Art Garfunkel to Play Ridgefield Playhouse, 4/11

For the first time, The Ridgefield Playhouse will welcome the six-time Grammy-Award winning and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Art Garfunkel, on Friday, April 11, at 8 p.m. for an evening of music, poetry and an audience Q&A. After a two-year hiatus from performing due to complications with his vocal chords, Garfunkel is back on tour and feeling great. In this special evening with Art Garfunkel, the legendary musician and Tab Leven, his guitar player, will remind audiences why his quietly powerful vocals, behind songs such as "Bridge Over Troubled Water", "I Am a Rock", "The Sound Of Silence", "Homeward Bound", "Mrs. Robinson", "Cecilia", "America" and many more place Garfunkel among the most instantly recognizable in popular music. Discretion is advised if intending to purchase tickets for children younger than 10 years of age. For tickets ($65), call the box office at 203-438-5795, or order online at ridgefieldplayhouse.org.

Not many singer/songwriters have the expansive generation-defining songbook as that of Art Garfunkel, whose image and signature vocals remain among the most instantly recognizable in popular music. It was 40 years ago that "Bridge Over Troubled Water" was listened to on college campuses and airwaves throughout the U.S. when Art was part of Simon & Garfunkel during the folk music boom. Simon & Garfunkel won five Grammy awards, and Art has 13 solo albums to his credit. His newest album, The Singer, puts his entire career in focus as a retrospect from one of the most extraordinary careers in music history.

Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel began performing as Simon & Garfunkel in late-1963, and within a year were signed to Columbia Records. Simon & Garfunkel maintained a tireless pace in the recording studio and on the road, reaching a wide and loyal international audience. From 1964 to 1970, they recorded a groundbreaking string of classic albums (Wednesday Morning 3 A.M., Sounds Of Silence, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, The Graduate, Bookends, and Bridge Over Troubled Water) and an equally impressive body of songs, many of which became pop standards. The duo won five Grammy awards, two in 1968 (Record of the Year and Best Contemporary Pop Performance/ Duo or Group for "Mrs. Robinson"), and three in 1970 (Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists for "Bridge Over Troubled Water", which also won Song of the Year and Best Engineered Recording. In 1972, their Greatest Hits was released, remaining on the charts for 131 weeks in the US and a staggering 179 weeks in the UK. The album has since sold 14 million units -- the largest selling album of all time for a duo. In 1990, Simon & Garfunkel were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Simon & Garfunkel split at the height of their popularity. Highlights of Garfunkel's solo music career include a Top 10 hit, three Top 20 hits, six Top 40 hits, 14 Adult Contemporary Top 30 singles, five Adult Contemporary #1's, two UK #1's and a People's Choice Award. Through his solo and collaborative work, Garfunkel has earned six Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Having already worked with director Mike Nichols on The Graduate soundtrack, which featured the hit single "Mrs. Robinson", Art went on to feature roles in Nichols' movies Catch-22 ('69) and Carnal Knowledge ('71), opposite Ann-Margret, Candice Bergen and Jack Nicholson. Art also garnered acclaim for his roles in films such as Nicholas Roeg's Bad Timing: A Sensual Obsession ('80) with Theresa Russell and Harvey Keitel, Good to Go ('86) and Jennifer Lynch's controversial film, Boxing Helena ('93).

For tickets ($65), call the box office at 203-438-5795. For more information on The Ridgefield Playhouse, visit ridgefieldplayhouse.org. The Ridgefield Playhouse is a not-for-profit performing arts center located at 80 East Ridge, parallel to Main Street, Ridgefield, CT.

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