Here’s that living ray-of-hope Karen Mason singing one of the great Brian Lasser songs at a recent Trevor Project benefit with the ever-amazing Christopher Denny at the piano.
Karen Mason in Barcelona
December 19, 2009For my money, of the 20 or so As If We Never Said Goodbyes I’ve seen or heard, Karen Mason does the best job of combining the voacal and dramatic demands of the song. A rare clip of her doing the song in concert in Barcelona:
New Karen Mason Video
December 1, 2009A new Karen Mason video is always a treat. Here she is as Norma Desmond singing With One Look.
Help is on the Way Today Benefit at the Metropolitan Room
July 31, 2009Saturday 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
MAC Winners Announced
May 19, 2009MAC Awards were announced in NY Monday night. Here’s a list of the winners. Special congratulations to friends-of-this-blog Karen Mason and Karen Oberlin.
Broadway Up Close and Personal: Sheldon Harnick This Monday
April 14, 2009The Broadway Up Close and Personal series at the Kennedy Center is doing a concert on Monday saluting the work of Sheldon Harnick, lyricist for shows including Fiddler on the Roof, The Apple Tree, and She Loves Me.
The concert features an amazing cast: Karen Mason, Ron Raines, and Kate Baldwin with music direction by Joseph Thalken.