Friday, August 30, 2013

Gallery of August 25th's “Anniversaries – 8 Years of Salon & 95 Years of Leonard Bernstein!” Celebration, 2013

A wonderful evening was had by all who attended the 8th Anniversary of the Salon and 95th Birthday Celebration for Leonard Bernstein on August 25, 2013. Please read a detailed account of the event here, and enjoy the following photo gallery!

Nicholas Levin (L) and Mark Janas (R),
with Leonard Bernstein's Kennedy Center Award plaque
(Photo: Steve Schalchlin)
The mysterious Kevin McMullan
(Photo: Steve Schalchlin)
Charlotte Patton
(Photo: Steve Schalchlin)
Dashing Bill Zeffiro
(Photo: Steve Schalchlin
Our Etceter-dude, Adam Shapiro (and his tools of the trade)
(Photo: Steve Schalchlin)
Etceterettes/Co-Hosts Marissa Mulder (L) and Marnie Klar (R)
(Photo: Steve Schalchlin)
Etceterettes/Co-Hosts Erin Cronican (L) and Candice Oden (R)
(Photo: Steve Schalchlin)
Etceterette/Co-Host Janice Hall
(Photo: Steve Schalchlin)
Julie Reyburn
(Photo: Steve Schalchlin)
Etceterette/Bloggette Sierra Rein
(Photo: Steve Schalchlin)
Lyricist Michael Colby
(Photo: Steve Schalchlin)
Court Graves
(Photo: Steve Schalchlin)
Mark and Lennie
(Photo: Steve Schalchlin)
Singer-Songwriter David Ballard
(Photo: Steve Schalchlin)
Lithograph of Leonard Bernstein's "Mass" in his handwriting, courtesy of Nicholas Levin
(Photo: Steve Schalchlin)
Steve Schalchlin
(Photo: someone with Steve Schalchlin's camera)
Don't bother Producer Tanya Moberly while she's figuring out the evening's set order!
(Photo: a very brave Steve Schalchlin)

-Sierra Rein
Blogette for The Salon
Please email me if I got anything wrong-o

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

The Salon Wrap-Up for August 25, 2013: “Anniversaries – 8 Years of Salon & 95 Years of Leonard Bernstein!”

What do you get someone on their 8th Anniversary? Something Bronze, according to Google, signifying "beauty and durability – and pottery – indicative of nature and simplicity."  Well, this past Sunday there were beautiful songs, durable voices, natural talent, simple emotion, and pottery...OK, Google lost me on that one.  But the theme of the evening was "Anniversaries – 8 Years of Salon and 95 Years of Leonard Bernstein!" and so much joy, tears, laughter and celebratory music resounded from the Etcetera, Etcetera stage, so much so that this blog is going to be a LONG one, folks (grab your popcorn)!  Music by Leonard Bernstein were featured, and the Co-Hosts of the evening were a fine, fine line of Etceterettes: Sarah Rice, Maureen Taylor, Melissa Mulder, Sierra Rein, Candice Oden, Erin Cronican, Marnie Klar, Janice Hall and our "Etcet-dude-ette," Adam Shapiro! It was so much fun to hear the Etceterettes sing and then introduce people to the stage, and for some reason our fashion minds were synced to the sea colors of blue, green, and white!  Our colors even matched Sarah's collection of bracelets, which were handed like a torch from one Etceterette to the next.

First Half

Our illustrious Host, the man who started it all, Mark Janas, began the evening by placing his hands next to those of  Matthew Martin Ward as they both played the "Overture" to Leonard Bernstein's Candide, a fun a rousing way to get us in the mood.  After Tanya Moberly introduced the theme and Etceterettes, our first co-host Candice Oden stood with Adam Shapiro, Erin Cronican and Salon virgin Brian Charles Rooney to sing "The New World" from Jason Robert Brown's Songs For a New World - their voices blended incredibly, instantly giving me goosebumps!  Our first songwriter of the evening (and regular for four years!) was Richie Eisenberg, who lovingly sang a bouncy original song dedicated to The Salon, "This Is The Place."  Another Salon Regular and resident composer, Nicholas Levin, then stood and simply spoke about The Salon and how he's been a part of it since the beginning 8 years ago.  (Nicholas can next be seen in Bobbie Horowitz's Unity Show on September 21st).  He reminisced about the multitudes of MAC Award winners, marriage proposals, "hotel noise complaints" from the Algonquin Hotel, celebrity sightings (John Laroquette, the late Julie Harris, Celeste Holmes, Rita Gardner) and finally came upon the immense respect that Mark Janas has for music and the performers he hosts.  He had with him some items from one of Bernstein's Estate Auctions from the past and as a gift he handed Mark the lucite plaque given to Leonard Bernstein as part of his 1980 Kennedy Center Honors award!  Candice was quite flummoxed by this but not enough to miss introducing Salon newbie Court Graves to the stage, who sang Kurt Weill's haunting "Speak Low"; Curt is producing Avignon Theater's production of "Jamming: The American Songbook" on November 3rd.

Our next Co-Host/singer was Marnie Klar, who has had an explosion this past year of performance growth and production!  She sang Kander and Ebb's "Maybe This Time," which I remember as one of the first songs she sang at The Salon, way back when!  She was tender and sweetly halting, then soared over the notes brilliantly.  Elaine St. George - who will perform her Steve Goodman show October 30th and three dates in November (1, 7 and 14) at Don't Tell Mama, sang the sweet and thankful love song "Lucky To Be Me," a song that was directed to her new FIANCE (who was in the audience)!    And I don't think he'll mind if I reveal this, but Richie Eisenberg had to wipe away a few tears as she sang.  We all whooped and hollered for Elaine's happiness! Next on the list to make us happy was 2013 MAC Nominee Bob Diamond, who sang John Wallowitch's "I Will Always Love You Back," a tender ballad of the ups and downs (but mostly ups) of love. Bob will perform a trio show in December (more info to come) and is working on a new cabaret show for February 2014!  Our Salon-regular-who-never-misses-a-Sunday, Barb Malley (it's called "addiction" she says), sang the gorgeous "The Anniversary Song," wearing a 25 year-old dress she once wore to a live Bernstein performance!  Barb is doing some work for Rob Lester's cabaret project, coming soon.

Marissa Mulder, her red hair complemented by an emerald green dress, was our next Etceterette co-host; she with Bill Zeffiro at the piano, sang Jimmy Van Heusen's touching "Somewhere Along The Way."  She just finished reintroducing her Jimmy Van Heusen show at the Metropolitan Room, and as someone who saw it, I can say it's not to be missed next time around!  Bill Zeffiro then stood at the microphone with Mark Janas playing to robustly sing the Bernstein/Comden/Green song "Pass That Football" from Wonderful Town; Bill's play The Backseat of the Lincoln had a reading on Monday night at Urban Stages.  Next up was Susan Horowitz, aka Dr. Sue, singing her new composition, "Celebrate Your Life."  The Doctor is the author of "Queens of Comedy" and will also perform at the Unity Church Cabaret on September 21st.  Yet another Regular-Lyricist, one who has been so supportive of The Salon over the years, Michael Colby, sang a story-telling ballad entitled "Frank Kiley," with words by Colby and music by Peter Millrose. 

