59E59 Theaters (Val Day, Artistic Director; Brian Beirne, Managing Director) is thrilled to host the premiere of THE ANDERSON BROTHERS PLAY BENNY MEETS ARTIE, devised, written, and performed by Peter and Will Anderson. Produced by Reardon-Anderson Music, LLC, THE ANDERSON BROTHERS PLAY BENNY MEETS ARTIE begins performances on Wednesday, December 26 for a limited engagement through Sunday, December 30. The performance schedule is Wednesday - Saturday at 6 PM and 8 PM; Sunday at 2 PM and 4 PM. Performances are at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison). Single tickets are $35 ($24.50 for 59E59 Members). Tickets go on sale to 59E59 Members on Tuesday, November 26 at Noon. They go on sale to the general public on Tuesday, December 4 at Noon. To purchase tickets, call the 59E59 Box Office at 646-892-7999 or visit www.59e59.org.
"Virtuosos on clarinet and saxophone" (New York Times) Peter and Will Anderson portray the lives and music of two American cultural icons, clarinetists Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw.
Raised in poverty in Chicago, Benny Goodman was a classical clarinet prodigy. He soon sparked an international swing craze in the30s, and premiered the first jazz concert at Carnegie Hall in 1938. Artie Shaw was a composer, author, and master clarinetist, pushing musical boundaries by blending American swing with European and Latin styles. Both swing-era bandleaders were among the first to racially integrate their bands. What would've happened if Goodman and Shaw met on the stage at the height of their careers?
The Andersons will be joined by bassist Clovis Nicolas and drummer Philip Stewart.
Identical twins and Juilliard graduates Peter and Will Anderson are known for their unique renditions of classic jazz songs and innovative original music. Born and raised in Washington DC, the Andersons have performed with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Village Vanguard Orchestra, Wycliffe Gordon, Cecile McLorin Salvant, Paquito D'Rivera, Wynton Marsalis, and can be heard on the 2014 Grammy-winning soundtrack of HBO's Boardwalk Empire with Vince Giordano's Nighthawks. They've headlined at The Blue Note, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, New Orleans Jazz Festival, Feinstein's 54 Below, and live on Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion. The Andersons have performed in 40 US states, throughout Japan and six times in NYC's famed Highlights in Jazz series, alongside Lou Donaldson, The Heath Brothers, Ken Peplowski, Steve Turre, Warren Vache, and Jimmy Cobb.
Vanity Fair magazine listed their debut album alongside Miles Davis in Four New Releases to Make You Love Jazz, and the Washington Post called their music "imaginatively unfolding in ways that consistently bring a fresh perspective to classic jazz." Peter and Will were awarded a 2014 Drama Desk nomination for their Off Broadway show Le Jazz Hot (one of six productions at 59E59 Theaters), and are 2018 Bistro Award winners. Their 2014 album, Deja Vu, features "a burner that reveals the band's cohesiveness and spirit" (JazzTimes). Last year, the Andersons raised $25,000 to establish the Joe Temperley Juilliard Student Scholarship Fund and tribute album in honor of their late great saxophone mentor. They've lectured at over 100 high schools countrywide and universities including Michigan State, Ohio State, Temple, Florida State, Xavier, South Florida, and Central Oklahoma. Peter and Will endorse D'Addario woodwind products and Selmer saxophones.
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