Extraordinary Women Over 40 Compete In 7th Annual TOMATOES GOT TALENT At The Triad On October 4

Delayed over a year, the finals of the 7th annual "Tomatoes Got Talent" contest, which celebrates women over 40 with careers outside of entertainment, will take place at The Triad Theatre, 158 West 72nd Street, on Monday October 4 at 7pm.

Co-produced by Cheryl Benton and Randie Levine-Miller (who hosts and performs), the finals feature 11 uniquely talented women who have been waiting since last year's Tomatoes contest was uprooted in April 2020. This year's blue-ribbon jury consists of Tony nominee Lee Roy Reams, and the Tony Award-winning Broadway producers Margot Astrachan and Ken Waissman. The show's music director is Paul Chamlin.

Making a special guest appearance is the acclaimed singer and Tony-nominated educator Corinna Sowers Adler. Also performing as a guest will be therapist and gerontologist Merrill Stone, who was a runner up in the first "Tomatoes Got Talent" in 2013. For tickets and information visit www.thethreetomatoes.com Proof of vaccination is mandatory to attend in person.

The finalists are:

A Senior Ms. America NY runner up, Carol Barnett recently retired after 45 years as a chef.

Businesswoman and mom Susie Clausen decided to pick up the saxophone and singing lessons under five years ago.

Judith George owns her own video production company and is a stand-up.

Reared in the South, Jo Jones is an accomplished acrobatic baton twirler and former pre-school teacher.

Shana Kahn is a fashion executive for Ralph Lauren.

A student of the piano and ukulele, Lisa Kerr is a risk manager with a major corporation.

Robin Lyon-Gardiner is a full-time real estate broker.

Jean Marcley is a blind stand-up and self-worth coach.

Kara Masciangelo has worked for many years at the Federal Reserve Bank.

Deana Monaco is a legal assistant at Morgan Stanley.

Leyla Zaloutskaya is a global IT trainer for the United Nations.

Sponsored by the women's lifestyle media company Thethreetomatoes.com, "Tomatoes Got Talent" is a showcase for extraordinary women who have made their marks and their livings outside of the entertainment world, but who consider the craft of singing and performing to be integral to their lives. Past participants have included lawyers, bankers, health care professionals, paralegals and administrators, massage therapists, teachers, and entrepreneurs. Since competing several alumna have gone on to do their own cabaret acts, and several have been nominated and won MAC Awards.

The reigning champion is 2019 winner Christina Connors. The 2018 winner was Sheree Sano.

On the jury this year are the beloved Broadway song and dance man, Lee Roy Reams, who counts "42nd Street" (Tony nomination); "The Producers;" and "Hello Dolly!" among his voluminous credits; Margot Astrachan who won a Tony as a producer of "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder" and who counts "The Prom," "The Realistic Joneses, and "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever" among her Broadway credits; and Ken Waissman, the Tony Award-winning producer of "Grease," "Agnes of God," "Torch Song Trilogy," and "Over Here."

Super hostess Randie Levine-Miller has produced, hosted and entertained at countless star-studded musical entertainment events -- at The Triad, the Metropolitan Room, Feinstein's, and, for many years, at the Friars Club. Her regular "Randie's Roundtables" at Sardi's, The Palm, and now on-line as well, bring together theater insiders and major stars, for story-filled off-the-record lunches. (These are by invitation only.) Her theater column, "Broadway Babe," distributed by thethreetomatoes.com, consistently uncovers amazing clips, secrets, and insights about major stars past and present, to which she adds her own often hilarious anecdotes.

Contest co-creator Cheryl Benton is growing the Thethreetomatoes franchise to include book publishing and special events. Through the popular online newsletter on Thethreetomatoes.com ("The Insider's Website for Women Who Aren't Kids)" she cheers women of all walks and ages to reach for new heights and experience new possibilities and adventures.

Incidentally, the 2018 winner, Sheree Sano, and Tomatoes Got Talent alumi Angela Leone and Susan Mack were 2019 MAC Award nominees, and Teresa Fischer was awarded the 2019 MAC Hanson Award. The 2019 runner-up Taffy Jaffe, a retired psychotherapist and current standup comedian, recently appeared on America's Got Talent.

For tickets to experience this year's bumper crop of talent at the 7th annual "Tomatoes Got Talent" contest at The Triad Theatre, on Monday October 4 at 7pm, visit www.thethreetomatoes.com. Tickets are $35 with a two-drink minimum.

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