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Lea DeLaria has distinguished herself in every form of entertainment that she touches - Jazz Musician, Broadway Diva, Actor, Writer and Stand-Up Comic - and it is plain to see why Ben Brantley of the New York Times describes Lea as "...every inch a star."

"...a thorn in the side of those with both neo-con and right on orthodoxies." --The Guardian (UK)

The USA’s first openly gay stand-up comedian, Lea DeLaria came out on national television in front of millions of viewers on The Arsenio Hall Show in 1993. Lea catapulted to a new kind of fame on Broadway in 1997 with The Public Theater's revival of On The Town. Directed by two-time Tony Award winner George C. Wolfe in the role of "Hildy," Lea received Obie, Drama Desk, Theater World and Fanny awards. She became a Drama League Honoree and the recipient of the most notorious snub in recent Tony history.

Lea also became one of the few openly gay actors in the world to cross boundaries playing straight on- and off-Broadway ("Hildy" in On the Town; "Cinder" in Little Fish; "Winnie" in Happy Days; "Joy" in Cinderella, NYC Opera), playing gay ("Mama Morton" in Chicago, National Tour; "Jane" in The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, a role written for her by Paul Rudnik), and even portraying men! ("Eddie" and "Dr. Scott" in The Rocky Horror Show, Broadway; "Marryin' Sam" in Lil' Abner, Encore Series)

As a concert headliner, Lea has starred in: JUDY GARLAND TRIBUTE, MY FAVORITE BROADWAY-THE LEADING LADIES, BILLIE HOLIDAY TRIBUTE, JAZZ SALUTE TO SONDHEIM, HAROLD ARLEN 100th BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION, all at Carnegie Hall; and END OF THE MILLENNIUM CONCERT, BILLIE HOLIDAY TRIBUTE at the Hollywood Bowl.

Lea's first record on the Warner Jazz label, PLAY IT COOL, was named Album of the Year by the London Times, with the single THE BALLAD OF SWEENEY TODD remaining at number one on jazz radio in the US for two months. Her second album, DOUBLE STANDARDS, leapt onto the Billboard Jazz Chart at number six.

Lea has toured most of the large jazz festivals including LONDON, NEW YORK CITY, JVC and MONTREUX, culminating in her appearance as the featured vocalist of THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NEWPORT JAZZ FESTIVAL TOUR.

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GHOSTLIGHT RECORDS, a division of Sh-K-Boom Records, is partnering with Warner Jazz for the worldwide release of Lea's new CD, The Live Smoke Sessions - recorded in concert at the popular uptown Manhattan jazz club last fall – which will be released online and in stores on September 9. The disc features special guest performers Gil Goldstein on piano, Seamus Blake on saxophone and BBC “Jazz Singer of the Year” Ian Shaw on vocals.

After her two innovative CDs reinventing Broadway tunes (2000’s Play It Cool) and rock and punk songs (2005’s Double Standards), Lea turns her considerable talents to her first recording focused on timeless pop standards. But these classic songs like “Down With Love,” “Night And Day,” “Love Me Or Leave Me” and “Come Rain Or Come Shine” have never sounded so fresh and alive.

“I styled this CD on the old school live recordings,” Lea comments. “It is my hope that this CD will take you back to 1948 and the Village Vanguard. So please let me invite you to mix a cocktail and enjoy a smoke while you sit back and soak up the swing.”

The Live Smoke Sessions also includes a jazz reworking of “Puff” from the Michael John LaChiusa musical Little Fish and the Lester Young jazz favorite “Jumpin’ With Symphony Sid.”

As a part of her busy fall schedule, Lea will appear in dual roles on the ABC-TV daytime drama “One Life To Live” starting in September. (One character, the psychic Madame Delphina, was labeled “What’s Hot” in Soap Opera Digest.) She will celebrate the CD with a return to the New York jazz club Smoke for two Mondays, September 29 and October 6; and at the 606 Club in London on November 9. Her long-running weekend show at the Art House in Provincetown, Massachusetts runs through September 6.

Lea DeLaria's Facebook Page

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