Heather started out by crooning "Sing Happy" itself, which started quiet and intense, building in urgency as she joyously showed off her clear, bell-like belt. During her Co-Hosting duties, she asked each performer "one word that makes you happy," and we got answers that included "Music," "my Son," "this Community," "Life," "Everything," "Steak," "Grandchildren," "Bourbon," "Harmony," "Purring" and "Boys." For her Act II set, Heather started up with a spritely mashup of "Shakin' The Blues Away" and Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off," featuring backup vocals by Music Director Steven Ray Watkins and Rachel Hanser. Her second song in the mid-show set was an "awwww"-inspiring samba combo of "Sweet Child of Mine" and "You Are My Sunshine." She then hilariously tried to resist her carnal urges in "Bacon"...to no avail...but Tanya said it was the best rendition of the song ever performed! To close the show, Heather went into "What I Did for Love" from A Chorus Line in a different musical mode than I've ever heard! To hear this and all her work...go see her show!
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| Heather Villaescusa |
Heather Villaescusa will bring her voice and smile to Don't Tell Mama in "The Happiness Project (A 10-Week Guide)" on Saturday, March 3rd at 4:00pm, Wednesday, March 7th and Friday, March 16th at 7:00pm and Saturday, March 24th at 8:00pm. Musical Direction by Steven Ray Watkins. Directed by Lennie Watts. For more information and tickets: www.donttellmamanyc.com
-Sierra Rein
Quick Wrap - Classical Corner
As I watched him rehearse for Classical Corner before the doors opened today, I heard Mark ask "What have you got to be happy about, Mr. Mozart?" rhetorically to his sheet music. Turns out, despite Mozart's sad pauper ending, good old Wolfgang created some of the most joyous music in Classic history. His most famous work, The Magic Flute, exemplifies this joy, and Mark showed how. He started out with a slow, stately theme to the The Magic Flute's Overture, which then bust its buttons open with a bouncy, joyous melody that had Mark's fingers flying across the keyboard. A few "problems" in dramatic musical form arose in a middle section, but then it flowed joyously into a upbeat happy tune to the end. Then the downward Bb chord led to a section fraught with a minor version of the original "happy" theme. As Mark explained, a sense of harmony is the quickest way to create happiness; turn it on it's ear into a minor chord, and you may find the other side of the coin.
In The Magic Flute, Mozart introduces the character of Papageno, the Bird Catcher. "Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja" is his introductory song, a simple one which is very "musical theater" in it's strophic (or verse-repeating) structure. Zach Wobensmith was brought up to sing through this solo, the lyrics of which includes:
He then introduced a solo from an operatic version of "Hamlet" by French composer Ambroise Thomas, libretto by Michel Carré and Jules Barbier. This piece, a drinking song sung by Hamlet to the visiting Players, is a plea from him that they'll distract him from his brooding. Well, judging from a very brooding middle section, he's only pretending he needs the distraction...
Roster of performers for the evening (in order of appearance):
Click link to visit the performer’s website or other links, when available.
All piano accompaniment by Mark Janas unless otherwise noted.
Co-Host: Heather Villaescusa (with Steven Ray Watkins on piano)
Marnie Klar (with Steven Ray Watkins on piano)
Eillen Lacy
Bobbie Horowitz
Richie Eisenberg
Kevin McMullan
Frances O'Flynn
Zach Wobensmith
Angela Leone (with Bill Zeffiro on piano)
Christopher Whipple (with Bill Zeffiro on piano)
Sierra Rein (with Bill Zeffiro on piano)
Bill Zeffiro (self on piano)
David Ballard
Kathleen France
Zach Wobensmith
Co-Host: Heather Villaescusa (with Steven Ray Watkins on piano)
Classical Corner: Mark Janas
BREAK
Tanya Moberly
"Those Girls": Eve Eaton, Rachel Hanser, Karen Mack & Wendy Russell (with Steven Ray Watkins on piano)
Sidhant
Bobbie Horowitz (encore)
Frances O'Flynn (encore)
Angela Leone (encore)
Richie Eisenberg (encore)
Kevin McMullan (encore)
David Ballard (encore)
Kathleen France (encore)
Co-Host: Heather Villaescusa (with Steven Ray Watkins on piano)
Special thanks to David Ballard on lights and sound, the amazing waitstaff and management at Etcetera Etcetera, and our videographer Michael Stever.