The final co-host for the first half, "yours truly" Sierra Rein, then got up on stage with my husband's Google Glass on my face, this time archiving from my point of view what it's like to sing at The Salon.  I sang "They Just Keep Moving The Line" from TV's Smash, which is also featured in Marquee Five's show "Broadway By The Letter: Act One."  No one put a napkin over their head to protest being put on camera, you can see what I saw on YouTube here; you can also check out my husband's adventures with Glass on his blog. It was then my complete pleasure to welcome friend, Marquee Five mezzo-soprano, MAC and Julie Wilson Award winner, and all-around awesome Mom, Julie Reyburn to the stage.  Julie is performing this Thursday at 54 Below for the "Tales of Joni" show.  She hilariously sang Leonard Bernstein's "What a Movie!" from Trouble in Tahiti, and surprised the audience with grass skirted backup singers Adam Shapiro, Bill Zeffiro, and moi, Sierra Rein !  It was a hoot.  And a hoot followed Julie as David Ballard (waiter and singer-dancer-composer-lyricist extraordinaire) sang the first song he ever brought to The Salon...his "A Song About Your Baby."  Judging from Julie Reyburn's adorable kids, David assures the song was definitely not about either of them.  David is in the Advanced BMI Workshop and will debut his Cabaret show "Having It All" (directed by Tanya Moberly) next month! I was then thrilled to introduce at the piano Regular-Composer Steve Schachlin, who remembers the initiation of The Salon in the old French winebar ("the main difference between then and now is we were a lot more drunk back then"); he performed his stirring work "The Great Big Hall." Steve did an exciting thing this past week: he recorded a "live studio" CD entitled Tales from the Bonus Round, literally sitting down in one take to record the entire thing, and will release this "raw and without fixes" recording of it soon. He'll debut the CD at the Metropolitan Room on October 27th. 

Adam, Bill, Sierra and Julie sing the finale of "What A Movie!"
(Photo: Pete Nicholls)
Classical Corner

Mark Janas' Classical Corner, one of my favorite regular features of The Salon, finished up the first set.  He concentrated on the concept of the "Anniversary" as a written form of dedication, one that Bernstein would write for such peers as "Serge Koussevitzky, Paul Bowles, William Schuman, Stephen Sondheim, [and] Aaron Copland...Felicia Montealegre, Johnny Mehegan, David Diamond, and Helen Coates."  The goal in an Anniversary is to capture the harmonic language of the person one is was writing for.  Mark began by first playing the one Lennie wrote for Stephen Sondheim, an almost-lullaby that beautifully combined these two great composers' signature "tastes".  He then went into an Anniversary written by Lennie to his former piano teacher and once personal secretary, the demanding and pragmatic Helen Coates.  The music was as exacting, demanding, yet at times gentle as Helen was reportedly herself.  Mark regaled us with a bit of Lennie's past and the story of how Bernstein was discovered; New York Philharmonic's conductor Bruno Walter took seriously ill on November 14, 1943, and as a 25 year old Jewish Assistant Conductor, Bernstein had no choice but to step in and conduct for a National broadcast with 7 hours' notice.  Lennie said he wore a brown suit, questioned taking two pills to both calm his nerves and up his energy (he chose neither and flung them into the wings), and didn't have any memory of anything that happened up until he heard the thunderous applause that would signal his status as an overnight sensation (and tomorrow's front page news) in the music world.  Mark finished off the Classical Corner by playing his own Anniversary, written for his friend and past partner Glenn who (along with a broken down car) became the reason Mark chose to stay in New York at the beginning of his career. The song was held together by a Bernstein-esque repeated D above, which pulsed like a heartbeat thru the number.  The fact that Glenn passed away, and that Mark had played it for him on his deathbed, made the song poignant and emotionally complex.  As Lennie said when he himself first heard Mark perform it, "I didn't expect all that."

Mark also took a moment to tell us that Sunday would have also been Paul J. Vasquez's birthday as well, so we toasted to him (he was Mark's co-writer and Salon member for years).


Second Half

Co-Host and co-Blogette Erin Cronican grabbed the mic and, along with Candice Oden and myself,  Sierra Rein, sang "The Webber Love Trio" ("Love Changes Everything"/"Unexpected Song"/"I Don't Know How To Love Him"), and boy did we enjoy singing the harmonies together at the end!  A reminder that Erin is busy with her theater company, The Seeing Place Theater, and is the founder of The Actors' Enterprise, a great business coaching source for actors.  Producer and spitfire Tanya Moberly then joined Erin to sing "A Boy Like That/I Have a Love" with an abundance of heart and a few tears to share. In addition to directing David Ballard's debut cabaret show, Tanya is going to sing at the September 11th Concert for City Greens and will debut her New York Songwriter show in November. Charlotte Patton, along with Barry Levitt at the piano, sang Steven Lutvak's "Unexpected Complications," a wry take on the trials of a second date.  This was from her new show and she will be playing Al Jolson's Mom in a recreation of "The Al Jolson Story" (produced by Stephen Hanks) on October 12th at The Sheet Music Society.  Erin then graciously introduced singer-songwriter and regular Salon member Sunny Leigh to the stage to sing with Barry on "My Heart Starts Singing."  Sunny will be at the Metropolitan Room on September 15th, 4pm (right before Salon!) to re-release her CD of standards and originals.

Our statuesque and woman-of-numbers, Etceterette co-host #6, was Maureen Taylor, who sang Maury Yeston's beautiful "I Had a Dream About You."  It was lovely to hear her relate how she was invited to The Salon by Marnie, and how welcome she felt in a place that she could "fit in," being able to sing opera, musical theater, and everything in between.  She asked Barry play for two more singers; the first was Lou Iacovino, fresh from his Chorus Boy experience singing in "Aida."  He set the stage with a few smoke-filled words and then sang "One More For My Baby."  Sharon Hunter also sang with Barry, performing an amazing rendition of "Copacabana" in an arrangement that Barry Manilow might not have expected.  It was Kurt Weill and Kander & Ebb-esque, and it worked! Sharon just finished two dates at Don't Tell Mama's and will be at the Metropolitan Room on October 15th at 7pm.  Mark Janas then returned to the piano to play for Stephanie Zagoren, who has sung in Cabaret and at The Salon for years! She sang the beautiful "Let's Face the Music and Dance."

We were in the home stretch as Etceterette/MAC-Bistro Award-winner Janice Hall began co-hosting, this time singing with Matthew Martin Ward at the piano on Bernstein's cut number from Peter Pan entitled "Dream With Me." It was a wonderful lullaby filled with a mixture of hope and sadness.  Stephen Elkins then sang a Bernstein/Schwartz song that I had never heard of: a "hymn" of sorts mixed with Bernstein's unmistakable style entitled "A Simple Song" (from Mass).  Kevin McMullan, who is remembering his partner Jim Fradrich's passing 4 years ago, sang his favorite song of Jim's, "'Til A Moment Ago."  Kevin is working on a book, is selling his house, and is having a yard sale on the 14th and 15th of September, so he's keeping busy!  Joan Jaffe, also ever the busy bee, sang the hilarious "When Banana Skins are Falling" by Frazzinin, DeFrank, and Mills.  Coming off her 2012 MAC Award for Best Musical Comedy Performer, Joan is looking forward to her new show, "Food," on October 31st - wear a costume and don't come hungry!

