Hall's 'Change In Me' Helps Rodgers Ignite The Oak Room Through 5/29

THE GREAT Johnny Rodgers FEATURES THE GREAT Carol Hall'S "CHANGE IN ME" IN HIS CRITICALLY-ACCLAIMED "WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD" AT THE ALGONQUIN'S OAK ROOM. NOW THROUGH MAY 29

Johnny Rodgers, internationally celebrated singer-songwriter and pianist has transformed the Oak Room into a sophisticated upbeat party taking his very enthusiastic audiences on a pleasure tour of American music.

Johnny calls the show "What A Wonderful World".

The critics call it brilliant.

The audiences are calling the Box Office at the Algonquin Hotel (59 West 44th Street - between 5th and 6th Avenues) for tables at the Oak Room where the show will play through Saturday, May 29th.

With his boy-next-door charm and his creamy crooner's voice, this tremendously talented jazz-pop musician is featuring a magical take on a number of songs. Singled out by critic Rex Reed is "'Change in Me,' by the great Carol Hall," a song Rodgers performed on Ms. Hall's CD "HALLWAYS: The Songs of Carol Hall." The CD earnEd Hall the 2009 ASCAP AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING CD. It was also nominated for three MAC Awards, including Best Song, Best Special Material and Best Recording, winning Best Special Material for "This Is My Birthday."

Mr. Rodgers' show also features Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World", and surprising oldies such as Hoagy Carmichael's playful "Huggin' and Chalkin", Johnny Mercer's "Too Marvelous For Words", the classic "Birth Of The Blues", and "You Can Leave Your Hat On".

A composer/lyricist in his own right, Mr. Rodgers also includes his award-winning songs "Home To Mendocino", "One More Moment", and the tribute ballad "The Best Of You In Me."

The show is directed by Mark Waldrop with Brian Glassman on bass, Danny Mallon on drums and Joe Ravo on guitar.

Critic Rex Reed emerged from the show ecstatic: "With music like this, time will heal, love will re-bloom and the sunny side of life is just around the corner. No flowery phrases or high-hat 4/4 canned rhythms here, just a jazzy one-hour display of pure pleasure that turns tickling the ivories into a vibrant show business workout."

THE PLAYING SCHEDULE
"What A Wonderful World" will play Tuesday through Thursday at 8:30 and Friday and Saturday at 8:30pm and 11pm.
There is a $50 cover charge per person ($25 for late shows Friday and Saturday) plus either a $30 food and beverage minimum per person or a $60 prix fixe dinner.
Reservations: (212) 419-9331 or bmcgurn@algonquinhotel.com.

ABOUT Johnny Rodgers
Johnny Rodgers is a recent recipient of the NY Nightlife Award for "Outstanding Cabaret Vocalist". He has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Feinstein's at the Regency, The Colony Hotel Palm Beach, Los Angeles Ford Amphitheater and throughout North America, Europe, and South America as Liza Minnelli's featured guest artist. He starred on Broadway in Liza Minnelli's Tony Award-winning Liza's At The Palace which was presented by PBS and released on DVD. The Johnny Rodgers Band departs for the renowned Rhythm Road tour in November to Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands sponsored by Jazz at Lincoln Center and the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs. Johnny's recordings include CD's "Box of Photographs", "Bound Together" and "Let's Make A Date".

ABOUT Carol Hall
Composer / lyricist
The first person ever to record one of Carol Hall's songs was the young Barbra Streisand. Subsequently, her songs were performed by such extraordinary singers as Tony Bennett, Barbara Cook, Margaret Whiting, Julie Wilson, Chita Rivera, Michael Feinstein, Mabel Mercer, Amanda McBroom, Lari White, Olivia Newton-John, Maureen McGovern, Miriam Makeba, Frederica von Stade, Kermit the Frog and Big Bird, among others. She's also among the few songwriters to have a hit Broadway show. Her classic musical THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS entertained Broadway audiences for almost five years, received a Grammy nomination for its cast album, and became a popular film starring Burt Reynolds and Dolly Parton. Dolly's recording of Carol's song "Hard Candy Christmas" won an ASCAP Most Performed Country Song Award, and the film generated an OSCAR nomination for Charles Durning, singing "The Sidestep" as the slippery Governor of Texas. A recent national tour of WHOREHOUSE starring the entertainment legend Ann-Margret, enjoyed a run for over a year and a half. Carol's writing for children is legendary. From "Free To Be... You and Me," her "It's All Right To Cry," and "Parents Are People" continue to be favorites of generations of children. Recently she created the score to the theatrical version of the popular children's series MAX AND RUBY. Four tours of the show are presently playing across the country, after a successful debut opening Off-Broadway in December 2007. Her most recent delight has been the making of her CD "HALLWAYS: The Songs of Carol Hall" which features many of her most loved and wonderful songs - both old and new - such as the hit "Hard Candy Christmas," as well as the timeless classic "Jenny Rebecca". As Carol says in the CD's booklet, "a song is not a song until somebody sings it..." And what an array of singers she has here! In addition to Carol, performing on the CD are Amanda McBroom, Johnny Rodgers, Scott Coulter, Tim DiPasqua, Tom Andersen, Lesley Gore, Susannah Blinkoff, Farah Alvin, Steven Lutvak, Laurel Massé, Bobby Gosh, Rick Jensen, Carol Woods and the Broadway Inspirational Voices. "HALLWAYS: The Songs of Carol Hall" was co-produced by Tex Arnold, who also served as its musical director, responsible for the exquisite arrangements. It was engineered by Bill Moss at the famous NOLA Recording Studios, NYC and is distributed by LML Music (www.LMLmusic.com).

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