Aaron Walpole & More Round Out Tim Realbuto's Maury Yeston Tribute Cast

Aaron Walpole (Les Miserables), Wendi Bergamini (Doctor Zhivago), and Natalie Ballenger (Orange Blossoms) complete the list of special guest stars for Tim Realbuto's Maury Yeston tribute concert Bookseller in the Rain. Bergamini, Ballenger and Walpole join previously announced Golden Globe nominee Nikki Blonsky (Hairspray), Tony Award winner Tonya Pinkins (Caroline, or Change), Mara Davi ("Smash"), Jenna Leigh Green ("Sabrina, the Teenage Witch"), Laurissa Romain ("Top Five"), Joshua Colley (Les Miserables), Christine Dwyer (Wicked), Ovation Award nominee Erika Amato (Flashdance), Kimberly Faye Greenberg (Danny and Sylvia), Abigail Ludrof (The HVAC Plays), and Emily Esposito (A Christmas Story). Also present will be our guest of honor, Tony Award winning and Oscar nominated composer Maury Yeston.

Mr. Walpole is currently appearing in the hit revival of Les Miserables on Broadway. Walpole plays several roles in the production, but plays the lead role of Jean Valjean most Thursday nights and whenever original Tony nominated star Ramin Karimloo is on vacation. His other Broadway credit is the 2012 revival of Jesus Christ Superstar, in which he originated the role of Annas. He starred in the 25th Anniversary National Tour of Les Miserables, as well as the hit Tortonto production. At the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, he starred in Camelot, Jesus Christ Superstar, Guys and Dolls, and Anything Goes. He also starred as Lonny in the original Toronto production of Rock of Ages. Mr. Walpole is most known as the third-place finalist on Season Three of "Canadian Idol." Aaron performed with the multi-award winning and Grammy nominated band Barenaked Ladies at London's John Labatt Centre and headlined the United Way benefit concert with Melissa O'Neil and Rex Goudie, as well as R & B singer Shawn Desman and Glass Tiger vocalist Alan Frew. Mr. Walpole's self-titled debut album is currently available through Sony/BMG.

Ms. Bergamini has appeared on Broadway as Miss Olson in the 2010 revival of Promises, Promises, and has also been featured in the recent Broadway revival of Evita as well as Lincoln Center's South Pacific. She is currently in rehearsal for the Broadway production of Doctor Zhivago, which begins performances this March at the Broadway Theatre. Ms. Bergamini starred as Franca is the 1st National Tour of The Light in the Piazza, and also appeared in National Tours of Guys and Dolls, Cats, and Evita. Her screen credits include The Sound of Music, Live! on NBC.

Ms. Ballenger starred at the Light Opera of New York as Kitty in Orange Blossoms, a performance that was also captured on the show's original cast recording. Ms. Ballenger has a long list of leading operatic roles at some of the nation's most prestigious venues. Select credits include the U.S. premieres of The Little King, and Miss Springtime, as well as leading roles in HMS Pinafore, The Merry Widow, The Magic Flute, and many more. Her award-winning musical theatre credits include Eliza Dolittle in My Fair Lady, June in Gypsy, Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls, and Luisa in The Fantasticks, to name a few. Ms. Ballenger has won the esteemed Lotte Lenya competition in both 2012 and 2014.

As previously announced, award winning performer/writer Tim Realbuto is back, after his hugely successful solo shows Alone (With Plenty of Help) at 54 Below and Wunderkind, an autobiographical piece created by and starring Realbuto, which toured NYC all last year at venues such as Joe's Pub, The Laurie Beechman, and Stage 72, selling out every time. Realbuto then toured Wunderkind across the country, making his final stop at The Venue in Orlando, Florida in late December 2014. Now, he's back, not to talk about himself, but to honor one of his heroes, legendary Broadway composer Maury Yeston.

Mr. Yeston has once described Tim as the quintessential interpretation of his music, even saying "Realbuto sings my music the way it was meant to be sung." Realbuto felt like that statement defined him and he vowed that one day he would honor the man who said those words to him, to honor the man behind some

of the world's most beautiful music. With the support and collaboration of Mr. Yeston himself, that evening has finally come to fruition. Tim Realbuto: Bookseller in the Rain, an evening honoring the music of Maury Yeston, will perform on Sunday, February 15th, 2015 at popular venue The Metropolitan Room in New York City.

See Realbuto, a rising star on the New York Theatre scene, interpret Yeston's music in an evening filled with song, memories, laughter and love. Expect to hear all of your favorite Yeston tunes sung by Realbuto backed by a full band led by Allegro's Julianne B. Merrill, with a special guest or two along the way, as well as a 30-person ensemble to close the evening. Yeston's gorgeous harmonies will be heard in surround sound, with the ensemble filling up the entire room around you.

Realbuto's 30-person ensemble will be a record breaker for the Metropolitan Room. Realbuto auditioned hundreds of singers and hand-picked each one to make sure Yeston's music would come alive in the proper way. Realbuto's Maury Yeston ensemble will feature Robert Agis, Christopher Michael Christiana, David De Almo, Julie D'Moure, Lianne Gennaco, Angelia Golden, Thomas Ian Johnson, Leigh Martha Klinger, Eric Anthony Lopez, Lori Lusted, Jessie MacBeth, Mary Malaney, Jesse Michels, Paul Mitchell, Anna Louise Morse, Kyle Motsinger, Marilyn O'Connell, Rebecca Odorisio, Caitlyn Oenbrink, Sean Powell, Shannon Rakow, Jackie Reynolds, Zachary Spiegel, Eric Stephenson, Allison St. Rock, Adena Walker, Claire Elise Walton, Emily Witte, Stephanie Weatherly, and Michael Yeshion.

Realbuto is most known for co-writing the Broadway bound musical Ghostlight, as well as his appearances on the New York stage in Hair, Finian's Rainbow, Romeo and Juliet, The Winter's Tale Project, Love's Labours Lost, and the Off-Broadway premiere of White Widow: The Musical. His numerous film and television credits include the co-starring role of Jackson Pheiffer opposite Kevin Kline and Jesse Eisenberg in the Universal Pictures release The Emperor's Club, two seasons on Nickelodeon's "The Big Help" alongside Michelle Trachtenberg, and Jimmy on Season One of HBO's "The Sopranos."

Yeston is, of course, the Tony Award winning and Oscar nominated composer of hits such as Titanic (Tony Award for Best Musical), Grand Hotel, Phantom, December Songs, Cloud Nine, Death Takes a Holiday, In The Beginning, and, of course, the ever popular Tony Award winning Best Musical Nine (which was made into a major motion picture starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Nicole Kidman). Mr. Yeston has not only given the Broadway community so much. His contributions have spread across the world.

'Tim Realbuto: Bookseller in the Rain' was originally slated to play two nights due to popular demand, but Mr. Yeston and Mr. Realbuto's schedules would not allow for it. Instead, the one-night-only concert will take place on Sunday, February 15th, 2015 at The Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd Street, NYC. Showtime is 9:30 PM. Tickets range from $22.50-$115.00 and are currently available at www.metropolitanroom.com

Mr. Realbuto will also be a guest on the Ginger New York Television Show to promote 'Bookseller...' and sing a medley of Yeston tunes featured in the show on Friday, February 6th, 2015 (check local listings). For more information on Tim, please visit www.TimRealbutoOfficial.com

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