The sparkling Co-Host bracelets came home on the wrist of Etceterette Sarah Rice, who used them brilliantly in the Bernstein/Latouche classic "Glitter and Be Gay" from Candide.  Sarah remembers coming to The Salon when it was at the Algonquin Oak Room, and instantly appreciated it as "a garden to where you can go and be safe and possibly fail with love and it's Okay!"  She remembers being in Venice with Leroy Reames and Jerome Robbins for Leonard Bernstein's birthday celebration - what that must have been like!  You can see Sarah next at the September 15th Sondheim Unplugged at 54 Below.  She then invited Stephen Hanks to step up; he sang Nat King Coles' "Nature Boy" as featured in the movie Moulin Rouge.  He will bring back his debut show "Beyond American Pie: The Don McLean Songbook" on October 1st at The Triad, and again is producing the "Al Jolson Story" at The Sheet Music Society on October 12th.  We then heard again from newcomer Brian Charles Rooney, this time truly showing his tenor chops by singing gorgeously on "Maria" from West Side Story - he related having sung the role of Tony in a production in Italy, and marveling how even within a song (at a really well-done note or moment), the audience would erupt in expressions of appreciation and applause.  He has also excelled in the Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera as Lucy Brown!  Brian then passed the role of Tony to an actual Tony, Salon regular Tony Imgrund, who sang with Erin Cronican on a beautiful duet "One Hand, One Heart" from West Side Story.

The proud Etceter-male, Adam Shapiro, was the next co-host and he was eager to ask Sarah if he could wear the bracelets too, which he did.  Adam took his love of being an Etceterette to the mic as he heartfully sang his own lyrics to Mel Brook's "I Want to be A Producer" from The Producers, this time making it "I Want to Be An Etceterette." My personal favorite line was how he enjoys getting "my free lasagna / Just to work for Mark and Tanya!" It was joyous.  Matthew Martin Ward, who will play at Zach Wobensmith's show "Stiff Upper Lip" at Don't Tell Mama September 12th and 14th, sang Cole Porter's classic Americana song "Don't Monkey With Broadway," a toast and a plea to all the New York Mayoral candidates duking it out.  Last, but certainly not least, was the spunky Ann Dawson, singing "Little Did I Dream" - her new show will debut in January!  To close the show, Mark Janas took a moment to thank everyone, and then led us all in a sing-along of "Somewhere" from West Side Story (there were a few lumps in the throats, that's for sure) and a big "Happy Birthday Lennie" at the end!

COMING UP!

REMINDER!  NO SALON THIS SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 1st - It's LABOR DAY WEEKEND!

NEXT SALON is Sunday September 8th! The theme will be "Life Is a Bitch," and our sweet-as-pie and tough as leather Co-Host will be Mary Foster Conklin!  Famous for her Renegade Cabaret and her deft Jazz interpretations of the American Songbook, Mary is a grand and witty performer with a voice that is "smoky with a tart twist of lemon."

So have a great Labor Day Weekend and come to The Salon on the 8th with your songs about life, the universe, the bitchy people in our lives, your favorite female dog, or any music you wish!


-Sierra Rein
Blogette for The Salon
Please email me if I got anything wrong-o

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Update from Producer Tanya Moberly - August 27, 2013

THERE WILL BE NO SALON SEPTEMBER 1ST.

SALON – that unique, MULTIPLE AWARD WINNING, Weekly Open Mic Event, created and hosted by Mark Janas will return to Etcetera, Etcetera - 352 West 44th Street, NYC 10036 – on Sunday, September 8th from 7-10:30PM. (Sign-Up Begins at 6:15.)

Salon will then continue every Sunday (except October 13th) …

September 8th:
Theme: Life Is a Bitch
Co-Host: Mary Foster Conklin

September 15th:
Theme: Seize The Day!
Co-Host: Cynthia Farrell

September 22nd:
Theme: It’s My Party And I’ll Sing If I Want To
Guest Host: Jeff Cubeta
Co-Host: Robin Westle
Salon Spotlight: David Ballard

September 29th:
Theme: TBA
Guest Host: Mark Hartman
Co-Host: Natalie Douglas
Salon Spotlight: Sue Matsuki

October 6th:
Theme: More Mizerable
Co-Host: Willy Falk

October 13th: NO SALON

October 20th:
Theme: TBA
Co-Hosts: Jim Brochu & Steve Schachlin

October 27th:
Theme: Out of the Closet and Beyond – Costume Optional
Co-Host: Adam Shapiro

November 3rd:
Theme: TBA
Co-Host: Amy Beth Williams

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

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.etcetcnyc.com. A 20% gratuity is added to all checks.) There are no reservations; seating is on a first come/first served basis, Doors open and sign up begins at 6:15pm. The evening begins at 7:00, has a 15-minute break at 8:30 and ends promptly at 10:30. 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, September 8th!

Thanks,


Tanya Moberly
Salon Producer

P.S. If you would like to remove your name from or add a name to our mailing list please email Tanya.

-Sierra Rein
Blogette for The Salon
Please email me if I got anything wrong-o

Thursday, August 22, 2013

The Salon Wrap-Up for August 18, 2013 "Guilty Pleasures"

By the time 6:30pm rolled around the room was already full of Salon regulars and new visitors, making for an incredibly exciting 3.5 hour evening of music! Introducing the night was founder and host, Mark Janas, back from attending a musical conference for church, teaching a workshop in Poconos, and playing for Len Cariou in Vermont. Despite all of the amazing things he’s been up to, Mark said that, by far, The Salon was his favorite guilty pleasure… a great lead off to this week’s theme! - Guilty Pleasures!

Our Co-Host was Multiple Award Winning Performer, Director and Teacher Gretchen Reinhagen! Gretchen’s next GRS Cabaret Performance class starts Tuesday, Sept, 17th @ 7pm. Each singer performs a 3 song set Don't Tell Mama NYC on Sun, Nov 3rd @ 3pm. Payment plans available. For more information, visit her news page: www.gretchenreinhagen.com.


Accompanying Gretchen tonight (as well as the first batch of singers) was music director, Tracy Stark. Tracy is music directing Gretchen’s class (listed above) and she’s also playing for Bernie’s Showcase at the Metropolitan Room on August 27 at 7pm.

For the first song of the night, Gretchen sang one of her favorite songs from guilty pleasure band Captain & Tennille - “Love Will Keep Us Together.” Kicking off the open mic portion of the night (with Tracy still at the piano), Marcia Roney sang a charming, “Round” by Amanda McBroom. Marcia is putting together a new solo cabaret, and will let us know the details when it’s ready!Barri Brown, a great storyteller and strong vocals (and a Salon newbie) was next “I Want Them Bald” by Zina Goldrich and Marcy Heisler. Be sure you come back to The Salon soon, Barri! Donna Hayes brought her luscious alto to “What Do I Do Now” by Sara Groves. Donna is bringing back her show, “The People You Meet Along The Way” to the Metropolitan Room after a sold out run (directed by our very own Gretchen!) - it’ll happen September 19 at 7pm. Be sure to get out to see it! Bob Diamond (MAC nominated for his solo show last year) was next with the delicate and touching, “When I Look At You” from The Scarlet Pimpernel. (How wonderful to hear this song sung by a man!) He’s creating a brand new show which he’ll unveiling in February next year - can’t wait!

What a treat to have Billie Roe, winner of last year’s Metrostar competition, at The Salon. She sang a bluesy and sultry, “Virginia Avenue.” She’s bringing back her show, 1978 NYC Underground (the music of Tom Waits) to the Duplex - October 15, 29 and November 12 (7pm.) I’ve heard nothing but amazing things about this show, and now you don’t have any excuses not to see it! Tracy Stark got her own slot to lend her voice to one of her original tunes, the heartfelt, “Find My Strength.” Rather than mention all of the awards and accolades for her songwriting, she revealed to us that she has, indeed, been gluten-free for 10 years! Tracy is playing the Metrostar finals tomorrow night, and we’ll see who’s been passed the crown from BIllie Roe! Taking his seat at the piano was founder and host, Mark Janas! He brought up our next singer, Sunny Leigh, who sang the classic, “Accentuate The Positive.” She’s having a CD Release Party (Volume 2) on September 15 at 4pm at the Metropolitan room, which includes songs she’s written with Barry Levitt with a few standards tossed in. Congrats on the album, Sunny!

