Janice Hall and Adam B Shapiro, Co-Hosts
"It's a Jungle Out There: Halloween with the Animals" with Co-Hosts Janice Hall and Adam B. Shapiro
One of my very favorite events of the whole year is The Salon's Halloween celebration, because NYC audiences get to see the amazing creativity and talent that comes from the brains and bodies of co-hosts Janice Hall and Adam B. Shapiro. Adam informed us that this is the 6th time they have co-hosted the Halloween Salon, and in doing the mental math I'm estimating that we've seen 20+ costumes from the duo in those years. (Some of those were tear-away costumes, morphing from one costume to another in a quick-change flash!) The only interruption in their 6 year legacy was the pandemic, but even then they found a way to create a special online show (which included some Salon favorites as special guests!) You can see that incredible, fully costumed, variety show here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPOxpEXZXrY
To start tonight's event...
Dressed like a farmer, Adam started with "Let's Talk Dirty to the Animals" (made famous by Gilda Radnor) which, with such language, would NOT have been able to have been sung at the Salon's original home - the lobby of the Algonquin Hotel. (We had to be mindful of passing guests!) Adam's performance was complete with visual aids, including a butt. (Don't ask...) He then quickly changed into a bear costume (a Bear in a bear costume!) to begin co-hosting the evening.
For our mid-show co-host entertainment, Janice - dressed as a cheetah (her newly discovered patronus from the Harry Potter universe), invited Matthew Martin Ward to join her on the piano to sing a wonderful Chita (Cheetah?) Rivera medley. The medley included snippets from "A Boy Like That" (West Side Story), "Spanish Rose" (Bye Bye Birdie), "Kiss of the Spider Woman" (Kiss of the Spider Woman), "Love and Love Alone" (The Visit), and All That Jazz (Chicago). She then changed into a gorgeous peacock costume to continue co-hosting duties.
To finish out the night, Adam and Janice came back to the stage - Janice (as the aforementioned peacock, the "NBC" peacock, presumably, as the familiar tones were played by Mark on piano!) and Adam (as a not-so-balding eagle) - with a tribute to their fine-feathered friends. But which song? There are so many songs about birds! Not to worry, they said. Lucky for us, they have created a (faux) album of songs all about birds ("Now That's What I Call Birds!"), and sang a medley of it including "Skylark" (Janice), then "Meadowlark," (Adam), then "White Bird in a Golden Cage" (Janice), then "Bye Bye Blackbird" (Adam), then "Green Finch and Linnet Bird" (Janice), then "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park" - interrupted by "Feed the Birds" (Adam), with a big finish of "If We Could Talk to the Animals" - with both Adam and Janice in glorious harmony!
You can download Adam B. Shapiro's debut album, "Let Love In" via all digital music platforms.
Mark Janas/Classical Corner
When Salon Host, Mark Janas, heard about tonight's theme, immediately what came to mind was "Carnival of the Animals", a humorous musical suite of fourteen movements by the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns. But then he thought, "Perhaps something a little less obvious." Mark then reminded us of the adage - that if you hear "clopping coming over the hill, think horse not zebra." So, what is a zebra's most prominent feature? Stripes (black and white of course!) This led Mark to think of black and white keys, the stripes on a piano.
A "C" Scale, and also a song in C Major, has all of its whole steps using the white keys with no black keys played. And example of this is Mozart's Piano Sonata #16, which Mark demonstrated beautifully. He then talked about Mozart's Piano Sonata #5, in G Major, which "starts with C sharp so you already know we're onto something different." He demonstrated a bit of that next.
During the pandemic, Mark felt the need to practice as much as possible to keep his hands agile. There is a piece by Chopin, an Etude - which is not only a study (piano scales) but a "harmonically fascinating piece of art." He introduced us to what is known as the "Black Keys Etude" which is a fast, 3-minute song that is only played with black keys except for one in the right hand (in the middle of a chord, which Mark calls the "middle voice.") Mark finished Classical Corner by playing this amazingly beautiful song, fully from memory. Mark never ceases to amaze me.
Mark is bringing back "Mark Janas' Classical Corner" - a full show of teaching and celebration of classical music - to Don't Tell Mama November 8 and December 6, 2021. It's a must see!
Roster of Performers for the Evening (in order of appearance):
Click the link to visit the performer’s website or other links, as available.
All piano accompaniment by Mark Janas unless otherwise noted.
Co-Host Adam B. Shapiro
Gerrilyn Sohn
Julia Landon
Barb Malley (a cappella)
Maria Corsaro (with Gregory Toroian on piano)
Kati Neiheisel (with Gregory Toroian on piano)
Ann Talman (with Gregory Toroian on piano)
Gregory Toroian (also on piano)
Classical Corner
Co-Host Janice Hall (with Matthew Martin Ward in piano)
Jeff Flaster (with Matthew Martin Ward in piano)
Goldie Dver (with Matthew Martin Ward in piano)
Bobbie Horowitz (with Matthew Martin Ward in piano)
Stew Frimer (with Matthew Martin Ward in piano)
Frances O'Flynn (with Matthew Martin Ward in piano)
Matthew Martin Ward (also on piano)
Michele Herman (unaccompanied poetry)
Jonathan Kuhn
Richard Eisenberg
Kimberly Dawn Neumann
Mark Corpron
Scott Raneri
Bennett Silverstein
Co-Hosts Janice Hall and Adam B. Shapiro
Special thanks to Salon Host and lead pianist Mark Janas, Producer Tanya Moberly, and additional fantastic pianists Gregory Toroian and Matthew Martin Ward. Thanks also to David Ballard on lights and sound, and to the wonderful waitstaff and thoughtful management at Don't Tell Mama. Finally, a big thank you to our videographer for the evening, the amazing Steve Bustamante.
