The Salon Wrap-Up for October 27, 2013 "Out of the Closet… and Beyond"

There was a spooky vibe in the air as we journeyed into the unknown. What would our guests be wearing at our very special Halloween Salon? One never knows with a theme like, “Out of the Closet...And Beyond.” Founder and host, Mark Janas, kicked off the evening with a rare treat - singing a parody of Music of the Night dressed up as the Phantom of the Opera (and when he took off his mask, he joked that the mask was still there!) As most of you know, Mark has been in recovery after a brain operation, and his facial muscles are still on the mend. It was incredibly special that Mark could share that personal story with us and bring us a laugh at the same time.

Our co-host of the evening is no stranger to The Salon. In fact, he’s such a regular that he was offered one of the coveted, “Etceterette” positions! And up Adam Shapiro strode to the mic (in full makeup, fancy tuxedo, and amazing sparkly vest and bow tie!) as the Emcee of Cabaret, giving us “Wilkommen.” Believe it or not, it was this time last year when Adam was supposed to co-host but got waylaid by Hurricane Sandy. (I’m glad to say that it was definitely worth the wait!) And with that, might I say that Adam plays a PERFECT Emcee - I would love to see him in the role!

Co-Host, Adam Shapiro!

Adam announced that after every performance, he would be holding a bag and offer, “Trick or Treat?”, giving each performer (and audience member, later) homemade caramel apple rice krispie treats! They were decadent, and I proud to say that I only at 3 of them...

Leading the open mic portion of the evening, Zach Wobensmith posed a question to the audience: What’s the worst kind of zombie? The answer: One in middle management. Thus, he gave us “Re: Your Brains” by Jonathan Colton, so hilarious and engaging that the audience wanted to sing along! You can see Zach in his encore performance of “Stiff Upper Lip: The Songs of the Brits” on November 5 at 7pm at The Duplex. I saw the show on his opening night - it’s a really nice show! Gladys Nilsson was next with the beautiful Spanish ballad, “Himno Al Amor.“ Gladys just finished performing in a resort casino in Atlantic City at the Miss Senior America Pageant. Congratulations, Gladys!

Called a “paragon in the cabaret community” by our esteemed host, Dana Lorge brought us a parody of “No Business Like Show Business” using lyrics about shopping (which she admitted to doing when happy, when sad, or anywhere in between!) Dana has her next variety show coming up on November 6 at 7pm at the Metropolitan Room. Please get out there to support her work! After Dana we had Bennett Silverstein, who sang the lovely ballad, “All My Tomorrows.” Bennett said he loves dressing up like Harpo Marx for Halloween but Harpo doesn’t sing so he opted against it (I would have liked to have seen that!) Bennett just sold out Don’t Tell Mama on October 13 with his debut one man show. Next, he will be performing November 16 at 6pm Copper Club (and dinner included in the cover charge.)

MAC Award winner, Elaine St George, came to the stage dressed as Mets fan - complete with running mascara because they cry a lot! She gave us the taste of the scariest song in her upcoming tribute show - “Vegematic” by Steve Goodman. She mentioned that many people don’t know his music - her musicians were amazed that there’s such beautiful music they’ve never heard of before. See Elaine at Don’t Tell Mama Friday, November 1st; Thursday, November 7th and Thursday, November 14th. All shows are at 7:15 pm. Next up was Bobbie Horowitz (dressed in a flowing black cape) with the heartfelt and touching ballad, “Pictures of You” (for which she wrote the lyrics!) Her next concert for the Unity Church is December 14th at 2-4pm - she says it’s only a $15 suggested “love offering” (and from what I hear, that fee is well worth the talent assembled!)

We all had to do a double take when Janice Hall came to the stage, because her Halloween costumes was a tribute to Salon Producer, Tanya Moberly! True to type, Janice/Tanya sang the sultry Marlene Dietrich song, “Golden Earrings.” Janice is appearing alongside Sarah Rice and David Vernon for an All Soul’s Night celebration, at Ryan’s Daughter on E 85th St between 1st & 2nd - Wed October 30 at 7pm. Sounds like a lot of fun! Jim Speake announced that he tried to get in touch with his inner child but found a frog instead (with the costume to match!) He sang a lovely, “Rainbow Connection.” We had a brief interstitial as beloved cabaret writer, Rob Lester, came to the stage to talk about his benefit show for Cabaret Scenes. Stay tuned for more details...

