Amanda McBroom In LADY MACBETH SINGS THE BLUES At Rubicon This Weekend

Rubicon Theatre Company announces two performances of an intimate concert featuring Golden Globe Award-Winner and Grammy nominee Amanda McBroom, presented as part of the 2018-2019 Janet and Mark L. Goldenson Broadway Concert Series. Amanda McBroom, a Rubicon favorite both as a singer and actress, returns to Rubicon with a concert version of her hit play Lady Macbeth Sings the Blues on Saturday June 8 at 8p.m. and Sunday June 9 at 2 p.m. She is joined on stage by a trio of world-class musicians -- Musical Director Michele Brourman, Bassist Larry Tuttle and Guitarist/Percussionist Stephan Oberhoff.

Lady Macbeth Sings the Blues was conceived by Amanda and Joel Silberman as a story about a modern woman in crisis who turns to the women of Shakespeare for advice, which she receives from characters such as Katherine the Shrew, Ariel the Fairy, Gertrude the Queen and Lady Macbeth. The songs were written by McBroom and Silberman, with additional music by Michele Brourman and Robben Ford. The show premiered at Rubicon to critical acclaim in 2004. In this concert version, McBroom will perform songs from the show (along with some that were cut for the musical play and have never been performed publicly).

Songs include "Ophelia," "In His Hands," "The Hard to be a Fairy Blues" and "The Bitch is Out."

A resident of Ojai, Amanda McBroom, is known to Rubicon audiences for her dramatic portrayals in Other Desert Cities (Indy Award), A Delicate Balance and Jacques Brel... As a singer/songwriter, she is a legend throughout the world, and has been called "...the greatest cabaret performer of her generation, an urban poet who writes like an angel and has a voice to match." McBroom first came to the attention of the music public when Bette Midler's version of McBroom's song "The Rose" hit number one all over the world. But it was McBroom's performance of her own song on the Golden Globes (she won), Grammys (she didn't) and "The Tonight Show" that launched her musical career. Her songs have been recorded by Leanne Rhimes, Barry Manilow, Judy Collins, Barbara Cook, Anne Murray, Betty Buckley, Harry Belafonte, and Baby Dinosaurs in "The Land Before Time" animated film series. She recently released a new CD, "voices," with her first re-cutting of "The Rose" since 1980 (in a duet with country legend Vince Gill).

Musical Director Michele Brourman began making up songs when she was three years old. By age thirteen, she had formed a small ensemble for which she was composer, musical director and singer. She's been making up songs and singing them ever since with a joy that is infectious. Her best-loved song, "My Favorite Year", has been recorded by Michael Feinstein, Dame Cleo Laine, and Margaret Whiting. With longtime collaborator Amanda McBroom, she's written the songs for 19 animated features for Universal Studios, including the beloved "Land Before Time" series, writing for Reba McIntyre, Michael York, Lucy Lawless, Donny Osmond, Olivia Newton-John, Corbin Bleu, and a host of other singer/actors. Brourman's work has been featured in television and film and performed by countless cabaret artists, garnering numerous awards and critical acclaim. Her work for the theatre includes the score for the musical Dangerous Beauty (lyrics by McBroom) produced at The Pasadena Playhouse, and the Off-Broadway show The Belle of Tombstone (lyrics by Sheilah Rae). Brourman has been called "a consummate artist/composer.... whose songs target the human condition with a simplicity, honesty and directness which make them into contemporary classics."

Bassist and composer Larry Tuttle studied in Seattle with jazz great Gary Peacock and classical mentors Ring Warner, Ron Simon and James Harnett. He served as principal bassist in the World Youth Symphony at the National Music Camp in Interlochen, Michigan, and currently is assistant principal bass in the San Fernando Valley Symphony. As a symphonic composer, Larry's orchestral work "Chorale and Fiddle Tune" won the Pittsburgh Symphony's 2014 Audience of the Future Composition Competition, and his concert overture "By Steam or by Dream" took second prize at the 2016 Keuris Composers Competition in The Netherlands. His recent wind ensemble piece "To a Lost World" finished as first runner-up in the 2018 World Projects Composition Contest. Larry is also one of the leading performers of the Chapman Stick, a hybrid electric tapping instrument. Larry's solo Stick album, "Through the Gates" is considered a landmark recording for that instrument.

Revered by music industry legends and notables, Stephan Oberhoff is a consummate artist and a Renaissance man. Stephan has performed with and produced for a "Who's Who" of industry greats, among them Quincy Jones, Burt Bacharach, Stevie Wonder, Al Jarreau, Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil, Melissa Manchester, and Patti Austin. Stephan has collaborated with Brenda Russell ("Piano in the Dark" and "Paris Rain"), Siedah Garrett, Michael Ruff (Bonnie Raitt, India Arie, David Sanborn), Sharon Vaughn (Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings), and others. Current projects include collaborating with Quincy Jones on Quest Records' Jason Gould, (who has performed globally with his mother, Barbra Streisand) on which Stephan has produced, arranged, engineered and performed all songs from Jason's current release. Stephan has co-produced, performed and collaborated with Johnny Mercer Award-winning composer Michele Brourman on multiple award-winning animated musicals for film and television, including Universal Studios' "Land Before Time," (currently in its 14th season), as well as Disney's "Balto II," "Balto III," "American Tail IV," "Chipmunk Meets Frankenstein" and "Hercules And Xena."Other notable clients include producing, arranging and performing with Jeffrey Osborne (artist), jazz great Doc Powell (Luther Vandross, Aretha Franklin), Jimmy Dunne (songwriter of 28 million hit records), saxophone artist Everette Harp (Blue Note and Capitol Records) - and myriad pop, jazz and R&B artists.

Tickets for Amanda McBroom: Lady Macbeth Sings the Blues are $35-$55. Tickets may be purchased in person through the Rubicon Theatre Company Box Office at the corner of Main and Laurel in Ventura (Laurel entrance and downstairs) or online at www.rubicontheatre.org. To charge by phone, call 805.667.2900.

Rubicon Theatre Company is a not-for-profit professional theatre company founded in 1998. The company presents a diverse mainstage season of comedies, dramas and musicals, including world premieres, in an intimate 185-seat historic former church in Ventura's Downtown Cultural District. Additionally, Rubicon offers year-round education and enrichment programs for the community. Rubicon is committed to creating a nurturing environment for artists, where exploration and experimentation are encouraged and supported. The company has welcomed more than 400,000 audience members and 45,000 student participants to Rubicon productions. In the last few years, three productions originated or developed at Rubicon played Off-Broadway, all of which garnered Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations. Rubicon previously won the N.Y. Drama Desk Award for The Best is Yet to Come. Rubicon has also received multiple Ovation Awards and the L.A. Drama Critics Circle Margaret Harford Award for "Sustained Excellence."

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