Upcoming Shows
ONGOING! Adam B. Shapiro's debut album, "Let Love In," is now available on all digital music platforms.
Wednesday, November 3, 2021 (7pm) - Tanya Moberly directs Amy Beth Williams in "A Thousand Beautiful Things" at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Thursday, November 4, 2021 (7pm) - Tanya Moberly directs Rian Keating (musical direction by Woody Regan) in "time stamps: life fragments in story and song" at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Saturday, November 6, 2021 (4pm) - Matthew Martin Ward is appearing in "Life Hack with Cathy Taylor" at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Sunday, November 7, 2021 (2pm) - Maria Corsaro is performing her show, "You Taught My Heart To Sing," with the Gregory Toroian Trio, at Pangea, 178 2nd Ave, NYC.
Sunday, November 7, 2021 (3pm) - Scott Raneri is appearing in "Extra! Extra!" at the Triad Theatre, 158 W 72nd St, NYC.
Sunday, November 7, 2021 (4pm) - Tanya Moberly directs Bruce Sabbath in "Searching for Tevye" at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Monday, November 8, 2021 (7pm) - Mark Janas brings his event, "Mark Janas' Classical Corner" to Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Sunday, November 14, 2021 (4pm) - Mark Corpron is doing his show "Moving On - Songs of Journey" at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Tuesday, November 16, 2022 (7pm) - Kati Neiheisel is appearing in "Yesterday Once More" with the Gregory Toroian Trio, at Pangea, 178 2nd Ave, NYC.
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 (7pm) - Tanya Moberly directs Bruce Sabbath in "Searching for Tevye" at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Thursday, November 18, 2021 (7pm) - Tanya Moberly directs Bruce Sabbath in "Searching for Tevye" at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Thursday, November 18, 2021 (7pm) - Tanya Moberly directs Amy Beth Williams in "A Thousand Beautiful Things" at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Friday, November 19, 2021 (7pm) - Tanya Moberly is appearing in "I Love NY Songwriters: Part II" at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Saturday, November 20, 2021 (8pm) - Tanya Moberly directs Rian Keating (musical direction by Woody Regan) in "time stamps: life fragments in story and song" at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Sunday, November 28, 2021 - Sierra Rein and Julie Reyburn are appearing in "Sondheim Unplugged", 54 Below, 254 W 54th St, NYC.
Tuesday, November 30, 2021 (7pm) - Tanya Moberly directs Marnie Klar in "Marnie Klar: A Woman's Prerogative" at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Sunday, December 5, 2022 (1pm) - Kati Neiheisel is appearing in "Yesterday Once More" with the Gregory Toroian Trio, at Pangea, 178 2nd Ave, NYC.
Monday, December 6, 2021 (7pm) - Mark Janas brings his event, "Mark Janas' Classical Corner" to Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Tuesday, December 7, 2021 - Bob Brady performs "Wonderful, If You Insist" in Naples, FL.
Thursday, December 9, 2021 (2pm) - Maria Corsaro is performing her show, "You Taught My Heart To Sing," with the Gregory Toroian Trio, at Pangea, 178 2nd Ave, NYC.
Saturday, December 11, 2021 (4pm) - Matthew Martin Ward is appearing in "Life Hack with Cathy Taylor" at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Tuesday, December 14, 2021 (7pm) - Tanya Moberly directs Marnie Klar in "Marnie Klar: A Woman's Prerogative" at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Wednesday, December 15, 2021 (7pm) - Tanya Moberly directs Marnie Klar in "Marnie Klar: A Woman's Prerogative" at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Friday, December 17, 2021 (7pm) - Tanya Moberly is appearing in "I Love NY Songwriters: Part II" at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Saturday, December 18, 2021 (5pm) - Tanya Moberly directs Rian Keating (musical direction by Woody Regan) in "time stamps: life fragments in story and song" at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
December 30, 2021 - January 16, 2022 (16 performances) - Erin Cronican is producing and starring in WIT, with The Seeing Place Theater, 64 East 4th Street, NYC.
Sunday, February 20, 2022 - Gerrilyn Sohn is bringing her new show to Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Thursday, March 10, 2022 - Gerrilyn Sohn is bringing her new show to Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Saturday, March 19, 2022 - Gerrilyn Sohn is bringing her new show to Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Monday, March 21, 2022 - Ann Talman is debuting a new show, with the Gregory Toroian Trio (about Elizabeth Taylor) at 54 Below, 254 W 54th St, NYC.
March & April 2022 - Jeff Flaster is doing a show at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.
Next Up at The Salon
We'll see you then!
- Erin Cronican
Blogette for The Salon
Email me with oopsies, additions, or comments!
- Erin Cronican
Blogette for The Salon
Email me with oopsies, additions, or comments!
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