We're kicking off the summer cabaret series on Saturday, June 13 with On Stage with Shelley MacArthur: How Sweet It Is. Here's a Q&A with Shelley, including info on what to expect during 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.
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