Q&A with Shelley MacArthur

With the warmer weather comes the Auditorium’s newest tradition – the Summer Cabaret Series!  This innovative concept, where we turn our stage into an intimate cabaret club, began in June 2006 with a performance by Chicago’s own Shelley MacArthur.  Shelley will return on Friday, June 13 at 8pm with a new show, How Sweet It Is. 

Shelley took a break from rehearsing to tell us a little bit about herself and her show.

Tell us about when you began singing professionally in Chicago.

I’ve been singing all my life.  I grew up singing and performing and I studied voice and theater in college.  Professionally speaking, I started singing at the Gold Star Sardine Bar, a tiny little intimate club here in Chicago.  Bill Allen was the impresario and owner of the Gold Star, and he gave me the opportunity to sing there and that’s where it started taking off.  It was great fun and I had the chance to meet and perform with a lot of wonderful entertainers – whoever was in town (Bobby Short, Julie Wilson, Tony Bennett) came to the Gold Star for drinks so we got to meet them and occasionally perform with them.  It was a valuable learning experience.

Bobby Short was part owner of the Gold Star, so he used to come in all the time.  On several occasions, Bill Allen pulled me up onstage with him, which was pretty frightening.  But it was the beginning of a long friendship with Bobby and many performances together. 

I’ve had the opportunity to sing with some pretty terrific singers, like Mandy Patinkin and George Burns.  That was the beginning of many performances outside the Gold Star.

Then I married a wonderful man, Bill Farley, and had another child.  My husband had a big life, with a lot of travel.  I took a sabbatical and just started singing again professionally five years ago.  Through those years, many people asked me when I was going to sing again, and then an opportunity came up with The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago.  They asked me to do a major performance and ever since then I haven’t stopped singing!  I have had the blessing of a lot of people who have been wonderfully supportive and I’ve been singing ever since.

What have been some of the highlights of your singing career?

There have been some pretty exciting times. 

I sang with President Clinton while he played the saxophone – that was pretty special!  I’ve sung for Mayor Daley several times.   I opened for Michael Feinstein at Ravinia, sung at the Paramount in Aurora, and Town Hall in New York City.

I opened for Michael Feinstein at Ravinia, which was a magical experience!  I opened the cabaret series at Town Hall in New York singing with New York performers, and I will be performing at the opening of the Mabel Mercer Cabaret Convention presented by Jazz at Lincoln Center on October 29!  I am going to sing with Ramsey Lewis in September which I’m really excited about.  Things are starting to go my way and I couldn’t be happier.

You were the first performer in our “On Stage with…” series. What is that like?

It was a wonderful experience and a great concept!  The building in itself has so much historic value; it is one of our city’s treasures.  Being the first performer for the series, I must say, was a little frightening.

I closed the show singing an aria by Puccini.  One of my passions has always been classical voice and opera.  My grandmother was an opera singer and I was classically trained, which I don’t get to share with my audiences that often.  But to sing an aria in the Auditorium was amazing.  It was originally built as an opera house to rival La Scala.  It was a magical moment for me to do an aria there knowing that history. 

One of my dreams, and it’s on my dream board, is to do a classical show – there, I’ve said it - it’s out in the universe.

Tell us about the music we’ll be hearing on June 13. 

This time I’ll be talking about different phases of love in life.  I’ll be singing some of my favorite composers – Stephen Sondheim and Jerry Herman.  I’m also doing songs by Cy Coleman, Gus Kahn, Sammy Kahn, Mose Allison, and Henry Mancini.  I’m very excited about this show.  I don’t want to give it all away but it will be a lot of fun.

I’m thrilled to be performing again in the Auditorium.  “On Stage” is a wonderful addition in Chicago.  It’s great that this style is coming back and places are embracing this form of music.  It’s a wonderful stage and setting and gives you a feeling of being alive. 

When I’m performing at The Auditorium and I think about the artists who have performed there on that stage – it’s breathtaking!  I like to take that energy and use that during my performance.  That’s what I think about when I’m performing, especially there – drawing on the energy of the dancers, the singers, the musicians who have played and entertained the thousands of people in that building’s history. 

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On Stage with Shelley MacArthur: How Sweet It Is is Friday, June 13 at 8pm.  Seating is filling up fast, so call 312.922.2110 ext 300 today to make your reservation.  The $75 seats are sold out, but $50 seating is still available.