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

Marissa Mulder

Penelope Thomas
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...

Gabrielle Stravelli

Penelope Thomas
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...

The Drinkwater Brothers

Penelope Thomas
John and Matthew Drinkwater are twins—singing, football-playing twins, in their senior years at Wagner College. As I sat down to watch their recent show at Don't Tell Mama, I must admit I had a little trepidation that—with their being young, playing to a home crowd, and probably not thus-far knocked around by show business—I'd be...

Deb Berman

Penelope Thomas
In her recent show at Pangea, Deb Berman took what could have been straight-ahead cabaret fare—American Songbook standards and personal stories—and made every moment land with authenticity and finesse. Opening with "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" (Duke Ellington, Irving Mills) and closing with "Things Are Swinging'" (Jack Marshall, Peggy...

Jazz Bastards

Penelope Thomas
The Jazz Bastards are a hot mess. Or so they'd like you to think. If they're anyone's illegitimate children, it's not just jazz's—Les Paul is one possible father figure, as are any of the deadpan comedians from Buster Keaton on down to John Belushi, and perhaps Elvis Costello and Tom Waits are great-uncles. Their two...

Black Light

Penelope Thomas
What if, at the crossroads of your life—where you have to make decisions that will save you or damn you forever—you were not alone? What if a high priestess met you there, tall and sparkling, wise and smiling, reaching out her hand to guide your poor, fumbling human heart and teach you that you were...

Raquel Cion

Penelope Thomas
Raquel Cion's show at Pangea is entitled Me & Mr. Jones: My Intimate Relationship with David Bowie. Like Bowie, Cion is a shapeshifter. With layered costumes by David Quinn, she peels back the story of her childhood, teenage years, and adult relationships with the icon in his many incarnations. With her low, textured voice, the music...

John Kelly

Penelope Thomas
John Kelly's current version of Joni Mitchell, on view at Joe's Pub, is stripped-down—not officially drag, yet still bearing traces of his earlier incarnations of the character, which featured a wig and costume. This Joni is John in simple clothes, on guitar, supported by pianist and music director Zecca Esquibel. Listening to him, I was...

Katie Thiroux

Penelope Thomas
Katie Thiroux does the work of two people on stage, which is a remarkable feat of coordination that stems from a single soulful and clever musical sensibility. There are some wonderful singing bass players in jazz these days; Esperanza Spalding, Nicki Parrott, and Kate Davis come to mind. Thiroux takes her rightful place among these...

Tovah Feldshuh

Penelope Thomas
If Leona Helmsley were in purgatory and she had a free pass to spend an hour topside, would she do a cabaret? It's a great premise. You've got to hand it to Alex Lippard for thinking that this would be a timely moment to wonder how a nasty, larger-than-life New York real estate mogul could...