Big Bad Voodoo Daddy making Cerritos stop

CERRITOS - Popular swing band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy will electrify the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts on Sept. 21 at 8 p.m.Tickets, which range from $35 to $70, are available at the theater box office, online at cerritoscenter.com or by calling (562) 467-8818. With its breakthrough role in the 1996 hit comedy "Swingers," Big Bad Voodoo Daddy cast a spell on the American contemporary swing scene, quickly becoming one of the genre's hottest acts. The band's performance in the movie led to a recording contract for the ensemble's first album, the Grammy-nominated "Big Bad Voodoo Daddy," which reached certified Gold status. The group is particularly noted for its high-octane performances and the hits "Go Daddy-O," "You & Me & the Bottles Makes Three Tonight (Baby)" and "Mr. Pinstripe Suit." The troupe followed up its first hit album with "This Beautiful Life," which showcased classics such as "Ol' MacDonald" and "Big and Bad." The band's album "Everything You Want for Christmas" received glowing reviews from Rolling Stone, which praised the band for infusing "its retro hep-cat cool with a dose of Yule spirit." Their other albums include "How Big Can You Get?: The Music of Cab Calloway" and "Rattle Them Bones." After more than a decade of nonstop touring, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy continues to treat swing music fans to its stirring concoction of brassy swinging horns, crooning vocals and wild jazz rhythms. Meanwhile, tickets are also available to see Mandy Patinkin at the Cerritos Center on Sept. 20. In "Mandy Patinkin: Dress Casual," the celebrated screen and stage icon assumed his most electrifying role: concert performer. Accompanied by pianist Paul Ford, the singer/actor/storyteller takes audiences on a musical journey filled with songs from Irving Berlin, Stephen Sondheim, Cole Porter and Harry Chapin. Patinkin is a "versatile showman extraordinaire" proclaims the Seattle Times. His album "Experiment" features songs from nine decades of popular music. Other records include "Oscar & Steve," "Leonard Berstein's New York," "Kidults" and "Mandy Patinkin Sings Sondheim." "Mamaloshen," a collection of traditional, classic and contemporary songs sung entirely in Yiddish, won the Deutschen Schallplattenpreis (Germany's equivalent of the Grammy). In his Broadway debut, Patinkin scored a Tony Award as Che in "Evita." He was nominated again for his work in the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical "Sunday in the Park With George." Patinkin has also appeared in the Tony-winning musicals "The Secret Garden," "Compulsion," "Paradise Found," The Tempest," "Enemy of the People" and the Tony-nominated "The Wild Party." Patinkin's movie credits include the Golden Globe-nominated "The Princess Bride" and "Yentl," "Everybody's Hero," "The Music of Chance" and "Dick Tracy." He garnered an Emmy for his performance on "Chicago Hope" and was Emmy-nominated for "The Larry Sanders Show." He also appeared in "Law and Order," "Boston Public," "Touched by an Angel" and "The Simpsons." He currently appears on the Showtime series "Homeland" and was cast in actor Zach Braff's upcoming film "Wish I Was Here." The quintessential Broadway pianist Paul Ford has collaborated on Stephen Sondheim's "Sunday in the Park With George," Assassins," "Passion" and "Into the Woods." Other credits include the revival of "Pacific Overtures," the Tony-winning revival of "Assassins," "Upstairs at O'Neals" and "Gypsy." For tickets or more details on the performance, call (562) 467-8818 or go online to cerritoscenter.com. Tickets are between $40 and $85.

********** Published: Aug. 22, 2013 - Volume 12 - Issue 19