Happy April! Sierra is back, baby, to be your Blogette for the early and mid-Springtime!
To open up the first Salon for the month of April, Mark took a lovely moment to honor the nominees and winners of
The 2016 MAC Awards! Although The Salon was nominated for the 7th time, after 6 years in a row, this year we passed the baton to the glorious Ricky Ritzel’s Broadway. But we had so many reasons to celebrate; along with a large number of our regulars, our Producer Tanya Moberly won a MAC Award for Best Female Vocalist (for her series "Songs I Feel Like Singing")! Read the full list
here.
Our favorite time and place is always 7pm at Etcetera Etcetera, so it was fitting that the optional theme for this evening's Salon was "April in Paris – Favorite Times and Places." To put us in the French mood during our blustery/cold April opening night, co-host
Wendy Russell took us through the theme of gay paree in strong vocals. With 2016 MAC Award-winning
Stephen Ray Watkins accompanying her at the piano, Wendy started out with the snappily-lyric'd "When in Rome (I Do as the Romans Do)". For the second act opener, she asked three companions to guide her through the City of Lights. All dressed up in berets, red roses and oh so "Français" stripes, were "Those Girls"
Karen Mack,
Eve Eaton,
and
Rachel Hanser, providing Wendy with great backup harmonies, comedy, and baguettes. They began with "Walkin' on Broken Glass," which showed of Wendy's gorgeous mix belt. The next number, "Little White Church" featured vocals by Karen Mack, a rockin' piano backtrack, and classic "train" harmonies. They completed their set with a wonderful tight-harmony arrangement of "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning" (is there nothing better than all-female harmony?!?!) arranged by Stephen Ray Watkins. For the end of the show, Wendy and Stephen lifted their voices and our spirits with The Beatles' "All You Need is Love."
The show "Those Girls at the Beechman" will take over The Laurie Beechman Theatre on April 10th at 3pm, and April 13th, 20th and 27th at 7pm. Stephen Ray Watkins is taking the helm as Musical Director, and Lennie Watts (oh hey,
another 2016 MAC Award winner!) will direct.
Our Salon Spotlight for the evening was Natasha Castillo, whose show "Feels Like Home" will burst onto the scene in May at Don't Tell Mama. With Stephen Ray Watkins at the piano, she opened up her spotlight with the sweetly flowing "Those Good Old Dreams," which was featured in her last show. She then segued into her new show, which will show off some brand new songs, including a peppy mashup of "Put On a Happy Face" and "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile." Moving from the theme of smiling to the theme of hope, Natasha then engulfed us with fuzzy feelings, performing "The Rainbow Connection" (from The Muppet Movie).
Quick Wrap: Classical Corner
Mark loved Paris as a theme for the evening, but he had only 15 minutes to explore it! From the end of the 19th to the beginning of the 20th, Paris was rich
in art and creativity and music, and Impressionism was at its heyday. The ideal was not about accuracy, but that the backgrounds and foregrounds were fuzzy and out of focus - it was more about feelings and moods rather than reality itself. Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy were Impressionistic masters at this time, although Debussy hated the term, and they were masters of different musical Impressionism techniques, including bitonality (two chords put together) and pentatonic (five note) and whole tone scales to create a wholly new sound. Also of note to Mark was Nadia Boulanger, a famous composer and music teacher who taught for decades for such luminaries as Philip Glass, Aaron Copeland, and Quincy Jones, and who was an incredible influence in modern times. To illustrate all these concepts in a very French way, Mark played a little bit of a piece by Les Six, a group of composers who performed mainly in concert settings in the 1920s. They were also almost a reaction against Impressionism, and instead went towards Mentalism, very simplistic and haunting with D major into a D major 7 chords.
Mark then entered into the musical realm of Maurice Ravel, who wrote "Gaspard de la nuit" on the themes of three poems by Aloysius Bertrand. In the first piece Ondine, the water spirit, tries to lure a man to his death in a watery grave. Ravel set the nymph in vocal form with a melody that runs its way through a cascading figure which, when played softly and quickly, creates the feeling of water. The second movement is on a piece by Edgar Alan Poe regarding a ghastly figure of a hanged man alongside the constant sound of a bell ringing in the distance. The third is about the goblin Scarbo and is one of the hardest pieces Mark has ever been in front of. Mark left us with a work by the free-spirited Debussy, the hauntingly beautiful "Clair de Lune."
Roster of performers for the evening (in order of appearance):
Click to visit performers' website or other links when available.
All piano accompaniment by Mark Janas unless otherwise noted.
Wendy Russell (with Stephen Ray Watkins* at the piano)
Jim Speake* (with Stephen Ray Watkins at the piano)
John Koprowski (with Stephen Ray Watkins at the piano)
Roberta Jackson (with Stephen Ray Watkins at the piano)
Bobbie Horowitz*
Susan Neuffer
Kount Kit
Jerome Weinstein
David Ballard
Nicholas Levin and Janice Hall (with Nicholas Levin at the piano)
Sierra Rein (with Bill Zeffiro at the piano)
Bill Zeffiro (with self at piano)
Marnie Klar (with Stephen Ray Watkins at the piano)
Natasha Castillo (with Stephen Ray Watkins at the piano)
Wendy Russell, Karen Mack, Eve Eaton, Rachel Hanser (with Stephen Ray Watkins at the piano)
Tanya Moberly*
Bob Diamond
Barbara Malley*
Ann Dawson
Nicky Nicholas
Sally Darling** (with Matthew Martin Ward at the piano)
Matthew Martin Ward
*2016 MAC Award Winner!!!
