Tartaglia Joins YouTube Star for 'Miranda Sings' Concert at Birdland, 3/29

Tony Award nominee John Tartaglia will perform with Youtube phenomenon Miranda in "Miranda Sings" as a part of "Jim Caruso's Cast Party" at Birdland on March 29, 2010 at 7 PM.

The concert will feature special guests, including Tartaglia, as well as onstage voice lessons, fashion makeovers, and dramatic readings of Miranda's hate mail.

Miranda Sings is an internet character created by California-based theatre student Colleen Ballinger, and proliferated via YouTube. The character is a satire of increasingly common YouTube videos featuring mediocre or even bad singers who film themselves singing as a form of self-promotion. Miranda is supposedly from Tacoma, Washington, sings comically off-key, and, when confronted by viewers who take the videos seriously, uses The catchphrase "Haters back off!"

The characterization includes facial tics, unusually active eyebrows and a crooked smile. She also wears lipstick drawn beyond all natural borders and often dances stiffly to the music she is performing. Ms. Ballinger's character has enjoyed widespread popularity, particularly among musical theatre fans, and has recently appeared as Miranda Sings at live club and theater venues in New York (The Minskoff Theatre, Jim Caruso's Cast Party), Los Angeles and London (Ambassador Theatre).

John Tartaglia is the creator, executive producer and star of the Emmy nominated "Johnny and the Sprites" (now airing worldwide). Earning a Tony Award nomination for his performance in the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, AVENUE Q, for which he originated the roles of Princeton and Rod, Tartaglia was most recently seen on Broadway appearing as Pinocchio in SHREK THE MUSICAL and previously starred as Lumiere in Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. A 10-year veteran of Sesame Street, Tartaglia is one of the youngest puppeteers ever to perform on the show, starting at the age of 16.

IMAGINOCEAN, a new family musical adventure, created and written by Tartaglia, begins performances at the New World Stages in March.

Birdland is located in Manhattan at 315 West 44th Street. Tickets cost between $25 and $35 (plus $10 food/drink minimum). To order tickets, call (212) 581-3080 or visit www.BirdlandJazz.com.

 

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