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December 2019
The Lao Tizer Band feat Eric Marienthal & Karen Briggs
Doors 7PM | Show 8PM
Tickets: $40 Orchestra, $35 Loge, $30 General Admission in Upper & Lower Balcony.
“Jazz Group of the Year” nominee, The Lao Tizer Band feat Eric Marienthal & Karen Briggs make their debut appearance at the beautiful new Empress Theatre in Vallejo, CA on Friday, December 6, 2019 in support of their new, Billboard Jazz Top 10 CD/DVD combo-pack release, “Songs From The Swinghouse”! Led by pianist, keyboardist, composer and former “Best New Jazz Artist” nominee, Lao Tizer (Special EFX, Down To The Bone), the group also features Grammy winning sax legend, Eric Marienthal (Chick Corea, The Rippingtons), violinist extraordinare, Karen Briggs (Yanni, Stanley Clarke), Grammy winning drummer, Gene Coye (Larry Carlton, Terence Blanchard), dynamic vocalist, Tita Hutchison (Michael McDonald, Rick Rubin) and bass phenom, Anthony Crawford (Alan Holdsworth, Erykah Badu). Please join us for a memorable evening of music not to be missed!
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James Garner’s Tribute to Johnny Cash
$20 Online | $25 Phone & Box Office
Doors open 7PM | Show starts at 8PM
James Garner’s Tribute to Johnny Cash celebrates the life and music of the Man in Black with strong conviction and stunning accuracy. Garner and his band faithfully recreate Cash’s biggest hits, such as Folsom Prison Blues, I Walk the Line and Ring of Fire, and incorporate historical accounts and personal anecdotes about America’s most beloved singing storyteller in this not-to-be-missed musical event. The show is a fun, classy and toe-tapping trip down memory lane honoring Johnny Cash’s life and music, and the boom-chicka-boom sound of his signature backing band, the Tennessee Three.
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Wednesday Night Live in the Lounge with Groovality
General Admission $10
Doors open 6:30PM | Show 7:30PM
Groovality featuring Simon Russell, Billy Johnson, Rob Watson and Paul Branin
Blues, Funk, Soul and Jazz are fused together, wrapped into an eclectic, colorful package, and emerge as a funky, yet soulful sound that is called ‘Groovality’.
Groovality is a Bay Area-based group that has its own highly distinctive sound. Each member has a discrete background and set of talents, but they come together with their simple, but absolute, love for music, creating a sound that is raw and honest. Like the name, the music is more than groovy– it has a vitality that expresses joy, blues, passion, and soul all at the same time.
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Film Club – All About Eve
Tickets: $10 | Free for Film Club Members
6PM Doors & Guest Speaker Danelle Morton | 7:30PM Feature Film
Take a pause from holiday madness and step back into the glamor of classic Hollywood when the Empress rolls out the red carpet for this lushly restored, recently released copy of the Bette Davis classic All About Eve. One night, actress Margo Channing (Bette Davis) entertains a surprise dressing-room visitor: her most adoring fan, the sweet, shy, wide-eyed Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter). But as Eve becomes a fixture in Margo’s life, the Broadway legend soon realizes that her ardent admirer is much more than she appears to be. Featuring stiletto-sharp dialogue and direction by Mankiewicz, and an unforgettable Davis in the role that revived her career and came to define it, the multiple-Oscar-winning All About Eve is the most deliciously entertaining film ever made about the ruthlessness of show business.
Before the film and after local author Danelle Morton will offer insight into the private world of Bette Davis’ later years, described in Miss D & Me, the book she co-authored with Kathryn Sermak, who was Miss D’s personal assistant and best friend for her last 25 years. The Empress Lounge will be featuring a cocktail specially created for this evening, the Bumpy Night, and the book will be available for sale by our friends from Alibi Bookshop. Miss D & Me is a great present for the Bette Davis fan on your list.
