Bay Area Cabaret Announces Carmen Cusack & Susan Werner

Bay Area Cabaret kicks off the new year welcoming back Tony-nominated Broadway star Carmen Cusack on Sunday, January 20 at 5:00 p.m. Ms. Cusack returns to the Venetian Room with an evening celebrating her favorite songs and the artists behind them including singer/songwriters past and present like Joni Mitchell, Dolly Parton, Kate Bush and Kimbra, plus she'll offer a sampling of original tunes and Broadway selections.

"One of Broadway's most riveting leading ladies...Cusack's voice, matched in richness by its ability to transcend genre, is unprecedented in its versatility." -BroadwayWorld

The evening will also showcase the versatile talents of singer/songwriter Susan Werner in whose Broadway-bound musical Bull Durham Cusack is expected to star.

BroadwayWorld raved: "Werner composes skillful songs that effortlessly slide among folk, jazz, and pop, all delivered with sassy wit. Throughout her career, boundless versatility has emerged as a hallmark of Werner's talent, and has proven to be a key ingredient of her engrossing musical persona."

Bay Area audiences will remember Ms. Cusack's 2016 Bay Area Cabaret debut and her masterful work at San Francisco's Curran Theatre, where she recreated her Tony-nominated performance in Steve Martin and Edie Brickell's bluegrass musical Bright Star, also receiving nominations for Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, Drama League, Helen Hayes and Theatre World Awards. She is currently seen in a recurring role in the new Facebook Watch series, Sorry for Your Loss, and will star opposite Tom Hanks in the currently untitled Fred Rogers film playing the producer of Rogers' daily children's TV show.

In 2017, Ms. Cusack starred in the world premiere of Karen Siff Exhorn's Do This, a one-woman play at Gulfshore Playhouse. Previously, she starred in the Chicago premiere of The First Wives Club: The Musical, and she received a Jeff Award nomination for her portrayal of 'Dot/Marie' in Sunday in the Park with George at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, opposite Jason Danieley. Carmen played 'Lynn Gardner' in Carrie at MCC Theatre, 'Nellie Forbush' in Lincoln Center's national tour of South Pacific, for which she also received a Helen Hayes nomination, and 'Elphaba' in the first US national tour and Melbourne, Australia productions of Wicked. Her West End credits include 'Chesty Prospects' in Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens, 'Eva Cassidy' in Over the Rainbow in the UK and Ireland, 'Fantine' in Les Miserables, 'Rose' in The Secret Garden (also for the Royal Shakespeare Company and at Stratford-upon-Avon), 'Kim' in Personals, and 'Christine' in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera. In addition to her theater credits, Ms. Cusack is an accomplished vocalist, possessing a range that soars impressively through jazz, opera, rock, and pop. She has been featured in numerous concerts, recordings and cabarets and her solo album entitled If You Knew My Story was released last year.

Susan Werner is hailed as "one of the most innovative songwriters working today" (Chicago Tribune). Her fearless stage presence and dazzling musicianship have earned her a passionate following coast to coast. She is best known for her concept albums, including the "agnostic gospel" music of 2007's The Gospel Truth and her 2013 tribute to her Iowa farm roots, Hayseed. Susan first appeared on the national scene in 1995 with her BMG/Private Music label debut, and is composer/lyricist for the Broadway bound musical Bull Durham. "Susan Werner, a clever songwriter and engaging performer, brings literacy and wit back to popular song." (The New Yorker)
Her January appearance at the Venetian Room marks her San Francisco concert debut.

Tickets to An Evening with Carmen Cusack & Susan Werner are $65/$55 for subscribers with no food or drink minimum required. Information and tickets are available at www.bayareacabaret.org or by phone at City Box Office (415) 392-4400.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos