Monday, May 28, 2012

New Venue for Mark Janas' Birthday

ANNOUNCING NEW VENUE FOR:
 
MARK JANAS' 60th BIRTHDAY PARTY / CABARET SHOW / FUNDRAISER 

SATURDAY JUNE 9, 2012 
Bohemian Benevolent & Literary Association 
321 E. 73rd St btw 1st & 2nd 

RSVP A MUST! LIMITED CAPACITY! 

IF YOU HAVE ALREADY RSVP'D THEN YOU ARE ON THE LIST.
IF YOU HAVE NOT OR ARE UNSURE - PLEASE RSVP ASAP TO: tanya@tanyamoberly.com
Just let us know how many will be in your party. 

7pm till 1:00am (Show at 8pm) 

Featured Performers, Groups, and Shows: Len Cariou, Christ Church Bay Ridge Choir, Finian’s Rainbow, John Fischer, Andy Gale, Ed Gilmore, Sean Harkness, Mark Hartman, Marcie Henderson, Ritt Henn & Mark Liz McNamara, Maree Johnson, Raissa Katona Bennett, Jodi Keogan, Jodi Letizia, Nicholas Levin, Charlie Lindberg, Cindy Marchionda, Manhattan School of Music, Marquee Five, Kevin McMullan, Miles Phillips & Rob Langeder Karen Mason, Tanya Moberly, Pinocchio of Chelsea, Jim Price, Julie Reyburn, Sarah Rice & Celia Berk, Salon, Steve Schalchlin & Jim Brochu, Robert Schwartz, Karen Shaw, Maureen Taylor, The Big Voice: God or Merman, The Cuban and the Redhead, Wally Usiatynski, Matthew Martin Ward, Ann & Carroll Van Cleave, Tony Yazbeck, and Bill Zeffiro Sponsored by Fr. Jeff Hamblin Hosted by David Gillam

ABOUT MARK’S SITUATION AND HOW YOU CAN HELP:

On March 26, 2012, Mark Janas underwent emergency brain surgery to remove a cavernous malformation from his brain stem. His strong and speedy recovery is a testament to his will to live and positive attitude. He does however still have issues with partial eye and facial paralysis that have resulted in double vision and some speech difficulties which we hope, with time, will improve. But there will be weeks or even months of recovery and therapy ahead limiting his work load and thus, his income.

If you can give even one dollar for every year Mark has been alive, it will make a world of difference - but any contribution will be a greatly appreciated.

Many thanks to Fr. Jeffrey Hamblin, MD, and Christ Church Bay Ridge (where Mark is currently Minister of Music) for sponsoring this event. This means all contributions are tax deductible. All you need do is make the check payable to
"Christ Church Arts Fund" (write “Mark Janas”) on the memo line, and mail it to:

Mark Janas
332 Bleecker Street, #K101
New York, NY 10014

….or just bring it to the party.

Finally, please spread the good news about Mark’s party. Forward this email to anyone you know who would like to be invited to this exciting event and/or post it on your Facebook page.

Don’ t forget to RSVP… ASAP!

Your help and good wishes will be instrumental in Mark’s recovery and are much appreciated.

Gratefully,
The Mark Janas 60th Birthday Party Committee:
David Gillam, Tanya Moberly, Fr. Jeffrey Hamblin, MD

Sunday, May 13, 2012

The Salon Wrap Up for May 6, 2012 "Being Alive - A Celebration of Life”

This week’s Salon marks the final event before our 8 week spring hiatus - and we were thrilled to have both Mark Janas and Bill Zeffiro at the keys as Hosts/Pianists. The theme was “Being Alive - A Celebration of Life” -- we knew we were in for an evening of joy, happiness and love!

