Announcing: Tony Award-Winner Lillias White Brings New Show, ‘A Woman on Love,’ to Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood for Two Shows Only, June 3 & 10, with Special Guest Jake Simpson

BROADWAY STAR AND TONY AWARD-WINNER
LILLIAS WHITE
BRINGS HER NEW SHOW, A WOMAN ON LOVE
TO CATALINA JAZZ CLUB IN HOLLYWOOD

TWO SHOWS ONLY
MONDAYS, JUNE 3 & 10 AT 8:30PM

Chris Isaacson Presents and Upright Cabaret proudly present the West Coast club return of Broadway diva and Tony Award-winner Lillias White in her new show, A Woman On Love, at the Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood. There will be two performances only, on Mondays, June 3 and 10 at 8:30pm, with cocktail and dinner service beginning at 6:30pm. The June 10 show also marks the second anniversary of The Night After The Tonys, a tradition begun in 2012 by Ms. White and Upright Cabaret.

Lillias White is currently starring in the critically acclaimed production of August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come And Gone, under the direction of Phylicia Rashad at the Mark Taper Forum. Ms. White made her Broadway debut in Barnum (1981), and went on to perform in many other Broadway shows, including the 1987 revival of Dreamgirls, Cats, Once On This Island, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Chicago, and The Life, in which Ms. White gave a performance as a no-nonsense, world weary hooker that won her the Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards. She received a 2010 Tony Award nomination for her portrayal of Funmilayo in the hit musical Fela! She has performed with the Brooklyn Philharmonic, and she has appeared in concert at the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, and Lincoln Center. She has toured internationally with her solo show From Brooklyn to Broadway, and she has been seen on television on Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, NYPD Blue, and Sesame Street (for which she won an Emmy Award), to name only a few.

The music director for A Woman On Love is Abdul Hamid, and Ms. White will be joined onstage by OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) star Jake Simpson. Simpson twice won top honors (2003 & 2004) on CBS’s Star Search with his powerful high tenor voice and three-octave range. Jake has recorded, written and performed with a multitude of award-winning artists including Desmond Child, American Idol finalists David Archuleta, Syesha Mercado and Adam Lambert, The Voice finalist Frenchie Davis, pianist Jim Brickman, Shoshana Bean, Matt Cusson, Taylor Dayne, Paula Cole, and most famously on The Oprah Winfrey Show with the legendary Stevie Wonder.

About Chris Isaacson Presents: This ‘young impresario’ has promoted, created and produced over 500 events since forming his company in 2004. From small clubs to major theatres, Isaacson has produced many of the most influential stars of his generation including Adam Lambert, Lea Michele, Megan Hilty, Shoshana Bean, Neil Patrick Harris, Natasha Bedingfield, Orianthi, Taylor Dayne, Paula Cole and legends like Paul Anka, Sergio Mendes, and more. Isaacson is also founder of LA’s renowned Upright Cabaret, which has been redefining the cabaret milieu for a new generation of audiences since 2005. Upright Cabaret celebrates old style cabaret while simultaneously bringing young Broadway and young Hollywood together in a live setting. This past year, Isaacson served as Entertainment Director at Rolling Stone Los Angeles in Hollywood. His concerts have been featured on Access Hollywood, Extra, ABC’s On The Red Carpet, KTLA Morning News, Fox’s Good Day LA and in the LA Times, OK! Magazine, and New York Post. Visit www.ChrisIsaacsonPresents.com.

Lillias White: A Woman On Love will be at the Catalina Jazz Club, 6725 W. Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood for two performances only on Mondays, June 3 & 10 at 8:30pm. Doors open at 6:30pm for cocktail and dinner service (minimums apply). Admission is $30, and VIP seating is available. Tickets may be obtained by calling (866) 468-3399 or by visiting www.UprightCabaret.com/events. Tickets purchased online will receive priority seating.

# # #

05-13-13

Announcing: Lillias White Performs at Catalina Jazz Club One Night Only, Monday 6-11-12

BROADWAY STAR LILLIAS WHITE
CELEBRATES THE NIGHT AFTER THE TONYS
AT CATALINA JAZZ CLUB

ONE SHOW ONLY
MONDAY, JUNE 11 AT 8PM

Chris Isaacson Presents and Upright Cabaret proudly present Broadway diva Lillias White: The Night After The Tonys, as she belts out the best of Broadway and Jazz, at the Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood, for one performance only, on Monday, June 11. Showtime is 8pm, with cocktail and dinner service beginning at 6:30pm.

Lillias White made her Broadway debut in Barnum (1981). Other Broadway credits include the 1987 revival of Dreamgirls, Cats, Once On This Island, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Chicago, and The Life, in which Ms. White gave a performance as a no-nonsense, world weary hooker, that won her the Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards. Most recently, she received a 2010 Tony Award nomination for her portrayal of Funmilayo in the hit musical Fela! Ms. White has performed with the Brooklyn Philharmonic, and she has appeared in concert at the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, and Lincoln Center. She has toured internationally with her solo show From Brooklyn to Broadway, and she has been seen on television on such shows as Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, NYPD Blue, and Sesame Street (for which she won an Emmy Award).