It was nice to see Natasha Castillo at The Salon again, as she sang the pop song, “I Stand.” Natasha will be appearing in Lennie Watts’ showcase Sunday, November 3, and also has a new solo cabaret coming up March 2014 - can’t wait to hear more about that! Longtime Salon regular, songwriter Richie Eisenberg, brought up singers Rob Langeder, Stacie Perlman, and Erin Cronican (yours truly!) to sing a brand new song of his: “Tex-Ass.” In it, he included a little skit about a pageant-like competition to see who could put the “ass” in Tex-ass the best. Rob Langeder provided a beat box style rap accompaniment, and Stacie and I held up photographs of the finalists and ultimate winner (who ended up being Ted Cruz.) The audience loved the subversiveness - it’s my kind of song.

Annie LeBeaux brought in an original comedy song about a flight on the way to Brigadoon called, appropriately, “Aer Lingus.” Speaking of traveling to exotic places, Annie is on her way to Key Largo, FL where she’ll be working for the next 6 months as the house pianist at a private yacht club (they put her up and feed her!) We’ll miss you while you’re gone, Ms LeBeaux. David Ballard put aside his serving duties for a bit to share Peter Mills’ classic, “Way Ahead of My Time.” David says that his work at the BMI workshop is still going strong. He is also to be congratulated on recently completing his very first solo cabaret show!

Erin Cronican (that’s me!) sang an ode to the all-time leader in bad dress up events - “Always A Bridesmaid” from the Off Broadway musical, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change. I’m taking a few weeks off from The Salon to direct/star in a play with my theater company, The Seeing Place. We’re doing the first ever professional revival of Sidney Kingsley’s MEN IN WHITE, happening just up the street at The Seeing Place @ ATA’s Sargent Theater, 314 W 54th St, 4th Floor, for 16 performances November 8-24 (Wed-Sat 8pm, Sat-Sun 2pm.) Tickets are only $12 and since it’s a play there is no drink minimum - you really have no excuse not to go! My bestie, Candice Oden, was next with a rousing rendition of Chicago’s “All The Jazz” (with me, Zach Wobensmith & Adam Shapiro on backups, along with the full audience!) Candice says she has a little project she’s cooking up, which she’ll be revealing soon... :)

Classical Corner

Mark Janas introduced the idea of themes in spooky music. They can be achieved through common spooky intervals, or by playing what are called tri-tones. He asked Sarah Rice to join him on stage, where he introduced the audience to the spookiest instrument of them all - the theremin. (Think the high pitched wailing sound you hear when the Star Trek theme is played.) The theremin was the first electronic instrument invented, and is the only instrument that you can play without touching the instrument - it’s done purely by manipulating electro-magnetic waves. Sarah demonstrated by playing several songs for us, one of which she played after turning the lights off and putting on special gloves that lit up in the finger area. It was a really cool performance!

Second Act

Co-Host Adam Shapiro gave us a big reveal at the top of intermission as he came to the stage dressed as a sexy octopus - but not just any octopus, but as Ursula from The Little Mermaid, of course! He sang “Poor Unfortunate Souls” (with me on a little bit of Ariel dialogue.) For the second song of his set, he ripped off the outerwear to reveal a corset, tights, and fierce heels and sang “Sweet Transvestite” from The Rocky Horror Show, during which Zach Wobensmith transitioned from playing Riff Raff (helping with the costume change) to playing Brad. And of course, devotees in the audience filled in as Magenta & Columbia to round out the ensemble! For his final song of his co-host set, Adam explained that Halloween is a time to deal with things that scare us - and thus Adam put on a sad clown costume and sang an Italian aria (!) It was awesome.

Salon Producer Tanya Moberly, dressed in sexy black lace, was next with one of my favorite tunes that I’ve ever heard her sing, “Last Midnight” from Into The Woods. She has a new show coming up: “I Love NY Songwriters.” It’ll be happening at Don’t Tell Mama Nov 1 (7pm) & 2, and Dec 3 & 4. She met a lot of the songwriters here at The Salon including Richard Eisenberg, Dan Furman, Ritt Henn, Bobbie Horowitz, Nicholas Levin, Liz McNamara and Bill Zeffiro (plus many others!) She has a discount for Salon members - it’s a great deal and a great show! Next up was Barb Malley, dressed as a broad from Brooklyn, singing “He Had Refinement.” Barb just finished an 8 show engagement at Don’t Tell Mama of her cabaret show, “Out Of Order” - I can’t wait to hear what you have up your sleeve next, Barb!

The lovely Robin Kradles came to the stage dressed as a Transylvanian flight attendant, with delectable “finger foods and warm blood.” What better song, then, than to sing “Come Fly With Me.” She announced we were flying to Las Vegas, and then ripped off the costume to reveal a sparkly, sexy dress underneath! Robin just finished her solo cabaret debut, and I hear it was fantastic (I was very sorry to miss it!) Lauren Newell was next, and told the audience that she’s visiting NYC and has came back to the Salon for the second time - the first time was last Christmas when she visited NYC with her husband. We were so thrilled to hear that! Lauren said that her favorite singer Helen Reddy, so she gave us a song that Helen sang as a demo from a lost musical that never got produced - “ Girl That Everybody Love To Hate.” Lauren says that this is the first time this song has been sung in front of a live audience (because no one else had transcribed the song from the demo.) Thank you for sharing it with us!

One of the sweetest members of The Salon family, Mary Lahti, sang a vibrant and tearful, “Much More” from The Fantasticks! She reminded us that it’s never too late - you can do and be anything you want (especially on Halloween.) Mary is doing an encore performance of her cabaret, “A Kid Again” on November 17 at 1pm at Duplex. I saw the show in its first outing - you really don’t want to miss it. Carly Ozard gave us a sweet and simple, “Stop And See Me.” She doesn’t have anything specific coming up, but has made an offer to anyone who need concert/benefit singers to give her a call!

Susan Hodgdon was next with “I Like To Hate Myself In The Morning” by John Meyer. She is working on a show and will give us all the details when they become available! Broadway World Award Winner & MAC Nominee, Stacie Perlman, sang Laura Jensen’s “Wicked World” with charming storytelling and truly perfect vocals. Stacie announced that she was asked by Lynn Ahrens & Stephen Flaherty to sing a song of theirs at the upcoming MAC show at Baruch Performing Arts Center. Amazing! Sarah Rice said she had decided to come dressed up as The Bride of Sarah Brightman, and with Matthew Martin Ward on piano she sang, “Autumn at the Automat” which the audience contributed to with “cha cha cha” at the appropriate moments. Surprisingly, Matthew Martin Ward moved from the piano to the mic on stage, and complete with captain cap sang, “A Little Skipper from Heaven Above.” On Saturday at 11pm he’ll be performing at 54 Below in “Silly Witches” Christine Pedi, Kristine Zbornik, Mary Testa, and Jackie Hoffman - the dream team of musical theater comedy!

To close out the show, Adam Shapiro dressed in the most beautiful drag and sang “I Am What I Am” from La Cages Aux Folles. Adam will be appearing in NO CHESTNUTS – NOT YOUR NORMAL CHRISTMAS SHOW (The Christmas show that contains NO Christmas Carols, and features a one-man abridged version of Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol) on Saturday, December 14th at 7:00 as part of Urban Stages’ Winter Rhythms Festival. He also resumes production for HBO’s “The Normal Heart” next month.

Next week, the optional theme for the evening is “Better To Have Loved and Lost…” Remember, any material, on or off theme, is always welcome at Salon.

Our Co-Host will be Amy Beth Williams! Our Salon Spotlight will be Jamie Salzano.

We’ll see you next Sunday!

- Erin Cronican
Blogette for The Salon
Please email me with any corrections

Update from Producer, Tanya Moberly - October 22, 2013

SALON – that unique, MULTIPLE AWARD WINNING, Weekly Open Mic Event, created and hosted by Mark Janas returns to Etcetera, Etcetera - 352 West 44th Street, NYC 10036 – on Sunday, October 27th from 7-10:30PM! (Sign-Up Begins at 6:15.)

