Ann Talman brings her award-winning show Ann Talman: Elizabeth Taylor and The Shadow of Her Smile to the Stissing Center for Arts & Culture in Pine Plains, NY, Saturday, May 10, 7:00 PM and on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 11, 3:00 PM. Ann joined Actors’ Equity with co-star Elizabeth Taylor in 1981 when she landed the plum role in The Little Foxes playing Taylor’s daughter on Broadway. Ann fondly remembers, “At that first read-thru, when I finally met my “new” mother, Elizabeth Taylor, it was as if she somehow sensed that I was motherless.” The Little Foxes traveled the world for eighteen months including six months in London and their loving friendship lasted for the rest of Miss Taylor’s life. “I had the great pleasure of seeing Annie’s beautiful, poignant, and funny show. She nailed the gleaming and mercurial light that was… my stepmother! I laughed and I cried in equal measures.” ~ Kate Burton This special show about Ann and Elizabeth’s amazing bond is filled with hilarious and touching stories that only Ann can tell, woven with Broadway and Great American Songbook gems. Ann’s imitation of Elizabeth is so spot on, if you close your eyes, you’ll swear they’re together again! The award-winning team behind Ann Talman: Elizabeth Taylor and The Shadow of Her Smile is director Lina Koutrakos and musical director Alex Rybeck. Ann Talman is an actor, singer, storyteller, award-winning documentary filmmaker, and four-time Broadway and West End veteran. Her show Ann Talman: Elizabeth Taylor and The Shadow of Her Smile received critical and audience acclaim when it debuted at 54 Below in March 2022 and then again when it enjoyed a two-night encore engagement the following September 2022. It has since played at The Laurie Beechman and Don't Tell Mama in NYC, Feinstein’s Hotel Carmichael in Carmel, IN, Feinstein’s Hotel Nikko in San Francisco, Chicago’s Davenports, Joe Brancato’s The Penguin Rep, Chicago’s Davenport’s, The Delray Beach Playhouse, The Westport Country Playhouse, Tucson’s Invisible Theatre, DC’s The Liz, The Austin Cabaret Theatre, Theatre Jacksonville, Act2PV Theater in Puerto Vallarta and Crazy Coqs in London. Stissing Center for Arts & Culture Box Office: tickets@thestissingcenter.org / (518) 771-3339 “Ann Talman shines and sparkles like an Elizabeth Taylor Diamond. The Shadow of Her Smile explores Ann’s close relationship with Taylor by beautifully weaving together songs and stories. The act is pure perfection” ~ Richard Ridge, BroadwayWorld “Ann Talman, a 2023 Bistro Award winner, delivers a warm and heartfelt performance – and one that often produces goosebumps – as she tells the tale of her decades long friendship with one of our biggest stars of all time. “Elizabeth Taylor And The Shadow Of Her Smile” has exquisite direction by Lina Koutrakos and Alex Rybeck brings forth his masterful skills as the show’s musical director. When the opportunity arises to see this show again, see it! I know I will.” ~ David Kenney, WBAI “I had a wonderful time watching this catchy, revealing and tuneful tribute to a time well spent with one of the screen’s most revered icons. I could see [it] again and again. It’s a unique and delightful experience!” ~ Rex Reed “I found it FASCINATING and so well presented!” ~ Anita Gillette “Ann Talman provides us with a personal front row seat into the life of the iconic Elizabeth Taylor seamlessly interweaving stories and music from her unique perspective with warmth, admiration, and affection while occasionally embodying Elizabeth’s very essence.” ~ James Semmelman Photo ©Helane Blumfield
2950 Church St, Pine Plains, NY 12567
Cast and Creative team for Ann Talman: Elizabeth Taylor and the Shadow of Her Smile at Stissing Center for Arts & Culture
Cast
Ann Talman
Vocalist
Ann Talman is an actress, storyteller and documentary film maker based in New York City. She made her stage debut in 1981 in the Broadway production of The Little Foxes with Elizabeth Taylor, portraying her daughter, Alexandra. Following the engagement, she toured with Ms. Taylor in the production for 18 months with stops in Ft. Lauderdale, Washington, D.C. (The Kennedy Center), New Orleans, as well as London’s West End. Her stage credits include Yours, Anne, The House of Blue Leaves, Carnival, Some Americans Abroad, and the Broadway revival of The Women. Ms. Talman has appeared in several motion pictures including Serendipity, Limitless, and Wall Street. Television credits include guest starring roles on “Seinfeld,” “Ellen,” “Murphy Brown,” “The Street” and “Law & Order,” and a year on “General Hospital,” among others. She wrote, starred in and produced the multiple award-winning documentary film Woody’s Order!, based on her solo play about her lifelong dedication to her older brother Woody who lived a full life with cerebral palsy. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. She has toured the country as a storyteller sharing her very personal and touching tales which she plans to compile for an upcoming book. www.anntalman.com.
