Don you now your gay apparel and get lively. Anna Lively. Celebrate the holiday spirit at the Sammons Center For the Arts final Cabaret of 2012 this Thursday night December 20 from 8-10pm with a rare treat. She’s saucy. She’s sultry. She’s insouciant. She’s a 5’10” blonde dynamo wielding a gorgeous voice and a witty, wacky approach to life reminiscent of Lucille Ball. She’s lively. Anna Lively. Livin’ and lovin’ out loud in the Big Apple.
A Dallas native, Lively started singing at a tender age while attending Hockaday School for Girls. She humbly credits her voice instructor Christine Palmer (who taught from her home near St. Mark’s) with instilling in her the proper vocal technique that allows her to stretch and soar and fill huge Los Angeles halls or survive ten-hour jam sessions in Austin night after night without stress or strain on her vocal chords. From early on, she knew she wanted to be a professional performer. Her talent and focus led her to some of the finest educational opportunities in the US. Lively graduated from The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City, where she studied with Sanford Meisner. In New York City, she studied voice with Sallie Coss, a member of the Metropolitan Opera Company and with Carlos Noble in Los Angeles, one of the great coaches and musical directors of the Golden Age of film.
“Thoroughly entertaining… with a beautiful voice and a personality brimming with humor… I could listen to her all night.”…Cabaret Hotline
What singers does Anna Lively model herself after? The great singers from the Big band era…key icons like Doris Day, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby. Lively is as eclectic and exacting in her musical tastes as in purity of execution — expect to hear classically straightforward performances of works by Berlin, Sondheim and Porter to American standards like “Just The Way You Look Tonight,” “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” and “I Got It Bad and That Ain’t Good.” And some unexpected delights! The second half of Lively’s December 20th cabaret will include holiday classics with some sing-a-long numbers.
Lively started singing cabaret in New York City spurred on by an offhand suggestion from a friend, and it caught like wildfire. “She’s so funny, but she sings like an angel!” The dynamic contrast between her comic personal style and serious vocal presentation hasn’t held her back; in fact it works in her favor. She relishes being a character actress: it releases her from stereotype. In cabaret, she gets to write her own ticket and follow her own muse. Lively has performed her one-woman shows in New York, Los Angeles, Austin and other regional venues. In Los Angeles, catch her act in Jazz clubs like 360 Rodeo and Lunaria and such cabarets as The Gardenia and the prestigious Cinegrill at The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. In New York, she sings regularly at the popular venues Eighty-Eights and Don’t Tell Mama.
At the Sammons Center, Ricky Pope from New York City will accompany Lively on the piano. A respected cabaret singer in his own right as well as a longtime musical director and accompanist, Pope cast Lively early in her performance career. Peggy Honea will sit in on bass. What does Lively hope Thursday night’s audience will revel in at her show? The quirky, the funny, the romantic, the poignant, the melodic — strap on your seatbelt for a really good time…and get lively! It’s To Live and Love in New York with the indéfatigable, debonair Anna Lively.
Cabaret performances take place at the Sammons Center for the Arts at 3630 Harry Hines at Oak Lawn. Ticket prices are regular $40.00 and $35.00 for members with open seating for all. Ticket prices include complimentary wine, beer, soft drinks, and coffee, light snacks, and valet parking. The doors open at 7:30 p.m. with the performance beginning approximately at 8:00 p.m. Each performance features two performance sets of about an hour each with an intermission between. The dress is cocktail casual; many people come from work in business attire, but most wear casual, comfortable clothing. Tickets may be ordered through the Sammons Center by calling 214/520-7789 and may be charged on VISA, Master Card, American Express or Discover. For additional information on the Sammons Cabaret series of the Sammons Center for the Arts, call 214/520-7789; or visit www.sammonsartcenter.org.
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