Thus, what other co-host could we have but the affable, charming Johnny Rodgers! Johnny has won a MAC Award, 2 Bistros, a Nightlife, several Songwriting Awards (including ASCAP, Billboard & Songwriter’s Hall of Fame) and was featured in the Tony Award winning “Liza’s At The Palace.” He will be at The Allen Room at Jazz Lincoln Center, Broadway at 60th St, NYC on May 15th at 7:30pm (with Michael Feinstein) and May 16th at 7:30pm (with James Naughton); at The Iridium, 1650 Broadway at 51st St, NYC on June 5th at 8pm and in Malaysia on June 15th & 16th. For more information: www.johnnyrodgers.com.

For the first number of the evening, Johnny sang “How Sweet It Is” with full audience participation (which he brushed off as a group vocal warm up.) What a fun way to kick off The Salon.

Johnny Rodgers
Jennie Litt and husband David Alpher (on piano) introduced the open mic portion of the evening with “Let’s Face the Music and Dance” by Irving Berlin. Elaine St George sang the jazzy, upbeat and happy, “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning” from Oklahoma! Elaine has a show coming up June 6 & 13 (7pm) and 7 & 14 (9:30) at The Metropolitan Room - “Take Me As I Am: A witty and opinionated look at Joni Mitchell on relationships.”

Elaine St George
Barb Malley was next with a song that she dedicated to The Salon, which she called the highlight of her time in NYC: “You Make Me Feel So Young.” Barb is bringing back her show, “I Remember Brooklyn” to Don’t Tell Mama on Saturday, June 30 with a quintet of musicians. Loretta G, someone I have not had the privilege of meeting before today, brought in a wistful, “I Only Have Eyes For You.” We sure hope you join us again!

Loretta G
Sunny Leigh brought her sultry, alto tones to “It Might As Well Be Spring.” Sunny has a show, “Sunny Leigh in Metro Jazz” on Sunday, May 20 at 4pm at the Metropolitan Room and a CD release party at The Bitter End at a later date. Richard Eisenberg sang his inspiring, original tune, “Never Too Late.” Today marks the premiere of Richie’s very first cabaret solely of his own material: “Smile On My Face: The Songs of Richard Eisenberg” to a packed house at the Laurie Beechman. I had the honor of being a performer in this show, and I was thrilled to be included. Congratulations, Richard!

Richard Eisenberg
Stephanie Zagoren brought us the Rodgers/Hart tune, “Didn’t Know What Time It Was.” She said this song reminds her of the day she met her husband, which was one of the happiest days of her life. We were thrilled that she chose to share that love with us! Steve “The Whistler” Herbst was next, impressing the crowd with his rendition of “Georgia On My Mind.” His big announcement is that he just passed an exam to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker -- no wonder we haven’t seen him in a while! Congratulations, Steve. We’re thrilled for you.

Steve "The Whistler" Herbst
Matthew Martin Ward, last week’s guest host, was back again this week - this time with the heartfelt ballad, “Ship In A Bottle.” In a couple of weeks, Matthew will be performing at the 135th Birthday Bash for the Isadora Duncan Foundation - he’ll be playing a piano recital and people will dance! He is also doing one more show with Sally Darling at 7pm on May 11 at Don’t Tell Mama. Adam Shapiro said that he thinks that being alive means taking risks - moving to a new city, working in theater, etc. So, he sang a song that he called, “a bit of a risk… it’s high…” (to which Johnny retorted, “So are we!”) - the amazing, “Out There” from The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Adam Shapiro
Sierra Rein, my fellow blogger, thanked Adam for the appropriate segue, and seduced the audience with Cole Porter’s “Experiment” (with some able assistance from pianist, Bill Zeffiro.) Sierra’s group, Marquee Five, will be performing at the Buck Hill Music Fest on May 18. Be sure to check out www.marqueefive.com for more details (and buy their CD!) David Ballard, our trusty server, brought in his compelling, original song, “So This If My Life.” He’s currently writing a 10 minute musical for the BMI workshop - we can’t wait to hear it!