Corinna Sowers-Adler was next with a song that she says is not really about a guilty pleasure but is about being happy (which actually makes some people guilty!) - “The Secret Of Happiness” from the musical, Daddy Longlegs. Corinna will be a part of the Cabaret Convention in October, and she’s also doing a solo show, “Let Me Sing, I’m Happy” at Stage 72 on October 14 at 7pm - you have to check both shows out! Gerry Mastrolia, a self-proclaimed Salon Virgin, admitted that his guilty pleasure happens to be Liza Minelli, and he gave us the song, “Cabaret” imitating her perfectly from the movie! Well, perfectly including some new clever lyrics to bring the song into the 21st Century. Gerry was a finalist in *Next Top Drag Queen” at Metropolitan Room and has his debut cabaret, “Me, Myself & Goldie” at Don’t Tell Mama Seotember 28 at 4pm. Do come back, Gerry! Joseph Shapiro was also making his Salon debut, with the lovely and classic, “If I Loved You” from Carousel. Joseph is writing a memoir as well as a musical version of his story. Can’t wait to hear more about it!

Two young students of Marks from a Buck Hill Music Festival gave us a real treat. Grant Klinger and Colin Cruz brought in their hilarious original song, “Smoke A Doobie” (complete with ukelele accompaniment and amazing harmonies.) The audience roared with appreciation when the song was done - it was fantastic! David Ballard, our trusty server, “Way Ahead of My Time” by Peter Mills. David is premiering his brand new solo cabaret, “Having It All” at Don’t Tell Mama (directed by Salon Producer, Tanya Moberly): Tue, 9/24 (7pm), Wed 9/25 (9:30pm), Fri 10/11 (7pm) and Sat 10/12 (5pm). Cant wait to see it! You Blogette for the evening, Erin Cronican (yours truly) sang the classic Lerner & Loewe piece, “I Loved You Once In Silence” from Camelot (I’d say having a lover is the ultimate guilty pleasure!) To close out the open mic first set, Etceterette Sierra Rein and Tony Imgrund sang two amazing songs from bare the musical - the heartbreaking duet “See Me ” and the haunting “Warning.” Sierra revealed to us that she was doing these sings in honor of the composer, Damon Intrabartolo, who passed away last week. (Sierra did the original production of bare in Los Angeles, and we all send our love and support to help her through this loss.)


Classical Corner

Mark Janas told us that one of his guilty pleasures is playing pieces that he used to play in the past. After going to a dinner party, he realized that it goes deeper than that. He really loves taking requests! He talked about the fact that playing on the fly, by request, frees up the artist to create music without having to worry about getting it perfect - just listening to him talk about that theory made me feel a little more relaxed. :)

So, he opened up the floor to get some audience favorites. Here’s a short list of the songs he took by request:

“But Not For Me” (played in a Mozart inspired improvisation)
"Beethoven Sonata 1st movement Pathetique" in C minor (played from memory!)
"Chopin Nocturne" (“a happy one”) in E flat
"Chopin Grand Polonaise" in A flat


Second Half

To kick off the 2nd act, Mark Janas invited up our amazing co-host to sing three numbers, with Tracy Stark on keys again. Gretchen Reinhagen started with the sexy and yearning-filled number, “Butter.” She followed that with “I Think It’s Gonna Rain Today.” I know the song from the movie Beaches (yeah, I admit that this is one of my guilty pleasures too!) - I think I enjoyed this version much more tune Better Midler’s original, which is a feat! Gretchen said that sci-fi is a guilty pleasure for her, so she gave us a desperate and romantic version of, “That Old Black Magic.”

Tanya Moberly, our amazing Salon producer, brought up Matt Scharfglass to play guitar opposite her vocals on “Moon Shadow” by Cat Stevens - what a great performance! As mentioned earlier, Tanya’s directing David Ballard’s solo cabaret debut. (See details above.) She is also putting together her next solo cabaret show for November, which will honor New York songwriters. I’m getting pretty antsy to find out more! Matt Scharfglass stayed to play his own tune, Michael Hedges’ incredible, rousing “Ritual Dance” on acoustic guitar. I desperately need a recording of this song - make it happen, Matt! Next up was Marnie Klar, who appeared by special request of Matt Scharfglass with Joni Mitchell’s iconic, “Case of You.”

6-time MAC nominated Songwriter Nick Levin was next (with me, Erin Cronican on vocals!) with his original tune, “I Deserve Better” (about the guilty pleasure of beating ones self up.) Nick will be appearing on September 21 at the open mic at Unity Church. Robin Westle with (Jeff Cubeta on keys) a light and funny, “What’s Going To Happen To The Tots?” Robin is bringing her show, “No Regrets” back to the Laurie Beechman Oct 22nd & Oct 27th, and she’s co-hosting The Salon on September 22 - we’re lucky to have so many places to see her work! Jeff Cubeta stayed at the piano as his colleague Eric Michael Gillett (co-MAC award winner for direction, shared with Gretchen Reinhagen) came to the stage. Eric talked about discovering what’s important in life, and sang one of Jeff Cubeta’s original tunes, the inspiring “Angels watching over me tonight.” Jeff Cubeta now got to have his own special solo moment, playing & singing, ”Thank You.” He finally has a show of his own, with all original music, at Don’t Tell Mama, September 6, 7, 8, 10, plus 2 premium priced shows on the 9th and 15th. Make your reservations now!

Salon regular Adam Shapiro was next with one of Jennifer Hudson’s songs from Season 2 of “Smash” (one his guilty pleasures, as well as singing as a black woman!) “I Can’t Let Go.” Adam just finished a run of “Barcode: The Musical” with the Fringe Festival. Congrats, Adam! Barb Malley, complete in bobbie socks, came to the stage to talk about a guilty pleasure from her youth. She talked about the “Legion of Decency” that would come out in the paper at school, telling people about which movies and songs they should and should not watch/listen to for decency reasons. The song she sang tonight was one of the few songs that was “indecent” - “I Wanna Be Loved.” She did a video promo for the dating service, Swoon, and it’s gotten so many hits that they’re considering turning her character/story into a web series! The more views, the better her chances - go to YouTube and type in “Phylis Rosenberg Dating” and leave a comment!

Richard Eisenberg was next with one of his original tunes, “Love Isn’t Easy” (which was also performed beautifully by Stacie Perlman in Richie’s show, “Smile On My Face.”) Gretchen talked about the fact that anytime you ask Richie how he’s doing, he’ll always say, “I’m the best I can be.” I love that philosophy! Parker Scott FINALLY admitted that his guilty pleasure is Josh Groban (and not-so-guilty pleasure is Italian movies) - he decided to combine the two and sang,

“Cinema Paradiso” in Italian! Parker is putting together a new show, “Someone” which will premiere in September at the Metropolitan Room. As he starts putting together the songs, he’s discovering that it looks like it’ll be a tribute to Matthew Shepard. More details will be coming soon! Kevin McMullan admitted that his guilty pleasure is bringing in a song off-theme. :) And with that, he brought us a dramatic and tender “Lilac Wine.”

