tiket

11
0
COriC

Cabaret Crooner

Todd Murray brings his baritone to an
intimate show at the Berman Center.

Suzanne Chessler
Contributing Writer

S finger and filmmaker Todd
Murray first experienced
Judaism as a paid vocalist in
High Holy Day services at a New York
synagogue. He had responded to an
advertisement for professional singers
and got to know the people and their
traditions.
Judaism turned more important years
later as he became the
partner of Douglas Sills,
a Michigan-bred actor he
met as the two appeared in
a tour of The Secret Garden.
Murray, who has made
many family trips to the
area, returns Nov. 1 with
Croon, a musical perfor-
mance being staged at the
Berman Center for the
Performing Arts in West
Bloomfield.
Sills, starring as Gomez
Todd Murra
in The Addams Family, a
hit Broadway musical trav-
eling the country, should be in the audi-
ence for this hometown presentation.
"Crooning is singing intimately with
a microphone so this show chronicles
how pop music was established after the
microphone was invented," says Murray,
48, in a recent phone conversation.
"Before that time, you had to have loud,
operatic singers.
"When the microphone was invented,
you could use the technique of speaking
or singing conversationally. The effect
was far more intimate. Rather than sing-
ing to a whole crowd, the singer would
have the effect of singing directly to
each person in the audience."
Murray, who will present hits across
the decades, will be joined by Alex
Rybeck on piano, Sean Harkness on
jazz guitar and Steve Doyle on bass.
Sometimes, the musicians will be heard
as backup singers with numbers ranging
from Sinatra's "I've Got You Under My
Skin" to Elvis' "I Can't Help Falling in
Love With You:'
"I come from a theater background so
lyrics are important to me:' says Murray,
whose engagements have reached from
Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York to
Feinstein's at the Cinegrill in Hollywood.
"A lot of today's music brings joy from
the rhythm as well as the voice, but it's
not as often that our pleasure from the
song comes from what it's saying."

ADAT SHALOM

Murray, who divides his time between
New York and Los Angeles, grew up
in a Pennsylvania farming community
and early on knew he wanted to be an
entertainer.
By singing with a semiprofessional
group at fairs, veterans hospitals and
other venues, he was able to earn
tuition for a private college in central
Pennsylvania, where he obtained a
bachelor's degree in music and business.
After working at Opryland in
Nashville and a Disney
show in Tokyo, he was
cast in Gilbert and
Siillivan's The Gondoliers
on Broadway. Amid
other stage work, he
decided more security
could be found by oper-
ating a bakery in Los
Angeles.
"I had that for 10 years
and then gave myself a
gift, recording the CD
When I Sing Low," he
explains. "I started back
in the music business by
exploring my love for nostalgia, and I
recorded another CD, Stardust & Swine
As Murray brings his baritone vocals
to the West Bloomfield stage, he is
pleased that some proceeds will go to
the Send a Kid to Camp Fund supported
by the Sills family.
"I haven't converted from Christianity;
but Judaism has been a prominent part
of my life," Murray says. "I love the fam-
ily ideals that Judaism has.
"I just finished a documentary
called Toni & Rosi, which is about the
Grunschlag sisters, piano prodigies in
Vienna when Hitler took over Austria.
They eventually made their way to
Brooklyn and became very prominent
dual pianists.
"It's been on the BBC in London, and
I hope there will be a screening at the
JCC. I'm not a filmmaker by trade, but
I thought this very Jewish story needed
to be preserved and heard. People walk
away from this film feeling good:'

SYNAGOGUE

is pleased to present

ELAINE SERLING

‘`,7{,osher oc:tyle"

SUNDAY,
NOVEMBER 4
7 PM

Acclaimed singer/song-
writer Elaine Serling
captivates audiences with
her heartfelt interpretations
of Jewish standards, show-
casing Broadway and Yiddish
favorites, along with tender
renditions of her own songs,
A concert for all musical
palates!

THERE IS NO CHARGE
THE COMMUNITY IS WELCOME
9: DESSERT AFTERGLOW
QUESTIONS? CALL 248-851-5100

dk

1791580

Addis Ababa

ETHIOPIAN RESTAURANT

NOW OPEN!

Fabulous Ethiopian Cuisine
.ew Flavors • Low Fat • Low Cholesterol

❑

Bekele Lessanework of
Addis Ababa Ethiopian Restaurant,

Todd Murray appears in Croon
at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov.1,
at the Berman Center for the
Performing Arts at the Jewish
Community Center in West
Bloomfield. $36 JCC members,
$46 nonmembers. (248) 661-
1900; www.theberman.org .

(former executive chef
& manager of the Blue Nile Ethiopian
Restaurant) is now open in

Marketplace Plaza in Farmington Hills:
28853 Orchard Lake Rd.
Farmington Hills, MI 48334
Tel: 248.994.8010
Fax: 248.994.8011

OPEN FOR DINNER:
Mon.-Thurs. 5pm-9:30pm
Fri. & Sat. 4pm-10pm
Sun. closed

Please visit our other location
in Plymouth:

273 N. Main St.
Plymouth, MI 48170
Tel: 734.414.9935
Fax: 734.414.9936

1789340

October 25 2012

79