Concert version of family musical starring Tony Sheldon

A Charles Dickens Christmas is a delightful holiday musical by Robert Owens Scott (book), Douglas J. Cohen (music), and Tom Toce (lyrics). It is the story of Charles Dickens’s inability to write a happy Christmas story, never having had a happy Christmas himself as a child.

Originally produced by Theatreworks USA, the show toured the country for several years, then entered the MTI catalogue, where it has received numerous productions all over the world. Stephen Holden, writing in the New York Times, noted that the show “takes on deeper psychological overtones as it explores the relation between memory and creativity” and found it “uncommonly sober-minded and refreshingly devoid of glitz and overblown sentiment.”

This sophisticated, uplifting family musical will be enjoyed by children and parents alike.

Tickets: $25
Call: 1-866-811-4111

Or visit Winter Rhythms Festival

Dates:

Thursday, December 10 at 7 pm
Saturday, December 12 at 3 pm

Urban Stages
259 West 30th Street

Tom makes his performing debut in a new cabaret show at the Metropolitan Room

Songwriter in the House represents veteran cabaret songwriter Tom Toce’s solo debut as a performer. In addition to musical theater and cabaret songs, Tom has always written other songs, in a different style. You can call them acoustic songs, or singer-songwriter songs, or folk-rock songs; if they were easy to pin down, they might have been recorded by now!

All his life, Tom has identified as a songwriter, not a performer. But emboldened by good reviews at open mikes and songwriter camps, Tom is stepping up to the mic and putting on a solo show. Accompanying himself on guitar, with Jon Burr on bass, Tom will take you through an eclectic collection of witty, tuneful, and sometimes moving new songs.

Tom Toce is a veteran theater and cabaret songwriter. He won the MAC Award for Comedy Song for “Shalom, Santa” in 2014. He most recently directed, produced, and hosted The Harvard-Yale Cantata at 54 Below. Earlier this year, he directed and produced Mr. Victor’s Cabaret for Hipsters: Songs of the 1990s at the Laurie Beechman Theater. Last year, he produced and hosted MAC Award Winning Songs at Urban Stages and Living Standards, starring Marissa Mulder, at the Metropolitan Room. Hopelessly in Love: The Lyrics of Tom Toce was one of the most successful shows at the Metropolitan Room in 2012 and 2013. The HIL recording was also nominated for a 2014 MAC Award. Tom has written a number of shows for children, and his cabaret songs have been sung and/or recorded by Andrea Marcovicci, Tovah Feldshuh, Maude Maggart, KT Sullivan, and many others. Tom is a two-time Jeopardy! champion (his encyclopedic knowledge of the Great American Songbook helped) and a member of the Jeopardy Hall of Fame, for high score in a single game.

“Tom Toce not only knows how to put over a song, but he seems to be everywhere at once and a master of all trades. (He) did a wonderful job on “This is My Birthday” by Carol Hall (and his own) “Shalom, Santa,” which contains the immortal line my daddy is a lapsed Catholic and my mother is a cultural Jew.” Jerry Osterberg, The New York Sheet Music Society Newsletter

“Mr. Toce has a distinct way with the language and writes lyrics with a twist of humor as he explores life’s universal sufferings. He should be most proud of his work.” John Weatherford, Times Square Chronicles

“The Toce touch with words employs varied techniques and vocabularies while remaining casually conversational and modern.“ Rob Lester, Cabaret Scenes

Dates:

Monday, November 23 at 9:30 pm
Saturday, December 5 at 1:00 pm
Monday, December 28 at 7:00 pm

Cover: $20 ($5 off for MAC), two drink minimum

The Metropolitan Room
34 West 22nd Street
New York, New York
212-206-0440

Or visit Songwriter in the House – Tickets

Here are some shots from the Metropolitan Room show…

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