Carly Ozard’s guilty pleasure is Andrew Lloyd Webber, so she sang, “With One Look” from Sunset Boulevard. Carly is doing Bernie’s Showcase, “Sing Your Heart Out”, at the Metropolitan Room on August 27 with a lineup of incredible singers (be sure to mention Carly when you reserve your ticket - she has to guarantee people in order to sing!) Matthew Martin Ward’s explained his process of thinking about tonight’s theme. Matthew’s process went: guilty pleasures… pleasures… songs you feel sorry for… songs that would be good if the songs were, well, better… which lead to flop musicals… guilty pleasure books… the book “Not Since Carrie”… and then finally landed on a song from BenFranklin in Paris “Looking for Small Pleasures.” (He also noted that he sings it in a very low key, another guilty pleasure…) Rob Lester came to the stage to talk about a new project of his - a musical to teach the younger generation about the art form (with a smile!) “Humpty Dumpty Cracks UP: The Nightmare of Cabaret.” Thanks to The Salon, Rob met Jordan Siwek and asked him to be the music director, and many Salon-ers have volunteers to be a part of it (Tanya Moberly, Sierra Rein, Bobbie Horowitz, Barbara Malley, and more!) This is a part of a series of benefits for Cabaret Scenes magazine and the community, as well as bringing the Great American Songbook to the younger generation. With that, Jordan Siwek took the stage (and piano) to demonstrate a few snippets of songs that you’ll hear in the show. Closing out the show, co-host Gretchen Reinhagen sang the classic, “Sara Lee.”

Next week you’re in for a real treat - 9 of our Etceterettes (including me!) will be co-hosting The Salon in honor of The Salon’s 8th Birthday! We expect to be a completely sold-out night, so be sure to be here by 6:15 to sign up. We’re also celebrating the 95 years of Leonard Bernstein. So, bring in any songs that celebrate the passage of time, or anything connected to Bernstein. As usual, songs that are “off theme” are also welcome.

We’ll see you next Sunday!

- Erin Cronican
Blogette for The Salon
Please
email me with any corrections

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Update from Producer, Tanya Moberly - August 21, 2013

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, August 25th from 7-10:30PM! (Sign-Up Begins at 6:15.)

The optional theme for the evening is “Anniversaries – 8 Years of Salon & 95 Years of Leonard Bernstein!”

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

Our Co-Hosts will be The Etceterettes: Erin Cronican, Janice Hall, Marnie Klar, Marissa Mulder, Candice Oden, Sierra Rein, Sarah Rice, Adam Shapiro & Maureen Taylor! For more information: www.erincronican.com / www.marnieklar.com /www.marissamulder.com / www.sierrarein.com /www.sarahrice.com / www.adamshapiro.net / www.maureentaylornyc.com. Janice Hall & Candice Oden can be found on Facebook.

Salon continues every Sunday (except September 1st) …

September 1st: NO SALON

September 8th:
Theme: Life Is a Bitch
Co-Host: Mary Foster Conklin

September 15th:
Theme: Seize The Day!
Co-Host: Cynthia Farrell

September 22nd:
Theme: It’s My Party And I’ll Sing If I Want To
Co-Host: Robin Westle
Salon Spotlight: David Ballard

September 29th:
Theme: TBA
Guest Host: Mark Hartman
Co-Host: Natalie Douglas
Salon Spotlight: Sue Matsuki

October 6th:
Theme: More Mizerable
Co-Host: Willy Falk

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.etcetcnyc.com. A 20% gratuity is added to all checks.) There are no reservations; seating is on a first come/first served basis, Doors open and sign up begins at 6:15pm. The evening begins at 7:00, has a 15-minute break at 8:30 and ends promptly at 10:30. 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, August 25th!

Thanks,

Tanya Moberly
Salon Producer

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Update from Producer, Tanya Moberly - August 13, 2013

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, August 18th from 7-10:30PM! (Sign-Up Begins at 6:15.)

The optional theme for the evening is “Guilty Pleasures.”

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

Our Co-Host will be Multiple Award Winning Performer, Director and Teacher Gretchen Reinhagen! Gretchen Reinhagen Studios will be presenting An Afternoon with Barry Kleinbort on Sunday August 18th 1-5pm at Studios, 353 - 353 West 48th St, NYC, 10036. For more information: www.gretchenreinhagen.com


Salon continues every Sunday (except September 2nd) …

August 25th:
Theme: Anniversaries – 8 Years of Salon and 95 Years of Leonard Bernstein!
Co-Hosts: The Etceterettes: Erin Cronican, Janice Hall, Marnie Klar, Marissa Mulder, Candice Oden, Sierra Rein, Sarah Rice, Adam Shapiro and Maureen Taylor.

September 1st: NO SALON

September 8th:
Theme: Life Is a Bitch
Co-Host: Mary Foster Conklin

September 15th:
Theme: TBA
Co-Host: Cynthia Farrell

September 22nd:
Theme: TBA
Co-Host: Robin Westle
Salon Spotlight: David Ballard

September 29th:
Theme: TBA
Guest Host: Mark Hartman
Co-Host: Natalie Douglas
Salon Spotlight: Sue Matsuki

October 6th:
Theme: More Mizerable
Co-Host: Willy Falk

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.etcetcnyc.com. A 20% gratuity is added to all checks.) There are no reservations; seating is on a first come/first served basis, Doors open and sign up begins at 6:15pm. The evening begins at 7:00, has a 15-minute break at 8:30 and ends promptly at 10:30. 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 and Father Jeffrey Hamblin, MD!

Christ Church and Abington Theater Present
Three One Act Sanctuary Dramas

Young playwrights from around the world have submitted drafts and three finalists have been selected. Equity member casts will read the final three and a panel of New York Critics will choose the best. The Father Hamblin Award will be presented to that winning playwright.

August 17, 2013 - 7:00pm
7301 Christ Church Lane (73rd St)

Brooklyn, NY 11209

Admission $10.00

Looking forward to seeing you all Sunday, August 18th!

Thanks,

Tanya Moberly
Salon Producer

P.S. If you would like to remove your name from or add a name to our mailing list please email Tanya.

-Sierra Rein
Blogette for The Salon
Please email me if I made a mistakke

Monday, August 12, 2013

The Salon Wrap-up for August 11, 2013 "Blood, Sweat and Tears - Summer in New York"

There was blood.  There was sweat.  There were tears and a lot of cheers on The Salon stage this past Sunday! The theme, "Blood, Sweat, and Tears - Summer in New York" was inspired by the heat and love we have for the things we do to stay in New York City. 

The Guest Host and blood-letter on the blacks and whites was Steven Ray Watkins, who has won multiple MAC and Bistro awards and has been actor, vocal and music director for the musical and cabaret stages across the country, as well as a music director and session pianist.  His dexterity and fluidity in playing many different musical styles came into play on Sunday, as the singers made him musically sweat and work for his Guest Hosting duties!

Steven Ray Watkins
On the mic as Co-Host for the evening was MAC President, Multiple MAC, Bistro & Nightlife Award Winner, star of solo show "Bloody Bloody Lennie Watts, and teacher of the Cab lab, Arrangement Experience, Sing Your Story, and Cablab Master Edition classes (all starting back up in September) - Lennie Watts

Lennie Watts
Lennie got us on the right foot right off the bat, singing "New York City Rhythm," a pulsing rock song extolling the humanity, grease, sweat and love inherent in the Big Apple. Natasha Castillo quickly followed Lennie with "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Good Enough," which may be a hint of what's to come in her March 2014 show - she's taking Lennie's class and will feature all she's learned! We then got a treat - Mark Janas walked through the door in shorts and a ballcap, fresh from his tour (more on that later), and sat down in the front row, ready to enjoy The Salon from the audience's POV.  After we welcomed Mark back, MAC Hanson Award-winner Elaine St George took a bare-bones and tearful look at the sweat and blood sacrificed in war, singing a cappella the song "The Ballad of Penny Evans" by Steve Goodman - her new show will feature Goodman compositions, and will take place on October 30th, 2013 at Don't Tell Mama.  Next, the ever-effervescent Bobbie Horowitz sang the Horowitz-Spector song "Something's Rotten in Transylvania," which bemoaned the not-so-bloody afterlife she was leading with her Bat-man.  Bobbie will be heard on a Radio show tomorrow - Cabaret Matinee, and will honor composers such as Ervin Drake and John Meyer on October 14th at the Metropolitan Room.  The lovely Marnie Klar took to the mic next, singing "F---ing Perfect" by Alecia Moore, a song that means more now to her than when she first sang it two years ago.  She'll be a featured performer at the Concert for City Greens September 11th and is working on a new show (currently TBD). 

