Cabaret Duo Menzie & Michael Perform Jan. 23 As Part Of Rodeheaver Series
Posted
Staff Report-
The award-winning cabaret duo Beckie Menzie and Tom Michael will celebrate Rodgers and Hart, and Rodgers and Hammerstein, in their show "The Sound of Their Music" Jan. 23 at 2 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church of Warsaw downtown.
Called "one of the most compelling duos in cabaret today" by the Chicago Tribune, Menzie and Michael offer a blend of whimsy, nostalgia and talent. Their musical twists on jazz favorites, standards, contemporary pop, Broadway show tunes and film gems have won them audience and critical acclaim across the globe.
Hailed by Cabaret Scenes Magazine as one of the "Top Ten Cabaret Acts," Menzie and Michael have appeared at New York's Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. Their recording efforts have been praised by Billboard Magazine, BackStage, Show Business Weekly and Playbill and their latest CD, "Better Two-gether," has been hailed by critics as "magic," "sensational" and "...the year's best recording."
In what they call a "musical marriage," Menzie and Michael delight audiences with their chemistry, arrangements and love for music and for one another. Menzie's rich voice and expert piano stylings sizzle on everything from sassy swing to smoky torch songs. A three-time winner of After Dark Chicago's "Outstanding Cabaret Artist" award, Menzie is a diva-in-demand whom WGN radio has praised as "one of the city's finest performers." Her critically-acclaimed solo CD "Real Emotional Girl" garnered national radio play and was praised by Cabaret Scenes as "one of the year's finest."
With a voice that Billboard Magazine describes as, "...a revelation," Michael's warm, expressive style and charismatic tenor breathe new life into cabaret standards and reveal why BackStage Magazine has called him "one of the most striking singers to emerge in the last few years." His most current solo CD, "Written in the Stars," received international critical praise and was named "Best CD of the Year" by ShowBusiness Weekly Magazine, After Dark Chicago and WDVR-FM radio.
Together, their performances produce what critics have called "sizzling," "pure brilliance" and "cabaret at its best," and accordingly they have garnered Chicago's After Dark Award for Outstanding Cabaret Artists five times.
The show Menzie and Michael have elected to perform for their Warsaw audience is a collection of some of the best-loved musical theatre songs of all time. From the Golden Age of Rodgers and Hart's wit and urban sophistication to the groundbreaking box-office hit shows of Rodgers and Hammerstein, "The Sound of Their Music" evokes the nostalgia of a more innocent and hopeful time.
Menzie's and Michael's arrangements in "The Sound of Their Music" include: "My Favorite Things, "Johnny One Note," "This Nearly Was Mine," "My Romance," "Getting to Know You / Shall We Dance?", "It's a Grand Night for Singing / Carousel Waltz," "The Sound of Music" and "I Wish I Were in Love Again."
The performance is sponsored by the Rodeheaver Series for the Performing Arts, and is offered free of charge. The public is encouraged to attend.
The Series was established in 1990 to support and foster performing arts and artists in a manner which brings glory to God. Named for the Rodeheaver family, legendary for their development and support of Christian music, and long-time members of First United Methodist Church of Warsaw, the Rodeheaver Series has sponsored more than 50 concerts, recitals and theatrical presentations.First United Methodist Church of Warsaw is at the corner of Indiana and Market Streets downtown, is handicap accessible, and provides listening assistance.
For more information on the Rodeheaver Series for the Performing Arts, or for directions to the church, call the church office at 574-267-6933 or visit the church website at www.warsawfumc.org
