Jenna Esposito Salutes Connie Francis

The moment, V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N, the first track of Jenna Esposito’s new CD, To Connie, With Love starts to play, it’s obvious that the listener is in for a good time.  The CD is a live recording of Esposito’s salute to Connie Francis which has been playing the Metropolitan Room (where this was recorded) and other venues to recent acclaim.

I’ve always admitted that my knowledge of pop-music (rather than show music) is a bit sketchy after the Andrews Sisters.*  So the wealth of the Connie Francis songbook had been off my radar.  It says something about how well-known Francis’s legacy is when although I only recognized about a quarter of the titles on the CD, most of the songs were familiar when I heard them.

A recording like this poses the inevitable question about how much to copy the artist being tributed.  Esposito answer is to stick pretty much to the Francis feel on all the material, avoiding any radical reinterpretation.  Esposito is a gifted perfomer who makes it all work, with great finesse and charm.  Her dialog bits (in the show expertly directed by the great Lennie Watts) are informative and well-edited.  And the band does a great job of re-creating the sound and vibe of the era.

Having seen her, I can picture her, with swinging long brunette hair in a headband, scuba dress, and high boots rocking to the music while listening to the CD.  But I think that feel still comes across in her material.

(OK, it wasn’t the scuba-dress-and-boots look.)

*When Ron and I saw Jim Van Slyke’s Neil Sedaka show, I kept asking him, “Was THAT song a hit?”

Help is on the Way Today Benefit at the Metropolitan Room

Saturday night, I got to see an amazing concert at the Metropolitan Room, a benefit for Help is on the Way, a group that assists youth with AIDS.  The concert was organized by Lina Koutrakos and Lennie Watts as part of their Summer in the City cabaret workshop.

The theme of the concert was “Broadway Our Way,” with artists interpreting songs from the Great White Way.  Highlights included Koutrakos’s interpretation of Shall We Dance as a woman debating whetehr a brief sexual encounter was worth her while, Terese Genesco rocking the room with A Lotta Living to Do, K.T. Sullivan’s addled reading of Colored Lights, and Karen Mason poignant pairing of Now I Have Everything and Married.  Moreover, Mary Foster Conklin got me to not hate Something Good and Jenna Esposito found a great audience involvement moment in Down With Love, getting the crowd to shout the “take it away” repeats.

Here’s the line-up — truly a great cabaret sampler:

• Mary Foster Conklin
  • The Gentleman is a Dope
  • Something Good
• Jenna Esposito
  • Old Devil Moon
  • Down With Love
• David Gurland
  • Stay With me / Wait
• David Gurland & Julie Rayburn
  • Bill / Happiness is Just a Thing Called Joe
• Teresa Genesco
  • A Lotta Living to Do
  • Somebody Loves Me
• Sidney Meyer
  • I’m a Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad Man
• Lina Koutrakos
  • Shall We Dance
• Lennie Watts
  • Tomorrow
• Karen Mason
  • Almost Like Being In Love
  • Now I Have Everything /Married
• K.T. Sullivan
  • My Husband’s First Wife
  • Just Once / Colored Lights

Catching Up With Lina Koutrakos

The amazing Lina Koutrakos who presented her Cabaret Intensive workshop last month in DC remains a busy, busy lady:

Mohegan Sun on March 18th

Lina Koutrakos and the Low Country Band are coming to Mohegan Sun. This artist, a near to cult figure at this point in New York City, is finally taking her powerful original material, mixing in a bunch of classic rock and roll covers and taking it “on the road” starting at The Wolfden Wednesday March 18th. A definite sophisticated urban songwriter this powerful live performers music has a healthy “southern accent”! Koutrakos has been reviewed in major publications as being “An earthquake and earth mother”, “A smokey volcano of passion” and “Lightning in a bottle”. After selling out B. B Kings in Times Square the New York Times asks the question:”Why isn’t she a household name?” and Billboard Magazine calls her “The real thing!”  — Wednesday March 18th. 7p.m The Wolfden/Mohegan Sun

Las Vegas Cabaret Intensive Workshop

Lina Koutrakos and Rick Jensen will be presenting their Cabaret Intensive Workshop in Las Vegas April 3- 5.  Additional information.

Summer in the City

Lina Koutrakos and Lennie Watts headline this cabaret workshop which always features top NY music directors (e.g. Rick Jensen, Tracie Stark) and guest artists (lst year included Faith Prince, Julie Wilson, Mary Foster Conklin).  Sessions are July 22 – 26, and July 29  – August 2, by audition.  Additional information. 

The Low Country

And if you don’t have Koutrakos’s CD/DVD The Low Country, why don’t you?  It lives a little more on the rock stage than the cabaret room, but it’s an amazing bit of work!