The optional theme for the evening is “Out of the Closet and Beyond – Costumes Encouraged!”

Remember, any material, on or off theme, is always welcome at Salon.

Our Co-Host will be MAC Award Winner Adam Shapiro! Adam will be appearing in NO CHESTNUTS – NOT YOUR NORMAL CHRISTMAS SHOW (The Christmas show that contains NO Christmas Carols, and features a one-man abridged version of Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol) on Saturday, December 14th at 7:00 as part of Urban Stages' Winter Rhythms Festival. He also resumes production for HBO's "The Normal Heart" next month. www.adamshapiro.net

Adam Shapiro as "The Ringsasster" ...come join him in Costume on the 27th!!!

Salon continues every Sunday…

November 3rd:
Theme: Better To Have Loved and Lost…
Co-Host: Amy Beth Williams
Salon Spotlight: Jamie Salzano

November 10th:
Theme: The Blame Game
Co-Hosts: Jackie Kristel and Alison Nusbaum

November 17th:
Theme: Crooners and Swooners
Co-Host: Frank Dain

November 24th:
Theme: You Made Me Love You
Co-Host: Sarah Rice

Salon is an ongoing open entertainment event in which singers, writers and musicians share their talent with each other and audience members. There is a $10 cash cover collected at the door and a $15 food/drink minimum (cash or credit) per person. (For more information about Etcetera, Etcetera's delicious menu: www.etcetcnyc.com. A 20% gratuity is added to all checks.) There are no reservations; seating is on a first come/first served basis, Doors open and sign up begins at 6:15pm. The evening begins at 7:00, has a 15-minute break at 8:30 and ends promptly at 10:30. If you would like to sign up to perform, see one the evening's 'Etceterettes' to fill out a card with your name, the name of your song, whether or not Mark will be playing for you and any upcoming events you'd like to promote. We do not present performers in order of sign-up, however, indicating requests as clearly and as early as possible as far as time restraints are concerned always makes everything much more possible. ALWAYS BRING SEVERAL SONG SELECTIONS to avoid duplication. All types of material, on or off theme are always welcome at Salon. We enthusiastically welcome instrumentalists, poets, playwrights, essayists, comics, illusionists and performance artists. Please limit your selections to three or four minutes in length (including introductions). Please also bring clear, complete charts for Mark to read. Sitting on the piano is not allowed, nor is flash photography. Please turn off all noise making devices and give performers your undivided attention.
Visit our website at www.markjanasthesalon.com and look for us on Facebook!

Thank you to our sponsors Dr. Garrett Bennett and Father Jeffrey Hamblin, MD!

Looking forward to seeing you all Sunday, October 27th!

Thanks,

Tanya Moberly
Salon Producer

P.S. If you would like to remove your name from or add a name to our mailing list please email Tanya.

P.P.S. from Sierra: Here's a Pinterest board with some cool costume ideas :)

-Sierra Rein
Blogette for The Salon
Please email me if I got anything wrong-o

The Salon Wrap-Up for October 20, 2013 - "Two Heads Are Better Than One - The Art of Collaboration"

There are a lot of things one can learn from the Good Book, including this passage: "Therfore two are better then one, for they maye well enioye the profit of their laboure" (Ecclesiastes 4:9).  Them Bible writers used too many extra vowells...but anyway, the theme "Two Heads Are Better Than One - The Art of Collaboration" was much appreciated at The Salon last night, and themes of religion and Catholic childhood experiences (bad and funny) popped up every once in a while to boot.  Mark Janas introduced the theme by singing a parody song, a patter-list song with a lot of tongue-twisting pairings of famous writers, infamous historical characters, pop music and classical composers...very funny!  He then introduced our Co-Co-Hosts of the evening, the talented two-headed monster-team that is Jim Brochu and Steve Schachlin!  Mark met Jim in 2004 and then met Steve - the three of them had many late nights of Rhapsody in Blue.  Jim has been known for a number of Off-Broadway shows, including The Big Voice: God or Merman? and his current show "Character Man" can be seen on a cruise ship in November to Baltimore (!?!) and the Caribbean.  Steve himself is excited to introduce his 60th Birthday Concert and "Tales From the Bonus Round" Album Release Party on Sunday, October 27th at 4pm (hit that and our Halloween Salon after!) at the Metropolitan Room - it is also a benefit concert for Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS, so it is a complete win-win party, celebration, and good deed event!

