AUTUMN IN NEW YORK
Vernon Duke’s Broadway

Sunday, April 14, 2024 • 7pm

Following her critically acclaimed tribute to Ethel Merman “Everything the Traffic Will Allow” Klea Blackhurst next turned her passion for musical-theatre history towards the “checkered” (his own word!) Broadway career of composer Vernon Duke with "Autumn in New York: Vernon Duke's Broadway."

Vernon Duke was the creator of such indisputable standards as “April in Paris” and “Autumn in New York,” although each was unfortunately nestled in a gargantuan flop – Walk a Little Faster and Thumbs Up! respectively.  His legacy as a Broadway composer ultimately rests on 1940’s Cabin in the Sky, but there are countless musical treasures written throughout his career – songs from Banjo Eyes, starring Eddie Cantor and Dancing in the Streets, starring Mary Martin.  There’s even a curious meeting at the intersection of Vernon Duke and Ethel Merman – Sadie Thompson.  Blackhurst has created a lively show devoted to possibly the only composer to dine regularly with Prokofiev and Gershwin. 

ONE OF THE GIRLS
The Words and Music of Jerry Herman

Sunday, May 5, 2024 • 7pm

Klea Blackhurst turns her long association with Broadway’s Jerry Herman into a new show, ONE OF THE GIRLS. Considered one of Herman’s premier interpreters, Klea officially became one of “Jerry’s Girls” when she was cast as Dolly in the 50th Anniversary Production of Hello, Dolly! at Goodspeed Opera House. But they were introduced years before, when Jerry heard Klea sing one of the cut Hello, Dolly! songs written for Ethel Merman (the original choice to star in the show.) He immediately invited Klea to sing with the London Philharmonic at the Palladium and she’s been singing his songs with symphony orchestras across the country ever since. ONE OF THE GIRLS will focus attention on the powerful, loving and memorable women in Jerry’s life. Both real, like his dear mother Ruth, who taught him that you could throw a party simply because “It’s Today” and characters like Mame, who encouraged us to “Open A New Window”, Dolly Levi, who decided to rejoin the human race “Before The Parade Passes By” and Zaza, who bravely declared, “I Am What I Am”. Jerry has lifted wonderful women off the page and into our hearts for almost six decades. 

DREAMING OF A SONG
The Music of Hoagy Carmichael
With Klea Blackhurst and Billy Stritch 

Sunday, September 15, 2024 • 7pm

Klea brings her first artistic collaboration with Billy Stritch to the Box Set! Together they created a critically acclaimed show that joyously mined the catalogue of one of America’s most treasured songwriters, who wrote such standards as “Skylark”, “Georgia On My Mind” and “Star Dust.” 

Hoagy Carmichael, the celebrated American composer, pianist, singer, actor and bandleader, wrote some of the most lasting and influential pop songs of the twentieth century. Collaborating with lyrists that range from Frank Loesser, Mitchell Parish and Johnny Mercer to Ned Washington, Paul Francis Webster and Harold Adamson, his contributions to Hollywood films and the hit parade are invaluable to the Great American Songbook. Klea – called “a huggable performer with a positive attitude, a sunny voice and a refreshing sense of humor” by Variety – and Billy, praised for a voice “beguiling in its warmth, delicacy and clarity of diction” by The New York Times, perfectly capture Hoagy’s signature blend of easygoing American charm and Tin Pan Alley sophistication.

Klea’s ebullient delivery complements Billy’s suave crooning on a remarkable range of Carmichael’s compositions. Selections range from standards loved around the world – like such as “Star Dust,” “Heart and Soul” and “Skylark” – to lesser-known songs “Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief” (first performed by Betty Hutton in the 1945 film The Stork Club) and “My Resistance Is Low” (a hit in London from the film Las Vegas Story, but relatively obscure in the states) to the virtually unknown, like “Walk It Off.” Klea and Billy take turns on solos, such as her rollicking take on the rarity “Come Easy Go Easy Love”, and his impassioned, powerful “Georgia On My Mind.”

 AN EVENING WITH KLEA BLACKHURST

Sunday, October 20, 2024 • 7pm

Nobody loves to sing more than Klea Blackhurst. From Ethel Merman to Jerry Herman, Klea has been known to zero in on the contributions of someone  specific, but this time? Klea goes themeless! From "A Cockeyed Optimist" to "The Sunnyside of the Street," An Evening with Klea Blackhurst is a wonderful celebration of American popular songs, Musical Comedy, and the pocket trumpet. There are a few contemporary surprises as well.  Klea will have you listening and laughing to the lyrics of Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer, Yip Harburg, Ira Gershwin, Oscar Hammerstein, and Dorothy Fields.

“Blackhurst’s singing is extraordinarily exciting! …An invitation to a party you never want to leave!” – Show Business

“ Always award worthy, the effervescent Klea Blackhurst will win you over with pluck,verve and talent – this amazing gal who understands what entertainment is all about.” – NEXT Magazine