Brian De Lorenzo
Brian is an accomplished actor and singer who has performed from Alaska to Israel. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Musical Theatre from the The Fredonia School of Music/State University of New York (SUNY). He has performed at venues such as Eighty-Eight's, The Encore, Don't Tell Mama, Pegasus, and Birdland in New York; Piaf's in San Francisco; Scullers Jazz Club, Club Café and The Blacksmith House in Boston; The Downstairs Cabaret Theatre in Rochester, NY; The Crown & Anchor in Provincetown; and on cruise ships in Alaska and the Mediterranean.
Brian has also performed at the prestigious Mabel Mercer Cabaret Convention at New York's Town Hall Theatre; the 1st & 2nd Chicago Cabaret Conventions at the Park West; and the 1st, 2nd, & 3rd Boston Cabaret Festivals. Lesley Alexander of WVOX/WRTN Radio in New York said, "He knows how to get to the heart of a ballad...He builds moments with a sweet earnest quality in both his voice and his demeanor... He's pure cabaret." His cabaret shows have been nominated for IRNE* Awards for "Best Cabaret Show" three years in a row:
- Marry Me (a Little) [2005]
- Mama, a Rainbow: A Celebration of Moms & Other Parents [2004]
- How Was I to Know? ― Songs of Richard Rodgers [2003]
* Independent Reviewers of New England
Brian has performed with Broadway stars Alice Ripley [Side Show; The Rocky Horror Show; Sunset Boulevard] and George Dvorsky [Passion; The Scarlet Pimpernel; Pete 'n' Keely] in ON THE TWENTIETH CENTURY at Boston's Cutler Majestic Theatre and with Broadway star Judy Kuhn [Chess; Les Misérables] in the Overtures Productions concert staging of THE BAKER'S WIFE in Boston. ON THE TWENTIETH CENTURY received the 2006 Eliot Norton "Outstanding Musical" Award.
Brian enjoys performing songs that audiences don't get the opportunity to hear very often. More than half of the songs in his cabaret shows Found Treasures and More Found Treasures are from unsuccessful Broadway shows ― because even a show that didn't have a long run can have wonderful songs. Of course, Brian also sings more familiar songs from the "Great American Songbook" as well as contemporary cabaret.
Brian's CD, Found Treasures which includes songs from both of the above-mentioned shows, was nominated for the 2000 "Recording of the Year" Award by the Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs (MAC).
Brian earned the title "2001 Performer of the Year" by winning first place in the Adult Solo category at Talent America's 27th "Talent of the Year Awards" in New York, competing with performers from all over the United States. Contestants performed for approximately 45 judges who are professionals in the entertainment industry.
Brian has appeared at The Barnstormers, America's oldest professional Summer Stock Theatre, in Tamworth, NH as "Pete" in the Operetta spoof, LITTLE MARY SUNSHINE and as "Mr. Erlanson" in A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC. He donned Dickensian attire for four seasons of A CHRISTMAS CAROL at the Stoneham Theatre, a restored 1917 vaudeville and movie house in Stoneham, MA from 2000-03. Brian also appeared in the play from 1996-98 at American Stage Festival in Nashua, NH, and at the Nickerson Theatres in Norwell and Sudbury, MA from 1986 to 1990.
Other theatre roles include "Max" in LEND ME A TENOR at Pioneer Valley Summer Theatre in Easthampton, MA; "Aaron" in the New England premiere of THE GIG at The Lyric Stage Co. of Boston; "Jinx" in three productions of FOREVER PLAID; "Bentley Summerhays" in G.B. Shaw's MISALLIANCE; "Zangara" in the Boston professional premiere of Sondheim's ASSASSINS, voted best theatre production of 1998 by The Boston Globe; the "Head Waiter" in SHE LOVES ME; "Mordechai" in a European tour of the Elizabeth Swados musical ESTHER; "Charlie" in TINTYPES; "Charley" in MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG; MOBY DICK: AN AMERICAN OPERA; THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG; GREASE; CANDIDE; EVITA; A DAY IN HOLLYWOOD...A NIGHT IN THE UKRAINE; and "Frankie" in the original Boston run of FOREVER PLAID.
Brian participated in the world premiere productions of BANNED IN BOSTON; and two Philip Glass operas, THE JUNIPER TREE, and FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER, both at American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, MA.
Brian is a founding member of the Boston Association of Cabaret Artists (BACA) and served as the organization's president for four years. Previously, he was vice president for three years. He is currently serving as treasurer. He also served as editor of their newsletter, BACA News for more than four years. Brian used to write the column on Boston-area cabaret news for the international cabaret magazine, Cabaret Scenes.