And if all that weren’t enough, she’s even directing Debbie Barber Eaton’s show, every Other Inch a Lady, which will be at Germano’s Trattoria on May 14th.

Justin Ritchie “Works It Out”

            Last Saturday I traveled to New York to sing in a show of all Beatles tunes at Don’t Tell Mama.  The show was a sort of reunion with my fellow Summer In the City students and the chance to put those songs we worked on and arranged in class on their feet and in front of an audience.

            The musical director I worked with in class, Steven Ray Watkins, was unable to be at the show so we had a rehearsal with the wonderful Tracy Stark.  I must say that I was anxious about working with someone other than the arranger.  However, this proved to be another great learning opportunity.  Steven had written out a chart of the arrangement, but I gained some valuable experience in conveying what I wanted the mood and the grove of the piece to be that couldn’t necessarily be written into a chart.

            All of the songs staged and put together made a great show.  Lennie Watts and Lina Koutrakos performed an entertaining rendition of “We Can Work It Out”.    Maria Ottavia was next with a wonderful version of “Yesterday” with a cleverly intertwined piece of “Help”.  The show rolled on after that with clever and innovative renditions from Morgan singing “Obla dee Olba dah”, Phyllis Mollen with her sexy rendition of “Money Can’t Buy Me Love” with a “Big Spender” flavor, and Jenna Esposito’s jazzy “Fool on the Hill.”  The very funny and talented Susan Dymond performed “Do You Want to Know a Secret” with a dominatrix-like flair and Faye Lane gave us haunting, thought provoking and moving arrangement of “Eleanor Rigby.”  Rick Peets and Jennifer Gregson took the stage at the same time.  While Jennifer was in the dark, Rick sang “Something”.  Then, as Rick faded into the darkness, Jennifer stepped forward to sing “All My Loving”.  Both songs were sung beautifully and I got the feeling that these were two people who are in love, but can never quite seem to find each other at the “right” time and place.  It was a touching, powerful moment.  Next was the incomparable De Jour Kenna with her stirring and hilarious operatic interpretation of “Revolution.”  I followed De Jour with my version of “Drive My Car”.  Rounding out the show was Lennie with his touching take on “Let It Be” (one of my favorite Beatles tunes) and Lina  with her high-energy, and infectiously entertaining version of “I Saw Her(Him) Standing There” – you just couldn’t help but dance along.  The show closed with Doug Shepherd’s funny, funny but at the same time poignant version of “Nowhere Man” – the introduction was “Hail to the Chief.” 

            We had a packed house filled with responsive and enthusiastic people who made it so much fun to perform.  Of course, the wonderful Lina Koutrakos and Lennie Watts showed again that not only are they great teachers, but they are gifted and talented performers.  Everyone did a fabulous job and really did “work it out.”  Every time I get the opportunity to perform I think to myself “I can’t wait to do this again.”  I love it!! What a gift it was to sing in New York at Don’t Tell Mama.  I had an amazing time!

 ***Note:  If he doesn’t “edit” this part out, I must say that the writer of this blog (who shall remain nameless) is one of the most thoughtful gentlemen I’ve met.  After the show he gave me beautiful roses for my NYC debut.  Thanks Michael!  It was reassuring to know you were in the audience. (Editor’s note: Why in the world would I edit this out?)

 

Another view of Summer in the City

 

 I had the great good fortune to have DC’s Charlene James-Duguid in my Summer in the City group.  Here’s her take on the experience:

“No More Fear of Flying”

I don’t want to be trite, saying I returned from the Lina Koutrakos-Lennie Watts Intensive Cabaret Workshop, AFLAME (a not too subtle reference to Lina’s New York Times’ acclaimed new show “Torch.”) But it is true.  Back after the four days of total immersion, I immediately grabbed Bob Harrington’s book for a reread.  In describing how a great Intensive works he says “the process seems magical because it cannot be easily explained; it is so bound up in a mutually supportive, emotionally intense group dynamic . . . in a loving and nurturing environment.”  This is exactly what happened at “Don’t Tell Mama” and the “Duplex” this past weekend as Lina and Lennie created an unparalleled atmosphere for creativity. 

There’s no substitute for the freedom to experiment, without fear.  It gives you confidence to know that every other person in the room has the same goal, to be truthful and make cabaret a meaningful art form.  We all went through the process together, cheering each other on.  We formed a unique type of ensemble, individuals tied together by the hope that we would have our private successes and the wish that each of us would find new ways to tell our stories.  

