Unsung Concert Series to Continue at 54 Below with UNSUNG BOB MERRILL, 8/5, and UNSUNG CAROLYN LEIGH, 11/20

UnsungMusicalsCo. (UMC) will continue its 2014 Unsung concert series at 54 Below with Unsung Bob Merrill and Unsung Carolyn Leigh, Vol. 2, following its recent sold-out, critically acclaimed Unsung Carolyn Leigh concert for Lincoln Center's American Songbook. The two all-new evenings are created and directed by Ben West (Unsung Carolyn Leigh, The Fig Leaves Are Falling, At Home Abroad) with musical direction and arrangements by Fran Minarik (Unsung Carolyn Leigh, At Home Abroad).

Tony Award nominee Tom Wopat (Catch Me If You Can, A Catered Affair) hosts Unsung Bob Merrill on August 5 at 9:30 PM with additional performers to include Anastasia Barzee (Jekyll & Hyde, White Christmas), Erin Davie (Side Show, A Little Night Music, Grey Gardens), Rebecca Faulkenberry (Rock of Ages, Spider-Man), Drama Desk nominee Karen Mason (Mamma Mia!), and Drama Desk nominee Christine Pedi (Chicago, Forbidden Broadway). Additional casting will be announced shortly.

From his signature pop standards such as "Mambo Italiano" and "People" to his award-winning Broadway musicals Carnival and Funny Girl, Bob Merrill constructed a distinguished catalogue of timeless musical treasures: vivacious, chic, and frequently outrageous. Unsung Bob Merrill highlights the Tony-nominated icon's little-known works including rare musical material from the infamous Breakfast at Tiffany's, cut songs from New Girl in Town and Carnival, and several of his sensational 1950s novelty songs written for such artists as Rosemary Clooney, Doris Day, and Frank Sinatra. UnsungMusicalsCo. produces the intimate evening celebrating this singular artist and featuring rare audio clips of the songwriter himself.

Unsung Carolyn Leigh, Vol. 2 will be presented November 20 at 7 PM & 9:30 PM. Casting will be announced shortly.

With an illustrious catalogue boasting such popular standards as "The Best is Yet to Come," "Witchcraft," and "Hey, Look Me Over," legendary lyricist Carolyn Leigh spent three decades perfecting her own indelible brand of smart, sexy, sophisticated songwriting. UnsungMusicalsCo. continues its celebration of the Tony- and Grammy-nominated icon with Unsung Carolyn Leigh, Vol. 2, an all-new, jazz-infused evening that highlights the inimitable artist's little-known works including several items written with Jule Styne for the 1976 revue Hellzapoppin', two trunk songs from How Now, Dow Jones, and a lost musical number penned with Elmer Bernstein for the troubled tryout of I Do! I Do! Interspersed with a handful of Ms. Leigh's early career hits, the intimate evening features rare audio clips of the lyricist and more than twenty remarkable melodies.

Tickets are available at 54Below.com or by calling 646-476-3551. For more information, please visit: www.UnsungMusicals.org.

UMC is currently presenting a workshop production of The Passing Show, an all-new musical revue by such acclaimed authors as Jeff Bowen, Emmy winner Bruce Vilanch, Carner & Gregor, Drew Gasparini, Salzman & Cunningham, and more, at MTC Creative Center on June 26-29.

UnsungMusicalsCo. (UMC) is a New York-based not-for-profit production company dedicated to the preservation of musical theatre through the revitalization and presentation of obscure but artistically sound works. Focusing primarily on overlooked projects from the Golden Age of musical theatre (1931-1971), UMC treats each property as a new musical thereby providing a unique collaboration between the artists of today and those of the past. Founded in 2009, recent UMC projects include Unsung Carolyn Leigh, a sold-out, critically acclaimed concert for Lincoln Center's American Songbook; critically acclaimed, newly conceived productions of Make Mine Manhattan and The Fig Leaves Are Falling; a starry concert production of At Home Abroad with Bruce Vilanch, Julie Halston, Christine Pedi, Noah Racey, Liz Larsen and KT Sullivan; world premiere concerts of Gatsby, Caesar's Wife and Nothing is Forever; and the critically acclaimed New York Int'l Fringe Festival production of How Now, Dow Jones. UMC also recently launched its unsung concert series with Unsung Jimmy Van Heusen hosted by Tony Award nominee Tom Wopat. Devoted also to researching, assembling and ultimately preserving rare musical material for future generations, UMC is receiving its own collection in the Billy Rose Theatre Division of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, where the company's developmental reading series is also in residence at the Bruno Walter Auditorium. www.UnsungMusicals.org

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