Erin Cronican (yours truly) sang about the giddy celebration of finding love, “Gimme Gimme” from Thoroughly Modern Millie. Shana Farr, tonight’s Etceterette, came to the mic with a story: In 1934 Noel Coward almost didn’t write this song… because he had been trying tirelessly to write a waltz. He couldn’t come up with one so he almost gave up altogether. But with a little perseverance, he reached deep inside and somehow found, “I’ll Follow My Secret Heart.” Thanks for Shana for the background on the song, and for singing it brilliantly.

Shana Farr
For this week’s Classical Corner, Mark Janas suggested that the pianists in the room get ready to improvise some themes and variations on a central song. He asked for suggestions from the audience, one of whom offered, “Fly Me To The Moon.” He then asked the pianists what key they should start with, and off they went! Over the next 16 minutes, 5 pianists graced the stage in a continuous ode to the 1954 Bart Howard classic.

But don’t rely on my words -- here’s a video of the segment to get a full sense of the genius of Classical Corner!





Second Set

CoHost Johnny Rodgers brought us back from the break, with an original song that he thought was appropriate for tonight’s theme… so much so that he dedicated it to Salon Founder/Host, Mark Janas -- “One more Moment.” It really charmed and warmed the crowd - not a dry eye was present.

Johnny Rodgers
Johnny asked Mark Janas to come to the piano, and then asked the audience to snap a brisk rhythm so that he would have some backup for “I’m In Heaven.” For more audience participation -- he would put the mic in front of audience members to sing the “cheek to cheek” lyric. And then for the musical interlude, Johnny joined Mark at the keys and they riffed together.

Johnny Rodgers, with assistance by Mark Janas
For the last song of the set, Johnny played and sang his original tune, “Your Smiling Face.”

We were thrilled to welcome up Salon producer, Tanya Moberly, to sing her personal version of “A lot Of Livin’ To Do” from Bye Bye Birdie. My only complaint was that the song was too short, and apparently our co-host agreed because he reluctantly let her go back to her seat. Tanya just announced that she’ll be doing another show in the fall at Don’t Tell Mama.

Lou Iacovino was next to the stage with the contemplative, “Here’s To Life.” Kevin McMullan brought up “Up To The Mountain” from the musical, A Portrait of Jennie. We wish Kevin a speedy recovery from an injured calf muscle. In the meantime, be nice to people with that cane! :)

Kevin McMullan
Julie Reyburn told us a story about her song, which is her favorite Sondheim ballad. Apparently, her then-boyfriend remembered that it was her favorite song and had it playing at an Indian restaurant when he got down on his knee to propose. The song? “So Many People” from the musical, Saturday Night. Ok, let’s do it together… “Awwwwwwww…” I’ll tell you - I’ll never hear that song the same way again. Paul Kolecki sang a medley (or “blend”, as he suggested - like two fine wines) of two of his favorite songs: “Anyone Can Whistle” and “Where or When.”

Paul Kolecki
Mac Nominee Joey Infante brought up what he described as a “song where Peter Pan meets Willy Wonka” - a mashup of “Never Never Land” by Styne/Comden/Green and “Pure Imagination” by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley. Joey says he is taking his current show, “Babalu,” on the road - congratulations! Bob Diamond sang the lovely, on-theme song, “What More Can I Say?” We’re so glad to have you back at The Salon, Bob!

Bob Diamond
After being at the keys for many a singer (and fabulously so during Classical Corner) Bill Zeffiro occupied his own slot in the lineup, singing his brand new song, “I’ve Still Got New York.” Next up was Stearns Matthews. Stearns said that each time he comes to The Salon he has trouble picking songs on theme. Well, this time he said that he’s lost his theme virginity, with “Sing” made popular by Perry Como. Welcome back to The Salon - we hope it’s not a year before we get to hear your lovely voice again! Stearns is having a birthday show June 22 at Don’t Tell Mama.

