Great American Songbook, Carole King Tribute, Open Mic and THE BUS STOPS HERE Set for MusicalFare's Cabaret Lineup This Month

MusicalFare Theatre is proud to announce four October events in their Premier Center Cabaret.

First up is THE GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK, featuring a five-piece jazz group, legendary pianist Bobby Jones and vocalist Mary McMahon, taking the audience on a memorable tour through the Great American Songbook.

ONE PERFORMANCE ONLY: Friday, October 17 at 8pm. Ticket Price is $15

About BOBBY JONES: Bobby entered "show biz" early at the age of 12, touring with the legendary Sammy Davis Jr. He went on to perform and record with some of the greats of the jazz and entertainment worlds: Paul Anka, Patrick Duffy, Dianne Carroll, Stefan Grappelli, Louis Belson, Lenny White, Dakota Staton, Stephanie Mills, Woody Shaw, Eddie Harris, Donald Byrd, Jeff Jarvis, and Bobby Militello are just some of his many musical associations. Bobby spent two years touring with the Doc Severinsen Tonight Show Band and finished a five year collaboration with composer and flutist Leslie Burrs on an opera, Vanqui, an opera commissioned by the Columbus Opera Company (Ohio). Locally, Bobby is one of the most respected jazz pianists and arrangers and has appeared on countless recordings. Michael Civisca, Mary Stahl, Tom Sartori, Rick Strauss, Dick Baurle and Lance Diamond are just a few of the artists who have utilized his considerable musical talents.

Next up is A CAROLE KING TRIBUTE, featuring three instrumentalist/singers, Cathy Carfagna, Leah Zicari and Buffalo Music Hall of Fame inductee Theresa Quinn treating the audience to acoustic versions of King's most popular songs, including "I Feel the Earth Move...," "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow," "Natural Woman." "So Far Away," "It's Too Late." "You've Got a Friend" and many more.

TWO PERFORMANCES ONLY: Saturday, October 18 at 4pm & 8pm. Ticket price is $15.

About The Performers:

CATHY CARFAGNA - Buffalo, NY native Cathy Carfagna covers a lot of ground. Perhaps best known as a keyboardist and vocalist for the Outlyers and the Vores -and former member of the Jazzabels - Cathy has released a solo CD : "Turn Your Face to the Sun."

Featuring joyous harmonies and well-crafted arrangements, "Turn Your Face to the Sun" is firmly grounded in American roots music and 60s pop sensibilities. The release includes 11 self-penned compositions, along with covers of songs by Bob Kozak (the Jumpers) and Buck Quigley (the Steam Donkeys). Cathy plays piano, organ, and various guitar parts (slide, electric, acoustic), while some of Buffalo's finest musicians also lend a hand. Her clear, melodic vocals have earned comparisons to Neko Case and Alison Krauss.

Cathy has a background classical piano, but her musical interests are virtually limitless. She discovered the Beatles at the age of 13 (thanks to a TV showing of "Help!"on the movie for a Sunday afternoon) and quickly turned her ear toward 60s British rock, American folk, and blues. During the 1990s, Cathy played at North American coffeehouses and clubs as one half of the folk-pop duo the Jazzabels (along with Kilissa McGoldrick Cissoko), with jaunts in Mexico and Italy along with way. The duo released two CDs (Café All Day and Skyway). She's also played accordion in a Cajun-Zydeco band, keyboards in a Frank Zappa tribute band, and once wrote a song called "I Wish That I Could Sing Like Johnny Cash."

"Turn Your Face to the Sun" was engineered by Jim Calabrese (Soundscape Studios) and Dave Meinzer. It was mastered by Armand John Petri, whose engineering and production credits also include releases by the 10,000 Maniacs, the Goo Goo Dolls, and Sixpence None the Richer.

LEAH ZICARI - Genre: Acoustic/Folk/Pop Hometown: Rochester/Buffalo Record Label: Goatgrrl Records Website: http://www.leahzicari.com http://www.myspace.com/leahzicarimusic Leah is a singer/songwriter and professional musician who has toured extensively over the last 20+ years. Her travels afforded opportunities as a performing artist, side musician and theater pit band musician. She has worked and/or performed with Dave Brubeck, Rue McLanahan, Roma Maffia, Monica Mancini, Andre DeShields, Sophie B. Hawkins, Don McLean and Tony Levin, as well as indie artists such as Edie Carey, Holly O'Reilly, Catie Curtis, Tret Fure, Jamie Anderson, and a host of others.

