signed to Columbia Records, and
starred together on two television shows
together in the 1950's. They adored each other,
and became lifelong friends.
For the past couple of years, my good friend
from New York,
Jenna Esposito, has been performing her
tribute show A Hint of Rosemary: The Songs
of Rosemary Clooney, garnering rave
reviews along the way. Jenna and I have been
talking for quite a while about doing a combined
version of our Rosie & Tony shows, and I'm happy
to announce that we will finally be doing it!
We're
still negotiating exact dates and venues so I'm
not ready to share all the details yet, but
Jenna will be coming out West next month, and
Bay Area audiences will be the first to see this
brand-new show. You can pencil in the week of
March 31-April 7, and watch your email for the
official announcement.
If you're in New York, you can catch Jenna in
her new show, Smooch! Just in time
for Valentine's Day, Jenna will be singing some
favorite tunes about everyone's favorite
pastime...SMOOCHING! She will be at
The Laurie Beechman Theatre at The West Bank
Cafe, on Friday, February 9 at 9pm. For
reservations, call (212) 695-6909.
He’s
that regular guy from Astoria, Queens, who left
his heart in San Francisco. He's the civil
rights pioneer whose groundbreaking friendship
with an African-American Army buddy during World
War II caused his superiors to punish him by
making him dig graves. He’s the postwar
heartthrob who inspired hundreds of young girls
to wear black outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral on
his wedding day. His first music video - at age
67 - made him the darling of the MTV generation.
He’s the consummate artist known worldwide for
his paintings. He's the recording artist who's
sold over 50 million records, 13 Grammy Awards,
and released the best selling album of his
career - at age 80! The world knows him as Tony
Bennett, but his birth name -
Benedetto - means "blessed", an accurate
adjective to describe both the man and his fans.
It
is 1911, and spoiled, self-absorbed Mary Lennox
awakes in India to find her parents and everyone
else in her household have died of cholera.
Miraculously, she is found alive and returned to
the England she has never known to live with her
uncle, the reclusive Archibald Craven, a
hunchback who has been inconsolable since his
wife Lily's death. Not long after arriving at
Misselthwaite Manor, her mysterious uncle's
enormous mansion on the edge of the Yorkshire
moors, Mary discovers a walled garden, neglected
and in ruins. The once-lush garden is now
overgrown, and Archibald has forbidden anyone to
enter it in the ten years since Lily's death. No
one can even remember where the door is, until a
robin leads Mary to its hidden key. It is in the
"secret garden" that Mary and her sickly cousin
Colin find the path to physical and spiritual
health.
If
you've seen Benedetto/Blessed,
you've heard me tell how Tony Bennett describes
himself and Rosemary Clooney as "the first
American Idols". Tony and Rosie competed against
one another on the Arthur Godfrey's Talent
Scouts television program in February 1948,
and Rosie beat Tony. (She says in her
autobiography that it was the only time she ever
won anything against Tony Bennett). As a result,
both were signed to Columbia Records, and
starred together on two television shows
together in the 1950's. They adored each other,
and became lifelong friends.
We're
still negotiating exact dates and venues so I'm
not ready to share all the details yet, but
Jenna will be coming out West next month, and
Bay Area audiences will be the first to see this
brand-new show. You can pencil in the week of
March 31-April 7, and watch your email for the
official announcement.
