The new season of the Tudor City Greens FREE outdoor concert series continues on Tuesday, August 3^rd at 6pm. (Rain date: Wednesday, August 4th) This event will feature performers from Broadway and the New York City cabaret scene. The concert will be hosted by Tudor City resident, Broadway and cabaret performer Raissa Katona Bennett (Phantom of the Opera, Chess). Performers scheduled to appear in the concert – entitled A Night at the Opera: Vocal and Instrumental Classics - are Willy Falk (Tony nominee for Miss Saigon), the cast of I’ve Got a Little Twist (Bistro Award), Bistro and MAC Award winner Mark Janas, The Metropolis Opera Project, Sarah Rice (the original Johanna in Broadway’s Sweeney Todd), cabaret artist Maureen Taylor and composer/lyricist Bill Zeffiro.

Accompanists for the concert will be David Caldwell, Kenneth Gartman, and Mark York.

The event will take place in the South Park of Tudor City Greens Park – enter at Tudor City Place between East 41^st and 42^nd Streets, between 1st and 2nd avenues.

Concerts will continue monthly through October 2010, featuring a variety of performers and themes on September 7^th at 6pm, Love Grows Here: Contemporary Pop, Rock & Theatre, October 5^th (time TBA), Jazz! (Rain dates are scheduled for the following day.)

Fred French called it a “city within a city,” the Tudor City apartment complex he built in the late 20's between 40th and 43d Streets on a bluff just west of First Avenue. As a centerpiece, he created two small parks, a sparkling pair of green patches in crowded midtown. In the late 1970s, when Harry Helmsley owned the complex, he was determined to construct two high rise buildings on the land where the North and South parks are. However, the residents of Tudor City were equally as determined that he would not! One long holiday weekend Sunday, bulldozers suddenly appeared and began hauling down the then wooden fencing. John McCain, (of The Manor), ran out into the street with a bullhorn shouting; "Come out. Come out. Residents of Tudor City, come out and save our parks!" Sure enough, as the story goes, little old ladies rushed out and threw themselves in front of the bulldozers, stopping all activity. This gave the Tudor City Association time to organize legal measures which effectively stopped any further movement on Helmsley’s part, and saved the parks. Now, the parks have been renovated by Tudor City Greens, the non-profit tenants’ group that owns and maintains the gardens that are open to the public. www.TudorCityGreens.org.

The Concerts at Tudor City Greens series were organized by Raissa Katona Bennett in 2008, to present the art and vitality of cabaret to an untapped audience while also promoting the concerts to increase donations for the Tudor City Greens parks. A great by-product of the concerts, is the added visibility of local businesses that choose to sponsor post-show gatherings. These partnerships will only strengthen the impact of the TCG concerts.

The concerts are being produced in association with the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs (MAC) – an organization dedicated to the support and promotion of the art of live entertainment in NYC (www.MACNYC.com)  This year, Tom Stajmiger, a producer of theatre, concerts and cabaret around the country, joins the series, as Associate Producer.

The Concerts at Tudor City Greens welcomes back Cibo Restaurant as an on-going supporter.

Special thanks to:
925 Lounge for refreshments
Feinstein’s at the Regency for donating printing services.
Hector Coris for donating graphic design and press services.
Sound system provided by Dr. Garrett Bennett, Facial Plastics and Nasal Surgery