805.643.7222 | info@ventura-chamber.org| 2478 E. Main St., Ventura, CA 93003
https://venturachamber.com

Directory

 

Rubicon Theatre Company Presents Tony Nominees Ann Hampton Callaway & Liz Callaway in ''Sibling Revelry''

  • Share:
November 15, 2017
Tony nominees Ann Hampton Callaway and Liz Callaway bring their acclaimed cabaret show, SIBLING REVELRY, to Rubicon Theatre Company as part of the 2017 Janet and Mark L. Goldenson Broadway Concert Series. The dynamic duo first performed their sisterly act at New York’s iconic cabaret venue Rainbow and Stars and delighted audiences at the Donmar Warehouse in London and throughout Europe. Their act "Boom!," a critically acclaimed celebration of the baby boomer hits of the 60's and 70's, was recorded on PS Classics which debuted in the top 25 on Billboard Jazz. The sisters dazzle in duets and solos in a wide range of styles from Broadway standards to jazz and pop in this lively cabaret mixed with witty repartee. Each sister brings her own signature flair to the concert, with Ann's dark, husky and jazz-flavored sound serving as a perfect complement to Liz's crystal-clear bell tones. The sisters have performed SIBLING REVELRY since 1995 at venues across the country and internationally. Songs include “Happy,” “Happy Days are Here Again,” “It’s Today,” “The Sweetest Sounds,” “Friendship,” and “Meadowlark.”
 
“When Ann Hampton Callaway and Liz Callaway blend their voices together in perfect harmony, the sound is exquisite,” says Rubicon Artistic Director Karyl Lynn Burns.
 
Critics praise their cabaret, with Don Heckerman of the Los Angeles Times stating, "The Callaway sisters encapsulate everything that cabaret should be and rarely is.” The New York Observer says, “Their voices blend and soar majestically like eagles!” and the New York Times Magazine describes their duality, “When their strikingly different but equally splendid voices harmonize, Sibling Revelry becomes a thrilling display of vocal prowess.”
 
SIBLING REVELRY is a must-see for lovers of cabaret, musical theatre, jazz and the ever-popular Great American Songbook. The Callaway sisters are joined by Musical Director Alex Rybeck when SIBLING REVELRY comes to Ventura for three-performances-only: Saturday, November 18 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday, November 19 at 2 p.m.
 
ANN HAMPTON CALLAWAY is one of the leading champions of the great American Songbook, having made her mark as a singer, pianist, composer, lyricist, arranger, actress, educator, TV host and producer. Voted recently by Broadwayworld.com as "Performer of the Year," Ann is a born entertainer with a unique singing style that blends jazz and traditional pop, making her a mainstay in concert halls, theatres and jazz clubs as well as in the recording studio, on television and film. She is best known for her Tony-nominated performance in the hit Broadway musical Swing! and for writing and singing the theme song to the hit TV series “The Nanny.” Ann is a Platinum Award-winning writer whose songs are featured on seven of Barbra Streisand's recent CD's. The only composer to have collaborated with Cole Porter, she has also written songs with Carole King, Rolf Lovland and Barbara Carroll, to name a few.

Says Burns, “Ann's live performances showcase her warmth, spontaneous wit and passionate delivery of standards, jazz classics and originals. She is one of America's most gifted improvisers, taking words and phrases from her audiences and creating songs on the spot, whether alone at a piano or with a symphony orchestra.”
 
Ann has been a special guest performer with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops at Symphony Hall, and Tanglewood, and is featured at many of the Carnegie Hall tributes. She has sung with more than thirty of the world's top orchestras and big bands, and has performed for President Clinton in Washington, D.C. and at President Gorbachev's Youth Peace Summit in Moscow.
 
