Michael Feinstein, Artistic Director
Michael Feinstein, one of the premiere interpreters of American popular song, has been a household name since the success of his 1988 one-man Broadway show, Isn’t It Romantic. He enjoys an active performance calendar, including major concert halls, symphony orchestras, intimate jazz clubs, and college campuses. More than a mere performer, he is nationally recognized for his commitment to the American popular song, both celebrating its art and preserving its legacy for the next generation.
The Sinatra Project—his latest CD from Concord Records that celebrates the musical sensibilities of “Old Blue Eyes”—earned Michael his fifth Grammy nomination. He is currently preparing the PBS-TV series, Michael Feinstein: Man On A Mission, in which he discovers treasures of the Great American Songbook around the world. Michael will also serve as the artistic director of the Carmel Performing Arts Center, a $160 million performing arts center in Carmel, Indiana.
In 2004, Michael completed a national tour with songwriting icon Jimmy Webb based on their CD, Only One Life—The Songs of Jimmy Webb. The disc was named one of “10 Best CDs of the Year” by USA Today.
His Manhattan nightclub, Feinstein’s at Loews Regency, has presented the top talents of pop and jazz, including Rosemary Clooney, Steve Tyrell, Barbara Cook, Tony Danza, Glen Campbell, Diahann Carroll, Jackie Mason, and Dame Cleo Laine. Michael also opened Feinstein’s at the Shaw in London.
Michael started playing piano by ear when he was five. As a teenager, he played at weddings and parties in Columbus, Ohio. After graduating from high school, he worked in local piano lounges, moving to Los Angeles when he was 20. Through the widow of legendary concert pianist-actor Oscar Levant, he was introduced to Ira Gershwin in July 1977. He became his assistant for six years, granting Michael access to numerous unpublished Gershwin songs, which he has since performed and recorded.
The Library of Congress recently elected Michael to the exclusive National Sound Recording Advisory Board. He and other industry leaders meet regularly in Washington, DC, for a forum on safeguarding America’s musical heritage. Visit michaelfeinstein.com for more information.
Brent Barrett
Brent Barrett is currently reprising the role of Billy Flynn in the Tony Award–winning hit Chicago, for which he received a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award. He spent two years in Las Vegas as the Phantom in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular. Brent received an Olivier Award nomination for his starring role in the London premiere of Kiss Me, Kate, which was recorded for PBS. Other Broadway roles include Tony in the 1980 revival of West Side Story, Frank Butler in the revival of Annie Get Your Gun opposite Reba McEntire, Charles Castleton in Dance a Little Closer, Baron Felix von Geigern in Grand Hotel, Maximilian in Candide, and Tommy Albright in New York City Opera’s Brigadoon. He also starred in the City Center Encores! production of The Pajama Game and as King Arthur in Paper Mill Playhouse’s Camelot. Off-Broadway credits include Closer Than Ever, March of the Falsettos, The Time of the Cuckoo, and Portrait of Jenny.
Brent received critical acclaim after solo performances at Carnegie Hall, and London’s Royal Albert and Royal Festival halls. He has also performed with the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Boston Pops, Minnesota Opera, Opera Pacific, and Kentucky Opera. Brent is the founding member and producer of The Broadway Tenors. Solo albums include the recently released Christmas Mornings, The Alan Jay Lerner Album, and The Kander and Ebb Album. Other recordings include Brigadoon, Grand Hotel, Closer Than Ever, and The Maury Yeston Songbook.
Brent’s television and film credits include The Producers, Hercules, Longtime Companion, and All My Children. Visit brentbarrett.com for more information.
Michele Lee
Michele Lee is known worldwide for her Emmy-nominated role as Karen in the landmark CBS series Knots Landing. Appearing in all 344 episodes, Michele has set the American record for the greatest number of consecutive appearances by a leading actress in an hour-long primetime dramatic series.
Michele’s career began on the stage when she was discovered as a teen by producer David Merrick. At age 18, Michele starred in Bravo Giovanni with the Metropolitan Opera’s Cesare Siepi, which led to her breakout role as Rosemary in the original production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying opposite Robert Morse. In 1974, she starred on the Broadway stage in Michael Bennett’s musical Seesaw. Her performance won her a Tony nomination, and Drama Desk and the Outer Critics awards for Best Actress. In 2002, Michele completed her run in Charles Busch’s Broadway hit The Tale of the Allergist Wife, opposite Linda Lavin and Tony Roberts.
Michele starred with Dick Van Dyke in Carl Reiner’s cult classic The Comic and in the Disney favorite The Love Bug. She was last seen in Along Came Polly, opposite Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston. Michele has also starred in and produced numerous films for television, including CBS’s Emmy-nominated Big Dreams and Broken Hearts: The Dottie West Story, When No One Would Listen, and Scandalous Me: The Jacqueline Susann Story. Other television films include Dark Victory, Bud and Lou, and Neil Simon’s Broadway Bound.
In 1996, Michele became the first woman to produce, direct, write, and star in a motion picture for television. Color Me Perfect made its debut on Lifetime Television, earning Michele a Christopher Award and the Gracie Allen Award, presented by the American Women in Television and Radio.
Michael A. Kerker
Michael A. Kerker has been Director of Musical Theatre for ASCAP since 1990. In addition to coordinating ASCAP’s Musical Theatre Workshop in New York (led by composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz), he works with Disney Theatricals to produce the ASCAP / Disney Musical Theatre Workshop in Los Angeles (also led by Mr. Schwartz). Together with Michael Feinstein, Mr. Kerker produces a regular series of concerts at Carnegie Hall that highlights the catalogue of both legendary and contemporary songwriters.
Mr. Kerker is also producing a regular series of interview programs titled Broadway: Up Close and Personal for the Kennedy Center. His on-stage conversations with some of the nation’s most prominent songwriters have included Jerry Herman, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Charles Strouse, Sheldon Harnick, and Mr. Schwartz.
Mr. Kerker produces an annual songwriter’s cabaret as part of the Chicago Humanities Festival. He also produced the ASCAP Foundation Jerry Herman Legacy Program—a series of seminars, master classes, and concerts that feature the legendary composer-lyricist. The program has been presented nationwide in such cities as Chicago, San Francisco, Savannah, Miami, and Pittsburgh.
Mr. Kerker is proud to be a member of the boards of the American Theatre Wing, the Johnny Mercer Foundation, and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
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