Half the group had drop-dead, gorgeous voices, well trained and cultivated.  And it seemed as if the other half came from the acting “story telling” tradition.  Yet, neither group felt intimidated, instead each person was praised for their skills and encouraged to develop the other elements necessary for a fine cabaret performance.  Blending the “intellect, the voice, and the heart into a seamless persona was the goal. Understandable we would not master it overnight, but it was happening, we were all sharing together, striving to get there, doing what birds do so naturally-sing and fly.

Road Report: Summer in the City Part 7

In workshop sessions (as in life) often the least immediately successful experiences are the most valuable.

As many people know, for years I’ve had notions of doing an “up” version of the Craig Carnelia song You Can Have the TV.  The song, sung from the point of view of someone negotiating the splitting of posessions at the end of the relationship is usually done as an intense ballad, usually by women.

When trying to recalibrate the piece, I thought it would be fun to do it with a lounge-y swing.  And I wanted to play with the idea of someone being unintentionally cruel by being somewhat cavalier about a task that means so much more to the other person involved.  Perhaps giving an insight to the dissolution of the relationship.

I’ve worked on this in several class situations without success.  And I guess Mr. Carnelia is a noted stickler about the way his songs are performed (“I wrote that dotted eight for a reason!”)  In fact, when I did the song at Perry-Mansfield, I was told that Carnelia “WAS JUST IN THIS ROOM LAST WEEK!”

So, I’ve gotten the impression that either Carnelia-itis or an audience unfamiliarity with You Can Have the TV were the root of my failure with the piece.

However, working on this song with the amazing Lennie Watts and Kristine Zbornick(just announced for the revised version of Bounce — Road Show — at the Public) gave me a real insight.  When I first did it, I got a giggle from the instructors in the first two bars.  Then came about 72 bars of silence — from the other workshop participants, too.

But I got really helpful feedback.  According to them, the piece’s failure wasn’t due to the basic concept, but to my execution.  They said that I should still have all the bitterness and specific investment in objects that someone singing the other version carries, and just seem to be masking it.  That’s when I realized I had forgotten the basic rule that comedy is really tragedy played at a faster tempo.

I have to admit that this was too major a change for me to integrate when I did another go-through of the number in class, so it didn’t immediately lead to an amazing transformation of the piece.  So I can’t say I was particularly successful with the piece in the class setting.

But it did give me a very important question to ask when I think a comedy number isn’t going over well.

Road Report: Summer in the City Part 5

As people who read Justin’s entry on his Summer in the City know, participants of the previous workshop were each mailed a Beatles song that they worked on during that session.  Tonight, the class reuned and presented the selections as a concert.

For me, the most interesting thing about the show was the relief that we can say, yes this material is in the pantheon of cabaret standards.  (I never understood how some could doubt, but I was entirely convinced.)  It was fascinating to see the amazing way the singers were able to stretch the material.  And Rick Jensen and Tracy Stark provided PHENOMENAL support.

DCers will be happy to note that Justin Ritchie did us proud with his amazing rendition of Drive My Car (in the “11 o’clock” slot!!!) which started out sweet/nerdy and went to full blown belty/sexy.  Two other standouts were a haunting version of Eleanor Rigby (with an interpolated Khalil Ghibran poem) by Fay(e) Lane and a jazzy/swingy version of Fool on the Hill by Perry-Mansfield alumna Jenna Esposito.  And DeJour Kenner’s rendition of Revolution would have made (deliberately) made Darlene Edwards proud.

And of course Lennie Watts and Lina Koutrakos demonstrated that teaching and doing in their cases are not mutually exclusive.

Road Report: Summer in the City Part 2

Most of the day in Lina Koutrakos and Lennie Watts’s Summer in the City Workshop today was spent having each participant work intensively on a single song.  The point that kept hitting me on the head over and over is that when a performer does an honest, committed performance of a song, from their own point of view, it will be exciting and unique.  By definition. 

The best example came watching a hugely talented singer working on Since I Fell For You.  The first time she sang it with a lot of thrilling vocals, it was amazing and exciting on a level, but it also could have been any of a number of singers.  But when she dug in, and when the teaching team got her to tell HER story, it became thrilling, compelling and unique.  I’m reminded of a woman who used to go to an open mic I frequented in Baltimore: I used to joke that she was so talented, she wasn’t just singing Judy Garland’s emotions, when appropriate she could sing Liza’s, too!

BTW, shocking I know to anyone familiar with my work, I was taken to task for a tendancy to oversell material.

Here are some notes from that session:

LK: Just think!  Say the words; listen to the lyrics.

LW: (On using “colors” in your work) Buy the 64 pack– don’t just use blue.

LW: When language is poetic, still own it!

LW: (as an audience member) I don’t care what the song means to you, I care what it means to me.

In the evening we had a workshop on writing patter.  A great definition of patter from the workshop: The seamless thing that will take the performer from song to song in an hour.  And two bits of useful advice:

LK: Live your patter the way you live your music.

