AMERICAN IDOL's LaToya London, Brittany Underwood and More Join Upright Cabaret's A BROADWAY CHRISTMAS, 12/11-17

Chris Isaacson Presents brings you the perfect Holiday gift of the season, Upright Cabaret's A BROADWAY CHRISTMAS! Coming this Holiday Season, watch Stars and Snowflakes glitter together as Upright combines the best of Broadway with the carols of Christmastime. Cozy up next to your someone special, and be warmed not by an open fire but by yuletide joy and the sweet songs from your favorite musicals like Jersey Boys, Wicked, The Christmas Story, Billy Elliot, Dreamgirls – and more.

With brassy horns and sentimental strings, Upright creates a wonderland of the cheerful arrangements and airy melodies that make Broadway and Christmas all aglow. Under boughs of holly, bathed in a multi-media of silver and gold - with a surprise visit from Santa Claus - our celebrity singers use their suave voices to turn the stage into a true town of tinsel – and make this highly anticipated season's event the perfect way to put you in the holiday spirit.

Starring Emmy & Tony Award-winner Lillias White (Dreamgirls), LaToya London (American Idol, The Color Purple), Brittany Underwood (Nickelodeon's Hollywood Heights), Matt Zarley (A Chorus Line, Chicago), Nita Whitaker (Star Search), Carla Renata (CW's Hart of Dixie, Avenue Q), JAMES TORME, Sylvia MacCalla (Hairspray), Kelli Provart (Aida) and Santa Claus (Coming Direct from the North Pole)!

Also appearing: Brandon Alameda, Matthew Ballestero, Caitlin O'Brient, Will Collyer, Shannon Cudd, Sheila Karls, Roy Leake Jr., Ted Napolitano, Karissa Noel, Kelly Rice, Noah Rivera, Derek Scott Rochini, Danielle Sadd, Lynsey Shaw, Nathan Shrake, Ricke Vermont and more! Led by Music Director Jamieson Trotter with the Upright Cabaret band!

Guest host will be American Idol's David Hernandez and a special appearance by the L.A. FOLLIES KICK-LINE! Traditionally, a portion of the proceeds from A Broadway Christmas will benefit The Trevor Project.

L.A.'s famed Upright Cabaret showcases the "next generation" of world-class performers with this NEW series entitled the "American Icon Series"! Now beginning its fourth smash year, these unforgettable evenings feature stars from American Idol to Broadway singing the #1 hits of our American Music Icons.

Upright Cabaret boasts one of the most extensive and diverse rosters of talent in the country with alumni including Frenchie Davis ("The Voice"), Adam Lambert ("American Idol"), Lea Michele ("Glee"), Neil Patrick Harris ("How I Met Your Mother"), Tony Award® winner Lea Salonga, Grammy® winners Paula Cole and Taylor Dayne plus cast members from over 75 Broadway productions including Wicked, Rent, Jersey Boys and Spamalot.

ABOUT THE PERFORMERS FOR "A BROADWAY CHRISTMAS"

Lillias White - Has been recognized on Broadway with the People's Choice Award, The Outer Critics Award® for Best Actress in a Musical, Drama Desk Award® and Tony Award® - Broadway's Prestigious Quadruple Crown - for her role as Sonja in the musical The Life. In 2010, she was recognized again with a Tony Award-nomination for her work in Fela! directed by Bill T. Jones and produced by Will & Jada Pickett Smith. She won The Obie Award® for Best Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Hennie in Romance in Hard Times.

In addition, she won The Drama Logue Award® for Best Actress in a Musical for her role in the national tour of Dreamgirls. Other theater credits include the Broadway productions of Cats, Chicago, How to Succeed in Business, Once on This Island, Rock n' Roll: The First 5,000 Years (Aretha Franklin), Barnum, Carrie and Dreamgirls, as well as, off-Broadway productions of Crowns, The Vagina Monologues, Waiting for Godot, The Princess & The Black-Eyed Pea, and Dinah Was. National and International tours include Ain't Misbehavin', Tintypes and The Wiz.

Lillias won an Emmy Award® for her role as Sesame Street's LillIan Edwards. Other TV and Film credits include featured roles in the films like Pieces of April, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Gloria, North and Disney's Hercules. Television credits include Outreach, Law & Order, NYPD Blue, The Jury, the HBO pilot Pryor Offenses (The Richard Pryor Story) opposite Eddie Griffith and the PBS produced productions of South Pacific playing Bloody Mary and In Performance at The White House as a guest soloist.