Steve Schachlin was next, and before he sang his original tune, “Lazarus Come Out” he took some time to give a special thank you to Tanya Moberly for keeping us abreast of what was going on with Mark while he was in the hospital. Steve is planning to do a fundraiser to help cover Mark’s medical bills & living expenses, and is inviting all of The Salon singers to be a part of it. He will give Tanya the details and and we’ll post them to the blog.

Steve Schachlin
Steve stayed at the piano and invited Jake Stewart to the mic to sing one of Steve’s brand new songs, “Only So Many Days In An Hour.”

We were excited to welcome back to The Salon, James Eden, who sang the ultimate on-theme song, “Being Alive” from Sondheim’s Company. Before singing his song, The Salon’s generous sponsor, Father Jeff Hamblin, mentioned that he is creating a competition for high school students who are pianists, with a top prize of $1000, and asked tonight’s pianists to volunteer as judges for the competition. We will give out more details as they become available. This announcement was an amazing backdrop to the song he chose to sing: “The Impossible Dream” from the musical, Man of La Mancha. The entire audience joined in for the final chorus, and it was truly inspiring!

Salon Sponsor, Father Jeff Hamblin
Arn Prince moved the mic aside and delivered the incredible aria, “Che Gelida Manina” from the opera La Boheme. He’s doing a recital, accompanied by pipe organ, at Christ Church in Brooklyn in June. Details to come!

For the final song of the evening, Co-Host Johnny Rodgers brought in some honky tonk with “Whole Lot of Shaking Goin’ On.” And as a final treat, Johnny invited Mark Janas to the piano to riff together. Clapping and cheering, The Salon audience sad goodbye to another MAC Award winning season!



REMINDER: The Salon is on hiatus May 7-July 7, reopening again on July 8.

Go out and see some shows - support cabaret and live theater! Be sure to check out the Facebook Group for updates on what people are doing this spring/summer.


If you just can’t wait until July, come out to a very special event:


MARK JANAS’ BIRTHDAY!

When: June 9 from 7pm-2am

What: Cabaret / Show / Party at Roseland to celebrate Mark’s Birthday!

Tickets: FREE, but must RSVP. Donations being collected to go toward Mark’s medical & living expenses.




-Erin Cronican
Blogette for The Salon
URL’s I missed? Names misspelled? Please email me.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

You Are Invited!

MARK JANAS is 60 YEARS YOUNG!
Celebrate MARK JANAS’ 60th BIRTHDAY and his amazing ongoing recovery from brain surgery.

A Birthday Party! A Live Cabaret Show!

A Fundraiser for Mark’s medical and recovery expenses.

Saturday, June 9, 2012
7pm till 2:00am (Show at 8pm)
Roseland Ballroom – 239 West 52nd Street, New York, NY


No Admission – Free Light Party Fare and Snacks – Cash Bar

Featured Performers, Groups, and Shows:
Len Cariou, Andy Gale, Raissa Katona Bennett, Sean Harkness, Mark Hartman, Marcie Henderson, Ritt Henn, Jodi Keogan, Jodi Letizia, Tanya Moberly, Julie Reyburn, Sarah Rice, Maureen Taylor, Steve Schalchlin & Jim Brochu, Wally Usiatynski, Ann & Carroll Van Cleave, Tony Yazbeck, and Bill Zeffiro

Christ Church Bay Ridge Choir, Marquee Five, Pinochio of Chelsea, PoesCrypt, The Lone Star, The Big Voice – God or Merman, The Cuban and the Redhead, Finian’s Rainbow, Talk of the Town, Manhattan School of Music, and Salon. (artists subject to change)

RSVP by Saturday, May 19th via email to: tanya@tanyamoberly.com

Bring a date… bring a friend… Just let us know how many will be in your party. Confirmations will be emailed to all those responding.

Send via email any photos, PDF’s of programs, articles, videos, or any other Mark Janas memorabilia for the special video tribute.