We next had a set of performers singing with Barry Levitt at the piano, the first being his songwriter-in-arms Sunny Leigh, who sang their common composition, the swinging but bitingly honest "This Can't Go On."  They will celebrate her CD release on September 15th at 4pm at the Metropolitan Room!  Barry continued to play for Oldest Chorus Boy Lou Iacovino, who sang the theme-appropriate "Cry Me a River."  Lou is the Oldest Chorus Boy in the upcoming benefit production of the Opera AIDA, performing at the Most Precious Blood Church August 24th at 7:30pm.  Edie Stokes was next to sing with Barry, this time performing the lovely "I'll Be Tired of You" by Harburg and Schwartz, which featured a snazzy instrumental break by Mr. Levitt.  Barry is MD on Edie's upcoming show, "'Tis Autumn," which can be caught on September 22nd at Don't Tell Mama.

Todd Monroe, ever to bring in his puppy-dog eyes, brought in the adorable "Snoopy" by Clark Gesner.  Todd is a student of Gretchen Reinhagen and showed off how charming and sweet he could be with a song.  He just debuted his first show and is currently working on his next. Jaye Maynard, who had good news to start off her song, rocked the positive with "You Make Me So Very Happy" from the band Blood, Sweat and Tears (appropriately!) - her Blossom Dearie tribute will have a double-coast tour, performing in Los Angeles in September and in New York City in October.  The ebullient Ann Dawson - wearing a shirt that could have been artfully soaked in blood - sang "I Love This Place" by Amanda McBroom (the place being...you guessed it!...New York!)  As she stated, "I wanted to sing about a Summer in New York through the eyes of a Tourist." 

Cabaret teacher, vocal coach, and musical theater/cabaret perfomer Gretchen Reinhagen was next, who was able to relate the tears of joy she shed when she married her wife in the Etcetera Etcetera room, and then sang a gorgeous mashup of "What Are You Doing The Rest of Your Life/If Ever I Would Leave You."  Her Gretchen Reinhagen Studios presented An Afternoon With Director, Barry Kleinbort last month, and continues to present classes, private coachings, and Cabaret direction - check out her website for more information - and she'll be Co-Hosting The Salon this coming Sunday.  David Ballard, who has been experiencing great success at the BMI Workshop as a lyricist, showed off his skills by singing his original composition, "Give Me New York."  A few of his original songs will be featured in his upcoming debut show, "Having It All" - September 24th at 7pm, September 25th at 9:30pm, October 11th at 7pm & October 12th at 5pm at Don't Tell Mama, directed by our very own Tanya Moberly.  Your Blogette of the evening, moi,  Sierra Rein, next sang a combination of Irving Berlin's "Say It Isn't So" and Cole Porter's "Down in the Depths." After having performed on Disney Cruise Line and with Marquee Five last week, I can now be hired with the Definitely Dickens Holiday Carolers this upcoming Holiday season for Business and Private parties.

The Salon Spotlight of the evening was the funny and adorable Lois Morton, who has her "20th Century Girl: The Lois Morton Songbook" and several CDs full of her wit, humor and fun style of song, and her show of the same name will be at the Duplex on September 19th.  Lois' "The Diet Song" was nominated for a MAC Award, and it was clear from the songs she performed on Sunday why she became a contender.  She sat at the piano herself and started out her set with a hilarious patter song reacting to the calm-voiced announcers on drug ads called "Side Effects."  If yodeling is your thing, you should have heard Lois next add some high notes to her song "Road Rage," which brought me back to my days trying to drive to auditions in Los Angeles.   Finally, and with Steven Ray Watkins at the piano, she sang "The Last Goodbye," a heartwrenchingly beautiful ballad in loving memory of her late husband - it was a gorgeous French-style song that could have been voiced by Edith Piaf, so beautiful it was. 

Lois' show "20th Century Girl: The Lois Morton Songbook" can be seen at The Duplex on September 19th at 7pm, and will feature Kim Grogg, Mary Lahti, Lois herself, Georga Osborne and Sidney Myer, with Musical Direction by Paul Greenwood and Direction by Lennie Watts.  Plus! Part of the proceeds will benefit The Queens College Political Science Department Henry Morton Scholarship, so go do something that won't make you sweat much to support!

Lois Morton, our Salon Spotlight of the week
Steven’s Corner came from the thing that he associated with blood, sweat and tears the most - WORK!  He wonderfully chose three songs about workers in a variety of careers.  The first was a wonderful song by Rupert Holmes called "Studio Musician," which Steven artfully mixed "Piano Man" into to give it a lovely textured layer.  Phil Vasser's rock n' roll "Athens Grease" (a tribute to a "Redneck Picasso", the artist with automobiles) came next, followed by Jimmy Webb's "Wichita Lineman."  All three songs featured Stevens incredibly energetic and pinpoint piano playing and glorious vocals. 

Second Set

After the break, our Co-Host of the evening, the witty and sharply taunting Lennie Watts had his own big break at the microphone.  And what a break it was - he started out with the rousing "Bucket of Chicken," which was only the best commercial jingle for fried chicken EVER.  Bringing up thoughts of sweating and eating chicken on a leather couch on a hot New York night, Lennie then brought us into a more somber mood with "I Who Have Nothing."  But then he brought the house down with a hilarious rendition of "Old MacDonald" that featured the farmer's "Socially-Challenged" fowl and barnyard brethren.  Lennie is a master actor at these songs, and whether through pathos or humor made each song shine beautifully - and he had the patter to link one song to the next.  A great mini-Master Class of what can be learned from his teachings!

Our Producer Extraordinaire, Tanya Moberly, then stood with Mark Janas at the piano (taking a break from being just "an observer") and sang the sultry yet opinionated Sondheim song, "The Girls of Summer."  She'll be performing at the September 11th Concert for City Greens and is directing David Ballard's upcoming show.  A new show of hers will be debuting in November as well!  Mark Janas stayed at the piano to sing "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah," the classic woe-is-me camp song that reminded him of his recent Tennessee workshop (learning new things about Choir Directing with 137 other Choir Directors) as well as teaching 21 kids at the Buck Hill Skytop Music Festival.  He did so with fellow Salon regular Steve Schalchlin, and apparently it was a fantastic experience. 

And speaking of fantastic experiences, we once again got to revel in Marissa Mulder singing some Jimmy Van Heusen, this time "Darn That Dream" with Bill Zeffiro at the piano.  Lennie ribbed her on winning every award under the sun (really, it was just the Noel Coward, MetroStar, and Julie Wilson awards, but who's counting except Lennie!), and we were happy to hear that she's bringing back her Jimmy Van Heusen show "All The Way" tomorrow, Tuesday the 13th at 7pm and Sunday the 18th at 7pm at the Metropolitan Room.  Bill Zeffiro stayed at the piano to sing his scathingly witty "Better Than Nothing" ditty and reminded us that he "hasn't done anything," which is a load of something unmentionable - he's MDing Marissa's show and is a staple to singers in Cabaret everywhere.  Indeed, he stayed at the 88's to play for Sharon Hunter, who belted out joyously Billy Joel's "Only The Good Die Young," which will be in her show "Sharon Hunter and Her 70's Men" at Don't Tell Mama September 21st and 25th at 7pm.  Charlotte Patton also kept Bill at the piano to sing Alan Menken's song "Ah Men," which can be heard in her "Looking for Love in the 21st Century" show at the Duplex - the last show is this Thursday night.