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The Eve of Jackie Wilson (Starring Chester Gregory)
$25 Online | $30 Phone & Box Office
Doors open 7PM | Show starts at 8PM
Holiday Special Show
Chester Gregory is a multi award-winning actor and singer. A native of Gary, Indiana, Gregory worked as a teacher for the Lake County Public School System by day, and moonlighted as an actor in Chicago’s theater scene at night. Gregory wrote and produced plays and musicals for his students, nurturing their creative talents to become successful working professionals. He became a full-time actor and performer soon after landing the lead role in the critically acclaimed stage play The Jackie Wilson Story (which had a three-year run of sold out performances) at the Black Ensemble Theatre in Chicago. Gregory has since performed all over the world in iconic roles on stage and on screen.
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Voena Holiday Concert
Tickets: $25 | Children 5 and under are free
Doors open 3PM | Show starts at 4PM
Celebrating our 25 years of amazing audiences around the world from the White House to the Olympics to Carnegie Hall to guests of the Crown Prince in Abu Dhabi! Voena brings current and alumni members together for what will be the greatest show yet! Voena children’s choir continues to inspire audiences with their dance-like performance in joyful and dynamic arrangements of Holiday songs making world connections with multi-lingual repertoire, including their newly added language, Latvian. Holidays with Voena have become tradition with their refreshingly intimate concerts that bring performer and audience united as a family…a family that celebrates the season together in all their Victorian costuming splendor. Among the favorites that will be performed are Silent Night, Must Be Santa, Drummer Boy, and a special rendition of Elton John’s Step Into Christmas. Audience members continue to say “Voena concerts make the Holidays the most memorable!”
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New Year’s Eve with The Best Intentions, Kevin Frazier, Paul Branin & JP Machine
Tickets: $30 Online | $35 Box Office & Phone
Celebrate 2020 at the Empress Theatre. Line up featuring The Best Intentions, Kevin Frazier, Paul Branin & JP Machine.
| Event Info & Tickets »January 2020
Film Club – Pavarotti
Tickets: $10 | Free for Film Club Members
6:30PM Doors | 7:30PM Feature Film
Created from a combination of Luciano Pavarotti’s genre-redefining performances and granted access to never-before-seen footage, the film will give audiences around the world a stunningly intimate portrait of the most beloved opera singer of all time.
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JAZZ meets R&B with Darrell Edwards, Tony Saunders and Vernon Black
Tickets: $20 Online | $25 Box Office & Phone
Featuring: Darrell Edwards, Tony Saunders and Vernon Black
| Event Info & Tickets »February 2020
Three Tenors! — The Next Generation
Performance 7:30PM
In the grand tradition of the popular 3 Tenors concerts that packed stadiums with music-lovers a few years ago, the Empress Theatre presents Three Tenors! – The Next Generation. We’ve selected three brilliant, charismatic young tenors on the verge of major careers. Will you hear the next Pavarotti, Domingo and Carreras? Who knows?! One of our tenors, New Zealander Pene Pati, has been praised by The San Francisco Chronicle for his “…vigorous, full-bodied sound with a lustrous mid-range and glorious, perfectly placed top notes.” This performance may be regarded by future generations of music lovers as a pivotal event in the history of opera and popular entertainment.
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Golden Dragon Acrobats
$25 General Admission | Matinée Kids $10
Matinée: Doors open 2PM | Show starts at 3PM
Evening: Doors open 7PM | Show starts at 8PM
The Golden Dragon Acrobats represent the best of a time honored tradition that began more than twenty-five centuries ago. The Golden Dragons are recognized throughout the United States and abroad as the premiere Chinese acrobatic touring company of today.
The reputation of the company is solidly rooted in a commitment to the highest of production values and an attention to artistic details that is unparalleled in the art form. World renowned impresario Danny Chang and choreographer Angela Chang combine award-winning acrobatics, traditional dance, spectacular costumes, ancient and contemporary music and theatrical techniques to present a show of breathtaking skill and spellbinding beauty.
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Paul Taylor, Blake Aaron, and Brian Simpson
Pre-Dinner Cocktails 5:30PM | Dinner 6PM | Doors 7PM | Show8PM
Paul Taylor (Al Jareau Sax Player)
Blake Aaron
Brian Simpson (Dave Koz Keyboard Player)