GET HAPPY! A Tribute To Judy Garland Heads To Denver For Exclusive One-Night-Only Event

Jenna Pastuszek, featuring special music direction by Trent Hines, will celebrate PRIDE with GET HAPPY!: A Tribute to the World's Greatest Entertainer, Judy Garland, at the Swallow Hill Concerts at Four Mile Historic Park in Denver, CO.

It's been 85 years since the world first heard Judy Garland sing about a place "somewhere over the rainbow," and her star power remains just as potent as it was then. Why? What is it about Judy that continues to build new generations of infatuated admirers? What can we learn from her resilience and determination to forget her troubles?

Join nationally acclaimed performer Jenna Pastuszek, Denver based music director/pianist Trent Hines, and friends in this 102nd birthday celebration of the world's greatest entertainer. With "lavishly clever arrangements", and "witty, endearing personal stories", this isn't a traditional Judy Garland tribute - there will be no impersonation here. Instead, lifelong Judy fans will love the cleverly curated playlist of beloved classics and forgotten gems while millennials and Gen Zers will discover an artist who transcends time.

As a Denver exclusive, this one-night-only event will also feature Denver's own critically-acclaimed singer and performer, Sharon Kay White, as one of Jenna's special guests. One thing is for certain, Judy loved a duet- especially with her fellow female stars!

Missy Moore, Denver fan favorite and Artistic Director of Thunder River Theatre Company, said, "Jenna was meant to sing Judy Garland songs! Not only did she sing them beautifully, but she wove her personal narrative throughout her cabaret and shared with us why Judy's songs resonate with her. That made her cabaret extremely special and absolutely accessible to our audience." And Josh Blanchard, former Artistic Director of Lake Dillon Theatre Company (now TheatreSilCo), said "What a wonderful concert! We certainly look forward to the next time."

Pastuszek presents the show after successful runs at both Thunder River Theatre Co. in Carbondale and Theatre SilCo in Silverthorne. "I am always incredibly impressed with, not only the talent in Colorado, but the beauty and the kindness that surrounds the theatre community here. I am so excited to return to the area, reunite with old friends like Sharon Kay, and meet new ones, all while celebrating PRIDE, Judy style!"

Additional recent performances of GET HAPPY! include Jim Carouso's Pajama Cast Party at Birdland, Paper Mill Playhouse, Bucks County Playhouse, Delaware Theatre Company, East Lynne Theatre Company, CCAE Theatricals, EndStation Theatre Company, Haddonfield Plays & Players, the Zlock Performing Arts Center, and the Surflight Theatre.

ABOUT THE TEAM

Jenna Pastuszek (Performer, Writer, Producer) (she/her) is an acclaimed singer and actor who has graced stages and delighted audiences from Maine to Florida, from Cape May to Los Angeles. You can hear her on Pandora Radio as the voice of Starbucks Café, Amazon Alexa, Crest, and more. In addition to performing, Jenna is a highly sought-after voice teacher and performance coach. She is the Co-Founder of Innovative Voice Studio, where she trains Broadway artists, and of Innovative Performance, where she coaches leaders across a variety of industries to use their voices to better express themselves. Proud Ukrainian and member of AEA. Graduate of NYU Steinhardt & the University of Virginia. www.jennap.com

Joshua Zecher-Ross (Music Supervisor, Arranger, Orchestrator) (he/him) has worked on hundreds of productions and concerts in New York and around North America as a pianist, music director, supervisor, conductor, arranger, and electronic music designer. Broadway: Be More Chill (conductor sub). Recently: The Louder We Get directed by Lonny Price at Theatre Calgary and Cheek to Cheek with the Omaha Symphony Orchestra. Joshua is a musical theatre instructor at the NY Film Academy and at Actor Therapy, a cantorial soloist and frequent synagogue musician in the NY area, and he holds a Bachelor of music in vocal performance from the Steinhardt School at New York University.

