Nikki Blonsky, Mara Davi & Christine Dwyer Join Tim Realbuto's BOOKSELLER IN THE RAIN Concert

Golden Globe nominee Nikki Blonsky (Hairspray; "Huge"), Mara Davi (A Chorus Line; Death Takes A Holiday), and Christine Dwyer (Wicked; Rent) join previously announced Tony Award winner Tonya Pinkins (Caroline, or Change), Jenna Leigh Green ("Sabrina, the Teenage Witch"), Laurissa Romain ("Top Five"), Joshua Colley (Les Miserables), Ovation Award nominee Erika Amato (Flashdance), Kimberly Faye Greenberg (Danny and Sylvia), Abigail Ludrof (The HVAC Plays), and Emily Esposito (A Christmas Story) as the special guest stars for Tim Realbuto's Maury Yeston tribute concert Bookseller in the Rain.

Ms. Blonsky is most known for starring as Tracy Turnblad in the 2007 film Hairspray, based on the Tony Award winning musical. For her performance as Turnblad, Ms. Blonsky was honored with Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, and MTV Movie Award nominations. She won the Young Hollywood Award for Best Leading Actress. Blonsky also played the lead role of Willamena Rader in the television series "Huge" and appeared on "Smash", "Ugly Betty", and starred in the films Geography Club, Queen Sized, and The English Teacher.

Ms. Davi starred as Maggie in the Broadway revival of A Chorus Line. She also appeared on Broadway as Janet Van De Graaff in The Drowsy Chaperone and Judy Haynes in Irving Berlin's White Christmas. Off-Broadway, she appeared in Maury Yeston's Death Takes A Holiday and most recently starred as Bertie in the regional premiere of the new musical Beaches, based on the hit film. Davi is probably most recognized to television audiences as Daisy Parker on two seasons of NBC's "Smash" and has appeared in the films New Year's Eve and Meet Dave.

Ms. Dwyer recently completed her nearly two-year run as Elphaba in Broadway's Wicked, a role she also played in the National Tour. She also starred as Maureen in National Tour of Rent, as well as MTC's Open For Me, and regional productions of Tommy, Tinyard Hill, and Gypsy.

As previously announced, award winning performer/writer Tim Realbuto is back, after his hugely successful solo shows Alone (With Plenty of Help) at 54 Below and Wunderkind, an autobiographical piece created by and starring Realbuto, which toured NYC all last year at venues such as Joe's Pub, The Laurie Beechman, and Stage 72, selling out every time. Realbuto then toured Wunderkind across the country, making his final stop at The Venue in Orlando, Florida in late December 2014. Now, he's back, not to talk about himself, but to honor one of his heroes, legendary Broadway composer Maury Yeston.

Mr. Yeston has once described Tim as the quintessential interpretation of his music, even saying "Realbuto sings my music the way it was meant to be sung." Realbuto felt like that statement defined him and he vowed that one day he would honor the man who said those words to him, to honor the man behind some of the world's most beautiful music. With the support and collaboration of Mr. Yeston himself, that evening has finally come to fruition. Tim Realbuto: Bookseller in the Rain, an evening honoring the music of Maury Yeston, will perform on Sunday, February 15th, 2015 at popular venue The Metropolitan Room in New York City.

See Realbuto, a rising star on the New York Theatre scene, interpret Yeston's music in an evening filled with song, memories, laughter and love. Expect to hear all of your favorite Yeston tunes sung by Realbuto backed by a full band led by Allegro's Julianne B. Merrill, with a special guest or two along the way, as well as a 30-person ensemble to close the evening. Yeston's gorgeous harmonies will be heard in surround sound, with the ensemble filling up the entire room around you.

Realbuto's 30-person ensemble will be a record breaker for the Metropolitan Room. Realbuto auditioned hundreds of singers and hand-picked each one to make sure Yeston's music would come alive in the proper way. Realbuto's Maury Yeston ensemble will feature Natalie Ballenger, Christopher Michael Christiana, David De Almo, Julie D'Moure, Lianne Gennaco, Angelia Golden, Thomas Ian Johnson, Leigh Martha Klinger, Eric Anthony Lopez, Lori Lusted, Jessie MacBeth, Mary Malaney, Jesse Michels, Paul Mitchell, Anna Louise Morse, Kyle Motsinger, Marilyn O'Connell, Rebecca Odorisio, Caitlyn Oenbrink, Sean Powell, Shannon Rakow, Ryan Rhue, Jackie Reynolds, Zachary Spiegel, Eric Stephenson, Allison St. Rock, Adena Walker, Emily Witte, Stephanie Weatherly, and Michael Yeshion.

Realbuto is most known for co-writing the Broadway bound musical Ghostlight, as well as his appearances on the New York stage in Hair, Finian's Rainbow, Romeo and Juliet, The Winter's Tale Project, Love's Labours Lost, and the Off-Broadway premiere of White Widow: The Musical. His numerous film and television credits include the co-starring role of Jackson Pheiffer opposite Kevin Kline and Jesse Eisenberg in the Universal Pictures release The Emperor's Club, two seasons on Nickelodeon's "The Big Help" alongside Michelle Trachtenberg, and Jimmy on Season One of HBO's "The Sopranos."

Yeston is, of course, the Tony Award winning and Oscar nominated composer of hits such as Titanic (Tony Award for Best Musical), Grand Hotel, Phantom, December Songs, Cloud Nine, Death Takes a Holiday, In The Beginning, and, of course, the ever popular Tony Award winning Best Musical Nine (which was made into a major motion picture starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Nicole Kidman). Mr. Yeston has not only given the Broadway community so much. His contributions have spread across the world.

'Tim Realbuto: Bookseller in the Rain' was originally slated to play two nights due to popular demand, but Mr. Yeston and Mr. Realbuto's schedules would not allow for it. Instead, the one-night-only concert will take place on Sunday, February 15th, 2015 at The Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd Street, NYC. Showtime is 9:30 PM. Tickets range from $22.50-$115.00 and are currently available at www.metropolitanroom.com

Mr. Realbuto will also be a guest on the Ginger New York Television Show to promote 'Bookseller...' and sing a medley of Yeston tunes featured in the show on Friday, February 6th, 2015 (check local listings). For more information on Tim, please visit www.TimRealbutoOfficial.com

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