Staff Reports
Singer/actor Santino Fontana is among the most visible artists of anyone who has been a part of the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic’s Cabaret at The Commons, a high-profile, nearly three-year-long series.
He’s a 2013 Tony Award-nominated Broadway performer as Prince Topher in “Cinderella,” starred in the TV role of the self-loathing barman Greg in the CW’s “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” and has been featured in movies “Frozen” (as Prince Hans), “Sisters” (Mr. Geernt, alongside Tina Fey and Amy Poehler) and others.
Plus, the 35-year-old vocalist frequently has shared the musical stage with Broadway singer Laura Osnes, a Cabaret favorite from two years ago.
Fontana will bring his show of Great American Songbook tunes to the cabaret at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 28 at The Commons, 300 Washington St. in downtown Columbus.
A Las Vegas version of the show earlier this year earned solid reviews, including ample praise from broadwayworld.com, and included such numbers as “Lush Life,” “When Sunny Gets Blue” and “I Feel Pretty” from “West Side Story,” as well as what was labeled a “soulful” rendition of Stevie Wonder’s classic “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing.”
Santino began his career at 18 when he won the renowned Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival.
Besides “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” his other television credits include guest spots on “The Good Wife,” “Nurse Jackie,” “Brain Dead,” and “Royal Pains.”
Other Broadway credits include “The Importance of Being Earnest,” “Brighton Beach Memoirs” (which earned him the Drama Desk Award), “Billy Elliot” and “Sunday in the Park with George.”
As a concert artist, he has sung with orchestras, big bands and smaller ensembles.
Some of those performances have included the New York Philharmonic, New York Pops, Houston Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Phoenix Symphony, Alabama Symphony and the Buffalo Symphony.
Plus, he has sung at such noted venues as Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, The Kennedy Center, The Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival and the Bravo Festival at Vail.
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Who: Vocalist Santino Fontana in “Santino Fontana Sings the American Songbook” Cabaret at The Commons performance.
When: Sept. 28. Happy Hour at 6:30 p.m. Reserved Dinner served 6:45 to 7:15 p.m. Cabaret Begins at 7:30 p.m.
Where: The Commons, 300 Washington St. in downtown Columbus.
Tickets: $20, $35 and $55, available at thecip.org or by calling the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic at 812-376-2638.
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