Klea Blackhurst
Everything the Traffic Will Allow
Award winning vocalist Klea Blackhurst pays tribute to Broadway legend, Ethel Merman, with a selection of some of the greatest songs introduced on the stqage by Ethel Merman. Blackhurst infuses each number with her own unique powerhouse style and fresh p
KLEA BLACKHURST Biography
Klea Blackhurst's acclaimed tribute to Ethel Merman, "Everything The Traffic Will Allow", has been charming audiences and critics alike nationwide since its New York debut in 2001. Among many accolades, this production earned her the inaugural Special Achievement Award from "TimeOut New York" magazine as well as the 2002 Manhattan Association of Cabaret and Clubs (MAC) award for Best Female Vocalist.
The recording of "Everything The Traffic Will Allow" won a 2003 MAC award and was named one of the top ten show albums of 2002 by Talkin' Broadway.com.
Klea is delighted to be featured on the upcoming release "Jule Styne in Hollywood", on the PS Classics label. Klea can also be heard on the original cast recording of "Radio Gals" as well as "Lost in Boston IV" and "Unsung Irving Berlin". A recording of Klea's latest solo show, "Autumn in New York: Vernon Duke's Broadway", which debuted at New York's Café Carlyle in October 2004 and played an extended run at Opia in Manhattan, is scheduled to be released in the spring of 2005 on Ghostlight Records.
Klea made her Carnegie Hall in March 2005 starring with Michael Feinstein and Jeff Harnar in an evening devoted to the work of composer, Jule Styne. Other recent U.S. appearances include the Fifteenth Annual Cabaret Convention at New York's Town Hall; 92nd Street Y Lyrics & Lyricist Series (Cole Porter); Guild Hall in East Hampton; The Oak Room in the fabled Algonquin Hotel; San Francisco's Plush Room; New Jersey Performing Arts Center; and the Chicago Humanities Festival. In 2002, Klea made her London debut (stage, radio and television) at Royal Albert Hall. As part of the BBC Proms, she sang the role of Ado Annie in a special concert version of "Oklahoma!" celebrating composer Richard Rodgers centenary. She returned to London the following spring to debut "Everything the Traffic Will Allow" at the Greenwich Theatre. Klea's theatre credits include Reno Sweeney in the recent production of "Anything Goes" at the Shubert Theatre in New Haven; the role of Debbie, the perpetually enthusiastic drummer in the original Off Broadway production of "Oil City Symphony" at Circle in the Square Downtown; originating the role of Rennabelle in the world premiere production of "Radio Gals" at Arkansas Rep and subsequent productions at The Pasadena Playhouse, LaMirada Center for the Performing Arts and The Coconut Grove Playhouse, culminating in an Off Broadway run at the John Houseman Theatre; the role of Hippolyta in "By Jupiter" in the York Theatre's Musicals in Mufti series; and Piglet in "Winnie the Pooh" for Lincoln Center Institute.
Klea's television and radio appearances include "The Caroline Rhea Show", "The Rosie O'Donnell Show", "Sesame Street", and "A Prairie Home Companion".
Easy Listening: Cabaret