Anita Michael Will Return to the Laurie Beechman Theatre with I'M A CERTIFIED SENIOR CITIZEN

Vocalist and performer Anita Michael returns to the Laurie Beechman Theatre with her new show "I'm a Certified Senior Citizen" on Thursday, April 2, 2020, Friday, April 3, 2020 at 7:00 pm and Sunday, April 5, 2020 at 1:00 pm. The Laurie Beechman Theatre at the West Bank Cafe is located at 407 West 42nd Street in Manhattan. There is a $20 cover and $20 food/beverage minimum per person. Tickets may be purchased on line at: https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pe.c/10504599

Through the sounds of jazz, show tunes and cabaret specialty material, Michael delightfully and poignantly conveys the musings of a woman of a certain age through song. She is ably assisted by veteran musical director and pianist Jon Delfin, and noted bassist Saadi Zain, under the talented direction of Miriam Fond.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

ANITA MICHAEL, Vocalist/Performer - Anita Michael sang before she talked. Her father liked to say "she was vaccinated with a phonograph needle." A true performer, she attended the High School of Performing Arts, studied with Richard Morse at H B Studios and with Miriam Fond at her cabaret performance class. For more than 40 years, Michael has performed at leading clubs around the city, including Upstairs at Greene Street, Judy's, and The Laurie Beechman Theatre. Her vibrant repertoire includes Jazz standards by Mose Allison, Broadway show tunes, and specialty cabaret material by Francesca Blumenthal, Murray Grand, Tony Lang, Robert Grusecki and Anya Turner to name a few. Her current show, "I'm a Certified Senior Citizen," follows the success of earlier shows, "A Hairdresser Looks at her Roots," & "I Never Know When to Say When." Reflecting on her performance work, Michael had this to say, "I see a song as a monologue in thirty two bars. Singing gives me the opportunity to interpret a moment, or a situation that we touching, pathetic, and hilarious humans recognize all too well in ourselves." She's delighted to be sharing the stage with her musical director Jon Delfin, and Saadi Zain on Bass; and directed by Miriam Fond.

Miriam Fond, Director - Miriam Fond has directed more than one hundred plays and musicals throughout the U.S. and Canada. She is best known for the musical revue, What's a Nice Country Like You Doing in a State Like This?, which played in New York City, Chicago, Toronto, Philadelphia, and Vancouver. She has worked with Brooke Shields, Martin Short, Andrea Martin, Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, Celeste Holm, and many others, and directed numerous original plays at Lincoln Center Theatre at Noon, (where she was Artistic Director) and the Drama Tree (an off-off Broadway experimental theater group. Miriam has a Master of Arts from UCLA and is currently teaching musical theater performance classes.

JON DELFIN, Musical Director/Pianist- Jon Delfin started playing the piano during the Eisenhower administration, and has accompanied concert artists, cabaret singers, musical theater, and circuses ever since. He arranged and conducted Aaron Morishita's Bistro-winning CD "Singing Sondheim," available via CDBaby.com. Away from the piano, he creates and edits puzzles for several outlets, and his success in crossword solving has resulted in appearances in the documentary "Wordplay," "60 Minutes," and Guinness World Records 2017.

Saadi Zain, Bass - Well-versed in a multitude of musical genres, from jazz to classical to rock, Latin jazz and world music, New York City-based Saadi Zain is respected as a highly skilled and versatile bassist. A force on both double bass and electric basses, Saadi has performed with a wide diversity of artists, including Ron Carter, Diana Krall, Jennifer Holliday, and Jessye Norman in notable venues both domestically and internationally. As a jazz musician, Saadi is one of a fortunate few who learned and perfected his craft directly from his meaningful relationships with jazz masters. For over 12 years Saadi served as the bassist of the contemporary jazz big band "Supersound" led by master drummer Charli Persip. Later he became the bassist with Wade Barnes' "Brooklyn Repertory Ensemble" and his spin-off projects which included many NYC jazz luminaries. Saadi also studied Latin Jazz, playing in Ray Santos' Latin Jazz Orchestra at CCNY and later playing in Latin Bands and also Brazilian bands in New York City.

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