MIDDAY CABARET AT THE CONNECTION

The Connection is pleased to present a new series  "Midday Cabaret"  in collaboration with Dreamcatcher Repertory Theatre of South Orange.  Singers Laura Ekstrand and Harry Patrick Christian along with pianist Bill Houpt pay homage to composer/songwriter Harold Arlen, an American songwriting legend.

Midday Cabaret is FREE and open to the public.  On site parking is available. 

This revue contains many of the finest songs from the 30's, 40's and 50's including "Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz, "Stormy Weather", "Get Happy", "Accentuate The Positive", "It's Only a Paper Moon", "Come Rain or Come Shine", "One For My Baby", and "That Old Black Magic".

Participants can sing along to these and many more favorite songs from bygone eras with provided lyrics.  This review is for lovers of the song, for lovers of 30's -40's-50's emotionally rich songs, and it is a terrific platform to introduce this generation to the genius of Tin-Pan Ally.

Harold Arlen wrote eight revues for the Cotton Club, one of which included the anthem "Stormy Weather", first performed by Ethel Waters. His songs were in such movies as The Wizard of Oz, A Star is Born, Blues in the Night, Casbah, Here Comes the Waves, Let's Fall in Love, Take a Chance, Star Spangled Rhythm and The Sky's the Limit.

Singer Laura Ekstrand was co-founder of Dreamcatcher Repertory Theatre with Janet Sales in 1994. She has appeared at Dreamcatcher in Parallel Lives; The Great God Money; You Miss Them; Wonder Of The World; Expecting Isabel; Match; Old Friend; Anton In Show Business and many others, and is a member of the improvisational comedy group Multiple Personality Disorder. She has also been lucky enough to perform at several other New Jersey theatres, including 12 Miles West, The Theater Project at Union County College, Luna Stage, and the Pushcart Players. In New York, she has worked at Naked Angels, Ensemble Studio Theatre, and New Georges, among other theatres. Laura has been featured in such films as Split Ends, High Art and I Shot Andy Warhol, and on television on Hack, Sex And The City, Law & Order, and The Guiding Light. Some of the plays she has directed at Dreamcatcher include The Pursuit Of Happiness, Melancholy Play, Pride's Crossing, Full Bloom, Laughing Wild, and Crumbs From The Table Of Joy. She is a private monologue and career coach, and holds a B.A. from Yale University and an M.F.A. from Sarah Lawrence College. She is a member of AEA, SAG, AFTRA, and the Dramatists Guild. She lives happily in Livingston, NJ with her two favorite guys.

Harry Patrick Christian began his acting career in 1979 at Atlanta's Peachtree Playhouse as Huck Finn. He now resides in Montclair and is a long time member of both the illustrious Pushcart Players and the 12 Miles West Theater Company, as well as at Dreamcatcher Rep. He has worked in NYC and at many of NJ's best professional theaters including Luna Stage, What Exit?, and The Theater Project, where he recently performed in Psycho Beach Party. At Dreamcatcher, Harry has portrayed a firefighter, a ghost, a fertility doctor, a college track coach, an Irish cook, a bisexual green-skinned alien, a one-legged groundskeeper, a tortured lady-of-the-manor, a Mormon Home Teacher, a schizo sock puppet, a 12 year-old boy, and "Mr. Cellophane"... among many others. Harry also directs at Essex Youth Theater. Love to Brady, Jack & Emery.

For more info please stop by The Connection at 79 Maple St, Summit or call 908-273-4242