The Mabel Mercer Foundation Presents A Centennial (Plus Two Years) Celebration Of Miss Peggy Lee

Two pandemic postponements couldn't thwart The Mabel Mercer Foundation's centennial love letter to one of the world's preeminent singer/composer/lyricists of the twentieth century. It finally takes stage - twenty-four months later -- at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 3, at Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall: "I Like Men" - Celebrating 102 Years of Miss Peggy Lee.

The show has been created and cast by songstress Stacy Sullivan, and she'll both perform and present a dozen notable male cabaret vocalists in renditions of some of Ms. Lee's best-known, best-loved, and most-treasured compositions. The bill includes Danny Bacher, Robert Creighton, Steven Davis, Darius de Haas, Eric Yves Garcia, Nicolas King, Todd Murray, Sidney Myer, Mark Nadler, Johnny Rodgers, Chuck Sweeney, and Gary Williams.

Tickets for "I Like Men..." are now on sale @ $75.00 (mid-and-rear orchestra) or $50.00 (balcony) and may be purchased online at carnegiehall.org; at the Carnegie Hall box office, Seventh Avenue at 57th Street (between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday-Saturday; between 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday); or by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800 (between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday-Friday; between 12 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday-Sunday). A Patron Package for the performance is also available directly and exclusively from The Mabel Mercer Foundation @ $150.00. That price includes seating in the first seven rows of the orchestra, as well as an after-party with the performers at a nearby luxury hotel. Please call 212-980-3026 for further information and availability.

Born May 26, 1920, Peggy Lee was a multifaceted artist, whose career spanned more than seven decades. She was a distinct, revered vocal stylist (big band, swing, pop, blues, and jazz); an instinctive and Academy Award-nominated actress; and an extraordinary composer and lyricist. Ms. Lee published her first song in 1941 (Johnny Mercer was one of her mentors), and she was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1999. Her song, "I Like Men," serves as the inspiration for the June 3rd evening, which will herald her life, melodies, words, and achievements. (Others among the most popular of the Lee compositions include "It's a Good Day," "Mañana," "I Love Being Here With You," "I Don't Know Enough About You," "There'll Be Another Spring," "Where Can I Go Without You," "He's a Tramp," "Bella Notte," and "The Siamese Cat Song" - the last three from the score of Walt Disney's classic cartoon feature, Lady and the Tramp.) Among scores of honors, Ms. Lee was nominated for thirteen Grammy Awards and won as Best Female Vocalist in 1969 for her rendition of "Is That All There Is?" She died on January 21, 2002, in Los Angeles.

With Stacy Sullivan at the helm, "I Like Men" is in particularly deft hands, and it's no exaggeration to state that the evening's honoree would have been delighted by The Combine of tenacity and talent Ms. Sullivan exhibited in finally launching this particular concert: "It was first developed for Peggy's one-hundredth birthday in May 2020 and then rescheduled for summer 2021. Now, we finally get to offer it!" Both The Mabel Mercer Foundation and Ms. Sullivan concur that such a program has been well worth both seeing through and carrying over, in that Peggy Lee "warrants the focus, especially as -- in some ways -- she's not well known enough for her song-writing." Ms. Sullivan adds that she's delighted by the "interesting twist of having all men singing the songs that Peggy wrote. Meanwhile, I'll be the host, and I'm going to do some of her famous songs -- that she didn't write!"

Earlier (although much different) versions of the Stacy Sullivan/Peggy Lee Songbook amalgamation have served as a primary focus of the Sullivan cabaret and concert careers for the last decade. Those variations have already delighted New York City audiences at the Carlyle, the Sheen Center, and the Metropolitan Room; triumphed during three engagements in London and a stint in Mexico; and entertained aficionados across the United States.

Perhaps most significantly, Ms. Lee's family solidly endorses Stacy's ongoing endeavors. They invited her to perform at the 2012 opening of The Peggy Lee Museum in the singer's birthplace in North Dakota.

For "I Like Men" ticket information, visit:

GENERAL TICKETS: https://www.carnegiehall.org/calendar/2022/06/03/i-like-men

PATRON PACKAGE: https://give.classy.org/Peggy-Lee