Amanda McBroom and George Ball
(PITTSFIELD, Mass.) – Grammy Award-winning vocalist Amanda McBroom performs Brel in the Berkshires, a cabaret devoted to the songs of Jacques Brel, with her husband George Ball and Michele Brourman, for three performances, Thursday, September 20, 2012, through Sunday, September 23, 2012, at Spice Dragon (297 North St.), under the auspices of Barrington Stage Company.
As a master of the French chanson movement, Brel was an influential modern Belgian singer-songwriter whose influence crosses stylistic lines embracing classic pop singers such as Nina Simone, Frank Sinatra and Andy Williams as well as rock vocalists including Leonard Cohen and David Bowie.
Amanda McBroom has been called “…the greatest cabaret performer of her generation, an urban poet who writes like an angel and has a voice to match.” Her name first came to the attention of the music public when Bette Midler’s version of McBroom’s song “The Rose” hit number one all over the world in 1979. But it was McBroom’s performance of her own song on the Golden Globes (she won), the Grammys (she didn’t) and The Tonight Show that launched her career as a singer as well as songwriter.
Her songs have been recorded by the likes of Bette Midler, Leanne Rimes, Barry Manilow, Judy Collins, Barbara Cook, Anne Murray, Harry Belafonte, Betty Buckley, Stephanie Mills, The Manhattan Transfer, Donny Osmond, and the Chipmunks.
Performances are Thursday and Friday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 3pm. Tickets: $35 (general admission); VIP Tickets: $45 available for the Friday, September 21 performance (includes post-reception), and available by calling 413-236-8888, at the Barrington Stage Box Office (30 Union Street), or online at Barrington Stage Company.
There will be a special performance of Brel in the Berkshires! in support of Barrington Stage Company’s award-winning Playwright Mentoring Project (PMP) on Saturday, September 22, beginning at 5pm with dinners in private homes and local restaurants, the concert at 8pm, followed by a dessert and champagne reception at 9:30pm. Benefit tickets are $150 for dinner and concert and $100 concert only. For more information on attending this concert and supporting PMP, contact Development Associate Trevor Wise at 413-997-6116 or twise@barringtonstageco.org.
