Somewhere Over the Rose: A Tribute to Judy Garland & Bette Midler

Featuring

Kathy Halenda & David Landrum

Produced by

Cliftine Jones

Thursday, October 1, 2026,  6 - 9 PM

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Members $55 - Non-Members $65

Price includes a reception with hors d'oeuvres and open bar

6:00 p.m. Reception

7:00 p.m. Performance

Dress code: business casual

A professional actor and singer for over thirty years, Ms. Halenda has performed in over 250 professional productions, including twenty national tours where her roles included Rita Marshall in Tootsie, Mama Rose in Gypsy, Mae West in Ziegfeld, Rafaela in Grand Hotel, Golde in Fiddler on the Roof, Nancy in Oliver and Maggie Jones in 42nd St. She has played New York City, Washington D.C., Boston, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Montreal, Atlantic City, Los Angeles, and a lot of towns in between. Her extensive regional credits include the title roles in Mame (twice), Hello Dolly (twice), Evita and Annie Get Your Gun, as well as Mae West/Jo in Dirty Blonde, Mama Rose in Gypsy (four times), Miss Mona in The Best Lil' Whorehouse in Texas (five times!), Nancy in Oliver (thrice), Miss Hannigan in Annie, and The Plant in Little Shop of Horrors.

Ms. Halenda has emceed for numerous benefits and fundraisers nationwide and she has several one-woman shows under her bedazzled belt...she has created and written or co-written three of them. Her one-woman tour de force, The Brassy Broads of Broadway, premiered in New York City thirty years ago at the famous Danny’s Skylight Room in Manhattan and has been presented nationwide, including at the Philharmonic Center in Naples, FL, the ArtStation in Atlanta, GA and the Mac-Haydn Theatre in upstate New York. Sophie Tucker: Last of the Red-Hot Mamas (co-written by her) was critically acclaimed in Florida, Atlanta, Philadelphia at the Walnut Street Theatre, upstate New York, and in 2009 was chosen and presented at the world-famous Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC and at the Arts Festival in Charleston, WV. Her latest creation is Somewhere Over the Rose, a tribute to Judy Garland and Bette Midler. She has performed this one in Florida, Virgina, Georgia and upstate New York. She has also performed her cabarets right here in Richmond, at the Richmond Triangle Players, Center Stage, and Westminster Canterbury and Lakewood Retirement Homes. This buxom, brassy broad is comfortable in any room from opera hall to beer hall!

The New York Daily News calls her “a red-hot mama” and The New York Village Voice calls her “an Ethel Merman style diva”. The Los Angeles Times says she has “a magnificent belt voice and earthy charm.” The L.A. Stage says, “Kathy Halenda is a genuine powerhouse!”. The Reno Gazette call her “a knockout- a singer with a heart of gold.” And the Atlantic City Whoot says it all with, “Kathy Halenda is a winner!”

David Landrum (Pianist) - David is thrilled to be joining Kathy for this brilliant cabaret tribute. He has been the Music Director/Associate Music Director for several shows at Riverside Center of the Performing Arts. Favorite Credits include They’re Playing Our Song, The Sound of Music, and the Riverside Christmas Spectacular. He has even performed onstage at Riverside with Kathy in To Kill a Mockingbird (Boo Radley) and 42nd St. (Oscar). He has a degree in Musical Theater Accompanying from Shenandoah Conservatory and has done 5 years with Shenandoah Summer Music Theater. He was also an adjunct professor and resident music director for a few years at University of Mary Washington.

Thanks for coming to celebrate Judy and Bette. Enjoy the show.