The 100th anniversary of Loesser's birth was marked on June 29. If I Were a Bell is Marcovicci's salute to the genius who composed Guys & Dolls. This tribute spans Loesser's early Hollywood years, the hits during World War II and his many Broadway triumphs. An Oscar, Grammy and Tony Award winner, Loesser's vast output spans four decades as a solo composer/lyricist, as well as pairings with Jule Styne, Hoagy Carmichael, and Jimmy McHugh others. His songs encompass some of the greatest and most memorable stage and screen achievements of the mid-twentieth century including Guys & Dolls, How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, The Most Happy Fella and Hans Christian Andersen. In addition to his classics On A Slow Boat To China, Heart & Soul, Baby, It's Cold Outside, Marcovicci will highlight lost treasures such as Kiss The Boys Goodbye, Love Isn't Born (It's Made) and Doesn't That Mean Anything To You.
Marcovicci will perform at Davenport's with musical director Shelly Markham on piano. The four special performances will take place at 8 pm Wednesday July 14 through Saturday, July 17 and at 5 pm on Sunday, July 18. There is a $35 cover charge (Friday & Saturday performances are $40) plus a two-drink minimum. Due to the high demand, reservations are recommended by calling 773-278-1830 or visiting www.davenportspianobar.com.
Andrea's CD of the show, recorded live at New York's legendary Oak Room at the Algonquin Hotel, is available at www.cdbaby.com and at the Davenport's performances.
Called the "the greatest cabaret star of her generation" by the International Herald Tribune, Marcovicci is devoted to the preservation of the American popular songbook. She has created successful tributes to composers Irving Berlin, Noel Coward, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, Rodgers & Hart; performers Fred Astaire, Ruth Etting, Gertrude Lawrence and Mabel Mercer; and music of the movies, love songs from the theater, World War II era and the Baby Boomer generation.
In addition to sold out concerts at Carnegie Hall and Town Hall, Marcovicci has appeared in concert with numerous orchestras and at the White House. She has acted in films, television and theater and her co-stars include Danny DeVito, Woody Allen, Sir Michael Caine, Sir John Gielgud and Sam Waterston. She recently appeared in the independent film Irene in Time for Henry Jaglom and her song Forever In Time, We'll Be is featured in the film. She has also appeared in the television shows Taxi, Magnum P.I., Hill Street Blues, Trapper John M.D. and Cybill.
For more information, visit www.davenportspianobar.com and www.marcovicci.com.
ANDREA MARCOVICCI
If I Were a Bell: The Songs of Frank Loesser
Wednesday through Sunday
Davenport's Piano Bar
1383 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago
773-278-1830
www.davenportspianobar.com
MORE ABOUT ANDREA MARCOVICCI
"Torch singer, spellbinder, heart-breaker" Andrea Marcovicci was hailed as the "most Sinatra-like" of the new generation of cabaret performers" by Life Magazine. She "has the capacity to caress a song with a warming embrace…Marcovicci steals the heart …the epitome of elegance and showbiz savvy," declared Variety while Stephen Holden wrote in The New York Times, "Andrea Marcovicci has an incandescent enthusiasm and a masterly balance between poignancy and wit."
An actress and singer, Andrea began on the daytime television series Love Is a Many Splendored Thing. She debuted on Broadway in Ambassador, the musical adaptation of the novel by Henry James, starring Howard Keel and last appeared on the Great White Way in Frank D. Gilroy's play Any Given Day with Sada Thompson. Her numerous appearances off-Broadway include The Wedding of Iphigenia, Variety Obit, The Seagull, and as Ophelia to Sam Waterston's Hamlet for Joseph Papp's Shakespeare in the Park. Regionally, she received rave reviews for leading roles in St. Joan, Burn This, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at the American Conservatory Theater, San Francisco and her most recent of many appearances at 42nd Street Moon, SF, (where Andrea had previously starred as Daisy in On A Clear Day), in the title role of Coco, played to sold-out houses. In Los Angeles, she starred opposite Anthony Newley in Chaplin, portraying all the legendary actor's wives and in Finian's Rainbow at Reprise! In Philadelphia Andrea starred in the revival of Lady in the Dark at the Prince Music Theatre.
