Hamilton, Ohio – As seen on TV. Only without those pesky commercials or – in this modern era of streaming – that annoying buffering.
The Fitton Showstoppers series presents Perfectly Marvelous, a sophisticated evening of music, comedy and dance starring Queen City Cabaret at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, February 15, sponsored by Dr. Kenneth and Marcia Wehr.
Featuring tunes from the Golden Globe- and Emmy-winning television series “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” Perfectly Marvelous shines a light on a wide range of popular music from the late 1950s and early 1960s.
“The soundtrack in that show is amazing,” said QCC co-founder and pianist Matthew Umphreys. “Whoever put it all together did a great job finding the right music for every moment. Every song in this concert can be found somewhere in that show.”
And to think, it might have been an evening of harpsichord and opera.
That’s the kind of music Umphreys first made with QCC vocalist and co-founder Sarah Folsom – he accompanied her as she sang Vivaldi in their student days at the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music – before venturing into the retro-pop sensibility of QCC after graduation.
“We met at CCM, transplants to the area, but we both stayed around after graduation,” Umphreys said. “As we were digging into the musical history of the area, of course we found people like Rosemary Clooney and Doris Day, but also King Records and Herzog Studios that produced a lot of different kinds of music.
“We founded QCC in 2018 to celebrate the rich musical history – and rich present, really, because there’s still great music coming from here today – of Greater Cincinnati. ‘Mrs. Maisel’ started in 2017 and ran through 2023. It’s really been alongside us the whole time.”
As a resident company at The Carnegie in Northen Kentucky, QCC carries the torch for variety.
“It’s more than me and Sarah,” Umphreys said. “We’ve got a small band: drums, guitar, bass and piano. We’ve got the Two Sketchy Dames. They’re an improv group and they provide comedy sets between the music. They pop in and out all night.
“We’ve also got two current CCM musical theater students to do some singing and dancing. It’s a full-blown live production, not just a singer and a piano player.”
(FYI - One of the Two Sketchy Dames is veteran Fitton Center instructor Alison Rampa, who teaches both comedy and musical theater during summer camp season.)
“We try to take our audiences on a sentimental journey,” Umphreys said. “The music, the comedy, the dancing all in one show. It takes you back to a different time. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Tickets for Perfectly Marvelous are $39 for Fitton Center members ($48 for non-members) and are available online right here, by phone at 513-863-8873, ext. 110 or in person at the Fitton Center box office.
The Fitton Center for Creative Arts is located at 101 S. Monument Avenue on the Riverfront in downtown Hamilton, Ohio.
Building Community Excellence through the Arts and Culture
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