LISA JASON Presents Intensely Personal Show BULLIED TO BEAUTIFUL at Laurie Beechman Theatre, 5/11 at 7 pm

When accomplished concert singer and cabaret performer Lisa Jason was a child, her family moved from Long Island, New York to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and the transition would not be a happy one. A self-admitted "ugly duckling," Lisa endured relentless bullying from other kids-both mental and physical-from early grade school through her high school graduation. Lisa's best friends were her collection of 45 rpm records that played the hit songs of the 1970s, and Lisa escaped through the music of the singers and songwriters who would become her saviors-Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, The Carpenters, Janis Ian, Donna Summer, her hero Barry Manilow (who also grew up as a victim of bullying), and more. Their iconic songs helped transform Lisa into the confident, beautiful singing swan she is today.

At a time when social media has contributed to making bullying a major American societal problem, Lisa Jason wants tell her poignant story through the music of the 1970s that she loved throughout her childhood. Her delightful voice and self-deprecating humor makes BULLIED TO BEAUTIFUL a cabaret show that audiences not only will identify with, but that will also send a powerful message that bullying needs to be stopped. Lisa premiered this show last October at the Metropolitan and now brings it to the Laurie Beechman Theatre (downstairs in the West Bank Café, 407 West 42nd Street (between 9th and 10th Avenues).

"Lisa Jason described her traumatic experiences and sang some of the songs that helped her to cope with it all. She didn't mince words as she told of her early life . . . Several of the songs were upbeat and spoke to the strength she gained during her ordeal. And there was considerable humor in the set . . . Jason performed a lovely, moving version of Janis Ian's "At Seventeen," a song she once found the courage to sing in school to some of the very kids who had tormented her, and she somehow made it her own." -Mark Dundas Wood, BistroAwards.com

Lisa has brought together a stellar band for this show, led by Musical Director/Arranger Ryan Shirar, who most recently garnered great acclaim for his work on the highly praised Maxine Linehan show, Beautiful Songs. Lisa and Ryan will be joined by the MAC Award-winning Sean Harkness on guitar, the highly sought-after Mairi Dorman-Phaneuf on cello, and Mike Lunoe on percussion, playing the cajon. The director of BULLIED TO BEAUTIFUL is Stephen Hanks, Owner of Cabaret Life Productions and the New York Cabaret Section Editor for BroadwayWorld.com.

Lisa Jason has earned rave reviews from Provincetown to New York to the Caribbean. Her latest show, Judy Garland: The Wish has played at New York's 54 Below, the Cotuit Center for the Arts in Cape Cod, MA, and at the Provincetown Theater in Provincetown, MA. Lisa has performed and recorded with Steely Dan founding member Denny Dias, and they have performed sold out shows at the Berklee School of Music in Boston and the Wequassett Jazz festival on Cape Cod. This past August, Lisa and Denny performed four shows at New York's Iridium Jazz Club. A multi-faceted artist/songwriter, Lisa has also been a featured singer with the Cape Cod Symphony and performed the National Anthem at Fenway Park.

For more information, contact Stephen Hanks, Cabaret Life Productions, 718-753-1323 or stephenhanks41@gmail.com

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