Happy September!
As I wrote in my last post, where did the summer go?! I can't believe it's already September! For those of you that know me well, you will know that this means that it's nearly time for the first pumpkin cookies of the season - woohoo! And speaking of sweet things, I have a brief update on the Pocket Coffee situation. After trying out a few leads and coming up frustrated (the sites from which I tried to order were all out of stock), I stumbled upon a blog that said Pocket Coffee is generally unavailable during the summer because the quality deteriorates in the heat (much like Mallomars, I suppose). However, the good news is that Pocket Coffee should be available by the end of the month - do I hear another woohoo?!!
Anyway, now that I've gotten my "sweet talk" out of the way, let me talk about the terrific entertainment I've seen since my last post!
Monday, August 25th was full of top-notch entertainment. First, it was Andrea McArdle at the Metropolitan Room with her show "You Don't Know Me." I'd seen Andrea at Feinstein's in February and was very happy to have the opportunity to see her again. Best known for originating the role of Annie on Broadway, she boasts an extensive resume of other theatre roles as well, including Fantine in Les Miserable, Sally Bowles in Cabaret and Belle in Beauty and the Beast. As in February, she put on a top-notch show, weaving autobiographical anecdotes among well-known show tunes ("Everybody Says Don't," "Some People," and "If He Walked Into My Life" among them) and pop songs (such as the Carpenters' "Superstar"), all the while exuding a true joy in being on stage and sharing her passion for her material. A guest appearance by her brother Michael, who treated us to a powerful "Celebrate Me Home" was a fun, unexpected treat! After the show, it was off to Birdland for another fantastic Cast Party! The room was abuzz when I got there, and it didn't take too long to figure out why: word had it that Liza Minnelli would once again be gracing us with her presence! It's not too often that I get to be in the presence of entertainment royalty, and twice in one summer seemed like it was too good to be true. However, Ms. Minnelli DID show up and treated us to two songs - first, it was "You've Let Yourself Go," and then it was a lovely duet with Billy Stritch on "I Can't Give You Anything But Love." In addition to Liza, LaLa Brooks (of the '60s girl group The Crystals) came and treated us to a rockin' "Da Doo Ron Ron," and founding Manhattan Transfer member Laurel Masse was there and treated us to her gorgeous jazz stylings! As always, there were a ton of talented regulars, too and Jim Caruso did a fabulous job of hosting and keeping the parade of talent running smoothly!
On Thursday, August 28th, it was back to the Metropolitan Room for Scott Barbarino and the Bevnaps for their du-wop/vocal comedy show. They covered some great tunes including "Twilight Time," "Everybody Loves Somebody," "Sea Cruise," and "Ain't That A Kick In the Head" and had the audience bopping, swaying, giggling, and singing along - very fun!
Monday, September 1st, it was another terrific Cast Party. Even though it was a holiday, the room was packed and the talent was fantastic! David Goldman, the Nunziata brothers (Will and Anthony), Christine Lavin, Rob Langeder, Sammy Goldstein, yours truly, and many other fabulous performers took the stage, and not only did Jim Caruso do his usual terrific job of hosting, but he even dressed in red, white & blue for the Labor Day festivities!
On Wednesday, September 3rd, I was back at the Metropolitan Room to see Joe Bachana's solo show. Having only seen Joe perform as the host of Metrojam and at the open mic at the Friars Club, I was really happy to be able to see him in his own full-length show. The show was mostly original tunes that Joe wrote over a time period spanning the late '70s through the present and I must say, I was very impressed with his songwriting! He also threw in a couple of great covers, including Billy Joel's "Big Shot," Joe Jackson's "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" and "Vanity," which was written by Bernie Bierman (a fantastic songwriter who just celebrated his 100th birthday!). Joe has two more shows booked: Wednesday, September 10th and Wednesday, September 17th, both at 7:30 p.m. I'm going to try to make it back to catch another performance - if you're able to make it, maybe I'll see you there!
On Friday, September 5th, it was back to the Metropolitan Room AGAIN, this time for the aforementioned Metrojam, which is the monthly open mic at the Metro Room. As I mentioned, it's hosted by Joe Bachana, and the talented band is comprised of John DiPinto on piano, Bobby Sher on drums, and Ritt Henn on bass. Friday night was loaded with great performers, including Sue Matsuki, who opened the show with "Speaking of Happiness," Rob Langeder, who wowed everyone with his fast-swinging "Blue Skies," Deb Berman, who delighted with a thoughful "Where Is Love," yours truly (I had a lot of fun singing "The Coffee Song"), and Lorinda Lisitza, who brought the house down with her "How Blue Can You Get!"
Today, I'm headed back to the Metropolitan Room (I know, I should really just set up a cot!) to catch Deb Berman's solo show - should be fun! And Thursday night (September 11th), it's the season premiere of On The Rocks with Danny Leary at the Duplex! Danny has asked me to be a recurring guest in the series, so beginning Thursday, I'll be there every week, doing a swinging '60s tune. If you haven't checked out On The Rocks before, I highly encourage you to do so! Danny is an adorable and hilarious host, and always puts together a fantastic lineup of comedians and musicians.
