GLEN ELLYN, Ill. — "Close to You: The Music of the Carpenters" a tribute to the Grammy Award-winning pop music of Karen and Richard Carpenter starring Lisa Rock comes to the McAninch Arts Center's Club MAC Friday, March 18 and Saturday, March 19 at 8 p.m. For the popular Club MAC performances, MAC's Playhouse Theatre is transformed into an intimate cabaret setting with café tables, full bar and great artists.
Considered one of the best vocalists of all time, Karen Carpenter, with her brother Richard, captured the attention of a generation with their unabashedly catchy pop music. Their beautiful, memorable love songs topped the Billboard charts in the 1970s with more than a dozen number one hits including "We've Only Just Begun," "Rainy Days and Mondays," "Top of the World" and more. Now Chicago's-own Lisa Rock and her six-piece band bring these songs to the MAC with spot-on renditions interspersed with anecdotes about the Carpenters and the backstory on how some of the songs originated.
Rock ( vocals ) has been performing to sold-out crowds for years. Her warm tonal quality and four octave range allows her to sing the hits including "We've Only Just Begun" and "Rainy Days and Mondays" in their original key, keeping the songs genuine and more recognizable for the audience.
Justin Boller ( bass/guitar ) has performed extensively throughout the Chicago area in numerous bands, quintets, orchestras, combos, and groups at venues including the Metropolis Theater, Genesee Theater, the United Center as well as at the Fox Theatre in Boulder, Colo., Symphony Hall in Birmingham, England and even the Jerry Springer show.
Eric Engelson ( drums ) has performed with Alien Queen and as a sub musician for "Million Dollar Quartet" as well as in productions with Chicago Children's Theatre, House Theater, Stage Door Fine Arts, Bailiwick Chicago Theater, Circle Theatre, Strawdog Theatre Company, Columbia College, The New Colony and Redmoon.
Amy Malouf ( backup vocals/percussion ) has been seen as an actress and musician throughout the Chicago area. She is also a singer/songwriter and enjoys playing in cabaret type venues in Chicago. Malouf holds a BA in musical theater from Illinois State University.
Ken McMullen ( piano ) is a professional musician in the Chicago area performing theater and cabaret shows for area venues including Theatre at the Center, Drury Lane Theatre, Metropolis Performing Arts Centre and Davenports Piano Bar and Cabaret among others.
Dave Orlicz ( woodwinds/EWI/harmonica/keyboard ) plays primarily with jazz and theater groups at venues including Jazz Showcase, Fitzgerald's Nightclub, House of Blues and Drury Lane Theatre. Orlicz is also Assistant Band Director at Hoffman Estates High School, where he has worked since 2003.
Micky York ( backup vocals/keyboards/harp/drums ) is an award-winning musical director, composer and designer whose work has been seen in Chicago area theaters, as well as regionally in Des Moines, Kansas City and Atlanta. He is currently the resident musical director at Metropolis Performing Arts Centre in Arlington Heights, Ill. and an adjunct professor at Columbia College Chicago.
Tickets
The McAninch Arts Center at College of DuPage, located at 425 Fawell Blvd in Glen Ellyn Ill. presents Lisa Rock in "Close to You: The Music of the Carpenters" on Friday, March 18 and Saturday, March 19 at 8 p.m. Performances take place in the MAC's Playhouse Theatre as part of the Club MAC series. Tickets are $39-$45. For tickets or more information, call 630.942.4000 or visit AtTheMAC.org .
About the MAC
McAninch Arts Center ( MAC ) at College of DuPage is located 25 miles west of Chicago near I-88 and I-355, and houses three performance spaces ( the 780-seat proscenium Belushi Performance Hall; the 236-seat soft-thrust Playhouse Theatre; and the versatile black box Studio Theatre ), plus the Cleve Carney Art Gallery, classrooms for the college's academic programming and the Lakeside Pavilion. The MAC has presented theater, music, dance and visual art to more than 1.5 million people since its opening in 1986 and typically welcomes more than 75,000 patrons from the greater Chicago area to more than 230 performances each season.
The mission of the MAC is to foster enlightened educational and performance opportunities, which encourage artistic expression, establish a lasting relationship between people and art, and enrich the cultural vitality of the community. For more information about the MAC, visit AtTheMAC.org, facebook.com/AtTheMAC or twitter.com/AtTheMAC.
The MAC's 2015-2016 Season is made possible in part with support by Arts Midwest, BMO Harris Bank,The DuPage Foundation, Hilton of Lisle/Naperville, WDCB 90.9 FM and the College of DuPage Foundation.
Established as a 501( c ) 3 not-for-profit charitable organization in 1967, the College of DuPage Foundation raises monetary and in-kind gifts to increase access to education and to enhance cultural opportunities for the surrounding community. For more information about the College of DuPage Foundation, visit foundation.cod.edu or call 630.942.2462.
Programs at the MAC are partially supported through a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.