To start the evening off, Jim and Steve sang from their original show, the song "Why" from The Big Voice: God or Merman?  It incorporates the concept that religion and showbusiness are the same thing, and utilizes Jim's personal childhood friendship with Ethel Merman as a backdrop.

Cathy Venable was the first up after Jim and Steve, singing "Skylark" and playing a gorgeous jazz flute in an instrumental interlude with Mark.  With her lovely low mezzo voice and equally skilled flute playing, Cathy made this song come alive!  Her next show will be "Jazzin' With The Band" at the June Havoc Theatre on November 3rd at 7pm, along with the Matt Baker trio (and other singers and musicians).  Court Graves, who produces this show, was up next, performing the classic swingin' song "Just In Time."  We then heard from our wonderful, supportive and sweet lady, Barb Malley; she gushed about Lennie Watts and Stephen Ray Watkins' Arrangement class, and then sang a wonderful arrangement by Stephen of "Love Makes The World Go Round" (a song from her childhood) and "Nature Boy."  Her final scheduled performance of her show "Out of Order" will take place at Don't Tell Mama on October 23rd at 7pm (and on the 25th is her Birthday as well as her hip's 1st Birthday!).  Next up was singer Joann Sicoli, who belted through her way through the soul-searching "Out Here On My Own" by Michael and Lesley Gore. Stew Frimer followed, singing a sweetly bittersweet but ultimately funny "Right Field" by Willy Welch - expect more news about an upcoming March show in a few months.  Richie Eisenberg kept the funny and cute going with his song "Two Again," a great list-patter of great duos and duets that kept all of our feet tapping.  As he says, he collaborates with himself on music and lyrics, argues with himself during the creative process, and usually wins all the arguments.  One of his original songs will be featured in Tanya Moberly's "I Love New York Songwriters" show, which starts on November 1st at Don't Tell Mama.

We then had a Salon Grande Dame of the evening, the ebullient Elaine St. George, who sang Andrew Lippa's "Old Fashioned Love Story," a song about someone who really, really, really wants to collaborate with someone at the bar she's at...if you get her drift.  Her Steve Goodman show starts on October 30th at Don't Tell Mama and will last for four performances.  A duet of catty men then showed up in the form of MAC Award-winner Adam Shapiro and BMI Advanced Songwriter David Ballard, singing "Moving Right Along" by Jeff Blumenkrantz.  David just finished a run of his show "Having It All," and Adam will be Co-Hosting this coming Salon on Sunday, October 27th with the theme "Out of the Closet...And Beyond: Costume Optional" (but highly encouraged).  After the bitchy duo walked off the stage (love you guys), we then had a different sort of duo: brother and sister Robert and Cristina Farruggia each sang a solo from their original works.  Robert performed his original "Straight Guy," which was featured in their cabaret show "Family Album."  He sings in an effortless tenor on a hilarious song that any straight man in musical theater could instantly steal for their own use...  Robert then sat at the piano himself to play for his sister, Cristina, who sang from the musical they are writing.  The song was "Always," and the musical is based off of a real-life brother and sister act in Vaudeville - expect a reading next Spring, and if Cristina's yearning, lovely alto voice on this song is any clue, the musical will be very interesting to hear.