** 2016 Hansen Award Winner!!!
Special thanks to tonight’s musicians: Mark Janas, Stephen Ray Watkins, Nicholas Levin, and Bill Zeffiro!
Another thank you to Jared Gilmore on lights and sound, our amazing waitstaff who always handle the demands of a full house with grace and style, and
Steve Bustamante who is providing video footage for people interested in that service!
Ongoing shows:
Monday nights (8pm): Bill Zeffiro and
Marissa Mulder at La Rivista, 313 West 46th Street, NYC.
Wednesday nights (8pm): Bill Zeffiro and Jenna Esposito at La Rivista, 313 West 46th Street, NYC.
Upcoming shows:
Thursday, April 7, 2016 (8pm): Matthew Martin Ward and Wendy Scherl in "What You Do All Day" at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Friday, April 8, 2016 (7pm): Marnie Klar is bringing back her show, "Tuned In" (directed by Tanya Moberly), to Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Sunday, April 10, 2016 (3pm): "Those Girls at the Beechman" with Wendy Russell, Karen Mack, Eve Eaton, Rachel Hanser at the Laurie Beechman Theater, 407 West 42nd Street, NYC.
Monday, April 11, 2016 (7pm): "A Life Behind Bars" written and performed by Dan Ruth, Directed by
Tanya Moberly, at The Gutter Williamsburg Brooklyn, 200 North 14th Street, Brooklyn, NYC.
Tuesday, April 12, 2016 (7pm): Jim Speake presents "Sweet Life: The Show" at The Laurie Beechman Theatre at The West Bank Cafe, 407 West 42nd Street, NYC.
Wednesday, April 13, 2016 (7pm): "Those Girls at the Beechman" with Wendy Russell, Karen Mack, Eve Eaton, Rachel Hanser at the Laurie Beechman Theater, 407 West 42nd Street, NYC.
Saturday, April 16, 2016 (4pm): Jim Speake presents "Sweet Life: The Show" at The Laurie Beechman Theatre at The West Bank Cafe, 407 West 42nd Street, NYC.
Sunday, April 17th, 2016 (6pm): Sally Darling in "Totally Noel...with A Bit of Sally", an all-Noel Coward show at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Tuesday, April 19, 2016 (7pm): Marissa Mulder and Bill Zeffiro in "Unconventional," at The Laurie Beechman Theatre at The West Bank Cafe, 407 West 42nd Street, NYC.
Tuesday, April 19, 2016: Rutanya Alda, Bill Zeffiro and Alan Greenberg in "A Mommie Dearest Mother's Day Celebration with Carol Ann" at The Laurie Beechman Theatre at The West Bank Cafe, 407 West 42nd Street, NYC.
Wednesday, April 20, 2016 (7pm): "Those Girls at the Beechman" with Wendy Russell, Karen Mack, Eve Eaton, Rachel Hanser at the Laurie Beechman Theater, 407 West 42nd Street, NYC.
Friday, April 22th, 2016 (7pm): Sally Darling in "Totally Noel...with A Bit of Sally", an all-Noel Coward show at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Monday, April 25, 2016 (7pm): "A Life Behind Bars" written and performed by Dan Ruth, Directed by
Tanya Moberly, at The Gutter Williamsburg Brooklyn, 200 North 14th Street, Brooklyn, NYC.
Wednesday, April 27, 2016 (7pm): "Those Girls at the Beechman" with Wendy Russell, Karen Mack, Eve Eaton, Rachel Hanser at the Laurie Beechman Theater, 407 West 42nd Street, NYC.
Saturday, April 30, 2016 (7pm): Tanya Moberly is performing "Celebrating Streisand" for the award-winning cabaret benefit series "Cabaret Cares" at the Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd Street, NYC.
Sunday, May 1, 2016: Tanya Moberly and Charles Baran are appearing in a benefit for In God's Love We Deliver at the Laurie Beechman Theater, 407 West 42nd Street, NYC.
Tuesday, May 3, 2016 (7pm): Marnie Klar is bringing back her show, "Tuned In" (directed by Tanya Moberly), to Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Friday, May 6, 2016 (7pm): Matthew Martin Ward and Wendy Scherl in "What You Do All Day" at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Sunday, May 8, 2016: Rutanya Alda, Bill Zeffiro and Alan Greenberg
in "A Mommie Dearest Mother's Day Celebration with Carol Ann" at the Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd Street, NYC.
Monday, May 9, 2016 (7pm): "A Life Behind Bars" written and performed by Dan Ruth, Directed by
Tanya Moberly, at The Gutter Williamsburg Brooklyn, 200 North 14th Street, Brooklyn, NYC.
Wednesday, May 11th, 2016 (7pm): Sally Darling in "Totally Noel...with A Bit of Sally", an all-Noel Coward show at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Saturday, May 14, 2016 (7pm): Natasha Castillo in "Feels Like Home" at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Friday, May 20, 2016 (7pm): Natasha Castillo in "Feels Like Home" at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Wednesday, May 25, 2016: Bobbie Horowitz is performing her popular cabaret, "It's Just a Number," at the Metropolitan Room, honoring Jim Speake.
NEXT SALON, Sunday April 10th, 2016:
The theme will be "TEAMWORK," so it's a great opportunity to grab a partner or two and duet, trio, or quartet up a storm, or find a song about getting together (or not). Creative and parental teammates Kristin Maloney and Adam McDonald (charter members of The Salon back when "Talk of the Town" was playing at The Algonquin Hotel) will be on hand to make sure all the teams play nice with each other.
We all hope to see you there!
Sierra Rein
Blogette for the Salon
(Updates? Changes? Email me!)
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