Vocalist and Performer Anita Michael Presents New Show at The Laurie Beechman Theater This May

Vocalist and performer Anita Michael returns to the Laurie Beechman Theatre with her new show on Sunday, May 15, 2022 at 1:00 pm.

The Laurie Beechman Theatre at the West Bank Cafe is located at 407 West 42nd Street in Manhattan. $25 cover + $25 food/beverage minimum (tickets are non-refundable) Tickets may be purchased on line at: https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pe.c/10504599

Through the sounds of jazz, show tunes and cabaret specialty material, Anita takes her audience on a fun-filled roller coaster ride through the ups and downs of growing older. She is ably assisted by veteran musical director, pianist and arranger Jon Delfin, and noted bassist Boots Maleson, under the direction of Miriam Fond.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

ANITA MICHAEL, Vocalist/Performer

Anita Michael sang before she talked. Her father liked to say "she was vaccinated with a phonograph needle." A true performer, she attended the High School of Performing Arts, studied with Richard Morse at H B Studios and with Miriam Fond at her cabaret performance class. For more than 40 years, Michael has performed at leading clubs around the city, including Upstairs at Greene Street, Judy's, and The Laurie Beechman Theatre. Her vibrant repertoire includes Jazz standards by Mose Allison, Broadway show tunes, and specialty cabaret material by Francesca Blumenthal, Murray Grand, Tony Lang, Robert Grusecki and Anya Turner to name a few. Her current show, "I'm a Certified Senior Citizen," follows the success of earlier shows, "A Hairdresser Looks at her Roots," & "I Never Know When to Say When." Reflecting on her performance work, Michael had this to say, "I see a song as a monologue in thirty two bars. Singing gives me the opportunity to interpret a moment, or a situation that we touching, pathetic, and hilarious humans recognize all too well in ourselves." She's delighted to be sharing the stage with her musical director Jon Delfin, and Boots Maleson and directed by Miriam Fond.

Miriam Fond, Director

Miriam Fond has directed more than one hundred plays and musicals throughout the U.S. and Canada. She is best known for the musical revue, What's a Nice Country Like You Doing in a State Like This?, which played in New York City, Chicago, Toronto, Philadelphia, and Vancouver. She has worked with Brooke Shields, Martin Short, Andrea Martin, Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, Celeste Holm, and many others, and directed numerous original plays at Lincoln Center Theatre at Noon, (where she was Artistic Director) and the Drama Tree (an off-off Broadway experimental theater group. Miriam has a Master of Arts from UCLA and is currently teaching musical theater performance classes.

JON DELFIN, Musical Director/Pianist

Jon Delfin started playing the piano during the Eisenhower administration, and has accompanied concert artists, cabaret singers, musical theater, and circuses ever since. He arranged and conducted Aaron Morishita's Bistro-winning CD "Singing Sondheim," available via CDBaby.com. Away from the piano, he creates and edits puzzles for several outlets, and his success in crossword solving has resulted in appearances in the documentary "Wordplay," "60 Minutes," and Guinness World Records 2017.

Boots Maleson, Bassist

For over 30 years, Boots Maleson has been one of the top in-demand bassists in New York City in nearly every genre of music. He has worked with such jazz greats as Milt Jackson, Elvin Jones, Jaki Byard, Archie Shepp, Kenny Barron, Dexter Gordon, Stanley Cowell, Jack Wilson, and Benny Carter. He has played in the Big Bands of Harry James, Jimmy Dorsey, Bob Alexander, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, and the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra. He has performed for many years with jazz artist Ronny Whyte, Daryl Sherman, and Marlene Verplanck. He has played in the orchestra for such Broadway shows as City of Angels, The Will Rogers Follies, State Fair, Little Me, A Class Act, Urinetown, 42nd Street, Jerome Robbins' Broadway, and Sweeney Todd. He has played in the Dicapo Opera orchestra and accompanied Jessye Norman. He has accompanied Cabaret artists Baby Jane Dexter, Christine Andreas, Cynthia Crane, Marieanne Meringolo and Leslie Orofino. For over 25 years Boots has been the double bassist in ensembles led by the legendary bassist Ron Carter.

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