White's voice can be heard on an extensive list of recordings including the Original Broadway Cast albums of The Life, Fela! and How To Succeed to name a few. She recorded Dreamgirls: The 25th Anniversary Concert, Actor's Fund "Hair" Concert, is featured with Tony Bennett on Cy Coleman's Album and her own live album - From Brooklyn to Broadway. With regular performances in Night Clubs and Concert Halls, Ms. White has recently appeared at The Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Joe's Pub, Upright Cabaret, Aaron Davis Hall and Catalina Jazz Club.

Ms. White most recently performed as Big Maybelle in the World Premiere musical Big Maybelle: Soul of the Blues.

David Hernandez - Actor/singer/songwriter, David Hernandez, gained national attention with his powerful voice and affable personality as an American Idol finalist. He began acting and singing at age six, starring in musicals and performing with various theatre companies throughout Arizona. As a young teenager David began writing original music and recording his material.

A Phoenix native, Hernandez recently moved to Hollywood where he is writing new songs, working in the recording studio producing his newest music, and pursuing his passion for acting. He has already completed his first feature film as the lead in the movie Synthetic Truth.

In addition to American Idol, David has showcased his talents on The Ellen Show, The Today Show, MTV's TRL, EXTRA, Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, Teen Choice Awards, TV Guides' Sexiest Stars 2008, Idol Tonight, Idol Gives Back and FOX-TV.

A once-in-a-life-time invitation came to David when he was asked to sing at the Inaugural Kick-Off Celebration ball for President Barack Obama. He was honored to share the stage with Jamie Foxx, John Legend and Maroon 5, along with event hosts Jessica Alba and legendary TV producer, Norman Lear.

Scottsdale's most exclusive restaurant/show club, Barcelona, was David's performance home for nearly a year performing three nights a week with his band Generation. Featured several times on FOX-TV, David's high energy stage presence and flawless vocal delivery kept the club packed every night.

During holiday season 2008 and 2009, David traveled throughout the US, singing for over 250,000 fans, as the star of a twenty-four city tour entitled Idols at Christmas. Las Vegas was home for David Over the July 4th weekend 2009, where he headlined three sold out shows in the showroom at the South Point Casino in Las Vegas. Vegas called again when he was asked to be the featured performer in a major Las Vegas Casino's showroom for their 2010 New Year's Eve Show.

Ballroom With A Twist is Hernandez's newest creative adventure. He is the featured vocalist in this exhilarating national-tour spinoff of TV's hit show Dancing with the Stars. It's directed and choreographed by Dancing with the Stars own Louis Van Amstel. The show is headed north this year for a major Canadian tour. This is a 'must see' music and dance extravaganza. And if that wasn't enough to keep David busy, he also performs in Motown Memories, Jersey Rocks and the Celebrate Motown tour.

David counts Stevie Wonder, Ne-yo, Donnie Hathaway, Alicia Keys, Luther Vandross, Michael Jackson and David Foster among his musical influences.

JAMES TORMÉ - Multi-Award winning E1 Music recording artist James Tormé is a uniquely gifted singer whose music infuses older jazz classics with soul and R&B influences of today. Tormé's magnetic relevance stems from the fact that he mixes the showmanship of his father's generation with the youthful charisma of a contemporary Hollywood star. Considering his roots, this shouldn't be too surprising.

James comes from a professional show business family with household names on both sides of the Atlantic. His father, Mel, a legendary singer, was a 3-time Grammy Award winner whose songwriting credits include the most popular holiday song ever, "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)." His mother, Janette Scott, and grandmother, Dame Thora Hird, are both celebrated British actresses. The young singer's music, which pays tribute to all corners of American music history, appeals to young and old audiences alike.

According to Tormé, a lot of what he is capable of has been absorbed through the "process of osmosis", as well as a being traceable to his famous father's musical genes. As a child, James spent time with some of the greatest musicians in jazz history, such as Bing Crosby, Duke Ellington, Sammy Davis Jr., Buddy Rich and Ella Fitzgerald.

And Tormé had other advantages. Countless flights between his mother's native London and his father's home in Los Angeles allowed him to spend vast amounts of time listening to both his father's music and current pop songs from the UK and US music scenes. This had a more than marginal impact on his early childhood musical development, "Mum bought me Michael Jackson's album Off The Wall when I was 6, and I was totally done for. And my Dad would make tapes for me of any new music he thought I should be getting into." Tormé notes, "He was impressing musical tastes and ideas on me from very early on [in my life] and I'm endlessly grateful for that."

