Upcoming Performances:
Postcard Design: Frank Dain/Bart Art Design@2023 / Photos of Margaret: Caroline White / Photo of Trio: Helane Blumfeld
Saturday, April 6th, 2024 at 7 PM
Tickets: https://bit.ly/lbt-Curry240406
Saturday, May 4th, 2024 at 7 PM
Tickets: https://bit.ly/lbt-Curry240504
Taking the stage with confidence and style, Margaret Curry showed no signs that this was her return to the cabaret world following a 20-year absence. The Space In-Between was the vehicle for her most welcome return; it offered a mix of songs and sensational stories told in between them (where, she assured the audience, “the good stuff comes from”). Backed by thr terrific team of class-A director Lina Koutrakos, music director/arranger Gregory Toroian, bassist Skip Ward, and drummer David Silliman, the show was as polished as possible...In fact the entire evening was conceived with genuine intelligence. Hopefully, Curry won’t keep us waiting another two decades for her next show.
- Bart Greenberg, CABARET SCENES MAGAZINE
BroadwayWorld.com "The Space In-Between" in Photos by Conor Weiss
- Stephen Mosher, BroadwayWorld.com
Gregory Toroian - Musical Director/Arranger/Piano
Skip Ward - Bass David Silliman - Drums
Director - Lina Koutrakos
THE SONGWRITERS Rube Bloom, Johnny Mercer, Patrick Simmons, David “Hawk” Wolinski, Irving Berlin, E. Y. Harburg, Harold Arlen, Jimmy Webb, Roy Orbison, Joe Melson, William Bolcom, David Lee (Dave) Frishberg, Michele Brourman, Susan Werner, Ronald Isley, Rupert Isley, O’Kelly Isley, Isaac Hayes, Harry Elston, Philemon Hou, Natasha Bedingfield, Danielle Brisebois, Wayne Rodrigues
GREGORY TOROIAN Gregory Toroian is a musical director, arranger, jazz pianist, singer-songwriter, and educator. He has been featured in Cabaret Scenes magazine and was the 2020 Bistro Award winner for Outstanding Collaboration with Sue Matsuki, with whom he also won the MAC award for Best Duo Production. In addition to working with such artists as Tony Bennett, Jon Hendricks, Cab Calloway, Donna Summer, Melissa Errico, Marilyn Maye, Karen Mason, and Jane Olivor, he has appeared in almost every jazz club and cabaret (major and minor) in New York. He has toured with principal dancers from the New York City Ballet and has made numerous radio and television appearances including the Today Show and Maury Povich. His recording work as a pianist, arranger, and producer, includes CDs of Leslee Warren, Suzanna Ross, Sue Matsuki, and Nancy Stearns. Gregory’s vocal arrangements have been featured on a series of albums in the US and Japan, by the vocal group String of Pearls. As an educator, Gregory coaches singers both privately and in a variety of group workshops (Jazz, Phrasing, Piano/Bass/Drums, Rhythm, Vocal Harmony, and more).
SKIP WARD Grammy Award Winning Bassist, Guitarist, Ukulele-ist (is that a word), Lap Steel, Tuba, Penny Whistle and Teacher... can also get around on piano, and sings background vox. Skip is a classically-trained jazz musician with a penchant for rock n' roll. And fusion, blues and bluegrass. He plays four, five and six string electric and acoustic fretted and fretless basses, and has a special love for the upright. He has studied with Anthony Knight of the Cleveland Orchestra and Frank DiLaberto of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, as well as the great Jaco Pastorius. Artists he has played/recorded with include: Steve Martin, Rosanne Cash, John McEuen (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band), Phoebe Snow, Marc Cohn, Paul Simon, Cyndi Lauper, Cassandra Wilson, Melissa Manchester, Glenn Miller Orchestra, Akron Symphony and many, many more. You may have seen him on David Letterman, SNL or the The Ellen Degeneres Show. You'll hear Skip on many soundtracks, and he has been on national tour with a number of major theatrical productions. He also has lots of experience writing (he's a member of BMI) and playing advertising jingles, and plays regularly in Ireland.
DAVID SILLIMAN Drummer and percussionist David Silliman's middle name should be versatility. Whether accompanying song stylists such as Mariah Carey, Cassandra Wilson, and Blossom Dearie or playing with Colombian Harpist Edmar Castaneda, David's exciting rhythmic energies add color and mood to any musical performance. He's also comfortable playing in the pit of a Broadway show or with the New Jersey Symphony. With over 20 years of experience, David's first studies were in the Classical field, studying snare drum, xylophone and timpani. Later studies exposed him to Jazz, Latin Jazz, Brazilian and Funk music. Hearing music with a drummer and a percussionist made a strong impression on his playing. Trying to recreate that sound and "feel" with just one person has become a lifetime passion. David's unique setup allow him to move seamlessly from the Cajon, to Drum Set and all the percussive "toys" in-between, creating the rhythmic sound and energy of two or three percussionists. Highlights of David's past work: concert tours with Al DiMeola, Cassandra Wilson, and Leslie Uggams. He’s performed with Aretha Franklin and is featured in the VH1 Divas 2001 concert.
LINA KOUTRAKOS Award-winning and accomplished singer/songwriter/teacher/director based in New York City. As a singer, she has been repeatedly rave reviewed from The New York Times to Billboard Magazine in both rock and roll and cabaret and has been awarded Cabarets most prestigious awards for "Best Female Vocalist" and "Entertainer of the Year," repeatedly. For 3 decades Koutrakos has been a New York City musical fixture - as both soloist and as a director and performance coach. Her directorial nods include being a 4-time winner for "Best Director" from the MAC Association and she is a lifetime Backstage Bistro Award-Winner for "Best Director," as well. Koutrakos was on staff as a Master Teacher for years at both the Eugene O'Neill Cabaret Symposium and The Yale Cabaret Conference. She was the first Master Teacher with The St Louis Cabaret Conference and co-founded NYC's Summer in the City yearly workshop on weekends. She has since gone on to start her own performance workshop "Performance Connection," which umbrellas many ongoing and specialty workshops and seminars now both online and in person. The Advance Performance Workshop in NYC has produced many award-winning performers and shows over the last 2 decades. Her singing and being the founder of the Midwest Cabaret Conference in Chicago for 10 years won her the "Gold Coast" Award with the Chicago Cabaret Professionals in 2019. She spearheads a now annual advanced performance workshop on the island of Mykonos. From performance workshops with full bands to one-on-one clients across the U.S., to her own award-winning original material and one woman shows, it's no wonder Koutrakos is referred to as a "Walking Master Class" by Billboard Magazine as both singer and director.