Mary Testa to Celebrate Release of New Album at The Laurie Beechman Theater and Barnes & Noble Next Month

MARY TESTA - the two time Tony Award nominated singer and actress - and MICHAEL STAROBIN, the Tony Award winning orchestrator and arranger will perform four concerts in January to promote their new album Have Faith from Ghostlight Records. Fresh off her recent starring role on Broadway in Wicked, Mary will perform a special CD release engagement at The Laurie Beechman Theater at The West Bank Café January 4-5,11-12, 2015 at 7:00 PM. Music Director Michael Starobin, will join her on piano with Alisa Horn on cello. Since being released earlier this month, Have Faith was called "stunning" by Playbill, "beautifully hypnotizing" by BroadwayWorld and "a sensational CD debut, terrific from first cut to last" by the Connecticut Post. For tickets, please visit www.lauriebeechmantheatre.com. To order the album, please visit www.sh-k-boom.com/havefaith.

The pair will also appear at Barnes & Noble for a special in-st0re performance and CD signing on Tuesday, January 6 at 7:o0 PM. Barnes & Noble is located at 150 East 86th Street, between Lexington and Third Avenues on the Upper East Side. Fans who purchase the CD at the store will be offered priority seating. Please call (212) 369-2180 for details.

Have Faith is a boldly unique and contemporary concept album that addresses issues of faith and doubt from a variety of perspectives, mixing a 1980s pop feel with elements of electronic, classical and folk music. The album features songs by Top 40 artists Alanis Morissette, Prince and Annie Lennox, as well as 1960s legends The Beach Boys and Leonard Cohen. It also includes songs by current musical theater writers William Finn and Michael John LaChiusa, whose work Mary has often introduced on stage. Starobin himself contributes original music to a sparkling new interpretation of "Sonnet 29," from Shakespeare's iconic series. The album was produced by David Baron, with arrangements for the 13-piece band by Mary Testa and Michael Starobin and orchestrations by Starobin. Catherine Rush serves as Executive Producer.

"This album means the world to me because it is exactly what Michael and I wanted it to be," says Mary. "It is the true expression of us as artists. The songs on the album represent our musical interests. It's an eclectic combination of styles and time periods all intertwined. They are connected by the fact that they all express the intricacies of life and faith; how important faith is, even though life is exceptionally contradictory."

Michael adds, "Mary and I wanted to make an 'album,' a concept from our youth, where disparate songs come together to speak to each other, comment on each other and make a whole greater than the individual parts. Perhaps this was our way to emulate the work of our composer friends. But our goal was to trace the journey of a soul through doubt and belief in the language of song. I grew up on such concept albums and it was always a dream to make one, a dream displaced by a happy career in the theater. How fortunate I am to see that youthful dream come true in collaboration with Mary, that giant talent I am lucky enough to call my friend."

"Mary and Michael are masters at the top of their game," commented Executive Producer Catherine Rush. "It's the difference between listening to a talented young cellist and watching Yo-Yo Ma. The finesse and comfort they have coupled with their exceptional talent just makes this album stand alone. They are taking risks with this album and that comes with maturity, too."

The Laurie Beechman Theatre is located downstairs at The West Bank Café (407 West 42nd Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues). Tickets are $20 each with an additional $20 food and beverage minimum. For tickets, please call (212) 352-3101 or visit www.lauriebeechmantheatre.com.

MARY TESTA has been hailed as "a performer of radioactive presence and lungs of steel" by The New York Times, "a strong comedic presence" by the Associated Press and "a peerless musical comedian" by Time Out New York. She has earned two Tony Award nominations, two Obie Awards, one Lucille Lortel Award nomination, four Drama Desk Award nominations, two Drama League nominations and a Drama Desk Award to recognize for three decades of outstanding work in the theater. Her Broadway credits include Wicked, Guys & Dolls, Xanadu, Chicago, 42nd Street, Marie Christine, On the Town, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Rink, Marilyn and Barnum. Mary appeared in the acclaimed opera Anna Nicole at BAM. Off-Broadway she has appeared in Disaster! the Musical, Caucasian Chalk Circle, Queen of the Mist, Love Loss and What I Wore, Regrets Only, See What I Wanna See, First Lady Suite, String of Pearls, A New Brain, Tartuffe, On the Town and In Trousers, among others. Her many films include Eat Pray Love, The Bounty Hunter, The Out-of-Towners and Sleepers, with many television appearances including a recurring role on "Whoopi." She has appeared on over a dozen original cast albums.

MICHAEL STAROBIN is one of the top orchestrators and arrangers working on Broadway and in Hollywood. He has been the orchestrator for some of Broadway's most innovative musicals such as Falsettos, Sunday in the Park with George, Assassins (2004 Tony Award for Best Orchestrations) and Next to Normal (2009 Tony Award for Best Orchestrations). He was the conductor and orchestrator for Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame and orchestrated the songs for Tangled. www.starobin.com.