ESPRESSO

a tasty blend of 4 Chicago voices

The secret behind this brew is four of Chicago’s favorite cabaret singers bringing their vast repertoires together to enchant new audiences with the best of the American and European songbooks. The debonair singer/pianist Bob Moreen and coquette Claudia Hommel are joined by the encyclopedic John Eskola and sultry singer/pianist Elizabeth Doyle to create a foursome of unique voices. With years of stagecraft and a sure way with an audience, Espresso is charming, disarming, witty, cosmopolitan and just-plain-down-to-earth.

Espresso – The Holiday Brew

From Java Jive to The Twelve Days AFTER Christmas, this is the season’s greetings for friends and good company.

Love, Fables and Foibles

From the love race to the race track, this show features luscious four-part harmonies, sidekick duos, un peu d’amour from the Paris cabaret, American showtune classics and more. A show easy to fall in love with.

Postcards from a Trip Abroad

A whirlwind voyage of transatlantic songs includes American standards in their European editions and European songs as American classics. We’ll visit with Edith Piaf, Marlene Dietrich, Dean Martin and Jacques Brel to name a few sources of inspiration. When we sing in French, Spanish, German, Italian (and English!), no Berlitz phrase books are necessary.

Name a composer or theme and we’ll customize a show just for you.

Here are a few words about the foursome.

Singer/pianist, ELIZABETH DOYLE was the magnet for many years to Chicago’s famed Pump Room, the Metropole at the Fairmont, Catch 35, the Swiss Grand, Convito Italiano, and the Drake Hotel’s Coq d’Or (alternating with Bob Moreen). Whether solo piano, piano and vocals, or in ensemble settings, she has been in demand at the finest clubs and public venues throughout the Chicago area. She has performed her French program for the Bureau of French Tourism, Air France, the Evanston Chamber of Commerce and the Montreal Bureau of Tourism. As singer, Elizabeth was a participant at the 1999 Eugene O'Neill Cabaret Symposium and the Sundance/Johnny Mercer Weekend August 2004. As a composer, she is an ASCAP Plus Award winner in 2003, 2004 and 2005, with songs featured in the Chicago Humanities Festival 2003 and the New York MAC/ASCAP new music showcase 2001 and 2005. Her full-length musicals "Fat Tuesday," "Alice In Analysis", "The Virginian" and "Sleepy Hollow" have been produced in Illinois, California, Michigan, Iowa and Minnesota. www.elizabethdoylemusic.com

A favorite from the Art Institute of Chicago to the Musée de Montmartre in Paris,actor/singer CLAUDIA HOMMEL is best known for her cabaret concerts of French and American songs celebrating Paris. Not limited to the role of French chanteuse, her repertoire encompasses French chanson, American standards, 19th and 20th century art songs and theatre music. Her clear and beautiful voice, ranging from lyrical to gutsy, adds to her considerable appeal. Born in Paris, raised in Detroit, seasoned in New York City and calling Chicago home, Claudia leads an active career as a theatrical singer in clubs, recital halls, museums, libraries and theatres from New York City to California. More about Claudia can be found at this website.

Pianist and singer BOB MOREEN has been featured in virtually every type of entertainment venue as a soloist, accompanist and ensemble member. He has worked with such name entertainers as Dorothy Collins, Gisele McKenzie, the Incomparable Hildegarde, Shirley Jones, Greta Keller, Denise LeBrun and Peter Palmer. He created many shows and an original recording of Broadway tunes with long-time partner vocalist Kari Howard. The Chicago Sun-Times calls him, "A special, eclectic piano player." In the Chicago Tribune, Howard Reich describes him as, "An impressive singer in his own right…the complete entertainer". Bob’s theatrical credits include work with Chicago’s Goodman Theatre (Pal Joey; Guys and Dolls) and the Body Politic (The Decline and Fall of the Entire World as Seen through the Eyes of Cole Porter). Bob performs and music directs an array of Chicago's favorite cabaret singers and works regularly with the Stanley Paul Orchestra. You can hear him on his co-produced album Paris in the Jazz Age

Singer JOHN ESKOLA has entertained Chicagoland audiences since the mid-1970s in cabaret, theatre, musical revue, church, synagogue and Christmas caroling to name but a few venues. In the musical theatre, John has performed at Goodman Theatre, Candlelight Dinner Playhouse, Marriott’s Lincolnshire, Drury Lane Oakbrook and a 2½ year national tour of Evita. Since the late 1970s, John and Patricia Rusk have successfully collaborated on the cabaret stage, private parties and for many organizations. For many years John has been a member of Holy Name Cathedral Choir, singing weddings, funerals, and various functions. John can be heard on Musical Theatre Classics and Contemporary Theatre Classics produced by Hal Leonard.

The ESPRESSO four are all founding members of Chicago Cabaret Professionals.

For booking information:

Touring manager:
Claudia Hommel at Maison Clobert:
773-509-9360 in Chicago or toll-free 888-590-9360
Email: clobert@compuserve.com

For national road tours, please contact
Brian Eastman at the Talent Center,
PO Box 23220,
513-541-1257 or 800-878-ACTS.
www.talentcenter.com Email: brian@talentcenter.com


Joëlle Productions | P. O. Box 259327 | Chicago, IL 60625 | (773) 509-9360 | (888) 590-9360
info@cabaret-paree.com