Urban Stages to present MUSICAL LEGENDS 2/24-3/13

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Urban Stages (Frances Hill, Artistic Director) is proud to present MUSICAL LEGENDS, a series of four unique, self-contained theatrical tributes, each celebrating the music and life of one of the following legends: Pearl Bailey, Kaye Ballard, Marlene Dietrich, and Nat 'King' Cole at Urban Stages (259 West 30th Street) from February 24 - March 13, 2011. Tickets are $25 per show or $40 for two shows in one night and are available at Smarttix.com or by calling 212 868-4444 (daily schedule is listed below).

MUSICAL LEGENDS is four 70 minute tributes, performed in rep over the course of two weeks, February 24 - March 13. They are:

Grand Illusions: The Music of Marlene Dietrich, starring Janice Hall, directed by Peter Napolitano with musical direction by Paul Trueblood and featuring Ritt Henn on bass.
Paying tribute to the life and legend of Marlene Dietrich, one of the true icons of the twentieth century, internationally renowned singer Janice Hall brings her acclaimed 2010 Metropolitan Room show to Urban Stages. Rather than impersonating Dietrich, Hall reinterprets many of the famous songs Marlene sang throughout her career by composers such as Friedrich Hollaender, Cole Porter, Lerner and Loewe, Fats Waller, Robert Stolz, Charles Trenet, and Pete Seeger, bringing to them the beauty and distinctive quality of her own voice as well as her considerable dramatic gifts. Peter Haas of Cabaret Scenes wrote: "Many performers have "done" Marlene Dietrich, but none has offered her songs more richly, more movingly and with lovelier singing than ...petite and elegant Janice Hall."

Special Kaye: A Tribute To The Incomparable Kaye Ballard, starring Gretchen Reinhagen, directed by Barry Kleinbort with musical direction by David Gaines and featuring Tom Hubbard on bass and Donna Kelly on percussion.
The ever ebullient Gretchen Reinhagen will star in Special Kaye: A Tribute to the Incomparable Kaye Ballard, which honors the vast library of musical material performed by, recorded by, or written specifically for Ms. Ballard, a star of stage, screen and TV for more than five decades, and still going strong. Winner of the 2009 Cabaret "Triple Crown," (Nightlife, Bistro and MAC Awards), The Village Voice wrote "Reinhagen has the kind of strong, confident presentation that fits this tribute to the ever-hilarious Kaye Ballard." Cabaret Hotline Online hailed it as the "MUST SEE, 5-STAR, show of the year."

Pearl Bailey...By Request, starring Roz White with Gary Vincent, directed by Tom Jones with musical direction by William A. Knowles and featuring Mike Mitchell on piano.
In her tribute to Pearl Bailey, award-winning singer/actor Roz White has chosen many of Bailey's 16 Most Requested Songs, which she recorded for Columbia Records at the height of her career (including "St. Louis Blues," "Baby, It's Cold Outside," and "The Hucklebuck") and built an evening of marvelous music and memorable stories entitled Pearl Bailey...By Request. Originating at the Arc Theatre in Washington, D.C., the show has been produced by Metrostage in Alexandria, VA and The Milwaukee Rep Theatre. "Bailey's infectious sultry tones are underscored by her remarkable wit in an evening of memorable swing, jazz and Broadway show tunes." The Daily Page.