Performances coming up by guests of this evening's Salon:
Ongoing Shows
Monday nights (7pm): Opera Open Mic at Shanghai Mong with Mark Janas and Matthew Martin Ward, 30 West 32nd Street, NYC.
Upcoming Shows
Monday, March 5, 2018 (7pm): Tanya Moberly sings "Six Different Shows, Six Different Musicians, Six Monday Nights" with Mark Janas on piano at Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.
Friday, March 9, 2018 (8pm): David Ballard sings with the NYC Gay Men's Chorus in "Big Gay Sing X" at NYU Skirball Center for the Arts, 566 La Guardia Place, NYC.
Saturday, March 10, 2018 (4pm): Angela Leone has a CD release party with Bill Zeffiro at Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.
Saturday, March 10, 2018 (8pm): David Ballard will be Kit-Katting around in "Bazazz - A Sequined Variety Rick Skye As Liza Minnelli" at Don’t Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Sunday, March 11, 2018 (3pm): David Ballard sings with the NYC Gay Men's Chorus in "Big Gay Sing X" at NYU Skirball Center for the Arts, 566 La Guardia Place, NYC.
Wednesday, March 14, 2018 (7pm): "Those Girls": Eve Eaton, Rachel Hanser, Karen Mack & Wendy Russell (Musical Director, Steven Ray Watkins) perform unplugged at Pangea, 178 Second Avenue, NYC.
Monday, March 19, 2018 (7pm): Amy Beth Williams gets "Carried Away" with Daryl Kojak on piano, Ritt Henn on bass, Will Holshouser on accordion, and John Henry Williams on violin. Directed by Tanya Moberly at Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.
Sunday, March 25, 2018 (3pm): Bobbie Horowitz is hosting her next show, "It's Just a Number" at Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.
Monday, March 26, 2018 (7pm): Tanya Moberly sings "Six Different Shows, Six Different Musicians, Six Monday Nights" with Ian Herman on piano at Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.
Wednesday, April 4, 2018 (7pm): "Those Girls", Eve Eaton, Rachel Hanser, Karen Mack and Wendy Russell (with Musical Director, Steven Ray Watkins), perform unplugged at Pangea, 178 Second Avenue, NYC.
Monday, April 9, 2018 (7pm): Tanya Moberly sings "Six Different Shows, Six Different Musicians, Six Monday Nights" with Jon Weber on piano at Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.
Wednesday, April 11, 2018 (7pm): Christopher Whipple in "F@$k it, Yes!" with Music Director Bill Zeffiro at Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.
Thursday, April 12, 2018 (7pm): Sierra Rein's solo debut show, "Running in Place," premieres with Bill Zeffiro, Music Director, at The Laurie Beechman Theatre, 407 West 42nd St, NYC.
As I watched him rehearse for Classical Corner before the doors opened today, I heard Mark ask "What have you got to be happy about, Mr. Mozart?" rhetorically to his sheet music. Turns out, despite Mozart's sad pauper ending, good old Wolfgang created some of the most joyous music in Classic history. His most famous work, The Magic Flute, exemplifies this joy, and Mark showed how. He started out with a slow, stately theme to the The Magic Flute's Overture, which then bust its buttons open with a bouncy, joyous melody that had Mark's fingers flying across the keyboard. A few "problems" in dramatic musical form arose in a middle section, but then it flowed joyously into a upbeat happy tune to the end. Then the downward Bb chord led to a section fraught with a minor version of the original "happy" theme. As Mark explained, a sense of harmony is the quickest way to create happiness; turn it on it's ear into a minor chord, and you may find the other side of the coin.