Our next duo was Bob O’Hare and Tom Nelson, who accompanied him at the piano.  Bob sat on a chair on the stage and sang "One Step" by Maltby and Shire, highlighted in the show "Recovery: A Show About Getting Better."  Using his experiences, he plowed through the song with humor, incorporating some of the aches and pains of spinal surgery. "Recovery" will have a run in November on the 11th, 17th and 22nd at Don't Tell Mama at 6:30pm, with Tom Nelson on piano, Tom Kirchmer on Bass, and Peter Grant on Drums, Directed by Eric Michael Gillett.  Matthew Martin Ward then sat at the piano to play for Sally Darling on a beautifully moody, then robust, version of Rodgers and Hart's "Falling In Love With Love."  Her new show, "The Way We Are" will feature Matthew Martin Ward as musical director - November 8th and 16th at 7:15pm and December 8th at 4:00pm at Don't Tell Mama.  We next got a double dose of the 2010 MAC Award (Best Duo) Ted Stafford and our brand new Etceterette of the evening, Lorinda Lisitza.  They sang two songs back-to-back (or rather side by side), with Ted on guitar and Lorinda on a snazzy harmonica.  They first sang a sultry and bluesy version of Antonio "LA" Reid and Babyface's hit "I'm Your Baby Tonight," and followed that up with their original piece, "Reassure Me (Monster)."  Their duo show "The Ted and Lo Show" will hit Don't Tell Mama's on December 16th.  Sierra Rein and my friend Kay "ThePal" Pringle (yes, that's her full name) came to the mic to sing "Friendly Star" with two heads and one voice (the song, by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren, is from the movie Summer Stock).  My vocal group, Marquee Five, just finished a show at 54 Below and will return again on October 31st for the Halloween Special "Into Sweeney Todd's Woods" featuring stars of Broadway Len Cariou, Salon regular and Sweeney original Sarah Rice, and original Rapunzel Pamela Winslow Kashani.

Classical Corner

Mark Janas sat at the piano for this week's Classical Corner and contemplated the collaborative process of creative creation, particularly the kind that occurs between the composer and the pianist when the only form of communication is through the notes and notations on sheet music.  In the traditionally "classical" period of music, we had no recordings of the composer playing the piece by him or herself, so we rely on the printed or written scores to gain insight as to what the composer meant to play.  Mark mused on Chopin's Fm Ballade, a piece he's been working on for a while, and how his perception of the markings on the page has changed as he ages.  "The Devil is in the details," Mark said, and played a bit of the Ballade through, from the first theme to a build, and then to a rooted theme with the phrase "dolche" (sweet) notated.  To Mark, the sweetness has to have a story behind the chords.  "To me, this part is a memory which launches into the real drama," Mark explained.  He also told us about a group of piano students (used to practicing 8-10 hours a day) who were visited by the famous pianist Arthur Rubenstein.  The students were shocked to hear that he only practiced 2-3 hours a day, but to him the rest of his time was spent reading, walking in nature, finding a lover, and living life beyond his music study..."otherwise, you won't have anything to SAY with your music," Rubenstein concluded.  Mark then played a few phrases of Chopin's Ab Ballade, and played with the term "sostenuto" (sustained).  He played the same phrase multiple times with different interpretations, concluding with what he felt the music was trying to say in his mind - and it truly was different in the voices and feeling.  He then played through the piece in it's entirety with expression and a full emotional story, bringing people to an ovation at the end.

Second Set:

Jim Brochu, with a towering figure and a voice to match, can preach a powerful sermon when he wants to, and at the beginning of the second set for the evening, he did just that - singing the Ultimate in Musical Theater Rap songs, "Trouble" from The Music Man.  He then regaled us with the story of how, as a kid, he stepped onto a Broadway stage to meet Ethel Merman after seeing Gypsy.  After 12 years of considering priesthood has a life goal, he was asked by Ethel what he wanted to be when he grew up? At that moment, the Broadway curtain opened to reveal the empty audience house, and wihtout missing a beat, young Jimmy stated "Ms. Merman, I'm going to be a showgirl!"  And the rest is history.  Jim then sang the acerbic and hilarious "The Butler's Song" from Enter Laughing, and with Steve Schachlin finished their set with Steve's "Every Day A New Amen," written along with Mark Janas for the Christ Church of Bay Ridge (it's the only church song that has the word 'karaoke' in it, Steve proudly stated).