James' initial foray into performing found him headlining a residency at the Viper Room in L.A. The standing-room-only shows would have served as a perfect stepping stone towards the Pop/R&B singing career James was planning, but all that changed when James performed a cappella renditions of the jazz classic "'Round Midnight" as an encore number. "The responses to that song changed the course of my career", says Tormé. "I wanted to leave this musical legacy to my own generation and realized it was my destiny to do that during those early shows in L.A. No question about it." And the rest is history.

Having grown up constantly witnessing the rigors of show business, James entered the music scene already understanding the enormous level of personal commitment required for success. Now performing with major symphony orchestras at top venues all over the world, James explains, "I've felt an undeniable sense of destiny about singing since I was very young. I'm so proud to be fulfilling that, and thankful for the opportunity to carry the torch for my dad's generation, and this kind of music." James Tormé's debut album Love For Sale is now available worldwide.

ABOUT Chris Isaacson AND THE "UPRIGHT CABARET" SERIES

Celebrating 8 Years in Hollywood, UPRIGHT CABARET, the pre-eminent Los Angeles hot spot for the next generation of world-class entertainers, brings its unique brand of cabaret entertainment to La Mirada, Palm Springs, San Francisco and Hollywood!

This "young impresario" has promoted, created and produced over 500 events since forming his company in 2004. From small clubs to major theatres, Isaacson has produced many of the most influential stars of his generation including Frenchie Davis (NBC's The Voice), Adam Lambert (American Idol), Lea Michele (Glee, Spring Awakening), Neil Patrick Harris (CBS's How I Met Your Mother), Grammy Award-nominee Natasha Bedingfield, 3x Grammy-nominee Taylor Dayne, Grammy Award-winner Paula Cole and more.

He is the creator/founder of LA's renowned Upright Cabaret which has been redefining the cabaret milieu for a new generation of audiences in Los Angeles since 2005. Upright Cabaret seeks to celebrate old style cabaret while simultaneously turning it on its ear, bringing young Broadway and young Hollywood together in a live setting. This includes the successful touring "American Icon Series" (now in its 4th year) and his critically acclaimed concerts "Shoshana Bean Sings Streisand" (Ford Amphitheatre - LA, Lincoln Center - NYC), "Stephen Schwartz: Making Good" featuring Wicked creator/lyricist Stephen Schwartz, "Eden Espinosa: Me" (Ford Amphitheatre - LA), The Meg & Sho Show (The Music Box - LA) starring SMASH star Megan Hilty and "New York's Finest: The Leading Men of Broadway" (Ford Amphitheatre - LA) starring Tony Award-winner Levi Kreis, Tony Award-nominee Brandon Victor Dixon, American Idol's Ace Young and David Burnham. Directed by Tony Award-nominee Sam Harris.

He produces the annual Summer Concert Series at The Grove in LA and The Americana at Brand in Glendale, CA featuring concerts by guitar phenomenon Orianthi, Grammy Award-winner Richard Marx, Lonestar, Sergio Mendes, Steve Tyrell, Peabo Bryson and his new tribute concert entitled "Arena: Born To Rock" starring Star Search Grand Champion Jake Simpson with guest American Idol finalist Syesha Mercado. Currently, Chris serves as the Entertainment Director for Rolling Stone Magazine's first live venue in Hollywood entitled Rolling Stone Live at Hollywood & Highland. His concerts have been featured on Access Hollywood, EXTRA, ABC's On The Red Carpet, KTLA 5 Morning News, Fox's Good Day L.A., The L.A. Times and The New York Post. Please visit www.ChrisIsaacsonPresents.com.

"A BROADWAY CHRISTMAS" WILL PERFORM AT:

HOLLYWOOD at CATALINA JAZZ CLUB
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2012 • 7:30PM & 10:00PM (2 shows)
(James Torme will not perform at this concert)

Tickets: $25 - $35, VIP Seating Available - Get your Tickets (818) 736-5600 or online at http://www.UprightCabaret.com
Address: Catalina Jazz Club, 6725 West Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA 90028

PALM SPRINGS at the ANNENBERG THEATER
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2012 • 8:00PM

Tickets: $35-$55, by calling the Box Office at 760.325.4490 or online at http://www.AnnenbergTheater.org
Address: Annenberg Theater, 101 Museum Drive, Palm Springs, CA 92262

LA MIRADA at LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR PERFORMING ARTS
SUNDAY & MONDAY DECEMBER 16 & 17, 2012 • 7:30PM

Ticket prices for UPRIGHT CABARET are: $40 / $30 /$20
Tickets to this extraordinary show are now available by calling the Box Office at 562-944-9801 or 714-994-6310 or online at http://www.LaMiradaTheatre.com/

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