Porter by Davenport!

On Wednesday, August 22, Peter Davenport will sing a concert of songs by Cole Porter, accompanied by Christopher Marlowe, piano. The concert is free, and will begin at noon. You are invited to bring a bag lunch - St. John's will provide drinks and cookies. Peter's concert was a sensation last year, so don't miss this one!

Actor and singer Peter Davenport is a veteran of Broadway, off-Broadway and regional theatres, having performed in such roles as Captain Georg von Trapp in the National tour of "The Sound of Music"; The Snake in "The Apple Tree"; Dr. Carrasco in "Man of La Mancha"; Young Roscoe and Young Ben in Stephen Sondheim's "Follies"; and he has performed as soloist in concerts around the country and the UK. He can be heard on a number of cast recordings, including "Follies" on TVT Records (for which he recorded a previously unrecorded alternative version of "Beautiful Girls"); as Captain Nemo in "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea"; and his on own CD entitled "Clear Day" on LML Records.

Peter is thrilled to be returning to the St. John's summer free concert series again this year. Since moving to the Berkshires, Peter has been busy doing voice over work for local radio and television, as the voice for Hoosac and Williamstown Savings Banks and Cranwell Spa, and done readings with Shakespeare and Company as well as most recently with our very own Williamstown Theatre Festival. He hopes to be performing on their main stages one day soon, and he is currently working on his second CD due to be released in early 2008, this time of
all Cole Porter songs.

Christopher Marlowe (yes, that's his real name!) was the recipient of the 1996 MAC Award for Music Director of the Year. He was principally associated with legendary singer Nancy LaMott until her untimely death in 1995, serving as her arranger and pianist for the last eleven years of her life. His recordings with her have been the recipients of Backstage's BISTRO award and the MAC award for Recording of the Year. From 1997 to 2004, Chris conducted and arranged for Kathie Lee Gifford around the country.

Most recently, Chris worked on a pre-Broadway one-woman show with Bernadette Peters. He was the music director for David Zippel's All Girl Band at Joe's Pub at the Public Theater in New York, as well as for It's Better With a Band at the Prince Music Theater in Philadelphia. He has been the music director and/or arranger and co-producer for nearly 35 CDs of 23 different vocalists, including Peter Davenport's debut album "Clear Day". In addition to a soon-to-be-released CD of Chris' best loved arrangements, a CD of his own compositions, "Keepsake Lullabies" is now available.

Chris has performed on Good Morning, America; The Today Show; Live with Regis and Kathie Lee; The View; The Rosie O'Donnell Show; Late Night With David Letterman and twice at the Clinton White House.


Here's the program!

• Too Darn Hot - Kiss Me Kate, 1948
• I'm A Gigalo - Wake Up And Dream, 1929
  
• I've Got You Under My Skin - Born To Dance, 1936
  
• The Scampi - original 1926 version of his later "The Tale of theOyster" - Fifty Million Frenchmen, 1929
• Anything Goes - Anything Goes, 1934
• Night and Day/ I Concentrate On You - The Gay Divorce, 1932/ Broadway
• Melody of 1940 (film)
• You're The Top - Anything Goes, 1934
• Ridin' High - Red Hot and Blue, 1936
• Don't Fence Me In - Adios Argentina, 1934 (unproduced) sung by Roy
• Rogers in, "Hollywood Canteen", 1944