Ann Morrison back
In new Cabaret Show “My Furniture Set”
Coming to Sarasota, St. Petersburg and New York
November 15, 2017, November 18, 2017 and January 3, 2018
SARASOTA, FL – SaraSolo Productions, Inc. presents Broadway actress and chanteuse Ann Morrison returning in her new cabaret show, MY FURNITURE SET, with Musical Director John Shirley. Performances are: Wednesday, November 15 at 7pm in Sarasota Florida at Home Resource Contemporary Furniture (741 Central Ave. Sarasota Fl 34236; reservations by email to [email protected], $15); Saturday, November 18, 2017 at 7pm in St. Petersburg Florida at the Furnish Me Vintage Furniture Store (1246 Central Ave, St. Petersburg, Fl 33705; reservations through Facebook Events @fmvintage, $15). On Wednesday, January 3, at 7pm, the show moves to New York City’s Feinstein’s/54 Below at 254 W 54th St. Cellar, NYC 10019, Tickets & Info: (646) 476-3551 or online at www.54below.com
Created by Ann Morrison and pianist/composer John Shirley, MY FURNITURE SET, lets songstress Ann Morrison take you on a musical journey through the furniture moments of her/our lives, in stories woven from Ann’s life and songs—both original songs created for the show and timeless classics from Musical Theater, Jazz, Pop, and sometimes the Blues. Pianist John Shirley mischievously interacts with Ann which makes for a satisfying emotional musical adventure.
The pair also wrote 4 new original songs for MY FURNITURE SET. Some of the 17 classic tunes in the set include: Go To Sleep (by Alan J. Lerner, Burton Lane) from “On A Clear Day You Can See Forever”, the great Ella Fitzgerald song Black Coffee (by Sonny Burke and lyrics by Paul Francis Webster) and Crosby, Stills and Nash’s song Our House.
Inspired by a beautiful, sometime alternative theater space, Sarasota’s Home Resource Furniture store, Ann wondered: Does anyone buy furniture after seeing a play here? Why do owners offer their space to artists? Her answer was a cabaret, MY FURNITURE SET, which lets her share stories, real and imagined, of her family and friends, including ex-husband and Best Friend actor Blake Walton and their son Huck along with some tunes from the great ‘American Furniture Songbook’.
Previous performances in Sarasota and Venice Florida SOLD OUT and were enthusiastically received. In Sarasota, the show was performed at the actual point of inspiration, the Home Resource Furniture Store in downtown Sarasota.
Ann and John are looking forward to performing MY FURNITURE SET in a new furniture store, Furnish Me Vintage, an eclectic vintage and contemporary furniture store in downtown St. Petersburg.
MORE ON—ANN MORRISON and JOHN SHIRLEY
ANN MORRISON –AS an Actress and Singer, on Broadway: LOVEMUSIK; CHILDREN AND ART; MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG (1982 Theatre World Award). London West End: PEG. Off Broadway: GOBLIN MARKET (Drama Desk Nomination), FORBIDDEN BROADWAY. Ann has done massive Regional Theater including; Free Fall Theatre’s: SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM, INTO THE WOODS, BERNARDA ALBA; American Stage’s: ON THE VERGE, MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, LOVE’S LABOUR’S LOST, DRIVING MISS DAISY, NEW CENTURY; Asolo Rep’s: BEATSVILLE, MURDERERS; Banyan Theater’s: A CLEAN HOUSE; and World Premieres, Television, Recordings, Cabarets and Concerts throughout the U.S. and England. AS a writer/ performer: THE AWEN TRIOLOGY, ANNIE’S CELTIC KITCHEN, WORD PAINTING: SOLILOQUIES AROUND AN EASEL, TREVOR’S FIRE and LINDA LOVELY GOES TO BROADWAY (Best Actress award from the United Solo Festival). Ann is also the Co-Founder/Artistic Director of Kaleidoscope Theater, musical theatre program for persons with developmental differences, and SaraSolo Productions Inc. which produces the annual SaraSolo Festival in Sarasota, Fl. and celebrates solo performances and new small cast plays that illuminate the human condition especially that of those who are perceived as “other than.”
JOHN SHIRLEY has performed in many venues from L.A. to New York, including Reno Sweeney, Snafu, The Duplex and Don’t Tell Mama. He’s accompanied Harriet Leider, Richard Skipper, Meredith Patterson and many other performers. He has written two musicals, “THE LITTLEST WILD WEST FIGHTER (13th St. Theater, NYC) and HIT THE SURF (Cedar St. Playhouse, Wilmington, DE). John studied music composition at East Carolina University. He currently sings and plays piano three nights a week in Gulfport at Isabelle’s in the Historic Peninsula Inn.
NEXT UP FOR ANN MORRISON—
In addition to taking THE FURNITURE SET to other venues and programming the next SaraSolo Festival coming in January 2018, Ann and Blake Walton are working on a two person play about “the funniest woman in the world” actress Beatrice Lillie (1896-1989), titled ‘HEARD THERE WAS A PARTY. CAME.’
MORE ON SARASOLO PRODUCTIONS AND SARASOLO FESTIVAL
The SaraSolo Festival is one of Sarasota’s most exciting new arts festivals. Started in 2015, the SaraSolo Festival provides a unique theatre experience, which celebrates the solo artist, showcasing an eclectic mix of 45-90 minute solo performances by national and international artists – featuring music, dance, cabaret, comedy, performance art, magic, stand-up, and storytelling, as well as historical, biographical and poetic plays. The Annual SaraSolo Festival is held over two weekends in January and/or February. For the Schedule, Tickets and Festival information, visit us online at www.SaraSolo.org or contact us by email at [email protected].
SaraSolo is the brainchild of SaraSolo Productions Inc. (formerly Gotta Van Productions, Inc.) a 501(C) (3) non-profit corporation. SaraSolo Productions believes in affordable theatre, in traditional and non-traditional spaces, that supports diversity, collaboration, and the transformative power of intimate theatre for both artists and audiences. SaraSolo Productions’ venues include festivals, fringe theatre, educational outreach, video, and online media. SaraSolo Festival Artistic Director Ann Morrison and Associate Artistic Director Blake Walton are award winners in the world’s largest solo performance festival, The United Solo Festival in NYC. For more information go to our website www.SaraSolo.org, or contact us at [email protected]. Follow us on Facebook @SaraSolo Productions, Inc., on Twitter @SaraSoloFest, on Instagram @SaraSoloFest.