Ann was featured in the Macy's Day Thanksgiving Parade telecast watched by 6 million people singing Emmy Award-winning song "Yes, Virginia." She took the symphony world by storm with her latest show "The Streisand Songbook," which she premiered with The Boston Pops and continues to tour with top orchestras across the country. After performing the show at 54 Below, she garnered two Broadwayworld.com Awards and the 2013 MAC Award for Show of the Year.
 
Her latest recordings have both met great critical acclaim – “The Sarah Vaughan Project: Live at Dizzy's” and “The Hope of Christmas.” Her recent solo CD's “At Last,” “Blues in the Night,” “Slow” and “Signature” have received rave reviews as well. She has recorded two popular holiday CD's – “Holiday Pops!” with Peter Nero and the Philly Pops, and her solo CD, “This Christmas.” Ann's other recordings include “Easy Living,” “To Ella with Love,” “After Ours,” “Bring Back Romance,” “Ann Hampton Callaway” and “SIBLING REVELRY.” Callaway has also been a guest performer on more than forty CD's including Kenny Barron's latest CD “The Traveler.”
 
Ann made her feature film debut opposite Angelina Jolie and Matt Damon in the Robert De Niro film "The Good Shepherd,” performing the standard "Come Rain or Come Shine.” She recorded "Isn't It Romantic?" and "The Nearness of You" in Wayne Wong's "Last Holiday” starring Queen Latifah. She wrote songs for the movie musical "State of Affairs” directed by Philip McKinley. And, as a part of her mission to keep the American Songbook thriving, she has produced and hosted two TV specials Called "Singer's Spotlight with Ann Hampton Callaway" including guests Liza Minnelli and Christine Ebersole for WTTW National which dovetailed into her critically acclaimed radio series "This is Cabaret" which debuted in 2016.
 
Much of her time is devoted to philanthropic causes, both as a singer performing in numerous benefits, and as a songwriter composing songs in times of need. In September of 2005, Ann performed her original composition "Let the Saints Come Marching,” written to honor Hurricane Katrina victims on the Fox News Channel. Her song "Who Can See the Blue the Same Again?" was released as a single, paying tribute to the tsunami survivors and raising much needed money for The Tsunami Fund of The PRASAD Project. In the aftermath of September 11, Ann composed the stirring anthem, "I Believe in America,” which she performed on “Larry King Live” and released as a CD single. Just days after the tragedy, Ann heard an 8,000-year-old prayer from the Rig Veda and composed the world renowned "Let Us Be United.” Ann recorded the song with Kenny Werner, The Siddha Yoga International Choir and five-year-old Sonali Beaven, who sang in honor of her father who lost his life on Flight 93. It was released on CD and DVD and its proceeds continue to benefit Save the Children and The PRASAD Project. www.annhamptoncallaway.com

The Chicago Tribune called Ann Hampton Callaway "the best equipped jazz vocalist swinging today," while the New York Times reiveiwer wrote,"no contemporary singer matches Ms. Callaway."
 
The exception, of course, is Ann’s younger sister LIZ CALLAWAY a Tony nominee and Emmy Award-winning actress, singer and recording artist. She made her Broadway debut in Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along, received a Tony Award nomination for her performance in Baby, and for five years, won acclaim as Grizabella in Cats. She has also starred in the original casts of Miss SaigonThe Three Musketeers, and The Look of Love.
 
Off-Broadway, Liz received a Drama Desk nomination for her performance in The Spitfire Grill (Playwrights Horizons). She also appeared in Brownstone (Roundabout), No Way to Treat a LadyMarry Me a Little, and Godspell. Other New York appearances include Follies in Concert at Lincoln Center, A Stephen Sondheim EveningFiorello! (Encores!), and Hair in Concert.  Regionally, she starred as Venus in the Chicago Ovations! production of One Touch of Venus, in Elegies at Reprise! in L.A., and Fascinating Rhythm at Hartford Stage. She also played Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard at Pittsburgh CLO.
 