LK: Write you patter out with your song lyric so you can see if you are being redundant and taking away the reason to sing the song.

One of the things I most love in the workshop surrounding is watching how brave and fearless the participants are in being both open about themselves and working outside of their normal comfort zones.  I’ve also learned that the participant who sang Leave You feels stuck in a loveless relationship and wonders which of the two of them will have the courage to “tear the BandAid off.”  And another participant was leary of discussing the memories that prompted him to sing Since I Fell For You because they weren’t connected to his present wife whom he calls an “emotional terrorist.”  So it seems obvious that Lennie and Lina are missing an obvious revenue stream by not having a partnership with a divorce attorney.

More tomorrow!

Road Report: Summer in the City Part 1

I’m having a very 21st Century moment — blogging at a rental computer terminal at a Tasti-D-Lite in the middle of Chelsea in a thunderstorm.

The Lina Koutrakos / Lennie Watts Summer in the City workshop opened tonight with a fasinating panel discussion where the team roped in a fascinating panel of very distinct cabaret personalities to discuss cabaret and take the participants’ questions. Karen Mack (KM)*, Julie Reyburn (JR), Mary Foster Conklin (MF)* and KT Sullivan (KT) were amazing generous and open in their discussion of a lot of issues. Here are my notes:

KT: I only sing songs I love

MF: Cabaret is a room. You make this part for yourself. Cabaret is about lyrics, jazz is the music.

KT: (In Europe I was told) “What’s not Mozart is cabaret.”

KT: We get to sing these wonderful songs from these terrible musicals…you get the best of these shows.

JR: When you are not real it hits the audience hard

MF: Class is a safe place to search

The business of cabaret…

KM: There’s nothing wrong with wanting to make money

LW: Other than stamps, everything else is negotiable

KT: Take down the address of everyone you meet

LW: “Build it and they will come” does not work for cabaret

LW: You will be depending on your friends aand family (as part of your cabaret audience) until the day you die

LK: Don’t underestimate the people who come to see you again and again

KM: There is no substitute for a great product

KM: Do not cut corners in a way that does not give you value

MFC: Say yes to everything** (performance opportunities)

LK: Part of the craft of performing is believing it

On music directors…

MFC: Marriage is monogomous; music is polygymous

MFC: If you work with different music directors, it teaches you about your music. (And forces you to take more control of your music.)

* It was very humbling to be told by Karen Mack and Mary Foster Conklin that they read this blog

** My beloved mentor said that the only exception was when the question was “Do you mind?”

Justin Ritchie’s Summer in the City

Justin Ritchie just got back from the advanced-level Summer in the City workshop in NY, led by Lina Koutrakos and Lennie Watts, and generously shares this report…

I just got back from “Summer In The City” – a five day cabaret workshop in New York with the fabulous Lina Koutrakos and Lennie Watts.  Other than my introduction to cabaret at a class I took at the Theatre Lab last October, this was my first “intensive” class with a focus on cabaret. 

About a week before I left I was mailed a song.  Everyone was mailed a Beatles song and instructed to memorize it lyrically and to know the melody as it was written on the page.  Being a tenor who loves to sing a ballad I was naturally assigned the song “Drive My Car.”  We spent the first three days split up into two groups working with either Lina or Lennie and a musical director, the amazing Steven Ray Watkins and Rick Jensen, on an arrangement for our song.  This exercise was perhaps the most profound lesson I learned.  I personally worked with Lennie and Steven for this exercise, and under their expert direction we took a song that I thought I had absolutely no connection to and made it into a song with an amazing arrangement that I could make my own.   It was a wonderful lesson of really tearing apart the lyric and getting down to what the song is saying and what I am trying to say by singing it.  The music is almost, almost incidental. 

The rest of the weekend we worked on our own music with Lina, Lennie, Steven, Rick, and several amazing guest teachers including Jay Rodgers, Baby Jane Dexter, Kristine Zbornik, Faith Prince, and Steven Lutvak.  I learned lesson after lesson from these amazing artists.  Faith Prince had me sing to her and said while I was singing, “I want to know who you are.”  Steven Lutvak said of our craft, “it is all and always about courage and joy.”  It’s not about singing a pretty song pretty.  That’s the easy part.  It’s about sharing a piece of me and being honest with whoever it is that has come to see me.  It’s about knowing why I want to sing this particular song.  It’s about knowing what I need to say.

I arrived at my first class with tons of nerves with no idea about what to expect.  All I knew was I had a Beatles rock song that I was supposed to try to sing.  After five days of singing and laughing and crying and everything in between, I left full of joy and excitement about this craft I’ve come to love so much!