The Salon Wrap-Up for July 24, 2016 - "Déjà Vu"

The term "déjà vu," French for "already seen," was the theme for tonight's Salon, and there were many interpretations of the this theme. Songs of familiarity and memory peppered the stage, and we all had a mini-moment of déjà vu as we remembered having Co-Host Josephine Sanges at Salon before (and she has certainly risen to new heights since then)! Josephine introduced us to pianist and arranger John M. Cook before starting up the evening. Their first number was "Haven't We Met," a lilting and romantic jazzy song perfectly suited for Josephine's smooth and versatile - and very playful - voice. She then introduced Celia Berk to sing a two-person arrangement by John, entitled "Sondheim Duet," consisting of a medley of three Sondheim pieces, including "Move On." For the middle set, Josephine sang "Where or When" in a beautifully Sondheim-esque arrangement (with a little Gershwin mixed in) by Cook that featured her fluidity and bell-like middle range. "Now and Then" by Michel Legrand was next; a bluesy and haunting tune that let her high notes and John's jazz piano shine through. They then switched to something completely different - an uptempo, driven and virtuosic version of "Ding Dong The Witch is Dead" from The Wizard of Oz. She ended the evening with a taste of her upcoming Ann Hampton Callaway show - Callaway's song "Perfect" - and indeed...she was!

Josephine Sanges

Josephine is offering two upcoming shows. The first is "Haven't We Met?" at Don't Tell Mama on August 1st (Monday) and August 5th (Friday) - both at 7pm - featuring John M. Cook as Musical Director and Director Barry Kleinbort. The second is "Josephine Sanges Sings the Music of Ann Hampton Callaway," with John M. Cook as Music Director and Deb Berman, Director - at Don't Tell Mama October 26th (Weds, 7:00 pm), November 6th (Sunday, 5:30 pm), November 15th (Tues, 7:00 pm), November 20th (Sun, 7:00 pm).

Salon Spotlight
Bill Zeffiro has written a new musical - a parody of the movie which made the term "NO WIRE HANGERS!" so famous - and he was here to perform clips of it as our Salon Spotlight. The musical is called "Mommie Deadest" and we had Janice Hall to play the Mommie role of Lucy Faye and Melissa Mulder as her beleaguered daughter, Lucy Faye Junior. Bill also brought up a fantastic guest artists - Ratanya Alda (who was IN the original "Mommie Dearest" as Carol Ann) to help out as characters within a few scenes. Bill and Co. started out with "Mad Mommie Waltz" into "Payback Time," revealing the madcap and darkly funny parody it was. Janice killed as Mommie herself, singing a song representative of every child's nightmare, "Another Me." Finally, the "cheap scifi effects" (Bill's words) were brought out to the finale of the show, and they all sang "Fly, Mommie, Fly." Looking forward to the moment this show is fully realized on stage!

Rutanya Alda

Quick Wrap: Classical Corner:
"Mommie Deadest" was a hard act to follow, but Mark Janas brought in the big guns with a discussion of The Sonata. In particular, Mark brought in Beethoven's 32 Sonatas (well, the second volume of his work on these genre). Beethoven had three Sonata periods: Early, Middle, and End, and they were the first important set of a full cycle of a "works of a kind." In fact, they were considered the "New Testament" of music. Mark really wanted to delve into the form of the Sonata, so he thought he would take the Opus 2 No. 3 Sonata in C Major and explain how it was constructed. Even some symphonies are constructed in Sonata form, which is a combination of rules and inner drama between themes. Several different themes (A, B, C, etc) have little plays and play-lets within the pieces, and these themes can differ on energy, arpeggiation, key, and how they transition within each other. They are often described in gender (ie legato being female, boisterous as male), and individual themes can be considered "duets" between the male and female "voices."

The particular story of this Sonata starts with an Exposition, thus introducing all the characters of the "show," and takes us from "I love you babe, and I'll ravish you"/"But don't forget about my father"/"Oh to hell with your father, we're in love"/"Ok, we're duetting now and in love" into a big transition from the 2nd A theme to a new idea - the B theme into a coda into the ending in a Dominant (the feminine) chord. The Development section is next, which opens with a few beats of transitional music into a blend of all the themes, used in different ways. An improvisatory structure appears here; Beethoven is playing with themes and keys and false capitulations (where a development theme re-appears in the "wrong" key). Then the Ending section appears (there's a hopping octave theme that is accompanied by an echo) and the recapitulation comes back along with the inclusion of the first transition theme (the "what about my father?" section, only this time in a different key, so maybe she's changed her mind about the whole thing).  Both the themes are resolved a bit toward each other in key and tone, so perhaps by the end, the two characters are eye to eye. The Coda ends the final part of the piece, which wraps the whole play up, and the characters get to take a bow.

Mark played the entire piece for us, and challenged us to listen carefully and with the ears of audiences of hundreds of years past, and really find the characters and their relations within the themes.

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.

Josephine Sanges (with John M. Cook at piano)
Celia Berk and Josephine Sanges (with John M. Cook at piano)
Ira Lee Collings (with John M. Cook at piano)
Angela Leone (with Bill Zeffiro at the piano)
Barbara Malley
Jerome Weinstein
Derek Williams
Deborah Stone
Sandra Bargman
David Ballard
Sierra Rein
Dawn Derow
Josephine Sanges (with John M. Cook at the piano)
Tanya Moberly
Sally Darling (with Matthew Martin Ward on piano)
Matthew Martin Ward (with self at piano)
Joseph Mulholland
Susan Olsen (with John M. Cook at the piano)
Josephine Sanges (with John M. Cook at the piano)

Big thanks to Gil Alexandre on lights and sound, and continued thanks to our amazing waitstaff each Sunday, for being such fantastic servers. Thanks also to Steve Bustamante who provides beautiful and illuminating video footage service.

