Palm Beach Pops 2009

 Special guest artists Lillias White, Broadway “Quadruple Crown Winner”, Ken Peplowski, world-class clarinetist and legendary jazz guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli will join The Palm Beach Pops as they celebrate the brilliant brothers whose compositions bridged the worlds of Tin Pan Alley, Broadway, Hollywood and symphony halls around the globe. Hear favorites including Strike Up the Band, Fascinating Rhythm, Someone to Watch Over Me, Summertime and more! 

 For more information, please call the Palm Beach Pops Box Office
at 561-832-7677 (Mon-Fri 9am to 5pm) or e-mail us. 

Lillias White

Lillias White, the Brooklyn, New York native made her Broadway debut in Barnum in 1981. She understudied the role of Effie in the original 1981 production of Dreamgirls and played the part in the 1987 revival. White has appeared on Broadway in Cats as Grizabella, Rock'N'Roll! The First 5000 Years, the ill-fated Carrie as the standby for Miss Gardner, Once on This Island as Asaka, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying as Miss Jones (a role rewritten for Ms. White), Chicago as Matron Mama Morton, and benefit concert versions of Funny Girl (in which she sang the role of Fanny Brice), Hair, and Dreamgirls, reprising her role as Effie, for which she won the Drama League Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Perhaps her most notable role was in Cy Coleman's The Life, for which she won the Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards for her portrayal of a world-weary, no-nonsense, streetwise hooker named Sonja. Her tour-de-force performance of "The Oldest Profession," a song in which Sonja bemoans the life of a prostitute, received a standing ovation nightly.

White's off-Broadway credits include the Public Theater production of the William Finn musical Romance in Hard Times, for which she won the Obie Award, Dinah Was, in which she portrayed the legendary blues and jazz singer Dinah Washington, The Vagina Monologues, and Crowns, for which she won the AUDELCO Award. Her national tours include Ain't Misbehavin' and The Wiz.

White performed with the Brooklyn Philharmonic in a concert of works by Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, and George and Ira Gershwin celebrating the orchestra's 50th anniversary. She also has appeared in concert at the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, and Lincoln Center and has toured internationally with her one-woman show From Brooklyn to Broadway. She is heard on the 1991 Madonna recording "Rescue Me". White later appeared on the PBS series Sesame Street including the 1997 VHS release Elmo Says Boo!.

White's television appearances include a regular role on Sesame Street (for which she won an Emmy Award), Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and NYPD Blue. She performed the role of Bloody Mary in the PBS Great Performances presentation of South Pacific. Her screen credits include voiceover work in Disney's Hercules and Anastasia. Film credits include How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Game 6, Pieces of April and Then She Found Me.

Ms.White recently wrapped the Broadway musical Fela! where she played one of the leading roles as Funmilayo. She received a 2010 Tony Award Nomination, for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.

John Paul "Bucky" Pizzarelli

Born January 9, 1926, Bucky Pizzarelli is a self-taught jazz guitarist and banjoist whose career spans six decades.  His personal style is truly unique, and his mastery of the seven-string guitar is unrivalled.

In 1944, he began his professional career with the Vaughn Monroe dance band, touring with the band before and after serving in the U.S. Army during World War II. In the 1950’s he became a familiar face in the studios and the jazz world at large. In 1952, he worked at ABC with Bobby Rosengarden and then in 1971 at NBC as a staffman for Dick Cavett. As one of the century’s most solid rhythm players, Bucky collaborated and toured with many jazz bands and vocalists throughout the years including Les Paul, Benny Goodman, Zoot Sims, Bud Freeman, and Stephane Grappelli and has recorded with George Van Eps, Carl Kress and George Barnes, as well as his son, John Pizzarelli. In 2007, Bucky recorded 5 for Freddie: Bucky's Tribute to Freddie Green on the Arbors label and he continues to keep a busy schedule.

Ken Peplowski 

 The late Mel Torme´said, "Since the advent of Benny Goodman, there have been too few clarinetists to fill the void that Goodman left. Ken Peplowski is most certainly one of those few. The man is magic. "The New York Times pronounced a concert of Ken's "Goodman Straight Up, With A Twist Of Lightning."These quotes only hint at Ken Peplowski's virtuosity - not only is he an outstanding clarinetist and saxophone player, but he's also a charismatic entertainer who has been delighting audiences for over 30 years with his warmth, wit, and musicianship.

    
Bob Lappin & The Palm Beach Pops
500 S. Australian Ave., Ste. 100 • West Palm Beach, FL  33401 • P 561.832.7677 • F 561.832.9686 • Email
All sales final. No refunds or exchanges. Performances begin at 8:00 p.m. Artists, dates, performances and pricing subject to change.