Chris Isaacson Presents has created, produced and promoted over 450 events since the company was formed in 2004. From small clubs to major theatres, Isaacson has produced some of the most influential stars of this generation including Adam Lambert (American Idol), Lea Michele (Glee, Spring Awakening), Neil Patrick Harris (CBS’s How I Met Your Mother), Grammy Award nominee Natasha Bedingfield, three-time Grammy nominee Taylor Dayne, Grammy winner Paula Cole, and more. Isaacson is also founder of LA’s renowned Upright Cabaret, which has been redefining the cabaret milieu for a new generation of audiences since 2005. Upright Cabaret celebrates old style cabaret while simultaneously bringing young Broadway and young Hollywood together in a live setting.

Lillias White: The Night After the Tonys is at the Catalina Jazz Club, 6725 W. Sunset Boulevard, in Hollywood, for one performance only on Monday, June 11 at 8pm. Doors open at 6:30pm for cocktail and dinner service (minimums apply). Admission is $35, and may be obtained by calling (818) 736-5600 or by visiting www.UprightCabaret.com. Tickets purchased online will receive priority seating.

# # #

05-26-12

Los Angeles Times: Ana Gasteyer sings, all kidding aside

Ana Gasteyer sings, all kidding aside

The former ‘SNL’ star, whose voice was showcased comically in her characters, sings this week in Hollywood.
By David Ng, Los Angeles Times

August 10, 2011

LINK: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-ana-gasteyer-20110810,0,6550222.story

It should come as no surprise that Ana Gasteyer can carry a tune. During her six-year run on “Saturday Night Live,” the actress-comedian played a handful of singing characters, including Bobbie Mohan-Culp, the frumpy half of a middle-school music-teaching couple; Cinder Calhoun, the politically correct, vaguely Sapphic indie-rock songstress; and Celine Dion, the gushy and emaciated French-Canadian pop chanteuse.

Since leaving “SNL” in 2002, Gasteyer has performed in “Wicked” in Chicago and on Broadway, “The Threepenny Opera” on Broadway and even the lead role of Fanny Brice in “Funny Girl” in Pittsburgh. This week, she will be in L.A. to perform not as any of the aforementioned characters, but as herself.

“Elegant Songs From a Handsome Woman,” her cabaret show, will run at the Catalina Bar & Grill in Hollywood from Thursday through Saturday. “The songs are goofy as all hell. There’s nothing vain about it… I hope,” said Gasteyer on the phone from her home in Brooklyn.

The show runs a swift 70 minutes. “I don’t like it when people go to the bathroom too much,” she explained.

Gasteyer performed the show earlier this year in New York at Feinstein’s at the Loews Regency. The L.A. engagement will feature jazz standards, novelty songs as well as excerpts from “Wicked.”

“It’s so easy in these cabaret venues to get earnest,” Gasteyer said. “I was inspired more by early Bette Midler. I do wear a fancy dress and very high heels — and extra high hair. My goal is to obliterate all earnestness.”

Gasteyer said that playing Bobbie Mohan-Culp on “SNL” helped her develop as a singer in unexpected ways. She recalled having to perform a high C for a non-Bobbie sketch and feeling intimidated by it. Cheryl Hardwick, the show’s musical director at the time, told her that she had heard her hit that note before as Bobbie, but that she didn’t realize it since Gasteyer was in character.

“Losing yourself in the character opens you up in a way that no amount of precise preparation can. That was when I felt the freest vocally,” she said. “The notes matter, but they’re meant to be interpreted. The best music is what’s being channeled.”

The actress described singing on Broadway in “Wicked” and other shows as “brutal, but it’s the same every day, which is good when you’re parenting. My whole ‘SNL’ experience was about pulling it all off in the moment you’re doing it. Theater was the antidote to that.”

Gasteyer now lives in Brooklyn with her husband, who works in advertising, and two children who are 9 and 3. In the months ahead, she expects to spend more time in Los Angeles thanks to a supporting role in the new ABC comedy series “Suburgatory.”

The actress spent some of her early comedy years in L.A. at the Groundlings Theatre. “At the time, it was all girls, with some men, but what blew me away coming from Chicago, was this incredible lineup of female comedians. And so I stuck with it. It’s still my home there. Will Ferrell was in the class ahead of me. It was life changing.”

The actress said performing her cabaret show is a return of sorts to the intimate live-audience setting that was crucial in improv. “It’s really intoxicating, feeling them and engaging with them,” she said.

“With film, you have absolutely no control. In comedy, the audience is orchestral, and once it starts, it doesn’t stop. That’s the same with cabaret — once the train takes off, it’s gone.”

david.ng@latimes.com

Copyright © 2011, Los Angeles Times