Liz has also established a major career as a concert and recording artist. She had the pleasure of singing "Chances Are" with singing legend Johnny Mathis; co-starred with Jimmy Webb and Paul Williams in their critically acclaimed engagement at Feinstein’s in New York; and joined Burt Bacharach, Dionne Warwick, and Stevie Wonder at Hal David’s 90th Birthday Celebration Concert at the Mark Taper Forum in L.A. Her extensive U.S. symphony work includes appearances at The Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, Ravinia, and The Hollywood Bowl. Worldwide, she has performed in China, Australia (with Stephen Schwartz), New Zealand, Vietnam, Iceland, Estonia, France (Theatre du Chatelet, Paris), South Korea, and Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu where she premiered a new concert featuring the music of Stephen Sondheim.
 
Liz sang the Academy Award nominated song “Journey to the Past” in the animated feature Anastasia and is also the singing voice of Princess Jasmine in Disney’s Aladdin and the King of Thieves and The Return of Jafar. Other film work includes the singing voice of the title character in The Swan PrincessThe Lion King 2: Simba’s PrideBeauty and the BeastLyle, Lyle the Crocodile and The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars.
 
She received an Emmy Award for hosting Ready to Go, a daily, live children’s program on CBS in Boston. Other TV credits include “In Performance at the White House,” “Inside the Actor’s Studio: Stephen Sondheim,” “The David Letterman Show” and “Senior Trip” (CBS Movie of the Week).
 
Liz has released six solo recordings: Passage of TimeThe Beat Goes OnThe Story Goes On: Liz Callaway On and Off-BroadwayAnywhere I Wander: Liz Callaway Sings Frank LoesserMerry and Bright and her newest album The Essential Liz Callaway. Her numerous other recordings include Sibling Revelry, Boom! Live at BirdlandThe Maury Yeston SongbookDreaming Wide Awake: The Music of Scott AlanA Stephen Sondheim EveningHair in Concert, the original cast album of A Christmas Story and the complete recording of Allegro produced by the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization. www.lizcallaway.com
 
Musical Director ALEX RYBECK is a pianist, arranger and composer, well-known for his work in theatre, cabaret, concerts and on recordings. Broadway credits include the original productions of Merrily We Roll Along (directed by Hal Prince) and Grand Hotel (directed by Tommy Tune). He conducted the World Premiere of What the World Needs Now, affording him the chance to work with Burt Bacharach. His albums and worldwide appearances with Liz and Ann Hampton Callaway have won acclaim and awards. Among the many other singers he has worked with are Faith Prince, Michael Feinstein, Amanda McBroom, Jeff Harnar, Donna McKechnie, Karen Mason, Lee Roy Reams, Tovah Feldshuh, and Jason Graae, to mention only a few. He has won two MAC (Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs) Awards for Best Musical Direction, among other accolades. He has recently presented several sold-out evenings of his original music. Some recent recordings include "Croon" (Todd Murray), "Manhattan Serenade" (Celia Berk) and "The Essential Liz Callaway.”
 
SIBLING REVELRY is presented at Rubicon for three-performances-only on Saturday, November 18 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday, November 19 at 2 p.m. Tickets for the general public are $55. Tickets for students with ID are $35; Equity members and military are $40. There is a $5 discount for seniors 65 and older. Discounts of 10% to 20% are available for groups of 10 or more, depending on the size of the group. A VIP experience, limited to 25 individuals following the Sunday matinee, is $135, and includes a post-show reception with concert stars, a complimentary 5 oz. glass of premium Rubicon estate grown wine created by film director Francis Ford Coppola, and gourmet hors d’oeuvres.
 
Tickets may be purchased in person through the Rubicon Theatre Company Box Office at the corner of Main and Laurel in Ventura (Laurel entrance and downstairs) or online at www.rubicontheatre.org. To charge by phone, call 805.667.2900.
Contact:
Michele Hunter, Marketing Director
mhunter@rubicontheatre.org, (805) 667-2912 x 232