Gardner, Bennett, Coris, Dexter & More Set For Tudor City Greens Concert 9/9

The Tudor City Greens FREE outdoor concert series resumes on Wednesday, September 9th at 6:00PM. (Rain date: Thursday, September 10th @ 6PM). This event will feature performers from Broadway and the New York City cabaret scene. The concert will be hosted by Tudor City resident, Broadway and cabaret performer Raissa Katona Bennett (Phantom of the Opera, Chess). Raissa's guests scheduled to appear are MAC Award nominees Hector Coris and Cynthia Crane, Baby Jane Dexter (MAC Award winner, 5X Bistro Award winner), Rita Gardner (original "Louisa" in The Fantasticks, Broadway's The Wedding Singer), David Gurland (MAC Award winner, 4X Bistro Award winner), ASCAP Award winner Peter Haas, multiple MAC Award winner Marcus Simeone, Uptown Express (Bistro Award winners) and multiple MAC and Bistro Award winner Lennie Watts. Accompanists are David Caldwell, Sean Harkness, Mark Janas, Jim Followell, Steven Ray Watkins and Bill Zeffiro.

The event will take place in the South Park of Tudor City Greens Park - enter at Tudor City Place between East 41st and 42nd Streets, between 1st and 2nd avenues.

Concerts will resume Spring 2010.

Fred French called it a "city within a city," the Tudor City apartment complex he built in the late 20's between 40th and 43d Streets on a bluff just west of First Avenue. As a centerpiece he created two small parks, a sparkling pair of green patches in crowded midtown. In the late 1970s, when Harry Helmsley owned the complex, he was determined to construct two high rise buildings on the land where the North and South parks are. However, the residents of Tudor City were equally as determined that he would not! One long holiday weekend Sunday, bulldozers suddenly appeared and began hauling down the then wooden fencing. John McCain, (of The Manor), ran out into the street with a bullhorn shouting; "Come out. Come out. Residents of Tudor City, come out and save our parks!" Sure enough, as the story goes, little old ladies rushed out and threw themselves in front of the bulldozers, stopping all activity. This gave the Tudor City Association time to organize legal measures which effectively stopped any further movement on Helmsley's part and saved the parks. Now, the parks have been renovated by Tudor City Greens, the non-profit tenants' group that owns and maintains the gardens that are open to the public. www.TudorCityGreens.org.

The Concerts at Tudor City Greens Series was organized by Raissa Katona Bennett in 2008 to present the art and vitality of cabaret to an untapped audience while also promoting the concerts to increase donations for the Tudor City Greens parks. A great by-product of the concerts is the added visibility of local business that choose to sponsor post-show gatherings. These partnerships will only strengthen the impact of the TCG concerts.

The concerts are being produced in association with the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs (MAC) - an organization dedicated to the support and promotion of the art of live entertainment in NYC (www.MACNYC.com).
Sponsored in part by 925 Lounge.

Special thanks to:
Phil Bond and the Laurie Beechman Theatre for donating rehearsal space.
Feinstein's at the Regency for donating printing services.

Wednesday, September 9th @ 6PM
(Rain date: Thursday, September 10th @ 6PM)