Cabaret duo to perform at North Central
Popular cabaret duo Beckie Menzie and Tom Michael return to Naperville’s North Central College Jan. 27 with a tribute to musical families.
Their performance, “All in the Musical Family,” begins at 6 p.m. in North Central’s Madden Theatre at the Fine Arts Center, 171 E. Chicago Ave. Tickets are $35 and $30; call the North Central College Box Office at (630) 637-SHOW (7469) or visit northcentralcollege.edu/showtix.
“All in the Musical Family” celebrates the most popular music of famous singing families, including The Carpenters, The Andrew Sisters, The Jacksons, The Judds, Steve & Eydie, The Bee Gees, John and Bonnie Raitt and others.
In what they call a “musical marriage,” the pair delights audiences with their chemistry, inventive arrangements and genuine love for music and one another.
Menzie and Michael offer a blend of whimsy, nostalgia and unquestionable talent that translates into pure entertainment. Their imaginative musical twists on jazz favorites, standards, contemporary pop, Broadway show tunes and film gems have won them audience and critical acclaim across the country and around the globe.
Hailed by Cabaret Scenes Magazine as a “Top Ten Cabaret Act,” the pair has appeared on some of the country’s most prestigious stages, including New York’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. Their recordings have been praised by Billboard Magazine, BackStage, Show Business Weekly and Playbill and their latest CD, “Better Two-gether,” has been hailed by critics as “magic,” “sensational” and “the year’s best recording.”
Menzie’s rich voice and expert piano stylings sizzle on everything from sassy swing to smoky torch songs. A three-time winner of After Dark Chicago’s Outstanding Cabaret Artist Award, Menzie is a diva-in-demand whom WGN radio has praised as “one of the city’s finest performers.”
Her critically acclaimed solo CD “Real Emotional Girl” garnered national radio play and was praised by Cabaret Scenes as “one of the year’s finest.”
With a voice Billboard Magazine calls “a revelation,” Michael’s warm, expressive style and charismatic tenor breathe new life into cabaret standards and reveal why BackStage Magazine has called him “one of the most striking singers to emerge in the last few years.”
His most recent solo CD, “Written in the Stars,” received international critical praise and was named “Best CD of the Year” by ShowBusiness Weekly Magazine, After Dark Chicago and WDVR-FM radio.
Navistar is underwriting sponsor of North Central College’s 2012-2013 Fine and Performing Arts Season. The season is partially supported by USG Corporation and a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.
For a comprehensive schedule of musical performances, theatrical and dance productions, art exhibits and lectures, visit northcentralcollege.edu/show.