Andrea McArdle & More Set for 14th Annual Orlando Cabaret Festival

MAD COW THEATRE announces the return of a singular downtown Orlando event - the 14th annual Orlando Cabaret Festival, featuring cabaret artists from Central Florida and beyond. Among the headliners for the 2016 Cabfest will be Broadway star Andrea McArdle, a leading lady ever since she played the very first Annie in the beloved Broadway show of the same name.

Over the course of 17 days, Mad Cow Theatre will host 32 performances, ranging from jazz to pop to Broadway to comedy and more. Headliners for the 14th annual Orlando Cabaret Festival also will include the up-and-coming cabaret star Jesse Luttrell, a cappella sensation The Edge Effect and Orlando's own Broadway powerhouse Michelle Knight.

The perennial Cabfest favorite It Was a Very Good Year will return to celebrate the hits of 1963 and 1973, and the festival will wind up with its traditional Mother's Day Brunch.

The 14th annual Orlando Cabaret Festival will run April 22-May 8 at Mad Cow Theatre, 54 West Church St. (second floor), downtown Orlando. Tickets can be purchased through the Mad Cow box office at 407.297.8788 or at orlandocabaret.com.

Cabaret Festival performers and shows:

Andrea McArdle, An Evening With Andrea McArdle
April 23 at 8:15 p.m., April 24 at 3:30 p.m., $35 and $45.
The Broadway star who first captured the hearts of theatergoers when she originated the title role in the blockbuster musical Annie will celebrate the music of the '70s at Cabfest. McArdle has starred in many other Broadway shows, including Starlight Express, State Fair,and Cabaret; has sung with symphony orchestras and in cabarets and nightclubs around the world; and has worked with such entertainment legends as Ethel Merman, Liza Minnelli, Julie Andrews, Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Steve Martin, and Elton John. Her most recent solo release is Andrea McArdle: 70's & Sunny - Live From 54 Below.

The Edge EFFECT, Icons
April 22 at 8:15 p.m., $30 and $40.
These hometown favorites - Danny Alan, Troy Dolendo, Sean Gerrity, John Gibson II and Karl Hudson - return to Mad Cow after a rousing reception at Cabfest in 2015. Using only their voices to create an energy-filled show, the five are out to prove that singers do not need Autotune and computers to put on a great show. Named "top pop group" by MTV and "next great a cappella group" by Boyz II Men and finalists on America's Got Talent, The Edge Effect has performed with such stars as Shoshana Bean and Robin Thicke. They have released three albums: Alphabet Radio, Uncovered, and Do You Hear What We Hear?

Michelle Knight, Rollercoaster
April 29 and 30 at 8:15 p.m., $30 and $40.
Michelle Knight made her Broadway debut in Jersey Boys in 2008 and returned to the New York stage in 2011 as Snow White in the comic satire Disenchanted, a role she originated at Orlando's Fringe. A UCF graduate, she made her professional debut at Seaside Music Theater in Daytona Beach, where she played such roles as Belle in Beauty and the Beast, Polly Peachum in Threepenny Opera and Petra in A Little Night Music. Michelle has performed in national tours of Jersey Boys, Grease and Annie, and she has sung with the Orlando Philharmonic and Mad Cow as Eliza inMy Fair Lady, Sarah in Guys and Dolls and Julie in Carousel.

Jesse Luttrell, Showstopper
May 6 and 7 at 8:15 p.m., $30 and $40.
After a sold-out run at Feinstein's/54 Below in New York City, "modern vaudevillian" baritone Jesse Luttrell will bring to Orlando an evening of swing, big band and show-music songs. Jesse's repertoire ranges from Broadway tunesmiths Jule Styne, Cy Coleman, Jerry Herman, and Rodgers & Hart to pop songmen Anthony Newley and Peter Allen. Beginning his career as a ballet dancer with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and the Rock School/Pennsylvania Ballet, Jesse made the switch to musical theater and has headlined in American Showstoppers, a concert series with the Fred Barton Broadway Band. His first CD is available on iTunes, Amazon and Spotify.

JANINE KLEIN, The Diva's Diva: Tales of a Drag Queen Assistant
April 22 at 8:30 p.m. and May 4 at noon, $12-$25.
Janine returns to Cabfest with her hilarious tale of a tour from Dublin to Peoria with her famous drag-queen BFF. Often called Orlando's favorite Jewish diva, Janine has performed at The Duplex in New York City as well as at the Orlando Fringe, the Parliament House, and many other theaters around Central Florida. Last summer she toured Cross-Dresser for Christ with Ginger Minj of RuPaul's Drag Race fame.

MELISSA VASQUEZ, ToKen Black Girl
April 23 at 7 p.m. and May 3 at noon, $12-$25.
Melissa has done cabarets at the Abbey and performed in musicals across Central Florida, including Hairspray at the Garden, Little Shop of Horrors at Osceola Center for the Arts, and Smokey Joe's Café at the IceHouse. She has worked at Hong Kong Disneyland and the Holy Land Experience and studied at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York.

