From Canada, Penelope Thomas came to NY to study dance with Merce Cunningham; then through a series of fortunate and unfortunate events, she wound up back in singing and acting. Credits include lead vocals with FauveMuseum on two albums and live at Symphony Space, singing back-up for Bistro Awards director Shellen Lubin at the Metropolitan Room, reading poet Ann Carson’s work at the Whitney, and touring North America and Europe with Mikel Rouse’s The End of Cinematics. In Toronto, she studied piano at the Royal Conservatory of Music and cello with the Claude Watson School for the Arts, and in New York she studied music theory with Mark Wade. She's taught in the New School’s Sweat musical theatre intensive and taught dance in public schools and conservatories.
In 1949, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught” from South Pacific outraged many people with its positive take on interracial relationships. Seventy-two years later, it’s painfully obvious that we’re still not truly learning, so it’s a timely title track for Gary Negbaur’s 2021 Blujazz label album. Negbaur’s rendition is catchy—he covers the […]
With her sophisticated presence, the clarity of her voice, and a professional skill set that assured us that “she’s got this,” Ann Kittredge brought so much to her recent offering at the Green Room 42. Titled Fancy Meeting You Here: An Evening of Ahrens & Flaherty,” it showcased repertory from the songwriting duo’s recent Broadway […]
The title of Lianne Marie Dobbs’s recent show at The Green Room 42—Why Can’t a Woman Be More Like a Man…?—is a loaded question. Rather than tackling the question head-on, Dobbs left it open, approaching a few possible angles as she considered female identity, offering a few of her own thoughts along with those of […]
Mary Ellen Ryan’s debut cabaret, No Apologies, started with a satirical Ted Talk-inspired Women’s Studies lecture, complete with Ryan in reading glasses as “Professor Feminista.” The performance alternated between this professor as our guide, and a variety of alter-egos who performed the mostly comic or ironic song list. Directed by Eadie Scott, with musical direction […]
Mark Arthur Miller comes by his love of soul honestly. Growing up in Chicago without his Dad present, he later found out that his father was Motown songwriter Ron Miller. Adventures ensued as he and his sister moved to L.A. and got to know their father and his place in the industry. So, while Soul […]
While it is a delicious thing to hear a real Berliner singing from the Weimar Cabaret tradition, Katharine Mehrling seems to have a soul that is equally inspired by the streets of Paris. Her trio of muses for Streets of Berlin, her recent offering at Joe’s Pub, were Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland, and Édith Piaf. […]
Swedish multi-instrumentalist and singer Gunhild Carling works fast, as though she were chasing the tail of some devilish swing-beast and excited as a scrappy kid to catch it. Her joy and attack on stage are absolutely infectious, and her recent set at Birdland Theater was a wild ride. The thread through the evening was a […]
In her most recent offering, award-winning vocalist Dawn Derow displayed plenty of onstage charisma and a solid legit soprano. The show, The House That Built Me, was based on her family history during her early and adolescent years. As presented, Derow’s childhood with hardworking parents was a fortunate one. Stories of growing up valuing family […]
The opening night of Marissa Mulder’s I’ll Follow the Sun: The John Lennon and Paul McCartney Songbooks at Feinstein’s/54 Below provided a much-needed infusion of brightness in a week full of rain. It’s unusual that sweetness would be such a compelling and interesting quality in a singer, but Mulder knew exactly what to do with […]
The Birdland release concert for Gabrielle Stravelli’s fourth album, Pick Up My Pieces: Gabrielle Stravelli Sings Willie Nelson, was packed. 6:00 PM is basically a matinee in the jazz world, and not a time you would expect to see buzzing crowds spilling out onto midtown sidewalks. The show more than delivered. Stravelli truly landed on the […]