In The Magic Flute, Mozart introduces the character of Papageno, the Bird Catcher. "Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja" is his introductory song, a simple one which is very "musical theater" in it's strophic (or verse-repeating) structure. Zach Wobensmith was brought up to sing through this solo, the lyrics of which includes:
The bird-catcher, that's me,
always cheerful, hip hooray!
As a bird-catcher I'm known
to young and old throughout the land.
I know how to set about luring
and how to be good at piping.
That's why I can be merry and cheerful,
for all the birds are surely mine.
He then introduced a solo from an operatic version of "Hamlet" by French composer Ambroise Thomas, libretto by Michel Carré and Jules Barbier. This piece, a drinking song sung by Hamlet to the visiting Players, is a plea from him that they'll distract him from his brooding. Well, judging from a very brooding middle section, he's only pretending he needs the distraction...
Roster of performers for the evening (in order of appearance):
Click link to visit the performer’s website or other links, when available.
All piano accompaniment by Mark Janas unless otherwise noted.
Co-Host: Heather Villaescusa (with Steven Ray Watkins on piano)
Marnie Klar (with Steven Ray Watkins on piano)
Eillen Lacy
Bobbie Horowitz
Richie Eisenberg
Kevin McMullan
Frances O'Flynn
Zach Wobensmith
Angela Leone (with Bill Zeffiro on piano)
Christopher Whipple (with Bill Zeffiro on piano)
Sierra Rein (with Bill Zeffiro on piano)
Bill Zeffiro (self on piano)
David Ballard
Kathleen France
Zach Wobensmith
Co-Host: Heather Villaescusa (with Steven Ray Watkins on piano)
Classical Corner: Mark Janas
BREAK
Tanya Moberly
"Those Girls": Eve Eaton, Rachel Hanser, Karen Mack & Wendy Russell (with Steven Ray Watkins on piano)
Sidhant
Bobbie Horowitz (encore)
Frances O'Flynn (encore)
Angela Leone (encore)
Richie Eisenberg (encore)
Kevin McMullan (encore)
David Ballard (encore)
Kathleen France (encore)
Co-Host: Heather Villaescusa (with Steven Ray Watkins on piano)
Special thanks to David Ballard on lights and sound, the amazing waitstaff and management at Etcetera Etcetera, and our videographer Michael Stever.
Performances coming up by guests of this evening's Salon:
Ongoing Shows
Monday nights (7pm): Opera Open Mic at Shanghai Mong with Mark Janas and Matthew Martin Ward, 30 West 32nd Street, NYC.
Upcoming Shows
Monday, March 5, 2018 (7pm): Tanya Moberly sings "Six Different Shows, Six Different Musicians, Six Monday Nights" with Mark Janas on piano at Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.
Friday, March 9, 2018 (8pm): David Ballard sings with the NYC Gay Men's Chorus in "Big Gay Sing X" at NYU Skirball Center for the Arts, 566 La Guardia Place, NYC.
Saturday, March 10, 2018 (4pm): Angela Leone has a CD release party with Bill Zeffiro at Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.
Saturday, March 10, 2018 (8pm): David Ballard will be Kit-Katting around in "Bazazz - A Sequined Variety Rick Skye As Liza Minnelli" at Don’t Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Sunday, March 11, 2018 (3pm): David Ballard sings with the NYC Gay Men's Chorus in "Big Gay Sing X" at NYU Skirball Center for the Arts, 566 La Guardia Place, NYC.
Wednesday, March 14, 2018 (7pm): "Those Girls": Eve Eaton, Rachel Hanser, Karen Mack & Wendy Russell (Musical Director, Steven Ray Watkins) perform unplugged at Pangea, 178 Second Avenue, NYC.
Monday, March 19, 2018 (7pm): Amy Beth Williams gets "Carried Away" with Daryl Kojak on piano, Ritt Henn on bass, Will Holshouser on accordion, and John Henry Williams on violin. Directed by Tanya Moberly at Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.
