The Musical Theater Project to Present ETHEL MERMAN: LOUD BUT HONEST, 10/12

The Musical Theater Project honors a legendary Broadway performer in "Ethel Merman: Loud but Honest," to be presented at Stocker Arts Center on the campus of Lorain County Community College. Curtain time is 2 pm on Sunday, October 12.

Co-hosted by TMTP artistic director Bill Rudman and music director Nancy Maier, the concert will showcase many of Merman's signature songs -- all of them from musicals -- including "You're the Top," "I Get a Kick Out of You," "Everything's Coming Up Roses" and "There's No Business Like Show Business."

Since Merman's career spanned more than 40 years, her songs will be divided between two vocalists: Cassie Goldbach (the younger Merman) and Adina R. Bloom (the older Merman). Rudman will provide commentary.

In act one, Goldbach takes audiences from Merman's stunning Broadway debut at 21 singing "I Got Rhythm" in the Gershwins' "Girl Crazy" (1930) through her triumph 16 years later in Irving Berlin's "Annie Get Your Gun." Then in act two, Bloom covers the later years in selections from "Call Me Madam," "Happy Hunting" and one of Broadway's masterworks: the Jule Styne-Stephen Sondheim "Gypsy," which premiered when Merman was 51.

Merman is the singer Cole Porter once compared to "a band going by." But her legacy goes beyond vocal power. Merman was one of the most important and influential vocalists of the 20th century, liberating herself by presenting a new kind of woman on Broadway -- a woman she christened the "brassy dame." Her trademark "belt" was celebrated by the master composers and lyricists of the American musical.

TMTP's multi-media concert includes dozens of still images and rare film clips of Merman in her 20s. "Above all it's a cavalcade of sparkling music and lyrics," says Rudman. "The fact is that second only to Fred Astaire, Ethel Merman inspired more pages of the Great American Songbook than any other Broadway or Hollywood star."

Stocker Arts Center at Lorain County Community College is located at 1005 N. Abbe Road in Elyria. Tickets are priced at $15 for adults and $10 for children 18 and under. Tickets are available through the Stocker Arts Center box office at 440-366-4040 or online at StockerArtsCenter.com.

"Ethel Merman: Loud but Honest" is presented as part of "The Song Is You!" concert and cabaret season produced each year by The Musical Theater Project at a variety of locations. It will be given a companion piece honoring the "second first lady" of the American musical: "Mary Martin: America's Sweetheart" will be performed Oct. 26 at Cleveland Institute of Music (2 pm and 7 pm).

A Leading Ladies Pass to both "Ethel Merman: Loud but Honest" and "Mary Martin: America's Sweetheart" can be purchased for $30 exclusively via the TMTP Box Office through October 1st by calling 216-245-8687.

ABOUT THE MUSICAL THEATER PROJECT -- A nonprofit organization founded in 2000, TMTP produces concerts, in-school residency programs, radio programming and recordings that foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of a uniquely American art form. To learn more about TMTP, call 216-529-9411 or visit www.MusicalTheaterProject.org.

Ohio Arts Council helps fund The Musical Theater Project with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. The Musical Theater Project also receives public support with local tax dollars from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, to preserve and enrich our region's artistic and cultural heritage.

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