"Shana Farr is musically infallible...a consummate actress." -- Theater Pizzazz

The New York cabaret sensation joins The Musical Theater Project in Cleveland on Friday, May 17th at the Chagrin Valley Hunt Club to wow audiences with her most recent solo show "It's Not Where You Start: The Songbook of Barbara Cook." Shana studied acting from an early age in the Midwest, graduated with a Bachelor of Music from Boston University and made her professional New York musical theater debut at New York City Center with the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players in the lead role of Elsie Maynard in The Yeomen Of The Guard earning her rave reviews in the New York Post, Backstage, New Jersey Star Ledger and more.

Her solo concert "Whistling Away The Dark: The Songs of Julie Andrews" premiered at Feinstein's at The Regency followed by a performance in London's Crazy Coqs garnering a 5-star review. Her one-woman musical "In The Still Of The Night" received the 2015 Bistro Award for Outstanding Solo Show, and her most recent solo concert "It's Not Where You Start..." has been produced at Feinstein's/54 Below in New York City and in London at The Pheasantry where she picked up another 5-star review. 

Here's what critics had to say:

"The bravura performance by Shana Farr singing songs from the repertoire of Barbara Cook...musically infallible...a consummate actress. While Barbara Cook added to her songbook in a career that spanned decades, Shana Farr sang the plums all in one evening, an astonishing accomplishment." -- Theater Pizzazz

"Farr performs a mesmerizing five-song Sondheim segment and if there’s a more moving version of ‘Send in the Clowns’ I have not heard it." -- Musical Theatre Review

". . .Proves Farr to be a first-rate actor, unafraid to take big risks, both vocally and physically. She does not hold back, and she is exciting to watch." -- Bistro Awards

"Farr is a tour de force of singing ability and interpretation.​" -- Cabaret Scenes, London

Here's a live clip from "It's Not Where You Start: The Songbook of Barbara Cook" featuring Shana performing the showstopping favorite, "Vanilla Ice Cream" from Bock & Harnick's She Loves Me. See more at our Rendezvous Cabaret, Friday, May 17th at the Chagrin Valley Hunt Club. $150 ticket includes hors d'oeuvres, three-course dinner, a glass of wine and the show.

By Joanna May Cullinan

In honor of National Administrative Professionals Day, TMTP would like you to meet one of the "unsung" heroes of our organization, administrative consultant Debbie Schinker! Joining us in May of 2018,  Debbie has made a huge impact on the office in less than a year. She has a hand in all of our programs from updating Footlight Parade listings to mailing Harbinger recordings to your door. And if you ever call TMTP's office for any reason, you very well may speak to her!

Here's a little "getting to know you" info about her...

Do you have a favorite musical?
Who can pick a favorite, really? I love so many musicals for lots of different reasons. I finally watched Easter Parade for the first time over Easter weekend and I loved it. You can't go wrong with Judy Garland singing and Fred Astaire dancing!

How has TMTP impacted you? 
I have always loved musical theater and thought I knew lots about it - until I came to TMTP! Our tagline is "LEARN. LAUGH. CRY. LOVE." and I LOVE how much I LEARN about the history and people who have created this uniquely American artform.

What was your favorite Song Is You! concert this season? 
I didn't know what to expect from the Shuffle Along concert. But the more I learned about it, the more fascinated I became. I learned SO MUCH at that concert that I wish everyone could have attended.

What do you love about working with TMTP? 
The arts are vital to life and every child should have a chance to explore themselves and their world through the arts. I am proud that I help Kids Love Musicals! bring that experience to many kids in Northeast Ohio.

What's one thing you are passionate about outside of musical theater?
I enjoy sharing my love of outdoor sports with others. I am a nationally certified archery instructor and a nationally certified ski instructor!

By Ken Bloom
​
Harbinger Records’ Songwriters Showcase Series continues with a live backers audition of the Broadway musical All American. Written by Broadway greats Charles Strouse and Lee Adams as their next show after the smash hit, Bye Bye Birdie, All American’s score featured the future hit song, “Once Upon a Time.” This is a live recording of an actual backers audition with Strouse and Adams recounting the story and singing all the songs. An added bonus for collectors and musical theater fans are several songs that were subsequently cut from the show. 

Ray Bolger was the star of the show and Eileen Herlie was his co-star. And the author of the book was none other than the great Mel Brooks! Yes, the author/director of The Producers and Blazing Saddles wrote this incredibly zany script. And the score is equally hilarious and touching as well. A perfect match of score, libretto and performers.

And here you have the songwriters themselves, Charles Strouse and Lee Adams having a ball singing the songs and telling the story. And you'll have a ball also imagining you're in a swank living room or a theater studio listening to the creators selling the show!

This historic recording is the first in a series of live backers auditions to be released by Harbinger Records.

By Bill Rudman

In my 68 years, I've seen the man in the red and blue suit fly all over the place -- not only in comic books, but in a 1950s TV series, many films and, astonishingly, in a big 1966 Broadway musical directed by Hal Prince.

The show was a critics' darling. Get hold of The Best Plays of 1965-66 and you'll find it alongside just one other musical: Kander & Ebb's Cabaret.

And now you can discover it in concert in TMTP's fifth annual co-production with Kent State University's school of theatre and dance with a 2 PM performance on Sunday, April 14th at KSU and a 7:30 PM performance on Monday, April 15th at the Breen Center for the Performing Arts.

I'll kick off the performances with a brief multi-media presentation along with director Terri Kent, but like most Song Is You! concerts, our time together will fly by "faster than a speeding bullet." So here's some additional content to take a deeper dive into the musical before or after you join us.