ABOUT MARK’S SITUATION AND HOW YOU CAN HELP:

On March 26, 2012, Mark Janas underwent emergency brain surgery to remove a cavernous malformation from his brain stem. His strong and speedy recovery is a testament to his will to live and positive attitude. He does however still have issues with partial eye and facial paralysis that have resulted in double vision and some speech difficulties which we hope, with time, will improve. But there will be weeks or even months of recovery and therapy ahead limiting his work load and thus, his income.

If you can give even one dollar for every year Mark has been alive, it will make a world of difference - but any contribution will be a greatly appreciated.

Many thanks to Fr. Jeffrey Hamblin, MD, and Christ Church Bay Ridge (where Mark is currently Minister of Music) for sponsoring this event. This means all contributions are tax deductible. All you need do is make the check payable to Christ Church Arts Fund, write “Mark Janas” on the memo line, and mail it to:

Mark Janas
332 Bleecker Street, #K101
New York, NY 10014

….or just bring it to the party.

Finally, please spread the good news about Mark’s party. Forward this email to anyone you know who would like to be invited to this exciting event and/or post it on your Facebook page.

Don’ t forget to RSVP… ASAP!

Your help and good wishes will be instrumental in Mark’s recovery and are much appreciated.

Gratefully,
The Mark Janas 60th Birthday Party Committee:
David Gillam, Tanya Moberly, Fr. Jeffrey Hamblin, MD

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Update from Producer, Tanya Moberly - May 2, 2012

SALON – that unique, MULTIPLE AWARD WINNING, Weekly Open Mic Event, created and hosted by Mark Janas returns to Etcetera, Etcetera - 352 West 44th Street, NYC 10036 – on Sunday, May 6th from 7-10:30PM! (Sign-Up Begins at 6:15.)

The optional theme for the evening is “Being Alive – A Celebration of Life!”

Remember, any material, on or off theme, is always welcome at Salon.

Our Co-Host will be the Amazing Singer, Dancer, Pianist & Songwriter Johnny Rodgers! Johnny has won a MAC Award, 2 Bistros, a Nightlife, several Songwriting Awards (including ASCAP, Billboard & Songwriter's Hall of Fame) and was featured in the Tony Award winning “Liza's At The Palace”. He will be at The Sheet Music Society at Musician's Union Hall, 322 West 48thSt, NYC on May 12th at 1:30pm; at The Allen Room at Jazz Lincoln Center, Broadway at 60th St, NYC on May 15th at 7:30pm (with Michael Feinstein) and May 16th at 7:30pm (with James Naughton); at The Iridium, 1650 Broadway at 51st St, NYC on June 5th at 8pm and in Malaysia on June 15th & 16th. For more information: www.johnnyrodgers.com.

THERE WILL BE NO SALON MAY 13TH – JULY 1ST.

There will be a 60th Birthday Party for Mark Janas on Saturday, June 9th! (Details TBA)

Salon returns July 8th and will continue every Sunday through Labor Day.

Salon is an ongoing open entertainment event in which singers, writers and musicians share their talent with each other and audience members.

There is a $10 cash cover collected at the door and a $15 food/drink minimum (cash or credit) per person. (For more information about Etcetera, Etcetera's delicious menu: www.etcrestaurant.com.) There are no reservations; seating is on a first come/first served basis, Doors open and sign up begins at 6:15pm. The evening runs 7-10:30, with one intermission. If you would like to sign up to perform, see one the evening's 'Etceterettes' to fill out a card with your name, the name of your song, whether or not Mark will be playing for you and any upcoming events you'd like to promote. We do not present performers in order of sign-up, however, indicating requests as clearly and as early as possible as far as time restraints are concerned always makes everything much more possible. ALWAYS BRING SEVERAL SONG SELECTIONS to avoid duplication. All types of material, on or off theme are always welcome at Salon. We enthusiastically welcome instrumentalists, poets, playwrights, essayists, comics, illusionists and performance artists. Please limit your selections to three or four minutes in length (including introductions). Please also bring clear, complete charts for Mark to read. Sitting on the piano is not allowed, nor is flash photography. Please turn off all noise making devices and give performers your undivided attention.

