Music, dance acting in Invisiible Theatre's Sizzling Summer Sounds cabaret series

It’s not just the heat that’s sizzling this summer.

You’ll find the sizzle, too, in Invisible Theatre’s summer cabaret series, Sizzling Summer Sounds.

Eight different shows stretched over three weeks make up the series, and they each promise a triple treat — acting, dance and music, says Susan Claassen, the managing artistic director of The Invisible Theatre and director and producer of the series.

Audience members “should expect the unexpected in glorious talent,” says Claassen.

The music touches on different genres and generations, with tunes that ranges from ragtime to Carole King.

And don’t expect an evening of background sounds.

“The music is the highlight, it’s not a sidebar to conversation,” Classen says.

This year marks the series’ 25th anniversary, and in celebration some of the original performers from the premiere of Sizzling Summer Sounds are coming back to open the series in “The Borscht Belt Boys and Girl — The Sequel,” featuring veterans of IT’s cabarets, Jeffrey Haskell and Jack Neubeck.

Each show is given an especially personal touch as the performers can choose their own sets or they can collaborate with other vocalists and musicians to form something new.

“What we do is collaborate on the tunes that bring them all together and showcase their talents,” Claassen says. “It’s an intimate exchange between the audience and performer.”

HERE’S WHAT’S ON THE PROGRAM:

The Borscht Belt Boys and Girl — The Sequel — 8 p.m. Wednesday, next Thursday and July 10.
The trio of Haskell, Neubeck and Katherine Byrnes kicks off the week. Named for the Borscht Belt, the nickname for the popular summer resorts that were a vacation spot for New York City Jews and a breeding ground for performers, this performance is a tribute to Jewish composers and lyricists who have influenced American music.

To Ella With Love — 8 p.m. July 11, 2 p.m. July 12.
Crystal Stark and Khris Dodge join forces to pay tribute to the First Lady of Song Ella Fitzgerald.

Girls’ Night Out — 8 p.m. July 15-16. 

Lisa LeMay, Heather “Lil Mama” Hardy, Christine Vivona and Jacinda Rose Swinehart-Johnson have blended their unique styles to bring a new show that includes styles from jazz to Broadway.

Perfectly Frank — 8 p.m. July 17.
Joe Bourne celebrates 100 years of Frank Sinatra with a tribute to one of the most influential voices of the 20th century.

Spreadin’ Rhythm Around — 2 p.m. July 19. 

Ragtime and Stride pianist and vocalist Ray Templin will keep the audience swinging as he plays selections from the 1920s into the Swing Era.

Swinging Jazz — 8 p.m. July 22.
Rob Boone, Christine Vivona, Jesse Boone and Fred Hayes form a quartet to bring the audience a collection of popular American songs.

Queens of King — 8 p.m. July 23-24. 

A tribute to Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter Carole King performed by Stark, Byrnes, Janée Page and Haskell.

It’s All in the Family — 8 p.m. July 25, 2 p.m. July 26. 

A song and comedy show with Sandy Hackett, a comedian and the son of Buddy Hackett; his wife, Lisa Dawn Miller, and their children, Oliver Richman, 14, and Ashleigh Hackett, 9.

See the Full Article HERE
By Annie Dickman at Arizona Daily Star