2012: The Year of Favor!

I’ve personally declared this year to be one filled with favor and blessings and prosperity. And wattaya know, it’s starting out right in keeping with that theme!

I’ve got a couple of busy weeks ahead, and that’s a blessing. And it includes performing with some of my favorite people!  

First up, the talented Zalmen Mlotek is doing a couple of songs with me for the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center’s 2012 Kick-off Party. The event is being held Jan 7, at Romemu in New York City, 165 West 105^th Street at Amsterdam Ave. It starts at 7. I’ll probably be on around 8.

My good friend David Weisberg is executive director of the Freedman Center, so it will be great to see him again

Unfortunately I’ll only be on for a short while, since Zalmen and I have a private function to perform at later that evening. But there will be some very gifted musicians there, including Rabbi Greg Wall, Chana Rothman and Etta Abramson.

Next up, an expert from the Soul to Soul show will be performed at Symphony Space in NYC (Broadway and 95^th Street) as part of the Jewish Community Center’s “Artists Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.” The Free event on Jan 16, will also feature a keynote address by Rev. Dr. Suzan D. Johnson Cook, Juel Lane performing choreographer Bridget Moore’s “Remembrance of Things Past,” and vocalists Neshama Carlebach and Reverend Hambrick.

Then, on Jan 18^th the entire Soul to Soul will come to The Metropolitan Room!  We’ve got some new songs, some new arrangements, and the lineup of Broadway veteran and opera star Elmore James, Israeli-born singer-songwriter Magda Fishman and me, accompanied by a four-piece klezmer-jazz band led by Zalmen Mlotek. I’ve long wanted to perform at that venue, having seen many amazing artists on that stage. I hope to see many of my cabaret friends there!

If you don’t know about Soul to Soul yet, you will soon. There’s a great promo video here: http://youtu.be/SZEMPgm7ORM.

Later in the month, an Equity 29-hour reading of Allen and Pat Harris’ “Cross That River” and then February includes Soul to Soul in Florida, an appearance at Judson’s Valentine’s Day Cabaret/Dance Party, and a short run of Five Guys Named Moe, also in Florida.

In all, a great beginning to a fantastic year! Hope to see you at one of these events!

November update!

I am so blessed to have had a great season of work! I’ve had the Joy of working with some terrific people, and I’m looking forward to what comes next! Thanks to everyone who supported these projects. I love seeing y’all at a show! Here is a sampling of the past few months:

• Five Guys Named Moe at Mason Street Warehouse.
• Martin: A New Musical at the Kraine Theatre, by Charles Strouse and Leslie Lee, produced by the historic Negro Ensemble Company.
• Cross That River at the O’Neill Cabaret and Performance Conference.
• Soul to Soul in NYC and at the International Yiddish Theater festival in Montreal, produced by the National Yiddish Theater — Folksbiene.
• The Last Word, a reading of a jazz musical.
• Dreamgirls, a concert version performed for ReVision Theatre.

I also want to let you know I’ve uploaded a video that shares the demo of the song Cutman from Cutman: A Boxing Musical. I had the pleasure of recording this demo a few years back for Drew Brody the composer. The pictures are from a variety of shoots, including this summer’s production of Five Guys Named Moe.

The video is below:

Free Concert!!

Soul To Soul
Yiddish and African-American Music Meet in a Celebration of Two Cultures
Folksbiene@CUNY – Free Concert Series
4 Performances Only

This concert is conceived by Zalmen Mlotek and stars: Elmore James, a veteran of five Broadway productions and numerous opera stages around the world, Tony Perry, a commanding singer-actor, and Lisa Fishman, cabaret singer and stage singer extraordinaire.

Monday September 19th at 12 PM
Brooklyn College – Whitman Theatre
For tickets and information call (718) 951-4500

Monday September 19th at 7 PM
CUNY Grad Center -
For tickets and information call (212) 213-2120 ext. 208

Tuesday September 20th at 7 PM
Queens College – Lefrak Recital Hall
For tickets and information call (718) 792-8080

Thursday September 22nd at 2 PM
Lehman College – Lovinger Theatre
For tickets and information call (718) 960-8024

For General Program Information Call (212) 213-2120

To Book Group Tickets Call (212) 213-2120 ext. 204

Goodbye to West Michigan

It’s a night with which many actors are familiar: my bags are packed, my trunk is on its way to my next gig, and I’m gonna try to sleep.

But before I can do that I have to count my blessings:
- having a wonderful cast of friends to work with every day.
- having a great place to work.
- having opportunities to do new work in new projects.
- having a great home and spouse to come home to.

So it’s early to bed. Tonight was a great performance of Five Guys Named Moe. The show will go on without me. Tomorrow, a plane ride, an audition, and off to the next thing! Gratefully.

Getting my Yiddish on…

Some folks are used to me singing pop or gospel or rock or some such. For those folks, I’m sharing this video of me, singing what is essentially a Yiddish aria in the Hamptons. The song, Vos iz Gevorn Fun Mayn Shtetele, is quite lovely. Please forgive the shaky iPhone. or the weird split screen! If you click on the WATCH ON YOUTUBE button, you can watch it in HD, and make it big enough to see clearly!

Vos Iz Gevorn Fun Mayn Shtetele

Holiday cabaret

what a week! I had a bit of a cold, leading me to lose my voice. and this was the week where I had to take a day off from my current project to sing for the National Yiddish Theater’s holiday cabaret, honoring Elie and Marion Wiesel and Joseph Lauder.

to the rescue: steam, Ginger and prayer. the concert went off without a hitch and all the performers were great!

Day of gratitude

Thanksgiving is supposed to be time for us to mark our gratitude, so I’m happy to say I’m grateful for all the people in my life, good and bad, who have led me to this place. I’m happy to be working, even though my current job is not one i thought i’d ever do, i’m learning so much, and meeting so many people.

And mostly, I’m grateful for a terrific family!