THERESA QUINN - Theresa Quinn is a 2014 inductee into The Buffalo Music Hall of Fame and an innovative pianist, organist and vocalist. She has studied at the prestigious Indiana University School of Music and the State University of New York at Buffalo; has a degree in piano performance; has been a bagpiper with the Gordon Highlanders, Buffalo's oldest pipe regiment; www.buffalogordonhighlanders.com and has worked as a staff songwriter and demo musician for a publishing company in Nashville. She is Music Director at Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church. www.elmwoodjesus.org

Quinn is the pianist in the "all girl" band Girls Gone Mild. www.Girls-Gone-Mild.com. The more fabulous members of the group are Alison Pipitone (www.AlisonPipitone.com); Susan Rozler (www.SusanRozler.com); and Mary Ramsey (www.JohnAndMary.net).

Quinn has been a performer, music director and/or pianist for some of the best professional theatre companies in Buffalo, including Alleyway Theater, Buffalo State College Theater Department, Buffalo United Artists, Jewish Repertory Theatre, MusicalFare Theatre, O'Connell and Company, Shakespeare in Delaware Park, and the State University of Buffalo Theatre Department. She has been a member of numerous Artvoice award winning ensembles and productions.

The third event is an OPEN MIC NIGHT. Come listen to some of Buffalo's most popular theatre and cabaret performers in this FREE evening at the Cabaret. No reservations necessary - first come, first served. ONE NIGHT ONLY: Friday, October 24 at 8pm. FREE ADMISSION.

Finally, we offer THE BUS STOPS HERE, a Cabaret performance with great music and entertaining stories from "the road" and the early days of MusicalFare. It highlights multiple styles of music including Big Band, Brill Building, and Broadway and features songs such as "Night Train," "You'll Never Know," "Over the Rainbow," medleys of Swing music, songs from "A Chorus Line" and a Gershwin Medley originally performed by Mel Torme. Featuring former Tommy Dorsey Band trombonist Phil Sims, along with Randy Kramer and Theresa Quinn.

TWO PERFORMANCES ONLY: Saturday, October 25 at 4pm & 8pm. Ticket price is $20.

About the Performers:

PHIL SIMS - Phil Sims has won equal acclaim for his trombone playing and for his masterful composition and arranging for ensembles large and small including the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. He is a former member of the Tommy Dorsey Big Band. He leads the Buffalo Brass Big Band and performs frequently around the area with his quartet.

RANDY KRAMER - Mr. Kramer is the founder and Artistic/Executive Director of MusicalFare Theatre. Under his leadership, it has become a regional center for world and area premiere musicals and a leading musical theatre company in the Northeast. He has directed many of their critically acclaimed productions, and is a nine-time Artvoice Theatre Award winner for Direction of a Musical and the 2005 Career Achievement recipient. He has directed AIDA, BEAUTY & THE BEAST, JOSEPH... ALL SHOOK UP, FAME, CINDERELLA, THE SOUND OF MUSIC and MARY POPPINS at Artpark. He has also directed BAT BOY and DANCING IN THE DARK at Studio Arena Theatre, the DANCING IN THE DARK Off-Broadway workshop at the Lamb's Theatre in NY City, and the World Premiere of SOMETHING SO RIGHT at UB's Center for the Arts. Mr. Kramer compiled the book and wrote the music & lyrics for the award winning production of STORIES OF LIFE at MusicalFare, is the author of RENEWING WRIGHT and AMERICAN RHAPSODY and the co-author of TALK TO ME NOW. He is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC) and is an accomplished pianist with an MFA in Classical Piano from the University of Buffalo.

Ticket reservations for all events (except OPEN MIC NIGHT) may be made by calling 716-839-8540 or online at www.musicalfare.com. All seating is assigned. Visa, Mastercard, Discover and checks are accepted.

The Premier Center Cabaret is like no other cabaret setting in WNY -- featuring table seating, a full-service bar, cheese plates and desserts all with the very best in theatre, music and entertainment.

MusicalFare Theatre is a professional musical theatre company in residence at, but independently operated from, Daemen College. MusicalFare Theatre is located at 4380 Main Street in Amherst, NY (between Harlem and Getzville Roads). Parking is FREE, and the theatre is handicapped accessible.

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