Sunday, March 25, 2018 (3pm): Bobbie Horowitz is hosting her next show, "It's Just a Number" at Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.
Monday, March 26, 2018 (7pm): Tanya Moberly sings "Six Different Shows, Six Different Musicians, Six Monday Nights" with Ian Herman on piano at Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.
Wednesday, April 4, 2018 (7pm): "Those Girls", Eve Eaton, Rachel Hanser, Karen Mack and Wendy Russell (with Musical Director, Steven Ray Watkins), perform unplugged at Pangea, 178 Second Avenue, NYC.
Monday, April 9, 2018 (7pm): Tanya Moberly sings "Six Different Shows, Six Different Musicians, Six Monday Nights" with Jon Weber on piano at Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.
Wednesday, April 11, 2018 (7pm): Christopher Whipple in "F@$k it, Yes!" with Music Director Bill Zeffiro at Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.
Thursday, April 12, 2018 (7pm): Sierra Rein's solo debut show, "Running in Place," premieres with Bill Zeffiro, Music Director, at The Laurie Beechman Theatre, 407 West 42nd St, NYC.
Monday, April 16, 2018 (7pm): Tanya Moberly sings "Six Different Shows, Six Different Musicians, Six Monday Nights" with Steven Ray Watkins on piano at Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.
Friday, April 20, 2018 (6pm): Christopher Whipple in "F@$k it, Yes!" with Music Director Bill Zeffiro at Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.
Monday, April 23, 2018 (7pm): Tanya Moberly sings "Six Different Shows, Six Different Musicians, Six Monday Nights" with Sean Harkness on guitar at Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.
Sunday, April 29, 2018 (7pm): Sierra Rein's solo debut show, "Running in Place," with Bill Zeffiro, Music Director, at The Laurie Beechman Theatre, 407 West 42nd St, NYC.
Monday, April 30, 2018 (7pm): Tanya Moberly sings "Six Different Shows, Six Different Musicians, Six Monday Nights" with Ritt Henn on bass at Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.
Wednesday, May 2, 2018 (7pm): "Those Girls": Eve Eaton, Rachel Hanser, Karen Mack & Wendy Russell (Musical Director, Steven Ray Watkins) perform unplugged at Pangea, 178 Second Avenue, NYC.
Saturday, May 12, 2018 (2pm): Sierra Rein's solo debut show, "Running in Place," with Bill Zeffiro, Music Director, at The Laurie Beechman Theatre, 407 West 42nd St, NYC.
NEXT SALON!
There is NO SALON on March 4th, so don't come that day and instead enjoy the Oscars! Our next Salon with be on March 11th on the Theme "Songs That Have Bazazz" with Co-Host Rick Skye!
Friday, April 20, 2018 (6pm): Christopher Whipple in "F@$k it, Yes!" with Music Director Bill Zeffiro at Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.
Monday, April 23, 2018 (7pm): Tanya Moberly sings "Six Different Shows, Six Different Musicians, Six Monday Nights" with Sean Harkness on guitar at Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.
Sunday, April 29, 2018 (7pm): Sierra Rein's solo debut show, "Running in Place," with Bill Zeffiro, Music Director, at The Laurie Beechman Theatre, 407 West 42nd St, NYC.
Monday, April 30, 2018 (7pm): Tanya Moberly sings "Six Different Shows, Six Different Musicians, Six Monday Nights" with Ritt Henn on bass at Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.
Wednesday, May 2, 2018 (7pm): "Those Girls": Eve Eaton, Rachel Hanser, Karen Mack & Wendy Russell (Musical Director, Steven Ray Watkins) perform unplugged at Pangea, 178 Second Avenue, NYC.
Saturday, May 12, 2018 (2pm): Sierra Rein's solo debut show, "Running in Place," with Bill Zeffiro, Music Director, at The Laurie Beechman Theatre, 407 West 42nd St, NYC.
NEXT SALON!
-Sierra Rein
Blogette for The Salon
Email me with corrections and questions
Email me with corrections and questions
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