Karen Mason & Louis Rosen: Ages Since the Last Time

Broadway and cabaret star Karen Mason and award-winning songwriter and performer Louis Rosen reunite back in their hometown for a celebration of nearly 50 years of collaboration and friendship, with two evenings of Louis’ songs, including many from his most recent albums, and a few selections by their dear mutual friend, Karen’s original musical director, the late Brian Lasser.

$37.50 cover + 2 drink minimum
21+

“A dramatic tour de force! Giving everything and more is what Ms. Mason does best.” (New York Times)

“Mr. Rosen’s music is a continually shifting patchwork of blues, folk, jazz and pop as earthy, tuneful art song.” (New York Times)

"A master interpreter… Mason produces a depth of sound and brilliance of color that converge in the work of very few singers!" (Chicago Tribune)

“A new minstrel of the dawn. On the new intriguing collection of originals [the 2023 album ‘LOVE AND ASHES’]… Rosen weaves his songs into tapestries, combining poignant thoughts with a lithe mix of swing and folk… mellow in the good sense and fervent in the even better sense." (Jazz Weekly)

"One of Mason's strong suits is her absolute authenticity—she's a what you see is what you get kind of person, an attribute that not only makes her instantly likeable, but is integral to her keen ability as a storyteller." (Nite Life Exchange)

"I've been listening to Louis Rosen's new album, I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING (Di-tone Records), and it's nearly impossible for me to express how moved I am by it. The songs are knowing and powerful and the composing and orchestrations are some of his best yet… Bravo." (Broadway News and Theater News Online)

Karen Mason has starred on Broadway, Off-Broadway, television, and recording and is the recipient of the 2019 MAC Lifetime Achievement Award, a 14-time MAC Award winner and has won the MAC Award for Major Female Vocalist of the Year for six consecutive years. She has also won the 2006 Nightlife Award for Major Female Vocalist and has three Bistro Awards. Her theatrical career includes: the North American premier tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Love Never Dies, playing Madame Giry; Tanya in the original Mamma Mia! (Drama Desk Nom); Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard; Queen of Hearts in Wonderland; Velma in Hairspray; Jerome Robbin’s Broadway and Torch Song Trilogy. Karen won the Outer Critics Circle Award for her performance in And The World Goes ‘Round, and has headlined Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Feinstein’s 54 Below, Birdland, The Fairmont Hotel (San Fran), and The Park West (Chi). Her 7 highly acclaimed recordings include her newest single, “It’s About Time” an anthem for Marriage Equality, and single “Hold Me’, which won the 1998 Emmy Award for Best Song. www.karenmason.com

Louis Rosen is a composer, lyricist, author, performer and recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship in Music Composition. His thirteen albums of songs and music are: The Pearl Octet–Riversongs Nonet (2024), Love and Ashes (2023), Music for Guitar (2022); It Is Still Dark: Three Suites (2022); I Don’t Know Anything (2020); Phenomenal Woman: The Maya Angelou Songs (2018); Dust to Dust Blues (2017); Act One – Piano Music from the Theater (2017); Dream Suite (on poems by Langston Hughes - 2016); Time Was (2013); The Ache of Possibility (2009); One Ounce of Truth: The Nikki Giovanni Songs (2008); and South Side Stories (2006). Music for the theater includes Book of the Night (Goodman Theater, Chicago) and A Child’s Garden (Off-Broadway); 30 scores for plays at theaters on Broadway, off Broadway and around the country, and twelve concert suites drawn from these scores. As a performer, Louis has headlined New York City venues including Joe’s Pub, Birdland, Iridium, Birdland Theater and The Great Hall of Cooper Union; nightclubs and concert halls across the country; and as far away as the Harare International Festival of the Arts in Zimbabwe. He is also the author of the memoir/oral narrative, The South Side: The Racial Transformation of an American Neighborhood (Ivan R. Dee, Chicago). Other award highlights include the NEA New American Works Grant; and the 2nd Gilman & Gonzalez Falla Musical Theater Award. www.louisrosen.com

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Davenport's Piano Bar and Cabaret, 1383 North Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago, United States