THE SORTING ROOM SESSIONS Virtual Return Comes to Wallis Annenberg Center

The virtual Sorting Room Sessions, the Wallis Annenberg Center for Performing Arts' popular nightclub series, returns with four new entertaining on-demand programs featuring a range of Motown, jazz, popular and classical music.

Broadway star and recording artist Chester Gregory delivers a range of soulful Motown hits, opening the digital series on April 30, followed by the compelling artistry of lauded Los Angeles chamber ensemble Delirium Musicum, performing works by Mozart, Brahms, Chopin, Prokofiev and others, on May 7. The Sorting Room continues with multi-Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist Tierney Sutton and the Tierney Sutton Band presenting timeless jazz standards and selections from the American song book to celebrate the group's 25th anniversary on May 14.

The series concludes on May 21 with For The Record showcasing the music and legacy of legendary '80s "Brat Pack" films. The programs are presented digitally on Friday evenings beginning at 7:00 pm (PT), with single tickets and multi-show ticket packages now available. Purchase of each digital concert includes 48-hour viewing access.

"These dynamic live performances, produced specifically with our artistic and production staff, were filmed live in The Wallis' Bram Goldsmith Theater," says The Wallis' Artistic Director Paul Crewes. "We are particularly excited about this second virtual series as we are developing the world of The Sorting Room Sessions, and how we present our wonderful artists. The sessions also include compelling conversations with the artists that provide insights into their artistry and their creative process." The programs include:

Chester Gregory: Celebrating The Motown Era

ON DEMAND: Friday, April 30, 2021, 7:00 PM

The Wallis' virtual Sorting Room Sessions launches with celebrated Broadway star and recording artist Chester Gregory, lauded for his "killer singing and dancing skills" (The Hollywood Reporter), showcasing his powerhouse eight-octave vocal range on such iconic Motown hits as "I Only Have Eyes 4 U," "What You Won't Do For Love," Superstition," "My Girl," "What's Going On," and "Higher and Higher." Gregory, who previously starred in The Wallis' critically acclaimed 2018 production of Sheldon Epps' 1980 show Blues in the Night, has also been showcased in such productions as Tarzan, Cry-Baby, Sister Act, Hairspray and Motown the Musical, in which he appeared as legendary songwriter/producer Barry Gordy, Jr. He has toured nationally with Dreamgirls and his one-man show The Eve of Jackie Wilson.

MusiKaravan: A Classical Road Trip with Delirium Musicum

ON DEMAND: Friday, May 7, 2021, 7:00 PM

Delirium Musicum pulls up to The Wallis in in its distinctive tour bus, a whimsical 1971 vintage VW van, with MusiKaravan, the chamber music ensemble's "road show," in which founding members violinists Etienne Gara and YuEun Kim present impassioned performances of great chamber works and popular works for farmworkers, school children and others outdoors across the West Coast. For their Sorting Room engagement, Gara and Kim perform Charlie Chaplin's "Smile," featured in the soundtrack for his groundbreaking 1936 film Modern Times and inspired by Puccini's Tosca; Brahms' lively Hungarian Dance No. 5; Chopin's poignant Nocturne, Op. 9 No. 2; and the second movement of Prokofiev's Sonata for 2 violins in C major. The violinists are joined by bassist Ryan Baird for Waltz No. 2 from Shostakovich's Jazz Suite; and Monti's fiery Czards. Delirium Musicum, hailed for its "ferocious and rhythmically mesmerizing" performances (San Francisco Classical Voice), finds inspiration in the captivating artistic mosaic of Los Angeles, where the ensemble is based.

Celebrating 25 Years: The Tierney Sutton Band Jazz Americana

ON DEMAND: Friday, May 14, 2021, 7:00 PM

The Wallis' virtual Sorting Room continues with nine-time Grammy-nominee Tierney Sutton, "a serious jazz artist who takes the whole enterprise to another level" (The New York Times), showcasing her distinctive jazz stylings with the Tierney Sutton Band in celebration of the band's 25th anniversary, featuring instrumental virtuosos Kevin Axt and Trey Henry on bass, drummer Ray Brinker and pianist Christian Jacobs. Sutton delivers timeless jazz standards, selections from the American songbook and a range of American film music, with Variety proclaiming, "the lady can swing." In recent years, Sutton has headlined at The Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center and Jazz At Lincoln Center. She has also appeared on numerous film and television soundtracks, including the Academy Award-nominated film The Cooler and Sully, and television commercials for BMW, Green Giant, Yoplait Yogurt and Coke.

For The Record: The Brat Pack Reunion Concert

ON DEMAND: Friday, May 21, 2021, 7:00 PM

Concluding The Wallis' virtual Sorting Room, For The Record, the genre-bending series that brings classic movie soundtracks to thrilling life on stage, returns to an exact time and place when pop culture in America changed forever. The Brat Pack Reunion Concert combines an entire era of cinematic history, the revolutionary teen films of the 1980s and their hit soundtracks, to create an MTV teen dream - a New Wave, synth-pop journey through the hilarious and heartbreaking world of high school. The theatrical concert follows five teenage archetypes, well known to any lover of The Breakfast Club, through the epic saga of growing up. From sweet sixteen to gym class, detention to prom and finally graduation, The Brat Pack is a group of the most unlikely of friends surviving the carnage of love & friendship, smashing stereotypes along the way. For The Record, a breakthrough form of live entertainment, turns the soundtracks of iconic films into thrilling immersive theatrical experiences. What began in 2010 on a cabaret stage in East Hollywood, quickly became a "must-see show" in Los Angeles and beyond. The Wallis and For The Record's hit holiday show, Love Actually Live, broke Wallis box office records in both 2018 and 2019.

Single Sorting Room Session on-demand shows are $20.00 per household, for viewing on Smart TV, computer, smartphone or tablet, and $75 for all four performances (must purchase all four events in one transaction for savings). Patrons will receive a link and password 24 hours prior to each performance date. On Demand purchase includes a 48-hour window of access, beginning at 7:00 PM the evening of the performance. Tickets cannot be transferred or shared. Tickets may be purchased by visiting TheWallis.org/SR, by email at Tickets@TheWallis.org or by calling 310.746.4000 (Tuesday - Friday, 9:30 am - 2:30 pm).

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