The best is yet to come as 2007 brings back 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.

In 1992, I had the privilege of seeing a show on Broadway that instantly became one of my very favorite shows of all time. That night, I swore that someday I would do the show, and play the role that had been created by the incredible Mandy Patinkin.

I'm excited to announce that I will be returning to The Willows Theatre next month as Archibald Craven (the role created by Mr. Patinkin) in the Tony Award-winning musical The Secret Garden. I am beyond words to express how thrilled I am to be doing it!

We had our first cast meeting just before the holidays, and it looks to be a wonderful cast. I will be working with several old friends from my last show at The Willows, and also with some fantastic, award-winning new friends.

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.

I couldn't let 2006 pass without talking about the terrific response we got to the Christmas CD over the past couple of months.

Although neither made the Final Ballot, both the Christmas CD and my other CD, A Little Travelin' Music were selected for the Nominating Ballot for this year's Grammy Awards, in the category of "Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album". Other artists on the Nominating Ballot who didn't make it to the Final Ballot? Chris Botti, John Pizzarelli, Barry Manilow, Dr. John, and Brian Stokes Mitchell - so I think I'm still in pretty good company!

The CD also got radio play in major markets across the US, and was included in several special Christmas radio programs and podcasts. KOIT 96.5 FM in San Francisco even included it on a special page on their website of the Top 5 requested songs during their "all holiday" programming period.

All About Jazz featured one of the tracks as their "Daily Download" on December 10 - and we had over 12,000 hits to my website in one day! The song itself has been downloaded from their website over 1,200 times, and my "Musician Profile" on their website now ranks in the Top 200 Profiles (at this writing I'm currently at #65).

And the critics have had great things to say as well:

"I was overjoyed to find Russ Lorenson's What I Want For Christmas in the mailbox. It blew in like a blue norther, changing the atmosphere from warm to cool in an instant...Indeed, cool is the word for this piano and saxophone-laden sound..."
- Richard Banks, ChristmasReviews.com

"To be honest, what I want for Christmas is always What I Want for Christmas or something like it - meaning holiday songs I like that don't get recorded as much, plus a singer being able to surprise me with a fresh take on something that's been overexposed. Russ Lorenson has done it...This has been the album I find myself coming back to..."
- Rob Lester, TalkinBroadway.com

"This time it's [Russ Lorenson], smiling his way through the holidays with some swinging arrangements...From "Christmas in San Francisco" to a medley that includes songs by Irving Berlin and Julie Styne, you'll find no angst here. Add a glass of wine, lots of tinsel, and close the shutters to anything but the Christmas lights."
- Jason Victor Serinus, Secrets of Home Theater & High Fidelity Magazine

"Russ Lorenson...offers a cabaret Christmas with this release, which has a 1940s feel to it. Lorenson's selections are not commonly played or sung around the holidays, helping this CD stand out."
- Bill Wood, Kalamazoo (MI) Gazette

"Russ Lorenson's What I Want for Christmas is a treat for fans of the cabaret vocal style."
- Gerry ("Dr. Christmas") Grzyb, Appleton (WI) Post-Crescent