Widescreen: Songs From & About the Movies Comes To Berlind Theatre 3/12

Celebrating the Academy Awards and the music of the movies, Eric Michael Gillett, one of the nation's most popular cabaret performers, brings his acclaimed show Widescreen: Songs From and About the Movies to McCarter Theatre's Berlind stage on Saturday, March 12 at 7:30 p.m.

Widescreen is for anyone who has ever stumbled into a darkened movie house to escape the tumult of everyday life. Widescreen uses the silver screen as a jumping off point, borrowing songs written specifically for motion pictures ("What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?," "Theme from Valley of the Dolls," "Moon River") and marrying the music from the theater and contemporary pop to explore the world of the movies and the fantasies, illusions and lies that fill our lives.

A MAC and Bistro Award winning vocalist, Eric Michael Gillett's cabaret shows have included Cast of Thousands-The Songs of Craig Carnelia, It Takes Two-The Duets of Stephen Sondheim (with Melanie Vaughan), and his critically lauded collection of radio songs of the past forty years, Hook, Line & Singer. In recent months he has found a new home at Feinstein's at Loews Regency where he debuted both Widescreen and his first tribute to a composer from the Great American Songbook, Hooray for Love-Gillett Sings Arlen.

The New York Times calls Eric Michael Gillett, "An idiosyncratic, fearlessly emotive baritone," and goes on to say, "His lack of conventional defenses allow him to bare a vulnerability that most male singers prefer to conceal." Cabaret Scenes says, "Gillett is an exceptional performer who is present at every moment, measuring each breath, phrase, and nuance in perfect harmony."

Eric ichael Gillett has been seen on Broadway in Kiss Me, Kate, Sweet Smell of Success, and The Frogs. New York audiences have seen him in the role of 'Papa" Denny Doherty in Dream a Little Dream at the Village Theatre, and in the New York City Opera productions of Cinderella, The Pirates of Penzance, and Candide. In addition, Eric received rave reviews for his performances as "Jacquot" in the Paper Mill Playhouse production of Carnival. For twelve years, Eric Michael appeared as the Ringmaster of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, touring the continental United States. He is the recipient of the Mable Mercer Foundation's 2009 Dick Gallagher Award for his performing and directorial contributions to the world of cabaret.

All tickets: $46. Tickets can be purchased online at www.mccarter.org, by phone at (609) 258-2787, or by visiting the ticket office at 91 University Place in Princeton.

To post a comment, you must register and login.