Salon Producer Tanya Moberly then performed the amazing Stephen Schwartz duet "Two's Company," the message of which was "two heads are better than three."  Her "I Love New York Songwriters" show will feature songs by many of the Salon regular composers - it will take place at Don't Tell Mama November 1st, 2nd, and December 3rd and 4th.  She can also be seen at the "Good and Evil" Cabaret Cares show at the Laurie Beechman Theatre on October 30th (more on that later).  Next up, Lou Iacovino swung through "It's All Right With Me" with his signature Rat Pack-esque style.  Jaye Maynard then sang the loving and thankful ballad, "Bless Your Heart" by Alex Rybeck and Ira Gasman - she is in the midst of preparing for a recording of the first Blossom Dearie Songbook in the new year.  The effervescent Ann Dawson then sang Sondheim's "Live Alone and Like It" and was excited to share that she will have a new act after the new year.  Broad and brassy, Ann recalled how Cole Porter was asked how he felt about a beautiful Rodgers and Hammerstein song: "It's beautiful, but why did it take two guys to write one song?" Mr. Porter replied. Ouch! Bobbie Horowitz then bounced to the mic to sing the adorable "flashback to the 50's" song "Whatever Happened to the Kids from Brooklyn."  Her Holiday-themed Unity Cabaret Matinee show will take place on December 14th, and was excited to get a great review of her recent "Great Songwriters" show.

Matthew Martin Ward returned to the piano to ruminate on the collaborative art of songwriting; he usually writes his music to someone else's lyrics (as in Peter Napolitano's lyrics for the show The Lady in Penthouse B).  But then he related how vocalist Annie Roos took a piece by tenor saxophonist Wardell Gray (full of wonderful twists and jazz turns) and added the "My analyst told me..." lyrics to create the song "Twisted," which he proceeded to artfully and playfully perform.  In addition to Sally Darling's show, Matthew is performing at the SSMAC Street Faire on Saturday and for "Silly Witches" at 54 Below on November 2nd.  Joan Jaffe then joined Matthew to sing Christine Lavin's adorable "Cold Pizza for Breakfast," which is from her upcoming show "Food," at Don't Tell Mama Thursday, October 31st at 7pm, November 2nd and November 30th, and December 1st.

Robin Westle, along with Jeff Cubeta at the piano (and with innocence), sang "Little Known Facts" from You're a Good Man Charlie Brown.  Her show, "No Regrets," has two performance times coming up: Tuesday October 22nd and Sunday, October 27th, both 7pm at The Laurie Beechman Theatre, with Jeff as MD and Eric Michael Gillett (more on him later) as Director.  Oh! It's "later" already - Eric Michael Gillett and Melanie Vaughn (original Sunday in the Park With George castmember and Mrs. Claus at Radio City Music Hall) joined Jeff Cubeta to sing a touching song that was cut (between the Baker's Wife and the Baker) from Into the Woods entitled "Rainbows."  They then switched to another amazing Sondheim duet, the fast-paced "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow" from Follies.  Eric is a multiple MAC award winner as a vocalist as well as Director, and is directing a bunch of shows this season, including Jarrod Spector's new show at 54 Below, "With A Little Help From My Friends."  Jeff Cubeta stayed at the piano to play for Cookie Stark, who sang "Ready to Begin Again" by Lieber and Stoller; Cookie has three benefit Cabaret shows in North Carolina for the Benjamin House, a non-profit that helps adults with mental disabilities.  Jeff Cubeta stayed for one final song, performing his quirky and hypnotic "Love Bunny."  Jeff will be the Music Director in "Good and Evil: Songs from the Great White Way," Wednesday, October 30th at the Laurie Beechman Theatre, 7pm.  It will benefit Help Is On The Way and will feature Salon regulars Stearns Matthews, Kathleen France, and our Producer, Tanya Moberly.  Jim Brochu and Steve Schachlin then thanked the Salon family and audience members for their work that evening, and recalled how they have been together for 29 years (!!!), minus 80 days where they broke up and lived apart...only to ask the question "How Do You Fall Back in Love," a song Steve penned after making up again.  They chose to keep their two heads together in harmony, and after Sunday's Salon we in the audience were grateful for their collaboration.

NEXT SALON! The Halloween theme will be "Out of the Closet and Beyond - Costumes Encouraged!" Our Co-Host will be Adam Shapiro, and if what he tells me is true, you will see some fabulous characters cross up onto the stage that evening.  Join us for a spoooooky and fun Halloween evening!


-Sierra Rein
Blogette for The Salon
Please email me if I got anything wrong-o