An Evening of Cabaret – Friday, August 19

Featured guest artists Linda Purl, Vocalist; Rachelle Fleming, Vocalist; Tedd Firth, Pianist.

Linda Purl, Recent regular roles on television series have been: Barbara Fortnum, Reckless; True Blood, Barbara Pelt; The Office as Helene Beasley and the Golden Globe Award winning series Homeland, as Elizabeth Gaines. She has starred in over 45 made-for-TV movies, and is especially known for her series roles as Charlene Matlock on Matlock and Ashley Pfister, Fonzie’s fiancée, on Happy Days. She appeared on Broadway in Tony nominated The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Getting and Spending; and Off-Broadway in The Baby Dance and Hallelujah, Hallelujah! Regional theatre credits include Romeo and Juliet, Juliet; Oliver; Grease; Camille; Same Time Next Year; On a Clear Day You Can See Forever; Three Penny Opera; Hedda Gabler; The Real Thing; The Little Foxes; The Merchant of Venice, Portia; A Streetcar Named Desire, Blanche; Hippolytus, Phaedra; A Glass Menagerie, Amanda; Nora, Nora; original production of the Pulitzer Prize winning play Dinner with Friends; Beyond Therapy, Prudence; The Road to Mecca with Miss Julie Harris; A Doll’s House, Nora; Love, Loss and What I Wore; Vagina Monologues; The Year of Magical Thinking; Copenhagen, directed by Judy Hagerty Lovett; at such theatres as Long Wharf, Actors Theatre of Louisville, The Old Globe, Mark Taper Forum, South Coast Repertory, Santa Fe Opera, Cleveland Playhouse, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Rubicon Theatre Company, Berkeley Rep, Williamstown Theatre Festival (six seasons), Naples Philharmonic, Laguna Playhouse, Lensic Santa Fe, the Princess Grace Theatre in Monaco, Imperial Theatre, Tokyo, Japan. Among her films are Disney’s Mighty Joe Young and award winning indie Sundays.

Born in Connecticut, Purl grew up in Japan, becoming the only foreigner to have trained at the Toho Geino Academy. Her studies continued at Neighborhood Playhouse and Lee Strasberg Institute. She is Founding Director of the California International Theatre Festival.

Purl currently tours with her solo concert Midnight Caravan – Celebrating the Great Ladies of the Glamorous Nightclub Era.  Solo albums are Alone Together, Out of this World—Live and Midnight Caravan. Concert venues include Lincoln Center Jazz, Feinstein in NY, Catalina Jazz Club in LA, Crazy Coqs in London and Satin Doll in Tokyo.

A versatile performer, Rachelle Fleming has performed and recorded with Cuban ensemble Tiempo Libre (Sony release); multiple Grammy-winning opera star Renée Fleming (Decca/Mercury release); and international jazz pianist and composer Fred Hersch. Her love of the American Songbook has led her to perform as a featured soloist with/at: The American Pops Orchestra; The National Portrait Gallery; Fairfax Symphony Orchestra; National Broadway Chorus; jazz pianist Shelly Berg; the Rochester International Jazz Festival; Shenandoah Valley Summer Music Festival; and Florida Lakes Symphony Orchestra; garnering praise by Jazz Weekly for being “as agonizingly penetrating as a Dear John letter.”

Recent musical theater appearances include the role of Rose in Enchanted April, Joanne in Company, a musical review of Pretty Baby for Festival of the Arts BOCA, and the New York premiere of Bill Smith’s jazz opera, Space in the Heart, at Symphony Space in NYC.

With a doctorate of musical arts in Vocal Pedagogy and Performance, Dr. Fleming specializes in the training and vocal health of the contemporary vocalist and singing actor. She is currently a full-time faculty member at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where she teaches voice and American musical theatre history. Dr. Fleming has taught for the national tour of Billy Elliot and at universities and conservatories including The Actors Studio MFA program at The New School, The Eastman School of Music Community Division, and the University of Miami, Frost School of Music.

Tedd Firth is a New York City based musical director, pianist and arranger.  As musical director and accompanist he has worked with Bernadette Peters, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Barbara Cook, Maureen McGovern, Marilyn Maye, Michael Feinstein, Elaine Paige, Tom Wopat, Leslie Uggams, Joshua Bell, Tony DeSare, Linda Lavin, Christine Ebersole, Lucie Arnaz, Lee Ann Womack, Faith Prince, John Schneider, Melissa Errico, Karen Akers, Mary Cleere Haran, Margaret Whiting, Carol Sloane and of course, Linda Purl.

Among the jazz musicians he has performed or recorded with are John Pizzarelli, Houston Person, Frank Wess, Mark Whitfield, Red Holloway, Benny Golson and Joe Morello.

Recent highlights include being the musical director for the reunion of the original Broadway cast of “Into The Woods” at the Segerstrom Center For The Arts in Costa Mesa, CA as well as assembling and conducting a seventeen piece swing orchestra for Michael Feinstein’s “Jazz and Popular Song” concert series at Jazz at Lincoln Center.

New York appearances include Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Blue Note, Birdland, the Iridium, the Algonquin, the Cafe Carlyle and Feinstein’s at the Regency. Numerous national appearances include a performance at the White House.  As an arranger and orchestrator, Tedd’s work has been performed by most major American symphony orchestras as well as Liza Minnelli.  Television appearances include “The Today Show,” “Live From Lincoln Center” and “All My Children.”