Von Decarlo (yes she was named after Yvonne) brought some 60's soul into the mix by singing Donna Summer's "A Man Like You" - her musical improv show at the PIT will be seen on this coming Saturday on August 17th, and her debut show full of Summer's music is currently being worked on with the help of Lennie Watts and Steven Ray Watkins.  Next up was Zach Wobensmith, bringing in the beautiful Jerry Herman ballad "Loving You" from the movie version of "Mame," a song about how blood, sweat and tears can sometimes pay off.  Zach's solo debut show "Stiff Upper Lip" will be at The Duplex on September 12th and 14t, both at 7pm.  Barb Malley, looking very summer-y in a floral dress, effortlessly sang a Bossa Nova version of "Bali Hai" from South Pacific. Barb has a promo for "Swoon" dating service out - take a gander at Phylis Rosenberg on YouTube, and her show "Out of Order" will be at Don't Tell Mama August 21st at 7:30pm.  Joe Miller next sang the song of the tearful Depression (last century's, not this century's) anthem, "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" Bennett Silverstein brought the funny and then the fun with Van Heusen and Cahn's "Come Fly With Me."  His Cabaret debut at Don't Tell Mama, featuring Van Heusen's work, will be on October 13th, 2013, directed by Gretchen Reinhagen.  Tall and sweet Eli Gilbert, returning to singing after a small break, then sang "Not That Different" by Karen Taylor-Good and Joie Scott.  Eli is taking Lennie's class and loves it more than anything, so we're happy he came and shared what he's learning with us!

Rounding out the evening, composer and lover-of-Central Park Richie Eisenberg sang "Walk in the Park," his ode to love born in the paths of New York City parks.  Carly Ozard, who just performed at a Queen convention in Toronto, performed "Hello In There," a gorgeous John Prine song about old age, loneliness, and the need to connect to people after years and years have gone by.  It was beautifully done, and a hint at what may be in her upcoming Bette Midler show (TBD).  Lennie Watts closed the evening with his blues-rock rendition of "Tomorrow" from Annie, a clear answer to the question of when the blood, sweat and tears *might* stop flowing...but that remains to be seen...

NEXT WEEK!

The theme is going to be "Guilty Pleasures," which is a dangerous topic indeed for the average Salon crowd.  So come with your songs about food, sex, love, compositions by songwriters you can't stand to admit you adore, or works about people you love to hate or hate to love or feel guilty just thinking about!  The Co-Host of the evening will be Gretchen Reinhagen, who is a top Cabaret teacher, director, and singer. As a quote from Back Stage and Citysearch critic Roy Sander illustrates, “Gretchen Reinhagen's shows are marked by intelligence, warmth, a lovely spirit of benevolence, and fine vocals. It is always a pleasure to spend an hour in her company.” Well WE get to spend three+ with her this coming Sunday!

Gretchen Reinhagen - next week's Co-Host!
The Host of the evening will be the returning Mark Janas (although he may look like Tracy Stark at the beginning of the evening, since he may waltz in a little late and hopefully looking a little guilty to match the theme).  So come and celebrate his full return to The Salon!


Tracy Stark (not Mark Janas)
THIS is Mark Janas
 
-Sierra Rein
Blogette for The Salon
Please email me if I goofed.

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

The Salon Wrap-up for August 4, 2013 "What You Don't Know About Women"

I don’t know if there’s something in the air, but tonight we had a sold out Salon and there was something special buzzing around. Maybe it was because people knew they’d be learning some secrets… secrets revealed with this week’s theme, “What You Don’t Know About Women.”

Mark Janas, our founder and host, is still in the Pennsylvania, so this week our Guest Host was MAC & Bistro Award Winner Barry Levitt! Broadway: “Catskills On Broadway” & “Swinging On A Star”. Off-Broadway: “Little Shop Of Horrors”, “Taking My Turn”, “Back In The Big Time” & “A Match Made In Heaven”. Cabaret clients include Ben Vereen, Bernadette Peters, Faith Prince, Eartha Kitt, Nell Carter, Margaret Whiting, Rosemary Clooney, Melba Moore, Julie Wilson, Connie Francis, Marilyn Michaels, Pia Zadora,Alysha Umphress, Gabrielle Stravelli, Marcus Simeone, Terese Genecco, Deb Berman & Dana Lorge.

Guest Host, Barry Levitt
And…Our fearless co-host was 4-Time MAC Award Winner Dana Lorge! Dana will be bringing her Monthly Variety Show with Barry Levitt back to The Metropolitan Room – 34 West 22nd St, NYC 10010 – Wednesday, August 7th at 7pm. Her guests will include Mark Nadler, Sidney Myer, EggCream & Co., Nicholas Tamagna, Sue Matsuki & Richard Skipper. Future dates are September 8th, October 2nd, November 6th & December 4th. For more information: www.metropolitanroom.com.

Co-Host Dana Lorge
Our amazing and sparkly co-host started with a joke and then went into a hilarious, “Women of a Certain Age.” She then invited up “the Cuban” Joey Infante, who sang a salsa inspired

“Cumbanchuro.” Joey mentioned that he’s doing a show later in the year in anticipation of his birthday. He asks Dana how old she’ll be at her birthday, to which she quipped, “I’m between estrogen and death.” Ruth Carlin gave us a gentle story song “The Moon’s A Harsh Mistress” by Jimmy Webb. Ruth has a show coming up at the Metropolitan Room August 17, 24, 25 (2:30pm) called “Humpty Dumpty Cracks Up: The Nightmare of Cabaret.” It’s a musical comedy show for all ages (especially for families) - full of parody, music, and theater. (The cast also include Tanya Moberly as Little Bo Peep!) The show is a benefit for children’s charities and Cabaret Scene magazine. They’re still looking for performers, so if you’re interested you can click to email Rob Lester.

Janet Mandel came to the mic AND the piano with “Since You Went Away” by the Johnson Brothers. Replacing her at the piano was Bill Zeffiro, who accompanied Angela Leone on “All The Way” by Sammy Kahn & Jimmy Van Heusen. Bill Zeffiro stayed at the piano to sing his MAC Award winning song, “Universal Truth.” You can see him each Tuesday night at La Mediterranea on 2nd Avenue near 51st St. 2013 MAC Award winner Adam Shapiro was next, admitting that he knew nothing about women but he did at least know that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. And with that, he did an inspired rendition of “If (You Hadn’t But You Did)” from Styne, Comden & Green’s Two On The Aisle. Adam is opening a new musical this Friday called, Barcode (with creative consultant James Rado, from the original production of Hair.) It runs Fri 8/9 (2pm), Sun 8/11 (7pm), Mon 8/12 (9:30pm), Tue 8/13 (9:30pm), Wed 8/14 (2pm). Be sure to get out to see it!

