Monday, April 23, 2018

The Salon Wrap-Up for April 22, 2018: "Groovin’ On An Earth Day"

Tanya got us all clapping and enthusiastic for what was to become a great evening with a full house of singers and speakers, with many newbies in the audience. As it was Earth Day itsel, the theme was "Groovin’ On An Earth Day" and our Guest Host Father Nature at the piano was John Cook in place of Mark Janas. Our Co-Hosts were Ann McCormack and Woody Regan, who have been running a long-time variety show "Grovin' on a Sunday" since 2012. With the addition of a great number of "Groovin' Team" members, they started with a set of folk and pop songs past and semi-past that got all our hippie DNA going (hey, my name is Sierra, what can you expect?). Ann took to the microphone, Woody to the piano, Phil Mougis to the guitar, and Jason Ellis, Evelyn Sullivan, and Mary Sue Daniels sang backup on the song "Groovin' On a Sunday Morning," then each took a turn to the microphone to sing "It's A Good Day." Woody took to the piano and vocals "April Showers" serenading a basket of flowers which had been placed on the piano. Phil finally took the spotlight to sing on guitar on "Waiting For a Friend" with the others singing backup to him.

After the break, Jason and Evelyn sang duetted harmony on Paul Simon's "Under African Skies" with Woody on piano, Phil on guitar, and Ann on percussion.  Mary Sue then came to the mic to solo on the soothing folk rock song "Mountain Girl," with Woody on chorus harmony. Ann then grabbed the center stage to croon about her home, "The Swamps of Home" from Once Upon a Mattress, complete with Woody, Mary Sue, Phil and Evelyn's chorus comments. For the wrap-up song, we heard from all of the sing-along "Put A Little Love in Your Heart" from this Groovin' team, with singing harmony from the audience.

"Escape to Ukelele Island" will be a haven to run to Tuesday, April 24th at 7pm. 60 minutes of songs, ukuleles, etc. Featuring Evelyn Sullivan, Jeff Macauley, Ann McCormack, Wendy Wyn Wilson, and others, at 53 Above, 318 West 53rd Street, NYC.

This "Groovin’ on a Sunday" group with Ann and Woody will perform "Groovin’ for NYC Pride" on May 20th and June 23rd (benefiting the Hetrick-Martin Institute), and will also present "Groovin’ for Summertime" shortly! Follow them on Facebook for updates!

Salon Spotlight

Dawn Derow on vocals, Sean Harkness on guitar and Don Kelly on percussion are a winning combination - sultry, smooth, but with an underlying sexy pulse that make for great entertainment: these three were our Salon Spotlight! The three of them perform as the cleverly-combined "The Dawn, Sean, and Don Show." They started out on the classic "It Might As Well Be Spring" from State Fair with a calypso flair - smooth vocals from Dawn, deft strumming by Sean, and bongo drumming by Don. They then performed Emily Sailers' (of the Indigo Girls) passionate song "Mystery." A furious bongo solo by Don got us ramped up into a powerful Sarah McLaughlin song, "Sweet Surrender."

You can catch a few "choose your own set list from a menu" performances by "The Dawn, Sean, and Don Show: Off the Menu" at Carroll Place, 157 Bleecker St, NYC on both Friday, May 8th and Tuesday, June 19th at 7pm.

Dawn, Sean, and Don
Quick Wrap - Cook's Corner

John Cook sought to 'celebrate' one of his Earth Day "heroes": Scott Pruitt, the newly appointed head of the EPA...ahem...by passing out lyric sheets and helping the audience sing along on a parody of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" entitle "The Twelve Days of Earth Day," which mentioning fracking, falling trees, melting glaciers and each repeat ending in "...and the Cuyahoga bursting in flames." Then, as a more "binding up, healing" song, we sang a parody of "S'Wonderful" which included the lyrics "We are those chosen few-ables / Who see the future's in renewables." John has been nominated for his first MAC Award (finally!) and to illustrate his gorgeous accompaniment, he had Josephine Sanges up to sing "One Little Thing," about the black and white and greytone-to-rainbow citizens of the movie Pleasantville.

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 John Cook unless otherwise noted.


Co-Hosts: Ann McCormack, Jason Ellis, Evelyn Sullivan, and Mary Sue Daniels, with Woody Regan on piano and Phil Mougis on guitar.
Camille Savitz (with Woody Regan on piano)
Eileen Lacy (with Woody Regan on piano)
Michele Herman
Johnathan Kuhn (with Woody Regan on piano)
Clara Solomon
Carol Gershwin
Lou Iacovino
Marnie Klar
Janice Hall
Franz Bloem
Bobbie Horowitz
Ira Lee Collings
Lucille Carr-Kaffashan
Jaye Maynard
Salon Spotlight: Dawn Derow (with Sean Harkness on guitar and Don Kelly, percussion)
Josephine Sanges (with Sean Harkness on guitar)
Tanya Moberly (with Sean Harkness on guitar)
John's Corner (with Josephine Sanges)
BREAK
Co-Hosts: Ann McCormack and Woody Regan on piano, with the Groovin' Crew: Jason Ellis, Evelyn Sullivan, and Mary Sue Daniels, and Phil Mougis on guitar
Rian Keating (with Woody Regan on piano)
Frances O'Flynn (with Woody Regan on piano)
Andrea Axelrod
Becca Kidwell
Barb Malley
Richard Eisenberg
Deborah Stone
Amy Beth Williams
Renee Katz
Sierra Rein (with Bill Zeffiro on piano)
Angela Leone (with Bill Zeffiro on piano)
Bill Zeffiro (self on piano)
Co-Hosts: Ann McCormack and Woody Regan on piano, with the Groovin' Crew: Jason Ellis, Evelyn Sullivan, and Mary Sue Daniels, and Phil Mougis on guitar

