Welcome to The Ace in the Hole Experience

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The Bobby Lewis Ensemble, vocal group, is under the direction of Bobby Lewis. Mr. Lewis is a talented songwriter, vocalist and recording artist. He is also a playwright, director, and producer. He is known for recognizing talent and cultivating it. He has received accolades from industry giants such as Maya Angelou (world renowned poet), Gina Tagnoni (ABC's One Life to Live), and George Faison (Tony Award winning choreographer) to name a few. The group is comprised of seven very talented young singers. Along with 4 great musicians, the fabulous ETC Quartet, they have performed to standing ovations all over the world. Their CDs include A Night Of African American Spirituals and The Bobby Lewis Ensemble Celebrates America.

Uncle Floyd Vivino, comic, needs no introduction to our audiences. He is a TV star. Not only did he have his own The Uncle Floyd Show, he has appeared on others including Law & Order, the ABC soap opera Loving and Bill Boggs Comedy Tonight. He has played feature roles in several movies, including Good Morning Vietnam, Crazy People, Mr. Wonderful and The Clowns Of Babyon. Floyd appears in night clubs all over the country. His radio show, The Italian-American Serenade, on WRTN-FM is a real favorite. His wonderfully wacky sense of humor is enjoyed and admired by audiences and fellow performers alike. Floyd is widely recognized for his encyclopedic knowledge of entertainment history. Floyd helped put together Ann Corio's This Was Burlesque when he was much too young to appear in the show. At Ace In The Hole you will see aspects of Uncle Floyd’s astonishing range of talents that you will not have seen in other venues.

Vinnie Knight, vocalist, starred with Oliver Jackson and the Harlem Big Band of New York and toured Germany, Switzerland, Holland, and Turkey. On her return to New York Vinnie was booked on the SS Norway cruise line and starred with the great trumpeter, Clarke Terry. She has appeared in Japan at 'Rapos Nightclub' with an all star Japanese orchestra. Vinnie has recorded, performed and collaborated with many of the great jazz musicians. She has recorded a CD for GPRT Records entitled Doin' Things For Her, an original composition by Gladys Shelley and arranged by Ms. Knight. Zena Records has produced Collectors Edition CDs of Vinnie singing - Sweet & Hot!, Live In Japan and I've Gotta Be Me. She appeared in London singing with the Dave Clark Blues Band.

Alto & Mantia, comedy team, starred in the hit Broadway show 3 From Brooklyn at the Helen Hayes Theatre where they received rave reviews. Clive Barnes wrote "funny guys with fresh material - definitely big leauge". They have played all the major casinos. They have appeared on TV and in movies. Bobby Alto and Buddy Mantia were succesful stand up comics on their own before they met at NY's famous comedy club "The Improv". Together, critics put them in the same league as such great comedy teams as the Marx Brothers, Martin & Lewis and Abbott & Costello. Look for their new movie The Last Request on TV's Comedy Central this coming March.

Jerry Weldon, tenor saxophonist, joined the legendary Lionel Hampton Orchestra in 1981. In 1990, Jerry became a charter member and featured soloist with Harry Connick Jr.'s newly formed Big Band. Jer (as he is known by his friends) has worked and recorded with organists Jimmy McGriff, Joey DeFrancesco, Bobby Forrester, Dr. Lonnie Smith, and Mel Rhyne, trombone great Al Grey, piano giants George Cables and Cedar Walton, drum legends Roy Haynes and Jimmy Cobb as well as guitarist/singer George Benson, bassist Keter Betts and singer Mel Tormé. Jerry performs in all the major Jazz Festivals, here and abroad.

Mary Mancini, soprano, & Mario Tacca, accordionist, are two of the most talented entertainers to grace our stage. They are each great artists in their own right and as a team they are an extraordinary treat. Mary has sung to great acclaim in concert halls all over the world and Mario has won First Prize in accordion competitions in Italy, in Paris, France and The International Accordion Competition at Carnegie Hall, in New York. They appear all over the USA and throughout the world to great acclaim. They have recorded several albums for Gioia Productions, which are available as CDs.

Joey Arminio & The Family - Besides the incredible virtuosity of Joey Aminio's horn, guitar playing, and singing, the show features Doreen Brusca, a super sexy vocalist. Together they do Broadway tunes, impressions (Sonny & Cher, Louis Prima & Keeley Smith and others) and swing band arrangements. Joey was the leader of the well known band, "The Wanderers" and also played sax for Frankie Avalon and Gary U.S. Bonds. Doreen played roles in shows like West Side Story, Godspell, Cinderella and Grease. Together with Nicky Vee on keyboards and Billy Wiles on drums and two lovely dancers, Jessica McMahon and Katie Kucharsky they play night clubs, resorts and in concerts all over the country.

Laura Roth, singer/comedienne, has been called "one of America’s best cabaret singers" by Variety Magazine. She has starred in night clubs and theaters all over the country. In New York she starred in productions of Gypsy, Big River, Hot L Baltimore and California Suite among others. She also has her own theatre company in Lake George, N.Y. Laura has built a reputation as one of the finest impressionists working today. Incorporating her enormous acting and singing talents plus fabulous costumes and wigs, she brings to life the most amazing caricatures of great stars of the past and present.

Richard Lanham, vocalist, has appeared on American Bandstand and the Allen Freed show and was the lead singer with The King Curtis Band and The Drifters. He has headlined at The Apollo and appears in night clubs and in concerts all over the USA and Europe as well as on television in Sweden, Italy, Germany, Holland and Great Britain. He has recorded on his own and with The Wynton Kelly Trio.

Rosanna Tovi & Andrei Bannikov, internationally renowned figure skating pair, are international Gold Medalist skaters. They have starred in The Ice Capades, and have appeared throughout the world at such famous venues as Madison Square Garden and Rockefeller Center in NYC and the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. They have been seen on ABC TV, as well as MTV and The BBC.

Robbie Scott, drummer, has appeared on many great recordings and in TV broadcasts from the White House in performances for Presidents Reagan, Bush and Clinton. He has appeared at Michael's Pub with Woody Allen’s Dixieland band and has appeared and recorded with Bobby Short. Robbie appears regularly in New York with his own great group, The New Deal Swing Orchestra at venues such as The Tavern On The Green and The Lombardy Hotel. Also, The New Deal Swing Orchestra plays about 120 weddings a year.

Wolf Johnson, vocalist, appears throughout the world as the bass voice of The Drifters and The Temptations. His is an unforgetable voice ansd stage presence (at 6 ft 6 in!). Wolf stars regularly at the Cotton Club in Harlem. You know his voice from that famous Chili's Restaurant commercial "I Want My Baby Back Ribs!!" Wolf has formed his own male vocal quartet — By Special Request — four remarkably talented singers in perfect harmony.

The Alex Meixner Trio is made up of 3 fabulous musicians. Alex Meixner, accordion/band leader, has appeared with the London Symphony orchestra and with singer Sandy Duncan, as well as with Myron Florin, Frankie Yankovic and Phil Woods. He is featured on 40 recordings, including the Grammy award winning album Music and Friends with his father Al Meixner. Al Meixner has performed throughout the world with various ethnic folk ensembles. As a staff musician for Walt Disney's EPCOT Center, Alex developed a reputation as an expert in numerous European ethnic music styles. He is a prolific recording artist and producer, with over 100 recordings to his credit. Roger Latzgo, bass, is a recognized master of Classical, Folk and Jazz styles of music. He has collaborated with many international artists in concerts and recordings in his thirty plus years as a professional musician.

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