Joe Miller came next with the old Russian gypsy song, “Dark Eyes.” Sandra Benee let us know that what we didn’t know about women is that they can sing men’s tunes! She proved it with Cole Porter’s “Come Along With Me.” Barbara Porteus sang the title song from her upcoming show, “Up on the Roof.” She’ll be at Don’t Tell Mama one more time - August 19. She says it might be the last show for a while, so be sure to get out to see it! Barb Malley came in with proof that not all women are fickle - with a gorgeous and simple, “I Get Along Without You.” She did a video promo for the dating service, Swoon, and it’s gotten so many hits that they’re considering turning her character/story into a web series! The more views, the better her chances - go to YouTube and type in “Phylis Rosenberg Dating” and leave a comment!

Janice Hall was excited to sing a Frank Sinatra song once reserved just for men - “It Was A Very Good Year.” Janice says that she has a show up her sleeve but doesn’t want to reveal too much yet - can’t wait to here what she has next! Singer/songwriter Annie Lebeaux did her original song, “She Just Isn’t Me.” She has a CD for sale, with 6 original songs plus some covers of other great tunes! You can buy it by emailing her (click here.) Michael Colby brought in an original song (with hilarious and witty lyrics) with music written by Kenneth Faulkner-Alexander - “You Judge.”

David Ballard, the super-server who managed this sold-out crowd beautifully, sang a powerful version of Lerner & Loewe’s “On The Street Where You Live.” David announced dates for his brand new solo cabaret, “Having It All” (directed by Salon Producer, Tanya Moberly): Tue, 9/24 (7pm), Wed 9/25 (9:30pm), Fri 10/11 (7pm) and Sat 10/12 (5pm). Be sure to get your reservations soon! Erin Cronican (yours truly) sang, “Quiet” by Jonathan Reid Gealt, which I sang in my NY solo cabaret premiere at Winter Rhythms last year. I’m thinking about bringing back my show again this fall - stay tuned for details. Candice Oden, tonight’s Etceterette, sang a stunning rendition of Frank Wildhorn’s “This Time Around.” Candice just finished a workshop production of Bobby Cronin’s new musical, “Concrete Jungle” which got great response from its invited audiences. Congrats, Candice!


Barry’s Corner

Barry started off by saying that inspiration comes from many different places. You take a blank piece of paper (the scariest thing in the world) and a pencil and you just…start. Barry then shared with us three original songs that he’s written over the years, and brought up three amazing singers to partner with him.

1) Helena Grenot - sang “All In Good Time”, the song that Deb Berman commissioned to be the title song for her show.

2) Gary Crawford - Barry told a story about his work on the Broadway musical, Swinging On A Star. He asked if there was a lyric that Johnny Burke had not yet set down to music - later, a gift was hand delivered to him - a note with a lyric scrawled on it, which had never been used in a song. Barry in turn wrote the song, “Now That We’re Sure.”

3) Sunny Leigh - Barry reminded us that nspiration comes in many forms. Sunny, a long time writing partner, handed Barry a lyric and he knew exactly what to do with it - “Good, Good Woman.”


Second Set

In true Dana Lorge fashion, our Second Act started with our co-host telling a bawdy joke, which led into “10 Good Years.” The room then got silent for Dana’s beautiful, subtle story song, “Guess Who.” You can see Dana next at her variety show on August 7 at 7pm at the Metropolitan Room.

Guest Host Barry Levitt then offered to plug some of his stuff - you can see him perform at 54 Below August 7. 14, 18 with singers Natalie Douglass, Terese Genecco, Scott Coulter and others. This Thursday he also teaches a performance workshop 7-9:30pm. Busy, busy man!

Producer Tanya Moberly invited up Etceterette Candice Oden to sing the title song for the evening, “What You Don’t Know About Women” from City of Angels. She’s directing David Ballard’s solo cabaret debut! (See details above.) She is also putting together her next solo cabaret show for November, which will honor New York songwriters. I can’t wait for that one!Joanne Tatham was next with “Blue Angel.” She’ll be performing at a benefit for Mabel Mercer Foundation - “Blue Angel” at Urban Stages, Tues August 6 7pm.

Lou Iacovino gave us the lovely jazz ballad, “”And I Love You So.” Lou tells us he’s doing a benefit performance of Verdi’s Aida at a church in Little Italy on August 24. Be sure to see that! Stephanie Zagorin was next with a delicate and touching “Bye Bye Blackbird.” Lawrence Florek started out by saying that men tend to find themselves in periods of denial, which led into the wistful Rodgers & Hart ballad “You’re Nearer.” Lawrence is working on a show about his childhood in Bensenhurst and his brushes with the mafia. Stay tuned or else, tough guy!

Sharon Hunter sang a lovely, unexpected version of John Denver’s “Country Roads.” Ira Lee Collings gave us a haunting and emotional, “A Resting Place.” You can see him performed next on Thursday, August 22nd at Don’t Tell Mama. Bob Simonello did his part to try to understand women by singing an epic song about the woes of a women, “Unusual Way” from Nine. Susan Jeffries beautifully performed Peggy Lee’s “I Don’t Know Enough About You.”

Richie Eisenberg sang a buoyant and romantic, “Never Too Late.” Ron Dabney brought his deep jazz infused bass to “I’m In The Mood For Love” (which had the ladies, and a few men, swooning!) Helena Grenot came back to the stage with a beautifully acted, “Too Late Now” by Lerner and Loewe. Gary Crawford also came back to the stage, this time with Cy Coleman’s “You’d Better Love Me.” Gary is in the studio recording a new CD with Mr Barry Levitt. Can’t wait to hear it!

Last week’s guest host, Matthew Martin Ward, told us what he knew about women… all of the opera ranges, of course. And with that, he sang & played the hilarious “Masculine Women, Feminine Men.” You can see Matthew perform at Ido Sushi’s Opera Night, every Wednesday night, 7:30-10:30pm. Lenore Stefanik was next with a incredibly moving “The Story Goes On” from Maltby & Shire’s Baby. Kevin McMullen told us that the though “torch song” has a feminine mystic and men mostly hide their feelings, he’s here to buck both of those assumptions with “Why Can’t A Man Sing The Blues.” A newcomer to The Salon, Jordan Wolfe, brought his beautiful and delicate tenor to the Gershwins’ “Someone to Watch Over Me” with Barry Levitt showing off his amazing jazz improvisation skills.

And, finally, Dana Lorge closed out the show with a song that I’m not sure fit the theme, but it sure was fun! (Especially when Gary suggested Laquesha and Barry suggested Ezekiel) -- “The Name Game!”

Next week our Guest Host/Pianist will be Multiple MAC & Bistro Award Winner Steven Ray Watkins! As an actor he has appeared in THE LAST SESSION, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR and in the national tours of BIG, SINGIN' IN THE RAIN and SHOWBOAT. As a musician, he has worked as a session player, a musical/vocal director in the theater and arranger/musical director in cabaret. He has worked with such names as Patti LuPone, John Turturro, Karen Mason, Amanda McBroom, Lennie Watts and Sharon McNight, among many others.  For more information, you can find Steven on Face Book.

Next week's Guest Host, Steven Ray Watkins
 Our Co-Host will be Multiple MAC, Bistro & Nightlife Award Winner and current President of MAC Lennie Watts! As a performer, Lennie has toured nationally and internationally with productions of THE MUSIC MAN and THE WIZARD OF OZ, among many other theatre credits. As a theater director, he has directed productions of GODSPELL, DAMES AT SEA, JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT, and PHANTOM. Lennie is the creator of “cab lab” and “Summer In The City (with Lina Koutrakos), and is the current Program Director for The Singers Forum. For more information: www.lenniewatts.com.

Next week's Co-Host, Lennie Watts
The optional theme is “Blood, Sweat & Tears – Summer in New York.” I cannot even begin to count how many different ways you can approach this theme - what fun!

See you next week!


- Erin Cronican
Blogette for The Salon
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