Special thanks to tonight’s musicians: Mark Janas, John M. Cook, Bill Zeffiro, and Matthew Martin Ward.

Ongoing Shows:

Monday nights (7pm): Opera Open Mic at Shangai Mong with Mark Janas and Matthew Martin Ward, 30 West 32nd Street, NYC. www.shanghaimongnyc.com

Monday, July 11, 2016 (6:30pm): The Metropolitan Room's 9th Annual MetroStar Challenge begins for seven Mondays in a row, and who knows...one of our Salon regulars may win! The Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd St., NYC.

Upcoming Shows:

Friday, July 29, 2016 (7pm): Angela Leone - with Barry Levitt at the piano - in "All My Tomorrows" at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.

Monday, August 1, 2016 (7pm): Josephine Sanges in "Haven't We Met?" with John M. Cook, Music Director, and Director Barry Kleinbort, at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.

Wednesday, August 3, 2016 (7pm): Tanya Moberly brings "Tanya Moberly Sings the Blues with Ian" to Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.

Wednesday, August 3, 2016 (7pm): Celia Berk in "Manhattan Serenade" at The Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd St., NYC.

Friday, August 5, 2016 (7pm): Josephine Sanges in "Haven't We Met?" with John M. Cook, Music Director, and Director Barry Kleinbort, at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.

Tuesday, August 9, 2016 (7pm): reading of "The Lady in Penthouse B" by Peter Napolitano and Matthew Martin Ward, featuring David Ballard, Bill Zeffiro and Adam B. Shapiro, at Urban Stages, 259 West 30th Street, NYC.

Friday, August 12, 2016 (7pm): Tanya Moberly brings "Tanya Moberly Sings the Blues with Ian" to Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.

Wednesday, September 7, 2016 (7pm): Tanya Moberly brings "Tanya Moberly Sings Amy, Ani, Ricki, Joni with Ritt" to Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.

Saturday, September 10, 2016 (7pm): Marquee Five (featuring Sierra Rein) in the NYC debut of "Back Porch Swing" at The Laurie Beechman Theater, 407 West 42nd Street / Downstairs at the West Bank Cafe, NYC.

Friday, September 16, 2016 (7pm): Tanya Moberly brings "Tanya Moberly Sings Amy, Ani, Ricki, Joni with Ritt" to Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.

Sunday, September 18th, 2016 (4pm): Sandra Bargman, with Ian Herman at the piano and direction by Shawn Moninger, in a CD Release Party of "the Edge of Every Day" at The Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd St., NYC.

Saturday, September 24, 2016 (4pm): Deborah Stone in "Exactly Where I Belong" with Woody Regan at The Metropolitan Room, 34 W 22nd St, NYC.

Friday, September 30, 2016 (7pm): Tanya Moberly brings "Tanya Moberly Sings Amy, Ani, Ricki, Joni with Ritt" to Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.

October TBD, 2016: Barb Malley, Matthew Martin Ward, Sally Darling in "OMG!! Am I a Diva?" at the Laurie Beechman Theatre, 407 West 42nd Street / Downstairs at the West Bank Cafe, NYC.

Wednesday, October 5, 2016 (7pm): Tanya Moberly brings "Tanya Moberly Sings Amy, Ani, Ricki, Joni with Ritt" to Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.

Saturday, October 8th, 2016 (2pm): Michael Colby opens the American Popular Song Society at The Musicians' Hall, 322 West 48th Street, NYC.

Friday, October 14, 2016 (7pm): Sally Darling in "Totally Noel" with Matthew Martin Ward, at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.

Sunday, October 16, 2016 (5pm): Sally Darling in "Totally Noel" with Matthew Martin Ward, at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.

Wednesday, October 26, 2016 (7pm): "Josephine Sanges Sings the Music of Ann Hampton Callaway" with John M. Cook, MD, and Director Deb Berman, at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.

Wednesday, November 2, 2016 (7pm): Tanya Moberly brings "Tanya Moberly Sings Loggins with Watkins" to Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.

Wednesday, November 2, 2016: Deborah Stone and others in Cabaret Cares performance, at The Metropolitan Room, 34 W 22nd St, NYC.

Sunday, November 6, 2016 (5:30pm): "Josephine Sanges Sings the Music of Ann Hampton Callaway" with John M. Cook, MD, and Director Deb Berman, at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.

Friday, November 11, 2016 (7pm): Tanya Moberly brings "Tanya Moberly Sings Loggins with Watkins" to Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.

Tuesday, November 15, 2016 (7pm): "Josephine Sanges Sings the Music of Ann Hampton Callaway" with John M. Cook, MD, and Director Deb Berman, at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.

Sunday, November 20, 2016 (7pm): "Josephine Sanges Sings the Music of Ann Hampton Callaway" with John M. Cook, MD, and Director Deb Berman, at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.

Wednesday, December 7, 2016 (7pm): Tanya Moberly brings "Tanya Moberly Sings Loggins with Watkins" to Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.

Friday, December 9, 2016 (7pm): Tanya Moberly brings "Tanya Moberly Sings Loggins with Watkins" to Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.

NEXT SALON, Sunday July 31st, 2016:
The theme for next week will be "Yearning For More" with Co-Host Sandra Bargman. So bring those songs of longing, wishing, hoping, and "why not me?"-ing!

Sierra Rein
Blogette for the Salon
(Updates? Changes? Email me!)