Hello, friends! I’m so thrilled to be back with my Salon family - how I’ve missed you over the last few weeks! I have to say, though, you could not have been in more capable hands than with Mr Adam Shapiro. Aren’t we at the Salon lucky?
Mark Janas kicked things off introducing this week’s charming co-host - songwriter, writer, style expert and singer’s champion, Bobbie Horowitz! Bobbie is a MAC Award winning Performer, and her book “Find Your min-Qs(?)* Reveal the Slim, Strong, Sexy Star You Truly Are! At Age 50, 60, 70, and Beyond” is available on Amazon. Bobbie will be hosting Unity Cabaret Matinee, her own open mic, Saturday, April 27th 1-4pm at the Unity Church - 213 West 58th St. NYC 10019.
Bobbie started the evening right with her very own lyrics to the song, “DeLovely” (newly called “To Be Lovely.”) She capped the performance by saying, “It’s wonderful to be working with a composer who can’t argue with you.” And with that, we knew we were in for some fun with THIS co-host!
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| Co-Host Bobbie Horowitz! |
Jeffery Segal was the first open mic singer, bringing us a stunning, “I’ve Got Nothing But Time" - one of his original pieces from his newly developing musical revue, Mating The Musical. Jeffery visits NYC once month from his hometown of Chicago - we’re so thrilled to have him here with us this week! Next, Barb Malley came to the stage with a short medley “I Get Along With You” (Hoagy Carmichael) and “That Old Feeling” by Lew Braun and Sammy Fair. Barb opens her brand new show, “Barbara Malley: Out Of Order” next Sunday, April 28 at 5:15pm at Don’t Tell Mama. Her second of 4 shows will be Sunday, May 12 at 3pm. There’s a bit of a secret about the show - you have to see it to find out what it is!
Sunny Leigh was next with a contemplative, “This Time The Dream’s On Me” by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer. Sunny is doing a combination party/show at her loft, May 19 at 3pm. She’s also having a CD Release party on July 14 (Bastille Day) at the Metropolitan Room. Contact her directly if you’d like to attend either of them! Jim Speake charmed us with a “song with…maturity” - “No Time At All” from Stephen Schwartz’s Pippin (which is getting a a Broadway revival right now!) Jim is a 2013 MAC Nominee, and it’s always a delight having him at The Salon.
Dana Lorge, all sparkly and spry, sang equally sweet and salty, “Nice Girls. Before the song started, Dana asked for “soft lighting” and when it didn’t happen, she joked, “Who does the lighting here, Ray Charles?” Without skipping a beat, tech genius Tommy Shull took out the lights completely, making Dana and the audience laugh uproariously. Dana reminded us that she has a variety show coming up May 24 at the Metropolitan Room (7pm), with David Freedman, Nancy Redmond, Jillian Laurain, Barry Levitt, and several others!
Stephanie Zagorin was next with a timeless song about love, Gershwin’s “Our Love Is Here To Stay.” Robin Westle, with the effervescent Jeff Cubeta at piano, brought us great advice with, “Eat The Ice Cream.” Robin is debuting her show, “No Regret” on June 12 and June 21, both at 7pm at the Laurie Beechman - directed by Eric Michael Gillett and music directed by Jeff Cubeta.
Bill Zeffiro, at the piano and the mic, premiered a brand new song, “As Long As We’re Loaded” - and what do you know, he said the title came to him while he was at a bar! (Which, to be fair, is one of my great thinking places too.) Tonight was the last night of his playing of Lianne Marie Dobbs’ current show, “Everything Old is New Again” - here’s hoping she’ll be able bring it again again, anew! (get it?) Next, Bill invited Marissa Mulder to the stage to sing along with him in a 2 song mashup, “Day of May” and “My Love is a Wanderer.” Marissa is bringing back her Tom Wait’s show on May 7 & 8 at the Metropolitan Room. She’s also singing at Town Hall in May with Bill. Congratulations on these successes, Marissa and Bill!
Tonight’s Etceterette, Shana Farr, brought us a hilarious and gorgeous song from her show, “Take Me Home” (an evening of Mira Spektor songs) - “Legs” (which employed her fabulous legit and pop soprano sounds!) David Ballard, our amazing server at Etc Etc, sang one of my favorite comedic tunes, “Way Ahead of My Time.” David announced that he will be appearing in his first solo cabaret, directed by Salon Producer Tanya Moberly, I’m so excited!
