Special Holiday Concert Coming to Asolo

BRADENTON – Do you have a hard time getting in the spirit of Christmas without any snow? Jack Frost doesn't nip at many Florida noses, but the Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota has just what the doctor ordered to get you in the holiday mood. Andrea McArdle and guests will be featured in a feast of holiday music that is sure to get you feeling festive. The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, will run Saturday, December 21 and Sunday, December 22 (7:30 p.m. both nights) at the Historic Asolo Theater.

Andrea McArdle

Joined by pianist Steve Marzullo, baritone Todd Donovan, singer Maria Wirries, pianist Alan Corey, dancers from the Carreno Dance Festival and Le Voci di Venezia Singers (on Saturday only), Broadway legend Andrea McArdle celebrates the season with a lively mix of holiday songs, including “We Need a Little Christmas,” “Step Into Christmas,” Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” and “Silent Night.”

An ensemble from the Gloria Musicae Singers will join the performance on Sunday.

"Andrea first captured the hearts of theater-goers in 1977 when she originated the title role in the mega-musical, Annie,” says John Fischer, executive director of Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota. “She hasn’t stopped delighting audiences since. We’re thrilled that she will partner with a host of our region’s greatest musicians, singers and dancers for a fast-paced holiday musical celebration that warmly captures the spirit of the season.”

McArdle has appeared in numerous Broadway and cabaret productions, including Les Misérables, Beauty and the Beast, Meet Me in St. Louis, Starlight Express,  Jerry's Girls , The Wizard of Oz, They're Playing Our Song, and Irving Berlin's memorable, Annie Get Your Gun.

Stephen Holden, in a 2007 New York Times article, wrote of McArdle: “Three decades after ‘Annie,’ her defining quality is still a childlike cry embedded in a voice that carries to the rafters.”

Tickets are $25 to $45 and can be purchased online at www.artistseriesconcerts.org or by calling the Historic Asolo Theater’s box office at 941-360-7399. For more information about this show or the Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota’s 2013-2014 season, visit www.artistseriesconcerts.org.