DAVID ALMEIDA and NATALIE DOLINER, The Spice of Life
April 28 at 8:15 p.m. and May 6 at noon, $12-$25.
David and Natalie will celebrate the variety shows of the 1970s, from Sonny & Cher to Donny & Marie. David has performed many times at Mad Cow and also has worked with the Orlando Philharmonic, Jester Theater, Beth Marshall Presents, Sea World, Bay Street Players, Theatre Downtown, and the Fringe, along with Disney World, Universal Studios, and Sleuths. Natalie's recent stage appearances include a one-woman show, Trollops, Tyrants, and Tarts, Oh! My!, at the Abbey, along with Chicago at Valencia College and Carrie, the Musical at Clandestine Arts.

ALEX MRAZEK, Breaking Type
April 29 at 7 p.m. and May 1 at 3:30 p.m., $18 and $25.
A Chicago native, Alex is a University of Florida theater graduate and has performed around Central Florida - including at Universal Studios, SeaWorld, and Sleuths - for the past six years. Recently he has played in Cabaret at the Abbey, in Heathers at the Dr. Phillips Center, and in Boeing Boeing at the Garden. He also has acted for Orlando Shakespeare Theater, Orlando Repertory Theatre, Beth Marshall Presents, and the Fringe.

BLAKE and CARA LYNN BRASWELL, Gravel and Grace
April 30 at 8:30 p.m. and May 6 at 7 p.m., $18 and $25.
Blake and Cara will explore what makes people tell their stories in song in their show Gravel and Grace, which combines blues, bluegrass and folk songs from both the new world and the old. Blake directed The Letters for Mad Cow, and Cara performed in A Christmas Carol at freeFall Theatre in St. Pete. Both actors work in various shows at Disney World and Universal Studios.

SARA HOOD, Thank You, Nora Ephron
May 5 at 8:30 p.m., $18 and $25.
In Thank You, Nora Ephron, Sara celebrates Ephron's three most romantic movies: Sleepless in Seattle, When Harry Met Sally and You've Got Mail. She worked with Mad Cow and the Orlando Philharmonic in My Fair Lady and also has performed at Little Theatre of New Smyrna Beach, Orlando Repertory Theatre, Theatre UCF, and Universal. Sara spent the past two years as a production singer on Silversea Cruises.

MICHAEL PAUL ZIEGFELD, comedian and ventriloquist
May 7 at 8:30 p.m., $18 and $25.
Michael has performed his PG-rated routines on Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show, toured with JAmes Brown, and had an audience with Queen Elizabeth II. He appeared in the movies 27 Dresses and The Ten, among others; has done voiceover work for Pixar, Jim Henson and Disney; and created such puppets as Nadia Coma, the World's Oldest Gymnast. Michael's book is called Breaking Out of Show Business: What I Discovered by Not Being Discovered.

IT WAS A VERY GOOD YEAR
Various times and dates, April 22-May 7, $12-$25.
A staple of the Orlando Cabaret Festival, It Was a Very Good Year transports audiences back to 1963 and 1973 in two separate musical revues. Continuing the collaboration of writer Ron Schneider and music director Philip King, It Was a Very Good Year features hits from '63 and '73 artists such as The Beach Boys, Johnny Cash, Paul Simon, and Bette Midler and songs such as "Blue Velvet," "Blowin' in the Wind," "Rocky Mountain High," and many more. Featured in the cast are Catharine League, Melissa Whitworth, Kit Cleto, and Shonn McCloud.

MOTHER'S DAY BRUNCH
May 8 at 2 p.m. Ceviche Tapas Bar and Restaurant, 125 W. Church St., Orlando, $25-$47.
Appearing at Cabfest's traditional Mothers' Day brunch will be cabaret singers Natalie Cordone & Shawn Kilgore with special guest Kevin Kelly, all of them performing in Side by Side: A Steve & Eydie Tribute. Natalie and Shawn have worked together since they met in the cast of Baby at Winter Park Playhouse, and they have performed their Steve & Eydie tribute in New York City, North Carolina, and Las Vegas. Kevin has performed numerous times at Mad Cow, Winter Park Playhouse, the Garden, and the Abbey, and he and Natalie toured for several years in The Musical of Musicals: The Musical!, including a stop in Heidelberg, Germany. They'll be accompanied by the Joshua Glenn Wilson Trio.

Ticket packages for the Cabaret Festival will range from $105 to $220, excluding the Mothers' Day Brunch. WHO: Mad Cow Theatre?
WHAT: The 14th annual Orlando Cabaret Festival
WHEN: Friday, April 22-Sunday, May 8. Detailed performance schedules can be found online at orlandocabaret.com
WHERE: Mad Cow Theatre, 54 West Church St. (second floor), Orlando, FL 32801 Press Approved Files - Press/social media approved image files for the Orlando Cabaret Festival are available here. This link will be updated throughout the festival with new images. If you need any assistance or have any other media related questions about Mad Cow Theatre, please email news@madcowtheatre.com.

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