LILLIAN BAXTER IS BACK AT THE LITTLE ROOM!

SHOW DATES: JUNE 1-4 2022

Fringe Theater announces the return of Lillian Baxter to the Little Room Jazz Club, June 1-4, in the all new A FABULOUS Evening with Lillian Baxter starring John Vessels and Jay Schwandt. Musical theater meets cabaret when these two guys perform their spectacular one-woman show! 

“Our Key West audience fell in love with Lillian, when we first introduced her in 2016,” says Fringe Managing Artistic Director Rebecca Tomlinson. “I think it was a combination of her knock-out voice and upbeat approach to life’s little foibles. So we keeping asking John and Jay to write new shows for us so we can keep bringing her back!”  

This year’s show is a one-woman musical Pride parade of show tunes, gay anthems, and disco. Let’s do the Hustle! Everything will be coming up Rainbows in this All-Welcome celebration of the Night Life, the Love Life, and the occasional stay at the YMCA.

But wait, just who is this Lillian Baxter? 

Lillian is a fictional character created by actor and writer John Vessels. “She was almost huge in the 1960s. Her voice took her places that her looks, perhaps, could not,” John jokes, but then he clarifies. “Lillian isn’t a drag act, beyond the obvious fact that I’m wearing a frock or two. Lillian is a fully realized human being living in a comedy format.” 

“Lillian never gives up,” explains Jay Schwandt, the show’s pianist and musical arranger. “She might mope, but she always picks herself up and carries on!”

Jay and John both came to theater by way of music.  Jay’s degrees are in music composition, and John’s degree is in opera. On the rare occasion when John is not performing professionally, he teaches voice and acting in Indianapolis, and Jay is an Associate Professor of Musical Theater at Ball State University. 

Critics rave: “John Vessels has a masterful level of vocal control which he pairs with a pitch perfect portrayal of Lillian as a super star that never was.  And Jay Schwandt shines with his impressive piano skills and arrangements.”  

A FABULOUS Evening with Lillian Baxter runs June 1-4 at 7pm at the Little Room Jazz Club which is located at 821 Duval Street. Doors will open nightly at 6pm so patrons can enjoy the Little Room’s tasty menu and full bar. Then patrons can stay to enjoy Little Room’s regularly scheduled musical entertainment at 9pm. Tickets are $35 general admission and $50 reserved seating and are available online at www.fringetheater.org or by calling 305-731-0581. Seating is limited so advanced ticket purchase is encouraged. 

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