Her film credits include: The Front (nominated for a Golden Globe Award) with Woody Allen, The Hand with Sir Michael Caine, The Stuff with Michael Moriarty, Spacehunter with Peter Strauss, The Canterville Ghost with Sir John Gielgud, Henry Jaglom's Someone To Love (featuring Orson Welles in his last film appearance), and Jack the Bear, as Danny DeVito's wife. Her many television appearances include Arli$$ for HBO, Cybill, Taxi, Magnum P.I., Hill Street Blues, and Trapper John, M.D. among others as well as numerous made-for-television movies. Her last television guest appearance was in Strong Medicine on the Lifetime network. She recently provided commentary for the DVD release of the movie Someone to Love and her latest foray into film is the Independent feature, Irene in Time, directed by long-time friend, Henry Jaglom.
Beginning in 2004 with Andrea's tribute to Cole Porter, all of Andrea's CDs have been released through her own label - Andreasong Recordings, Inc. Other titles include a tribute to Frank Loesser, (If I Were a Bell) recorded live at the Oak Room; a studio album of songs associated with Fred Astaire (Andrea Sings Astaire); My Christmas Song for You; and a CD based upon the show, Marcovicci Sings Rodgers & Hart. In addition, the label put out the cast album for Kurt Weill in America, (originally performed at the 92nd Street Y), complete with a 48-page color booklet with extensive liner notes CDs are available on-line at www.marcovicci.com and CDBaby.com Andrea was most honored to usher in the Millennium with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Her concert work includes appearances with the San Francisco Pops, Florida Philharmonic, and Oregon and Ft. Worth Symphonies among others. Her 1993 Carnegie Hall solo debut, backed by the American Symphony Orchestra, was to a sold-out audience. Prior to that, Carnegie Hall commissioned December Songs specifically created for Andrea by Maury Yeston. The concert was then reconceived as a ballet by Lynn Taylor Corbett and premiered with Andrea at The Carolina Ballet in 2002. She was twice invited to return and an additional dance was created for a compilation of standards entitled, Café Marcovicci. Lincoln Center commissioned both her Noel Coward show and her Kurt Weill in America. The latter is the genesis of her later Lyrics & Lyricists' show. In April, 2005 Andrea played to sold-out houses at the esteemed LICEU Opera House in Barcelona. Andrea's concert version of I Am Anne Frank, (Lyrics: Enid Futterman / Music: Michael Cohen) most recently performed at UCLA, originally debuted in Los Angeles and was then recorded. Subsequently, it was performed at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center with Stephen Bogardus and at Town Hall in New York with the addition of a new introduction penned by Futterman, and read by a variety of celebrities, giving the work a timeless quality.
In addition to clubs, Andrea Marcovicci has performed at the White House and brought the intimacy of the small cabaret to numerous theatres and concert halls across the country including: Steppenwolf in Chicago, the Tilles Center and the famed John Drew Theatre, of Long Island; NJPAC in New Jersey; the Grandel in St. Louis; Caramoor in Katonah, NY; the Lyric Theatre in Florida; Bass Hall Performing Arts Center in Ft. Worth, The Brownville Concert Series in Nebraska, the Vilar Performing Arts Center in Vail, CO and many others. In addition Andrea helped Jeff Harnar launch The American Songbook Series at London's Jermyn Street Theatre.
Also known for her remarkable hosting abilities, Andrea has been at the helm of a plethora of events throughout the country including the MAC Awards, the ASCAP Songwriter's Evening at the Chicago Humanities Festival and twice the New York Nightlife Awards. She was also a guest speaker (along with the President of the Netherlands) at the New York Film Society's tribute to Sir Michael Caine at Lincoln Center.
She is the recipient of several awards and honors including the Mabel Mercer Foundation's 2007 Mabel Award and three Lifetime Achievement Awards - honored so by the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs, the Licia Albanese - Puccini Foundation, and by a Bob Harrington Backstage Bistro Award. In recognition of her accomplishments in the arts, Andrea has received honorary degrees from Trinity College in Hartford, CT and the Memphis College of Art. In addition, "The Andrea Marcovicci Suite" at the Algonquin Hotel, dedicated in 2006 on her twentieth anniversary at the Oak Room, contains memorabilia of her work in theatre, film, television, and on the concert stage.
