The Brownville Concert Series is thrilled to welcome to Brownville, Lianne Marie Dobbs in “Why Can’t a Woman…?” Broadway leading men’s songs and sassy standards, served up with a twist of she, with music director, Ron Abel. The shows will be in cabaret on Friday and Saturday, May 2 and 3, at 7:30 p.m., and in concert Sunday, May 4, at 2:00 p.m. The shows are sponsored by State Bank of Table Rock & Community Insurance Group, Jim and Cathy Donahoe, and Jeff Meade and Shannon Stemm.

“Why Can’t a Woman…?” is an “honest-to-goodness work of art” (BroadwayWorld) – featuring one of a kind piano and voice arrangements by renowned music director Ron Abel of Broadway tunes and songbook standards, linked together with passages by female authors and classic heroines from Lianne’s well-worn bookshelves.

Lianne Marie Dobbs has headlined and filled the rooms at 54Below, Feinstein’s at the Nikko, Feinstein’s at Hotel Carmichael, Blue Strawberry, and The Green Room 42. She has also soloed with the San Francisco Symphony in an evening of Gershwin and toured the country performing leading roles in productions of Man of La Mancha, Les Misérables, Always . . . Patsy Cline, and Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies. Some may recognize her from The Equalizer, Law & Order, and The Gilded Age. In 2020, BroadwayWorld named her as one of the best vocalists of the decade and in 2022 her solo show at 54Below was named a highlight of the year.

Ron Abel is Lianne’s music director and arranger, whose accolades include LA Critics Circle Award Winner and L.A. Weekly Award Winner for his original compositions and unique arrangements of Broadway hits for orchestras and singers. He has been the music director and arranger for albums with Helen Reddy, and on-stage music director for Lucie Arnaz, Peter Allen, Joely Fisher, Valarie Pettiford, Shirley Jones and John Lloyd Young.

Season passes to all nine shows are only $180. Tickets are $25 for adults and $16 for students and can be purchased online at www.brownvilleconcertseries.org, on Facebook or call 402-825-3331. The Nebraska Arts Council, a state agency, supports this program through a matching grant funded by the Nebraska Legislature, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment.