Great Gig: Megon McDonough at the MAC

I'm a lucky bass player (sometimes, anyway). I'm going to play a couple of concerts with the amazing Megon McDonough the weekend of Thanksgiving. I've described the Her Way show elsewhere, but if you want to be well entertained by a truly gifted performer, go HERE for info and tickets.

From the MAC website (and they get it right, too!)

Cabaret artist, actor, and former member of The Four Bitchin’ Babes, Megon McDonough enlivens the evening with music, humor and memories that will have you grinning and asking for more. Singing the songs and sharing the stories of such divas as Connie Francis, Patsy Cline, Karen Carpenter, and Joni Mitchell, and sharing her own wonderful tunes, McDonough blends her witty humor and snappy patter with jazz, pop, country, folk and rock for a cabaret experience you won’t soon forget.

Here's the facts:

Friday, Nov. 28, 2008, 8 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008, 8 p.m.

Tickets: $32 adult/30 senior/22 youth
10% off: $28.80 adult/27 senior
15% off: $27.20 adult/25.50 senior

Cabaret table seating:
$40 adult/38 senior/30 youth
10% off: $36 adult/34.20 senior
15% off: $34 adult/32.30 senior

Great Gig: Turn of the Century

Goodman Theatre in Chicago is hosting the premiere of a new romantic musical comedy by the same creative team that spawned the uber-successful Jersey Boys. Opening this coming Monday, September 29, Turn of the Century stars Jeff Daniels and Rachel York as a couple of musicians who mysteriously travel back in time to the year 1900. They become overnight sensations by claiming to have written songs by Irving Berlin, George Gershwin and some of the other composers of the American songbook. It's a goofy premise but the show is very entertaining and, of course, features a lot of great songs.

I'm very fortunate to be a member of the pit orchestra for this show. It is my third "premiere" at Goodman. In years past I played The Visit and the unfortunate Sondheim flop Bounce. It is pretty exciting to be in on the ground floor of the creative process of launching a Broadway style musical. The musical side of things is being very well handled by orchestrator Steve Orich, music supervisor Daryl Waters and music director Michael Biagi.