More vibrantly alive and dazzling than a Christmas Cracker straight from the UK is singer/actress Toni Morrell who will be appearing @ the El Portal in the Second Stage Forum Theatre from December 2 through the 31st. Her show called Remembering the Ladies pays tribute to Marilyn Monroe, Edith Piaf, Judy Garland, Shirley Bassey, along with Debbie Reynolds, Carol Channing, Liza Minnelli, The Hitchcock Blondes, and Lucille Ball. Woa! Those are the best of the greats, and Morrell gives her audience an inside look at who these remarkable women really were and why it is so important that they be remembered.
When asked about her British background Morrell displays a piquantly genuine humor. “I began my career at the age of 17 in the working men’s clubs of England. They were some pretty hard audiences....if they liked you, they let you LIVE! However, that is where I learnt the true art of being an Entertainer....in order to be heard above the cacophony!" She went on to perform in some of the biggest and best venues in the United Kingdom, winning three major nationwide talent contests by the age of 19. She performed in Jersey (off the coast of France), Southern Spain and topped the bill at the Tenerife Country Club in the Canary Islands for a year. Morrell was also booked on prime-time television in Italy on the Rai Uno network paying tribute to Shirley Bassey, Judy Garland and Edith Piaf.....for the latter she sang "La Vie En Rose" in French....and they used subtitles in Italian on the screen. She laughs,"Would have loved to have known how those lyrics translated!”
A voice-over artist by day, Morrell is currently the voice on all promotion for Liberace – Music & Memories in Las Vegas. She was also the worldwide-voice-over spokesperson for the Pixar/Walk Disney motion picture Tinker Bell.
Along with the aforementioned legends, she also adores Cher, Bette Midler and Barbra Streisand, but in terms of newer actresses who impress her with that special mystique, fewer come to mind. “Marion Cotillard. She was not only superb, heartbreaking and powerful in La Vie En Rose, but also delivered a wonderful performance in Nine. She has a Legendary Lady of the Old School quality, which is quite entrancing.”
What does she want audiences to take home with them from Remembering the Ladies? “It is difficult in today’s world, to hold on to the glamour and the sentimentality of yesterday, but we try, with the words and the music, and the moments onscreen that our legendary ladies have left us. We want to honor the memories that these ladies have given us, and never let them be forgotten, and from the audiences’ reaction thus far, we have done just that.”
Be apart of the throngs of people who are mesmerized by the legendary ladies ...and Miss Toni Morrell.
for tickets, visit: www.elportaltheatre.com
or call:
818-508-4200/
866-811-4111
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