Visit our website at www.markjanasthesalon.com and look for us on Facebook!

Thank you to our sponsors Dr. Garrett Bennett & Father Jeffrey Hamblin, MD!

Looking forward to seeing you all Sunday, May 6th!

Thanks,

Tanya Moberly
Salon Producer

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

The Salon Wrap Up for April 29, 2012 "Love's What We'll Remember”

The mood was warm and fuzzy as we welcomed in the penultimate Salon of the season - with the theme, “Love’s What We’ll Remember.” On hand as Guest Host/Pianist was Matthew Martin Ward, with Mark Janas on the keys for this evening’s co-hosts - 7 students from the Manhattan School of Music: Zach Appel, Oliver Donaldson, Chris Harrelson, Rachael Hirsch, Bradley Lassiter, Anna Penchuk, Janani Sridhar & Maren Weinberger! These talented singers kicked off the evening with a lively mashup of songs in a reprisal of their 8-person Discover Opera Valentine’s Concert (directed by Andy Gale.)
Co-hosts: Students at the Manhattan School of Music
Jennie Litt (with David Alpher on the piano) premiered a brand new song (not heard anyone, anywhere!) “Marriage” - lovely ballad about the survival of a couple’s vow. Jennie and David have a show coming up at the Triad May 17 at 7pm. Olga Slavnina sat down at the piano and impressively played Chopin’s gorgeous “Impromptu Fantasy.”

Olga Slavnina
Co-Host Brad Lassiter was next, with the gorgeous medley of the ballads, “When I Fall In Love” and “Some Enchanted Evening.” Sunny Leigh (along with Barry Levitt on the keys) graced the stage with a smooth and lovely rendition of “This Can’t Go On.” Sunny has a show, “Sunny Leigh in Metro Jazz” on Sunday, May 20 at 4pm at the Metropolitan Room.

Sunny Leigh
Barry Levitt stayed at the piano as Peter Napolitano came to the mic to introduce the next 2 songs. Peter is directing (and Barry music directing) “Smile On My Face: The Songs of Richard Eisenberg.” The show is premiering at The Laurie Beechman on May 6 at 1pm. The first song they introduced was “Hum a Song” with the ensemble of Erin Cronican, Rob Langeder, Stacie Perlman and Adam Shapiro. They then sang the jazzy love ode to NYC, “A Walk In The Park” with Erin on lead vocals and Adam and Rob on charming backing vocals. Co-Host Rachael Hirsch was next with the wistful “A House Is Not A Home.”

Rachael Hirsch
Elaine St George brought up the haunting,”All I Want” - a little sneak peak at her show, “Take Me As I Am: A witty and opinionated look at Joni Mitchell on relationships.” If this performance any indication of what her show is going to be like, I’d suggest using your tickets as soon as possible - June 6 & 13 (7pm) and 7 & 14 (9:30) at The Metropolitan Room. She’s wonderful! Leni Tabb (a Salon newbie!) sang Bachrach & David’s charming, “I’ll Never Gonna Fall In Love Again.”

Leni Tabb
Co-Host Zach Appel gave us a heartfelt, “How Long Has This Been Going On?” and then invited up Co-Host, Oliver Donaldson, and performed a hilarious, “Me and My Shadow” - what a lively and fun duet!
Oliver Donaldson and Zach Appel
Arianna, rocking a pair of amazing red heels, sang the flirty, “He Plays The Violin” from the musical, 1776. Erin Cronican (moi!) brought in a song about what can happen when you take love for granted: “How Did We Come To This” from Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party. (Be sure to come out to see me in Richie’s show!) Sarah Rice, in her usual fashion, brought up a stunning soprano song, in French no less: “Les Chemins d’Amour” by Poulenc. She has a show currently running with a fascinating concept, “HIStory/HERstory: Where Truth Lies” with David Vernon at Union City Performing Arts Center on May 10. This is a FREE SHOW - there’s really no reason to miss it!

