Broadway star offers 'master class'

Broadway veteran Linda Purl and baritone Lee Lessack will conduct a master class at Sisters High School on Tuesday evening, April 5, titled "How to Sell Your Song."

The workshop, underwritten by The Roundhouse Foundation, is a unique opportunity for area singers to learn what's required to effectively communicate the emotions and stories of a song's lyrics. The class is open to teenagers through adults.

Attendees - from church choir soloists to local actors - should memorize one song and bring two copies of the music. Five to six names will be drawn at random to perform their number for Linda and Lee to critique, coach and encourage.

Purl was last in the area in October co-starring with Gregory Harrison in "Love Letters" at the Tower Theater. The successful event was a fundraiser staged by Sisters Starry Nights for the Sisters Schools Foundation.

The workshop is set for Tuesday, April 5, at 6:30 p.m. at Sisters High School. Tickets are $10 general admission. For information call 541-317-0700 or visit http://www.TowerTheatre.org.

Purl and Lessack are in the area performing in the conclusion of the 2010-11 Francis, Hansen & Martin CenterStage Series with a powerhouse evening of America's favorite music by four-time Oscar winner Johnny Mercer.

The intimate concert Wednesday, April 6, at 7:30 p.m. at the Tower features the stories and songs of more than two dozen timeless classics, including "Moon River," "Autumn Leaves," "That Old Black Magic," "Come Rain or Come Shine," "Goody Goody" and "Days of Wine and Roses."

An accomplished stage and screen actress, Purl's career as a singer has received popular and critical acclaim. Of her ability to interpret a song, Rex Reed said, "Purl turns each composition into a one-act play. She is merely marvelous." Lessack is an award-winning recording artist whom the Chicago Tribune called "the best male cabaret singer since Michael Feinstein."