Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota Will Present Vocal Jazz Quartet BoyGirlBoyGirl

Artist Series Concerts concludes its 2020 Venice series with BoyGirlBoyGirl, Tuesday, March 24, at the Plantation Golf & Country Club, 500 Rockley Boulevard, Venice. The evening opens with dinner at 6:00 p.m., followed by the performance at 7:30 p.m. Joined by pianist Joseph Holt, the quartet will perform a variety of tunes covering everything from hits from the Rat Pack days to the tender and tight harmonies of old-time radio. Tickets are $49 and are available online at www.ArtistSeriesConcerts.org or by calling 941-306-1202, Monday - Friday, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Tickets will be available through March 20.

It's almost by pure chance that performers and Wisconsin natives Don Lobacz, Tommy Lueck, Laura Monagle and Michaela Ristaino formed BoyGirlBoyGirl. The foursome had already worked together professionally in Milwaukee theater off and on for years when they met up at a cast party one evening and, spontaneously and harmoniously, began singing some of the vocal jazz favorites from the 40s and 50s that have since become the quartet's signature repertoire. Lobacz and Lueck are well known to Midwest audiences thanks to their many appearances with Four Guyz in Dinner Jackets and other local theatre companies. Monagle appears regularly with Boulevard Theatre, the Fireside Theatre, Off the Wall, and Children's Theatre of Madison. Ristaino has appeared in Milwaukee with Skylight Music Theatre and now makes her home in Sarasota where she performs with Choral Artists of Sarasota, including her recent debut as a soloist in the ensemble's production of "Celebrating Sondheim."

"I've known and worked with Michaela for several years and I just know that this performance with her old friends and professional colleagues is going to be like a frolicking musical class reunion," says pianist Joseph Holt, artistic director of Artist Series Concerts and of Choral Artists of Sarasota. "It's going to be a sparkling evening of fine dining, fun, and some fantastic singing!"