Happy Friday

Well, it's been two weeks since my last update...let's see, what have I been doing?! Oh, yes...the MAC general meeting on May 16th. It was a four-hour event, and I don't want to bore you with the details (although I could, as I took copious notes and have a record of just about everything that was said!), but I actually felt the meeting was very productive. There are some members (and ex-members!) feeling very disenfranchised, as some questionable decisions were made by the Board of Directors last year without consulting the general membership. There was some tension among the attendees of the meeting and the board, but overall the board was very receptive and willing to hear ideas about how to improve MAC. Fingers crossed, they will act on some of them and we will be looking at a new and improved association.
Last night, I headed back to NYC's newest nightspot, The Metropolitan Room to see the incredible Karen Mason doint her show, "The Sweetest of Nights." What an absolute treat. The show was simply thrilling - she infuses each lyric with an incredible, personal energy, and has an amazing talent of sharing herself with the audience. She was backed by the incredibly talented Christopher Denny on piano and Jared Egan on bass. In addition, the Metropolitan Room continues to impress - the lights and sound are fantastic, and the staff is a pleasure. I'm rehearsing for most of the weekend, but am going to try to make it to the Duplex to see Tom Honeck's show at 7 p.m. on Saturday night.
That's it for now...happy Memorial Day weekend!

Metropolitan Room

I had the pleasure of attending opening night at The Metropolitan Room last evening, and boy, am I happy I went. Not only was the room beautiful, but the show was terrific. How can you go wrong with the amazing Billy Stritch doing the Mel Torme songbook? From a technical standpoint, the lights and sound were terrific. The room was designed to be a middle ground between clubs like The Duplex and Don't Tell Mama's on the one hand and Feinstein's and The Carlyle on the other. Time will tell, of course, but I think it has a good chance of succeeding. Lennie Watts has done a terrific job of getting an all-star lineup together to kick off the opening month - hopefully he will be able to keep it up!! Definitely head over if you get a chance. I'm not going to be in the city for the next few weekends, but I plan on going back to check out Karen Mason's show when she's there at the end of the month.

Metropolitan Room

Well, I'm taking a few nights off from show-seeing, but I will be heading to Manhattan's newest club, The Metropolitan Room on Thursday evening (5/11) to see Billy Stritch doing his Mel Torme show. It's opening night at the club and I can't think of a better way to kick things off! I saw this show when he performed it at Birdland and it was absolutely terrific. I can't wait to see it again! He'll be there through Sunday - if you get a chance, you should definitely check it out!

Monday, Monday...

Well, after an exhausting but exhilerating weekend, I'm ready to hit Cast Party again tonight. I spent Friday evening at Caffe Taci listening to glorious operatic singers and then staying after hours and singing some Great American Songbook standards myself! When I arrived home, the sun was already up and I was in serious need of some sleep, especially as I was planning an eventful Saturday evening as well. After sleeping in and enjoying a lazy Saturday afternoon, I was ready to head to Manhattan again. First stop: Marie's Crisis to sing with Sheldon Forrest, who plays there every Saturday from 6-10. I hadn't been there in a while, and ended up having a fabulous time. I had to cut it a little short, though, so I could run uptown to Helen's to catch the fabulous Jeanne MacDonald's last show. I must say, it was terrific the first time I saw it, but this time it really blew me away. I stayed after to hang out at the piano bar and sing a little, then at around 2:30 a.m., I headed back to Taci to see who was still hanging out there. It was still pretty lively, and we stayed until around 3:30, then a small group of us headed back to Marie's Crisis and stayed till about 4:30, then went out to breakfast at a diner around the corner. Needless to say, I was a little tired yesterday...but I got a good night's sleep and am ready for another fantastic week, kicking of with Cast Party tonight! See you there...

It's That Time Again

Time for another fabulous Broadway By the Year concert - tonight at 8 p.m. at Town Hall. This one is featuring the musicals of 1968, which included Hair and George M! among others. After the concert, I'll be heading over to Birdland for Cast Party. Should be a fun night!!!