Sarah Rice
Co-Hosts Anna Penchuk and Chris Harrelson enacted an all-too-familiar scene about the nerves created by the potential for love with Chris singing Gershwin’s “Nice Work If You Can Get It” and Anna coming in later with “Send In The Clowns” from A Little Night Music.
This week’s Classical Corner was a rare treat- Mark introdued us to Veli Kujala. From Finland, and commonly billed as “World’s Best Accordion Player,” Veli played 3 enchanting numbers that got the audience clapping and cheering. You’ve never seen an accordion played like this - to be sure! Mark remarked about how amazing it is that so many diverse and talented musicians join us each week. It truly makes The Salon as special place to be.

Veli Kujala
Second Act
To kick off the second half, Co-host Janani Sridhar gave us luscious alto tones with the Gershwin standard, “The Man I Love.” She then invited up fellow host, Rachael Hirsch, to sing, “I Know Him So Well” from the musical Chess. For the final song the Co-Host set, Maren Weinberger sang the adorable story song, “Tolls” by Jeff Blumenkrantz.

Janini Sridhar
Manhattan School of Music is producing Ragtime, May 8, 9, 10 and 7:30pm - and you can see some of these students in the production!

Tanya Moberly “I Think I May Want To Remember Today” from the Maltby & Shire musical Starting Here, Starting Now. Marnie Klar sang the ultimate song about love, from a mother to her child - “I’d Give My Life For You” from Miss Saigon. Nicholas Levin brought Marissa Mulder up to the stage to sing one of his beautiful, original tunes: “Warm as Winter”
Nicholas Levin (piano) and Marissa Mulder
Andy Gale came to the stage with eye-patched Mark Janas (who Andy called “the best pirate pianist ever!”) to sing a medley of, “Hi Lili HI Lo” and “Secret Love. It was so lovely that it inspired the whole audience to sing along in a sort of reverent, lullaby tone. Adam said he was drunk on the talent in the room, despite abstaining from his desired red wine - and thank Mark & Tanya (and the staff of The Salon and EtcEtc) for creating such a wonderful place for artists to share with one another. Barb Malley was next with, “Sunday in New York” - Barb is bringing back her show, “I Remember Brooklyn” to Don’t Tell Mama on Saturday, June 30 with a quintet of musicians. Congrats, Barb!

Barb Malley
Joey Infante brought in a touching, “Who Can I Turn To.” Joey told a story about how originally learned this song because he was asked to sing it at a wedding, and was having he darndest time remembering the lyrics. So. he dialed up Mark Janas who gave him some pieces of advice, and it’s been one of Joey’s go-to songs ever since!

Fellow Salon blogger, Sierra Rein - to our delight - brought in music from City Of Angels. She understudied (and performed!) the dual roles Donna/Oolie, so she shared the ever-appropriate, showstopping “You Can Always Count On Me.” Sierra says Marquee Five is off to the races performing again - this time at the Buck Hill Music Fest on May 18. Be sure to check out www.marqueefive.com for more details (and buy their CD!)

Sierra Rein
Adam Shapiro broke our hearts with the introspective tune, “Astonishing” from Little Women. You can see Adam on May 6 at the Laurie Beechman in “Smile On My Face: The Songs of Richie Eisenberg” (…and I can attest to the fact that he is FABULOUS in this show.) Sally Darling sang the lovely balladic medley, “We Can Let It Go/If Love Were All.” Sally has a show coming up - “I’m A Stranger Here Myself” (with Matthew Martin Ward on piano) - May 6 (5pm) and May 11 (7pm) at Don’t Tell Mama.

