Composer and lyricist Bob Merrill might not have had the name recognition of songwriters such as Jule Styne, Lerner & Lowe, or Rodgers & Hammerstein, but he wrote songs for some of the classic musicals of the 1960s-such as Carnival!, Hello Dolly! Funny Girl, and Breakfast at Tiffany's. Merrill, a Tony Award, Academy Award, and Golden Globe nominee was also responsible for composing pop hits for singers such as Patti Page ("How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?"), Jimmie Rodgers ("Honeycomb"), Rosemary Clooney ("Mambo Italiano"), and Jane Morgan ("Love Makes The World Go 'Round").
In 2009 and 2010, opera singer turned cabaret performer Maureen Taylor staged a cabaret show tribute to Bob Merrill's music at the Metropolitan Room in New York and critics raved:
"Gracious, glowing, good spirits aplenty, Maureen Taylor is a charming sing-ing hostess leading us through songwriter Bob Merrill's catalogue in her well-structured show . . . distinctive in presentation and material." --Cabaret Scenes Magazine
"A truly excellent, very entertaining show that reeks of quality and class . . . Taylor's interpretations are so insightful and well realized that she makes it all land." --Bistroawards.com
"Put Bob Merrill's songs in the hands of Maureen Taylor and they come alive in a new and refreshing way."--Cabarethotlineonline.com
"Taylor had the audience in the palm of her hand . . . The show glided along effortlessly and the set flew by in what seemed like no time . . ." -BroadwayWorld.com
Six years later, on July 13 at 7 pm, Maureen Taylor will reprise her highly praised show, Taylor Made: Bob Merrill, at the Metropolitan Room in cabaret's hottest monthly series, New York Cabaret's Greatest Hits, produced by Stephen Hanks (with Fr. Jeffrey Hamblin, MD, Associate Producer). Taylor's Musical Director is Matt Castle on piano, with Joe Brent on guitar, mandolin, and violin. Her special guest performer is two-time MAC Award winner Rev. Yolanda (Roger Anthony Yolanda Mapes). The original show was directed by MAC Award winner Peter Napolitano. Tickets are $25 plus a two-drink minimum and reservations can be made here.
In addition to cabaret shows in New York, Maureen Taylor has performed as an opera singer with the Chicago Lyric Opera, the Chicago Symphony, and Chamber Opera of Chicago, as well as with opera companies in Philadelphia and West Palm Beach. Taylor has also performed musical theater with international and regional theater companies from New York to London to Switzerland.
For more information, contact Stephen Hanks, Producer, Cabaret Life Productions, at stephenhanks41@gmail.com.
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