Salon Spotlight
Reverend Roger Anthony Yolanda Mapes, bedecked with a glittery party dress and impressively curled wig, gave us some old time gospel music while accompanying herself by acoustic guitar. We were thrilled to hear 3 numbers from this inspiring performer:
• “I’ll Fly Away” - This rousing number got the audience clapping and swaying, and even inspired some group signing during the chorus.
• “We Are Angels” - What a beautiful, hymn-like ballad. Many of the audience members quietly sang in harmony during the chorus, which made the whole room glow.
• “Freedom” - This one was a jamming blues/rock mix that had the audience dancing along!
If I can read correctly from the card, it appears that both “Freedom” and “We Are Angels” are original tunes. You can vote for talented singer at the Metropolitan Room’s “NY’s Next Top Drag Queen” Contest. Yolanda has progressed to the next round with 6 other performers. You can also catch her April 28 and May 12 at 6:30pm, when she does her show, “Rev. Yolanda’s Old Time Gospel Hour” at The Duplex.
Classical Corner
Mark Janas started talking about the kinds of things he could cover with this theme of time, but naturally he said he should cover “timing” in music. He invited up Salon regulars Maureen Taylor and Sarah Rice to sing three songs that exemplify the importance of time signature in telling a story.
• “Le Chanson Triste” by Henri Duparc (translates: sad song)
This is one of Maureen Taylor’s favorite songs. She read to us the poetic lyrics before singing the song in its native French.
• “Voci di Primavera Op. 410” by Johann Strauss (translates: voices of spring)
Sarah Rice gave us a translation of the Italian song, which is about spring unveiling love in every heart. What a gorgeous (and not to mention impressive) performance! Please get out to support Sarah’s benefit, “Zany’s Furry Friends” at Birdland at 5pm on May 4 - 100% of the ticket price goes to the charity - all artists and producers are donating their time!
• “Dome Epais” duet from Lakme
I have never had the pleasure of hearing this song sung live - Sung by both Maureen and Sarah, in French. My goodness was it breathtaking. Not only breathtaking, but spell binding - you didn’t want to move or even breath while they were singing, and you couldn’t take your eyes off them. Their voices blended effortlessly, and they spent the ing alternating singing to one another and turning out to give their voices to us. What a treat.
Second Act
Bobbie Horowitz ushered in the 2nd half with a 50s inspired, “What Ever Happened to the Kids From Brooklyn.” She continued with her hilarious, original song about the “joys” of aging, “The Snow White Song.” The performance was topped off with Bobbie holding a frame, looking into it like a mirror and then rotating it so that she appeared like the face in the mirror… and she commenced to sing a duet with herself. So entertaining! The last song of her set was her original tune, “Never A Freshman Again.” Everyone in the room could relate to this one!
Salon Producer, Tanya Moberly, sang Ani DiFranco’s “Anyday” (which she sang in her amazing tribute show in October/November 2011.) Tanya has a couple of gigs coming up - there are so many that I had to bullet point!:
• Concerts for City Green’s Gala is coming up Tuesday, April 23 at the Laurie Beechman
• Cabaret Cares at the Laurie Beechman, April 29
• Tanya is directing Marnie Klar’s show, “Accidental Happiness” - April 26, May 8, May 21 at 7pm at Don’t Tell Mama.
Next, Elizabeth Tryon came to the stage with Matthew Martin Ward on piano. She showed us how opera and pop music have same timeless themes only separate by several hundred years, by singing a mashup of Bellini’s “L’abbandono” and Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance”, alternating between songs until they both got mashed together (with some clever choreography with opera horns.) Her show, “Music Then and Now” is coming up on May 2 & 21 at 7:30pm at the 777 Theater (on 8th Avenue.) You have to get out to see it!
Kevin McMullan sang an uptempo about a downtrodden man (complete with call and response!) Roy Zimmerman’s “Today is Tomorrow’s Yesterday.” We’re thrilled to hear that Kevin, jetsetter that he is, will be in town with us until fall. Hooray! Welcome back, Kevin. We’ve missed you. (In other news, he quit smoking!) Todd Monroe sang the classic Lerner & Loewe ballad, “On The Street Where You Live.” Todd’s début cabaret show is happening this Thursday, April 25 at 7:30pm (as well as April 29 & May 4) at Don’t Tell Mama. Congrats, Todd!
Wraggs Wall, with Mark Janas improvising at the piano behind her, sang a gorgeous Negro spiritual called “Break Bread Together.” Rags talked about a piece she’s created, centered around Chopin’s Revolutionary Etude in C Minor, which focuses on kids, race and bullying. I didn’t catch the whole story, but I’m hoping that Wraggs comes back again soon so we can learn more about her projects!
