Closer Than Ever Returns…

The entire original cast of Closer Than Ever (including friend-of-this-blog Sally Mayes)  are reuniting for a series of shows in Queens (talk about Off-Off-Off Broadway) and Pennsylvania (Off-Off-Off-Off…?).

Sally Mayes in Playbill Online

The Playbill Online Diva-Watch column profiles friend-of-this-blog Sally Mayes:  “Question: You also do concert work. How does that compare to you with performing a role in a show?  Mayes: Well, when I do concert work or cabaret work or symphony work, they’re all different for different reasons. Symphony is pretty set. You get in and you sing what they tell you to sing. Concert and cabaret work is more you doing what you want to do. You create your show. I like that for a different reason. It’s all just you. You’re driving the bus, and you’re carrying it at the same time. It’s exciting in a different way than working with an ensemble. When you’re working with an ensemble there’s “push me, pull you” and “I’ll take it for awhile and I’ll hand it back over to you” and you keep the balloon in the air. When you’re doing it by yourself it’s a little bit harder, but also great. I have no complaints at this point. I just feel lucky. I’ve been the luckiest person in the world. I’ve done some great projects and worked with some really, really talented people, and I’m happy.”

Master Class with Sally Mayes

Uber-diva Sally Mayes is coming to town later this month to give a master class.

She is one of the most insightful teachers I have ever worked with.  Her strong opinions are tempered with a variety of teaching techniques.  This allows her to help a participant grow not only in the material currently being worked on, but as a performer overall.

Here’s the official info:

It’s All in the Lyrics …
                                . . . Master the Art of Song Interpretation

The Class will cover:            Song Selection … Delivery … Interpretation …  Comedy … Passion … Performance

When: Saturday, October 18, 2008, 1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Where: Heritage Christian Church SW Corner of New Hampshire (Rt. 650) & Norwood Ave, Silver Spring, MD

Cost: $125 (Student Discount Available with I.D.)

Maximum Class Size: 15 Students

Contact: Joanne Schmoll, schmoll.joanne@gmail.com, 202.215.4488

 The NEW YORK TIMES calls Sally Mayes “a singer of incandescent ebullience, deliciously saucy.”  PEOPLE Magazine describes her as “the kind of rich theatrical voice that elevates a show tune.”  And TIME Magazine says, “Sally Mayes renders songs as richly nuanced as one-act plays.” 

Critically acclaimed, Sally has appeared in the Broadway productions of Urban Cowboy (Drama Desk Nomination), She Loves Me (1993 Tony, Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk nominations), and Welcome To The Club (Theater World Award, Outer Critics Circle nomination), as well as the national tour of Dirty Blonde.  Off-Broadway she has appeared in Pete ‘N’ Keely (2001 Drama Desk nomination), Closer Than Ever (Outer Critics Circle nomination), Das Barbecue, and the recent revival of David Zippel’s It’s Better With a Band in Philadelphia.  

Recipient of the prestigious Manhattan Assoc. of Cabarets & Clubs and Back Stage Bistro Awards as Outstanding Jazz Vocalist, Sally is a Master Teacher at the Cabaret Conference at Yale.  She has five solo recordings: Boys and Girls Like You and Me, The Story Hour, The Dorothy Fields Songbook, Our Private World: The Comden & Green Songbook; and Valentine.  Cast recordings include: Pete ‘N’ Keely, Closer Than Ever, Bye Bye Birdie, Lost in Boston, Unsung Musicals, and Unsung Sondheim.  Her film credits include: City Hall and Bye Bye Birdie. 

Take Sally Mayes, Add Eyeliner…

It’s been announced that Sally Mayes (a Diva 5+1 interviewee for this column) is headlining a workshop of a new piece The Gospel According to Tammy Faye.  Looks fun!