Special thanks to Janice Hall on lights and sound, the amazing waitstaff and management at Etcetera Etcetera, and our videographer, José Peña!

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.

Every Tuesday (6pm-7pm) - except for Monday April 23rd at St. Luke's Church: "Peaceable Hour - Music to soothe the spirit and restore the heart" with Sarah Rice, Mark Watson, and Janice Hall. FREE at Saint Clements Church and Chapel, 423 West 46th Street, NYC.

Upcoming Shows

Sunday April 21-May 13, 2018 (various times) - Erin Cronican is appearing in the one woman play, "My Name Is Rachel Corrie" and is also directing the play "I Am My Own Wife" - both with The Seeing Place Theater @ the Paradise Factory, 64 E 4th 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.

Tuesday, April 24, 2018 (7pm): "Escape to Ukelele Island" will be a haven to run to with  60 minutes of songs, ukuleles, etc. Featuring Evelyn Sullivan, Jeff Macauley, Ann McCormack, Wendy Wyn Wilson, and others, at 53 Above, 318 West 53rd Street, NYC.

Wednesday, April 25, 2018 (7pm): Rian Keating can be seen in "When You Go Down To The Sea" at Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.

Thursday, April 26, 2018: Camille Savitz, Deborah Stone and Eillen Lacy perform for a benefit of  The Lambs at EAG (Episcopal Actors Guild - $20 plus canned food donations) at the Little Church Around the Corner, 1 East 29th Street, NYC.

Sunday, April 29, 2018 (7pm): Sierra Rein's solo debut show, "Running in Place," with Musical Director Bill Zeffiro, directed by James Beaman with Matt Scharfglass on bass and Rex Benincasa on drums, 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:
Michele Herman's upcoming exhibit "1978" opens at Central Park's Arsenal Gallery.

Friday, May 4, 2018 (7pm): "Lisa Viggiano sings Bruce on Christopher" with Lisa Viggiano (Directed by Tanya Moberly and Musical Director Matt Scharfglass) at Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.

Tuesday, May 8, 2018 (7:30pm): "The Dawn, Sean, and Don Show: Off The Menu" with Dawn Derow, Sean Harkness, and Don Kelly at Carroll Place, 157 Bleecker Street, NYC.

Saturday, May 12, 2018 (2pm): Sierra Rein's solo debut show, "Running in Place," with Musical Director Bill Zeffiro, directed by James Beaman with Matt Scharfglass on bass and Rex Benincasa on drums, at The Laurie Beechman Theatre, 407 West 42nd St, NYC.

Thursday, May 17, 2018 (7pm): Tanya Moberly directs Kendra Cunningham in "This Could Be You" at Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.

Friday, May 18, 2018 (7:30pm): Amy Beth Williams and others perform in "All The Way: The Music of Jimmy Van Heusen" at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall, 154 West 57th Street, NYC.

Wednesday, May 23, 2018 (7pm): "Come Rain or Come Shine: Josephine Sanges Sings Harold Arlen," with Music Director John Cook and Director Jeff Hernar, at The Laurie Beechman Theater,  407 West 42nd St, NYC.

Thursday, May 24, 2018 (7pm): Andrea Axelrod, with John Cook at the piano, in "Centenary" at Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.

Thursday, May 31, 2018 (7pm): Marnie Klar will be part of Bobbie Horowitz's Birthday celebration in "It's Just a Number" at Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.

Thursday, May 31, 2018 (7pm): Andrea Axelrod, with John Cook at the piano, in "Centenary" at Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.

Sunday, June 3, 2018 (4:30pm): Andrea Axelrod, with John Cook at the piano, in "Centenary" at Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.

Thursday, June 7, 2018 (7pm): Becca Kidwell in Gretchen Reinhagen's Studio Show at Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.

Tuesday, June 19, 2018 (7:30pm): "The Dawn, Sean, and Don Show: Off The Menu" with Dawn Derow, Sean Harkness, and Don Kelly at Carroll Place, 157 Bleecker Street, NYC.

NEXT SALON! - April 29th, 2018

This coming Sunday, bring your mommy/daddy/sister/brother hangups as we sing about "Family Matters"! Our Guest Host/Pianist will be Tracy Stark with Co-Host Deborah Zecher and Salon Spotlight Leslie Carrara-Rudolph, who hopefully will bring some of her heart-"felt" family members with her!

- Sierra Rein
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