David F Sloan, Bobbie’s son, regailed us with his thoughts on immaturity, with “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park” by Tom Lehrer. David is headed to Tokyo for a tour of The Love Show - have a wonderful tour, David! As a side note: Bobbie told us that Tom Lehrer was the composer who inspired her to get into music, and once she said that it all became so clear! I definitely hear Tom Lehrer in her songs - don’t you agree?
Our next singer was Carly Ozard who gave us a beautiful song that I haven’t heard before “Lullaby in Blue” by Adam Cohen and Brock Walsh. Carly recent performed at the Iridium with her Freddie Mercury Tribute show. I’ve heard at least one of those songs at a previous Salon - I’m very sorry to have missed it! Greta Herron, who brought her own percussion switch brushes to accompany herself along with Mark Janas at piano, sang an upbeat “I’ve Got A Lot of Living To Do” by Lee Adams and Charles Strouse.
Lou Iacovino crooned a heartfelt, touching, “I Can’t Believe I’m Losing You” by Don Costa. He let us know that he continues to study with Barry Levitt. He also added that he’s an attorney who is always available for a free consultation should anyone need anything at all. He understands that artists are short on money, and can usually advise someone for free by phone to help them find the best resources for their concern. Thanks, Lou!
Matthew Martin Ward was back, but this time bringing in his own selection, “Falling For The First Time” by The Barenaked Ladies. Who knew that that song was so funny! Well, maybe it’s because Matthew made me hear the lyrics for the first time (how apropos!) Matthew has shows coming up with Elizabeth Tryon and Lori Belilove, as well as gigs at Ido Sushi and 54 Below - what a busy man! Jonathan Prager sang the Cole Porter hit, “You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To.” He says that he has a show coming up but he can’t tell us anything about it. We sure hope he spills the beans soon!
Dawn Derow sang the bluesy John Lowdermilk song, “Turn Me On” (recently made famous by Norah Jones.) I’ve never gotten to hear this song done live, and it made me swoon a little - I’m not gonna lie. Dawn has a show coming up with Sean Harkness at the Cutting Room on Thursday May 23 at 8pm. If you can’t wait until then, this Friday night you can see Dawn with her band, Iris, at Something Jazz, singing all Sheryl Crow & Alanis Morrisette songs with a jazzy feel!
Maureen Taylor came back with one of my favorite songs - “Loose Ends” from the little known musical, The Witches of Eastwick. This song gave Maureen to show us her profound acting chops - I simply loved it, and judging by the stillness in the room, the audience did too. You’ll get to see Maureen at the Concert for City Greens Gala on Tuesday! Sarah Rice followed that with “Lune D”Avril” (April Moon) with music by Poulenc and lyrics by Careme. Before singing the song, she gave us an emotional translation of the lyrics and mentioned that, with all of the crazy things and violence of the last few months, this song really resonated - even with it being written 75 years ago.
As we wound down the evening, co-host Bobbie Horowitz made a tribute to Jerry Scott. I personally didn’t get a chance to meet Jerry, but I was very touched by her loving words and I’m very sorry for her loss and the overall loss experienced by our cabaret community. If you see Bobbie wearing a silver glittery star brooch, you’ll know that she’s wearing it as a month-long tribute to Jerry. Bobbie then closed the show with her very own tune, the exuberant, “Doing It For America.”
Join us at The Salon next week, when we welcome our Co-Hosts will be Ted Stafford & Lorinda Lisitza. Our Salon Spotlight will be Ricky Ritzel.
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| Next week's co-hosts, Ted & Lorinda! |
Our optional theme is “Secret Hopes” - bring in any song about deep, dark secrets, sky-high hopes, or anything in between. Or bring your own theme! All is welcome at The Salon.
We’ll see you then!
In the meantime, if someone video-recorded your performance and you’d like us to know about it, please post the link in the comments section of this blog post. Thank you!
-Erin Cronican
Blogette for The Salon
Need anything? Please email me.
PS: You might notice that my name was missing from the performer list. I, alas, have succumbed to the devil allergy season and was on vocal rest for the evening. I’ll be back singing again in two weeks - next week I’m handing the reins back to Adam next week as I continue in rehearsals for my next productions - the dual classics HAMLET and ROSENCRANTZ & GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD. My theater company, The Seeing Place, is producing both of these shows on alternating nights May 31-June 30, with the same actors portraying their same role in both shows! I’m playing Ophelia, and other Salon regular, Janice Hall, is playing Gertrude. I’ll be back here on May 5 & 19 to round out the Salon’s spring season!
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