TRENT HINES (Pianist) (he/him) is a Henry-Nominated Music Director. Some of his favorite productions include: Musical Director/Keyboard/Conductor for 'Dreamgirls' at Lone Tree Arts Center; Musical Director/Pianist/Conductor for 'Into the Woods' at The Arvada Center; Pianist/Conductor/Actor for 'The Wild Party' at Denver Center for the Performing Arts; Musical Director/Pianist/Conductor for 'Something Rotten' at the University of Northern Colorado; Musical Director/Pianist/Conductor for 'Memphis' at Little Town Hall Arts; Musical Director/Pianist/Conductor for 'Blues in the Night' at the Aurora Fox.

Sharon Kay White (Special Guest) (she/her) has performed in theaters and concert venues all over the world. Her experience has allowed her to tour many countries in Europe, and the U.S. twice, and to work in professional theaters all over the country, as a singer, actress and dancer. Locally she has also been seen at The Arvada Center, Theatre Silco (Formerly the Lake Dillon Theatre Company), The Aurora Fox Arts Center, Country Dinner Playhouse, The Denver Civic Theater, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Cherry Creek Theater and The Lone Tree Arts Center. Other theaters include Papermill Playhouse, Cincinnati Playhouse, Repertory Theater of St. Louis, Pioneer Theatre Company, Peterborough Players and Surflight Theatre. Sharon Kay has received multiple nominations and awards for her work in the theatre.

Ari Axelrod (Director) (he/him) is an actor, director, singer, and Jewish activist. His award winning show, "A Celebration of Jewish Broadway" has had three sold-out performances at the historic Birdland Jazz Club, one of which featured six-time Emmy & Tony nominee Tovah Feldshuh, as well as sold out performances in St. Louis, Chicago, Boca Raton, Ann Arbor, and via Zoom during COVID. In 2020, he received a MAC Award nomination for Best Male Vocalist, and won the BroadwayWorld Award for Best Live Zoom Performance. Ari Axelrod's first solo cabaret, "Taking the Wheel", was directed by Tony Award winner Faith Prince, and music directed by multiple MAC Award winner Alex Rybeck, and has been performed in multiple cities around the country. He is also the founder of Bridging the Gap, a performance studio dedicated to training the next generation of solo performers. Bridging the Gap has been featured at the historic Birdland Jazz Club as well as Feinstein's 54/Below. As a director, Ari's work has been seen at Paper Mill Playhouse, Birdland, Feinstein's/54 Below, The Green Room 42, and Don't Tell Mama. Recently, Ari was the recipient of The Jewish Week's prestigious 36 Under 36 Award which "honors 36 noteworthy New Yorkers, all 36 years old or younger, who make New York - and its many Jewish communities - better. These entrepreneurs, young leaders, and changemakers bring remarkable energy and new ideas to religion, philanthropy, the arts, Jewish learning, campus life, social action, inclusion and justice."

Caitlin C. Fahey (Dramaturg) (she/her) is a dramaturg and award-winning cabaret singer. Dedicated to the preservation of the American Songbook, her work combines research with performance, two of her favorite things. She seeks to empower her clients to create work they are proud of so that they stop waiting for permission to share their gifts with the world. Her debut cabaret show Party of One premiered at Don't Tell Mama, winning the 2017 BroadwayWorld Cabaret Award for best debut and a 2018 MAC Award nomination. In 2020, she was nominated for a BroadwayWorld Cabaret Award for Best Vocalist for her work in Blake Allen's An Evening Series at Green Room 42.

SWALLOW HILL CONCERTS AT FOUR MILE HISTORIC PARK

Join Swallow Hill Music and Four Mile Historic Park for an outdoor concert series in Denver this summer! Get ready for fun, family-friendly outdoor summer concerts in Denver this June-July, featuring tribute acts celebrating some of the most beloved artists throughout folk and rock history. Whether it is the classic rock sounds of The Beatles and the Grateful Dead, pop classics from Judy Garland, or the unmistakable hip-hop of the Beastie Boys, this summer's lineup of tribute artists has a little something for everyone.

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