Penelope Thomas

Credits include lead vocals for two albums with prog rock band FauveMuseum; background vocals with Shellen Lubin, and US & UK tours of Mikel Rouse’s "The End of Cinematics." She’s read poet Anne Carson’s work at The Whitney Museum and played leads in HBO Women in Comedy Festival-selected film "Pretty Dead" and the indie film, "The Interview." She studied voice with Norma Garbo, music theory with bassist Mark Wade, LoVetri Somatic Voicework through Baldwin Wallace University, and acting with Deena Levy. She taught in the New School’s Sweat musical theatre intensive. With a degree in Cultural Studies & Anthropology and a background in contemporary dance, Penelope loves thinking and writing about performance—connecting the dots between styles and genres and supporting the connection between artists and audiences.

Penelope Thomas

Club Review: Rachelle Garniez’s “Gone to Glory” Album Release Concert

Penelope Thomas
Rachelle Garniez's newly-released album, Gone to Glory. Rachelle Garniez opened Gone to Glory by biting off a big piece of “Killed by Death” (Motörhead: Ian "Lemmy"  Kilmister, Würzel (Michael Richard Burston), Peter Gill, Philip Campbell). For the past five years, Garniez and Pangea have celebrated the legacies of recently-passed recording artists; it...

Music Review: Artemisia LeFay— “Ghosts of Weimar Past”

Penelope Thomas
Artemisia LeFay (Photo: Renee Guerrero) Many of us who are crawling out of our pandemic isolation might be ready to dive into hedonism—in the hope that it could serve as a tonic for the underlying rumble of fear we’ve lived with for the past year. Enter Artemisia LeFay’s timely Weimar-themed show...

CD Review: Gary Negbaur—”You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught”

Penelope Thomas
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...

Ann Kittredge

Penelope Thomas
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...

Lianne Marie Dobbs

Penelope Thomas
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...

Mark Arthur Miller

Penelope Thomas
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...

Katharine Mehrling

Penelope Thomas
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....

Mary Ellen Ryan

Penelope Thomas
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...

Gunhild Carling

Penelope Thomas
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...

Dawn Derow

Penelope Thomas
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...