Alex Rybeck
Musical Director/Arranger/Piano
Alex Rybeck is a music director, composer, arranger, and pianist, best known for his work in concerts and cabarets, on recordings, and in the theater. Broadway credits include Merrily We Roll Along (directed by Hal Prince), Grand Hotel (directed by Tommy Tune), and others. He has also worked with Susan Stroman (Flora The Red Menace) and Patricia Birch (Really Rosie). Regionally, his work on “What the World Needs Now”, starring Sutton Foster, won him personal praise from Burt Bacharach. After growing up in the suburbs of Washington, DC, and attending Oberlin College, he moved to New York City, where he was mentored by Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Arthur Laurents and Stephen Schwartz while attending NYU's Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program. Among the many artists he has worked with are such legends as George Abbott, Metropolitan Opera diva Roberta Peters, "Voice of Hollywood" Marni Nixon, Eartha Kitt, The McGuire Sisters, Julie Wilson, and Kitty Carlisle Hart. He has also enjoyed meaningful collaborations with Faith Prince, Liz and Ann Hampton Callaway, Jane Olivor, Karen Mason, Sharon McNight, Jeff Harnar, Donna McKechnie, Ann Kittredge, Jason Graae, Lee Roy Reams, Tovah Feldshuh, Rita Gardner, Roslyn Kind, Amanda McBroom, and many, many others. His original song "What a Funny Boy He Is" was recorded by the late Nancy LaMott. He has received numerous awards and honors (MAC, Bistro, Nightlife, Billboard, and BroadwayWorld) as music director and songwriter. As a highly sought-after coach, he has taught master classes in NYC, L.A., and DC, as well as at Yale, Harvard, Northwestern, Queensland Conservatorium (Brisbane) and the New Zealand Singing School.
Creative Team
Lina Koutrakos
Director
Lina Koutrakos is an award-winning and accomplished singer/songwriter/teacher/director based in New York City. As a singer, she has
been repeatedly rave reviewed from The New York Times to Billboard Magazine in both rock and roll and cabaret and has been awarded
Cabaret’s most prestigious awards for “Best Female Vocalist” and “Entertainer of the Year,” repeatedly. For 3 decades, Koutrakos has been a
New York City musical fixture - as both soloist and as a director and performance coach. Her directorial nods include being a 4-time winner
for “Best Director” from the MAC Association and she is a lifetime Backstage Bistro Award-Winner for “Best Director,” as well. Koutrakos was
on staff as a Master Teacher for years at both the Eugene O'Neill Cabaret Symposium and The Yale Cabaret Conference. She was the first
Master Teacher with The St Louis Cabaret Conference and co-founded NYC’s Summer in the City yearly workshop on weekends. She has
since gone on to start her own performance workshop “Performance Connection,” which umbrellas many ongoing and specialty workshops
and seminars now both online and in person. The Advance Performance Workshop in NYC has produced many award-winning performers
and shows over the last 2 decades. Her singing and being the founder of the Midwest Cabaret Conference in Chicago for 10 years won her
the “Gold Coast” Award with the Chicago Cabaret Professionals in 2019. She spearheads a now annual advanced performance workshop on
the island of Mykonos. From performance workshops with full bands to one-on-one clients across the U.S., to her own award-winning original
material and one woman shows, it’s no wonder Koutrakos is referred to as a “Walking Master Class” by Billboard Magazine as both singer
and director.
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Stissing Center for Arts & Culture is at 2950 Church St, Pine Plains, NY.
Stissing Center for Arts & Culture is at 2950 Church St, Pine Plains, NY.
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