To achieve stardom in musical theater, one needs not only a whole lot of acting, singing and dancing talent, but also a bit of audacity. In 2008, aspiring young British starlet Olivia Lucy Phillip demonstrated that very quality by creating an entry for her own name in the online Urban Dictionary, defining it as “a term used to describe something absolutley [sic] perfect.” Whether her spelling has improved in the ensuing eight years is a matter of conjecture, but her onstage track record is not: The soulful-voiced Phillip has since performed in the West End casts of The Book of Mormon, Ghost: The Musical and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
This spring, Olivia Lucy Phillip comes to Broadway in Seth Rudestsky’s new musical Disaster! But you can catch her before she gets way too famous this weekend downstairs at the Culinary Institute of America’s Marriott Pavilion in Hyde Park. Her two-night stand – in which she will sing a variety of standards, pop and musical theater selections, topped by a medley of James Bond movie torchers – is the first in Half Moon Theatre’s brand-new Cabaret Series at the CIA.
Your price of admission is $90, which includes a three-course meal prepared by CIA chefs and the show. The January Half Moon Cabaret dinner will include a salad of baby lettuces, roasted root vegetables, aged goat cheese, sourdough croutons and local cider vinaigrette; herb-roasted chicken with braised black kale, carrot purée, fingerling potatoes and wild mushroom jus; and a warm apple tart with salted caramel sauce and candied walnuts. A vegetarian risotto option is also available.
Dinner will be served at 7:30 p.m. this Friday and Saturday, January 15 and 16, with the cabaret performance beginning at 9 p.m. Seating in the intimate downstairs space is limited to 100 people per show. Tickets can be reserved by calling (845) 235-9885 or online at www.brownpapertickets.com/producer/454317.