Matthew Martin Ward stayed at the piano to take his own slot - a spoof of Webber’s “Memory” from Cats. What could those Cats be thinking? Well, he told us, with lyrics like -- “Maybe when I was younger I took too many ‘ludes… What was the question?” The song is by Chicago cabaret artist, Pam Peterson (with some minor tweaks by Matthew, of course.) Co-Hosts Maren WeinbergerBrad Lassiter sang the touching duet, “How Do You Fall Back In Love?”

Mark Janas (piano) with Maren Weinberger and Brad Lassiter
David Ballard, our fearless server and longtime Salon singer, brought in one of our favorites - “On The Street Where You Live” from My Fair Lady. David continues his studies as a lyricist at the BMI workshop. We can’t wait to hear one of his original compositions again at The Salon!

Yulia (the lovely lady from Moscow and guest of Barb Malley) crooned a stunning version of “Cry Me A River” with amazing, from the memory, jazz accompaniment from Mark Janas. And as if that weren’t enough, Yulia invites up her sister and fellow Muscovite, Nadya, with a unique, female duet of “Evergreen” (just in time to celebrate Barbara Streisand’s 70th birthday, which was a few days ago.)
Nadya (left) and Yulia
Bill Zeffiro next stepped into the role of Guest Host (with great thanks to Matthew Martin Ward for the first half of the show!) He started by saying, “I don’t write many love songs…” (really?) and then introduced us to the mellow and sweet, “I’ve Still Got New York” (the best love story of all, in my opinion.)
Bill Zeffiro
Lou Iacovino was next to the mic, and started with an essay, “Don’t Sing You Love Songs To Me…” (with gorgeous accompaniment by Bill Zeffiro) and then sang the heartfelt and well acted, “How Do You Keep The Music Going?”

Lou Iacovino
Joan Jaffe brought her sparkly self to the stage with her adorable and samba inspired, “Down in the Depths.” Ever the song and dance gal, you can see her MAC Award winning show, “Man-ha-ha-ha-Tan” at Don’t Tell Mama at 7:30pm on May 6. Kerry Ipema was next with the hopeful, teenage fantasy “Legend in Leather” from the musical, Happy Days.

Kerry Ipema
John McLaughlin sang the lovely ballad, “You Go To My Head” - what amazing talent we had at The Salon this evening! Speaking of talent, I’m so thrilled to see long time Salon-er, Kevin McMullan, back at Etc Etc! In usual Kevin fashion, he started his slot with a little bit of stand-up comedy, and then launched into his upbeat and adorable, “She Had To Go and Lose It At The Astor.”

Kevin McMullan
Susan Hodgson brought in the powerful, “Out Here On My Own” from Fame. You can see her show, “On The Bumpy Road To Love,” at Don’t Tell Mama on Saturday May 12 at 3pm and it’s only $5! Ron E Giles was back at The Salon with “Moon River” from the iconic film, Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

Ron E Giles
We were thrilled to have Paul Kolecki back with us - at the piano, he regaled us with his original tune, “Reaching Inside for Love“ - chronicling a completely inappropriate story he overheard on the subway one day. An incredulous, laughing audience sang along during the chorus - what a delight! Richie Eisenberg was next with his original tune, “On A Night Like This.” (Have you heard that he has a 1pm show May 6 at the Beechman?)

Co-Hosts Anna Penchuk & Chris Harrelson came to the stage again with the touching aching duet, “They Were You.” And to close the show, the student ensemble from the Manhattan School of Music came back to the stage with the closing number: “It’s Love/What I Did For Love.”

NEXT WEEK: Johnny Rodgers will be our Co-Host, with both Mark Janas and Bill Zeffiro at the keys as Hosts/Pianists. The theme is “Being Alive - A Celebration of Life” -- we’re all so grateful for the time we get to spend on this planet with art to inspire. Please bring in any song that makes you feel like celebrating your life and the lives of others!

Reminder - May 6 will be the LAST SALON BEFORE OUR SUMMER HIATUS.


-Erin Cronican
Blogette for The Salon
URL’s I missed? Names misspelled? Please email me.