That's about it for now - gotta take my pumpkin cookies out of the oven and get ready to head out to the Metropolitan Room! Check back for more soon!
Anyway, now that I've gotten my "sweet talk" out of the way, let me talk about the terrific entertainment I've seen since my last post!
Monday, August 25th was full of top-notch entertainment. First, it was Andrea McArdle at the Metropolitan Room with her show "You Don't Know Me." I'd seen Andrea at Feinstein's in February and was very happy to have the opportunity to see her again. Best known for originating the role of Annie on Broadway, she boasts an extensive resume of other theatre roles as well, including Fantine in Les Miserable, Sally Bowles in Cabaret and Belle in Beauty and the Beast. As in February, she put on a top-notch show, weaving autobiographical anecdotes among well-known show tunes ("Everybody Says Don't," "Some People," and "If He Walked Into My Life" among them) and pop songs (such as the Carpenters' "Superstar"), all the while exuding a true joy in being on stage and sharing her passion for her material. A guest appearance by her brother Michael, who treated us to a powerful "Celebrate Me Home" was a fun, unexpected treat! After the show, it was off to Birdland for another fantastic Cast Party! The room was abuzz when I got there, and it didn't take too long to figure out why: word had it that Liza Minnelli would once again be gracing us with her presence! It's not too often that I get to be in the presence of entertainment royalty, and twice in one summer seemed like it was too good to be true. However, Ms. Minnelli DID show up and treated us to two songs - first, it was "You've Let Yourself Go," and then it was a lovely duet with Billy Stritch on "I Can't Give You Anything But Love." In addition to Liza, LaLa Brooks (of the '60s girl group The Crystals) came and treated us to a rockin' "Da Doo Ron Ron," and founding Manhattan Transfer member Laurel Masse was there and treated us to her gorgeous jazz stylings! As always, there were a ton of talented regulars, too and Jim Caruso did a fabulous job of hosting and keeping the parade of talent running smoothly!
On Thursday, August 28th, it was back to the Metropolitan Room for Scott Barbarino and the Bevnaps for their du-wop/vocal comedy show. They covered some great tunes including "Twilight Time," "Everybody Loves Somebody," "Sea Cruise," and "Ain't That A Kick In the Head" and had the audience bopping, swaying, giggling, and singing along - very fun!
Monday, September 1st, it was another terrific Cast Party. Even though it was a holiday, the room was packed and the talent was fantastic! David Goldman, the Nunziata brothers (Will and Anthony), Christine Lavin, Rob Langeder, Sammy Goldstein, yours truly, and many other fabulous performers took the stage, and not only did Jim Caruso do his usual terrific job of hosting, but he even dressed in red, white & blue for the Labor Day festivities!
On Wednesday, September 3rd, I was back at the Metropolitan Room to see Joe Bachana's solo show. Having only seen Joe perform as the host of Metrojam and at the open mic at the Friars Club, I was really happy to be able to see him in his own full-length show. The show was mostly original tunes that Joe wrote over a time period spanning the late '70s through the present and I must say, I was very impressed with his songwriting! He also threw in a couple of great covers, including Billy Joel's "Big Shot," Joe Jackson's "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" and "Vanity," which was written by Bernie Bierman (a fantastic songwriter who just celebrated his 100th birthday!). Joe has two more shows booked: Wednesday, September 10th and Wednesday, September 17th, both at 7:30 p.m. I'm going to try to make it back to catch another performance - if you're able to make it, maybe I'll see you there!
On Friday, September 5th, it was back to the Metropolitan Room AGAIN, this time for the aforementioned Metrojam, which is the monthly open mic at the Metro Room. As I mentioned, it's hosted by Joe Bachana, and the talented band is comprised of John DiPinto on piano, Bobby Sher on drums, and Ritt Henn on bass. Friday night was loaded with great performers, including Sue Matsuki, who opened the show with "Speaking of Happiness," Rob Langeder, who wowed everyone with his fast-swinging "Blue Skies," Deb Berman, who delighted with a thoughful "Where Is Love," yours truly (I had a lot of fun singing "The Coffee Song"), and Lorinda Lisitza, who brought the house down with her "How Blue Can You Get!"
Today, I'm headed back to the Metropolitan Room (I know, I should really just set up a cot!) to catch Deb Berman's solo show - should be fun! And Thursday night (September 11th), it's the season premiere of On The Rocks with Danny Leary at the Duplex! Danny has asked me to be a recurring guest in the series, so beginning Thursday, I'll be there every week, doing a swinging '60s tune. If you haven't checked out On The Rocks before, I highly encourage you to do so! Danny is an adorable and hilarious host, and always puts together a fantastic lineup of comedians and musicians.
That's about it for now - gotta take my pumpkin cookies out of the oven and get ready to head out to the Metropolitan Room! Check back for more soon!
posted by Jenna @ 4:48 PM
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